Train Station

Neo made his way to the bar around the train station to join in on the celebration. Neo walked in, ordered his first drink, took a sip of it and joined up with the others.

Thump. Pause... Thump thump thump. Yukino used her willpower to keep from cringing or falling over on the way with the grunts and her beloved. Humanity got a grand victory, no need to make anyone worry. Not yet, and preferably, not ever. She wanted to believe it'd just pass. These palpitations would just pass... if she sat her pretty little tush down and stopped concerning herself with fighting against eldritch abominations. When questioned if she was okay, the queen responded with no issue. Completely fine, and added rather... menacing comments about enjoying the fear of a Reaper like a warring sadist. Yep, that definitely convinced them she was fine. If she was still preaching death to Link Joker, there was no problem.

Bashiro may be an idiot, but he's not a complete idiot. He couldn't guess at her heart problems, but knew she didn't need any further stress after anything before. "Back off the queen, boys. She's taken by the Champ. That means he's got proof that he can beat your ass." The thug stated, getting some laughs, including a nervous one from Yukino. It was true, the swiftness of this member of the Triad was guaranteed to beat your face in with haste if trouble was given to his woman. She was proud of that much too.

Okuri isn't paying for everything Bashiro wants.

"Wait, what?" The brawler looked back. "What about me, man?! Oh, I see how it is. ... Fine. Hey, queenie. Could you uh... pay for some-"

"Do I know you, good sir?" Yukino responded with.

"What?! Lady, what happened to all that shit about knowing the names of all your soldiers?!"

"I don't believe we've met", Yukino feigned ignorance, leaving Bashiro to sob over his limited food and drink today. Jessie couldn't help but snicker evilly over knowing his brother wouldn't be able to drink himself out... without some other external force, anyway. Yukino sat down next to her fiancee, and watched the many drinks start getting served.

"You had scotch buddy." A thug answered Carlos for Bashiro.

"Glad to be here", the general replied to Haruka, taking a... cautious sip of her drink. Then, with a bit of newfound thirst, took a larger drink. Already, she didn't like this like she didn't with just Haruka and Satoshi. Gotta look good in front of the militia, though. Best friends didn't mind you not drinking, but the army would pick on you for a good while. Coworkers would, really. Just drink this one and then pray they don't all get together to chant "another one". The queen placed her mostly filled glass down to turn to Haruka. She'd just get lost in his eyes if there wasn't a ton of noises and it wasn't so crowded around. It was a bit difficult for her to focus on him in her nice, quiet world.

Good, she needs to get used to not being in her comfort zone 24/7.

"I'm feeling alright. What about you, champ?" Yukino smiled, calling him by his new title. While she was genuinely curious, she wanted to deflect any inquiries that could lead to her condition.

People were setting in and enjoying themselves which was nice. Just what was needed. Seemed the people who had free reign to order knew it and then even Bashiro caught wind of his drinking being restricted for the evening. Okuri didn't doubt Bashiro's ability to somehow get something more to drink but he wouldn't be providing the means. Jessie seemed happy about it anyway. Okuri downed his first drink rather quickly after the initial toast. He wasn't exactly sure what he ended up with but it was nice to get something down his throat.

He had another poured for him by a waiter which he told himself would be the last of the evening for him as he took note of Carlos who not only approached him but... stated he loved him? And hugged him? As Okuri was in a sitting position his arms wrapped around his chest and neck for a moment. Uncalled for as it was, Okuri was a little on edge for it but understood the intent and didn't openly object to it.

"Umm... thank you Carlos... Well, do enjoy yourself, you sure did a number on Chimera so you deserve it." he said awkwardly in reply. Carlos' attention shifted to Bashiro and he seemed to display an overall lack of knowledge of things alcohol. His sash took a hold of his drink as he moved to a table off to the side of the room. He might have been paying for things but he didn't want to be the center of attention. Watching the others in their merriment would be enough for him right? Unknown to Okuri the Great Nature units were collectively facepalming that he was just going to sit by and observe people when they'd tried to send him off to have some fun. Figuring out how to get him to do more than just watch would likely become the next subject of research among the various professors of the clan.

Haruka downed a second one that slid down the row. Soldiers were sending Haruka drinks like it was his birthday, and it felt almost good for the appreciation that they were giving. The third one sliding down the bar made him want to rethink the decision but before he knew it, it smoothly slid down his throat and he was feeling warmer by the moment.

