"so you and sae broke up for good or what?" your best friend hiroki asked as he took a swig of beer from the mug filled with the amber alcohol.

you sat beside him at the bar, indistinctive chatter filled your surroundings on top of the mellow music playing from the speaker. watching as the bartender mixed up a cocktail for you, you let out a short sigh, "you know, i actually don't know. we still live together, which is really weird considering we called it quits like a month ago, but we hardly ever see each other, much less talk." you thanked the bartender for your drink, taking a sip from the glass before continuing on, "i want to believe we'll get back together but our lives are just so different now."

moving to japan after finishing university was never something you believed you were capable of doing. with the overall expenses of living and paying off student loans, you didn't think you could afford moving anytime soon. but when sae offered you the opportunity to move in with him in his apartment in tokyo, you took that chance with no hesitation.

at first, it was a breeze. you were able to job hunt and sae was able to focus on his career in soccer while still making the time for each other. but as things got more hectic, the time spent together eventually became less and less till one day you both came to the mutual decision in ending your almost 6 year relationship.

sae agreed to letting you live with him for as long as you needed till you were financially stable enough to move out, but it seemed like getting there was beyond reach. you started feeling like you were burdening him. despite helping with rent, doing chores, and cooking, it felt like your presence frustrated him.

living together while not being in a relationship stirred chaos. arguments became frequent and you two hardly bat an eye towards each other. with your schedules being completely different, you slowly started disappearing from his life. the only time you were both home at the same time was when it was late into the night. but even then you took the couch and avoided seeing him whatsoever.

"i genuinely think you guys could get back together. 5 years is a lot to throw away," said hiroki looking at you with sadness in his eyes. being the one who set you and sae up and watching as you fell apart made him upset. "like obviously right now might not be a good time, but in the future."

"i'm like 23, everyone i know is starting to settle now that half of us are out of school. i don't know if i can hold onto him any longer, what if it's a waste of my time?" you took another sip of your drink, "i love sae, i really do, but i think it's time i move on."

hiroki rolled his eyes, "[y/n], i'm gonna be completely honest with you, if you still love sae this much, there's no way you're going to get over him just like that."

you nodded your head in agreement, although you wished you didn't. it hurt knowing that sae wasn't your forever person. you weren't ready to let go of him but you saw no chance of him being back into your life.

"i just wish there was an easier way."

"the only way is for you to talk to him."

"i'm scared."

placing a hand on your shoulder, hiroki turned his stool to face you completely. "i know it's scary but if you really want him back you can't expect him to know that without you talking to him."

"goddamnit, why does this shit have to be so hard?" you sighed, "i wish he had some magical powers to read my mind."

hiroki stifled a laugh, "you'll be okay, i promise."

as the night ended, you stumbled into the apartment, tipsy but not drunk. thankfully the pub was near your residence so you could walk without being in fear of anything bad happening.
though you were distracted with hiroki's words about talking to sae. you were all for it but the only problem was finding the right window of time to catch him in the same place as you to talk.

you figured he was home, his car was parked in his assigned spot next to yours, but being under the influence you didn't think it was a good time to spark that conversation. perhaps talking to him before your night shift at the restaurant down the road was the better option as it was an off day for him.

the following day arrived quickly, you slept through most of it anyway, being sure to wake up in time to talk to sae as well as get ready for work.

you hurriedly bathed and brushed your teeth before slipping into your uniform and making yourself a bit more presentable for your shift. thankfully you had an hour before you had to leave. finding this to be the perfect chance to talk to sae, you nervously knocked on the door to your once shared bedroom.

"come in."

steadily opening the door with the all too familiar squeak as it creaked open you hastily walked into the room, being sure to shut it behind you. "sae, we need to talk."

sae sat on the king sized bed you once slept on next to him, a book open in his lap that was put to the side upon hearing those words. his hair was slightly messy, not finding the need to fix his appearance as he wasn't leaving the house anytime that day. he wore a plain gray tshirt and a pair of sweatpants that loosely rested around his waist.

"don't you have work soon?"

"i do but this is important."

you sat on the edge of the bed, being sure to keep your distance from sae who kept his vision focused on you. "what do you think of our break up?"

pursing his lips together, sae moved his position to sit next to you. crossing his arms against his chest he opened his mouth to speak before closing it again, seemingly thinking about what to say as if he was deciding his next move in a game of chess.

"i think our break up was both a bad and good decision."

confusion washed over your mind, you prepared yourself to hear the worst of the worst but instead you were met with something you weren't expecting. this wasn't a response you prepped yourself to answer, "what do you mean?"

"well for starters, we've been together for a really long time. to add to that we were solely long distance before a year ago. we have basically been through so much together and we ended because we couldn't find the time for each other. but with that we also have to remember we physically could not see one another in the past and we didn't let that stop us. so there really was no point in breaking up."

you agreed. being long distance was extremely hard. especially with the time zone difference, being able to call wasn't something that could happen every day. you didn't understand why now that you were in person, you couldn't have that same energy to balance your work life from your love life.

"however, as my career grows and with you juggling multiple jobs and trying to find stability, i think it's for the best we split." sae adjusted his posture, still maintaining eye contact with you. "why do you ask?"

"i was just thinking..." you trailed off, trying to escape sae's piercing gaze. "what if we tried again?"

bracing yourself for the 'no', you sucked in your breath, suffocating the churning of your stomach that made your head spin.

"i would be okay with that."

exhaling abruptly, your eyes widened in shock, "wait what?"

"i said, i would be okay with that."

"no, i know what you said, i'm just shocked you said yes." you could feel the nervousness and tension leave your body, relief filled your lungs, you were almost ecstatic. even with sae agreeing, you knew that in order for things to work, things had to change.

sae uncrossed his arms, dropping them into his lap, releasing the tightness in his shoulders, "if we try again, we both need to show each other that we are more than capable of not only putting our careers as a priority, but also putting our relationship at the top too. this means that no matter what, we cannot let work take over our mind."

"of course, effort is one of the most important things we need to put in for us to try again."

"very well then, let's start over."

you beamed a smile, your heart fluttered, it felt like your were floating. "sae, i love you. i love you so much." those words you haven't used in so long spewed out of your mouth, so easy to say, a phrase you had to restrain yourself from saying whilst being apart.

"i love you too, [y/n]." sae tenderly smiled at you, a rare sight to see that made you feel dizzy in love. the way his lips curved upwards, his eyes filled with warmth. "you start work soon, you should get going."

"i will, just—" you hoisted yourself up, facing your once again boyfriend. "stand up really quick."

sae did as you said, standing in front of you. your arms immediately wrapped around him, chest to chest, his hands finding their way to the small of your back where he always would place them. you captured him in a kiss that ignited fireworks in the pit of your stomach, it felt as if the whole world stopped, like you two were caught in a picture. you wanted this moment to last forever.

you pulled away for a second before kissing him once again, desperation for him was engraved into your brain. you missed this feeling, the feeling where nothing but you and him mattered. "i have to go now, but let's talk later."

"okay."

you kissed his cheek before leaving the room, smiling at him with a wave, "i love you, sae."

"i love you, [y/n]."

end.

+++

author's note;
guys??? this is the end of dm
after almost 2 years??? what the hell???
BUT IN ALL SERIOUSNESS
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE
SUPPORT, I LOVE YOU ALL SM!! <3
(will def be releasing more sae content
after i finish some of my other books because
i love that man so fucking much)