Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Hana Yori Dango. I don't have that kind of imagnation and skill to come up with a wonderfully written manga as Kamio-sensei did.

AN: Just letting you know, the following chapters will be reminiscent of the past. This specific chapter will have thoughts from both Domyoji and Tsukushi.

A Phone Call Away

The first phone call I had gotten from Tsukasa was the moment he landed on LaGuardia airport in New York. I couldn't help but sound giddy when I found out it was him. It's not because I was glad he was there, but because he had called me and I longed to hear his voice once more. I can still recall those moments as though it just happened a minute ago.

The day after Tsukasa left, Shigeru came over to comfort me by having a girl's night, just laying back and pigging out on ice cream, yes ice cream.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

It was about five at night when Tsukushi heard a knock at the door. For a second there she had hoped that it would be Tsukasa coming back to surprise her, so she hurried to open the door. Just thinking of that had put a huge smile on her face, only to fade when Shigeru appeared instead of Tsukasa. Quickly realizing the sudden change in her expression, she pasted the smile back on.

"Tsu…! Oh, hi Shigeru," Tsukushi tried to sound happy, but her disappointment was evident in her voice.

"Hi to you too Tsukushi!" She held a bag up, which from the looks of it was filled with junk food. She pushed through Tsukushi to let herself in.

"Um, is something wrong?" Tsukushi asked meekly.

Shigeru replied, "geez Tuskushi," looking quizzically at her, "you don't need to act like everything is fine, I know you miss him." She walked over to the middle of the tiny room that could be referred to as Tsukushi's own little domain.

Damn, Tsukushi thought to herself, she can see right through me! "I know, but I don't want anyone to see me like this because it'll just cause everyone to worry about me. I think it's obvious that I already miss him, but I can handle these feelings. I don't know why, but it feels like I've been apart from him for a year already, even though he just left yesterday," Tsukushi tried hard to fight back her tears as she said those sentences. She can only truly believe that she can handle years without him.

"It's okay, I understand. I miss him too. But no worries, I'm here to make you forget him, at least for tonight!" Shigeru obviously had planned this in advance, from the look on her face.

Once Shigeru had settled down, Tsukushi went to the kitchen to fetch some spoons for the ice cream Shigeru brought. As she opened the cabinet, she couldn't help but look over to where Shigeru was sitting. There at that very same spot, Tsukasa and her had their last dinner. He had promised to come back and have dinner with her, while she cooked him stew. He did come back just as he promised and she had made the stew, just as planned. She remembered how happy they were at that moment, though they knew what was to come, but for that night, they didn't let any worries bother them. Just as they were going to have dinner, a bunch of Shigeru's bodyguards whom btw at that time they didn't know who those men were barged in and kidnapped them.

Remembering this, Tsukushi felt a drop of hot liquid slowly make its' way down her face, so she quickly turned back to the cabinet. However it was too late, Shigeru had already noticed it.

"Tsukushi, are you okay?" Shigeru asked worriedly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shigeru slowly rise and approach her, until the phone rang.

Ring… Ring...

"The phone's ringing Tsukushi," Shigeru said.

"Uhm yeah, hold on," she quickly got the spoons and walked over to where the phone was. She looked at how her hands were shaking for some odd reason as she picked the receiver up. "Hai, Makino residence."

A hoarse, but familiar voice boomed into the phone. "Baka!"

Tsukushi's ears perked as soon as she heard him. Tsukasa sounded tired and she thought about telling him that she missed him, but hearing him yell at her like that, forget about it! Who does he think he is!

"Who do you think you're calling baka, BAKA!" she screamed into the phone. But deep down, she was truly happy.

Over in the other side of the room, Shigeru noticed the rivalry already. It was obvious who the other person on the line was and they were going to need some private time, even if it's only going to be bickering. So Shigeru excused herself and headed outside for a walk, but not before putting the ice cream in the fridge. 'This might take a while,' she quietly thought to herself.

In LaGuardia

As people rushed to get out of the airport, they were suddenly surprised by the roaring voice coming from the phone booth.

Tsukasa confidently said, "I'm the almighty Domyoji Tsukasa! I can talk to whomever I choose to the way I want to! Don't you forget that!" He miserably thought about how much he's going to miss all this bickering, miss the look of anger on her face. Damn, I'm just going to miss her too much.

In Tsukushi's house

'God how I missed that voice!' she miserably thought to herself. Feeling her fighting spirit being lifted and softening up, she said, "Where are you? Are you okay?"

On the other line Tsukasa's softer side could be heard, "Yeah, I am, but I wanted to let you know I'm here now. I just landed at LaGuardia a second ago." He paused, as if trying to find something else to say, "Tsukushi?"

