About Love - Ruki x Uruha - 1/1
Title: About Love
Chapters: 1/1
Author: ♡『rubymoon021』
Genre: Romance, AU
Warnings: man x man relationship >o> can't think of any more, haha.
Rating: G
Pairings: Ruki/Uruha
Summary: Uruha falls in love with Ruki at first sight, though Ruki doesn't find out until it's too late.
Note: Written for "Celebrate Uruki" at ruru_heart
Disclaimer: The GazettE members don’t belong to me.
【☆★】
"Wake up! Wake up already! Uruha!"
Uruha groaned and buried his face deeper into his hands. "No, I want to sleep..."
"You can do that in three hours! You have to wake up and greet him!"
"Who?" All this frantic shouting was waking him up already. With another groan, Uruha lifted his head up from the kitchen counter and looked up at his mom.
"The boy who's renting the room upstairs! Oh look, there he is!"
Uruha looked in the direction his mom pointed, but it took him a while to realize which one was the one walking in through the door. He still felt sleepy, and now on top of that, he was starting to feel dizzy. That's what lack of sleep does.. or was it? "Hello!" the guy said cheerfully. There was a strange accent in his voice, but Uruha didn't pay much attention to that.
Maybe it was because Uruha wasn't completely awake, but the guy in front of him seemed to glow as he grinned and extended his hand forward. "I'm Ruki. Nice to meet you." Uruha half-heartedly took Ruki's hand in his hand and shook it. Hi, "I'm.. uh... er..." His mom cut in as they let go of their handshake, extending her hand at Ruki. "That's my son, Uruha. It's very nice to meet you as well Ruki."
"I'll show you to your room" she continued and let go of Ruki's hand and reached for the suitcase. Uruha seemed to instantly gain back all his consciousness. "No, that's fine mom, I'll help him get upstairs!" His mom looked taken aback by the sudden eagerness, but she nodded. Uruha slid off his chair and grabbed one of the gold suitcases and dragged it with him in the direction of the staircase. "Here, its this way" he muttered without looking at Ruki.
Uruha led the way up the narrow staircase, managing to bump the suitcase into the wall a couple of times, making it echo loudly. He blushed slightly at being so clumsy, but Ruki didn't seem to notice. He walked into the room Ruki would be staying at and leaned the suitcase against the wall. "This is a lovely view" Ruki said as he walked over to the window, admiring the park across the street. "Yeah.. it's lovely indeed" Uruha responded, though he wasn't referring to the park.
He'd seen it many times, it was normal for him. Instead, he was looking at Ruki, though a moment later he looked back down as Ruki turned around. "I'll just leave you alone to get settled in" Uruha said and walked out of the room, closing it quietly behind him. His heart was beating a bit faster than it should've been, but he didn't have time to let that fact sink in. "Uruha!" his mom called loudly, and Uruha ran down the stairs, hoping his face wasn't as red as he thought it would be.
【☆★】
"It's great here, you should really come visit. Oh?" Holding up the phone by his ear, Ruki asked "Hey Uruha, what's our address?" Uruha paused and looked up from the bowl of ramen he was eating. "It's 221-0045, Kanaga--" Ruki looked at him confusedly. "Wouldn't an address start with the street?" Uruha shook his head, his hand halfway in the air, holding chopsticks, strands of noodles hanging off from it. "No, maybe thats how you write them in America, but not here."
"Oh okay then. Can you write it down for me?" Uruha looked around for a piece of paper, but didn't see any. He shoved the noodles into his mouth and placed the chopsticks aside and found a pen. He wrote the address on the palm of his hand quickly and held it up to Ruki's face.
"Okay, thanks" Ruki said with a grin and started reading the address aloud into the phone. "Wait, wait, stop moving your hand" he said and grabbed Uruha's wrist to make his hand stay still. Uruha looked up at Ruki, smirking at the concentrated expression on his face. He continued to eat the ramen, using his other hand to hold the chopsticks.
Since Uruha was expecting Ruki to hold his hand up, he didn't realize it when Ruki let go of the grip. His hand knocked down against the kitchen table's hard surface and Uruha winced. "Owww" he muttered and rubbed the part that had hit the table. "Hey, I have to go now. Bye!" Ruki spoke into the phone quickly and hung up. "Are you okay?" he asked Uruha.
