"Hey Yuu-kun! Do you know where Mikaela is?" Kishimoto asked and Yuu glared at him. "Whoa, killer stare."

"Why would I care?"

That was a lie. A big lie. He cared and has been worried since Mika hadn't returned home after his outburst. Yuu thought Mika would be asleep since he got home late after what happened. But Yuu only found himself alone in the apartment.

He expected Mika to come to school on Monday.

But he didn't show up.

Not even the teachers knew what happened.

Yuu had been calling and leaving texts and voicemails, but received no reply. Wednesday marked the fourth day since Mika went missing.

His classmates were worried. Yuu was getting anxious. He never felt so alone.

He was used to waking up to an empty house, eating breakfast alone and going to school alone.

But then Mika came into his life. Although the house was quiet, he knew that Mika was in the other room. Akane came over more often after Mika started to live with him.

His peaceful days were over.

But now that they return to how they were, why was Yuu not happy? Mika wasn't there to pester him when there was a cockroach in the bathroom or ask him what happened to the stash of snacks he kept for a gloomy day.

Yuu never realized how much he loved Mika until he disappeared from his life.

"Did you hear anything from Mika?" Akane asked.

It was lunch time already. The days became a blur since all his thoughts went back to Mika no matter how much he tried to think about something else.

Yuu shook his head.

Akane came by to his class and pulled him out of the classroom to talk privately. Some of his classmates hooted at him but neither of them was in the mood to put up with their antics.

Akane sighed. There was a brief moment of silence before Akane looked up at him with an uneasy look, "Yuu... Do you think... something might have happened to-"

"No!" Yuu shouted. Akane was shocked by his sudden outburst but he apologized. He wasn't himself and he didn't want to think about something like that. He couldn't lose someone else precious to him. "I can't lose Mika."

"Did you want to visit Auntie this Saturday? I'm sure she'll be watching over him too," Akane said, trying to help the situation. "It's been a few years since I last saw her."

"Sure..." Yuu said. He felt that he should use any spare time to look for Mika, but where would he start? It had been a while since he visited his mother too. He can't do anything as he is right now. He was a mess.

"Do you have anything to do after school?" Akane asked, breaking him out of his negative thoughts that started building.

"No."

"I thought so," Akane said with a soft smile, "Mami, Chiyako and I were thinking of going to a dessert cafe. I think you can use some sweets right now."

"But I don't like sweets."

"Everyone needs some sweetness in their life. Including grumpy old Yuu-chan," Akane said, but the nickname only left a bitter taste now. "Everything will be okay. Trust Mikaela-kun. I'm pretty sure he just needs some time alone."

Yuu always knew in the back of his mind that he could rely on Akane.

He went to her house after their 'fight' and Akane consoled him. Yuu had been worked up over a small matter and ended up taking it out on Mika. He was trying his best and Yuu had no right to say what he said.

After talking to Akane, he wanted to have a proper talk with Mika and clear any misunderstanding between them.

He didn't want to admit that he was still attached to the little apartment he grew up in with his mother. Mika was thinking of both of them, and it was partly Yuu's fault for not telling him. It was hard for him to believe that he was sentimental when he tried to distance everything dear to him.

But everything became clear after he talked to Akane, the person who knew him from when they were both small children, innocent to the cruel reality of the world.

~ Look at Me and Smile ~

"Wait! Yuu-chan!" Mika yelled as he managed to catch the elevator. He was panting slightly while Yuu kept his eyes on the changing LED which indicated which floor they were passing. "Are... are you mad at me?"

"No."

"Was it something I did then? ...Did you not want me to go back to modeling?"

"Do you like modeling?" Yuu asked. He looked at Mika but the other didn't reply. "I'm not opposed to you getting back into modeling. But is this something you really want? Are you happy doing that?" Silence filled the space. "Why are you modeling? Is it for money?" Yuu asked. He was expecting an answer, but part of him already knew that Mika didn't have one. "Or was it fame? Or fancy nice apartments that have a nice sea view?"

There was something that snapped inside of Yuu. It wasn't even about Mika modeling anymore, but something deeper that Yuu didn't want to think about.

The elevator stopped and the doors slid open.

"I'm sorry I couldn't give those to you," Yuu said as he walked away.

He didn't look at Mika because he already knew what face his boyfriend would be making. Mika probably had his head down, his eyes watery with unshed tears. His hands balled up into a fist, clinging onto the hem of his sweater, a habit he had when he was nervous or unsure.

Yuu used to be immune to that soft and helpless expression Mika often wore without realizing it, but over time, Yuu had become weak to them. But not this time. He couldn't fall victim and give into what Mika wanted.

He needed to set boundaries for the both of them for this relationship to work. He needed to be stronger for the both of them.