Just for Tonight

Despite their detour at the lake, they still somehow managed to roll into the inn right around dusk.

Well, Amber had called it an inn; Mitsu wouldn’t.

Instead of the cozy little one-story building he’d pictured, what actually stood in its place was a rather illustrious circus tent. Cascades of gold and sheer ribbon flowed down from the pole pocketing out from the top of the tent, and the pattern that stretched across the canvas of the roof resembled an ice cream swirl. It was also, by all accounts, the largest tent Mitsu had ever seen.

“This is the inn we’re staying at?” Mitsu asked in disbelief as Amber circled the perimeter of the tent and steered them toward the stables in the back.

Amber grinned. “It’s not what you were expecting, is it?”

“I was kind of envisioning something a bit more…quaint.”

She chuckled. “It used to be,” she said. “When my friend inherited the inn, she thought the place was too boring, so she renovated it.” Amber’s face softened, and her eyes filled with nostalgia. “It took a long time, but all her hard work finally paid off. Now people from all over the continent come to stay here to see her shows.”

Mitsu smiled. “You sound proud of her.”

“I am.”

Mitsu didn’t doubt that Amber meant it, but the way she worried her lip between her teeth also didn’t fail to escape his notice.

The horses whinnied loudly as Amber rolled the wagon to a stop in front of the wooden stables, their hooves stomping the ground in triumph. Amber and Mitsu both groaned and slumped against the bench. “We finally made it.”

Less than interested in spending another backbreaking second sitting on the bench, Mitsu jumped off in one smooth motion, his feet landing lightly on the soft grass. He offered Amber his hand, and she gratefully accepted it, her slippers causing the small wildflowers to crunch underfoot as she stepped down from the wagon.

From the opposite end of the stables, the stableboy appeared and waved at them as he hurried down the row of horses that would be lodging in the stables for the night. “Oi! Oi, look who it is!”

Amber laughed. “Finch!”

He took off his green beret and fiddled with it nervously, causing the almost bird nest-like bald spot on his head to become visible. “It-it’s good to sees you again, Amber.”

“Thanks for taking care of the horses for me last time,” she said, smiling kindly. “They loved it here so much they didn’t want to leave!”

Finch blushed and looked down at his shoes. “Just parts of my job.” He sent a furtive glance Mitu’s way, and he took that as his cue to introduce himself.

“Hi,” Mitsu said as he bowed. “I’m Mitsu Kaname, Amber’s travel companion. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Oh, oh! Please don’t bow to me! If the ringmaster finds out Amber’s companion bowed to me—”

Mitsu straightened immediately. It had become such a habit for him to bow in business settings, that he hadn’t considered the new environment he was in. “Sorry,” he said, feeling guilty. “I was just—”

Amber raised a hand between the two of them. “There’s no need to apologize. Nothing bad is going to happen. Okay? If Mercy gives you any trouble, you come and tell me, Finch.”

Finch bobbed his head in agreement. “U-um, speaking of the ringmaster… would you likes me to tells her you’re here?”

Amber looked up at the tent. There was something about the way she stared at it that made Mitsu wonder if she could see right through. Now that he knew magic was real here, the possibilities seemed endless. “The next show has already started, right?”

Finch beamed. “Yes! Everyones is waiting for you!”

Amber patted the peachy nose of one of the horses and smiled. It seemed flimsy. “Then I best go ahead and greet her personally.”

“If your sures, then I’ll go ahead and get the horses settled. If you needs the wares from your wagon, just ask and we’ll unpacks them for you.”

“I will, thank you,” Amber said as she handed Finch the reins. “See you at dinner after the show?”

“I’ll be there!”

Amber glanced over at him as Finch led the horses away. Mitsu noticed that she was fidgeting with the sleeve of her robe again. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Though I’m not sure you are. Mitsu wasn’t exactly sure why Amber seemed so off-kilter, but he didn’t feel like he was in a place where he could really ask. Amber wasn’t exactly honest, which could be incredibly endearing or incredibly frustrating depending on the situation. It was better for him to just practice some patience and wait for her to talk about it when she was ready.

