Thank you all for being so patient with me and for supporting me! I´m really happy you all like this story, I really do! I will try to upload the final 3 chapters soon (next chapter will be online in a couple of days - the last two might take a while). Thanks to all of you 3


A pitch-black darkness enveloped them, now and then blurred with soft red, green or blue glowing nebulae. In the distance a few stars glimmered – far away planets and old suns. It almost seemed as if they were floating in space, surrounded by millions and millions of tiny lights. A smile crossed his lips and he closed his eyes to enjoy this moment. It felt as if he were truly hovering in space, drifting endlessly through time, drowning in this wonderful, gently shining sea of stars. It virtually seemed too good to be true.

"...It´s so beautiful." He whispered as the firmament reflected in his eyes. A deep satisfaction seized him, making him almost forget everything else.

"...You haven´t changed your mind, have you?" A deep, subdued voice sounded beside him, but he didn´t have to turn around to know who it belonged to. The man sounded worried, hesitant.

Once again, his eyes closed and the smile grew wider. His head shook slightly back and forth as he let himself fall even deeper into the dark. "No. No matter how beautiful it is... it´s nothing more than a dream. The reality is just as nice."

"So, you're sure that´s what you want?"

A short giggle caught in his throat, then he glanced back into the mists of the universe. He saw nebulae of red and yellow and purple and blue gleaming in the distance and felt how planets were passing him by – their gravity making his heart pause every now and then. He felt so light and heavy at the same time and the beauty of it was about to lacerate his heart. But even that couldn´t stop him. He knew that every dream had to come to an end, eventually. And this one was no exception.

"Yes... It is time..."


He couldn´t remember the last time he'd had such a headache. It felt as if he suffered from a mighty hangover, his head was heavy, full and swirling. Maybe he really had been drunk last night because he couldn´t remember what he had actually done. Only incoherent strands of thought were in his head, flashbacks and pictures of which he didn´t know if they were real or imagined. Oh God, he felt so shabby. Had he really sunken so low as to get drunk? Or was there another reason for his memory loss? To him it all seemed like a long, endless dream. And in between, there were episodes that made him shiver.

Reisi was pretty sure he had dreamed all of this – there was no way to explain it otherwise. He had dreamed of Mikoto and that he had confessed his feelings to him. The thought made him feel fidgety even now, even though he knew that it couldn´t have been real. As if he would come to his door in the middle of the night and pour his heart out. He wasn´t that stupid. No, he wasn´t that desperate – not for a long time. He had his pride and he wouldn´t beg anyone just to be with him.

And yet, he was terribly uncomfortable this morning. He felt absolutely whacked; last night he had hardly slept at all, but instead turned back and forth and dreamed about crap. Maybe he truly should distract himself, maybe go on a vacation to take his mind off things. Just recently, he had seen a great offer for a vacation on Hawaii - all inclusive with spas and sports and all the rest of it. Or maybe it was enough to simply watch a movie on the weekend. Perhaps he should invite Awashima to attend – it couldn't hurt.

Exhausted, he rubbed his head, resting his elbows on his desk. All through this morning, he hadn´t done a single piece of work, but merely sat in his office and tried to get rid of his "hangover". Still, no aspirin and no tea or chirping birds could give him relief. Maybe he should just lie his head on the table and take a nap. Oh yes, that sounded tempting… very tempting.

He bit his lip, pondered whether it would be worthwhile to lie down to relax. It wasn´t as if Scepter 4 had much to do these days. Instead, they had to deal with a whole bunch of paperwork and no one truly desired to do that. With a hard sigh, he closed his eyes. Inevitably, he gave in to the urge to rest his arms on the desk and to bed his head on them. Oh, how he hoped to finally be able to sleep properly. He was sick and tired of dreaming of Mikoto; especially something as absurd as his dream last night. He would certainly not have confessed his love to him and Mikoto would certainly not have asked him out on a date. Please… how absurd could a dream get? A date... pfft. Stupid dream…

Within seconds he felt the tiredness creeping up to him. He was so terribly weary, and for just this moment he allowed himself to take a nap. Right now, hardly anyone was stationed at the headquarters, anyway. So he could lay down as well. A short little nap certainly wouldn´t bother anyone...

