Chapter Six

We'll be Together

Lazlo trudged through the camp grounds, glancing every which way in a despite attempt to find Raj and Clam quickly before the bus departed.

Whether or not he had enough time was beside him. He feared Slinkman would catch on that going to the bathroom usually didn't take this long!

"Raj!! Clam??" He called out through the empty camp. His voice echoed through the vacant cabins and mess hall. It resembled a ghost town.

He took a minute to stop and catch his breath, holding his knees for support. "Where could they have gone? They wouldn't just leave without saying goodbye, would they?" Lazlo was talking out loud to himself, but seeing an no one else was around, he didn't really care. "No! No, they wouldn't do that! They're my pals! They're probably waiting for me somewhere!"

After reassuring himself to commence his search, the bus horn suddenly screamed out in the distance. The sound pierced his body as he slowly came to realize that he had run out of time. His buddies were no where to be seen, and he would miss his plane home if he continued looking for them.

He lowered his head. "I….guess they got busy?….or maybe… they ran out of time like I did?"

The air around the monkey felt very cold all of a suddenly. Clouds were forming overhead. Finally, the atmosphere of the day was harmonizing with the weather.

He pressed himself to continue searching, but after the bus horn bellowed out for a second time, he was forced to backtrack to the front of camp where Slinkman had the bus parked waiting for him.

The slug opened the doors and the primate climbed the steps into the big yellow vehicle with resistance, looking back over his shoulder, gazing out sadly at Camp Kidney, and feeling horrible.

Slinkman wore a sad expression too and patted Lazlo's shoulder. "I know. Camp Kidney's gunna miss you too, Lazlo."

The monkey glumly grinned at the assistant scoutmaster before making his way down the isle to find a seat.

Edward was sitting near the back, peering up at him with confusion. "What's with that depressed look? Didn't you find em'?"

Lazlo sighed and plopped down onto the cushioned seat beside the platypus. "….No."

Edward raised an eyebrow, then looked out the window again.

Outside, a few raindrops hit the hot ground, creating single specks across the dry dirt. Parents were still gathering their kids into their mini-vans or running for cover from the rain. No sign of the elephant or rhino anywhere!

Edward sat back into the seat, not sure what to say in order to consul the monkey. A part of him didn't really care whether or not the other two Jellies showed up to say goodbye, but seeing Lazlo in the state he was in made Edward wish they could have at least made it back in time to see Lazlo off decently. It pissed him off slightly and just added to the disappointments the day was bringing him. He kicked lightly at the booth in front of them. "…I…uhm….I'm sorry, Laz. I'm sure they tried to make it."

Lazlo smiled slightly. "Thanks, Edward."

The platypus looked down at his lap, not knowing if his words were of any help or not. It didn't seem like enough.

The bus started to rumble under their feet as the engine started up.

Slinkman looked out the front window and waved at Scoutmaster Lumpus, who was standing outside with an umbrella. But it appeared that he was much too busy drooling over the sight of a rain-drenched Ms. Doe to care about the departing bus or the scouts within it.

The slug rolled his eyes. "Alright, everyone! Are you ready?"

Edward sighed softly, sinking in further to the seat, hating each passing minute more and more.

Lazlo tried to control himself, but his bottom lip quivered and his eyes blurred from the un-spilt tears. "….What if I never see them again?"

It was very difficult to ignore the pathetic sorrow in the monkey's voice. Edward frantically searched his brain for something to say. Anything to bring peace to the situation! He couldn't deal with sniveling the whole way to the airport! Having come up with nothing to say though, he laid his chin down near the windowsill and let his breath fog up the glass in defeat.

Just as the bus began to pull out, it came to a screeching halt and all of the scouts hit their heads on the booths in front of them.

Edward had smashed his face into the window and was now cursing loudly. "What the hell, Slinkman?? Why did we stop!!"

In the front of the bus, Slinkman was dangling his head out the driver-window shaking his fists. "What in God's name goes on!? Beans, are you insane?!"