Uruha nodded but the expression in his face must have said something else. Ruki opened the refrigerator and took out some ice, wrapping it in a towel, and placed it on Uruha's hand. "It'll help" he said and sat down across Uruha. "You should be more... what's that word..."
"Careful?" Uruha asked. Ruki still looked puzzled, so Uruha said it again, but in English. "Oh yeah, that's it. Be more careful next time." Uruha nodded and looked down. "So, how long did you live in America?" he asked. "About five years. Not a long time now that I think about it." Uruha picked up the chopsticks again and stuck it back in the bowl, but didn't feel like eating anymore.
"Long enough to make you forget your Japanese" Uruha noted. He looked up and grinned at Ruki. "And now you have an accent too!" Ruki furrowed his brow and looked questioningly at Uruha. "Really? Do I sound like a foreigner?" Shrugging, Uruha adjusted the ice pack, since it had started to melt. "You certainly don't sound Japanese when you talk. It sounds kinda strange."
Noticing the look on Ruki's face, Uruha added "Not a bad kind of strange, just a different strange." "Well you certainly don't sound like an American when you speak English then" Ruki responded. "Oh, really?" Uruha asked in English. "Really" Ruki said with a smirk. Uruha laughed and started to twirl the chopsticks between his fingers. "Neither do you."
Ruki was about to retort to the statement when he realized he probably didn't sound like a native english speaker anyway. "Touche" he said and stood up to grab a glass. "Huh?" Uruha stopped twirling the sticks between his fingers. "What does that mean?" Ruki poured some water into the glass and took a sip, returning to his seat. "It's a French word. I guess it's used to acknowledge the fact that you made a good statement."
"Oh, you speak French?" Ruki nodded. "Yeah, it hasn't been much use though. Everyone I know learned Spanish, including my girlfriend." Uruha's eyes widened a bit, and he smiled nervously. "O--oh! Your girlfriend. I see." He should've realized someone like Ruki would already be taken. "What does she look like?" he asked curiously.
Ruki thought for a moment, considering the best ways to describe her when he spotted the pile of magazines on the table. He opened one and flipped through the pages until he came across a page piled with pictures. "She's got a nose like that" Ruki said, pointing to a picture. "Face like this" he said, flipping the page and pointing at another picture. "The exact same eyes" he added, pointing to the bottom of a page at a girl.
"Oh, and hair like this!" he turned the magazine around to let it face Uruha. The girl had a mixture of blond and brown hair, full of layers and the ends flared out. "She must be beautiful" Uruha said, hiding the tone of regret in his voice. "She is. It was her I was talking to on the phone" Ruki said. "She wanted to send me a letter I guess."
Uruha nodded and poked at the remaining ramen in the bowl with his chopsticks. "What happened, not hungry anymore?" Ruki asked. "No, just... full" Uruha answered. Ruki laughed and reached across the table to poke at the side of Uruha's stomach. "No way! You're too thin, you need to eat more." Uruha jumped up and moved sideways in his seat to avoid being poked again and shook his head. He pushed the bowl away from himself. "It's fine."
"You sure? You haven't even finished half of it" Ruki said and picked up some of the noodles, reaching across the table. "You know you want to eat it" he said playfully and held it up in front of Uruha's mouth. Uruha giggled and pushed Ruki's hand aside. "No thanks, you don't need to feed me."
"Come on" Ruki said and waved the food slowly in front of Uruha's face. Uruha gave him a blank look before opening his mouth and slurping the noodles into his mouth. "I ate it! Happy now?" Ruki grinned and nodded, putting the chopsticks down. He yawned as he reached for the glass of water. "What time is it?"
"It's..." Uruha looked at the clock on the wall, "almost midnight." Ruki finished the glass of water and put it back down on the table. "I should get some sleep. Going to start working tomorrow at this cafe. The owner's from Spain, but he speaks some English, so I'm glad." He stood up and pushed the chair back in. "Goodnight, Uruha."
"Goodnight" Uruha said as he watched Ruki walk out of the kitchen. He sat staring at the table until he saw the magazine, still open to the page of the girl he talked about. "Hair like that, huh..." he looked at the picture carefully, then tore out the page and put it in his pocket. He turned off the lights in the kitchen as he walked out, his hand holding on to the page tightly.
【☆★】
"Hey, someone just came in and asked for you." Ruki looked up at his boss. "Who would come ask for me?" The boss shrugged as he set down a tray. Ruki walked out from behind the counter to the main room of the cafe, where he found Uruha sitting. "Uruha?" he asked astoundedly. Uruha grinned and handed him a package. "This came for you today, so I thought I should bring it over while seeing your work."