Screams and cries of excitement erupted from inside the tent, and based on what he gathered so far, the inn sounded a lot like one of the hotels in Las Vegas. While he’d never been to Vegas personally, he’d heard about it from some formerly well-off bosses. While the entertainment hadn’t been the focus of their trip, they’d told him the performances were jaw-dropping—and also, much to their delight—always served on a bed of booze.

Mitsu hadn’t seen the appeal of that kind of entertainment at the time, but Ferris was a different world. He couldn’t even try to guess what kind of acts they performed here, especially since they had the power to wield magic.

“Come on,” Amber said, grabbing his hand. “If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the rest of the show!”

---------------------------

Mitsu squinted as he read the sign above the entrance, trying to make out the name of the inn etched in wood above the tent flaps. It was just barely legible at this time of night thanks to the glow of some firefly-fueled lamps, but even then, Mitsu couldn’t tell if it said, “Reverb Inn” or “Peverb Inn.”

There were a ton of people crowded outside the tent flaps, but thankfully, Amber proved to be an expert at maneuvering through crowds, and they slipped through the bundle of bodies with ease.

As they finally stood at the entrance, two guards on either side, Mitsu looked up and was finally able to confirm the sign above them read, “Reverb Inn.”

“Amber Lamanne and her plus one have arrived,” she announced to the guards.

The heavily armored women straightened and saluted them, their armor groaning in response to their movements. “It is an honor to have you staying at our inn again, Miss Lamanne! We look forward to doing business with you, as always.”

They both untied the rope keeping the tent flaps closed and opened them wide in welcome. “We hope you and your new boyfriend enjoy!”

“Boyfriend? Oh no, I’m not—"

His words faltered as Amber grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together. “Sorry,” she whispered. “Just for tonight?”

Amber squeezed his hand tightly, and as he stared at her, he noticed for the first time that she had a little scar running through the edge of her left brow. Just like the scar could have been caused by a million little things, Mitsu couldn’t identify what had compelled her to ask him to pretend.

Was she worried about bringing a stranger along to visit a friend? Was she embarrassed not to have a lover? Did she feel some kind of pressure to at least present the façade that she was in a relationship to her friend?

Mitsu recognized it could be for any of those reasons, or none of them. Whatever the case, his current strategy to just sit on his hands and wait for Amber to explain herself definitely wouldn’t fly. He needed to talk to her properly. Even if Amber seemed to squirm underneath his gaze, clearly uncomfortable with the situation, Mitsu wouldn’t be deterred.

Mitsu smiled at the guards sweetly. “Sorry, could you give us a second?”

The guards blinked at him in surprise as he whisked Amber away with hurried steps, pulling her into the more secluded grassy area just off to the side of the entrance.

Mitsu stared down at her for a moment, watching the way she curled away from him, her eyes downcast. “So. Boyfriend?”

“Sorry,” Amber whispered.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Mitsu said softly. “I just want to know what’s going on.”

Amber sighed, looking up at the stars lovingly twinkling above them. “Honestly, a lot. Just—too much.”

“You don’t have to explain everything now,” Mitsu said as he took both of her hands in his. “I just can’t walk into a situation like this not knowing what’s going on.”

“…Okay. Alright.” Amber took a breath. “Bees above, where do I begin?”

“Maybe start with why the guards thought I was your boyfriend?”

Amber squeezed his hands. “I told Mercy I was bringing my boyfriend the next time I visited.”

“…So you lied?”

“It wasn’t a lie!” Amber said quickly. “I really did have a boyfriend. Just…not anymore.”

“Couldn’t you just explain that to her?”

Amber winced. “Mercy wouldn’t accept it.”

“Why not?”

“Because she’s unreasonable,” Amber said bluntly. “And she’s also someone who places a lot of trust in me as her business partner. If she assumes the same way you did that I was lying, I could lose her business.”

