TITLE: Goodbye
PAIRING: Asami X OC
RATING: G
SPOILERS/WARNINGS: Some mushiness.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Please forgive me, I'm making a ton of assumptions regarding the University of Tokyo and its location, surroundings, etc. This is actually a piece of a multichapter fic I've been fiddling with on and off.
DISCLAIMER: Asami, Takaba and the wonderful world of "Viewfinder" belong to the very talented Yamane Ayano.
He watched the bright green numbers on the clock turn from 5:59 to 6:00 and rose from the bed, carefully, so as not to wake the young man next to him. After a quick shower to wash away the sleep, he got dressed, not in his usual three-piece suit, but in a gray V-neck sweater and dark pants. Business was not on the agenda today.
On his way out, he stopped near the bed and took in the image of his lover, sprawled across the bed, naked, limbs tangled in the sheets, sleeping deeply, peacefully. He leaned and gave the partly open lips a whisper of a kiss, resisting the urge to do more. He straightened and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door with a soft click.
After grabbing a light leather jacket from the hallway closet, he left his apartment and headed for the elevator. The ride down was quiet. No one in the building was stirring yet. When he stepped into the garage, there was no idling limousine waiting for him; no aide with an appointment book and stacks of never-ending business documents. His aide knew what the date was, and how he spends it — has spent it for the last decade or so.
As he drove, he thought of promises made. Of promises broken. And of long years of searching. For a person. For an answer.
Traffic became busier as he neared his destination. He decided to park the car in the first open spot he saw and walk the rest of the way. As he stood in front of Akamon, the University of Tokyo's famous Red Gates, he thought of two young men who, about 17 years ago, had found themselves thrust into an exciting world, a different world than they'd been used to. Surrounded by scions of the elite, they had bonded over the fact it wasn't their family names that got them into university — it was their intelligence, their drive, their ambition.
Friendship had blossomed. One night, passions had flared. And Asami Ryuichi had discovered love can take many forms. Even that of a man's.
As he strolled toward Sanshiro Pond, occasionally dodging harried students who were rushing to finals as the holidays approached, he thought about the last time they were together. He'd invited Takeshi to spend the holidays with him at his grandfather's house. His lover had been excited, and had planned to call his father to tell him about the invitation. They had promised to meet at the pond the following day at 8 in the morning.
Takeshi never showed.
He wandered around the garden surrounding the pond, stopping by the places that were part of his life with Takeshi. Like a devout Christian following the Stations of the Cross, he thought to himself, chuckling lightly and with only a slight hint of bittnerness. He was neither devout nor a Christian, but Takeshi's disappearance was his cross to bear.
He had searched for his lover for days, weeks, had asked everybody they knew. Everyone said the same thing: No, they hadn't seen nor heard from Takeshi. It was as if he'd vanished into thin air. Asami had even sought the help of university officials, but they had nothing to give. He was told that as far as they knew, Takeshi was still enrolled and was never pulled from the university. The empty room in the dorm told Asami otherwise.
Desperate, he had sought his grandfather's help. But even with Takeo Asami's vast resources, they hadn't been able find clues regarding Takeshi. He was gone ... with nary a trace.
The searched stretched into months, then into a year and Asami had found himself staking out Sanshiro Pond again. And again. And every year on the same date thereafter.
He had long given up on the idea he would find his long-lost lover, either here at Sanshiro Pond or anywhere else. But he had continued his yearly visit. If only to capture a glimpse of how he once was — hopeful, happy and in love.
He thought of the young man sleeping in his bed. His Akihito. His stubborn, funny, sexy Akihito. And he smiled.
He walked toward where the large stepping stones led to the middle of the pond. Takeshi had once pushed him off one of the stones and into the pond. He had been silly and fun like that. Asami spun around, slowly, taking in the trees, the shrubs, the water, the fish — nothing seemed to have changed since that fateful morning. But he knew he had. Time had dulled the pain of abandonment.
And time had brought someone new to his life.
"Goodbye, Takeshi."