"For a minute I thought BOS wouldn't allow me to go home." Lee Seng sighed. He sat on the couch with candles lit up everywhere. He looked at the woman sitting next to him and lifted his champagne before taking a sip. The woman did the same, listening to him. He snuggled up against her and watched her rest her head on his shoulder. "But they did and now I'm here… A lot has happened since I was gone, hm?"
"Yeah," Olivia nuzzled against Lee Seng. "I reconnected with my parents after I found them six years ago and found out a lot of things… Apparently I had the wrong idea all along… Ugh, I feel so bad."
"But you're finishing up your doctorate, right?" Lee Seng looked at Olivia. Olivia nodded. She downed the rest of her champagne and lifted her empty glass to Lee Seng. Lee Seng guided her glass to the table and downed his. He moved and set it on the table and snuggled up with Olivia.
"Y'know, when I saw that conference six years ago, I was devastated…"
"Why? You were doing what you thought was right then."
"But it still ate at me… You went through so much and I should've been there for you when I… kinda confessed how I felt." Olivia shrugged. Lee Seng leaned into Olivia and kissed her on the lips. He could taste the strawberry from his lipstick. He smiled at her and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm… really sorry that I did that to you. You needed me but I just wanted to see my own parents… The ones who abandoned me with my grandmother and…" Her voice broke and Lee Seng squeezed her into a hug.
"It's fine, Liv. It's not your fault for any of that. Did you tell your therapist about this?" Lee Seng comforted her. Olivia nodded. She had told her therapist this a million times. The guilt was something she couldn't get rid of easily, but everyday it was getting better.
"I did… but—"
Ding dong! Lee Seng and Olivia looked behind them at the door. The doorbell rang again and Lee Seng pulled away from Olivia and stood up. He wandered over to the door, flicking the lights on and burning his eyes. He opened the door, revealing his friends.
"Yo! You're back and you didn't tell us?!?" Manny shouted, enthused. He weaseled his way in while Liz looked embarrassed. "I hope we weren't interrupting… Oh my god. Olivia's here!"
"Hi, hi! It's been awhile." Olivia stood up and smiled at Manny. She hugged Manny and motioned to the coffee table. "Set 'em there. Is Liz here?"
"I am~" Liz moved past Lee Seng. The two women squealed and hugged each other.
"Yo, it's been awhile!" Evan waved at Lee Seng. The two hugged.
"How are you?" Lee Seng smiled.
"Doin' good. Busy bee. I hope we weren't interrupting anything." Evan moved past Lee Seng and saw the lit candles. Lee Seng turned and followed, closing the door.
"Where's Ritsuka? I would assume he would be here." Lee Seng asked his newly arrived friends.
"He's grabbing your brother and his husband." Manny fake gagged. Lee Seng chuckled and nodded.
"WAIT, DON'T CLOSE THE DOOR!" Keng shouted. Lee Seng turned, opening the door again and watching Keng tackle Lee Seng. Lee Seng flew backwards, lamming into the ground. "You're back! You went all over the place, right? Tell me more about China!" Keng smothered Lee Seng with kisses on his face.
"Ah, get off of me!" Lee Seng kicked and threw Keng over his head. He listened as Keng landed on the ground. Lee Seng lifted himself up and watched Calis and Ritsuka pop up.
"I knew these two would fight the moment they laid eyes on each other." Ritsuka shook his head. Calis chuckled and stepped inside first.
"Two peas in a pod." Calis chuckled. "How are you, brother-in-law?" He grabbed Lee Seng and lifted him up into a hug.
"Doin' good. How's my brother? Is he a handful?"
"He's fine… for the most part." Calis chuckled.
"I'm the greatest!" Keng pointed at Calis. Calis pulled away and moved over to hush his husband.
"Yes, you are." Calis pinched Keng's cheek.
"Yoooo, you're so built!" Ritsuka hugged Lee Seng.
"It's good to see you too, sexy." Lee Seng sniffed Ritsuka's neck and pulled away. "You smell good like usual."
"When you're me, you're blessed with wonderful genes."
"Ah, shut up." Lee Seng pushed Ritsuka away. He wandered over to the door and began to close it.
"Oh, I came with someone else." Ritsuka moved back and opened the door. He poked his head out and motioned for someone to come in. A dirty blonde Asian woman stepped into the room. She was dressed up for the occasion, matching with Ritsuka. "This is my fiance, Tiffie. Tiffie, this is my best friend, Lee Seng. You've already met the rest."
