Arukōru (Alcohol) Bar (BL)

Rikiya (part 7/7)

"Hm?"

"From...almost killing him..."

"...of course. I think you would have stopped by yourself eventually anyway."

"...I hope so."

"...how's your mom been? Sorry I haven't checked on her much before."

"It's alright. She's been alright. Sometimes I visit her on my days off but we've been doing our own things usually."

"I see..."

"And your parents...?"

"Well... They only send quick messages on holidays, not really anything to start a conversation per se... I just respond in the same manner and we don't talk again until the next holiday."

"I'm sorry..."

"They've been like that my whole life, I'm used to it. I'm a bit jealous of your relationship with your mom."

"I'm sure my mom would like it if you visited."

"Should I?"

"Let's go when things calm down."

"Ugh... I have to repair the bar..."

"We'll get it done in time."

"...I'm worried. What if I have bad feelings towards my bar now...?"

I heard Anzai turn towards me. I slowly turned to face him as well.

"You'll be alright. You're a strong person, Narihira. I'll always be there to help you along the way as well."

"Thanks...Thanks for always being by my side. For always being such a good friend. For protecting me when I'm in danger... I really, really appreciate it." Uh oh... I'm getting teary eyed now.

"Of course. Thank you for being my friend all these years. I hope we can stay together as great friends forever."

I nodded. Then I felt his hand on my cheek as he wiped away a tear. His hand lingered as we stared at each other for a long moment. Then he suddenly turned away.

"Good night..." He said.

"Good night..." I laid on my back. I almost thought...something was going to happen there... No way, right? We'd always just be friends...and I should be satisfied with that...

I thought I'd have nightmares, but I vaguely remembered that my dreams were filled with Anzai saving the day. There was no room for nightmares at all. When I woke up the next morning, Anzai was nowhere to be found. I got up to search for him and found him in the kitchen.

"You're up," he said, cutely wearing a plain black apron. "Want some pancakes?"

"Yes, please," I beamed. What a wonderful sight to wake up to...

We sat at the dining table and ate. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I couldn't stop shoveling food into my mouth. When I finally had my fill, Anzai handed me my phone I had left on the kitchen counter.

"I didn't mean to look, but Rikiya has been calling and messaging you a lot. Shukishi and Atsutane have also reached out to both of us."

I carefully took my phone and scrolled through the list of notifications. "We'll have to explain what happened to the bar, huh...?"

"We can't open again today, that's for sure. We'll have to put a notice on the door and work towards getting it repaired."

"You're right... Should we try to get everyone together to tell them what happened? I at least need to talk to Rikiya. I don't really want to tell the same story over and over though."