This was a terrible decision, and Haruka knew it. The Resistance didn't, but Haruka did. And yet... here he is going with it anyways.

"... Champ, huh? I don't think I'll ever really live that sorta thing to its hype, y'know?" He took a small toothpick from a dispenser at the far end of the bar, picking around his teeth lightly for the sake of it. Keeping himself awake maybe. It was late, and sleep doesn't always come the Nakahara boy's way sometimes, especially a year or so ago.

"I think I'm fine. Sort of wish we had more of these kinds of days, y'know. Rambunctious and disruptive as it is..."

His breath was a mix of caffeine and strawberry vodka.

"I like it this way. I mean, not when we're always fighting and never sleeping-- even though I can only blame ourselves for not sleeping cause reasons but, I digress. Family is a really nice thing I didn't get to treasure much when I was young, or at least with the memories the Rift gave me."

He sat up a bit straighter, tucking his gloves in his jacket pocket, and then unbuttoning a few of the top buttons of the jacket. He wanted to take it off and relax a bit, but he still didn't have a shirt under it because the one he should be wearing had four holes on it, and is being worn by the woman on his right.

"But this feels a lot like family. Sera and Mizumi, Toshiki is my blood in another timeline if you think about it... You, will be the first family I really do have. I mean, if I can get the dad's blessing. I'm sure he doesn't feel particularly good about dragging an Espoir away from the branch name and all."

He laughed a bit.
We should probably get back to the Mansion anyways before I get too drunk to function... I should thank Okuri and talk to him a bit too before we head off maybe? Bashiro and Jessie should get a talking to---"

Haruka nodded off a little, using his tongue in tandem with the toothpick to poke his bottom gum and keep him awake, despite causing a little bleeding. It was a painful, but effective tactic. Then Haruka said something... off...

"If anything was wrong, you would tell me, right?"

It was happening again. The chill. The cold atmosphere. It was as if Haruka's body willingly created a temperature around him, as when Overlord was in control, heat frantically traveled around his body. Now, Revonn's spirit establishes the equivalent of an icy field around Haruka, perhaps to portray the energy he means to give off.

Yukino enjoyed hearing Haruka speak his desires for more days without conflict and turmoil. Days of peace. He may not think he'll live up to the hype, but she definitely disagreed. "You'll be fine", she chuckled. And then... he brought up his memories from the Rift - no, Gear Chronicle. The Rift is Gear Chronicle... meaning Chronojet forcefed him a ton of memories. Was it out of kindness? Or was it just Harbinger messing with him and Sera? ... Ugh, the Chosen Sword wanted to know. Being enlightened led her to simply want to learn more, as she still felt in the darkness for years. At least the man on the left of her was a light.

Oh, oh my. Haruka was unbuttoning his jacket. But, she has his shirt...

Oh, dammit. He didn't take it off.

... Right, they're in public.

"Your first family..." Yukino spoke somberly, rather saddened with the thought that Haruka's original "family"... was all gone in another timeline. She could relate knowing her own timeline was gone, and then Queen Yukino's was simply doomed if it wasn't gone already. This is the last timeline left, isn't it...? Harbinger destroyed them all. Forget about father approving, if she could just make him happy with his life, that was enough. The woman quickly gazed into her drink, deep in thought over the future and her condition. He was ready to leave before he was piss drunk like Bashiro who somehow got someone to pay for his drinks. Initially, nothing was spoken in reply to the cold. Frigid temperature, an ice queen's territory. Darkness that silhouetted the eyes of a murderous warrior - the red eyes of the enlightened destroyer of Reapers.

She answered Haruka without faltering.

"I'm not going to lie to you", Yukino began, taking a deep sigh. "... I love you, and one of my top priorities is not having you worry about a thing if I can help it. As such, I would tell you what I feel you absolutely would need to worry about." The queen spoke the truth. She didn't want to talk about her heart palpitations gradually worsening, but didn't want to deceive her lover. Thus, the woman told him in a roundabout way "there's nothing I feel you need to handle for you to worry about".

This is exactly why she has heart problems - ignoring them.

