Flip

"Neku, coming to a flea market was a great idea! Thanks so much for coming up with it!"

Neku laughed, while he held Shiki's hand and led her to some booths that were already catching his eye, that he thought Shiki would for sure like. "Shiki, I feel like you're just saying that because the only other time you went to a flea market, apparently, was when you were a kid… and you didn't even really do any flea market shopping, but instead played in an arcade nearby? So, for years, you sort of thought the two were the same thing?"

"…Okay, so yeah. I do want to get it into my head what the real experience is now. You're right, Neku! But even without that, this would be a great experience! Ooh! Look at that purple chest of drawers over there! We could use that in my office!"

Neku rolled his eyes good-naturedly as Shiki tugged him along now, but it was all in good fun. Really, he was just ecstatic to see light in her eyes.

Neku at first didn't know what they would do, when Joshua had told them they should just move away from Shibuya since the Angels wanted him to nuke it so badly, that there was no saving it. And thus, Joshua had finally given up on Shibuya and was having everyone relocate.

The old group of Players, who hadn't had to have their mind Imprinted on to get out of Shibuya, had all been depressed and listless for months, of course, and somewhat feeling like they had done all that they had for nothing.

But maybe living in a more rural area had its advantages, Neku and Shiki were seeing now. Like small wonders like this, shopping at a flea market in a beautiful grassy field.

"The only thing about that chest of drawers, is that it's scratched on top, Chic. Would we paint over that part it if we bought it? Oh, wait. Rustic's the thing now, isn't it?" Neku remembered, scratching his head, as memories of that show "Flea Market Flip" suddenly came back to him.

Shiki laughed, patting Neku on the shoulder before she then adjusted her glasses, that had started to fall down. "Yep! That's right! Though sometimes people will paint rustic pieces. Like, painting things blue is really in right now for some reason."

Neku was about to question the logic of painting this purple piece of furniture blue. He was also going to wonder if they could even find a blue dark enough to drown out this dark color if it came down to it, but he piped down when Shiki found her way to the vendor and started haggling prices.

Five minutes later, Shiki had bought the chest of drawers for two-thousand yen—which was definitely a steal, Neku had to admit that—and she was walking away from the booth, so the two of them could continue looking around for other things. They'd pick up the drawers at the end of the day.

And Shiki surprised Neku when she joined his side again by pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Shiki, what-" he started.

But Shiki was already interrupting his question by explaining somewhat sheepishly, "I saw the faraway and happy look in your eyes when you were questioning rustic things a moment ago. You were thinking about 'Flea Market Flip', weren't you, Neku?"

How had she even figured that out? Neku pondered, wishing he had a shirt collar to hide behind, but coming up without one. Sometimes, Shiki was far too psychic, he swore. But maybe he wouldn't have had it any other way. Shiki being able to predict him too well had saved his ass multiple times, after all. Neku even chuckled some, but it was a tad bit awkward.

"What can I say? It's a pretty fun show," Neku defended his position. And he did internally question why was Shiki was seemingly giving him the third degree for liking something artistic, when they both did artful things for a living. Of course he would think flipping things at a flea market was something up their alley and it was, perhaps, something they could eventually try together for fun…

Shiki, to her credit, noticed right away that she had given Neku the wrong idea and she leaned in on her tiptoes to give him a kiss to try and make him feel better, he presumed. And, yes. Shiki was such a good kisser—with her warm embrace, and lips that tasted of apple pie—that Neku instantly forgave her. "It is a fun show, Neku. And we can even try to be on it sometime, if you want. But moreover… I'm just glad to see you happy here… after everything."

And Shiki was beaming now, to see Neku happy. And he thought if he'd ever loved her before, it was nothing compared to how he felt about her in this moment. And he instantly understood what she meant here.

Neku squeezed Shiki hand and kissed the top of her head, and whispered a promise there as he did so: "I'm thrilled to see you happy too, Shiki. And things will get better, starting now. I know they will. And we have this beautiful day to start getting us to that good place again."