Always Be With You
Takumi looked out the window of his new apartment in Tokyo. It was located on the fifteenth floor of a twenty-story building and offered a nice view over the vast skyline of Japan's lively capital.
The apartment itself was medium sized with two bedrooms, a combined living and dining room which included a small cooking area and a bathroom. When he'd moved in that very morning the landlord had informed Takumi that his share mate would arrive sometime in the evening.
"A new roommate," the black-haired boy whispered and sighed deeply. The idea of sharing the apartment with a total stranger made him feel nervous and uncomfortable. At Shidou he'd at least known his new roommates from the classes they'd taken together.
Takumi let his eyes wander over the city and sighed again. 'A new city, a new life, new people and new challenges,' he thought, unconsciously biting his bottom lip and his heart grew heavy. 'Almost everything is going to change. Nothing will be as it was.'
That thought scared him and although he knew that Gii, Misu and Akaike would arrive within the next few days, he couldn't help but feel lost and out of place in this big city and his thoughts drifted back to Shidou and his graduation day.
Takumi checked his watch as he walked towards the gazebo near the greenhouse. The graduation ceremony was about to start in a little more than two hours, giving him enough time to visit and say farewell to the place where he and Gii had often met in secret after the demolition of the old concert hall.
When he reached his destination, he suddenly stopped in his tracks surprised to see that someone else already occupied one of the wooden benches inside the gazebo.
"Akaike-kun?" The other boy looked up at the mentioning of his name. "Ohayo Hayama," he greeted smiling and signaled Takumi to come over and sit next to him.
"What are you doing," Takumi asked curiously when he noticed some sheets of paper on Akaike's lap. "I was just going over my speech for the graduation ceremony," he explained. "But the school and the dorms are too noisy for me to concentrate. Everybody's busy with either packing or preparing for the ceremony or both, so I decided to come here. How about you Hayama? Taking a trip down memory lane?"
"Something like that," Takumi replied with a sigh and fell silent.
Akaike shrugged and went back to his notes, occasionally glancing at his friend from the corner of his eye.
He instantly noticed the solemn, sad expression Takumi had on his face and he'd known the boy long enough to know what an expression like this usually meant. Finally Akaike shoved his notes aside and turned his head to face his friend.
"What's wrong Hayama, did something happen," he asked gently. "You look troubled." "It's nothing," Takumi answered, his eyes cast to the ground. "You'll think that I'm just being childish."
"I don't think so Hayama," Akaike said with a serious undertone in his voice. "I'm your friend and I'd never make fun of anything that troubles you. So, why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"
"Well recently, with the graduation coming up and everything, I've been thinking a lot about the future," Takumi began hesitantly as he met his friend's gaze. "So many things are going to change…" "This is related to Gii, isn't it," Akaike interrupted, smiling mildly.
Takumi nodded and sighed dejectedly. "Recently I just can't help but feel that, with every step we take forward in our lives, we're somehow forced further apart. At first, because of the freshmen who started to attend Shidou, Gii and I were forced to attend different classes and to stay in different rooms. We could only meet sporadically and in secret.
Now, starting April, we're not only going to attend different universities, but we'll also be living in totally different parts of town. Tokyo is such a big city and I'm afraid that we might lose each other in its hustle and bustle.
And what will be after we graduate and enter the working world…," his voice trailed off and he hung his head. Akaike nodded understandingly. "Listen, Hayama," he said softly and placed a hand on Takumi's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly.
"There's absolutely no way that Gii would ever let something like this happen. He loves you more than anything in this world. It sounds cheesy, but that's how it is. This guy would literally travel to the end of the world and give up everything to be with you. He needs you as much as you need him and he would go crazy if he had to live without you."
"Akaike-kun," Takumi stammered and looked back up. "So, don't give way to such gloomy thoughts," the head of the disciplinary committee continued with a smile.
"I think you should be grateful. At least you and Gii will be living in the same city, not everybody is that lucky. Just think about Shingyouji and Misu. Since Shingyouji is going to be a student at this school for one more year and Misu will be studying in Tokyo, these two will be able to meet during the holidays only and maybe on some weekends, depending on how busy they're going to be with their studies."
"You're right," Takumi said thoughtfully. "It's going to be tough for both of them." Akaike nodded. "Yes, so you should consider yourself lucky. Besides I will be living in Tokyo as well. We might be staying in different places, but Misu and I will do what we can to support you and Gii, just like we've done until now."
"Gii," Takumi whispered longingly into the empty room. "What are you doing right now?" He closed his eyes and let his mind drift back to their last meeting after the graduation ceremony.
"Have a safe trip to America and try not to overwork yourself, OK," Takumi said and tried to smile bravely. "I'm going to miss you so much."
It would be about five weeks until their first meeting in Tokyo and the fact that he would have to spend them at home in Shizuoka with his parents didn't make it any easier for Takumi to say good-bye to his beloved boyfriend. At the moment five weeks seemed like an eternity to him.
Gii, sensing his lover's distress and sadness, pulled him into a tight, comforting embrace and cradled the boy's head against his chest. "I'll miss you too, Takumi," he said softly. "I promise to call you as often as I can and I'm already looking forward to our first meeting in Tokyo. I'll be counting the days."
"Me too," Takumi replied with a sigh and raised his head to face the most popular and handsome guy of Shidou Academy.
Their eyes met and Gii gently placed one hand on the side of Takumi's face. "I love you," he whispered endearingly, before he captured his lover's lips, brushing his tongue teasingly against them, demanding entrance. Takumi obliged and wrapped his arms around Gii's neck, a soft moan escaping him as he felt Gii's tongue brushing against his.
The kiss they shared was long, deep and of a searing passion. When they finally pulled away, after what seemed an eternity, both boys were breathing heavily. Gii ran his thumb slowly over Takumi's cheek and lips in a loving caress and with one last chaste kiss he was gone.
Takumi's eyes followed his retreating figure until he was out of sight. "I love you too Gii," he whispered as a tear slowly trickled down his face.
Takumi touched his lips as he recalled that wonderful kiss and sighed deeply. Just the thought of being close to Gii sent shivers of excitement down his spine and made his heart burn with longing and desire for the handsome upper-class man.
Although they had talked many times over the phone within the past few weeks, Takumi felt empty inside, lonely and somehow incomplete. During these past few weeks, the time he had spent with his parents had left him raw, hurting and vulnerable as it always used to do.
Right now he was craving Gii's warmth, his scent, a beguiling mixture of cologne and coffee that always had a calming, comforting effect on him and at the same time never failed to turn him on. But most of all he was longing for Gii's touch.
He wanted nothing more but to feel his boyfriend's arms around him, those strong arms that made him feel protected, loved and at home.
With another sigh Takumi let his eyes wander over Tokyo's skyline again. The sun was slowly setting behind the skyscrapers, bathing Japan's capital into a warm orange-golden glow. It was a beautiful sight. "Gii, are you watching this sunset too," he breathed and leaned his head against the window frame.
How long he'd been standing there, dreaming and lost in thought he couldn't say when the sound of a key being inserted into the front door lock brought him back in reality. 'So this is it,' Takumi thought and closed his eyes for a brief moment as he heard footsteps approaching the living room, 'the first challenge of my life as a university student.'
He took a deep breath and turned around to greet his new roommate properly, but once his eyes met the other guy's face, Takumi stopped dead in his tracks and his jaw dropped to the ground.