Edward blinked and glanced out his own window to see nearly all the Bean Scouts chasing after the bus, waving their arms around and casting out farewells. Through the crowd of boys, Raj and Clam squeezed their way through, also waving around in a panic trying to get Lazlo's attention.

"Oh wow, this is just what I needed, a lasting memory of a swarm of dramatic bean scouts." Edward sarcastically spit out, although he was glad they had finally shown up. "Hey Laz, your insane compadres are outside making idiots of themselves."

Lazlo lifted his head from the mopey position he had been in and jumped over to the window, nearly squishing Edward in the process. His face lit up when he saw Raj and Clam jumping up and down outside with big smiles on their faces.

The monkey reached up and opened the bus window and stuck his head out. "You guys made it!"

Raj and Clam both grinned. "Of course we did! We wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to our best buddy!"

Clam accentuated. "Yeah, BFF!"

Lazlo let out a choked response. "I'm gunna miss you guys so much! I'll write to you both everyday!! No, every hour!!"

Raj squealed. "And I will call you every day and every hour!"

Clam thought for a moment. "Many postcards!"

The three friends shared a moment of random so-longs, all the while Edward stayed sunk down in the seat below the window, squished by Lazlo's weight climbing all over him.

"Is Edward with you, Lazlo?" Raj called up.

Edward sat up at the sound of his name and peered out the glass at all the beans.

"Yeah, he's right here!" Lazlo pointed happily at the platypus next to him.

Raj, Clam, and the other scouts all cried out, "Bye Edward!! We'll miss you!!"

Edward found it very hard all of a sudden to scowl at them like he normally would. He spared them a small grin and waved. "Yeah yeah, see you losers later."

Lazlo smiled at all this, weeping dramatically. The jerking motion of the bus backing out the main gates forced the two boys to plop back down in their seats.

Slinkman was now waving to the other beans outside. "Okay, okay! They'll miss you too! We gotta get a move on though!"

Lazlo pressed his face against the window once more. He saw everyone! Not just Raj and Clam, but Samson, Dave and Ping-Pong, Chip and Skip, and everyone else! It was a sight to be remembered. "Bye you guys!!" He called out one last time. He gazed in awe as the bean scouts chased alongside the bus until it got to the road.

The last thing Lazlo saw was Raj and Clam bawling together and waving their arms about. Patsy and Gretchen were standing with them, and just as they drove out of sight, Lazlo felt that the episode was more than enough for his young heart to make it home in one piece without his buddies at his side.

Edward shook his head. "I think I'm gunna need an aspirin."

Lazlo beamed, but his eyes were still filled with tears.

Edward caught himself resting a hand on the monkey's arm. "Settle down, it's okay. Geesh."

Lazlo rested his back in the seat and sighed, wiping his eyes with his fists.

This was it. The bus was moving. They were on their way to the airport, and although leaving Camp Kidney had been difficult, the mood setting in on them was predicting plenty worse difficulties in the near future.

The rain drenching the road outside made for a low-key environment.

The few scouts on the bus had said nothing the entire trip, just stared glumly out their windows and counted rain drops.

Edward and Lazlo were no exception.

Edward was now slumped down into the cushioned booth, arms crossed, determined to keep composure.

Lazlo had stopped sobbing over the Camp Kidney departure and was now gazing up at the trees above the bus alongside the road, passing in and out of view hypnotically.

The venture from Prickly Pines to the nearest airport took around a half an hour.

It was already 20 minutes into the trip. Time was running out.

Edward stared at the booth in front of him blankly. Lazlo…….what do I say to you when we get there? How do I do this? How do I say goodb--

"--Edward?" Lazlo had punctured through Edward's desperate thoughts.

He turned to look up at the monkey, who was sitting up straight in his seat. "What do you want?"

Lazlo smiled weakly and slumped down into his own seat, so that their faces we at the same level. "…Hi."

Edward tried to avert eye contact. "Hi."

Lazlo studied Edward. He tried to dig up what he was thinking about without having to ask.