A stentorian hammering startled him and made him look around in confusion. With huge eyes, he looked straight ahead, trying to recover from the scare he had just suffered. When somebody knocked again, it was not nearly as loud and not quite as pushy. Munakata Reisi swallowed hard as a soft voice rang out from the opposite side. "Captain? May I come in?"

Just for a second, the Blue King allowed himself to take a deep breath and to assemble his thoughts. Quickly, he put back on his professional face and invited her in.

Awashima Seri quietly closed the door behind her and slid a few steps toward him before she bowed briefly and eyed him professionally. "The reports of the prime minister are now available and furthermore, all preparations have been made for the dismissal of Yatagarasu Misaki. It needs a final authorization from your side."

Oh, how he wished himself to a deserted island to escape it all. Suppressing a slight sigh, he nodded and avoided too much direct eye contact. "The dismissal is to be carried out as it was arranged. What´s in the prime minister's reports?"

"Only formal affirmations of the arrest of the arsonists. Do you want to know the details?"

Oh boy, did he? Not really... "Proceed."

A hesitation caught his attention when Awashima Seri gave him a worried look. "Captain? May I address a personal concern beforehand?"

Somewhat surprised, but not enough to make him show it, he looked at her. "...What is it?"

For a second, the blonde woman cleared her throat and closed her eyes a little embarrassed before she looked at him undiminished. "I know I´m in no place to address something like this... but lately I've noticed how tired and exhausted you are. We have taken the wind of the mafia´s sails and currently, there is no immediate threat... Scepter 4 is, as of this moment, pretty much unemployed. ...I don´t say this as your subordinate... but as a friend: please, take a break and relax. I can take on all internal and external affairs without any problems for a while. Please... do not take this as an insult... "She closed her eyes in shame and held her breath. "...but I really am worried about you, Sir."

.

Candid surprise was reflected in his face and rendered him speechless for a moment. He was almost touched by her concern, but he was still the Blue King and he had obligations. With a gentle but tired smile, he closed his eyes and waved her off.

"I am honored that you're worried about me. I'll try to follow your advice." No, now was certainly not a good time to invite her to the movies. "...What about the reports of the prime minister?"

With a deadpan, almost disappointed expression, she looked at him and finally closed her eyes defeated. Probably, they would never be so close that he would listen to her. Objectively, she pulled out the documents and began to read. Only half interested, her superior listened to her, staring into space, thinking one more time about his vacation on a deserted island.

"The government has given us a subsequent authorization for the arrest and issued an official press release. It calls us formally to discuss our actions in advance with the politicians next time, instead of arbitrarily making decisions on our own. In addition..."

A short burst of ringing interrupted the blonde woman and turned her attention back to the black-haired man, who reached only casually for his cell phone to read the message he had just received. With a brief gesture, he indicated her to ignore him.

"Please carry on."

Suppressing a brief sigh, her eyes returned to the paper in her hand. "...In addition… you are invited to a meeting with the Golden King next week. The cover letter has a fixed time and date, a reason, however, was not mentioned. I suppose..." Out of the corner of her eye she glanced back to her superior, and when she saw him, suddenly all words were stuck in her mouth. His face was crimson and the hand that held his cell phone was shaking terribly. When he noticed her gaze, he moaned softly and put his head on his arms that he had placed powerlessly on the table. She heard him mumble something ashamedly, but the words were completely incomprehensible.

"Captain!" Alarmed and terribly worried, she immediately ran to him, but was afraid to close the final distance. "Oh my God, what's with you?"

He just shook his head without giving up his defensive posture. The words sounded swallowed and hot and full of shame "Oh my God... this can´t be true..."