"Then I want some of that!" Requested Carlos to a waiter after hearing Bashiro's response. Upon receiving his glass, he proceeded to drink to get in the mood. During his time drinking and enjoying with his comrades, the young and inexperienced man started to feel something. Something new. Something different. Something beyond his wildest imagination. He was becoming powerful! But observers would say that he was just getting drunk after like, two or three glasses. Yeah, that's some resistance. However, it was a brand new world for him. "This is a brand new world for me!" He obviously thought.

The young man started to do thing that normally he wouldn't do. For example, he approached Hikari and Haruka, who where having a moment... Again. "Huh. Looks like every time I turn, those two are having something going on" He said instead of thinking. He then proceeded to ask the couple a very deep question. "... Why you're not partying?". Before giving them time to answer, ignoring how inopportune that could be, he leaned uncomfortably close to them. "Hey, up close you look like a woman" He said to Haruka. "Oh, and you too. Weird" He then said to Hikari.

"Anyway, do you have a phone? I need to to do an international call since I kinda forgot to call my family in the past... Two, three months?".

Haruka kept his mouth shut for several moments. That was an unfair statement that was quite literally dodging the bullets. He shook his head, feeling a somber downcast on his mood until Carlos showed up stating a lot of really... accurate and somewhat rude, but still really accurate things.

"I uh, I am partying dude! I'm just taking a little while to get in the mood for it is all."

He flashed a fabricated smile Carlos' way, raising a nearly empty glass that wasn't even his in the air just to show he was still having some of his celebratory spirit. He nodded to the guy, blinking and realizing that he must have needed to talk to them if he was asking for the phone. Without pausing, he slipped his hand in his pocket and tossed it Carlos' way.

"Yeah sure, just make sure to get it back to me, alright?"

He laid back against the backing of the stool and gave a light sigh. He shook his head trying to force a grin but it wasn't happening. The distance that was only a foot or so between Yukino felt like a thousand miles again. She wasn't letting Haruka in to help her anymore again, and it was these things that made the relationship difficult. Despite how much the relationship is worth to him, its a double-edged sword knowing he's always going to end up feeling pushed off to the side when it comes to helping taking care of each other.

He accepted the reality of it grudgingly, sipping a beer (that still isn't his) and placing it on the bar top, staring off into distance. He didn't know if it was what she said or how she said it that made him just...

Not telling me is the same as making me worry.

...stop looking at her.

"Right... right. I love you too."

Sip, blink, frustration. All in a day's work. Was Haruka overthinking this? He was just overthinking this right?

Probably.

"Oh, because parties aren't really-" The Chosen Sword stopped the instant Carlos stated not only did Haruka look like a girl, but so did she. That cold air created by Haruka and furthered by her own ice cold ruthlessness felt like glass breaking apart then raining down as this boy broke tension by shocking her. "W-Well, I am a woman!" She declared, a bit flustered by such a ridiculous statement. What did he mean she looked like a woman up close... she was one! Bluh, whatever, the boys are starting to laugh after the American's silly words. Some joked maybe Yukino should've proposed, as she's plenty man for it. Bashiro suggested the Blue Storm commander would look good in a skirt.

"He is not wearing a skirt!" Yukino shouted.

"Come on, you'd look good in a tuxedo too, boss lady!" Jessie raised his cup of soda.

"Absolutely not!" The Chosen Sword cried out, blushing at the very thought of her marriage being filled with awkward crossdressing.

"Look, look, I'll pay for both of them. Don't worry." Bashiro took responsibility in making this asinine joke reality.

"With what money?" A thug inquired.

"... Right." Bashiro stopped laughing.

Yukino looked down, biting her lip, well aware Haruka was annoyed. She just wanted him to not worry and thought not telling him about things would work. They'd just pass... she wished. The queen turned to her king, who was taking his drinks after a clearly aggravated "I love you too". Leaning forward to him, she placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry", she offered. "But it's really nothing to worry about. Don't be upset with me..." The Chosen Sword begged softly, still trying to dodge, but well aware irritating her boyfriend by keeping secrets was one of her unfortunate talents.