"Oh, there's the sign. 5 miles to go, scouts." Slinkman blurted out from the front of the bus. He was still in a dreary mood, judging by the monotone of his voice.

Lazlo saw Edward's face lose flare after Slinkman's announcement.

The clock was ticking.

He frowned, lowering his head and resting it on the platypus's shoulder. He didn't say anything.

Edward held onto his tension for awhile, but then gave up and reluctantly laid his cheek against Lazlo's crimson hair. He didn't say anything either.

The Camp Kidney bus pulled onto an off-ramp and then up into a clearing, where in front of them lay a rather large town with tall buildings and fenced off areas. From their position, they could see the airport fields in the distance.

Lazlo's heart raced. His usual positive attitude was slipping. What good could come of this? Sure, he would see his folks and friends again back home. It was true that he had missed all of that over the summer. But…what about Edward? They'd grown so attached! He'd become so accustomed to seeing him every day! Lazlo's life wouldn't seem right anymore, unless Edward was apart of it!

He could feel the enormous weight Edward was carrying, and not just because the platypus was nearly knocking him over as they leaned on each other. No, Lazlo could feel that sickening weight in a number of different ways. And for the first time, Lazlo slightly saw the reality of the world they lived in. He didn't like it.

All of a sudden, the bus hit a speed bump and they sat back up again, shaking from their previous composure.

They were already pulling into the airport gates.

They both swallowed hard.

Lazlo stared out the window at the scenery outside. He remembered the airport from when he had first arrived in the beginning of the summer. He remembered being so excited to meet everyone at camp and have the best summer ever. He smiled slightly to himself when he realized that he truly did have the best summer ever. He had the memories to prove it. He wished he could go back and relive them all.

Edward also remembered the airport. He'd flown in with his brothers, who dropped him off at camp early to be rid of him. They were all going on vacation, while Edward was forced to stay at camp and waste away all summer. He remembered that the only reason why he ever even went to camp every year was because his brother's had all gone before him, and it was a some sort of twisted family tradition. Maybe his parents thought that if he went to camp, he would grow up to be like his brothers, who were all more successful and talented than he was. Edward had grown up being told constantly that he was wrong, and in order to "correct" him, his parents sent him to summer camp year after year.

He hated going to camp, but there was one aspect about it that above all other things made Edward agree with his parents to continue going. Those three months away from home got him away from his family and home life all together! School and home were never welcoming places for him. The attention at Camp Kidney, on the other hand, was limited but satisfying. Don't believe for a second that he actually liked camp, because he was always glad when summer was over! But apart of him hated returning to his real life also, and this is what kept him returning to rickety old Camp Kidney annually. He never had a reason for actually missing camp.

He stared down at his hands in his lap, realizing that he now had a reason though.

The two boys glanced at one another, then quickly looked away.

"Now let's see…is it parking lot A or C? I can never remember…." Slinkman was mumbling to himself.

Lazlo's heart grew heavy. He felt like he weighed a million pounds, or that gravity around him had been turned on high. He peeked over at Edward again, who was staring down at his shoes, kicking them into the booth in front of them nervously.

Lazlo slowly reached over and laid his hand down on Edward's.

The kicking stopped.

Edward looked down at the hand, fighting away the idea that any of this would be easy. He picked up Lazlo's hand and closed both of his own hands around it, holding it tightly close to him as if to rip it off and keep it.

Laz would have gladly given it to him, had it not been attached to his arm.

At long last, the bus came to a stop, parking outside a tunneled doorway that read 'Gate 005'.

Slinkman turned around in his seat and stared back at the mere 5 scouts on the bus. He was wearing a forced smile. "Alright scouts….whoever has tickets for this gate number or a number close to it needs to get off here. I'll help you get your luggage."

Lazlo and Edward both reached into their pockets and pulled out their tickets. Lazlo's read 003 and Edward's read 005.

They looked at each other and weakly grinned. They could get off together here. Edward released his hand and they both made their way to the front of the bus.

