The yells of the running children blend with the excited barks of dogs. An old man, with his gray-and-white Siberian Husky, passes by the park bench he is sitting on. Just as the large pet turns its head toward him, it lets out a high-pitched bark as if to greet him good afternoon; the animal's cute behavior draws a huge smile from his face.

It's the second week of December, but the surroundings are still warm. A mixed scent of sweet florals and roasted meat permeates the air.

He picks up the long, yellow petals that have fallen next to him on the bench, before looking up at the canopy of ylang-ylang trees. No wonder the park smells like perfume.

And beef, he adds as an afterthought, turning at the food booth not far from where he is. He swallows when his eyes land on the shawarma stall next to a burger stand.

A soft growl comes out of his stomach, reminding him that he wasn't able to have a proper lunch and that it has been nearly three hours since that last meal. He has been too anxious since last night and has been having a hard time focusing on doing anything.

The message from Gaele a few days ago had certainly caught him on the hop. While he had always wanted to get to know his online friend personally, Poll never expected that Gaele would be the first to ask for a meet-up, much less that he would be so straightforward about it.

Poll was too shocked at that time, and he can't remember how he was able to type and send his agreement to the idea. He thought he couldn't get any more baffled then, but Gaele's surprises didn't stop right on his first text.

The next thing Poll knew, he was staring dumbly at the location that his internet friend had forwarded him, with the message, 'Are you okay with this place?'

When he had assented to see Gaele, he had overlooked the possibility that they might be living mountains apart from each other and that it might be hard for them to meet face to face.

But that didn't seem to be the case here, as Poll recognized that the location his friend had sent him was the nearest public park from SDV University.

Truth after truth dawned on him after that. First, the fact that Gaele had wanted them to meet in a particular place in their town only meant he might be residing around the area. And since Poll knew that they were of similar age and year in college, he assumed that Gaele might also be attending the same university.

That brought him to another realization—the biggest one yet. Gaele didn't seem to have any doubts that Ten-Ten would be able to make it to their meeting place. It was as if he were already aware that his online friend was living in the same town. And if that was the case, there was a big possibility that Gaele knew who Ten-Ten really was by now.

Normally, the revelation would have dismayed him. It would have upset him to learn that his online friend, whom he had trusted for a long time, had been hiding an important secret from him. But he didn't know why, instead of being disappointed, he was thrilled to discover that they were just closer than he had always imagined.

It wasn't like he wasn't confused, knowing his internet friend had withheld the truth from him all this time. But Poll wanted to believe him, trust that he had a good reason for doing it. After all, the Gaele he knew would not deliberately do anything that would hurt him.

With his knees jiggling in nervousness, Poll reads the last message he's sent to Gaele.

Ten2: i'm already here in the park wearing a red hoodie and black jeans.

He tightens his hand around his phone as he remembers the other thing that has been making him jittery for hours. It's all about the dream he had last night.

Maybe it was because of his great excitement that brought this long-awaited meeting into his sleep. There was really nothing significant about the dream. Except that the Gaele who appeared in front of him was a certain pretty boy with brunette hair and different-colored eyes.

Poll can't recall what came after that. The dream was too vague. Yet when he awoke, a strange sense hit him and made him feel like it was real.

He tried to attribute the feeling to the fact that he had been wishing for Eujae and Gaele to turn out to be the same person. Perhaps it was his subconscious desire that conjured the dream. Perhaps it didn't mean anything at all.

But the other part of his mind has been telling him otherwise. He doesn't want to get his hopes up, but he's realized that Eujae and Gaele have an awful lot of similarities, aside from their birthday, to be considered mere coincidences.

Cooking? Reading? Those are the few things they both like.

Desserts? Eujae never hid how averse he is to them, while Gaele told Ten-Ten before that he doesn't bake because he is not fond of sweets. Now that Poll thinks about it, when Eujae gave him the chocolate muffins, he said that it was his first time making them.

Even their personalities are almost the same. Both honey-tongued; they can sometimes come off as ingratiating. They can also be insufferable with their relentless teasing, but Poll knows that deep inside they mean the sweetness they show to the people they care about.

He is aware that he doesn't have any solid proof to back up his suspicions. Even his internet friend's real name is unknown to him, and Poll can only infer that the letters in Gaele can also be found in Eujae Nigel.