"Yeah?" she asked meekly, feeling the warm liquid slowly making its' journey down her face.

"I miss you, god how I miss you already! I don't know how I'm going to deal with this four years of being apart," he had debated whether he should just say it out right, but he knew he just had to say it, he needed her to know. Besides, it's not as if she didn't know already. With a tear sliding down his face, he calmly said, "Suki desu."

Touched by the last words she just heard, more tears trickled down her face. "You have no idea how much I miss you too. So much that everything around me just reminds me of you. I don't know myself what I'm going to do in these four years away from you, but I know we both need to be strong. We've been through so much already and we'll be able to get over this hurdle once again," Tsukushi replied trying to cover up the pain that was evident in her voice.

In LaGuardia

Staring out the window of the phone booth, he quietly said, "I know," he paused, "but it's really going to be hard."

In Tsukushi's house

"Tsukasa, please don't make it harder as it already is, the more I know that you're hurting, the harder it is for me to resist being with you right there and now." Tsukushi casually rolled her knees up to her chest and hugged it tightly, trying to pretend it was Tsukasa itself. The thought of being in his arms, of smelling his scent only made more tears trickle down her face.

In LaGuardia

Inside the small phone booth, a young man with curly hair, could be seen smiling like an idiot. A grin played on Tsukasa face as he slyly replied back, "soo… you're saying if I keep this up, you'll fly over here and be with me?"

"As much as I would love to do that, you and I both know the answer is no, I wouldn't be able to. My living budget simply refuses to let me do anything out of the ordinary. My family is here and they still need my help. I still have school to think of, just one more year and I'm finally done with Eitoku. You already have your career set for you, I still have mine to worry about. Not to mention, I will only be a distraction. You are there to learn to manage the Domyoji Corp. for your family and you need all the focus you can get," Tsukushi replied.

"Why do you insist on living such a hard life? I know you don't want my money, but when it becomes too hard on you, you just need to tell me and I'll be there. I told you I was going to be here for you and I'll support you in anything you do. All I'm asking is for you to keep that in mind and stop relying only on yourself." Until now, he still can't believe how stubborn his girlfriend can be.

'It's hard enough to know that I can't be there physically with her to help her sort through her problems, but it's another thing when she refuses any sort of aid. I understand her why she refuses my help in some cases, it just simply irks me to know that I can't do anything for her,' he thought to himself as he rested his head on the glass of the phone booth.

In Tsukushi's house

"I know, but just try to understand me right now. I really do want to be right next to you, but there are things that we both need to get done before we can do what we want," Tsukushi pauses and then smiles, "you have no idea how proud I am of you to take on the responsibilities that was suddenly handed to you."

She thought to herself about all the times Tsukasa really made her proud, but not once has she ever mentioned it until today.

In LaGuardia

Hearing Tsukushi say that she's proud of him just made up for his awful day already. To think about it, he never really heard Tsukushi say that she was ever proud of him, this is definitely something. Cutting though his thoughts, the automated operator informed him that the phone call is going to end unless he inserts more money. Reality then seeped through, as he realized that it was time to go.

"Listen Tsukushi, the phone call's about to end. If you have any problems, call me as soon as possible. I'm always going to be here for you, I'm not leaving you again. Don't you ever forget that. I'll call you again soon. Suki des……" The phone clicked before he could even finish his sentence.

Looking at the reciever a second longer, he thought, 'Shit! I didn't get to hear her say it.'

He then slowly rise from his seat and walked over to where his mother's guards stood. He looked back one last time at that reciever before exiting LaGuardia airport.

In Tsukushi' house

She pondered to herself, 'Tsukasa really had a point there. It's true, I tend to rely on myself more than I should. But there's no way I'm going to ask him for money. It'll be like asking his mother for money and that certainly will never happen. Even if I have already proven my love for Tsukasa, Kaede still firmly believes my position in life is not worthy enough for Domyouji. I need to work hard and prove myself, not to her, but to myself and for the sake of my relationship with Tsukasa.'

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when she heard the front door open. With tears in her eyes, she looked up to see Shigeru's head peeking in.

When Shigeru slowly opened the door, she found Tsukushi in tears. She hurriedly ran towards Tsukushi, "what's the matter?"

Realizing that Shigeru must've taken the tears in the wrong way, she quickly replied to clear up the situation, "oh nothing, nothing's wrong, I just miss him."

It's evident from Tsukushi's facial expression that she truly misses Tsukasa.

Not quite sure what else to say, Shigeru just knelt down and lend Tsukushi a shoulder to cry on.

AN: I know the structure or the flow of the conversation seems weird, I'll try better in the next chapters.