Lazlo turned around and looked back at the now 2 bean scouts and 1 squirrel scout sitting in the back row of the bus. He waved to them with a weepy expression and then walked down the steps and out of view.

They waved back, but then looked at each other as if to say "who was that?"

The sidewalk outside was crowded with people walking in all directions. Slinkman opened the trunk underneath the bus and pulled out their suitcases.

"Well Lazlo, Edward. I guess this is it." The slug gushed out.

Lazlo took a deep breath to keep himself poised, then nodded. "Thanks for everything, Mr. Slinkman. I had a really great summer."

The assistant scoutmaster smiled and rested a hand on the monkey's shoulder.

He turned to Edward and nodded to him as well. "Now you stay out of trouble, Edward."

Edward groaned silently, then shook Slinkman's hand. "Not promisin' nothin', Slinky."

The slug reluctantly headed back to the bus door. "….Stay safe, you two! Make sure you get to your gates on time! Go to the main desk first and give them your tickets and luggage! It should be right inside! And keep an eye on each other until you're both set! …Got it?" Slinkman resembled a worried mother sending her children off into the world.

The boys both nodded and waved. "We will, Mr. Slinkman."

After a few more rounds of instructions and advice, Slinkman finally got back onto the bus. As the big yellow vehicle pulled back out into the street, the 3 scouts inside and Slinkman all waved out the windows at them until they disappeared through the massively packed parking lot.

Lazlo watched as the words scribbled across the bus reading 'Camp Kidney' vanished in the dust. He took another deep breath and then turned back to Edward, who stood aloof on the street corner, tugging at his own shirt.

"Well…..I guess we go inside and check in?" The monkey's suggestion was artificial.

Edward lowered his head and nodded. They both grabbed hold of their suitcases and rolled them inside the gate entryway.

Inside, the crowds of people were so immense that they could hardly breathe!

"Uhhhg….I hate being surrounded by tourists." Edward twitched a little.

Lazlo peered around them. "It must be because everyone's going home from vacation."

They felt a little lost for a second, before they spotted the check-in desk and rushed to push their way past people to get to the correct line. Thankfully, it was a short wait.

The woman behind the desk was a lovely young zebra with black-framed glasses. She smiled such a cheesy grin that Edward had to avoid looking at her in order not to laugh.

"H-Hello! Oh goodness…first day on the job! Eh heh.. How may I help you two boys?" She seemed to be very nervous.

Lazlo smiled humbly. "We're just checking our luggage in, Ma'am. Here's our tickets." He stood on his tip-toes to slide both their tickets across the table for the woman to see.

She studied the tickets carefully, then smiled her cheesy grin again. "Oh, I see! You two are on separate flights! Alright…I've got everything handled here!" She proceeded to ask them to put their luggage on the weighing machine, then tagged each of them and sent them down a conveyer belt. "Okay! Ones due for flight 003 and the other for 005!"

Lazlo and Edward glanced at each other, then back at the lady.

She leaned forward and tilted her glasses down her nose a bit. "Wow, all the way back to New York and… Brazil? What are you cuties doing so far from home?"

Lazlo grinned hesitantly. "Um, summer camp ma'am."

Her face lit up. "Awww, so precious! You know, I used to be a Squirrel Scout! Best years of my life! You two are so lucky!"

Edward crossed his arms and stared blankly up at her. "A Squirrel Scout, eh?" He leaned over to Lazlo and mumbled, "That explains a lot."

Lazlo tried to keep from giggling as he tossed up a genuine smile to her. She was oblivious to the inside joke as she handed them back their tickets. "There you go, you boys have a safe trip!"

Lazlo nodded, "Thank you!"

They exited the line quickly and headed for the safe haven of a nearby bench. They only had their carry-on backpacks now and sat down to study their tickets and figure out where to go from there.

"This all seemed a lot easier the first time…" Lazlo scratched his head.

Edward shrugged without replying.