"Captain! Are you sick? Hang on, I'll call the ambulance!" Quickly, she grabbed her cell phone and dialed the number in panic.

Meanwhile, Reisi still lay on his desk, red-faced and delusional. He didn´t want to admit it, couldn´t admit it. It felt as if his head would burst any minute. He was hot and dizzy and thought he had gone crazy. There was no way for him to stay cool in this situation, he was too embarrassed, too shocked to hide his feelings. He was seriously about to lose it.

Beside him his phone lay open on the table, still showing the message he had just received.

„I´ll meet you tomorrow at
the Iwatobi-Square, 1 pm.
Is that okay with you?
Mikoto."


It was pretty cold. On the other hand, of course, it was winter, so it was hard to expect anything different. The sun didn´t make it better, even though its light looked especially beautiful that day. It was reflected in the large windows, swept through the trees decorated with colorful garlands and warmed his skin just a little. Maybe he really should have brought gloves. Without them, his only choice was to hide his cold fingers in his thick jacket while constantly smoking his cigarette. One of many cigarettes – but he had already lost count of how many he'd had today.

Exhaling a deep breath of tobacco, he poked around. The city was unusually crowed today, but he should have expected that on a Saturday. There were people everywhere: families on a shopping trip, students skating and couples having a romantic date. He didn´t like crowds, but at least this way he wouldn´t stand out that much - and he had to admit that the colorful attires of the people made the cold, gray city feel a little more alive. A cold gust of wind tore at him and made him grimace. Really, why was it this cold today?

Bored, he scraped a little above the ground with his shoes and puffed on his cigarette. It would be a lie to say he iwasn´t/i nervous, but he took it more calmly than he had imagined. Although, the whole thing had had quite a toll on him, he eventually realized that he wouldn't achieve anything by worrying about it any longer. He had no high expectations anyway. If it turned out shit, then so be it. Maybe he really had gained enough distance from this whole thing - under other circumstances, he would have been proud. But in this moment, he was just too distracted to think about it.

Mikoto tried not to remember how he had slammed the door in Reisi´s face. He would just treat it as if it never happened. Even now, he wanted to chase away any thought of this evening. The memory of Reisi's words alone made him feel giddy once again. A soft, barely noticeable smile crept across his lips and he closed his eyes. He wasn´t so disillusioned to think that this was enough to bring them back together. But at least it made his heart beat a little louder just by thinking about it. He still had no high hopes and even such a confession couldn´t undo the past. Still, it was worth one last attempt, he guessed.

His eyes slid back across the square to the large clock in its center, which indicated 1:13 pm. Normally, he wasn´t the type to be on schedule and to be honest, he had no idea how he had done it this time. At least, he didn´t think that Reisi of all people would be late, as meticulously as he was. Well, actually, it didn´t really matter to him, just the cold bugged him the longer he stood here waiting. Sighing, he closed his eyes and threw his cigarette away, just to light another one. Contrary to a foolish hope, even the flame of his lighter wasn´t enough to warm him up.

The scrape of shoes next to him caught his attention and when he looked up, he could see two violet eyes narrowing, looking at him seemingly annoyed. A short harrumph sounded and the man in front of him gracefully shut his eyes.

"You sent for me, here I am..."

Inevitably, this elicited a suppressed grin from Mikoto. He only took a moment to eye the man before him from head to toe. Reisi wore plain dark trousers and a simple dull blue buttoned jacket, the neck covered by a broad, gray-white checkered scarf. It suited him pretty well, he had to admit. Before he could continue to enjoy this sight, however, the man in front of him quietly began to hiss. His cheeks were rather red and he seemed quite nervous.

"So... where lies our destination?"

And again, the redhead had to grin and close his eyes just for a second. God, this guy really had a stick up his ass - but today, he somehow found that rather funny. Mockingly disinterested, the man with the golden eyes shrugged and took a draw on his cigarette. "Hm, no idea. Got nothing planned."