One can say that it's a confirmation bias, that he's just seeing what he wants to see. After all, Gaele admitted before that his real name has something to do with the word 'eagle,' just like his handle, but when Poll searched for it earlier, he learned that neither the name Eujae nor Nigel holds the meaning.

While he is lost in thought, a shadow looms over Poll. Unheeding, he moves his gaze up, and once he gets a good view of the form that's standing before him, he tenses. A sense of déjà vu washes over him.

The image looks exactly like the one in his dream. Only, the person's heterochromia is hidden by the crystal blue contact lenses. There is warmth in his eyes despite their current icy colors, and his brown hair glimmers under the sun.

It is the man's appearance that makes Poll's head float into space, and it is his voice that pulls it back to earth.

"Have you been here for long?"

Startled, Poll squeaks, "Wh–what are you doing here?"

Without bothering to answer, Eujae sits down beside Poll. He acts like he didn't hear the male twin at all and keeps his eyes in front.

"Hey, I believe I asked you a question," Poll points out, the irritation becoming clear in his tone. Given they have been running into each other a lot, he has been asking the same thing from the same person for years. But Poll can't understand why he is desperate to hear a proper answer from the man this time. He isn't even sure what kind of response he wants to get.

Eujae finally gives him attention. With a solemn expression, he mutters, "Yeah. And I believe we agreed to meet up."

At the response, Poll's eyes widen. His breath hitches in anticipation, but he tries to keep his expectations low. "What? What are you talking about?"

A sigh follows a short pause before Eujae answers tentatively, "I've been contemplating how I was going to tell you this. I've thought of so many ways to come clean with you. But in the end, I realized that there is no better way than to stop beating around the bush." His stare becomes more intense, as he says the last couple of words, "I'm sorry for making you wait... Ten-Ten."

The delivery of his pseudonym in Eujae's rich, warm voice comes to Poll like a cold gust. His heart comes alive, bouncing against his chest, but he can't decide whether it's a good thing or not.

And his stomach; he needs it to shut up.

"Gae..." Poll gulps, having trouble getting the question out. "You're Gaele?"

There is a plea in Eujae's eyes when he smiles faintly. "I hope you're not disappointed."

Distracted by the jumbled sensations in him, the words are lost on Poll.

The male twin becomes silent, unsure of what to say. He may have hoped for this to happen, but now that it has, he is no longer certain how to react.

The constant complaining of his gut doesn't help either. Unable to keep it in check anymore, Poll springs.

"I'll be back in a second," he states and then runs out of the area without looking back, without seeing the downcast expression on the other man's face.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Seconds turn into a minute, and minutes turn into an hour. It has been a while since the male twin excused himself and left him in the public park.

Eujae wants to hold on to Poll's words, to believe him when he told him he would be back. The day is young after all. There is still plenty of time for Poll to return.

Yet with every single tick of the clock, Eujae feels his apprehension growing.

He knows it's too much to ask that his revelation be accepted without question. Of course, he didn't expect this moment to settle without a hitch, but he had at least hoped that he would be given a chance to explain himself, that Apollo would listen to his reasons.

For all those wishes, he can't blame the guy for running away from him. Eujae understands Poll's reaction earlier. He even considered that the situation might end up like this. It is not like he didn't prepare for the worst thing to happen; he damn well did.

But what he wasn't ready for was the whole effect on him. He never anticipated that the consequence would hurt this much.

With closed eyes, Eujae wrings his hands and drops his head. His emotion takes shape and gets stuck in his throat, making it difficult for him to swallow. The sense of abandonment pierces inside him. Slowly, painfully.

So this is what it's like to be rejected. This must have been his karma for never getting the feeling even when his ex-girlfriends broke up with him. Those moments used to upset him, but his disappointment during those times doesn't compare to the ache that his heart is experiencing right now.

In despair, Eujae remains hunched over.

Different noises continue to fill the area. People are chattering. Dogs carry on with their barking. Overhead, birds twitter. Vehicles can be heard from a distance.

So it's true that the world is not going to stop for anyone; it will keep on spinning regardless of a single person's feelings.

Eujae doesn't know how long he has been curled up—doesn't really care—when a rustling presence draws near him.

