The more things change . . .

The door to his shop slammed open, and a purple-haired whirlwind of chaos waltzed in.

"Yuzuru! I'm about to make your day!" Yuri said with a grin.

He smiled back. "Good morning to you too."

Despite the years that had passed, Yuri's vibrant personality had remained the same as ever. On the other hand, her appearance had matured a great deal: she had grown her hair out, its long strands cascading down her back like a royal's cape. Her features were sharper, more refined, and she held herself with a calm dignity that lacked any hint of the rashness of youth. But the biggest change . . .

Was the ring on her left hand.

Honestly, he pitied whatever poor soul was now bound to her through the legal ties she loved so much. Yuri was a handful at the best of times; he couldn't imagine dealing with her on a daily basis.

She sat down at the counter and looked at him expectantly. "The usual, please."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "I see you didn't bring your usual posse today. What would your husband say if he knew you had gone to see another man all by your lonesome?" he said teasingly.

"If he said anything, I would hit him to make him shut up. He should know by now that I'm not such a fickle person." She looked at him mischievously. "If anything, your wife should be the one worrying. After all . . ." She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Who could possibly resist my womanly charms?"

He laughed. "Considering how long it took you to get hitched, I'd say that quite a few men could resist your 'charms.'"

She scowled at him. "You know it's not my fault I was so busy! The cases were piling up left and right." She sighed heavily. "I was ready to collapse by the time we got through the backlog."

"Well, at least your firm got a lot of money out of it, right?" he asked as he continued pouring and mixing her drink.

"Yeah. But it's hard to think about that when my hands feel like they're about to fall off and my butt is about to develop a permanent cramp after sitting down for hours on end," she said with a huff.

He chuckled at her irritated expression as he slid her drink in front of her. "Here you go."

"Ah, thanks." She took a deep gulp and sighed. "Great stuff as usual."

He smiled and nodded at her compliment. "Anyway, what did you mean when you said you were about to 'make my day?'"

Coming from Yuri, "making his day" generally involved bringing a bunch of her co-workers over and swamping him with orders (usually complex ones, because apparently lawyers were determined to have coffee as complicated as their jobs).

But seeing as she was alone today, she must have had something else in mind.

"Oh, right." She took another sip. "Some of the partners like your drinks so much that they want them every day. Since getting here and back would be far too much trouble for their oh-so-busy schedules . . ." She rolled her eyes. "I got designated as the delivery girl since I don't have any active cases. So, you're going to get to see my pretty face a lot more often."

Yuzuru felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. "I'm assuming they gave you a list of what they wanted . . . ?"

She smiled at him.

It was not a nice smile.

"Why, yes they did!" she said in a sweet tone. "Lemme just pull it out real quick~"

The piece of paper she pulled out was long.

Far too long.

When unfurled fully, it was almost half as tall as Yuri.

At a glance, he could see it was completely covered in writing, each order meticulously specifying the serving size, blending method, and other measurements.

Hmm. Maybe he should invest in some headache medicine; after all, if he would have to deal with this daily now, he would definitely get a migraine sooner or later.

"Well," he said in a small voice. "That's . . . quite a lot of . . . highly detailed orders."

Yuri nodded sagely. "Indeed it is. Of course, we're willing to pay handsomely for going through all this trouble. Lawyers have big wallets, you know?"

He sighed. With a list this long, he might as well get started.

"Oh, I almost forgot –" Yuri called out at the last second.

She flipped the paper over, revealing the backside to be completely covered in orders as well.

"Don't forget these!" she said with a smile.

He sighed again.

The things he did to stay in business.

xxx

Yuri hadn't been the only one who had decided to let her hair down.

Yui had shown up to her wedding with her beautiful, long hair flowing behind her, the various flowers braided into it swirling about in a storm of petals.

Yuzuru hadn't been sure if Hinata would've been able to get his jaw off the floor in time for the vows.

But his friend had persevered, and now he was bound to the woman who he still came to him to complain about.

Although, "complain" might be a strong word.

Yuzuru slid a drink next to the mop of blue hair who was using his counter as a headrest.

A hand slipped out, grabbed the mug and snapped back, leaving a muffled "thanks" in its wake.

"What crazy scheme did she come up with this time?" Yuzuru asked with an amused look.

