𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐝 - s. ᴍᴀɴᴊɪʀᴏ

𝟎𝟐𝟐: 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲

You felt a little wrong, still deciding to go out on Christmas. You swore you'd beat up Takemichi, even if he's already hospitalized after he faces Black Dragons today. How could he break up with Hina? What would that achieve?

You walk out of your suite, sighing, trying not to worry about what Takemichi was up to. Mikey was already parked outside. You walk down shivering a bit, you weren't expecting today to be so cold.

"Yo," he greets. You get on his bike, "Can we go somewhere indoors, please? I'm freezing" The blonde laughs, "You just stepped foot outside!"

Mikey begins to drive as fast as usual, "I know a place that you might like, I passed by it while on the way." You hid your face behind his back, not wanting the snow to continue hitting your face. You had no idea how he's able to drive in this weather, especially since he's on a motorcycle.

You feel the motorcycle stop and the exhaust becomes quiet. You look up to see where he took you.

"It says it's got the world's best coffee!"

It was a really old, run-down cafe. The prints on the windows were cracking and pealing and the logo of the cafe was rusting. Both of you walk into the establishment. The cafe was filled with elderly couples. Supposedly regulars. You check out the menu at the front and everything was cheap. You look around at all the people, who were seemingly enjoying themselves, and wonder if you were being too judgemental of the place.

"I'm getting a hot chocolate, what do you want?" Mikey asks. You look back at the menu and decide. "I'll get a cafe mocha."

Mikey pays for the two of you and you take your seats. "I should take gramps here," Mikey comments, noticing all the elderly. "Do you celebrate Christmas with your family?" You ask him.

"Nah, I usually sleep in. Shinichiro used to really like the holiday though," he tells you, "Dressed up like Santa and everything," he smiles. You felt a little happy with how open Mikey is with talking to you about his family. Especially the ones who've passed. It must not be easy to deal with all that at such a young age.

"Hot chocolate and cafe mocha," the man at the front calls. Mikey gets up to retrieve your drinks. He sets them down on the table. Your drink was a pretty big size for the price. You wonder if you should frequent this place more. Mikey sips his hot chocolate, "Ahh, hits the spot."

"Smells good," You say, sniffing your drink. You finally take a sip. It's bitter. Very bitter. It was the world's shittiest cup of coffee.

"How's yours?" Mikey asks eagerly. You contemplate whether or not to be honest with him. He seemed happy taking you here. You were scared it might hurt his feelings. "So good!" You say smiling.

The two of you walk out of the place after finishing your drinks. "Feels warmer after a drink, right?" Mikey says, getting on his bike. You sit down, "I guess..." Even though your body temperature warmed up, your taste buds weren't satisfied.

Mikey begins to exit the parking area, driving onto the road. "I've got a fun idea that might warm us up more," Mikey says. You ask him what he had in mind, but he insists on keeping it a secret until you get there.

It was under the bridge he usually went to. The water froze and there were couples and family ice skating. You could tell he looked eager to get on the ice. "Doesn't look like you have skates with you," you say. You even looked around to see if there were any to rent.

"Who needs? Our boots are good enough!"

Mikey grabs you by the hand, running toward the ice. You try to pry off his grip, a little fearful of getting on the ice with just boots but he was too strong. You stepped on the frozen water and you were already losing balance. Mikey was gliding seamlessly through the ice. The only reason you can even stay up is because he was holding onto you. He turns, facing you, still sliding through the ice.