It was Friday afternoon, and Yuki had spent the whole week waiting for retribution. Retribution that never came. Akito had used this tactic before…torturing Yuki with the sheer idea of what he would do to him. Something Akito had discovered, to his sick delight, that Yuki tended to fear almost as much as the actual abuse. But Akito himself seemed to be as absent as the punishment Yuki had resigned himself to.

Things only grew more bizarre when Yuki began to notice that Shigure was acting very strangely. He always seemed to be on his cell phone, and always with a worried look on his face. At first Yuki had just shrugged it off as normal stress due to the preparations needing to be made for tonight's promotional event. In Akito's absence Shigure had been left alone to make all of the arrangements for the party. But the more Yuki thought about this, the less it made sense. Shigure should have been use to making these types of preparations on his own…with hellish deadlines. He was the band manager, after all. That was his job.

"Hey, Haru" Yuki asked, finally unable to simply ignore the increasingly unnerving situation. "Have you noticed anything different around here lately?"

"Other than the fact that this has pretty much been the best week of my life?" Haru responded, leaning casually against the wall of the studio, not really paying attention to his roommate.

"No." Yuki scowled, wishing Haru would take him seriously. "Where the hell is Akito…" He murmured, more to himself then anyone else.

"You're not actually missing him, are you?" Haru asked, still staring off at nothing in particular, and Yuki found himself needing to restrain the impulse to slap him.

"Damn it, Haru!" Yuki retorted, fed up with his roommate's indifference. "Don't you think things have gotten a bit weird around here?" Haru's gaze finally met Yuki, his expression irked.

"Of course they have." His voice came low. "So the devil spawn isn't haunting our steps…for once." A hint of irritation laced in his words. "Though he seems a hell of a lot more interested in yours than in mine." He added, causing Yuki to visibly flinch, and he suddenly regretted his words.

"Look, Yuki." Haru began again looking intently into his roommate's eyes, holding his gaze. "I just don't understand why you allow him to make you this miserable."

Those words felt so familiar, causing Yuki to pale as he felt his ribcage constrict and ache. Those were his words. Yuki hadn't wanted to believe them at the time, but now the voice of his nightmares was in his head…accusing him: it's simple, really… because you allow it. Was it really that simple? Was everything really his fault? Yuki hadn't even noticed that he was hyperventilating until he felt his knees give as he slumped to the ground. Haru reflexively followed him, supporting him from the side to aid him safely to the floor.

"Yuki, are you okay?" Haru's words were fuzzy, and Yuki feared he might actually be loosing consciousness. "What the hell happened?" Concern and horror tainted his usually carefree voice.

"It's nothing…" Yuki whispered, lowering his head as he concentrated on regulating his breathing. "I'm fine."

"No." Haru's answer was blunt. "You're not fine." He stated, brushing the hair from Yuki's forehead to look in his eyes. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, Yuki. You're falling apart." He said, finally adjusting himself to a more comfortable position on the floor before pulling Yuki to his side. "You deserve to be happy…" He whispered, and as they sat together in silence Yuki felt himself regaining a level of calm.

"Haru." Yuki's voice came low, as he found himself unconsciously resting his head on Haru's shoulder. "Do you really think I deserve to be happy?"

"You're dysfunctional as hell, Yuki. But even you deserve happiness." Haru gave Yuki a playful side glance, and Yuki just continued to stare ahead with a frown.

"Come on…mopey emo kid." Haru chuckled, tousling Yuki's hair. "Cheer up, 'cause you're so damn beautiful when you smile!"

"Knock it off, Haru." Yuki grumbled, half-heartedly pushing Haru's hand away.

There was a brief moment of silence between them as they watched the people bustling around the studio preparing for the night's event. Yuki suddenly got the sneaking feeling that Haru was up to something. He was quiet. Too quiet. Yuki felt Haru's shoulder move under his head as words finally came from Haru's lips.

Be optimistic…

Haru sang slowly in a beautiful, clear voice, and Yuki gave an audible sigh of irritation as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Don't you be a grumpy…

"Haru…" Yuki groaned, causing Haru to chuckle lightly before continuing.

When the road gets bumpy…

Haru sang just a little louder, causing Yuki to let out another groan.

Just smile…smile and be happy…

"Are you done?" Yuki interrupted, finally lifting his head from Haru's shoulder to scowl at him.