Lazlo noticed his sudden quietness, but tried to make the mood more cheerful. "Look, Edward! Says here my flight won't leave for another half an hour! We should go buy something to eat! Or check out those comics at that newspaper stand! Or…"

As Lazlo babbled on and on with meaningless suggestions to pass the time, Edward sat unresponsive, staring down at the dirty airport floor.

…So this is it. Here we are. The airport.

He looked around him for a second, spotting a couple across the room embracing each other while crying. They were either saying goodbye or joyfully reuniting again after a long period of absence.

He lowered his head again. …What do I do?! It's now or never, right? How do I say it? Do I just give him a hug and leave?….No, if I do that then I'll be all upset about everything the whole flight home! …Maybe I should just make it really vague? Yeah…like two strangers who just had lunch together and are now parting ways! That might make it easier, right? …. He peered down at his plane ticket and read the times. With a large sigh, he handed his ticket to Lazlo.

The monkey was still rambling on. "…Oh! Or we could go see where all the luggage goes when you put it on the conveyer belt! Or--…What's this?" He took Edward's ticket and read it out loud. "Flight 005 departure 11:45 a.m.."

A nearby clock read 11:35.

Lazlo lowered his head, handing the ticket back. "…Oh….not much time left, huh?"

Edward shook his head.

Lazlo kicked his legs back and forth underneath him, forming a dejected expression.

Edward continued to stay silent.

A voice over the intercom blurted out, "Flight 005 Passengers, last call for check-in and boarding. Last call for check-in and boarding. Flight departure in 10 minutes. Destination: New York."

Edward swallowed hard.

Lazlo leaned forward to make eye contact with the platypus. "….Your…flight leaves soon. Don't you have to be on the plane before the departure time?"

Edward heaved a, "Yeah…"

Lazlo felt heavy again as he crawled off the bench. "…Come on, I'll walk you to your gate."

Edward still stared at the ground. What do I say?! What do I say?! I don't want to go yet! Lazlo…..what do I say…?

Lazlo wore a heartrending look. "…Edward?"

Finally, the platypus peered up at him with pleading eyes. This tore up Lazlo's heart ten times over, so much that he had to look away in order to regain composure and reach forward to pull the platypus up to his feet. "…Come on…you can't miss your plane…"

Edward sighed and picked up his backpack and slid it on apprehensively.

The two walked side by side towards the crowded 005 gate, where a long line of people slowly passed through security and handed their tickets to a stewardess. It then appeared that passengers were to progress into a tunnel which led them into the cockpit of the plane.

Large windows in the waiting area revealed the massive jet being loaded out on the run-way.

Before the two boys could reach the line, Edward stopped in the middle of the crowd.

Lazlo stopped too, unsure what the platypus was doing.

For a moment Edward kept his back to Lazlo, but then finally turned to face him with unconfident eyes.

Lazlo didn't understand the situation. He was trying, but it was hard. He had wanted to send Edward off with a smile, but how could he do that when Edward wouldn't even look at him? It wasn't long before he realized that he also had a hard time looking at Edward though…

Edward stared at his feet. …..I have to say something!….. But what? …………What should I do?….

He glanced up at the monkey before quickly looking back down at his feet again. I don't know if its right…but…..I have to do it somehow so I won't have to think about it when I leave. I guess I'll just make it a casual goodbye. It'll be easier. I know if I don't make it easier, I'll just drive myself insane… …..I have to make it easy… He finally made up his mind.

Lazlo smiled weakly, unaware of Edward's silent decision. "….Edward…I, um……I guess this is it……."

Silence.

The primate continued, tears rimming his eyes. "I….I wanted you to know, Edward…. I'm really….I …. I'm…..really gunna mi--"

"--Yeah yeah, Lazlo." Edward interrupted harshly, reaching forward and taking Lazlo's hand, shaking it as if they were business executives. "…I had a great time. Maybe I'll see yah around…"

Lazlo grew confused. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, was it? Saying goodbye?

He stared down at Edward's hand, still shaking up and down as if they barley knew each other. The monkey wanted to reject the indifferent farewell, but he wasn't accustomed to doing something so heartless, so he just stood there shaking the platypus's hand with a sore, aching feeling in his stomach.