"I'm his best friend!" Manny shouted. Liz put her hands on Manny and shook her head.
"Don't start. You have too much energy." Liz groaned. Manny pouted and wrapped his arms around Liz and lifted her up. "Stop~ You're so much today! What's up with you?"
"I'm happy we're all together again! Team Zephyr in one room!"
"Man, all of you are dating and I'm still single." Evan sighed. "Rough life." He loosened his tie.
"But you're gonna be Mr. CEO soon! You're so busy. I'm sure you'll find someone soon." Olivia said. Ritsuka and Tiffie stepped into the room, allowing Lee Seng to close the door behind them.
"Well, we're all here to celebrate Lee Seng's official return!" Manny clapped his hands together. "Let's drink!"
"Ugh, not a lot. The last time we did that, I went to work with a hangover." Evan groaned.
"C'mon, Mr. CEO. It's Lee Seng! We haven't seen him in six years!" Ritsuka cracked a smile at Evan.
"I have like ten meetings tomorrow. My Dad is killin' me with all this work." Evan rubbed his head.
"Sit down and rest, Mr. CEO." Lee Seng motioned.
"Don't call me that, too! You're my only hope, Lee Seng!" Evan moved over and grabbed Lee Seng's hand. Lee Seng laughed and nodded.
"Fine… Mr. CEO."
"AH!" Evan stomped away and planted a seat.
"I see you called Olivia up first and not me." Keng fake pouted. "I thought family was first." Olivia moved over to Lee Seng and linked her arm with his. She rested her head on him and stuck her tongue out at Keng. "Oh you little—"
"Hey, hey. Enough." Calis pulled his husband back into him. Manny pulled some expensive liquor out and showed it to everyone.
"Let's drink!" Manny shouted.
"I'll get some cups." Lee Seng said.
"I'll help~" Olivia walked off with Lee Seng. The two returned with cups and set them down in front of each of their friends.
"So, how long have you been with Ritsuka, Tiffie?" Lee Seng asked. Tiffie looked up, shellshocked.
"Huh?" Tiffie asked, blinking a couple of times. "S-sorry, I'm still shocked that Ritsuka's friends with you. He mentioned you a couple times but never went into too much depth about you." Lee Seng looked over to Ritsuka, who looked away.
"Oh, really?" Lee Seng chuckled. He took his seat in the armchair next to Olivia and chuckled. "I guess I'm not your best friend… I guess it goes to Manny, then."
"Yes!" Manny squealed as he spilled a little bit of the alcohol.
"Hey, be careful!" Liz slapped Manny.
"Ow! Fine, fine!" Manny shouted, continuing to fill each of their drinks. Ritsuka turned and sighed.
"So, how was the BOS? Were they mean to you?" Ritsuka asked, changing the subject.
"They're tough cookies. They wanted to scare me, but you know how I am." Lee Seng grabbed his drink and took a sip. Ritsuka and the others followed suit.
"Yeah, I can see that." Ritsuka nodded. He stood up and lifted his drink. "But we should toast to the wonderful occasion! Our friend, Lee Seng Chang, is finally out of his first contract job! He's back in society after traveling everywhere! To you, Lee Seng, the infamous guy from high school that shook our lives and showed us so much! To Lee Seng!"
"To Lee Seng!" Everyone shouted. Everyone stood up and downed their drinks. They celebrated with cheers and claps.
"Lee Seng, drink for me!" Manny moved and poured him another one.
"Awh, come on. I have somewhere to be tomorrow!" LEe Seng laughed.
"Where? Where ya going?"
"Yeah, where?" Evan asked.
"You didn't tell me about this." Olivia tugged on Lee Seng's shirt.
"I was going to tell you but we got interrupted." Lee Seng cleared his throat and looked at his friends. "My brother contacted me about a place in his guild. I'm joining Penumbra as one of their Specialist Guild Members." The entire group cheered.
"Oh my god! It's happening! You'll finally be able to achieve your other dream of reclaiming the Old World!" Olivia jumped with joy.
"We have to drink to that! C'mon everyone, let's fill our glasses!" Manny motioned. The joy and happiness continued with Team Zephyr. Eight years ago brought the group together. With a lot of curiosity from each member, they soon learned Lee Seng bound them together with something special — an everlasting bond that would continue for the rest of their lives.
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