He wondered how Miki was doing, if he�d made up with his parents and decided to go to college after all. He wondered if Miki missed him as much as he missed Miki. Chris considered calling the other, but decided he�d probably be ignored again. Lost in thought, he almost missed the voice shouting his name. Turning slightly to peer behind him, he smiled at the sight of his old friend Luke Evans running to catch up with him. The other man�s chin-length black hair swayed from side to side as he moved, blue-green eyes sparkling as he slid to a halt next to Chris.
"Glad... I saw... you." Luke panted, trying to catch his breath. "Been meaning... to call. Join me... for a drink?"
"Sure. I�d love to."
Chris followed the other man to a small coffee shop located down the street from where they had met. Luke had been a good friend of his in high school, one of the first to encourage him to turn from the school choir to rock music. The two settled into a booth facing each other and Chris waited patiently for his friend to speak.
"You talked to Danny recently?" Luke�s voice was bright and cheery, a dramatic contrast to the dark mood Chris had been in for the past few weeks. He found talking to his old friend to be greatly comforting, like a balm soothing his recent wounds.
"No, not since the band broke up. I�ve been busy and didn�t think to. Why do you ask?"
"He�s with Lewis now. Moved in a few days ago. They seem really happy together." Luke smiled brightly in his excitement at delivering the good news. Chris answered his friend�s smile, glad that things had finally worked out between his two former-bandmates.
"That�s good to hear. I�ll have to give him a call later and talk to him."
"Danny mentioned that you were with someone now. Mikael, right?"
Chris winced slightly at the mention of his ex-boyfriend. "Yeah, his name�s Mikael. We broke up a couple weeks ago."
Luke�s eyes reflected his instant concern. "Really? What happened?"
"We had a stupid argument. Both of us sort of lost our tempers and said some things we shouldn�t have. He left and hasn�t talked to me since."
"Ah. I�m sorry to hear that. Think there�s any hope of getting back together?"
Chris shrugged. "I don�t know. Things are probably better off this way."
"Okay. If you do get back together, let me know. I need to find a keyboardist somewhere. I could use a vocalist too, if you�re interested."
Chris stared at the other in surprise. "Yeah, I�d love too. It�s been a while since I had an offer."
"Really? That�s great! Let me know if you hear of any lone keyboardists. I already found a drummer, name�s Keith Haze. His uncle owns a dance club called �The Void' and he said he could get us in there as regulars if we turn out to be any good."
Chris nodded as he listened to his friend�s enthusiastic voice chatter at him. Despite the good news, he couldn�t fully shake the melancholy still gripping him.
Chris was surprised to find four people waiting outside the door to his apartment. He easily recognized Miki�s three friends and his mother, but wondered why they were visiting him. He hoped nothing bad had happened to Miki as he invited the group inside his apartment and waited for them to say whatever was on their minds. Teresa was the first to speak, coming directly to the point and leaving Chris slightly off balance from her words.
"Are you still in love with Miki?"
Chris paused for a moment to consider how to reply. He knew the answer immediately but was hesitant about what he should say. He opted for the direct approach. "Yes, I still love him." He was surprised to note that the words pained him to say less than he thought they would. He couldn�t deny the emotion he felt for the other man.
"Do you want to be with him?" The second question was asked by Bill, shimmering green hair slightly at odds with the serious expression on his face.
"Yes." He didn�t hesitate to answer. He had nothing to lose by telling the truth, he had already lost the only thing that mattered to him.
"Would you considered dating him again?" William added his own question.
"Yeah, if he could forgive me for being an idiot." Chris' curiosity overcame him and he voiced the question that had been burning in his mind. "Why are you asking me this?"
Miki�s mother stood and began pacing the length of the room. "Miki hasn�t been himself since he came home. At first I was happy that he decided to follow my advice and go to law school, but I realize now that I made a mistake by trying to force him onto a different path than the one he wanted." She was obviously not used to admitting she was wrong. Chris could sense that from the hesitant way she spoke and the nervous way she held herself.
"We�re all worried about him. He�s not eating much and has barely left his room since you two broke up. It�s like he doesn�t care about living anymore." Teresa�s voice was filled with concern as she spoke.
"We thought that maybe if you talked to him, tried to work things out, he�d feel better. Whatever problems you had, surely they can be worked out." Bill added, speaking for the group as they requested Chris' assistance to help their friend.
"Do you think he�d listen?" Chris asked, hope creeping into his voice.