"Your hair!" Ruki said, and though he grabbed the parcel, his eyes were still fixed on Uruha's hair, which was bleached and dyed to a medium shade of blonde, cut and styled just like the picture in the magazine. "Oh, I just felt the need for a little change..." Uruha muttered shyly. "It looks nice" Ruki said and took the seat next to him.
"Shouldn't you be working instead of chatting with me?" Uruha asked jokingly. "Oh, its almost time for my break. And thanks for bringing this over. I've been waiting for it, didn't think it would take more than a week. But hey, look, it arrives after a month." Ruki tore off the paper it was wrapped in and opened the box, containing a letter and another smaller box. Ruki's expression of happiness changed to surprise as he picked up the smaller box. He opened it carefully, but realizing what was inside, he gritted his teeth and shoved it into his pocket.
His expression clearly showed he didn't want to read the letter, but he opened up the folded piece of paper. Uruha watched Ruki as he read it. Ruki reached the end, and he held the letter so tightly in his hand that his knuckles were starting to turn white. Without saying anything, he tore up the paper into pieces and threw it back into the box.
Without saying anything to Uruha, he walked back to the counter. Uruha, not knowing what to do, stared at the pieces of paper. After making sure Ruki wasn't looking, he gathered up the pieces and threw the box into a nearby trashcan. He walked out of the cafe and ran down the street until he reached their apartment building. He stopped and took in quick breaths, tired from the short burst of running.
He quickly ran upstairs, evading his mom as she yelled at him about dying his hair, and reached his own room. Uruha locked the door and started arranging the pieces of the letter together, taping the backs together until the letter was complete. Looking at the unfamiliar writing, he grabbed a dictionary and started looking up the words.
【☆★】
"Is that boy really leaving now?" Uruha's mom asked. Uruha nodded in response. "He said he can't stay here anymore..." She turned the stove on as she placed a frying pan on it. "You know where he works, right? Go ask him to join us for dinner tonight, seeing as he's leaving." Uruha shrugged and put his head down on the table. "Uruha" she said sternly, causing Uruha to sit up again. "He's a nice boy, and I want him to at least leave with a proper goodbye."
Uruha grunted and stood up lazily. He walked out of his house and up the streets, past the ancient looking buildings and the narrow, crowded streets. After a while, he reached the newer part of town, where the cafe was. He entered the cafe, looking around the cafe, trying to spot him. "Hey, Uruha" said a familiar voice, and Ruki walked out from a door in the back.
"My mom wanted to invite you to dinner with us tonight. Since it's pretty much your last day and..." Uruha's voice trailed off, because he noticed Ruki's hand reaching up to his hair, which was dyed back to the black. "Oh, she forced me to dye it back to the original color" he said, while Ruki ran his hand through Uruha's hair and smiled. "I love it, it suits you much better."
Ruki bit on his lip and looked at Uruha apologetically. "But I don't think I can join you two tonight though. I have a lot of work to do, and tomorrow I'll have to wake up early to catch my plane." Uruha looked down and they both stayed quiet for a few seconds. "I think I'll get back to helping the boss then. See you later."
Ruki turned and walked around when Uruha called out "Hey, Ruki, what do these words mean?" He pulled out a piece of paper and held it up to Ruki. Ruki looked at the English words and read it aloud in Japanese. "What's it for?" Uruha put it back into his pocket. "Oh, nothing. English song. Wanted to know the meaning of it. Well, bye then" he said and walked out of the cafe.
On the way back home, he thought about the letter he had perfectly memorized in his mind. It took two weeks to finally find all the words and put it together, but Uruha finally knew what the letter said. The words played over and over in his head, no matter how much he didn't want to hear it.
Ruki, I am in Paris now. Forgive me for writing this letter to you all of a sudden. I've thought about us for a long time... and finally figured out something. I've heard many of your dreams, but those are yours, not mine. Please don't be mad at me for not telling you earlier. But try to understand, I've made this decision by myself and it's for myself. I'm really sorry. I loved the time we spent together, but I don't think this can continue. I wish you happiness.
【☆★】
Ruki slammed the trunk door of the cab after fitting all three of his suitcases inside. Uruha had been standing inside, watching through the window, and decided to come outside. "Will you ever come back?" Uruha asked doubtfully. "I hope I'll be back soon. I have to come back to finish school here anyway."
