See you on the other side

"That's the last of them," said Eijun as he wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. He and Chris had just finished packing some last minute things.

"Good because the taxi is going to be here in any moment," commented Chris as he took a last minute glimpse around their old apartment.

"Are you sure you can't come with me?" whined Eijun with a pout on his face. He and Chris had been over this so many times now, but it never hurt to ask again.

Chris let out a sigh. He really did want to go with Eijun but with his transfer still not finalized it was impossible at the moment. "You know I can't just yet," he said as he lifted Eijun's chin so he could stare into those golden-brown eyes. He could see the sadness in them, but he had to be strong and resist the urge to give it. It was usually very hard to say 'no' to Eijun.

"I know, but I thought I would ask one more time," said Eijun with a small huff. He raised himself on his toes and gave Chris a quick peck on his lips.

"I guess this is it," said Eijun as he took a look around. He was only taking his backpack and a rolling suitcase. They had already sent over most of their things and Chris' dad had helped take some things with him as well.

Chris took Eijun's hands into his own. "I'm really going to miss you."

"Chris!" cried out Eijun as tears started gathering in his eyes.

"Don't worry – time will pass quicker than you may think. We'll see each other soon."

They both heard a car pull up to the curb and knew that their good-bye had to be cut short.

Eijun threw his arms around his fiance and clung to Chris, trying to hold back his sobs. Chris just held onto Eijun tightly, the reality of the situation catching up with him. He had tried to be strong for Eijun but this was the first time he could feel his resolve weakening. He clutched the body around him a little tighter before releasing it. Before Eijun could step away too far Chris put his palms onto Eijun's face and kissed him deeply.

Eijun responded in kind and they kept on kissing until they heard the taxi honk its horn at them. They broke apart, startled by the noise, but leaned in for one last peck.

"Bye, Chris," said Eijun as he threw the his bag onto his back and grasped the handle of his rolling suitcase.

"Let me know when you land," called Chris, a bit apprehensive at letting Eijun go on his own. They've been on trips together, but never apart. He hoped everything went okay.

"Of course – bye!" Eijun waved after he stashed his things in the trunk of the cab. After he slid into the seat he rolled down the windows and leaned out, waving his good-bye. Chris stood there, waving back, until the car drove out of sight.

Three months later

Eijun had just gotten home from practice and had walked straight to take a bath. He was tired and missing Chris terribly. He knew that he would finally get to see Chris in a week after months of waiting, but practice had been pretty grueling and he would have loved to be able to snuggle into his fiance's arms.

They had spent the time apart on skype and sending emails constantly. He could tell that the time apart was putting a strain on Chris as well and he wasn't the only one missing the other. In a way it had made Eijun feel better just knowing how much Chris was missing him. Every now and then Eijun would spend some time with Chris' dad or hang out with his new teammates, but for the most part he stayed at home on his computer chatting with Chris whenever their schedules allowed.

He also found out that the nightly activities he once enjoyed weren't as fun anymore without Chris there either.

After finishing his bath he walked to the living room and turned on the television. There wasn't any anime airing in America unless he bought some premium channel so he settled into watching superhero shows and sometimes would watch foreign dramas. He wasn't ever really sure what went on in those Spanish soap operas, except that there was always a very dramatic and crazy twist. He would usually watch those to unwind from practice.

Before he could get too settled on his couch his doorbell rang. It was odd. He never really had any visitors and since he still hadn't managed to unpack all the boxes in his place he would rarely invite any teammates over.

He walked over to the door and warily opened the door.

"Surprise," muttered the man in front of him with a bouquet of flowers in hand.

Eijun flung the door open all the way but he could swear that he was dreaming. There was no way Chris was really standing in front of him. Without his consent he could feel tears gathering in his eyes as a smile crept onto his face.

Chris mentally prepared himself to apologize to their neighbors when Eijun suddenly let out a shrill cry of "Chris~~!" and flung his arms around him.

Expecting this sort of reaction, Chris barely managed to move the flowers out of the way. He held onto the body in his arms, holding on equally tightly. He moved his face to the crook of Eijun's neck and breathed in his scent. He knew he missed Eijun greatly, but it wasn't until he had him back in his arms that he realized just how much he missed him.

"What are you doing here?" asked Eijun as he peppered kisses all over Chris' face.

Chris let out a small chuckle as he pushed his way into the apartment.

"These are for you," he said, handing over the bouquet. Eijun took the flowers and stared at them happily, moving further into the apartment in search of somewhere to store the bouquet. Chris brought in his bags and placed them in the entry way.

"Don't think you can distract me with gifts," huffed out Eijun with his hands on his waist. "I thought you were getting here next week."

"I was, but I just..." here Chris paused. He didn't know why it was hard to say aloud, but it sounded better in his head. "I just really really missed you, so I worked hard to finish the projects ahead of schedule. Once those were completely the contract with the hospital were voided in a way and they had no choice but to let the transfer go through early."

"Chris, I missed you so much too!" They both reached for each other simultaneously. They hugged for a long time but then a low rumble from Chris' stomach made them pull apart.

"I may have skipped dinner… and lunch to get here when I did," he added a bit sheepishly.

Eijun let out a bright laugh. "I'll order something in. I haven't gone grocery shopping this week anyway."

They made their way to the couch, the Spanish drama unfolding on the tv screen in front of them as they waited for their meal.

Eijun let out a contented sigh as he snuggled deeper into Chris' embrace.

"I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

THE END