Amber huffed in frustration. “Please don’t misunderstand—I love my career. But I need money to support myself just like anyone else.”

Mitsu ruffled his hair. “Ok, I guess I can understand that, but still…what does she use all this honey for?”

Amber looked back at the tent. “To perform the magic in her shows,” she said. “I told you before that honey is a catalyst for magic, right?”

“Yeah.”

Amber brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. “Because it breaks down so easily, it’s usually crystallized and placed inside wands to extend their longevity as a catalyst. Eventually though, the wands break down too—and because of the number of shows they put on, Reverb Inn goes through wands like they go through firewood.”

“So you have some kind of exclusive contract with them?” Mitsu guessed. “They only buy honey from you, right?”

Amber nodded. “Pretty much.”

It was a dilemma, to be certain. Not just for her, but for him.

Amber wet her lips nervously. “…Since I’ve already told you this much, maybe I should just tell you everything.”

“That wasn’t everything?” Mitsu asked, feeling puzzled. It already sounded like a decent enough reason to try to keep up the charade, even if he still wasn’t entirely convinced that a civil conversation between adults wouldn’t suffice to resolve the issue at hand. However, he also realized that just like when Amber had first asked him to travel together, there was something deeper to this that he wasn’t picking up on.

Amber shook her head. “No. But you know what? It’s not fair to put this all on you at once.” She looked up at him, her expression determined. “I’ll only ask for the here and now.”

Amber looked around for a moment to the grassy fields at her feet and picked a lush pink flower that was nearly a perfect match to the color of his eyes. She held it out to him confidently, her shoulders rolled back fearlessly, and yet her hand trembled like a leaf. “Just for tonight…will you be my fake boyfriend?”

Mitsu found himself repeating Amber’s words in his mind. Just for tonight. Not even a full twenty-four hours, and maybe less than three. All Mitsu was being asked to do was dust off his boyfriend title and wear it proudly for the sake of the woman who had rescued him from the uncertainty of living in a new world. Could he honestly, truly refuse her?

…Did he want to?

While he’d long accepted that Sakura was gone, he’d never really considered himself “single” since her passing.

His family and friends often tried to encourage him to try dating again, but he knew that it would have been unfair to the women he’d be seeing. Sakura occupied nearly every corner of his life, and Mitsu was honest enough with himself to admit that he knew he wouldn’t be able to appreciate them for who they really were.

Still, the situation with Amber was slightly different. She wasn’t asking for a real relationship, and when he looked at her, he knew he didn’t see Sakura. Mitsu just saw…Amber.

And Mitsu knew, that despite his desperation to give Sakura his final message, it originally sprouted from a genuine desire to try and move on. The loneliness—the bitter, aching, suffocating loneliness. It was unbearable.

If there was ever a time to test whether it was possible to find romance in someone else, it was now. One night of playing a fake boyfriend wasn’t even a commitment. It was acceptable to fake his feelings and actions. If Mitsu realized that things just weren’t “working out” with her, he could end the arrangement anytime with no hard feelings between them.

Mitsu stared at the tiny, yet elegant flower clutched in Amber’s fist. Then, slowly, he reached out and plucked it from her hand. Amber watched with wide eyes as Mitsu lifted the flower to his nose, enjoying the unique scent of cotton candy it gave off.

Mitsu smiled as he stepped closer. Amber didn’t pull away. Then, he tucked the flower behind her ear before leaning down and murmuring gently, “Then, just for tonight, let’s enjoy each other.”

Amber slapped her hand over her ear and turned the brightest shade of red he’d ever seen. “Don’t just whisper things like that in my ear!”

“Would you rather I say it a little louder then?” Mitsu asked.

“No, I can hear you just fine, Mr. Booty Man,” Amber shot back with a scowl. The redness still damningly lingered in her cheeks as she grabbed his hand. Mitsu didn’t hesitate to lace their fingers together. “Now, c’mon. Let’s hurry up and get this over with!”

Mitsu flushed in unexpected delight and laughed. “Okay!”