"Goodluck" Uruha said, and before Ruki could respond, he wrapped Ruki in a hug. Ruki grinned and returned the hug. "Goodbye" said Ruki as he finally let go of the other. "Goodbye" Uruha said in English, smiling softly. "Au revoir" Ruki said as he stepped into the cab. "Te quiero."
"Huh?" Ruki looked out of the car at Uruha. "It's Spanish. For goodbye." Ruki grinned as he closed the cab's door and rolled down the window. "Te quiero" he said as he waved out the window. He shouted "Te quiero!" again a few more times as the cab drove on further and further.
Uruha stood rooted to the same spot, as he mouthed "Te quiero". As he blinked, a single teardrop came rolling down his cheek. But just like the cab carrying Ruki inside, the tear disappeared quickly, almost as if it never existed.
【☆★】
One year later.
"Hey, look who's returned!" Ruki gave his old boss a hug as he greeted him again. "It's been a long time since I last saw you!" Ruki nodded as he was led inside the familiar looking cafe. "Yeah, it's been a while. Looks like the cafe's doing pretty well, huh?" It was crowded and full of chatter. "And most of them are regulars, too!" exclaimed the boss as he handed Ruki a glass of wine.
Two foreign looking boys stood up as they finished their drinks and headed for the exit. The boss nodded in their direction as he told Ruki "Those two are exchange students from Spain, they come here all the time as well. But they are leaving tomorrow." Ruki nodded as he heard that, and grinned at the students as they came nearby. "Hey, te quiero!" The two gave him a strange look and started laughing. "Are you kidding?" one of them asked.
"Te quiero? I meant goodbye, sorry" Ruki said, wondering why they were laughing. The boss laughed along as the two boys left, patting Ruki on the back. "Oh, no, I think you've got that confused. 'Te quiero' means 'I love you'."
Ruki's eyes widened as he thought back to when he left, when Uruha said those exact words to him. Did he really mean... "Are you sure?" he asked his boss. "Definitely" he replied and walked over to a group of customers calling him over. Ruki didn't notice, but all he could feel was the weakness in his knees, as if he was about to collapse any moment.
The wineglass he was holding slipped out of his grasp and fell on the ground with a loud crash. The people standing around Ruki fell silent and looked at him. He looked down at the pile of glass shards on the floor and back up at the boss. "I'm sorry about this, but I have to go."
He pushed the door open and ran out, causing more people to stare at him. As he ran down to the older part of the town where Uruha's apartment used to be though, he came to a halt as his hand automatically came up to cover his mouth.
Where there used to be streets full of buildings, now only ruins remained. The whole place had been demolished. Even in the darkness of the night, he could see there were no buildings left around the entire place. The only recognizable place in the midst of all the bricks, sticks, and stones, were the trees from the park.
Ruki's legs felt as heavy as lead weights, though they were light as a feather if compared to his heart. He felt as if he couldn't breathe. He started to drag himself over to the remains of the park, but stopped when he noticed something else that was familiar. The doorsteps to the old apartment still remained, unbroken, exactly where it was a year ago, right across the park.
He cautiously walked over, being careful not to trip over the bricks. When he reached the doorsteps, he sat down as he studied the remains around him. Finally he realized something had been poking against his ribs. As he looked down, he saw it was the small box poking out of his pocket. The same one he had received in a package a year ago.
It took him a while to open it. The hinge of the container was stuck, but soon he managed to get it open. Ruki pulled out a small object from inside; a silver ring. It was the one he gave to his girlfriend as a three year anniversary gift. His fingers closed around the ring, and as he closed his eyes, he could imagine Uruha standing in front of him.
He could almost hear the wind whisper into his ear, the same words that Uruha said when Ruki was leaving. Ruki's grip loosened, and the ring fell onto the remains of the pavement. Not knowing how long he had been sitting there, he finally stood up. He started to walk back in the direction of the cafe, his heart still heavy. The words that escaped his lips were drowned in the blowing wind, but Ruki could still hear it inside his head.
Te quiero.
【☆★】
♔Note: Since I'm not much of a creative person, I like stealing the plotlines from movies and dramas XD This one was stolen from a movie called About Love, the Shanghai version. Of course, I didn't follow it exactly word to word xDD I changed alot of things in it. Go watch the movie though, its cute ^-^
Chapters: 1/1
Author: ♡『rubymoon021』
Genre: Romance, AU
Warnings: man x man relationship >o> can't think of any more, haha.