The second he opens his eyes and lifts his head, a brown paper bag blocks his line of vision. At the same instant, the tang of coffee and freshly roasted chicken fills his sense of smell.

Eujae stares blankly at the kraft paper bag before he catches a glimpse of the baller bands around the left wrist of the person who is holding it out to him. Wondering where he has seen them before, he studies the black and green checkered pattern of the first jelly bracelet and the white triangles on the yellow and orange shade of the other one.

Just as a certain memory finds its way to his mind, Eujae slowly straightens his back to view the person's face, his heart beating rapidly in suspense. His anxious gaze falls into the pool of autumn colors; the young man's chestnut-brown eyes seem to have acquired flecks of gold as the light reflects on them.

There is a big chance that the image in front of him is a mere illusion. But somehow, it helps calm the uneasiness inside him.

And when the person speaks—the hoarseness in his words so clear and so real—the solid weight that has been pressing against Eujae's chest instantly turns into dust. He has never known that the grit in someone's voice can sound this pleasant.

"Here." The male twin offers the brown paper bag to Eujae. "I am not sure what kind of drink you'd like, but since I know you don't like sweet stuff, I bought you black coffee. And the shop I went to only has cakes and cookies and mostly sweet snacks so I just got you a chicken shawarma from that stall."

Poll gestures toward the said stall, but Eujae doesn't give a damn about the food stand. Right now, all he cares about is this person. He keeps his eyes on him, his stare unwavering, as if he is afraid Poll is going to vanish if he so much as blinks.

When Poll turns his head back in front of him, he must have noticed Eujae's lack of reaction. He takes a quick look at the paper bag before shifting his eyes to the other man.

Poll pushes the bag closer to Eujae, but not so much that he's practically shoving it in the latter's face. The smell of food grows stronger, yet it doesn't distract Eujae from studying the person in front of him.

"What?" The male twin is starting to look and sound concerned. He wrinkles his brows, and as a small pout forms on his lips, he explains, "They're good even though they're cheap. And I got you the spicy one. You said you prefer your food spicy, right?"

Eujae still fails to respond.

"You don't like it?" Poll asks, insecurity crawling into his voice. "Would you have preferred the beef over chicken? I can trade my burger if you want since I haven't taken a bite of it and it's a beef patty. It's just that I wasn't sure if you eat beef because some people don't like it, right? So I went for a safer choice and picked out the chicken for you because I know you eat chicken, but if you want the beef, I'll give you my burger. Or would you rather have the beef shawarma?"

Listening to the man ramble, Eujae almost smiles. Poll sounds awkward but adorable all the same.

There is no doubt that he is Ten-Ten. It is evident in the way he fumbles for words when he is worried about Gaele but is uncertain how to express himself. And the way he hesitates when he thinks he might be overstepping.

"Oh, or maybe you don't want to eat anything. Sorry, I was hungry so I just went and assumed that you were too."

Pressing his lips together, Poll starts to withdraw his hand. He bows his head a little to look at the paper bag of food; the glint slowly fades away in his eyes. He looks like the little kid who was excited to show his work to his teacher, only to be ignored.

At last, Poll's dejected expression manages to puncture Eujae's inattention.

Before the male twin can drop his arm to his side, Eujae grabs his wrist. The abrupt action makes the paper bag swing towards him, hitting his face.

"No, no. I'd take them," he declares. With his hand still around the other man's wrist, Eujae lowers the bag from his face. He doesn't let go of Poll even when he takes the food and puts it beside him on the park chair. With a relieved smile, he looks up at the male twin. "Sorry for spacing out."

This time, it is Poll who doesn't answer. He remains silent as though he is waiting for Eujae to say more, to explain why he was out of it earlier.

"I thought you left," Eujae admits in a quiet, almost fearful voice.

At the statement, Poll gives him a long, puzzled stare. Questions float in his bronze-like eyes before a flash of understanding passes through them. "What? But I told you I'd be back!"

"Yes," Eujae mutters, uncertain what else to say, and squeezes Poll's wrist. "Thank you for coming back."

Despite the frown that settles back on his face, Poll's tone is gentle when he asks, "Why did you even think I was not coming back? Is it because I was out for too long?" He slides his hand out of Eujae's hold, and the latter reluctantly lets go.

