Token (Wizalius)After using up all the tokens they had, both of them decided to exchange more, until it reached the bottom of their wallets. In the end, they still failed to get the axolotl doll or the French toast plushie. Vezalius turned to Wilson and smiled bitterly, with his flat wallet in his hand. “If we don’t give up, I’ll have to skip dinner. Let’s come here next time, though I’m not satisfied.” He saw the other person’s hands gripping the lever tightly, with his eyes not leaving the doll stuck at the edge of the hole for a single moment. “But this is what you want…” he mumbled.

“It’s OK. at least we got the matching ones, didn’t we” Vezalius flipped his school bag, revealing the small key chain. His was the normal version, while Wilson’s was the limited edition, the maple syrup croissant. Wilson stared at their paired key charms with a complicated look, murmuring, “I wanna get Zali the chocolate one. Then I’ll not be the only one getting a limited one.” The other person chuckled, and quietly held his hand. They could link their fingers with the cover of their sleeves and bags. Wilson’s fingers shrank, but he still stiffly accepted his natural movement. He was not a big fan of physical interactions, while Vezalius was used to expressing his love through doing so. A sudden kiss from him always cut off his flow of words. But he didn’t hate it, and was slowly learning to accept this different love language.

Vezalius pulled a candy out of his pocket and placed it on Wilson’s hand. “Doesn’t matter if we don’t have the chocolate croissant, because I’ve got chocolate right here.” He looked at him in confusion. “What flavor is it” Vezalius replied casually, “Coffee.” Wilson nodded, and took it into his mouth, chewing it slowly. He frowned, and then pulled Vezalius by the collar, sending the melted chocolate into his mouth with his tongue tip. “You lied. It’s milk chocolate,” he said.

They stood under the streetlight, holding each other’s face, laughing gently. Wilson whispered his love language to Vezalius’ lips.

Happy times always pass in the blink of an eye, and so do times of happiness. The next time he “consciously” went to meet Wilson was at his wedding. He wasn’t actually too surprised when receiving the news of Wilson’s wedding. He was only surprised that the dates of his sister’s and his weddings overlapped, and then he was slow to realize that not only the dates, but also the identities overlapped. Vezalina had talked about her boyfriend, who was in a stable relationship with her, but never mentioned his identity, and Wilson revealed nothing about his relationship. So they unintentionally kept the secret from the one who cared about them the most.

Now he just numbly thinks that his sister is going to marry his former lover, and he, who knows barely anything about it, is even the main character. Only after he bit the toast did he realize Wilson’s jokes about Vezalina might not have been jokes at all. He had always said Vezalina was the very woman he admired, and that if he liked the female, she’d undoubtedly be his ideal type. The two of them were still fully naked in bed, their bodies only covered by a thin blanket. Vezalius jokingly said, “You’re not going to do ‘something’ to my sister, are you You can’t say this after doing ‘this’ with me.”

Wilson laughed, “Zali, you know I’m the type of guy who says whatever comes to mind.” It’s not wrong, even after all these years, his bluntness hasn’t reduced a bit. As he and Vezalina walk arm-in-arm around the toast, Vezalius politely clinks glasses with them. As soon as Wilson sees him, his eyes widen and he gasps, “If it wasn’t my wedding with Vezalina today, I’d just fall in love with you again.” Vezalina’s smile freezes for a moment, but she responds quickly, teasing, “I can take off my ring and give it to Zali now. Should I give him the kiss of promise as well”

“Zali — it’s my wedding, can you please stop being so attractive You’re stealing the attention….” Wilson is indeed a straight shooter, and Vezalius has always known that. He’s never changed, and he’s still indulged in his own world when he talks. Vezalius has never changed; either, he’s still his most patient listener.

He still speaks with the same confidence and grace that attracted him a few years ago, and he’s still drawn to him. “Speaking of matching outfits, it seems Vezalina thinks it’s cute to go out wearing them, but I feel a bit awkward. Matching pendants are different though. They’re understated and can be used as a token of affection…. Wait Is the thing on your purse —”

“It’s the limited chocolate croissant.” He lets the little key chain lie in his palm, as if showcasing his most invaluable treasure. “I passed by a crane machine shop after work a couple days ago, and saw lots of stuff that was popular a few years ago. Then I remembered you always wanted to get me this, and… it only cost me two tokens.”

They both burst out laughing. Wilson held his stomach, wiping the tears at the corner of his eyes. “Gosh, we almost sacrificed our dinner money at that time.” But after laughing that hard, his expression turns to resignation immediately. “But… I’ve lost mine. I swear, I’ve been cherishing it Maybe it was lost on the subway, I kept looking for it but couldn’t find it…. I’m sorry, Zali.”

Vezalius tilts his head in confusion, “It’s no big deal. Why are you apologizing” The other person dodges eye contact subconsciously, “Because you care about it so much… It’s already been years, and you’re still remembering what I said. Meanwhile I’ve broken the promise.” He can’t help but reach out and stroke Wilson’s hair, sighing, “Don’t blame yourself. How many of the promises made during school years were actually serious” Although the high-school Vezalius barely made verbal promises, he made a lot of them in his heart, and still lives up to them to this day. When he sees Wilson showing vulnerability, his heart still secretly beats fast.

“I guess so. What we said as students sounded ridiculous compared to what we say now. Oh yeah, I wanna say, Zali, your cufflink is pretty.” Vezalius rubs its rough surface, saying, “I sewed it by myself. Don’t you think it looks like those tokens in the arcade”

“That’s what I was about to say Once I saw it, all the memories just came to me. And then I was forced to remember how many tokens we’ve spent…. We were really crazy then.”

Vezalius shakes his head, mocking his past self. Meanwhile, Vezalina is calling Wilson in the room. After he says goodbye and is about to leave, Vezalius grabs his hand and kisses his cheek softly. “It’s a polite goodbye. Wilson, good night.” Even after the two of them are separated, even though it’s Vezalina that’s standing in front of him, Wilson can still feel Vezalius’ hand and lips. Whenever he touches his cheek, the part that has been kissed still heats up for some reason.