Today was a perfect day or as close as it could be to one.

After being closed for a few months, Vein’s new location would be unveiled tonight. Sohal was looking forward to going there tonight with Rune. Their lives had felt so empty without the chaotic energy and liveliness even though they had each other.

But without Vein, they would have never met and formed a connection.

Sohal sat on a bench near the bus stop and watched the electoral decorations slowly get removed. The digital billboard no longer showed someone’s electoral campaign but an advertisement for Fated. The advertisement showed a couple staring longingly into each other’s blue eyes. The woman’s long blonde hair looked shiny and was floating midair to give the illusion that there was a breeze. Her breasts were ginormous. The man looked just as edited with abnormally white teeth and his six-pack showed through his shirt.

The picture perfect scene unsettled Sohal.

He looked away from the billboard to see Rune approaching him. He quickly forgot about the advertisement and a smile stretched on his face. “Hey.” Sohal waved.

Rune smiled back. “Hey. Ready for the reopening?”

“Yeah. It sucks that Asa is stuck at work today, but I’m really glad that I can attend it with you.” Sohal hopped onto his feet. “I’m so excited to see how they decorated the place.”

“Well, we still have a few minutes so we’ll have plenty of time to just walk around.”

“Good. I need to mentally prepare myself. I know it’ll be very wild with the… well. You know.” He laughed to himself.

Rune gave a chuckle. “Yeah, they can really get into their hobbies. I’m glad they’ll be able to have that safe space again. It’s been so long since Vein was open.”

There was a lapse of silence. They walked alongside each other in silence and Sohal felt warmth in his chest. He felt like he could die happy.

Rune broke the silence by clearing his throat. “I’ve been meaning to ask but… Why did you keep coming back over the last six months?”

Sohal was stunned. He stared at his moving feet while he organized his thoughts. Rune waited for an answer as his eyes kept darting to Sohal’s face.

Sohal pressed his lips together. “I’ve been thinking about it, honestly, and it took me a long time to realize it. I was able to figure out that I just wanted to keep seeing you. You were always on my mind. I’m glad we were able to get to know each other.”

“So, you had a squish on me?” Rune stopped walking to look at Sohal. He had a lopsided grin and Sohal couldn’t help but smile back as well.

“Ha, I guess you could say that.”

“That’s good news, because I have a squish on you too,” Rune replied. His response only made Sohal’s smile widen more. His cheeks were hurting but he couldn’t stop.

"Will you go out with me?" Rune asked.

"Like a date?"

"Well, no, it's called a plate, but it's a similar concept."

“So then…  us going to the reopening would be considered a plate then?”

“If you put it like that, then I guess I shouldn’t have asked.” Rune gave a nervous laugh.

“I want to go on a lot of plates with you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Me too.” Rune craned his neck to get a better view of the shops in front of them. “I see some people I know. Ready to go in then?”

“I’m ready and excited for our first plate.”