Edward finally released his hand and peered up at him for one more second, before turning around abruptly and walking like a straight arrow towards the boarding gate without looking back.

Was that it? Lazlo stood there in the crowd, motionless, feeling the weight of the world pressure down on him as he watched Edward walk away. He wanted to run after him, but was too confused to budge. He felt like he had done something wrong, or that he had misunderstood Edward the entire time and had expected too much out of the goodbye procedure. Maybe he was the one that was incorrect? He looked at his empty hand. He lowered his head. Edward….?

The platypus now stood in line at the busy gate, waiting for the stewardess to take his ticket. His mind raced. I did the right thing. ……I did the right thing. …….I swear I did the right thing……Didn't I? …..

Lazlo was now staring across the crowds of people at him.

Edward didn't look back at him. He couldn't. You don't understand, Lazlo. I can't say goodbye to you like that….I can't stand there and pour my guts out…. I can't. I can't do it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lazlo finally turn away, walking the other direction, vanishing through the swarms of people.

Edward's heart thumped loudly in his chest. It's better this way….. because I won't have to see your face and remember what it felt like….. to be…

His fists clutched, crinkling the tiny plane ticket in his palm.

It was torture. Either way, it was pure torture. Whether he said goodbye to Lazlo the right way or not, he was still going to hate himself afterwards. There was no easy way. He grew angry at the fact that he had just now realized this.

What he had wanted to do was make saying goodbye easy! So that when he got on that plane and journeyed back home, he wouldn't have to remember anything about his feelings or doubts. He could be trouble-free. Because how else could he bare to go back home and return to a life without what he had been given all summer? How could he manage to get by without having something there to support him or to cheer him up? How could he return to a life where there was no love, after having been exposed to it for so long??

Love.

There was that word again. The one he barley understood.

Heck, he barley understood any of this…..!

Why was everything so confusing?! Why couldn't he just make himself forget??

He didn't understand…

But somehow, out of all the struggle, turmoil, hate, regret, happiness, whatever it was he'd been feeling all that time… deep down, something told him that he did understand. If only a little.

His teeth gritted as it dawned on him. ……..Lazlo…………I….I…--

--"Ticket, please."

He peered up to find a stewardess towering above him, holding out her hand waiting for his ticket. It would appear that he had moved to the front of the line without noticing. Time had elapsed over him once again.

He looked down and opened his fist, revealing the crinkled piece of paper. He stared down at it intimately, feeling the whole world crash on top of him.

"Hun, your ticket?" The stewardess enforced the statement once more.

Edward reached up slowly, offering the ticket away, but still held it firmly between his fingers.

What was it he had just realized? Had he been so dumb? Had he been so incredibly stupid that he had let himself walk away from the best thing that had ever happened to him??

The stewardess grew impatient. "Hun, I'm sorry, but the flight is leaving shortly and we don't have a lot of time. Your ticket, please!"

Edward finally caught his breath, looking back up at the woman. "….You're right…We don't have a lot of time!"

Before the stewardess could say another word, Edward dropped the ticket at her feet and took off in a sprint away from the gate and back down the corridor where the massive crowds of people walked in every direction.

How could I be so stupid!! How could I just….walk away like that!? I'm so stupid!! SO STUPID!! He battled with himself, hating himself more and more as he pushed his way through suitcases and bags and people, trying desperately to find what he had let get away.

"LAZLO!!" To hell with it, he decided. He was going to bellow out that damn monkey's name until he found him! He didn't care what other people thought anymore. He only cared about one thing.

After fighting his way through hordes of people, finally he stopped. Just up ahead, walking slowly to gate 003, was the person Edward had been denying for so long. Too long.

He took a deep breath and held it in. "LAZLO, YOU IDIOT!! WAIT!!"

The monkey stopped. His heart skipped slightly as he slowly looked over his shoulder.

Across the room, amongst all the insensible people, stood Edward out of breath.