Okuri's original idea had been to just have two drinks as he was buying the same for everyone else. But off by himself off to the side he found himself drinking more quickly than he had thought he might. And after two another felt like a good idea. Basically he ended up at around four or five before stopping. At this point a fair bit of a buzz was setting in rather quickly. With it he stopped caring about a few things. One was sitting at this table off to the side. There we people to go see. Another was his illusion which he dropped which basically was only up for the restaurant staff as it was. A bit of a shriek from a nearby waitress had him laughing for a while. He'd gotten up and started wandering about the room brushing up against people, saying nice things about them to them and moving on. He wasn't exactly walking straight lines either. It wasn't anything like his night with Bashiro but it was clear he wasn't sober at this point.

Eventually he walked over close by to Jessie and sort of actually realized how much he'd had to drink. Jessie was going to be mad at him and the idea made him sad. Sad enough he let out a howl loud enough to disrupt the entire room which was cut off mid way with him laughing at himself. Everything seemed really funny right now.

"Th-this is nice." He said smiling. "Glad we did it, should do it more often... no not more often. Jessie's gonna be mad. Don't tell him I drank more than I planed on. He doesn't like alcohol." he said to Jessie himself. Someone ought to take this huge almost drunk dog home before he started rambling about something embarrassing. Or let him stay. He was asking the staff about music and though they were alarmed at his appearance and the fact he was talking recognized the voice of the man paying for most of the things. Okuri paid for everything right there to help them feel better about looking at him which almost sort of began to work. They weren't exactly equipped for it but they had speakers for radio songs to play through they could get music going on. Dancing was probably going to start at this rate. Dangerous territory was being entered.

And just like that it was too late. Music was playing and Okuri was just sitting down smiling at everything happening. This felt better. Not exactly what Great Nature had had in mind for him having some fun but hey if it took a little alcohol for him to not just sit around and watch people then it worked for them. Now if only there was a spotlight to throw on Hikari and Haruka right as a slow song started. Everything would have been perfect.

He averted his gaze, not wanting to give in so easily. His stubborn attitude began to kick in as he took a final sip from the beer that might as have been his by now considering he downed most of it himself. His shoulders slumped, listening to her at the very least.

"Nothing is wrong."

That's a lie.

"I'm not upset, okay?"

.... Mostly a lie.

"You know how it is. I worry. Things get out of control and sometimes you just want to feel like you can be there to help. It puts me more at ease knowing there is a problem than not knowing til later."

He shrugged lightly, trying to explain his point but he was honestly a bit too hammered to really dictate what he wanted to convey to her. His head was spinning a bit, plus his inapt ability with words made it all the more difficult.

Music started playing loud. A headache would have nearly instantly ensued if he didn't actually like the song playing this time around. He nodded his head to it lightly, trying to brighten his mood on his own. He stared at the center bar floor with was left open for dancing after hours.

"If you say I shouldn't worry, I.... will attempt, to not worry."

That's about as close to the truth he can get. Still not quite true but he would feel more likely to try not worrying if he told himself it would work out that way.

He completely ignored the brothers' comments on the crossdressing, already too mentally preoccupied to care. This... got to him way more than it should have. Definitely the drinks kicking into his emotional thought process.

Beatrice had followed everyone to their celebration. Mostly cause she still needed a more bigger explanation on what she just got herself into. She had stood near Jessie, being silent and standing like the maid that she was, gazing at the bangle wrapped around her arm. It was still unbelievable to her that she had made her vanguard cards to come to life or that there had been a group fighting aliens...and winning it seems. "A war unseen by the public eyes..."

Jessie turned around to talk to one of the friendly sleazebags of Umano only to yelp at the sight of Beatrice. He forgot she was still around- wait, why was she so close by to him?! Then, to further his emotional distress, Okuri starts howling! Oh no, one look told him the spirit was drunk! Goddammit, not again! Okuri didn't even seem to know he was telling Jessie Jessie would be mad at him drinking. Heh heh, buddy, you mean is mad. "Hey, uh, Beatrice, can you help Okuri out-"

"Hey, Okuri! Come over here and have another round with me!" Bashiro shouted, cutting Jessie off. The spirit was drunk, time to get his extra round from his "buddy". That sleazebag waited until he was intoxicated to pull him into a friendly round of booze again. Man... what a shameless asshole. Jessie didn't know that guy.