As Poll joins him on the bench, Eujae notices that he is holding another kraft bag in his right hand. He watches the male twin take out a coffee cup and a wrapped burger. When he puts the drink down in the space between them, Eujae catches a whiff of fresh coffee and cocoa. He suspects it's mocha.

"Sorry, I was not able to go back sooner." The male twin starts to unwrap his burger. "The long line of customers in the coffee shop held me back, and I couldn't get you any drink from the food stalls in this park because all they have are soft drinks and sweet fruit juices. Also, sorry for suddenly leaving you earlier and making you misunderstand it. Since I didn't have a proper lunch, I felt my stomach growling. I thought it was not a good idea to talk to you while I was hungry so I grabbed some food first."

Poll glances at the paper bags in between them and opens the one he gave Eujae. "You should at least drink the coffee before the ice melts. I wanted to buy you some cold tea, but I couldn't find anything in the stores I went to." With his little finger, he pokes the other man's hand.

Once Eujae opens his palm, Poll presses the coffee cup against it, urging him to hold the container. The former accepts it with an appreciative expression before he looks back ahead.

Compared to when he arrived earlier, there are fewer people strolling in the park. Most of them look like teenagers. A lot of older people have probably gone home with their kids.

Absentmindedly, Eujae unlids the cup and raises it to take a sip of the drink. Just to cough when the biting flavor of the black coffee hits his tongue.

Pulling the disposable drink container away from his mouth, Eujae stares at the dark liquid with a horrified expression, as though it's poison. He may have said he is not a big fan of sweets, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is fine with a drink that tastes as if a whole pack of instant coffee powder has been dumped in a single cup of water.

Worried that Poll might have misunderstood his reaction, Eujae turns to his side. Fortunately, it seems like the male twin is too busy munching his burger and watching people in the park to notice him.

With a sigh, he looks back at his drink and observes the indistinct reflection of tree leaves and scattered lights on the dark coffee. He holds the cup with both hands and runs his thumbs over its rim as he murmurs, "I thought you were mad at me for hiding the truth from you."

His words hang in the air, convincing Eujae that Poll didn't catch what he said. He throws him a sidelong glance, only to be met by an intense stare.

Poll takes a bite of his burger and chews thoughtfully, before replying, "I admit it's surprising. Even now, I still can't believe that you are Gaele. It just feels... what's the word... it feels surreal to know that the online friend with whom I have been joking around for months turns out to be the person I used to..." He nibbles his bottom lip while he twiddles with his food. Even though he doesn't bother completing the last sentence, Eujae gets it perfectly.

He also understands the surreal feeling that Poll is talking about. That was exactly what he felt the first time he learned that the most troublesome guy he knew and his internet friend were the same people.

"But I am not mad at you, Eujae. Honestly, I kinda hoped that you'd..." Faltering, Poll shakes his head. He stares at the ground; the hand that is holding the food is suspended in front of him. "Maybe if I had discovered the truth first during the time when we were still fighting with each other, I would have been really angry at you. I would not have even given you a chance to explain and I would have just automatically assumed that Gaele... that you deliberately duped me and played me, and that you must have been having fun lying to me. I'd suspect that you must be thinking what a big idiot I was for believing all the kindness that Gaele showed me."

After placing its lid back on, Eujae lays the coffee cup on the brick planter behind the bench. He takes a deep breath before explaining, "I didn't want to lie to you. When I first met Ten-Ten, I also didn't know that it was you. To be honest, even I was troubled when I discovered the truth. But not once did I ever think that tricking you was fun. All the concerns that Gaele has given Ten-Ten, all the words that I have told you as an online friend, I meant every single one of them. I meant it when I said I enjoy talking to you... or when I said your reactions are cute when you're getting annoyed at me."

Eujae answers Poll's pout with a soft smile.

"If there is something that I found fun doing with Ten-Ten, it was teasing you." Desperation shakes his voice as Eujae implores, "I'm sorry for not being completely honest with you sooner. It's just that I was afraid I might lose Ten-Ten if you learned the truth. And at some point, I got scared of losing you too, Apollo."

I like you. Carried away by the moment, he almost confessed. He manages to hold himself back, thinking there is a perfect place and time for that.