Lazlo turned completely around and stood still, staring through the crowd with question in his eyes.

Edward swallowed and felt his eyes burning. He pressed his lips together, trying to hold in his confessions. He was there to say goodbye properly, not to cry and get sentimental! But the more he stared over at Lazlo from across the room, the more he felt hot water fill the corners of his eyes. "…..Wait." He mumbled.

Lazlo was caught off guard by the tearful expression on the platypus's face. Never had Lazlo seen such a look on him before. It was filled with remorse and guilt, but there was a pleading understanding and determination mixed in with it. Even though Lazlo was still confused and hurt by the earlier events that had taken place, something inside him pushed him to forget all of that and move ahead. To make that sad expression of Edward's go away. The hurt, or whatever it was.

Not another moment went by and they started to make their way through the crowd towards one another. The room was large, and the blankets of people were larger still, but they managed to push their way through it all.

They started running, making their way around the obstacles separating them.

Running, avoiding, stumbling..…

Until finally they fell out of the crowd and engulfed one another.

Edward immediately dug his fingers in and grasped the back of Lazlo's shirt, burying his tearful face into the monkey's chest and at last allowing himself to spill out what had dared to escape moments before so vulnerably out in the open.

Lazlo's arms held on tightly to the smaller boy, tighter than he had held onto anyone or anything else ever before. "You came back." His voice cracked.

Edward said nothing, hiding his face away in safety.

Lazlo stared down at him. He could feel warm tears soaking through his shirt. "Edward..?"

Reluctantly, Edward rose his face to stare sniveling up at the monkey. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes were rimmed with tears. He wore an angry, but sentimental expression.

Lazlo squeezed tighter. "….Edward, I wanted to tell you….I really wanted to tell you that I…."

Edward held onto Lazlo's words, but after the monkey lost his voice in the noisy crowds of travelers surrounding them, Edward bit down on his bottom lip to stop it from quivering.

They both stared into each other for the longest time. Lazlo looked as though he was at a loss for words, while Edward battled away the distress he was unwillingly showing.

It was in that moment that Lazlo saw a tear escape those blue eyes, daring to trickle down Edward's cheek and fall to the floor, inevitable. Without even thinking about it, the monkey reached down and wiped it away with his thumb gently.

Edward sniffed, still staring up at Laz with that angry face.

Lazlo studied it for awhile, all of a sudden taking on a faint smile.

Edward blinked. Why was he smiling like that at a time like that?

Lazlo then leaned down, pushed back Edward's blonde bangs, and kissed his forehead so delicately Edward barely felt it.

The platypus stepped back a bit, blushing. Lazlo still held onto him.

He found confidence and lifted his head now, taking in air. "…I really hate you... I really hate you so freaking much. …..I…" He shut his eyes, shaking his head. "…..Lazlo, I hate you because…because I…."

Lazlo's smile broadened. "I love you, Edward."

Edward opened his eyes now and stared up at him in a bit of disbelief. He'd never actually heard Lazlo say that so seriously. In fact, he couldn't remember a time where he had ever heard him say that at all! At least not at a time where he was sure he heard correctly.

Of course, their affection for each other was obvious, but hearing it out loud made it so much different. It changed everything, somehow.

Edward sharply inhaled air. The monkey was still smiling that dopey smile at him that he "hated" so much.

He sighed out loud softly, opening his mouth and impelling the words out one by one. "…I love you….Lazlo."

After those words drifted on the air, Edward felt the tremendous weight of the world lift away. The vast relief he felt when Lazlo still kept smiling and pulled him so close that he couldn't breathe. The feeling of the rest of humanity vanishing.

It was the best feeling in the entire world.

It was the only thing Edward had wanted.

Before he pried himself away from the arms of the warm-bodied monkey, he secretly beamed into Lazlo's shirt, letting out all the happiness he felt.

When he began to back away, Lazlo had a tender-heated look on his face. "Oh, wait!"

Edward stumbled a bit.

The primate dug around in his pocket for a few seconds before finally pulling out a little bundle of paper and handing it to the platypus cheerfully.

