They say airport reunions are the best. They always forget about the waiting. The nerve-racking, painfully drawn out waiting.

Amber paced to and fro outside the gates. Around her strode families and friends. Hundreds and hundreds of sneakers, boots and high heels and slippers and luggage wheels clicked and tapped and skidded on the floor and in the background to form a chaotic and yet harmonic din. There were folks visiting their relatives to catch up and spend time with, students on semester break hoping to let down their hair now that exams were over, and couples on their honeymoon to kickstart the next stage of their lives with some exhilarating memories. Some arriving. Others leaving. More than a few smiling. The announcer called for the next people to make their way through the terminal gates as their flight was now ready to disembark. Reminded them to have their tickets ready and that they shouldn't have any baggage on hand that was meant to be taken up by staff to the plane's cargo hold.

She checked her watch, checked her phone and checked the crowd. He's still not here, still hasn't called, but there's still time. Maybe she's too early? No. She was punctual enough. So what's taking him so long? She was tempted to look forward into the future, but she told herself that that was a waste of her Remuneration. Of course he's coming. He's not the type to back out of things like this. Not without at least giving her a call first. Amber glanced around, noting the cursory glances she was getting. She stopped pacing and sat down at some nearby seats. She knew what she looked like to them. Anxious. On edge. The poor young lady being stood up by her boyfriend. Happened all the time. She realized she was tapping her foot. She stopped it.

Nonsense, he doesn't back out. Period. If there's anything she knew about him, it was that he saw things through to the end. Like a mule. She respected that. She could be like that too. Reason why they were meeting up like this. People like them don't give up easily and especially not on what they both have. This 'us' thing was very complicated, very fragile, but worth preserving. She won't hurt it by peering into the future like some Peeping Tom. She trusted him. Trust was the foundation of every relationship. No trust and the relationship would crumble, topple and crash, and neither of them wanted that right? Right.

Her foot started tapping again. She glanced at it. It stopped. She looked away. It started again. Bloody hell. To give it something else to do, she stood up and resumed pacing. Maybe she should give him a call. No. Wait. he might still be on his flight. They took different flights because they didn't want to be followed. He won't get reception high up there in the clouds. Also kept his phone off as instructed by airline regulations. Such a Boy Scout. She took her phone out again. Nope. He still hasn't called. Was it possible that he'd been compromised? Was his plane currently a wreckage somewhere out in the ocean, he nothing but food for the sharks? She searched the news, frowning as she looked over the headlines. No. Nothing like that: falling stock market prices, celebrities convicted for drug abuse, rising international tensions over petty territorial disputes and political posturing, but he was safe, safe from engine malfunctions and terrorist plots and the Syndicate, but at this rate, not from him. She rubbed her brow and scratched her head. Why hadn't she asked him what flight he was catching beforehand? Silly Amber. So excited for this that she forgot important details. Never forget important details.

The lofty ceiling was made of glass. Looking up, she could see the planes soaring overhead to land on the tarmac of the airstrip outside. The announcer started speaking again, telling new arrivals where to go to claim their baggage and where to go to meet anyone waiting for them. Amber looked to where they would come from. Looked around where other people waited for their significant others and whatnot. Some people held signs so others could find them. Signs were for the desperate, the apprehensive. While she was in first class, a hostess had asked her if she had seen Amber on the TV. It wasn't surprising that somebody would ask her that, what with her dark shades and designer clothes and that certain magnetism that belonged to the famous. She wasn't, but she looked the part of someone ready to walk down the red carpet, and that sure didn't mean carrying a sign to tell the world who she was when she expected people to know who she was. Especially him. He didn't need her to hold up a sign.

As if on cue, new arrivals were approaching her and the rest of the crowd outside the gates. She stood up and searched their faces, hoping and dreading and hoping as she looked for him. People walked side by side with her, and they found the ones they were looking for and hurried over to embrace them. Greetings were given. Boyfriends hoisted girlfriends up into the air and spun them around and kissed them. Grandparents exclaimed at how their grandchildren have grown. Friends shook hands and fist bumped. Amber craned her neck to lift her head up above the crowd as she frantically turned around and around and around.

Maybe she should have held up a sign. Signs are useful. Roads used signs, shops used signs. So what if it felt tacky?

People began to leave. She didn't. She watched and waited to see if one more person would come out of the gates. She didn't check her watch. She didn't take out her phone. The airport clock on the wall said he was late. Her phone had the vibrate setting on and the sound set for incoming calls, so if there'd been one, it'd be ringing.

She started pacing again, her mind inventing up more excuses for him. Maybe he caught the wrong plane? No, not him. Always a first time, though. He would have called her to let her know, though. Maybe he didn't have her number? Stupid, he definitely had her number. She gave it to him. Perhaps he forgot? Amber paced and paced, resisting the urge to gnash her teeth like a child. Where is he, she thought savagely. Where is he, where is he, where is he, where is-

"Miss me?"

Amber turned around, and there he was. Smiling pleasantly. Wearing a suit. A bit overdue for a haircut. Within punching distance. Hugging distance. Kissing distance. She gawked at him till his smile became uncertain. "What took you so long?" She finally squeaked out.

Hei's eyes widened as she lunged at him and plowed right into him. He caught her, toppled back, and as they hit the floor together Amber's hair fell over his face. It smelt of clean soap and it tickled. He quickly sat up and apologized as she apologized, what for he and she didn't know, and before he knew it she was laughing and he was laughing and everyone was looking at them like they had just lost their minds.

But Amber and Hei didn't mind. They only had eyes for each other.