Lev stayed true to his promises for the boy he loved and worked hard. He wanted to make him proud, to show him he won't be a clumsy kid forever. Lev's feelings not only lingered but, somehow, Yaku-san's absence only deepened the longing in Lev's heart and made it ache all the more. The emptiness he felt without him did not waver. It came in waves. I just want to see you and hear your voice, Yaku-san. Please come home soon. He could never say that, he could only wait, and continue to work hard.

Lev went to university for a business degree to be a business owner. He learned to be a better cook specializing in pastries. He wanted to make people happy with tasty treats and delicious drinks. He always wanted everyone to be happy and to be able to make them happy if they weren't. Who could have a bad day when they have delicious things to eat?

It has now been roughly 10 years since Lev and Yaku said their goodbye. They stayed connected through social media but the contact was minimal, consisting of only short polite pleasantries. Lev made a name for himself as having the best little cafe in town. Being as kind and friendly as he is really helped the cafe take off as he would make the effort to remember the regulars' names and orders.

The cafe's signage was a comforting shade of red, with elegant bold white lettering: HAPPY TIGER CAFE. The front of the cafe had flush windows with glass doors and faced the other businesses on the main street. While the left side faced a small park and had bay windows. The solar glass windows allowed soft cheerful sunlight to enter, and the view from behind them was protected from glare. From the outside, the windows provided enough mirror-like reflection for privacy. Lev thought people would be enticed to come in to see the inside properly.

After a shaky beginning, he had more than a few curious enough passersby to press their faces to the glass to see in. It always gave him a chuckle because they could then see him smiling and waving. The usual result was that they popped their head in to apologize for dirtying the glass, and when looking in, they'd be in awe. The smell of coffee and bakery goods would lure them in to have a taste.

Lev loved the awe on people's faces when they saw the inside. Looking in, along the bay windows was crescent booth seating, perfect for tea time customers. Along the right was the register counter with a space leading back. One path went behind the display showing the barista set up, and the other went back to the hidden kitchen.

Further along, the right was the stunning display case of delicious pastries and some chocolates. At the end of the display case, a small bar area to wait for to-go orders; and a nook against the back wall with comfy armchairs, each having a little table to the side. Yes, he was definitely proud of his cafe, he worked hard making it the best. He wondered if Yaku-san would be in awe?

How he longed to have Yaku-san home, for him to become a regular customer, to see him and make special treats for him. He would wait as long as he needed because this love was not just a fleeting crush of a young boy after all. Lev was a man now, as was the boy he had loved. A man that did not want to regret following his heart, even for the sake of his business. All he had worked hard for to make Yaku-san proud, he would happily trade to have Yaku Morisuke to call his own.

"Yaku-sensei!" a small girl with blonde pigtails called out to her teacher. The man was very nice and pay... pay... Huh? What's the word again? Paytent? Paytent... payshen...? It doesn't matter. Yaku-sensei is good.

He was walking her and her classmate, Kou-chan, around the town proper while her mommy and Kou-chan's daddy were not yet able to pick them up from the school. She liked it when Yaku-sensei taught them and talked to them. She loved all their teachers but Yaku-sensei is special. Yaku-sensei is cute and handsome, she wants him to make her his bride when she grows up.

Walking around the park was a habit that she, Kou-chan, her sensei, and some other kids from school have done for the past year whenever their parents came late. But today, they were walking around the town proper because 'for some reason, I wanna go to the town proper today. Is that alright?' When mommies and daddies are late to pick their kids up, Yaku-sensei brings them for a walk to exercise them all, and also as part of their... their... ah! Entertainment. "Yaku-sensei, where are your babies?" Her long, wavy blonde hair bounced in time with her skips.

The teacher, a man with messy, sandy blond hair and brown eyes, looked down at his right where the strawberry blonde girl was swinging his hand energetically while she skipped. She was as yellow as the sun. Her dress was sunflower-yellow, which was pretty popular among kids her age nowadays. On her head was a hairband just as bright as her dress. "Well... Mori-chan, Yaku-sensei doesn't have babies yet." And he might never will, he answered in his mind. In the past 10 years, he had accepted the fact that he was a full-fledged rainbow member, and that he still had feelings for a certain half-Russian who refused to leave his mind for even a second of the damn day. It was as if Haiba Lev just hooked himself in Morisuke's mind and heart and then stayed there without plans of leaving. Damn if Morisuke knew why after all these years.

It's been a while since he replied to any of Lev's messages on social media. His shame was too overwhelming to reply to such innocent questions and happy congratulations and the fear of keeping their communications open when his feelings were practically overflowing was just too inconceivable. He was not prepared to face some aspects of his reality just yet.

"But why?" the other child, a boy with long, dark, and braided hair asked. Some of his baby hair fell over his forehead but were left unnoticed. "My mommy and my daddy said that you are around their gage and that now, they have two babies. That's me and my onee-chan. We are their babies." Kou rubbed at his nose with his hand and wrist before looking up at his teacher again, snot smearing his cheek. He absolutely loved Spider-Man. His shirt, shorts, watch, and shoes were all Spider-Man merchandise. Even his underwear was Spider-man. And he made sure that Yaku-sensei knew that fact. He's pretty sure Yaku-sensei was amazed by it. Only foolish people did not like Spider-man and Yaku-sensei was not foolish.