Hinata put down the cup after taking a deep gulp, looking as if he had recovered from whatever ordeal he had just gone through.

"Yuzuru," he said with a serious expression. "How many places did you go during your honeymoon?"

"Hmm?" Yuzuru tilted his head in thought. "We only went to Hawaii for a week. Why?"

His friend nodded sagely. "I want to Hawaii too." He took another gulp. "And to France, Greece, Italy, some exotic islands, and I can't even remember what else." He sighed. "Who knew marriage would be so expensive?" he lamented.

He chuckled. "Well, at least you put the money from winning that baseball championship to good use."

"I was hoping to save some of it instead of spending it all at once!"

"Well, at least it was fun, right?"

Hinata paused. "It was the best time of my life," he declared. "But . . ." He winced. "Every time I look at the bill from all those trips put together, I die a little inside."

"All you have to do is win another major championship and you'll recoup all your losses, right?" Yuzuru said with an easy grin.

His friend gave him a flat look. "Hah, hah. Yeah, why don't I go around the next corner and pick up a tournament win like I'm picking up the newspaper or something."

"With how well your team has been performing as of late, it might very well be that easy for you," he said.

Hinata didn't seem too certain about that. "Hmm. Perhaps. I doubt our luck will last that long though."

"One can pray. How's Yui been doing, by the way?"

"Working hard, mostly." He took another sip. "Ever since her band has started to hit it off, she's poured countless hours into composing new songs and practice. I think our honeymoon was the only time she took a break from that stuff."

"Make sure she doesn't wear herself out too fast," Yuzuru cautioned. "Confiscate her instrument if you have to."

Hinata snorted. "Hah! As if she'd let me do that. I'd just end up with a foot in my face for my trouble."

"In that case, be subtler about it. Just distract her for a while. I'm sure you can think of plenty of ways to do that now that you two are married." Yuzuru sent his friend a suggestive wink.

Hinata had the misfortune of being in the middle of a sip at that time.

"What – cough, cough – what the heck are you saying?!"

"Oh, nothing. Just a few ideas," he replied innocently.

"Yeah, well . . ." Hinata looked away with a flushed face. "Some of those would probably cause problems."

"If you make sure the door is closed, I'm sure no one will complain."

"That's not the issue!"

xxx

"I'm home."

Yuzuru locked the door behind him as he entered his house.

The house he shared with the woman he loved.

It was much smaller than the old residence she had lived in. But instead of making it feel more restrictive and confining, it made each inch of the house feel well-used and lived in.

It was not too large. Nor was it too small.

Instead, it was . . .

Just right.

How long has it been? Somewhat over a decade since they first met, he thought.

If the him of a decade ago knew where he was today, the younger Yuzuru would surely think the life he led today was nothing more than a pleasant dream.

But it was not just a dream.

It was reality.

A reality that he had built with his own hands, together with the woman at his side.

Speaking of her, there she was now.

Kanade stood in the doorway in all her radiant beauty.

"Welcome home."

Like an eternal angel, she had remained untouched by the passage of time. The only sign that the years had passed at all for her was the ring that adorned her left hand.

A ring whose counterpart resided on his own left hand.

He smiled at his wife. "Glad to be home at last." He sniffed the air. "Mapo tofu, again? Honestly, you never seem to tire of it, do you?"

"It's delicious."

"I won't argue with that, but wouldn't you like some variety every once in a while?"

"That's what your turn to cook is for."

He chuckled. "Is that so? I'll have to try my best tomorrow to prove the worth of non-Mapo tofu food!"

"Whatever it is, it's not as good."

"Don't judge when you haven't even tasted the dish yet!"

As she turned back towards the kitchen, Yuzuru wondered if teaching her to cook had been the best idea.

His taste buds certainly wouldn't think so. Eggshells accidentally mixed in, burned food, excess use of certain ingredients . . . he's experienced them all.

Even after she had developed a degree of competency, the only dish she had desired to make was Mapo tofu.

And since they took turns cooking, that meant he had to eat it several times each week.

It only took him a few weeks to realize that he should buy extra water at the store if this routine was going to keep on going.

Or else his taste buds would be permanently scorched numb.

Which would be quite inconvenient since his job had him dealing with food and drinks most of the time, and he wouldn't be able to develop new recipes if he couldn't even tell what they tasted like.

xxx

"How's the new song coming along?"