Rating: G
Pairings: Ruki/Uruha
Summary: Uruha falls in love with Ruki at first sight, though Ruki doesn't find out until it's too late.
Note: Written for "Celebrate Uruki" at ruru_heart
Disclaimer: The GazettE members don’t belong to me.
【☆★】
"Wake up! Wake up already! Uruha!"
Uruha groaned and buried his face deeper into his hands. "No, I want to sleep..."
"You can do that in three hours! You have to wake up and greet him!"
"Who?" All this frantic shouting was waking him up already. With another groan, Uruha lifted his head up from the kitchen counter and looked up at his mom.
"The boy who's renting the room upstairs! Oh look, there he is!"
Uruha looked in the direction his mom pointed, but it took him a while to realize which one was the one walking in through the door. He still felt sleepy, and now on top of that, he was starting to feel dizzy. That's what lack of sleep does.. or was it? "Hello!" the guy said cheerfully. There was a strange accent in his voice, but Uruha didn't pay much attention to that.
Maybe it was because Uruha wasn't completely awake, but the guy in front of him seemed to glow as he grinned and extended his hand forward. "I'm Ruki. Nice to meet you." Uruha half-heartedly took Ruki's hand in his hand and shook it. Hi, "I'm.. uh... er..." His mom cut in as they let go of their handshake, extending her hand at Ruki. "That's my son, Uruha. It's very nice to meet you as well Ruki."
"I'll show you to your room" she continued and let go of Ruki's hand and reached for the suitcase. Uruha seemed to instantly gain back all his consciousness. "No, that's fine mom, I'll help him get upstairs!" His mom looked taken aback by the sudden eagerness, but she nodded. Uruha slid off his chair and grabbed one of the gold suitcases and dragged it with him in the direction of the staircase. "Here, its this way" he muttered without looking at Ruki.
Uruha led the way up the narrow staircase, managing to bump the suitcase into the wall a couple of times, making it echo loudly. He blushed slightly at being so clumsy, but Ruki didn't seem to notice. He walked into the room Ruki would be staying at and leaned the suitcase against the wall. "This is a lovely view" Ruki said as he walked over to the window, admiring the park across the street. "Yeah.. it's lovely indeed" Uruha responded, though he wasn't referring to the park.
He'd seen it many times, it was normal for him. Instead, he was looking at Ruki, though a moment later he looked back down as Ruki turned around. "I'll just leave you alone to get settled in" Uruha said and walked out of the room, closing it quietly behind him. His heart was beating a bit faster than it should've been, but he didn't have time to let that fact sink in. "Uruha!" his mom called loudly, and Uruha ran down the stairs, hoping his face wasn't as red as he thought it would be.
【☆★】
"It's great here, you should really come visit. Oh?" Holding up the phone by his ear, Ruki asked "Hey Uruha, what's our address?" Uruha paused and looked up from the bowl of ramen he was eating. "It's 221-0045, Kanaga--" Ruki looked at him confusedly. "Wouldn't an address start with the street?" Uruha shook his head, his hand halfway in the air, holding chopsticks, strands of noodles hanging off from it. "No, maybe thats how you write them in America, but not here."
"Oh okay then. Can you write it down for me?" Uruha looked around for a piece of paper, but didn't see any. He shoved the noodles into his mouth and placed the chopsticks aside and found a pen. He wrote the address on the palm of his hand quickly and held it up to Ruki's face.
"Okay, thanks" Ruki said with a grin and started reading the address aloud into the phone. "Wait, wait, stop moving your hand" he said and grabbed Uruha's wrist to make his hand stay still. Uruha looked up at Ruki, smirking at the concentrated expression on his face. He continued to eat the ramen, using his other hand to hold the chopsticks.
Since Uruha was expecting Ruki to hold his hand up, he didn't realize it when Ruki let go of the grip. His hand knocked down against the kitchen table's hard surface and Uruha winced. "Owww" he muttered and rubbed the part that had hit the table. "Hey, I have to go now. Bye!" Ruki spoke into the phone quickly and hung up. "Are you okay?" he asked Uruha.
Uruha nodded but the expression in his face must have said something else. Ruki opened the refrigerator and took out some ice, wrapping it in a towel, and placed it on Uruha's hand. "It'll help" he said and sat down across Uruha. "You should be more... what's that word..."
