The lights were dim as the scene came into play. They were all dressed up fairly fancy underneath the lights that were illuminating the ballroom. Rantaro and Sindy were greeting people at the door.

Sindy was wearing a fancy pale yellow ball gown. It had puffy sleeves that went down to the middle of her shoulder. The bottom had flowers lacing it. There were larger more detailed flowers at the bottom while they started shrinking and dispersing as they moved up towards the end of the skirt on the dress.

Rantaro was wearing a nice white suit with a yellow tie and a matching yellow flower tucked into the left pocket. They came here as a pair because their father and mother always hosted this fancy party at the end of the year for the more sophisticated members of society and the people they had met on trips and such. It was known for how over the top it was with the decor, the dresses, and the amazing food.

This was the first year that Rantaro's parents decided to allow them to invite some of their own friends, under the one condition that they would behave and not be rude to the other guests. When they first heard this they were excited that they would be able to have some company for the otherwise boring party. But on the other hand they were worried their parents wouldn't end up doing this again because of how their friends may behave...so in the invitation they put how crucial it was for them to behave at this party.

When Kokichi and Shuichi had received the invitation Shuichi was thrilled about going to a party with Rantaro and the others--while Kokichi on the other hand would rather stay home than go to some 'hoity toity' party. Shuichi ended up convincing Kokichi to come after promising they would be able to cuddle together after going. Shuichi was okay with this deal. I mean cuddling Kokichi is something he always looked forward to--sure he would never tell Kokichi about this...but he loved them more than anything.

"Shuichi- do we really have to go," He groaned pulling on the tie around his neck. Shuichi moved over to him to pull his hands away from the tie. Kokichi was wearing a white suit with a purple tie while Shuichi, being the emo he is, was wearing a black suit with a dark blue tie.

"Yes, Rantaro was kind enough to invite us and we already made a deal," He said sternly. Kokichi sighed before muttering, "Fine," Shuichi could tell he didn't want to go...but he knew that their friends were going to be there and that he would be able to at least dance with Kokichi, so hopefully that would be fun to him.

"Here let's go," He said again, grabbing onto his hand. Kokichi grabbed onto his hand before he started walking towards the door with Shuichi. Kokichi felt some worry come over his shoulders again. He was worried that all these fancy people could make Shuichi like them more than himself. Because he was immature most of the time and loved joking around...while Shuichi was more mature and uptight. He just felt like he would feel more alone at this party and he wanted to avoid that.

There was silence as they walked to the car. Shuichi assumed it was because he was still mad about going, but really Kokichi was panicking and didn't trust his voice to hide this fact. Well, not from Shuichi anyway. He was confident he could hide this fact at the party from the others...but because of how Shuichi has come to learn new things about him, he knew he would be able to put it together.

The car ride was quite as well. The drive was about 30 minutes from where they are, so they ended up leaving 45 minutes early just to make sure they would make it there on time. "Hey, Kokichi?" Shuichi asked, moving his hand over to rest on Kokichi's thigh. Kokichi perked up a bit at this and looked over at him.

"Yes my beloved?" He asked, trying to keep his fear under control. "Well, you have been acting weird all day and I was wondering if it's just because you didn't want to go to this party?" He asked, making Kokichi pale a bit.

'Shit, how did he find out so quickly? He hasn't even been home all day today...' He thought to himself before looking over to Shuichi with his usual smile.

"Oh?" He paused. "It's just because I wasn't able to find any Panta in the fridge and I was already feeling angry because of that!" He said with a small laugh. Shuichi looked over at him and raised his eyebrow.

"Okay then," He paused for a moment. "But you would tell me if something was bothering you?" He asked again, making Kokichi feel a little guilt come onto his shoulders.

"Of course my beloved~!" He said again gently, kissing his hand. Which distracted Shuichi from the question at hand because of how embarrassed it made him feel. "O-okay," He said again before fully focusing on driving again. Kokichi decided to close his eyes because of how tired the car was making him feel. The music was softly playing and the car's soft hum made his eyes feel heavy.

After another couple of minutes he was out. Shuichi just looked over at him and smiled a bit. "Get some rest Koki," He said quietly.

.

.

.

They got to the part after about half an hour and Shuichi moved his arm to shake Kokichi. "Hey, babe?" He asked gently before gently cupping his cheek. "Wake up love," He said seriously which made Kokichi's eyes flutter open.