Just tell him! Ezel shouted into Yukino's mind, and she mentally repeated the same thing. Cringing as the music and crowds being around while she had to deal with her upset lover made her heart race... her best friend had the right idea. Just come clean, just start coming clean. She didn't expect the truth to be pretty, and Haruka would know telling her to relax is completely fruitless. Relaxing doesn't eradicate all Reapers from existence. Ugh. With a soft groan, she reached out to Haruka's cheek, turning him to face her with her fingers if she could. She would lightly lean her forehead on his, looking him in the eye. "... My heart is getting worse", the woman admitted. "On the way here... I felt like I almost passed out and it stopped, then it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest..."

"It's a slow song!" Some of the guys shouted to drown out Yukino's voice, conveniently so it only reached those very close by to her. "Hey, Jessie! Why don't you and your new girl take the stage?"

"Oh, would you fuck off?! She's not my girlfriend! And for Christ's sake, would you idiots stop drinking yourself into a coma!" Jessie swore and roared, furthering any headache anyone was getting right now. If they were getting any, he still didn't know how hangovers and being drunk exactly worked, even with his brother piss-drank most of his life. Good thing too, as Jessie wasn't planning on ever experiencing it.

"Sure, sure. You're one hell of a woman, sugarcube" Said Carlos with a thumbs up after catching Haruka's phone. The people around started laughing. "Weird. Did someone told a joke?". He tried to remember... But nothing remotely close came to mind. However, they were laughing really loud. "Hey! Hey! Keep quiet! I'm going to make a call!" He said as he started dialing, ignoring that music started playing and that he was in the middle of the bar. How he was able to hear at that point it's a mystery. The whole conversation went along these lines.

---

"Hello?"

"Hello, Estevez residence?"

"Oh shit, it's you..."

"'It's you'? That's the way to say hello to you older brother, you piece of shit?"

"Hey, fuck you. You're the piece of shi-"

"Whatever. Hey, how's it going with your trip with your stupid cardboard girlfriends?"


"They're not 'girlfriends', they're dragons!"

"Hah! Nerd"

"Oh, fuck you"

"No, fuck you"

"No, fuck you!"

"No, fuck you!"

"How's mom!?"

"She's good! She's out buying chinese food!"

"And Victoria!?"

"She's good too! She's with mom and she misses you!"

"Of course she does, she's awesome! And a sweetheart! And I'm her favorite brother!"

"Then why don't you give her a son, you asshole!?"

"She's my little sister, you sick son of a-!"

"Hey! Hey!"

"What?"

"Hey, Carlitos! Hey! Hey!"

"Goddammit... What do you want, Luis!?"

"... Fuck you"

"Fuck you!"

"No, fuck you!"

"No, fuck you!"

"No, fuck you!"

"I love you!"

"Me too!"

"Bye!"

"Bye! And don't drink! You can't handle that shit!"

---

"W-What!? How the hell did he knew?" He said, hanging the phone. His brother was right, though. "Shit! I forgot to leave a message for mom and Victoria! ... Whatever, I'll call them tomorrow". He then threw Haruka's phone back at him without even looking at him. Of course, he nearly misses him. "Ten points! Now, who wants so see my imitation of 'The Mask' singing and dancing 'Cuban Pete'? I'm a better Jim Carrey than Jim Carrey!" He asked his comrades. "I'll need some maracas, a yellow suit, and a lot of green paint!"

"... Oh forget it! They call me Cuban Pete. I'm the king of the rumba beat..." He started singing and dancing like the aforementioned actor, approaching Bashiro, Jessie and the equally drunk Okuri to have someone admire his amazing skills. "When I play the maracas I go chick-chicky-boom, chick-chicky- Woah! That maid wasn't there the last time!" However, he stopped upon noticing the presence of the newcomer. "Who are you and why you're not partying!? ... And it's that a slow song? Where's 'Cuban Pete'?".

Jessie was in fact upset as Okuri had feared. He was about to do something about when what should come but a call from a friend. Bashiro inviting him for another round. That sounded lovely. He began happily stumbling over in Bashiro's direction and had a bottle of something brought over to the table. A shot was poured for the both of them and he was about to down it all in one go but he looked back at Jessie and it finally sort of stuck with his brain that he was breaking promises here. He slowly sipped the drink and excused himself from Bashiro's table, leaving the bottle there for him to finish of course though. That was a good few more shots the bum had gotten out of his friend. Plan mostly successful.