"Careful?" Uruha asked. Ruki still looked puzzled, so Uruha said it again, but in English. "Oh yeah, that's it. Be more careful next time." Uruha nodded and looked down. "So, how long did you live in America?" he asked. "About five years. Not a long time now that I think about it." Uruha picked up the chopsticks again and stuck it back in the bowl, but didn't feel like eating anymore.
"Long enough to make you forget your Japanese" Uruha noted. He looked up and grinned at Ruki. "And now you have an accent too!" Ruki furrowed his brow and looked questioningly at Uruha. "Really? Do I sound like a foreigner?" Shrugging, Uruha adjusted the ice pack, since it had started to melt. "You certainly don't sound Japanese when you talk. It sounds kinda strange."
Noticing the look on Ruki's face, Uruha added "Not a bad kind of strange, just a different strange." "Well you certainly don't sound like an American when you speak English then" Ruki responded. "Oh, really?" Uruha asked in English. "Really" Ruki said with a smirk. Uruha laughed and started to twirl the chopsticks between his fingers. "Neither do you."
Ruki was about to retort to the statement when he realized he probably didn't sound like a native english speaker anyway. "Touche" he said and stood up to grab a glass. "Huh?" Uruha stopped twirling the sticks between his fingers. "What does that mean?" Ruki poured some water into the glass and took a sip, returning to his seat. "It's a French word. I guess it's used to acknowledge the fact that you made a good statement."
"Oh, you speak French?" Ruki nodded. "Yeah, it hasn't been much use though. Everyone I know learned Spanish, including my girlfriend." Uruha's eyes widened a bit, and he smiled nervously. "O--oh! Your girlfriend. I see." He should've realized someone like Ruki would already be taken. "What does she look like?" he asked curiously.
Ruki thought for a moment, considering the best ways to describe her when he spotted the pile of magazines on the table. He opened one and flipped through the pages until he came across a page piled with pictures. "She's got a nose like that" Ruki said, pointing to a picture. "Face like this" he said, flipping the page and pointing at another picture. "The exact same eyes" he added, pointing to the bottom of a page at a girl.
"Oh, and hair like this!" he turned the magazine around to let it face Uruha. The girl had a mixture of blond and brown hair, full of layers and the ends flared out. "She must be beautiful" Uruha said, hiding the tone of regret in his voice. "She is. It was her I was talking to on the phone" Ruki said. "She wanted to send me a letter I guess."
Uruha nodded and poked at the remaining ramen in the bowl with his chopsticks. "What happened, not hungry anymore?" Ruki asked. "No, just... full" Uruha answered. Ruki laughed and reached across the table to poke at the side of Uruha's stomach. "No way! You're too thin, you need to eat more." Uruha jumped up and moved sideways in his seat to avoid being poked again and shook his head. He pushed the bowl away from himself. "It's fine."
"You sure? You haven't even finished half of it" Ruki said and picked up some of the noodles, reaching across the table. "You know you want to eat it" he said playfully and held it up in front of Uruha's mouth. Uruha giggled and pushed Ruki's hand aside. "No thanks, you don't need to feed me."
"Come on" Ruki said and waved the food slowly in front of Uruha's face. Uruha gave him a blank look before opening his mouth and slurping the noodles into his mouth. "I ate it! Happy now?" Ruki grinned and nodded, putting the chopsticks down. He yawned as he reached for the glass of water. "What time is it?"
"It's..." Uruha looked at the clock on the wall, "almost midnight." Ruki finished the glass of water and put it back down on the table. "I should get some sleep. Going to start working tomorrow at this cafe. The owner's from Spain, but he speaks some English, so I'm glad." He stood up and pushed the chair back in. "Goodnight, Uruha."
"Goodnight" Uruha said as he watched Ruki walk out of the kitchen. He sat staring at the table until he saw the magazine, still open to the page of the girl he talked about. "Hair like that, huh..." he looked at the picture carefully, then tore out the page and put it in his pocket. He turned off the lights in the kitchen as he walked out, his hand holding on to the page tightly.
【☆★】
"Hey, someone just came in and asked for you." Ruki looked up at his boss. "Who would come ask for me?" The boss shrugged as he set down a tray. Ruki walked out from behind the counter to the main room of the cafe, where he found Uruha sitting. "Uruha?" he asked astoundedly. Uruha grinned and handed him a package. "This came for you today, so I thought I should bring it over while seeing your work."