"You... what?" Munakata furrowed his brow and looked at him almost angrily. "You called me here to a... to a da... and now you´re telling me you don´t even know what to do? Shouldn´t you have thought of that in advance?"

He looked at him with a barely visible smirk. "Did you really expect something else? …Relax... we will just start walking and do what we want to do."

"...Uh..." Munakata tilted his head and rubbed his forehead. He was so melodramatic, it was hilarious. "...Unbelievable. For all I care…"

Without waiting for him, Mikoto began to move and took a last drag of his cigarette before he threw it to the floor, enjoying the calming taste of nicotine. He felt his nemesis catching up only seconds later, walking next to him in a calm but still uncomfortable way. Blatantly, he seized the moment to look at him from the corner of his eye once again. Reisi still seemed pretty tense and stiff. As the black-haired man noticed his gaze, he squinted at him uncertainly, without looking at him directly.

"...What?"

And again, it drew a slight smile from Mikoto´s lips. He looked back ahead and buried his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Nothing. It´s just so funny the way you act."

"What? What does that mean?"

"Did not think you'd be that nervous." He glanced at him challengingly, just to see his reaction. "...Just like a little high school girl..."

Reisi's cheeks puffed with anger and shame and he went even redder than before. "I beg your pardon?! I do not act like a little girl! Do you really want to tell me, you aren´t nervous?"

Again, the redhead shrugged and grinned cheekily. "Me? Nervous? Pffft... you've forgotten who you're talking to?"

"Tsk!" With the corners of his mouth downturned, he averted his head and pushed his glasses up to his nose. "Unbelievable... I can´t believe I am spending my day with someone like you..."

This raised a smile in Mikoto´s eyes. "Well, obviously my wild, rebellious side attracts you... otherwise you wouldn´t have come."

A resigned, tense sigh came out. "I came because you gave me an ultimatum..."

"An ultimatum?" He was indeed quite amused by his behavior. And it was a blast to make fun of him. "If I recall correctly, you came to my door and told me how much you need me."

Ashamed, but this time less aggressive, he glanced at him. "You want to pick on me…?"

"Hm... just a little." The redhead grinned and closed his eyes. "Want to deprive me of that rare pleasure?"

No answer this time, instead Reisi looked in a different direction and drew Mikoto's eyes back to him. He would have loved to know what was going on in this twisted head of his. Maybe he shouldn´t annoy him too much, Reisi really did come this time, after all; this time he didn´t stand him up. And yet, Reisi´s behavior was so exaggerated and funny, Mikoto couldn´t resist a smile.

"Loosen up. You're thinking way too much..."

From the corner of his eye, he glanced back, seemingly somewhat uncertain. His voice was low. "If anything, I wonder how you could be so carefree."

An excessive sigh escaped him and Mikoto closed his eyes. "Simply stop thinking and just be yourself... although... you'd not be yourself, if you didn´t plan out everything."

For a moment, Munakata didn´t reply. Then, however, he turned his head slightly to the side and muttered in such a low tone, Mikoto almost didn´t catch it. "...Only because I was myself, all this crap's happened in the first place..."

That really got him for a moment, made him stare at his friend wordlessly. Only after a few seconds, the former king could gather himself. A soft sigh escaped his throat as he looked in a different direction. He didn´t know how to reply, so he decided to ignore it.

"Well...? What would you like to do?"

For a very long moment, silence broke them apart before Munakata finally replied shyly. "…I don´t know. I've never been on a date with… a man."

It made Mikoto's eyebrow curl up in surprise. "But with a girl?"

It was obvious how uncomfortable this subject made him, but the black-haired man replied nevertheless. "...Yes, in high school. But that wasn´t a real date... we were at an amusement park, where we… well spent our time."

That made him grin yet again. The idea of a younger Munakata on a date made his heart beat faster for some unknown reason. "Then why don´t we do that?"

Uneasily, his violet eyes leered at him. "We're not teenagers anymore."