After washing the dishes from dinner, they had settled themselves on the couch in the living room, where they would talk about what happened during their day.

"It's finished. Would you like to hear it later?"

"I'd love to."

Kanade had become a renowned composer and pianist on the internet, although she maintained her anonymity with an alias. The videos of her performing her original pieces often received a massive amount of attention, and several companies, wanting to use her music in their products, had even approached her with offers.

It still wasn't as lucrative as her original career as a concert pianist, but she seemed to enjoy herself much more in her new profession.

As for him . . . well, nothing had changed much on that front. He had renovated his shop after it began showing signs of wear and tear, which was expensive, but his café's new look seemed to draw in more customers, so he would count that as a success.

"How was your day?" Kanade asked.

"Mostly the same old thing. Customers come in, I brew them drinks, then they pay and leave." Yuzuru waved his hand in the air vaguely. "Oh, but I did see Yuri and Hinata today though."

"Oh? How were they?"

"Same as usual. Yuri ended up giving me more work, and Hinata was complaining about Yui again."

She gave a brief smile at that explanation before inching closer and leaning on him, resting her head on his shoulder.

As he inhaled her sweet scent, his hand snaked across her waist and drew her in closer. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, simply relaxing in each other's presence.

"Has it really only been a decade?" he wondered out loud.

"Fifteen years, to be exact."

"Only fifteen years? At this point, I feel like I've known you all my life."

"It's because of recency bias. Your new, happy memories are overshadowing your old, painful ones."

"Too true. I don't think I will ever forget our wedding day . . ."

It had been a beautiful, sparkling day. The sky was clear, the sun shone brightly, and a gentle breeze caressed those in attendance, as if God himself had declared that the day was to be perfect for this special occasion.

The guest list had not been very large. It had included their friends, such as Yuri, Yui, and Hinata. Yuri and Yui had invited their co-workers and bandmates, respectively, to "inflate the guest list a tad bit" as the lawyer had put it.

He had gone through the entire ceremony in a daze, still not entirely convinced that it was real, that he was getting married.

After an afterparty that had lasted far too long (Yui and her band had brought in their instruments at one point and had an impromptu concert) and the guests had all left, it finally sunk in that it was over, that he was a husband and he had a wife.

And as said wife turned and smiled at him, he felt his heart soar.

It was the happiest day of his life.

As they prepared to leave, they spotted a previously unnoticed letter addressed to them on a table.

It was unsigned, and the message within contained but a single word:

"Congratulations."

It was not hard to guess who the sender was. The guest list had been short, and only one person who they had invited hadn't shown up.

It was just like Shiina to express her feelings in such an indirect manner. He hadn't seen the reclusive girl ever since they had moved out of Kanade's larger home, but wherever she was, he hoped that she was well.

"Hey," he whispered. "Could you play it for me? 'Our Song'?"

That was the name of the song that had been inspired by him.

No, that wasn't quite right. It was inspired by them.

By their time together, and the experiences they had shared.

She had started working on it so long ago, but she had continued to add bits and pieces to it to this day.

It was a living piece, one that would not end.

Not until the composer herself had withered and faded away.

But even then, perhaps their descendants would continue it.

Who knew? But he didn't want to think about having children yet.

"Okay," she replied softly.

They untangled themselves from each other and stood up. He followed his wife into her studio, where her instrument and recording equipment resided.

The equipment in there was far above what they had initially borrowed from Yui, leading to higher resolution recordings and higher quality audio. He still had no idea what half the stuff in there did, but Kanade had learned fast and quickly became proficient in their use.

Unfortunately, whenever the wires got tangled together, she always roped him into helping her untangle them, which was a pain at times (the worst had been when his wife had gotten herself tangled in the wires too).

Kanade sat down at the piano while he stood off to the side, careful to avoid the wires like they were a hungry beast just waiting to devour him if he made the slightest misstep.

"It's not finished yet," she told him.

"I know." He smiled. "That's what's exciting about it, right? Waiting to see what happens next."

She smiled in return. "Yes, that's true."

As the notes poured out of the instrument like water from a pitcher, they immersed him in their flow.

In the story the song sought to tell him.

But, he knew the story already. It was simply reminding him.

Of the events that have past.

And the events that will come.

So long as she was by his side . . .

He was ready to face anything.

The more they stay the same.