𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 | a3! act!-addict!-actors!

𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 | Tsumugi Tsukioka

"Hello, it's been a while,
There's no question mark in your voice, it's so you...
Like it's a rule,
Your spot is always by the door..."

You saw him again. 

On the poster of a play held by a theater troupe called the Mankai Company was the face of the man you had once loved. Tsumugi, in all his lovely glory, donned the costume of an angel that matched his personality. 

You suddenly remembered the night when you both decided to end things. You two had been together for two years. In a busy cafe in Tokyo, a waitress had approached you and asked if a nice gentleman could join you at your table for two, given that the cafe was full and there were no other empty seats aside from the one across from you, out of the kindness of your heart, you agreed.

The blue-haired man looked at you with a shy smile as he profusely apologized for his sudden arrival. But you told him it was no problem. Noticing the awkwardness written on your face, he introduced himself as Tsumugi and began to ask about the novel you were reading. It sparked a connection between the both of you that didn't end after you parted ways in front of that cafe.

"Can I... meet you here again tomorrow?" He asked with the sweetest voice you've ever heard from a male. With an enthusiastic nod, you agreed.

"I'll be available after 3 PM," You said, "Um, is that alright?"

"Of course! I'll see you tomorrow."

The memory had gone by so quickly, it felt like a fleeting dream. Like he had only existed in the fragile images of your mind, only to drift away the moment the sun rose in the sky, leaving you in the wake of emptiness and longing when you opened your eyes.

A small, broken smile leaves your lips. He had done it, hadn't he? You remembered him speaking about theater so religiously like it had been injected in his genes the moment he was born. Sure, teaching was something he didn't mind doing, but you could tell in those soft cobalt eyes of his that theater would always remain in his heart. 

"Make sure you eat well, because it'll all pass,
You'll be able to sleep well like you did before...
I really mean it from the bottom of my heart,
You deserve to be happy..."

He saw you again.

Stopping in front of the window of a bookstore, Tsumugi froze in his tracks when he noticed the soft shades of [hair color] framing delicate [eye color] eyes that looked too familiar to ignore.

Behind rose-rimmed glasses, your eyes scanned each page of the novel in your hand, your elegant fingers flipping through the pages with a gentle grace that he couldn't forget. A memory flashed in his mind. He remembered seeing you read the same way in the cafe he met you, treating books like they had lives, eyes wide with wonder and mystery.

Behind your favorite rose-colored glasses, you flipped through the pages of a book, written all in English, he presumed, he couldn't read it very well, but he knew you could, with intense concentration.

It felt like nothing much had changed since a year ago.

"Hey, Tsumugi, you alright?" Banri waved his hand in front of the adult's face, "You there, man?"

He snapped out of his trance, looking away from you before turning to the teenager next to him, "Oh! I'm sorry... were you saying something?"

"You suddenly stopped, are you alright?" Banri asked as he turned to follow where Tsumugi had been looking. Through the window of the old bookstore, there was no one. He raised a brow.