The smirk grew only wider as Mikoto shook his head. "You really are complicated."
Reisi blushed again and blamed it on the cold. He really was horribly tense and nervous, even though he actually tried to relax. He wanted- no he needed this date to be good; he wanted them to have fun, but he was so agitated that he simply didn´t know how to behave. His fear to mess it up once again was just too dominant. This might be his last chance and if he screwed up, he would lose Mikoto forever. It was simply impossible for him to relax like this, even though he truly enjoyed being around him. Regardless of whether they were talking or remaining silent, as long as he was with Mikoto, he felt balanced. Well… balanced and panicky at the same time.

"Hey." Suddenly, the redhead pulled him from his thoughts. He had stopped and grinned at him defiantly, his head nodding to a store right next to them. "How about that?"

Reisi's gaze swung to the side, where he tried to read the advertisement of the business. Irritated, he looked back to his... his... da… "Are you serious?"

A casual shrug. "Why not? Yata and Anna often come here and they seem to have fun."

Uncomfortable, Reisi pushed up his glasses. "...Aren´t we a little too old for that?"

"Are you telling me you´re scared to be seen with me in there?"

"Not exactly..." And he pushed his glasses a little further. "I honestly just never... did anything like this..."

With an amused smile, Mikoto buried his fingers in his pockets. "So you´re afraid to lose?"

"Tsss ..." Arrogantly, Reisi raised his head and blinked at him. "It really can´t be that difficult."

And the grin widened. "Then play against me. If you win, you are the one to choose what we´re gonna do next."

Incredulous and distrustful, the Blue King squinted his eyes, examined the store and looked back to an overconfident Mikoto. Yes, he indeed looked just like 3 years ago: cheeky, arrogant, reckless and rather childish. But somehow he liked those sides of him. Finally, a tiny smile appeared on Reisi´s face as well. "...That sounds like a deal."

With a triumphant chuckle, the former king turned away and opened the door under the glowing sign. Without further hesitation, his old friend followed him and entered an amusement arcade for the first time in his life. He was literally overwhelmed by all the flashing and the noises, the laughter and cursing around him. Everywhere there was hissing, tootling, children jumping up and down and cheering for each other. He really did feel old in here and yet, they were hardly noticed. Suoh didn´t seem to care – as expected – instead, he just settled down at the first game he could find and forced Munakata to sit beside him. Both of them didn´t have much experience with video games or slot machines, but usually the concept was pretty simple. And before he could even blink, his dat... had Suoh challenged him to a game.

From this moment on, his memories were blurred and almost incoherent. He remembered how they raced against each other, controlled spaceships and armies and had decimated their foes as if it was nothing. Every time they outdid each other and Mikoto spiraled up the stake of winning more and more. Munakata complained about it every time, but put up with it whenever he saw Suoh's challenging grin. He simply couldn´t bring himself to stop because it actually was kind of fun.

The Blue King had no sense of time anymore, though it probably had been an eternity before Mikoto finally gave up and refrained from forcing him to yet another game. There was a pretty smile on his lips as he leaned against the console and peered at him.

"Okay, fine. You won."

Failing to hide a certain pride, the man with the checkered scarf crossed his arms and threw his head back in a smooth motion. "Pfff, did you expected something else? These games are easy; once you get the hang of it, they become self-perpetuating."

"Tse, whatever." Mikoto's eyes slid over Reisi's body, as if he couldn´t get enough of him.

"Although, I must say that I expected more from you. I thought you'd been here with your friends? Shouldn´t you be better at playing these games then?" Ohh, Reisi glinted downright with arrogance and complacency, but again, Mikoto found it incredibly funny.

The redhead started moving and buried his hands in his pockets. "Man, you´re really dwelling on this, even though you pretended to find such games boring."

Only seconds later the man with the violet eyes had caught up with him and blinked at him furtively. These victories seemed to really have heated him up. He appeared much more relaxed than before - and that was satisfaction enough. "I simply dislike things which cannot challenge me."

