TW: Death, ANGST,

Zoey pulled up outside the café, her eyes scanning the age-old plaque above the door. She sighed, tucking a stray strand of long red hair behind her ear. The coffee shop hadn't changed in all the years she'd been away, even though it seemed like all of the other buildings had been renovated and updated to match the more modern times.

She shoved the stiff car door open, getting out and facing the café with hopeful blue eyes. Maybe Minty still worked here; Zoey wouldn't be surprised. She shut the car door absently as she hopped up onto the curb, her boots clicking against the concrete.

The door dinged as it swung open, a short ginger-haired man with a beard emerging from the shop with a coffee cup in either hand. Zoey caught the glass door before it closed, holding it open for the tall brunette man that was carrying his own cup of coffee. He bumped into her hurriedly, the accidental contact pulling him from his conversation with the other.

"Sorry, friend," he apologized, reaching over her head to hold the door open for her.
Zoey thanked him probably more than she needed to, turning to head into the café. She bumped into another man, this one blonde, angrily yelling after the other two. It seemed the bearded one had stolen his drink.

As she turned to look, she saw the blonde chasing the ginger and the brunette - both laughing - down the sidewalk and across the street before disappearing from sight. Suppressing a light giggle, Zoey focused her attention once more on the café's counter. She quietly stepped into line behind a gray-skinned man in a business suit and a tanned man wearing a pair of old denim overalls. They were arguing over something, and didn't seem to be buying anything.

Timidly Zoey sidestepped past them, opening her mouth to talk to the tall blonde woman - not Minty, she noticed - who was smiling politely at her.

"Oi," the man in the suit behind her said, "No cutting in line, missy."

Zoey turned to look at them, her mouth opened to retort angrily and give all of the very good reasons she had to cut ahead, but the taller man spoke first.

"Oh, let her go, Sips," he sighed, receiving a good-natured grumble for his troubles.
Zoey smiled nervously in thanks, once more looking at the patient blonde waiting for her order. "I'll just have a cup of hot chocolate," she said quietly.

The woman - Lomadia, her name tag said - nodded with a polite smile, turning to yell behind her. "Hot chocolate, Nano!"

"With whipped cream or no?" Came the response from behind the back room.

Lomadia looked at Zoey questioningly, her eyebrows raised.

"Without, please," Zoey said shyly. She never had quite gotten the hang of ordering anything for herself.

"Without, Nano!" Lomadia paused for a second, scanning Zoey's face. "And throw in a couple marshmallows!" She added over her shoulder.

"Marshmallows?" Zoey said as she reached for her bag. She unzipped the black bag resting in her hip, taking out her purple purse.

"You look like you need it," Lomadia told her with a warm smile. "Something getting you down?"

Zoey glanced towards the table for two at the back of café. "Yes, actually," she said softly. "Thanks."

The girl from the back room shortly emerged, handing her the drink with a smile. Zoey tried not to stare at the faint scar line that ran down her face, nor the similar scar lines that wrapped around her arms, just past her elbow.

The redhead paid for her hot chocolate and made her way to the very back of the café. She pulled out one chair, settling into her seat across from the man who was already sitting there.
"It's been a while since we've been here, hasn't it?" Rythian said softly, glancing around at the coffee shop.

"Yeah," Zoey agreed quietly. "It sure has."

His purple gaze fixed itself on her mug as his mouth curled up beneath the scarf. "Still hot chocolate, huh?"

Zoey smiled. "It's the closest thing they do to chocolate milk."

Rythian laughed, the sound practically melting Zoey's heart. "I suppose so, yeah. I'm sure they would just give you chocolate milk if you asked, though."

Zoey giggled along with him. "I guess it's my way of saying I've moved on."

"You say that, but you're still here." Rythian's gaze softened as he looked at her, a sad smile just visible beneath his black scarf.

Zoey laughed outright, but the sound was hollow and relatively quiet. "I can't let go, Rythian," she said. Tears sprang, uninvited, to her eyes.

"I miss you," he said softly.

She nodded, her head inclined towards the table. She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to hold back her tears, for once glad that the corner was so dimly lit.

"I miss you too," she said, the lump in her throat making it hard for her to speak. "I need you, Rythian."

The purple-eyed man gently rested one of his hands on top of hers. Her thin frame shook with each tear that fell onto the table, her drink long forgotten. Rythian merely sat there as she cried, his warm presence helping soothe her.

"Hey, you okay?" Nano, the girl who'd been working in the back, stopped and glanced at Zoey.

"I'm- I'm fine," Zoey managed, rubbing at her eyes. "I guess I got worked up, sorry."

Nano gently folded her hand over one of Zoey's hands that was resting on the table - the one that Rythian wasn't already holding. "Just tell me if you need anything, okay?" She said softly.

Zoey just nodded, forcing a smile as she looked up and met the girl's discolored eyes. "I will, thanks."

Nano smiled gently, letting her hand fall to her side again as she moved away from Zoey's table.
"She's nice," Rythian said quietly.

"Yeah." Zoey sniffed, rubbing at her reddened face. "Oh Christ, I really picked a bad place to cry."

Rythian chuckled. "I guess that's partly my fault."

Zoey laughed with him. "No, it's just me getting over-emotional."

"Is it time for me to take my leave, then?" Rythian asked, giving her a sad smile.

"What? No, Rythian, don't go," Zoey protested.

"Zoey, it's been a year. Tee's probably lonely," he chided her gently.

"Stupid cat," Zoey muttered to herself. "He always hogged your attention."

Rythian laughed. "No, I think you did that. He's probably looking forward to having me alone for a while."

"I love you," Zoey said softly.

Rythian withdrew his hand from hers, leaving her without the feeling of his warm skin. "I'll see you soon, okay?" he said gently.

Zoey felt tears sting her eyes as she began to cry for the second time that day. "Don't go, Rythian," she pleaded, reaching out for him as she rose from her chair.

"You can always find me here," he reminded her. "I'll always be sitting right there, waiting for you."

Zoey let her head fall back on to the table as silent sobs made her shake. Through her tears, she waited and listened for the door to ding, announcing Rythian's departure.

It never did.

After a few minutes, Zoey downed her hot chocolate - which had cooled into chocolate milk - and headed for the bathroom. She washed her face and, after an awkward goodbye smile to Nano, left the coffee shop.

Her low heels clicked against the sidewalk as she stepped down off the curb, getting back into her car.

She took a moment to compose herself, then drove towards the part of town she'd purposely been avoiding earlier.

Half an hour and quite a bit of courage later, she arrived outside the town cemetery. A short walk brought her down a well-worn path through the trees and into a small clearing lined with headstones.

Zoey stopped in front of a grave, overgrown with ivy. She'd cut back the plants at first, but when the ivy bloomed, the flowers were a painfully beautiful shade of purple, with tinted black edges. Since then she'd mostly let it overrun the grave, but only at the edges.

Her eyes skipped over the name - she knew exactly how each character was written, exactly where each one was.

Something new made her pause. There was writing she didn't recall seeing earlier, just at the bottom of the headstone.

I love you.

Credit to British Part on Ao3