"Only if you promise to lighten up and smile, sad little emo kid." Haru responded with an impish grin.

"Stop calling me that, Haru. I'm not emo." Yuki hissed.

"Then prove it and stop frowning." Haru challenged as his smile broadened.

"And if I don't?" Yuki asked, the scowl on his face already distorted by the smile threatening to break through.

"…I swear I'll sing the whole damn song until you smile…" Haru threatened playfully, and Yuki began to chuckle at his roommate's antics despite himself.

"I hate you." Yuki chuckled, a smile playing in his lips.

"Yeah, well…you might hate me, but now the whole world knows that you enjoy Shirley Temple, you sick freak." Haru retorted, and they both began laughing until something else caught Haru's attention.

"Now that's just pathetic." Haru scoffed, his arm still around Yuki's shoulder, looking in the distance as Yuki followed his gaze to see Shigure. "He looks like a damn dog searching for his master." Haru spat as Yuki tilted his head to the side to watch Shigure pace back and forth while on the phone, imagining him with a tail tucked between his legs. "Hey, watch this…" Haru whispered mischievously.

A low growl began to emanate deep from Haru's throat, catching Yuki off guard. Then Haru burst into loud, boisterous barking until he finally caught Shigure's attention, who looked irritated but continued the conversation on his phone where he stood. Suddenly Haru flicked his tongue out, revealing his piercing, as he began to waggle and wave it suggestively at Shigure, who flushed deep crimson before flipping him off. Haru laughed, returning the gesture with his free hand before Shigure stalked off to continue his work. Yuki was simply left speechless.

"What do you think?" Haru mused, watching Shigure as he walked away fuming. "He's totally batting for the other team, right?"

"You're disgusting, Haru, and I think you need to work on your filter." Yuki chided.

"And that implies that I actually have one." Haru stated with a shrug, and Yuki simply rolled his eyes in response.

"Now…" Haru spoke, his voice becoming more serious as he continued to stare off into the distance. "We need to talk about this party." And Yuki's face fell as he cast his gaze to the ground.

"I don't want to go." Yuki muttered, and Haru simply drew him in closer into his side protectively.

"I know you don't." Haru admitted, empathy in his voice. "But you know that at this point it's not really up to you. This one's important, man. You can't bale." Yuki simply remained silent, staring at the ground.

"Don't worry." Haru said, giving Yuki a reassuring smile. "I'll be there with you, and I already have a plan." And Yuki gave a faint smile at the possibility of what that might actually be.

"I'm going to get you absolutely plastered, and we are going to enjoy the hell out of ourselves." Haru stated confidently with a nod, and Yuki found that he didn't entirely dislike this plan.

Haru was about to open his mouth to say something more to convince his roommate when he let out a startled gasp.

"No way…" Haru exclaimed in a low hush, and Yuki found himself slightly alarmed. "Dude, you're not going to believe this."

"What?" Yuki asked, trying desperately to conceal his concern, as Haru held up his hand to point out into the distance.

"I think I just found your date for the party!" Came Haru's voice, and Yuki followed his hand to finally see who he was pointing at as a look of surprise crossed his face.

Tohru gave a blush as she noticed that they were now both looking directly at her, watching her approach.

"…She has a boyfriend, Haru." Yuki grumbled, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"Tough shit. He should have put a ring on it." Haru exclaimed, an impish grin playing on the corner of his lips.

"Haru…" Yuki muttered dubiously, but was cut off by the look on Haru's face.

"If you don't ask her, I will." Haru threatened, his voice serious.

"You wouldn't..." Yuki gasped, horror flooding his face.

"I would…so either way she's coming." Haru said, preparing to stand, and Yuki violently ripped him back to the ground.

"Like hell you will, you ass!" Yuki spat, getting up himself as he heard Haru begin to laugh.

As Yuki moved to greet Tohru each step sent volts of electricity up through his body to the top of his head. He had felt nervous before. Every single time he went on stage. But this feeling was different. Why? Then it dawned on him…he had never really asked a girl out on a date before. His stomach dropped at this sudden realization as he almost froze in place. Sure. He had been with girls…and girls had been with him. But he had never actually asked anyone out, let alone on a date. What if she said no? What if she said yes


A/N: Featured lyrics in this chapter are from the song "Be Optimistic" by Shirley Temple. Because I can...