‘Meet me at the lake on the other side of town, y’know, the one with the bridge and the flowers where we went last summer to hide from Tsurugi? Yeah, that one. Meet me there at two.’ That was all Mizuki had said before he hung up promptly and gathered his things needed before heading to the mentioned lake where he hoped he would have a visitor.

The lake wasn’t just a lake, or at least it wasn’t to him. On sunny days like today, granted he didn’t have to work, he would head over to the lake to sit on the bridge and dip his feet in the water. No one was ever around because it was almost too far out of anyone’s way, not to mention it was also hard to find it; unless a person knew about it, they would never even know it was there. That’s exactly how Mizuki intended to keep it until that one day last summer when he thought quickly for a moment and found himself dragging his quiet bassist along with him. It was the only time they had been there together, and at first Mizuki thought it would be the last because Aki didn’t usually like to go out and do childish things like sit on a bridge above a lake.

Aki was the member of the band Mizuki felt he didn’t spend enough time with. The leader was always busy, and if he wasn’t he found a way to make himself busy. Aki liked to work, and he liked to be alone; sometimes Mizuki wondered what was so great about constantly working. It never dawned on him that maybe it was the only way for the bassist to keep his mind on something else moreover what was nagging at him. If he worked for the band or just himself, there was always that pleasure of quieting that voice in the back of his head. The guitarist, however, felt as if Aki needed to get away from work, and not just because working was boring and anyone who dedicated themselves to their work was also boring, but because he felt the bassist needed something else. Whether he realized it or not, he wanted to quiet that voice that aggravated the bassist, and being out in the open where no one could possibly bother him with a friend who could, and would, talk his ear off was the perfect way, or at least Mizuki thought so. Most of the time he spoke too much, but as much as he talked, Aki never seemed to mind.

Mizuki was the complete opposite of Aki, and when the guitarist really thought about it he realized just how well they went together, even if Aki spent more time with Mao than he did with him. While Aki was quiet, Mizuki was loud. Aki was reserved and kept to himself; if something was bothering him, he was more likely to bottle it up and keep quiet, but Mizuki would let everyone know something was bothering him, and he would make it known what it was. There were times, though, that even Mizuki kept quiet, but those times were rare. While Aki dressed in dark clothing and sometimes blended into the backgrounds during a photo shoot, Mizuki wore bright colors (but not for work, mind you) and almost always stood out, but he was sure it was only because he didn’t stand to the side with his hair covering his face while he was decked out in nothing but black. Aki needed help modeling, he thought. 

Part of him wondered if Aki would even show up, or if he would just stay home or wherever he was because, after all, Mizuki didn’t exactly give him a chance to speak on the phone. There was no possible way to reject him or even send him a text to inform him that he wouldn’t go because Aki knew the guitarist enough to know he had promptly turned off his phone in a stubborn manner because Aki was going to be at that damn lake.

So Mizuki sat patiently on the bridge with his feet dipped in the water and his iPod playing softly beside him. Big sunglasses covered half of his face as he adjusted them and moved a stray strand of hair out of his vision. The sun was beating down on him and making him almost too warm to bear, but he didn’t care. The thought of bringing an umbrella or something to keep the sun’s rays off him didn’t cross his mind before he left his house, and it was too late now to bother worrying about it.

He moved his feet slowly, gripping the edge of the bridge as he leaned forward and looked at his reflection in the water as it rippled and distorted the image. He knew that Aki would show up, if he’d show up, and wonder what he had wanted in the first place, but the truth was he wanted nothing. It wasn’t like there was some big secret as to why he had wanted the bassist to hang out with him where no one could find them. They were friends, right? And friends hung out together. There were no intentions of confessing his undying love for his friend; that was too dramatic and expected. His life wasn’t a movie or a story at all, and he knew that if he did confess his feelings, it wouldn’t end like one of those movies or stories. Aki simply wasn’t that way and had made it clear countless times when Tsurugi had ; Mizuki simply wouldn’t press the matter. Thoughts were thoughts and stayed hidden in the depths of his overactive mind.

In the reflection of the water he could see the mass of black that was Aki standing behind him with a blank expression on his face. Mizuki tilted his head back and grinned in the way only he could and nodded to the place to the left of him, “Don’t just stand there like a creep. Sit.” He suppressed a giggle as the bassist seemed to glare before taking off his shoes and rolling up his pant legs and doing as he was told.

Mizuki watched as Aki seemed to relax the moment his feet hit the water and mentally jumped in victory; Aki more than likely didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘relax’, which would make sense since he worked a lot, at least it made sense to Mizuki, so getting him to relax was one victory for the day.

“What did you want?” Aki’s voice seemed tired as he moved his feet around in the water and played with his lip ring absentmindedly. There was the question Mizuki knew he would be asked, but instead of answering with some tease like he was prone to, he simply shrugged his shoulders and kicked his feet lightly, sending water flying in droplets.

“Does there have to be a reason?” He tilted his head to the side and shielded his sunglass-covered eyes against the harsh brightness of the sun. “Can’t I hang out with a friend who works too much and needs to get away for a while?” Aki shrugged slightly to himself and leaned back on his hands. Somehow Mizuki knew he wouldn’t say anything else, and he had no intentions of speaking himself just yet. Even if he wanted to silence the voice in Aki’s head, he also wanted to make him relax because how many times did Aki really go out just to relax himself? Even at home Aki was doing something, but one would only know that if they were allowed access to his home, which in most cases wasn’t possible, but for the band it was only granted at a minimum.

The music drifted out of Mizuki’s iPod softly as their feet played in the water absentmindedly and the chain connecting Aki’s lip ring to his ear jingled when he moved. It was the ideal day for Mizuki, at least. No words were needed as they sat side by side, barely touching. Mizuki moved his lip ring with his tongue and glanced over at the man beside him whose eyes were shielded by his large sunglasses; his face held no expression whatsoever, and Mizuki pondered as to whether Aki was bothered by him or if he would rather be somewhere else, possibly with someone else, but the thought disappeared as soon as it came because Aki was known for his lack of expression, and he wouldn't have showed up if Mizuki bothered him. Maybe he was glad that someone had taken his focus off all the tasks he told himself he had to complete; maybe was just happy to be with someone who understood him to a small degree and wouldn’t force him into and unwelcome conversation.

“The flowers.” Aki suddenly spoke softly, “What kind are they?”

“That depends on what ones you’re talking about. The purple ones over there,“ Mizuki pointed off to the right where the purple flowers stood, “are giboshi. Over there are ezo yamarindou, but there are also a lot of random wildflowers I’m not sure of.” He pointed off to the flowers on the other side of Aki and shrugged.

Aki remained quiet for a moment, seeming to go back to not wanting to talk until he tilted his head to the side and brushed his hair out of his face. “Maybe one day we can go to Hokkaido. I know where we could find nejibana, but just as you have this place, I have that place. You can’t tell anyone about it, and I won‘t tell anyone about this.” There was a faint hint of a smile before the bassist faced forward again and leaned forward so he was looking at the water just as Mizuki had been when he showed up.

Mizuki held up his pinky and wiggled it, “Pinky promise.” He sat forward, looking out at the water in front of them as Aki chuckled.

“You’re so childish.”

He wiggled his finger again and heard a sigh as Aki entwined their fingers, “Pink promise.” Mizuki grinned and gripped the edge of the bridge again as he began speaking animatedly about the flowers and all the other places he could show the bassist as long as he didn't tell anyone. Aki smiled to himself as he stared at Mizuki's reflection in the water; maybe it would be alright if he pushed aside work for a little while to see all those places with the guitarist. Maybe.