Okuri sulked back over to Jessie's side looking quite like the average house pet dog who'd been caught doing something wrong. He lied down on the floor at Jessie's feet. "I'm sorry, I was supposed to..." he was going to finish but he wasn't sure what all he could say. Instead he just grabbed one of the boy's feet, sort of hugging it. Almost as if he was insisting he'd be a good boy. At the least he didn't seem like he was going to be moving for a bit. Maybe that wasn't a good thing when it involved immobilizing his friend. The music was nice, Carlos' dancing was funny and he was probably just normal drunk at this point but that's as far as he was going to let it go. At least unless something crazy happened. It was hard to tell what he was going to do from moment to moment.

His head was turned slowly by Yukino's fingers to face her, pressing her forehead to his almost immediately as maybe some way to keep his attention? He already didn't want her to talk anymore about the situation, knowing any more excuses would only further wound his trust and---

O-Oh, she told him what was wrong. Or at least, what he believed to be the issue anyways. The drunkenness started to pull through, making his face really warm as he realized how close he and Yukino were. It was like being a teenager again and having the butterflies. She mentioned how her heart hurt and how it felt like it was going to explode. So it really was a bodily issue and had to do with the medical center.

He absorbed what she had said, his brain processes slowing down a bit... Before he knew it, his eyes had gotten lost in the red of the soldiers' in front him. His eyelids drooped lazily halfway into his vision, before closing all the way before pressing his lips onto Yukino's for

a few seconds--

.... a little bit longer than a few seconds.

By the time he pulled away, he felt himself already kind of out of breath, partly because his processes were a bit out of whack, but also because the emotional response of her telling him the truth made his heart flutter to knew heights, even if the news itself was bad.

"... See, it wasn't thaaat hard to tell me, was it? ... How do you feel now? Better? Wait, I know how to fix this."

He placed his hands on Yukino's, listening to the slow song began to overcome to sound of the room.

"May I have this dance?" He lightly smiled, knowing they'd really have to talk more about this problem later but for now... Might as well make the best of a drunken evening in a bar full of soldiers and a drunk dog. And Carlos.

Speaking of Carlos, the throw was so close to hitting Haruka in thigh, it could've done some real damage... but it flew and arc'd just perfectly into Haruka's coat pocket without him even realizing it.

10 points indeed.

"Oh my god..." Jessie moaned with great irritation as Bashiro turned into a cheery drunk and Okuri was a depressed drunk. Bashiro actively scratched behind Okuri's ear before letting him go off to his little brother as a way of expressing gratitude to his buddy - his friend! What a time to be alive. Now Carlos is dancing like an idiot, Jessie wants to go home now.

Yukino received a kiss from her intoxicated boyfriend, and while she wasn't a fan of the taste of alcohol on them, she was a fan of them in general. He kept her there for a few moments... longer than that... The queen moaned softly into him, starting to feel light-headed. The loud and even the little bit she had to drink was taking an unwarranted toll. He's drunk, she's disorientated, fantastic. Was it hard?! If he wasn't like this, she was sure he'd start acting like her dad and actively dragging her out of work! ... Wait, maybe he won't really remember like this. Hold on, what if he doesn't- oh. This... this could be Ezel's plan?!

It isn't, he denied.

Yukino's getting a slow dance.

"... Hmmm." Exculpate contemplated, pouting a little over how nervous she felt for forcing the problem out of her mouth, then he had the audacity to ask her for a dance. "... Of course you may", she giggled, taking it anyway.

Bashiro placed his hand on Jessie's shoulder.

"Today's a good day kiddo."

"I hate beer..." Jessie spoke his disdain for how alcoholics were affected, cringing over how the place is full of half-minded twits at the moment.

Dragging her over to the main floor in the middle of the bar, he turned quickly to her placing his hands on her hips, trying to maintain at least decent composure. He isn't exactly black-out wasted, but it'd be a lie to say he was totally in control.

A clumsy stumbling to get into position, and they were off in circles. The song was almost dreadfully slow and played at a constant tempo. Perfect for dancing, in reality.

He moved his lips to her ear, speaking lowly but still loud enough to be heard over the soldier uproar plus the music itself.

"Hey... I'm sorry. Probably shouldn't have acted so cold towards you. It's just... We're getting married and all that and it's scary to not know something. Trust is like, the second biggest thing in relationship after all."

His words were lazy but warm like the feeling of being huddled under a blanket fort. It was that kind of warmth. Sanctuary.

