“I leave you idiots for one morning— one morning!” You started as soon as they were all behind the counter.

Francis wanted to apologize, but found no energy to do so. With his head tilted up and tissue up in his nostrils, he only let out a groan to let You know he acknowledged him. His nosebleed has yet to stop, while Lala sniffled her nose and wiped her eyes with the sleeves of her dress shirt. She apologized to him numerous times already, and he accepted it. 

Somewhere during all that, Aki left Buns & Beans without saying goodbye. Francis wasn’t sure what that meant, but he hoped the guy would come back one of these days. It didn’t have to be tomorrow. Just… one day. He didn’t want Aki and Lala to remain on bad terms, especially when they had something going on. But ough, for now, his nose!

“Aki’s the real idiot here!” Lala blew her nose on a tissue. “Like, I just wanted him to be okay, and he—”

“And who are you to do that to him? For all we know, you could be an acquaintance at best in his eyes!” You challenged.

“I couldn’t help it! If you saw how he looked, you’d get worried too. What he was doing wasn’t right for his health, and I was trying to help him see that.”

“Really? Look how that turned out!”

“I’m sorry, okay?!”

“Lala was just worried about him, so please don’t fight.” Francis groaned again. He couldn’t see how You and Lala looked like right now with his eyes on the ceiling, but judging from their raised voices, he wouldn’t be surprised if another argument was on the way. He didn’t want that, because one happened already for Pete's sake!

“I’m just stressed over all this.” You muttered.

“Yeah, but don’t take it out on each other. That’s not right.”

This was enough for both of them to finally quiet down. Lala handed Francis more tissues, and he took them to rub it on his nose. Finally, he looked back down on them and gave them a thumbs up to let them know he was fine now. You patted his back, and all three of them sighed at the same time. Although this was all for different reasons. Or at least that was how it felt like to Francis.

“Work?” He held out his hands to them.

You and Lala shared a look, and gave his hands a shake.

“Work.”

Just like that, they resumed their day with their mind full of worries.

***

Francis parked his motorcycle outside of Milka Krem, whistling an Ariana Grande song while taking off his helmet. While it was supposed to be a quick trip with his older sister ordering him to buy Carabao’s Milk, he stopped short when he saw Aki’s figure heading for a bench by Baker Field. He had a guitar with him, and this made Francis curious. Would it be a bad idea to talk to him now? Only one way to find out.

When Aki made his seat on the bench, Francis took his helmet with him as he approached the guy. The bench was overlooking a group of people playing frisbee, but Aki’s mind seemed to be elsewhere. Somewhere far away from U.P.L.B. perhaps. Francis whistled again, snapping him out of it. He waved his free hand at the guy, but he only blinked once, then twice, before it dawned in on him that Francis was greeting him.

“Oh, hello Francis.” Aki nodded his head.

“Can I sit beside you?”

“Sure.” And then he looked back at the frisbee game.

Francis didn’t mind that, and sat beside him, helmet on his lap. They stayed that way for a while, watching the frisbee game in silence, until Aki shifted on the bench. Almost as if he was trying to find the words to say something. While curious, Francis decided to try a different topic for now.

“How long have you been playing the guitar?” He asked with his sparkling eyes on the instrument.

“Huh?” Aki looked at him. “Oh, uh, years. I first learned when I was a kid.”

“Your parents taught you?”

“My brother actually.”

“Nice. Do you mind playing something?”

Aki then worked on tuning the guitar, testing the strings one by one. Once it was all ready, he played ‘Castle On The Hill’ by Ed Sheeran, and music filled up the air. It was nice. Relaxing even. Francis only wished Lala and You were with them right now so they could bask in the moment as well. But after what happened… Well, surely Francis can do something about this, right? There has to be a way for all of them to get back together. The mercenary didn’t want to lose his party just like that, especially after seeing how good their friendship together was.

“How…” Aki frowned when the words didn't come as easily. “... How is Buns & Beans?”

Oh. It looks like it wasn’t just Francis who was thinking of it. “The coffee shop’s fine. We got customers coming and going, and I recently learned that I’m the best at doing Latte Art.”

“What do you mean?”

“You tries his best with it, but I pull it off better. Lala can’t even do the simple ones, and she always ends up spilling milk all over.” Francis laughed at that.

“I see. That’s good to know.”

“Yeah, we’re getting by, but we’re missing your company.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not. Sure it’s only been a few days, but it was enough to miss you.”

He looked at Aki then with a small smile. The man returned it with a confused look. Maybe he didn’t expect to hear that from him, but it was the truth. Even if Lala and You wouldn’t say it. While one would insist everything was fine and that her world wasn’t currently on fire, the other would dismiss everything with a roll of his eyes and usher everyone to get back to work. Francis could see right through them though.

Still, Aki said nothing back and stopped playing, though he left his guitar resting on his lap Eventually, he started playing again but it was a melancholic melody this time. Francis left him be, and looked back at the frisbee scene before them. The people were laughing and yelling now as the frisbee flew high and far. It would be nice if all of them could play around like that too.

“I don’t think I should go back to Buns & Beans.” Aki finally broke the silence between them.

“Why do you think so?”

“You were there. You saw it for yourself.”

“Yeah, but I wanna know your thoughts.” Francis countered, still keeping his eyes ahead of them. The frisbee landed by his feet, and people were calling him over, asking if he could throw it back— which he did with a smile.

“I caused a ruckus last time,” Aki sighed and stopped fiddling with his guitar, “and I got angry like an idiot. I never would have if I had just… I don’t know.”

“I don’t blame you. What you were experiencing with your work at that time was normal for you, right?”

“Yes, which was why I didn’t understand why Lala got all worked up over it. I’ve been doing it for years, and sure it’s not healthy, but it’s what I know.”

Francis nodded his head and drummed his fingers on his helmet. “It must have really shocked you then when she came off strong at you.”

“Do you know why she was like that?”

“She was worried about you.”

At that, Aki quickly turned to look at him. “She… was?”

When Francis only smiled at him, he buried his face in his hands with an exasperated groan. Well, that just confirmed that he never once thought of it that way. Francis had to laugh at how this was going. At least he could clear up that misunderstanding. Maybe it would even give Aki the push to go back to Buns & Beans.

“Are you sure?”

“She said so herself.” Francis shrugged his shoulders.

“I see… I didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t that.” Aki slowly dragged his hands down his face, squishing his cheeks as he did so. “I owe her an apology then.”

“Both of you do to each other. What did you expect, by the way?”

“That she was judging me or something.”

“It sounds like you have a misunderstanding to clear up with her after you apologize.”

“That I do, but I’m not so sure how to go about this.”

Francis eyed his guitar once more, an exciting thought forming in his mind. Would it work? Was it going to be enough to fix this mess, and make things right? Again, there was really only one way to find out. He grinned at that and bumped his shoulder on Aki’s. When he met his gaze, that was all it took for Francis to excitedly share it.

“Aki, boy do I have an idea for you…”