"We apologetically write to inform you that your former wait-list letter was a mistake made in our admissions office. Congratulations, you have been accepted to Nagaoka University of Technology! In preparation for your attendance to our acclaimed university, please sign up for an orientation date as soon as possible. We cannot wait to see what successes you will accomplish here with us at Nagaoka! Sincerely, Olive Yomotoshi, chair of admissions."
Mrs. Izumi had squeezed Izzy in an excited hug, jumping up and down with glee. "Oh, Izzy, I'm so happy! I knew they had made some sort of mistake!"
A few months prior, Izzy had been devastated when he had been wait-listed at the school of his dreams. Nobody, not even Tai, could get him to talk for a few days. He only came around when Tai reminded him that where you go to school doesn't matter. "What matters is how you apply your talents and you have a ton of those," Tai said.
"Mom, you're going to kill me before I get a chance to celebrate!" yelled Izzy red in the face from all the squeezing. Mrs. Izumi hugged Izzy gently one more time.
Meanwhile, Tai felt like his emotions had all been deposited into his gut and were being blended. He was ecstatic that his boyfriend got into his dream school. He was worried that he and Izzy wouldn't be able to go the same school now. On top of all this, he was hungry and Mrs. Izumi had completely forgotten about the breakfast she was cooking and it burned. Tai added sadness to his list as he glanced at the now black bacon.
"Congratulations, babe!" said Tai finally getting up from his seat. "I'm super proud of you!"
"Thanks, Tai. I just can't believe it still. NAGAOKA!" Izzy passionately kissed Tai, then ran to his parent's room to deliver the news to his dad. "DAD, wake up!"
Tai couldn't help but grin about how Izzy's character had changed from sleepy teen to 5-year old who was visiting a public park for the first time. He decided he would wait until Izzy realized the new problem that had arose on his own. Tai didn't want to rain on his parade.
Xxxxxx
"Hey, it's Saturday!"
Tai looked up from the pillow he'd been resting his head on to listen to Izzy. The two had been laying together in silence while Izzy did some research on his laptop.
"Yes, Izzy, it is," said Tai. "I'm glad you know how to use that calendar I got you."
"Which was a super lame gift, by the way. Even if it is covered with fun HTML coding to learn," said Izzy. "I mean, it's Saturday night. We should go to the park!"
For longer than they had been together, Tai and Izzy frequented the park on Saturday nights. Kids weren't there because it was so late and Saturday meant everyone old enough was out at bars. It was perfectly private and relaxing.
Tai hopped on the idea, as he was on the verge of crashing out on Izzy's bed soon. "I'll race you there?" joked the tall boy.
"Yah, no," laughed Izzy. "You can hold my hand while we walk though, seems like a fair trade."
"Hardly, but ok." Izzy punched Tai in the arm and decided to race him, but only to the front door. Tai deemed it unfair, but Izzy insisted he was the one who wanted to race in the first place. Tai argued against his boyfriend's logic the entire walk.
Xxxxxxx
The pair sat on a green picnic bench, fog seemingly trapping them in the children's play area.
"So, we should probably talk about what's going to happen now," said Izzy almost whispering.
Tai side-eyed the red-haired boy. He realized he was dumb to think Izzy didn't immediately realize his acceptance to Nagaoka would interfere with the plans they had already made.
"I'm over the moon excited that I've been accepted to Nagaoka, but I haven't made any decisions yet," said Izzy. "I've been at battle with everything since this morning actually."
Izzy hoped Tai would recognize his sincerity. Though Nagaoka was everything he wanted in a school, Tai was everything he wanted in a person. It was a different experience for Izzy, who normally knew what the right answer was.
"I want you to come to Keio with me" said Tai suddenly. His words seemed to echo. "Shit," thought Tai. "That is not what was supposed to come out."
Izzy's fingers were tapping all along the part of the bench he was sitting on. Tai knew Izzy only did that when he was nervous.
"I'm sorry…that's not what I meant."
"Obviously it is since it came out of your mouth." Izzy's lips trembled with some anger.
"Oh, c'mon. That's not fair!" yelled Tai standing up. "This affects both of us. Am I not allowed an opinion?"
"You are, but not one so straightforward!" said Izzy. "I JUST told you I hadn't made a decision yet. But you seem to think just because you say what you want that I'll give it to you? I'm not a pushover, Tai."
"I said I'm sorry!" yelled Tai grabbing his hair in frustration. "I'll admit it, I'm scared. Izzy, this is terrifying."
"What do you have to be afraid of? Regardless of what I choose, you'll go to Keio. Nothing changes." Izzy stared directly into Tai's eyes as he uttered this.
"Nothing changes? Are you fucking kidding me?" Tai got in Izzy's face. "If you go to Nagaoka, we can't be together anymore! Don't you get that?"
"Alright, simmer down drama queen." Izzy quickly became concerned, as he didn't know where these feelings his boyfriend was expressing originated from. He ran his hand through the silky brown hair. "Why wouldn't we be together anymore?"
"You saw what happened with Matt and Sora. They've been together for years and all it took to end it was them going down different paths." Tai had begun to tear up, which shocked Izzy. Tai was supposed to be the strong one.
"I'm pretty insulted right now, honestly," said Izzy staring off into the distance.
"Because of what I said?" asked a sorrowful Tai. "I do want you to come with me to Keio, but I would never force you. Izzy, your life is yours."
"Not because of that. Because you had the audacity to compare us to Matt and Sora." Tai looked at Izzy with a perplexed look, one Izzy secretly enjoyed putting on his face.
"We are not Matt and Sora. I love you so much, Tai. It's going to take a lot more than distance to mess up what we have. This isn't just physical for me and I sure hope it isn't for you. We have an emotional connection, a strong one."
Izzy felt so relieved. He knew he loved Tai, but found out just how much he really meant to him. He didn't realize it until he actually said it out loud, but Tai was everything.
"Izzy, I'm sorry about starting this argument. I love you too," said Tai. "We can figure this out. We can figure it out together."
"We would have had to talk about it eventually," said Izzy. "I'm just glad this happened right away. I can't imagine what would have happened if we had bottled all this up until August."
"I don't think I would have lasted that long," said Tai. "You probably would have bought a Nagaoka University shirt and I would have punched you in the face again."
"Well then," said Izzy laughing. "I'm sure glad that wasn't the outcome of all this."
"Don't stop worrying to soon," said Tai. "We still have three whole months for you to piss me off again."
"And I'll be sure to try my hardest…" Izzy paused. "To do exactly that."
Tai knocked Izzy off the picnic table and onto the grass that was in much need of a trim. Tai pinned his laughing boyfriend the ground and kissed him harder than he ever had before. He made a pact with himself to make the most out of his summer with Izzy, regardless of how it would end.
Izzy felt the weight of his boyfriend pressing down on him and decided it was nothing compared to the weight of the decision that lay ahead of him. He pulled Tai in close, in attempts to make him feel heavier.