"What is it?" Edward started to un-crumple it.

Lazlo shook his head quickly. "You have to wait until you get on the plane! No peeking til then! You have to promise!"

Edward lifted an eye brow sarcastically. "Ok ok, don't have a cow."

Lazlo laughed slightly under his breath.

They both smiled at each other.

Edward finally lifted his hand and half-waved at the monkey.

Lazlo did the same.

Edward took a few steps backward, then turned around and started heading back to gate 005.

Lazlo took a deep breath and started to turn back toward gate 003, when he heard his name.

"Lazlo!"

He had hardly looked over his shoulder when Edward leaped up and wrapped his arms around Lazlo's neck. He squeezed him tightly.

Lazlo returned the hug around Edward's waist and squeezed him back lovingly, picking him up off the floor in the process.

The feeling was good. More than good, incomparable to anything else.

Edward leaned towards Lazlo's ear and smiled. "See you soon!" He then released the monkey, turned back around, still smiling, and disappeared into the crowd.

Lazlo was a bit taken back by the sudden gesture, but as Edward's final words soaked in, he grinned to himself as he picked his backpack up.

Edward hadn't said goodbye after all.

--7 hours and 3 minutes Later--

….Damn you, Lazlo…

Edward sat on the plane, staring out the window at the passing clouds. The memory of the last days of Camp Kidney and the incident at the airport; it all settled into his mind like a newly read book.

He sat back in his seat and closed his eyes.

Something in his pocket poked at his side, so he reached in and pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper.

He had to think for a moment, before remembering what it was and that he'd forgotten to open it!

He smiled silently as he reluctantly unwrinkled the paper.

At long last, it revealed a hand-written message in scribbled penmanship, with hundreds of little drawings and peace-signs all over it. He laid it out on his lap and began to glance over it.

The little stick-figure drawings must have been Lazlo and him…doing unusually random activities such as scuba-diving to shake hands with idealistic fish or climbing trees that existed in the clouds. The message written across the middle of the page was vague, but endearing in every implication.

It read: We'll be Together!

Edward turned the paper over and then back around. "That's it? No huge love confessions or poems or nothin'?" The platypus pouted for a moment, having expected something more romantic.

Then he reminded himself that this was Lazlo he was thinking of. Too naïve and childish to understand the adult efforts of romance. He shook his head. "What an idiot."

However, as he stared down at all the pictures and read the words "We'll be Together!" over and over again to himself, he smiled calmly and slid back into his seat again, admiring the secret meaning behind the youthful words.

A ding noise was heard, and a voice sounded over the intercom. "Flight 005 approaching destination; New York City."

Edward zoned out the announcement, lost in his own imagination.

If there was one thing he hated most about the ignorant Lazlo, it was his candid abilities to make Edward fall in love him over and over again, whether miles apart, or closer than they actually realized.

"Yeah, we'll be together." Edward grinned to himself, watching out the window as the plane drifted down through the clouds, landing on airfields outstretched across the far off city lights.

End

Author's Notes:

Writing for LxE never gets old. This story came from an idea I originally had involvng a day in a sunflower field, but then I got to thinking about what it would be like if summer ended and the scouts had to go home, and then I really wanted to try that idea out instead. Its sad, a bit overly-sentimental at times, but it was fun! I'd write more fluff fics for these two any day!

I do worry about how well I did at keeping everyone in-character, mostly in Edward's case. Now that I look back, I could have canoned Edward's personality way more than I did when I first wrote it. But Edward does have a soft side (imo) and so I think the story still fairs. I had a bit of trouble deciding on home-destinations for Edward also. Murray never really hints to us where any of the CL characters live, except for Lazlo, Raj, and Clam. So I just decided I'd have Edward be from the Bronx or something, haha. He seems to be the type.

This story has such potential for a sequel. But I'll wait to hear feedback and reviews before I start thinking that far ahead!

Anyway, thank you for reading my first CL fic! I hope you enjoyed it!

Take care,

sunshine1717