"Your hair!" Ruki said, and though he grabbed the parcel, his eyes were still fixed on Uruha's hair, which was bleached and dyed to a medium shade of blonde, cut and styled just like the picture in the magazine. "Oh, I just felt the need for a little change..." Uruha muttered shyly. "It looks nice" Ruki said and took the seat next to him.
"Shouldn't you be working instead of chatting with me?" Uruha asked jokingly. "Oh, its almost time for my break. And thanks for bringing this over. I've been waiting for it, didn't think it would take more than a week. But hey, look, it arrives after a month." Ruki tore off the paper it was wrapped in and opened the box, containing a letter and another smaller box. Ruki's expression of happiness changed to surprise as he picked up the smaller box. He opened it carefully, but realizing what was inside, he gritted his teeth and shoved it into his pocket.
His expression clearly showed he didn't want to read the letter, but he opened up the folded piece of paper. Uruha watched Ruki as he read it. Ruki reached the end, and he held the letter so tightly in his hand that his knuckles were starting to turn white. Without saying anything, he tore up the paper into pieces and threw it back into the box.
Without saying anything to Uruha, he walked back to the counter. Uruha, not knowing what to do, stared at the pieces of paper. After making sure Ruki wasn't looking, he gathered up the pieces and threw the box into a nearby trashcan. He walked out of the cafe and ran down the street until he reached their apartment building. He stopped and took in quick breaths, tired from the short burst of running.
He quickly ran upstairs, evading his mom as she yelled at him about dying his hair, and reached his own room. Uruha locked the door and started arranging the pieces of the letter together, taping the backs together until the letter was complete. Looking at the unfamiliar writing, he grabbed a dictionary and started looking up the words.
【☆★】
"Is that boy really leaving now?" Uruha's mom asked. Uruha nodded in response. "He said he can't stay here anymore..." She turned the stove on as she placed a frying pan on it. "You know where he works, right? Go ask him to join us for dinner tonight, seeing as he's leaving." Uruha shrugged and put his head down on the table. "Uruha" she said sternly, causing Uruha to sit up again. "He's a nice boy, and I want him to at least leave with a proper goodbye."
Uruha grunted and stood up lazily. He walked out of his house and up the streets, past the ancient looking buildings and the narrow, crowded streets. After a while, he reached the newer part of town, where the cafe was. He entered the cafe, looking around the cafe, trying to spot him. "Hey, Uruha" said a familiar voice, and Ruki walked out from a door in the back.
"My mom wanted to invite you to dinner with us tonight. Since it's pretty much your last day and..." Uruha's voice trailed off, because he noticed Ruki's hand reaching up to his hair, which was dyed back to the black. "Oh, she forced me to dye it back to the original color" he said, while Ruki ran his hand through Uruha's hair and smiled. "I love it, it suits you much better."
Ruki bit on his lip and looked at Uruha apologetically. "But I don't think I can join you two tonight though. I have a lot of work to do, and tomorrow I'll have to wake up early to catch my plane." Uruha looked down and they both stayed quiet for a few seconds. "I think I'll get back to helping the boss then. See you later."
Ruki turned and walked around when Uruha called out "Hey, Ruki, what do these words mean?" He pulled out a piece of paper and held it up to Ruki. Ruki looked at the English words and read it aloud in Japanese. "What's it for?" Uruha put it back into his pocket. "Oh, nothing. English song. Wanted to know the meaning of it. Well, bye then" he said and walked out of the cafe.
On the way back home, he thought about the letter he had perfectly memorized in his mind. It took two weeks to finally find all the words and put it together, but Uruha finally knew what the letter said. The words played over and over in his head, no matter how much he didn't want to hear it.
Ruki, I am in Paris now. Forgive me for writing this letter to you all of a sudden. I've thought about us for a long time... and finally figured out something. I've heard many of your dreams, but those are yours, not mine. Please don't be mad at me for not telling you earlier. But try to understand, I've made this decision by myself and it's for myself. I'm really sorry. I loved the time we spent together, but I don't think this can continue. I wish you happiness.
【☆★】
Ruki slammed the trunk door of the cab after fitting all three of his suitcases inside. Uruha had been standing inside, watching through the window, and decided to come outside. "Will you ever come back?" Uruha asked doubtfully. "I hope I'll be back soon. I have to come back to finish school here anyway."
