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It was getting to be that time of year when people gathered with friends and family for the holidays, and Yukio was for the first time in a long time feeling the lack of either close by. Yeah, there was Ian, but he had his own family of choice to spend time with; and with his own parents living in San Francisco, it seemed unlikely he'd have them around. Still, since coming clean to them a few months back about his life and what he was really doing instead of attending DCU, there was an underlying peace in his thoughts. It hadn't been fun, and it hadn't been pretty, but it had happened, and that was ultimately for the best.

As he strolled down the wintry streets of downtown Destiny City, the tall DJ's stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten yet. Yukio decided he needed to rectify that, but he had no idea what he wanted. What sounded good? It was always a conundrum, what to eat. He mostly ordered take-away, usually Japanese or pizza or the like, to eat at home while working. But none of that sounded appetizing.

A familiar, tantalizing aroma wafted through the air. Korean! He hadn't had Korean in ages. Following his nose down the street, he came upon the source of the delicious smells, a Korean cafe that he was sure he'd passed a hundred times in his wanderings but never stopped in. Well, now was as good a time as any to get that sorted. Opening the door and seeing that it was a seat-yourself time of day, he picked a spot next to a sunny window, and took off his coat and scarf, draping them over the extra chair at the table and settling into the other chair. The menu was in a plastic stand on the table, and he lowered his little round rainbow shades to peruse it. He already had a pretty good idea of what he wanted, though.

Now it was just a matter of waiting for someone to come and take his order.

Keeping his shades lowered from his eyes, Yukio looked up at the small young man who apparently was his server. Rather distinctive look, with his baby face and pink streak in his hair, as well as his diminutive stature. He didn't look old enough to be working – but he did look rather familiar to the DJ. Like maybe he'd seen the guy at a gig, not as a performer but a member of the crowd, dancing down in front of his stand. It was a possibility…

He blinked and realized he was kind of staring. With a small shake of his head, he focused on the menu. "Yeah, sorry, I'm ready to order. I'd like an order of bibimbap," he said, pointing at the menu, "an order of bulgogi, and a hot tea, please, with milk and sugar."

Yukio allowed himself a small smile at the server. Yeah, he was pretty sure he'd seen this guy before at a club. Maybe it was on one of his own nights out dancing. He wasn't quite ready to come out and say anything just yet, though – for one, he was hungry and wanted the server to put his order in, and two, he wanted to wrack his brain a bit more over where he'd seen him. Otherwise it was going to nag at him.

"Okay," Yukio replied, pushing his shades back up his nose. Now he was certain he'd seen this guy before. He watched the young man dart off to drop his order with some bemusement – the way he moved, he was probably not unlike himself, moving constantly to the beat of the music in a club, dancing all night without a break.

The question now was where? Was it at one of his DJ gigs, pressed against the table right in front of him and bopping up and down with that big happy smile on his face? Or was it on the dance floor of a local club on one of the increasingly rare occasions Yukio went out dancing for the sheer joy of it? (Between his livelihood as a freelance developer and his growing DJ work, he didn't have much time for clubbing these days.)

He awaited both his meal and his tea with anticipation, though his expression and mannerism didn't show it. This was going to be interesting.

It was quite gratifying to be recognized for one's work, filled with a sense of pride for what one did. Still, Yukio could feel his face flush slightly as Holland gushed at him. So that was where he'd seen this guy before: at a DJ gig, probably dancing right up front. It was inevitable, really, as he played out more and was more visible on the club scene. And he wasn't even wearing one of his DJ hats, just his old leather flight hat!

"Pleasure to meet you too, Holland," he nodded, allowing himself the faintest of smiles, just the corner of his mouth twitching up. "It's always nice to meet a fan. I was actually pretty sure I recognized you as well from one of my shows."

Reaching into his man-purse, he pulled out what looked like a ticket. "Here. I'll be one of the warmup DJs for Ummet Ozcan next year at Downtown's main stage – this is a pass to the show, so you can get right behind the DJ stand and be up close and personal with us all." Yukio held the pass out for Holland to take and slid his shades down from his golden-yellow eyes again with the other hand to look at him. It was the least he could do for a fan, give him a backstage pass.

That bit with his shades did it every time. Yukio gave a soft snort of a chuckle, watching how utterly flustered Holland had gotten after first being given a backstage pass, then meeting the full yellow-eyed gaze of what was apparently his favorite DJ. He honestly didn't mean to have that effect on people, but it came in handy on occasion and was fun besides.

Anyway, now he could concentrate on his food, which smelled amazing. Much as he quite enjoyed the attention, he was hungry, and the aroma of the bibimbap and bulgogi made his stomach rumble. He fully removed his shades, the steam coming off the hot food fogging up the lenses, and snorted again. Hopefully his server wouldn't be too overcome.

Yukio couldn't blame Holland, though, he thought as he unwrapped his chopsticks and dug into the bibimbap; he'd once been exactly the same as the tiny young man. The only parts of that former life that still clung to him were the music and the dancing. He used to be that excitable and exuberant, before The Incident – getting dumped hard and painfully in his freshman year of college – turned him into a different man. Taking a sip of his sweet milky tea, he wondered, not for the first time, how different his life would have been if he hadn't reacted the way he had. It was all water under the bridge, really, but an entertaining thought experiment nonetheless.

The food tasted as amazing as it smelled, and the DJ put aside his musings to just enjoy a good meal. A really good meal. He decided he'd have to leave a healthy tip. Glancing around, he located Holland, who had his back turned to the dining area of the restaurant. An eyebrow went up; he hoped he hadn't broken him on accident….