"Don't be upset with me..."

He mimicked her words.

"I love you."

He shut his eyes, getting lost in the rhythm of the room.

Yukino took it upon herself to let Haruka stay in command, but carefully guide his garbled-mind state by helping him stay up and balancing him. Her hands reached up for his shoulders while his went for her hips. Breathing a bit staggeringly, her pulse calmed as they began slowly undulating, smoothly stepping to the beat... smoothly as possible, anyway. The commander was trying to keep herself and him up, not paying too much attention to her surroundings. Mind was fixated on Haruka's movements, and her red eyes staring into his chest. Her beloved caught her a bit off guard when he spoke in her ear.

"I-" Exculpate would have responded, but knew trust issues were kind of one of her many, many blatant issues. She still felt cold from before with their chilly demeanors clashing before, and his warm was attempting to melt that. But it wasn't that she didn't trust him. It was just... "I just..." He wasn't wrong in anything he said, as if they're going to be married, she can't just keep hiding away things like her condition and expect him to never hold a secret.

"Don't be upset with me", he repeated what she said before.

Goddammit, now she can't keep pouting.

"Mmmm..." Yukino lightly groaned with a hint of defeat. "I love you too... I'm sorry, again..."

A train pulled up and out stepped Riko looking around at the town sence he really didn't see the town before. "things seemed to have changed here, i cant wait to see Xat and her friends." He said with a small smile and sat on the bench to wait for xat to pick him up.

Xat ran into the station to meet with Riko and smiled upon seeing him. Riko stood up and made the motion for xat to lead the way. Xat grabbed Riko's hand and walked with him out of the station and then started to walk back to her house. They didn't really need to talk after all silence can speack louder then words.

The two lovers spun and spun in the room, Haruka's heart beating slowly to the rhythm of the song while he quietly listened to her mutter into his chest. She seemed to give up the guard as she grunted, seeming to finally be defeated. He still felt guilty for basically forcing her to tell him instead of just waiting for her to be comfortable with it.

"I don't blame you, Yukino. It's alright."

He pulled back a little to look into her eyes, seeing the intense red eyes of his lover gleam under the artificial luminescence of the bar. He pecked at her again, hoping to make her feel better. No matter how many times Haruka had to question what he does, and why he does it, looking at Yukino's face, reminds him exactly why he does the things he does. For a better tomorrow.

"I'm sorry too." He wanted to say a whole lot of other things but was afraid they'd come out wrong if he wasn't 100% sober and ready to say them. He wanted to tell her about his thoughts and dreams and how much fun he was having despite the circumstances.

He wanted to tell her that this war is no longer her burden, but a shared one between comrades. Even if she brought it upon them, he wouldn't want her to fight this war alone anyways. He wanted to tell her that everything she does, he understands eventually...

He wanted her to understand that she can trust him from now on, and that Haruka would only devote himself to her and working towards what she wanted because it was the only way to...

Pay back her kindness.

Really repay the debt of every time he betrayed her trust before.

Be something even the Queen could be proud of...

But what he said instead was, "I really am so sorry..." His face showed slight exhaustion, perhaps that little flame finally burning out.

After having a few drinks, Neo was all of a sudden full of energy... which was odd. But none the less, he got up then yelled out

DANCE CONTEST!

At this point Neo wasnt thinking about anything but a fun old time. So he went up to the DJ and requested a song. Then the song started playing and Neo started dancing to it perfectly:

Souja Boy in dis one ohhhhhh, Watch me crank it, watch it roll, That Souja boy and Superman!

"It's just... hard for me", Yukino started as Haruka put his lips on her again. "You don't have to be sorry... I just don't want you or anyone worrying about me. Everyone keeps telling me to let others share burdens, but..." The Chosen Sword was more than a tad selfish about her problems. She didn't trust anyone else to deal with them and didn't want them to have to concern themselves with it. But, he would be her husband, and the jobs of couples were to handle one another's problems, even if they couldn't be solved. Keeping her eyes locked on his, she returned his peck a second ago with her own. "I love you..." Yukino repeated, apologetic and yearning in tone. Seeing how he was looking tired and needs to get out of here before he's Bashiro-levels of drunk, the woman suggested: "Should we go back to the manor?"