"I know he will. Please? You�re the only one that can make my son happy again." Chris couldn�t refuse the older woman�s request and knew he�d be a fool if he did.
Miki stared at the wall of his room, not really seeing it or anything else. He felt drained of energy, too tired to move. His mind refused to settle on any coherent thoughts, and Miki let his consciousness drift aimlessly. The room was dark even though it was midday. He had drawn the curtains on his windows shut days ago, blocking out all natural light. He hadn�t felt like turning on one of the lamps scattered through his room, falling onto his bed fully-clothed as soon as he had returned from school. He couldn�t remember any of the day�s events but that didn�t bother him. He knew he had homework, but he didn�t feel like doing it. Attempting to do work would have been futile, he knew his mind would drift off before he started anything. His grades were slipping slightly from his lack of motivation, but he didn�t care. Nothing mattered to him anymore. He no longer cared what he did or what happened to him. It just wasn�t important.
He heard the door to his room creak open and saw a dark silhouette outlined in the light that poured into his room. "Go away." He muttered weakly, without any real force. He didn�t turn to face the intruder, still lying on his side facing the wall.
The door shut again and Miki thought he was alone again until a light was switched on next to his bed. Miki squinted as his eyes adjusted to the new brightness, rolling over to yell at the intruder for disturbing him. All words died on his lips as he recognized the person standing next to his bed. Concern was evident in the older man�s emerald gaze and Miki felt strangely numb at seeing the source of his recent depression.
"W-What are you doing here?" His voice sounded scratchy and hollow from disuse. He didn�t know what had prompted him to speak, the words seemed to pop out of his mouth of their own accord.
"I came to see you. I wanted to talk to you. Your friends and family are worried about you. I�m worried about you." Chris sat next to him on the bed and Miki stared at a point on the covers, not wanting to meet the other man�s gaze. He couldn�t stand seeing the other man so concerned about him. He drew his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them as he wrapped his arms around them, seeming to shrink into himself.
"Talk about what?" Miki didn�t know what to think about the sudden visit, unsure of his own feelings. He couldn�t quite decide if he was still angry or upset.
"First of all, I want to apologize for being a complete idiot. I had no right to say the things I did. What you do with your life is your own choice and I shouldn�t be trying to control it. I was out of line to tell you to quit the job you had found and go to college. You were just concerned about our well-being and trying to help. I realize now that I was being completely unreasonable about demanding that you blindly accept that I could take care of us without explaining it to you."
Miki turned to meet the other�s gaze and was surprised by the emotion he saw there. He didn�t doubt the sincerity of the other man�s words. "I was wrong in trying to force the issue about me getting a job. I should have listened to you. I should have trusted you."
Chris smiled slightly as he brushed his hand across Miki�s cheek. "I never told you about my parents did I?" Miki shook his head slightly in confusion, wondering what that had to do with their present conversation.
"My parents were both wealthy businessmen who ran their own electronics corporation. They died shortly after I turned eighteen. They had been overseas on a business trip and the plane crashed on their way back. Both had been single children, so I didn�t have any other relatives. They left everything they had to me. Let�s just say it�s a substantial amount. That�s why I kept insisting that you didn�t have to get a job. I don�t like having to rely on that all the time, which is why I didn�t tell you earlier. Every time I use the money, I keep thinking about what I lost for it. There�s a lot in the account, but I know it�s not going to last forever. I should have told you sooner and saved us this mess. I�m sorry."
�"hat�s okay. I understand." Chris' eyes had taken on a distant sadness as he spoke and Miki longed to make it go away. Hesitantly, he reached out to lightly entwine his fingers with Chris'. "What do we do now?"
Chris rubbed the back of Miki�s hand with his thumb. "Try again and hope things work out this time."
Miki smiled at the hopeful look Chris gave him. Unwinding from his previous position, he stretched out to lay with his head on the other man�s lap. "You�re not going to make me quit being a musician and go to school?"
"I promise." Chris' free hand combed gently through his hair, soothing him immensely with the simple motion. "You�re going to believe me when I say I have enough money to cover us through dry spells?"
"I promise." Miki whispered, shutting his eyes as he felt himself relax completely for the first time in several weeks.
"I found a job for us, by-the-way. An old friend of mine is starting up a band and needs a vocalist and keyboardist. The position�s still open if you want to take it."
"I'll take it, as long as you're with me."
"Always."
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