This tugged enormously at Mikoto's mouth and he squinted at him, grinning contentedly. "Is that so? And did you take into account that I might have planned to let you win, so I don´t have to listen to your complaints all the time?"

This attracted a perky, challenging grin from his opponent as well. "Oh? You'd do that?"

Amused, he shrugged and looked in a different direction. "You're a sore loser. And if you don´t get your way, you're obnoxious."

"Am I?" He smirked.

"Oh yeah." This time, he looked at him directly, deep into his eyes and eased into Reisi's easy smile, as it warmed up his heart. "But enjoy your victory, you've earned it."

In the past, Munakata probably would have jumped at this throat by this obvious attack on his honor, but this time, he turned to the man with a gentle smile and played with his glasses instead. "How generous of you. In any case, a bet is a bet. And I know just the place we´re going next."

"For all I care. As long as you don´t want to go to a library."

This actually made his friend chuckle. "Oh no, most certainly not. It´s much better."


Well, he most certainly wouldn´t vouch for that. It seemed only seconds later that he sat on a large, soft, flat pillow in midst of a small insular room. Next to him a large, delicately decorated wooden window allowed to take a look down to the busy street. On his other side however, a shaded room spread, glimmering in green and blue. Music lay in the air; a woman in a red kimono was sitting not far away from them, playing thoughtfully on her koto zither. The entire room was decorated with calligraphy on paper rolls, with antique porcelain and small bonsai. A cup of fragrant tea was placed on the table, complemented with a small plate of mochi. And just in front of him sat a satisfied and slightly sardonically smiling Reisi, relishing to blow the fog off his tea.

Hadn´t they´ve been wearing their everyday clothes, he would have truly felt as if he was sent to an ancient time. Mikoto was well aware that this was no ordinary tea house - it was probably one of the most expensive in the city. But all this traditional stuff really seemed to have a soothing effect on Munakata - for whatever reason. Mikoto liked neither tea nor mochi particularly, but as long as Reisi had his gratification, he wouldn´t complain. As long as Munakata was relaxed around him, he was satisfied. He liked the sly grin on his lips and all the nonsense he uttered. Until now, he hadn´t known how much he had missed that.

"I'll never understand how you can actually enjoy this stuff."

"Psst... don´t rant but enjoy the music. She is a really talented musician."

"Yeah whatever..." The redhead simply couldn´t help but grin. He cared very little for the woman on the zither. His eyes solely rested on the quiet and contented face in front of him, whose eyelids were closed as in meditation. "You're really quite a freak, you know that?"

It caused the man in front of him to open one eye and squint at him, amused. "Look who´s talking."

"Well, as long as you´re pleased, I don´t mind." Mikoto stuffed some candy in his mouth and truly hated the tough consistency of it.

"Are you implying, you don´t like it here?"

"Nyaa ..." normally the answer would have been a clear, resounding "yes", but at this moment it truly didn´t bother him that much. It wasn´t his favorite place, yet, he couldn´t claim that he felt uncomfortable; especially with the slight smile resting on his friend's lips. "How about we do something that´s fun for both of us?"

"And that is?" This time he seemed rather curious.

Just a shrug. "You're the dating-expert, not me."

Munakata grimaced for a second. Oh how he wished he would never have told him. "I had a date with a girl when we were both 17... She was my girlfriend for a few weeks and that's it, okay?"

"Kehehe, take it easy." He blinked at him defiantly and sipped his tea that tasted like nothing. "After all, you have dating experience. I was always set up with people I didn´t want to be with. Totsuka wanted to set me up - it was a disaster every single time."

Reisi gulped noticeably and was quiet for a long moment. Thankfully, Mikoto didn´t notice how hard it began to rattle in his head. He pondered whether he really should respond to the issue of a dead friend, and thus bring up all those awful last few weeks. He wanted to be there for him, listen to him, to know what he was thinking. But not now. He felt terribly selfish, but there was no way he was going to open up unhealed wounds now. Instead, Reisi wanted this date to make him happy, to forget about all the horrible things that happened. Unnoticed, Munakata Reisi bit his lips and forced himself to utter these words.