Seems that question was answered with a loud declaration of a dance contest. The slow, peaceful song with a beautiful tempo was changed into a complete mess that Yukino wanted no part of. However, Bashiro, in his stupor, grabbed his little brother by the arm, starting to yank him to the dance floor. "C-Come on, Okuriii! You too, s-s-sexy maid lady." The drunkard held up a bottle in his free hand while Jessie was trying to escape from his other's grip.

"... Let's go home", Yukino suggested again.

He listened to the way she talked about not wanting to share her burdens and that she didn't want people to worry her. The issue Haruka had with that entire statement is that is exactly what he wants to be able to do; Haruka wants to share her burdens and be able to worry about her. She's precious and irreplaceable to him and someone he could never imagine letting go of just because of her duties and responsibilities.

He knew Yukino wouldn't be up for anymore 'celebration' tonight, considering the way tonight ended. Despite the battle ending and taking a Reaper down a notch, the both Beacons of Hope were drained, one mentally, the other physically, and Exculpate herself was feeling the hurt.

Haruka couldn't apologize, he couldn't say thank you, he couldn't say anything at all to make the night get better because at this rate. So instead he just nodded, wrapping his arms around Yukino, nearly squeezing her, and whispering back in a barely audible moan,

"I~Love~You~Too." Then gently leaving a kiss on her cheek. The party was ending early for this couple. Haruka needed to get some rest after all that happened anyways. With a relaxed sigh, he pulled back from her, nodding and letting her lead the way out. He forgot about saying good-bye, probably too worried about Yukino's opinion of him right now. The paranoia of losing her mixed with the alcohol clouding his judgement made him extremely fearful.

"W-Wait!!!" Carlos shouted before leaving a chance to his comrades of making a dance move. "Wait, you dirty ani - Hi, Neo - you dirty animals! No one is going to dance until I do something! ... I'd like to propose a toast". He didn't expect them to understand, so he kept talking before they decided otherwise. "I'd like to p-propose a toast for those who m-made this hell of a day possible. No, not you Okuri. I already h-hugged you".

"The toast is for our manly commander, Hikari, that I recently found out it's a girl!" He shouted, standing on top of a table. "I'd follow you to hell and back again! ... Or I would if I knew something else about you besides that you're crazy! ... Or that's what I've heard. Anyway, peace!" He said while struggling to stand.

"And Haruka, our delicate flower that is also a National Champion!" He continued. "I mean, how cool is that!? Now where's that lucky (Or unlucky. I honestly don't know at this point) bastard that is enjoying that delicious piece of Premium grade meat (Once again, that's what I've heard. I think) that is our fearless and severely cool leader!? I want to high-five than son of a- Oh shit, they're gone..." He stopped once a less drunk member of the Resistance whispered to his ear that the aforementioned couple left the bar. "The couple of the year left the building, people. I'm pretty sure I'm looking really stupid right now" He commented, to which his friends nodded.

"Well, God bless them and honor to their memory!" He said, holding a drink he stole from someone up in the air. "And where were we... Oh! Soulja Boy off in this oh! Watch me crank it, watch me roll!" He sung, leaping from table to table and joining Neo in the dance contest. "You can't keep up with these crazy feet, son! Are you sure you wan't to face me?".

Someone had started a dance contest. Who it was Okuri wasn't sure. Why he wasn't sure. All he was sure of is it had scared away the happy couple which was sad for him. He'd been enjoying watching them dance and daydreaming about past lovers and various things he did with them. Next thing he knew he felt Jessie trying to escape his grasp which he had to realize he was even doing in the first place. Bashiro was quite drunk at this point trying to drag them into the dance contest. Who had given him more alcohol? Right, he had done that. Why had he gotten drunk again? Was he sobering up? He really had no idea. He'd let this get out of hand again. He let go of the boy's foot and sat up a bit trying to readjust to what was going on. He certainly wasn't less drunk, but he could feel himself trying to be responsible again despite it.

"B-bashiro I think you and I should uh... what was it... right we need to get home now. We've had a bit too much... uhhh alcohol was it... Right. That. The dance party sounds fun but the day's just getting going..." he rambled through the alcohol in his system. An effort to show Jessie he was trying to be responsible or something like that. Probably not working well. Regardless he stayed put instead of joining the dancing. Being drunk was like a challenge presented to still being himself. One he felt oddly encouraged to meet.