"Goodluck" Uruha said, and before Ruki could respond, he wrapped Ruki in a hug. Ruki grinned and returned the hug. "Goodbye" said Ruki as he finally let go of the other. "Goodbye" Uruha said in English, smiling softly. "Au revoir" Ruki said as he stepped into the cab. "Te quiero."
"Huh?" Ruki looked out of the car at Uruha. "It's Spanish. For goodbye." Ruki grinned as he closed the cab's door and rolled down the window. "Te quiero" he said as he waved out the window. He shouted "Te quiero!" again a few more times as the cab drove on further and further.
Uruha stood rooted to the same spot, as he mouthed "Te quiero". As he blinked, a single teardrop came rolling down his cheek. But just like the cab carrying Ruki inside, the tear disappeared quickly, almost as if it never existed.
【☆★】
One year later.
"Hey, look who's returned!" Ruki gave his old boss a hug as he greeted him again. "It's been a long time since I last saw you!" Ruki nodded as he was led inside the familiar looking cafe. "Yeah, it's been a while. Looks like the cafe's doing pretty well, huh?" It was crowded and full of chatter. "And most of them are regulars, too!" exclaimed the boss as he handed Ruki a glass of wine.
Two foreign looking boys stood up as they finished their drinks and headed for the exit. The boss nodded in their direction as he told Ruki "Those two are exchange students from Spain, they come here all the time as well. But they are leaving tomorrow." Ruki nodded as he heard that, and grinned at the students as they came nearby. "Hey, te quiero!" The two gave him a strange look and started laughing. "Are you kidding?" one of them asked.
"Te quiero? I meant goodbye, sorry" Ruki said, wondering why they were laughing. The boss laughed along as the two boys left, patting Ruki on the back. "Oh, no, I think you've got that confused. 'Te quiero' means 'I love you'."
Ruki's eyes widened as he thought back to when he left, when Uruha said those exact words to him. Did he really mean... "Are you sure?" he asked his boss. "Definitely" he replied and walked over to a group of customers calling him over. Ruki didn't notice, but all he could feel was the weakness in his knees, as if he was about to collapse any moment.
The wineglass he was holding slipped out of his grasp and fell on the ground with a loud crash. The people standing around Ruki fell silent and looked at him. He looked down at the pile of glass shards on the floor and back up at the boss. "I'm sorry about this, but I have to go."
He pushed the door open and ran out, causing more people to stare at him. As he ran down to the older part of the town where Uruha's apartment used to be though, he came to a halt as his hand automatically came up to cover his mouth.
Where there used to be streets full of buildings, now only ruins remained. The whole place had been demolished. Even in the darkness of the night, he could see there were no buildings left around the entire place. The only recognizable place in the midst of all the bricks, sticks, and stones, were the trees from the park.
Ruki's legs felt as heavy as lead weights, though they were light as a feather if compared to his heart. He felt as if he couldn't breathe. He started to drag himself over to the remains of the park, but stopped when he noticed something else that was familiar. The doorsteps to the old apartment still remained, unbroken, exactly where it was a year ago, right across the park.
He cautiously walked over, being careful not to trip over the bricks. When he reached the doorsteps, he sat down as he studied the remains around him. Finally he realized something had been poking against his ribs. As he looked down, he saw it was the small box poking out of his pocket. The same one he had received in a package a year ago.
It took him a while to open it. The hinge of the container was stuck, but soon he managed to get it open. Ruki pulled out a small object from inside; a silver ring. It was the one he gave to his girlfriend as a three year anniversary gift. His fingers closed around the ring, and as he closed his eyes, he could imagine Uruha standing in front of him.
He could almost hear the wind whisper into his ear, the same words that Uruha said when Ruki was leaving. Ruki's grip loosened, and the ring fell onto the remains of the pavement. Not knowing how long he had been sitting there, he finally stood up. He started to walk back in the direction of the cafe, his heart still heavy. The words that escaped his lips were drowned in the blowing wind, but Ruki could still hear it inside his head.
Te quiero.
【☆★】
♔Note: Since I'm not much of a creative person, I like stealing the plotlines from movies and dramas XD This one was stolen from a movie called About Love, the Shanghai version. Of course, I didn't follow it exactly word to word xDD I changed alot of things in it. Go watch the movie though, its cute ^-^