"...Let's go to the amusement park."

"Huh?" Surprised and completely unaware of Reisi's inner turmoil, the red-haired man looked at him. "I thought you weren´t in the mood for that."

Only a short shrug came as a response, followed by a timid, almost subdued smile. "Well, with you I might even like being at an amusement park..."

That caused Mikoto's face to derail for just the blink of an eye. Without a word, as if Reisi had just punched him in the face, he looked at him and didn´t move. It took a few more seconds in which Reisi blushed hardly noticeably, before his golden eyes changed. What followed made the Blue King swallow. The smile that appeared on the lips of his wild friend was so gentle and so happy, it made him struggle for air. His soft, gentle voice was what dealt the finishing blow.

A nod was the last thing he remembered, just before Reisi's memories blurred. "...So what are we waiting for?"


He didn´t realize how time passed, didn´t notice how the sun slowly moved towards the horizon, brushing over the roofs of skyscrapers. He didn´t remember how they had come here all the way from the tea house, didn´t recall the route they had taken or the stores they had passed, didn´t even remember how much the entrance fee had been. All what was left in his memory was Mikoto's smile, his eyes, his voice, always trying to tease him, challenging him. And he remembered his heart constantly beating in the same, haunted rhythm, each time a little higher once golden eyes granted him a look.

They had been here for a long time now, as far as he could recall. Mikoto had challenged him to a variety of games, only to annoy him it seemed. Throwing cans, shooting challenges, pulling threads, catching goldfish, arm wrestling were only a glimpse of what they had done. They had won a turtle key chain which Mikoto decided to save for Anna; they had eaten takoyaki and a candied apple, had been in the haunted house and a labyrinth. And somewhere in between, Reisi had found something that he thought lost forever: for the first time in a long time he felt easy and happy, just as if they were teenagers again. It was ridiculous, but in a good way. Both of them were definitely too old for such things and he fervently hoped that no one recognized him and questioned his authority as the Blue King. And yet, he felt strangely balanced, comfortable and satisfied. He did all the things he had done with his girlfriend so many years ago - except that this time it amused him, except this time he actually enjoyed it. Really, he never thought that he could actually have fun with Mikoto.

The sun was just disappearing behind the high-rise buildings and began its laborious way to the horizon, as the two men stumbled out of a ride to the edge of a booth. To this point they had driven the roller coaster three times already just to see who would be the first one to give up - until they decided it was a draw. Standing on shaky ground and with a slight sick feeling in his stomach, Reisi leaned against a wall and couldn´t resist an affectionate laugh. Incredulously, he shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Fine, fine… if you´re giving up, then so be it. If it were up to me, we could still go 10 laps more."

Mikoto stood next to him very closely, leaning his head against the cold surface of the booth. He looked a little tired, but the smile on his lips hinted he didn't have enough yet – not for a long time. His voice cracked slightly under a suppressed laugh.

"Big words. But no, it's a draw. Besides, you shouldn´t spend too much money."

"Oh?" A cheeky grin nuzzled around Reisi's mouth, as their eyes met. "Since when did you become the responsible one of the two of us?"

Just a shrug; the smile, however, remained and Mikoto closed a little more distance between him and his friend, until their bodies were almost touching. "Well, I worry for you… and your wallet."

A brief laughter shook him and subsided when he realized how close he was to Mikoto. He gazed deep into these golden eyes and just couldn´t dissuade himself from looking away. He absorbed that smile, that familiar twinkle in his eyes just like a sponge soaked up water. His heart beat harder and louder than before and made him completely block out the cold around him. His own smile grew wider and gentler.

"How nice of you. In that case, I might have been mistaken about you. Perhaps someday you will grow into an adult, after all. "

"Tsk." Mikoto´s eyes closed and he shook his head before he came even closer to his date. "You ´re the one to talk. You´re enjoying this even more than I do."

