I burst in the door panting heavily. I put my stuff down, and I sat on the couch.
"Hiro, what's going on?" Riku asked.
"My best friend is coming backfrom London today, and I'm going to pick him up from the airport." I explained.
"Really? That should be exciting." Riku smiled.
"Yeah, I can't wait to see him." I responded.
I waited very patiently, kind of, until it was time to go pick him up. Finally, I made it to the airport, but it was really packed. I pushed my way through the crowds until I got to his gate. I needed to see him right when he came off that plane. I had Riku wait in the car. I watched as his plane landed, and I started to get more and more excited. This was going to be the best moment ever.
A bunch of passengers got off the plane, and with each one my heart rose and dropped when it wasn't Shin. Finally, I saw those nacy blue eyes, and I watched as he ran over to me. He made it through the crowds, and ran into my arms. I hugged him so tightly I thought I might break him. My heart overflowed with joy. It had been too long.
Me and Shin sat there for a long time hugging.
"Well, jeez, senpai, when did you get so old?" I laughed.
"I could say the same for you, grandpa." Shin joked back.
"I missed you so much.." I said.
"Me too." Shin replied.
"I kept my promise to come get you." I responded.
"I know, I'm proud of you." He said back.
We walked out of the airport together laughing and joking. It was nice to have him back. We walked to the car, and Shin met Riku. I had Riku drop us off at this little restaurant in town. We had a waiter seat us at a table, and Riku headed home for the night. The place was near our house so I just told him we'd walk home when we were done.
"So, how was London?" I asked.
"It was really great actually. There were too many people for me though. I liked hearing the accents that they have." Shin laughed.
"How's school?" I asked him.
"Oh, it's ok. Some of the teachers are kind of annoying after awhile, but I had this one teacher who was the best. He always had a joke to make the whole class laugh." Shin explained.
"Was there are lot of work?" I inquired.
"Yeah, they give like two times the amount of work in London. I didn't mind because it was all easy, but it was definitely a lot." Shin told me.
"Any cute girls there?" I asked.
"There were a few, and I had a few girlfriends, but they aren't all the hype." Shin replied.
"I'm guessing the weather is way better though." I tried.
"It rains a lot so it's pretty good. I usually took walks in the mornings when it was really nice, but in the winter that's not such a good idea." Shin said, "How have you been?"
"I've been good. I mean, school's been school, but I pretty much run with the same crowd." I said.
"How is your dad?" He asked me.
"Um, he's alright. Still stuck in his dead-end job." I responded.
"Some things never change." He noted.
"I guess not. You did though. You look so mature now." I laughed.
"Well, three years is a long time. I didn't notice it then, but now when I look in the mirror I barely recognize myself." Shin said.
"I know how that feels. I have pictures of us as kids, and when I look at them all I can see is how much we've grown." I told him.
"I still remember the first day we met." Shin smiled.
"Me too." I said.
"We were so cute." Shin replied.
"You bet we were. You still have those pretty navy blue eyes everyone fell in love with." I joked.
"You still have that blond hair that no one could get enough of." Shin joked back.
"Did you make a lot of friends back there?" I asked.
"They remind me of our friends here actually." He laughed.
"I thought you might just find friends like us. It would be a nice little taste of home sometimes." I agreed.
"It really was. They helped me get situated, and they had me hang out with them on the weekends when we were all free." Shin explained.
"I'm glad you had them around or else it might've been hard to adjust." I said.
"It still was. It was hard not to call and ask if you wanted to come and hang out at the park down the road." He noted.
"Yeah, it was hard not to hear you break in my door and call my name." I told him.
"I missed you so much." Shin said.
"I missed you too." I said seriously.
"Are you still playing piano?" He asked.
"You bet." I said.
"You need an intervention." He laughed.
"If someone hasn't given me one by now, then I'm just assuming I don't play it enough." I joked.
"You're going to need soon." He said.
"I'm going to need one by the end of the month." I replied.
"You needed one when you started drawing piano notes on your hands," He laughed.
"I needed one when I almost got a small piano tattoo on the back of my neck." I laughed.
"Alright, alright. You win that time." Shin said.
"It feels nice to joke like that again." I explained.
"Yeah, I know." He replied.