"Oh hey Shumai~," He teased looking up at him. "Let's get going," He said again before he took the key out of the ignition and left the car. Kokichi followed after him and Shuichi moved to fix his hair.

"Hey!" He said, swatting at his hand. "I'm trying to fix your hair." Shuichi said gently, kissing him on the lips. Kokichi froze for a second before he laughed it off. Shuichi just sighed and took his hand in his own. Kokichi looked at the back of his head as Shuichi walked over to the door.

Rantaro and Sindy were there ready to greet them "Hello Kokichi, Shuichi! It's nice to see you guys!" Sindy said running to them in her dress. She wrapped her arms around Kokichi and Shuichi to hug them before Rantaro coughed. "Sorry Ran," She said moving away from them.

"Welcome to the Amami seasonal celebration," She said in a more controlled tone. It made the both of them feel a little uncomfortable but they just smiled. "Thank you for that," Shuichi said before they both moved inside.

The party was pretty full of people in glamorous dresses and suits. It was almost daunting to the both of them. Kokichi immediately felt self conscious and wanted to just walk back out the door and go to the car. Shuichi smiled a bit as they saw Ryoma and Kaito talking over by the food table. Kokichi frowned a bit before they walked over there.

"Hello Shuichi!" Kaito said in his usual loud tone. "Hey Kaito, Ryoma, it's good to see you guys," He said to them before him and Kaito and Ryoma started talking to one another. Sure they were all friends...but this whole exchange just made Kokichi feel even more alone and left out. And one thing was for certain...he absolutely hated being left out.

They kept on talking while Kokichi walked away from the party and moved out one of the side doors to the garden. It was all frozen over, but it was still beautiful. There were frozen fountains and some frosted over trees and bushes. He moved over to one of the benches and put his head in his hands.

'Why does this always happen...I don't fit in here and Shuichi just seems to fit so well. They all notice him like he is normal and like he belongs...but all I get is glares and weird side glances because of how I don't belong when Shuichi does...so maybe this isn't going to work out after all' He thought to himself feeling his heart hurt inside of his chest.

A couple minutes pass before he hears Shuichi calling out after him. "Kokichi?" He called out as he walked out the door. He walked down the steps and called again, "Kokichi! Koki? Where are you?" He asked again before he caught sight of Kokichi. Kokichi wanted to cry and scream at Shuichi because of the way he was making him feel...but he knew they were still at a fancy party and that wasn't acceptable.

"Kokichi, why are you out here all alone?" He asked, taking the spot on the bench next to him. Kokichi didn't say anything and he just moved away from Shuichi. He stood up without making eye contact with him and started walking away from the bench, but Shuichi caught his hand.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked again before Kokichi pulled his hand away from him. "Why." He said, still looking away from Shuichi. Shuichi felt confused.

"Why? What does that mean baby?" He asked moving closer to him again only for him to push him away again. "Why do you fit in everywhere when I don't fit in anywhere!" He yelled, making Shuichi realize what was going on.

"Why does everyone always love you and want you...when I'm always so useless and unable to make you want to stay." He said feeling some tears finally fall. "Why do you fit in here while I don't even fit with you..." He said moving his arms around his torso. He hugged himself and felt his whole mask break.

"That's not true," He said moving closer to him and wrapping his arms around him gently. Making sure not to hold him too tightly where it caused more pain than comfort. "I don't belong in there, I honestly was thinking about leaving to look at the garden with you as well," He said with a smile gently kissing his tears away. Kokichi looked up at him feeling confused.

"But-" He started before Shuichi kissed him. "I belong here with you and nothing can change that" He said before there was soft music coming from inside. Shuichi moved back from him a little bit as he wiped the rest of his tears away.

"It's okay, I want to be here with you and I belong here with you," He said with a smile. Kokichi laughed a bit. "Sorry I always just get so angry when these things happen...sorry I'm possessive of you," He said with a sheepish grin. Shuichi just smiled at him and held out his hand.

"Could I have this dance?" He asked before Kokichi took his hand. "Of course my beloved,"

Maybe this wasn't meant to be
But I know how much you mean to me

So let this last as the night comes

Stay with me in this dark field

The flowers may be faded
But me and you are here
Happy as a Lilly in spring

As happy as we could be

-Loving the small moments because they always end. Maybe this next year you will come back, but sadly enough this can not mend. Because my friend, you are dead.-

-SK-