"I..." Poll takes the last bite of his burger and then drinks his mocha. "Fine, I forgive you."

The answer—something that sounds too good to be true—doesn't immediately register. And even when the words have gotten through, the first thing that Eujae does is search Poll's face for any indication that he's trying to lead him on.

The male twin must have been dissatisfied with Eujae's reaction as he frowns. "This is the part where you should be thanking me for being understanding, and the part where you should be telling me you were wrong for calling me immature."

It takes some time for Eujae to fully accept that he is not imagining anything. Covering his eyes with his palm, he lets out a chuckle that sounds like a mix of amusement, incredulity, and relief.

"Oh, god. Really." He keeps uttering garbled phrases, unable to find the perfect words to express himself. It's like everything that used to weigh him down is blown away and now it feels like he's levitating. Finally, he peeks at his companion and breathes, "Thank you. Thank you for believing me, Apollo."

Eujae's gaze darts to the other man's lips and notices how they are slightly jutting again. Damn, he badly wants to kiss that cute pout right now.

"That's because..."

It is only when Poll starts to talk that Eujae moves his eyes to meet his brown, innocent ones.

"You know, we had been arguing and fighting for years 'cause... Well, Tem told me before that we were both too proud and equally stubborn—" The familiar blaze jumps into the male twin's earthy-colored eyes "—but I believe you were more stubborn than I was and you were annoying. Even when you were Gaele, you never listened to me and you just always insisted on getting what you wanted. You called me Ten-Ten–"

"Because it's cute."

"–despite me already telling you that my username was Tento, and you kept calling me little bro or little Ten-Ten even though I'm older than you–"

"By eighteen days."

"–and I am nowhere near little."

The passionate rant has provided Eujae with some sense of comfort. Once his earlier despondency gradually subsides, a grin pulls on the corners of his mouth. "So this is what it's like to listen to Ten-Ten whine in person. Anyway, I already told you this before, and I am just going to repeat myself here. I'm taller than you, so you're little to me."

"See? You're an annoying brat who never listened to me." The male twin shifts his eyes down and starts to fiddle with his baller bracelets. "So what I was trying to say is that I thought maybe Tem was right. The biggest issue with us was that we always had a hard time communicating because we never stopped to listen to each other. If I had chosen not to hear you out, we would have just ended up with the same problem. We would have argued and hurt each other again. And I..." He glances at the man beside him. It is only for a second that their gazes connect because Poll immediately averts his eyes, and he continues to mumble. "Honestly, I don't wanna fight with you anymore, Eujae."

For a moment, the memories of their quarrels come back to Eujae. He recalls those times when Poll had caused him to blow a fuse, and those times he made the guy cry. Even he doesn't want to go back to that period anymore, granted that it has only been a couple of weeks since their last misunderstanding.

With a warm expression, Eujae does one of the things that he loves doing with Apollo. He puts his hand on the other lad's head to ruffle his dark hair, ignoring his protest. "I guess I have to acknowledge the fact that my little Ten-Ten, this small angry bean, has really grown up."

Glaring, Poll pushes Eujae's hand away. "I told you to stop treating me like a kid just because you're taller! I'm still older than you."

Though still an angry bean, Eujae thinks, chuckling.

They fall into companionable silence when they simultaneously look ahead of them to watch the occasional passersby.

Eujae sighs, appreciating for the first time since he arrived in the park the calming floral fragrance of the area. Any food that is honeyed or sugared is still out of the question for him, but he's learned that if it's just the smell, sweet is not bad at all. He doesn't mind the scent of flowers, and he especially likes the combined aroma of candy and citrus.

After a while, Poll cuts through their quietness. "Hey, do you still want your shawarma? Can I have it if you're not going to eat it?"

No longer mindful if he's going to attract weird glances from the people around, Eujae lets out a carefree laugh.

Oh, god. He really loves this guy.

"All yours, Apollo."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

AN: Sorry for the little delay on this update. I had some issues writing this chapter, and at some point, I felt like just scrapping a large chunk of what I had written for it and restarting from scratch, but my impatience got the better of me so I just went with it. I hope you still like it even though it feels half-baked to me, hehe. I'll try making it up to you in the next chapters. Until then!