The teacher let Mori's hand go for a few seconds so he could bend down and wipe Kou's cute and chubby face with a wet wipe. "Uh-huh. You and your onee-chan are definitely cute." He would know because Kou's older sister was one of his very first students and he loved her because of her bubbly attitude. "And you are definitely your parents' babies." He straightened up and put the used tissue inside his pocket. Oops. Looks like he forgot to wear his apron this time. Well... at least he looked decent enough in his white shirt and black skinny jeans. Gods... I hope I don't have any snot or spit-up anywhere. That'll be embarrassing.

"You should have babies too. Don't you want to have coot babies like me and Mori-chan? We are coot. You are coot too. You will have coot babies." The boy nodded his head and grinned proudly at being able to use new words. His dimples showed when he smiled. Knowing how his sensei liked seeing his dimples, he always made sure that his dimples would show when he smiled. Sensei always gave him stars when he did well with his work so he's happy.

"Age, Kou-chan. Age. Not gage," Morisuke corrected with a chuckle. As a teacher, he enjoyed teaching the kids new words. Hearing the kids use the new words properly in sentences albeit pronouncing them wrong made Morisuke love his job even more. It gave him the sense of pride that he was able to teach such small kids new words and they understood them enough to use them in their speech. "Also... It's cute. As in kee-yoot. But one syllable. Cute. And I have you as my babies. You guys are my babies and I'm happy with that."

"Heyj?" Kou repeated confusedly. "Kee-yoot? Coot. Coot sounds better." With Mori-chan's agreeing nod, Kou grinned in pride. He knew he was the smartest kid around. Mori-chan said so. Yaku-sensei never said it but Kou is sure that Yaku-sensei thinks it too. "Mori-chan is coot and you too, sensei. You are soooooo coot."

The teacher could do nothing but shake his head and roll his eyes heavenwards. Kou and Mori have been in his care for a year. He was used to this. Kou was the kind of child who liked feeling smart. And he was indeed smart. There's no denying it. Years of working with different children had taught him to be patient and to laugh any shenanigans off. "Fine... cute... coot... no problem." He was just thankful for the distractions given by the kids. Without them, he'd be going crazy from thinking about a certain lanky half-Russian.

They were about to take a corner when his eyes caught something. It's that cafe again. It's been there way before he started the construction of his school building but he had never visited it. Not even once. He did not know why. He heard it was very popular, too. Hmmm... He stopped walking and stared at the name of the cafe. The ambiance was definitely welcoming–enticing even. It was a siren that beckoned him to walk closer even if it meant jumping to his death. For five years, he's been seeing that store, smiling at the name, and feeling nostalgic for some reason. And today, the pull was so much stronger than before.

"Yaku-sensei?" the kids called as they tugged at his hands, breaking the curse of the said cafe on him and effectively pulling him back to reality. The teacher had to blink and look down at the children he was holding.

"You want coffee?" Kou asked, his eyes dark and wide as he looked up at his teacher, then towards the cafe.

"Kohi won't help you grow though." Mori's words made Morisuke's eyes twitch. This kid doesn't have any filter, does she? Sometimes, he wanted to just whoop her ass for her sharp tongue. "My daddy said that you are much shorter than old people like mommy and daddy. Maybe that's because you've been drinking kohi instead of milk."

'Patience, Morisuke. Patience... She's a kid. She hasn't developed a filter just yet. Which means she's only telling the truth as it is. And that hurt big time. He hissed a bit and chuckled. She's not like Haiba Lev who said things just to tease you. She's much cuter than he will ever be.' He took a deep, deep breath and thought of changing the topic before anyone could get hurt. "Okay, how about I just have you as my babies then?" Morisuke asked with a laugh. "Just call me Papa if you want. That way, when people ask you if I have babies, then you just say that you're my babies, right?"

With that said, the kids squealed and jumped, totally forgetting about his height and giving him a chance to grin at his wit. Good, he managed to protect himself from further humiliation and teasing. "Okay, okay, no need to be too excited. Let's just go for some coffee or hot choco for now, okay?" Gods, his arms hurt a lot. Children are too energetic for his old bones.

"Hot choco!" The kids cheered and jumped. They sang the Nekoma's Tiger Song as they skipped towards the cafe with grins on their faces.

"Nekoma, Nekoma! Keep connecting, Nekoma!

Use your legs, use your arms, keep your eyes on the ball, Nekoma! (Nekoma!)

Big tiger, little tiger, don't flail your arms, Nekoma!

Trust me, trust your guard, I will bump it up, Nekoma!

Tiger, tiger, big tiger, roar among the cats, Nekoma!

Nekoma, Nekoma! Keep connecting, Nekoma!"

With that, the trio walked across the street, passing strangers who smiled at the singing and bubbly children, and into the cafe. Morisuke chuckled as the kids sang happily. That song was just one of the "songs" he made when he was picking himself up from the gutters of life.

When he opened the doors, he realized why curiosity killed the cat. He wasn't sure if satisfaction will ever bring it back though. The moment he pushed those glass doors open, he knew why it was like a siren calling out to him. He immediately knew that the siren had definitely come to drown him.

He was welcomed by the scent of coffee and chocolate and a face that he had been desperately trying to forget.