"What? Ridiculous!" Munakata protested half-heartedly and with a furtive smile, when suddenly something drew his attention. Gently and silently a snowflake dwindled between him and his friend, followed by a whole orchestra of dancing snowflakes. With a surprised smile, the black-haired man turned and looked into the sky. "Snow?"

Even Mikoto shifted his head to watch, but just for a few seconds. He much rather loved to gaze at his date. He jostled his shoulder softly.

"Do you still have some money left?"

"Hm?" Surprised, the Blue King looked back, and needed a moment before he understood. "Yes, why?"

Mikoto replied only a short grin, before he suggested Munakata to follow him.

They pushed through the aisles, past families and couples and countless of booths before they finally arrived where he wanted to take him. At first, Reisi was a little piqued, mocked Mikoto with it, but when he sat in one of the gondolas a few minutes later, all of this was erased from his memory. All Reisi could apprehend in this moment was the sunset at the end of the city, as it was reflected in the clouds on the horizon. The hinges of the Ferris wheel squeaked silently, the gondola rocked gently in the wind with every move they made and the cold crept through the poorly bonded acrylic glass right up to them. It was just like out of a movie and yet, Reisi couldn´t deny that he liked it. Content and beguiled by the sight of the sunset and the dancing snowflakes around them, he stared out the window. He remembered, he had been on a date in a Ferris wheel before, but this time it was so different. Well, maybe not exactly different... but better. Much better.

The gondola stopped and they poised up there for a moment, fifteen feet above the ground. Just a little more Munakata enjoyed the view over the city, for which safety he provided. Everything seemed so peaceful, calm and balanced. It filled him with a certain pride, a sense of accomplishment, but he felt even more satisfied when his gaze pressed against the man in front of him. Mikoto was slouching on his side of the bench, his legs outstretched, his hands dug in his pockets, his eyes resting amusedly on Reisi. He chuckled softly as he noticed his puzzled expression.

"He... you really do like that kinda stuff, eh? Now I feel as if I'm on a date with a girl."

That caused the black-haired man to blush and made him hiss angrily. "What´s that supposed to mean? You´re the one who wanted to come here! I just tagged along! Don´t pervert the facts, Suoh! And besides, if any of us would be the girl, then it would be you! Tsk!"

A suppressed laugh and a shake of the head later, Mikoto shrugged and looked down at his shoes. "Whatever."

Silence reigned, and suddenly Reisi´s nervousness returned - at once, it was back and made him squirm in his seat insecurely. They truly were all alone up here, just the two of them and no one who was interested in who they were or what they did. The thought caused a lump to grow in his throat. Restlessly, his eyes fell to the ground and dug around in the metal below. He was too insecure to look up, too nervous to make the first step, even though he really wanted to know where they were heading now. Did Mikoto enjoy this da... this date? Did he think they were ready for a second chance? Did he feel comfortable enough to try again?

Questions flew around inside his head, and caused him to tighten up even more. He felt his heart beat up to his neck, felt it tickle in his fingers and could almost taste his excitement on his tongue. He just wanted to sit next to him and take his hand, stare into these eyes made of honey, and kiss him. To show him he seriously meant it this time, to make him understand he truly wanted to be with him. That he had no fear of the implications that followed. He wouldn´t hurt him this time. Reisi wanted to show him he was serious this time. That he had really fallen in love with him and wished for nothing more than to be with him. To watch his smile forever.

With his heart pounding, he brought himself to raise his head at last. Only very slowly, his gaze climbed Suoh's leg, up to his fingers in his pockets and the thick jacket buttoned up to his face. He hoped their eyes would meet, so he could feel this slight electric shock again, he got whenever they stared at each other. When he looked up, however, Mikoto wasn´t facing him. Instead, he stared at the floor, his face rigid and colorless. And his voice cut through the air like a sword did through flesh.

"...Renounce your throne as the Blue King..."