SEEING WILFORD AGAIN sent Dark into a flux of emotions. He ran over to the male, practically suffocating him in a hug. His friend made no hesitation to hug back, yet his embrace had grown weaker.

"God, I've missed you so much," Wilford mumbled, burying his face in the other's shoulder. Dark only hugged Wilford tighter, unable to get his words out. Overjoy and sadness laced through his veins.

"Me too..." is what he managed out.

The two stayed there, embracing each other like the world would end.

Well... it was for one...

Wilford forced himself to lightly push Dark away. "Ana's been dying to see you too," he whispered, smirking even through the pain he was going through. "Not as much as me though."

Dark softly blushed and smiled, tilting his head. "Can't wait to see everything."

..

"Dark!" Ana cried out, wrapping her arms around the other. Dark chuckled, hugging back and smiling. "Come in, come in!"

Dark and Wilford entered the house, and the older scanned his eyes around. He smiled, his heart feeling warm.

"Wow... hasn't changed since, hm..."

Ana smiled and clasped her hands together. "It was this way the last time you were here. I wanted to keep the memories."

Dark smiled, pulling the woman into another soft hug.

"Enough hugs!" she softly joked. "Tell us a bit of you, Dark. What's been going on for all these years?"

"Oh, well," he muttered, feeling a tinge of regret stab his heart. If he had kept in touch, they would've known everything. He would've been home sooner. "A while ago, I was invited to a very prestigious company."

All three of them sat down, Ana and Wilford on either side of Dark. The male continued. "And I was recently promoted Executive Assistant." He shook his head. "But I wanna know more about you two—what's all happened during my absence?" 

Ana smiled, eyes gesturing over to Wilford. The once hyper male chuckled.

"Nothing, really. Just the ol' writing nonsense."

"Oh, nonsense!" Ana chimed in. She looked at Dark. "He's known all over Pleasant University! In quite the best way."

Dark smiled. "That's awesome, Wil," he complimented. "Got a lot of enticing stories out there?"

Wilford sheepishly smiled and nodded. "Mhm..."

The room fell silent, and Ana noticed this. "You two hungry?"

The two friends exchanged glances and nodded. This made their care-taker grin.

"Perfect! I wasn't going to allow you two to say 'no,' anyway." She stood, crossing her arms as she smiled at them. "You two don't need to dress up—because you already are—but I made a dinner reservation somewhere."

Dark chuckled, a brow raising. "Really?"

Ana nodded and hummed. "Yep! So you two get ready and I'll tell you where everything is."

The friends looked at each other and shrugged. They could spend some more time together before... well, you know.

..

The two entered the restaurant, being encountered with dim, yellowish lighting—the typical setting for any fancy restaurant. It was busy, giving the place the background sound of chatter. They went to the front desk as Wilford still examined the place with awe, looking around like a kid in the middle of the grand toy aisle. Dark, however, was unphased and smiled at his friend, already used to these types of settings.

"Do you have a reservation, sir?" a woman dressed in black kindly asked, a soft smile on her lips. Dark nodded, keeping the awestruck Wilford close to his side.

"For Darkstache," Dark said, inwardly chuckling at the name. Oh, Ana. You little sneak.

Wilford looked at Dark, blushing as he furrowed his brows. "That a ship name or some shit?"

"Right this way, sirs!"

Dark chuckled as they followed the woman, glancing at his friend. "Ask Ana, not me."

..

"Any new acquaintances or such?" Dark pondered, swirling some pasta onto his fork. Wilford hummed, watching the other eat.

"A girl named Prim."

"Does she...?"

Wilford nodded, taking a small bite from his own entree. "And you?"

"Just Michael from high school," Dark mused, taking another small bite of his food. There was a short silence before Dark hummed.

"Do you... like anyone?" Dark asked, hoping the answer would be 'no.' Or... a 'yes' if it were him. Wilford softly blushed, glancing away as he shrugged to the side.

"Maybe..."

Dark tilted his head, smirking softly. "Care to tell me?" he sang. This made Wilford chuckle and shake his head.

"I can't," he muttered, making Dark raise a brow. 

"Oh?"

Oh, the poor Wilford had forgotten of Ana's words for a moment—that Dark liked his friend back. But that wouldn't stop whatever was to come, thankfully.

Wilford shook his head with a smile, looking at Dark's hand upon the table. He placed his hand over the other's and chuckled, shivering at the little shock the contact created. 

"He'd hate me if I told him," he slyly said, looking up into Dark's eyes. The older one felt his face lightly heat up, and he shyly looked away. The truth was clear.

After a while of more quiet chatter, the waiter came with the check. With a short bout of playful arguing over who was to pay, Dark won. He handed the waiter his card, slightly bowing his head before the male headed off.

"I could've paid," Wilford mumbled, crossing his arms and pouting. Dark only smirked.

"But I don't want you to," he chuckled, leaning back in his chair. Wilford stuck his tongue out at the other, quickly stopping when the waiter returned.

The waiter placed the black leather check holder onto the table, leaning over slightly.

"Thank you for your acts, sir," the waiter kindly said, smiling as he quickly headed off. Dark blinked, watching the male go with a raised brow. He gave Wilford a look of slight confusion before opening the check holder, looking at the receipt.

"They took half of the amount off," he mused, tilting his head. Wilford made a sound of surprise.

"Really? Why?"

Dark smiled and shook his head. He slipped his card into his wallet, standing and waiting for his friend. "Doesn't matter."

The two exited the bustling restaurant, so close to being hand in hand. It was dark out, barely any street lights in range. Stars decorated the pitch black sky, shining above. The moon cast down milky-white light, dimly highlighting their way.

If they would have had more time, Wilford would have waited a while more to take an action. But now wasn't the time for any waiting games.

Wilford slyly slipped his hand into Dark's, leaning against him in the slightest, making the older one's breath hitch and heart beat faster.

"Ana told me you like me..." he whispered, finally remembering the woman's words. This made Dark shyly look down at his friend. The older one's breath hitched at the sight and he smiled, stopping.

"She did...?"

Wilford nodded, taking Dark's hands and twining their fingers together. He smiled, looking up with that little smile Dark had fallen in love with from the very beginning. Wilford tilted his head, glancing at his friend's lips.

"I really like you, Dark," he whispered. Both the male's hearts were beating quickly from nervousness and joy, limbs having this light, shaky feeling. Dark smiled, pushing a strand of Wilford's hair behind his ear.

"I think the proper word is 'love,' Will," he muttered, both their eyes boring into each other's. He smiled as his friend's face went red. And before the two could even realize, their faces were so close—where they were able to feel the other's chest pressing up against each other.

Wilford softly smiled, tilting his head as he leaned in. "Well then... I love you, Dark."

Dark smiled, shivering as their lips brushed. "I love you too, Wilford..." He chuckled. "Maybe a little too much."

Wilford hummed. "Oh, just shut up and kiss me," he whispered, pushing Dark's head forward so their lips met. The older one tilted his head and closed his eyes, heart thudding. Before anything could get any more heated, Wilford pulled away, resting his forehead against Dark's and smiling.

"You've no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

Dark chuckled and hummed, softly kissing Wilford again. But the other hesitated this time, though he didn't want to.

"D-Dark," he whispered, clutching onto the other's hands. Dark's eyes widened and he quickly noted something was wrong.

"Will? Wilford, what's wrong?" he quickly asked, kneeling down as Wilford sank to his knees and clutched his stomach. The male's teeth were bared, and his breaths went jagged.

"Can't... breathe..."

Have any questions? Place em here!

Thanks for reading and have a fantastic day/night!

-aya