Mikado's heart hammered uncontrollably in his chest as the train traveled through different parts of Japan. The teen gripped the phone Izaya had given him, he checked it once again despite the fact he'd only checked it moments before.
He took a deep breath and tried to distract himself by looking out of the window but he couldn't and his focus soon returned to his new phone once again. He knew he had to stop looking at it, he was chewing through the battery too quickly and if it ran out before he reached Izaya – he'd be completely in the middle of nowhere with no way of contacting the older male.
Mikado slumped back in the chair, he'd been on the train for almost two hours but he felt like he'd been on there for years. He sighed wishing he could get a book out of his suitcase but he didn't want to open it and have to repack it for a simple book.
The sound and feeling of his phone vibrating scared the teen, he flinched slightly staring at the phone with wide blue eyes before quickly reading the message written by none other than the man he was so anxious to see.
[I can't express how happy I am right now, you actually chose to be with me. I can't wait to see you. Get off the train at Sendai, my love.]
Mikado held the phone close to his heart and squeezed his eyes shut. Soon, soon he'd see Izaya again. He could touch him, talk to him, be with him for the first time since the incident. Mikado's heart hammered in his chest and his eyes burned with tears but none fell.
Sendai was only thirty minutes away.
Izaya was only thirty minutes away.
Mikado felt like his heart was going to burst with happiness.
He was nervous and jittery with excitement and anticipation for the rest of the train ride, he fidgeted and squirmed in his seat like a small child unable to calm down, to care about the fact he looked like he needed to use the bathroom.
The last thirty minutes seemed to take three times as long as the first two hours combined but when the train finally came to a stop and the announcement for Sendai station echoed throughout the cabins, Mikado bolted up from his seat before anyone else and grabbed his suitcase, hurriedly exiting the train into the frigid morning air. It was just after seven so the sun was beginning to light up the sky but the air was cold, so cold that Mikado could see his breath come out as white clouds.
His phone vibrated once again and all the air in his lungs seemed to leave at once as he stared at the GPS map that Izaya had sent to him. It was directed to the Mitsui Garden Hotel which a mere fifteen minute walk from the train station.
The teen started walking, he tried his best not to run not wanting to reunite with Izaya all sweaty and out of breath. He walked as normally as he could but he was still power walking towards the hotel unable to completely hide his excitement.
He looked up at the skyscraper with wide eyes. Izaya was in there, Izaya was in there waiting for him. The teen checked the message once more confirming the room number before he entered the building, it was still rather early so the lobby wasn't very busy.
He made a beeline for the elevator and got inside, pressing the button for the fourth floor. Mikado could feel his heart beating in his throat, his blood rushing in his ears as the floors rolled past. His entire body was shaking with nervous excitement.
The elevator chiming making the teen shake harder as he walked onto the fourth floor and towards Izaya's room. He knew that Izaya was no longer the man he knew, the informant had gone through a lot, he was physically weak and in a wheelchair so he braced himself as he walked.
He could barely breathe when he reached Izaya's room. He stared at the door for what seemed like forever before knocking quietly and opening the door like Izaya had instructed him to do. He gulped and took off his shoes, sliding into a pair of slippers before he walked into the hotel room.
Time seemed to stop as blue eyes met red ones.
The couple immediately met eyes and hundreds of emotions flowed through them both. Izaya looked different, despite the metal wheelchair he was sitting in, he was a lot skinnier and looked weaker in general. But it didn't make Mikado hesitate as he dropped his suitcase and rushed towards the older man with tears streaming down his face.
Mikado dropped to his knees in front of the informant, hugging his waist tightly with his head on the other man's lap. "Izaya…Izaya…!" Mikado sobbed uncontrollably. Izaya, who was also crying stroked the teen's hair.
"Mikado…" he murmured, "let me look at you, my love." Izaya touched the teen face with shaky hands and lifted his chin so he could properly look at the bubbling teen's face.
"My precious Mikado…I missed you so much." Izaya murmured thickly through the tears that trailed down his pale face. Mikado reached up to touch Izaya's face tracing the familiar features gently.
"I…missed you so much." the teen sniffed, his eyes burning, "I thought about you every day."
"Mhm, me too. Mikado…I love you, I love you more than I have the words to express." Izaya said, his eyes shining with complete and utter devotion. Mikado swallowed thickly and smiled through his tears.
"I love you too Izaya, more than anything in this world." Mikado was the one to move to bring their lips together. The taste was familiar, the feeling of Izaya's lips was so comforting as they kissed passionately but gently, wanting to express their love. Mikado pulled back a bit breathless and Izaya was no different.
Mikado rest his forehead on Izaya's and looked into the man's eyes. "I can't believe you're really here…it's like a dream come true." Izaya whispered raising a shaky head to cup Mikado's cheek gently, Mikado carefully pressed his hand into his lover's hands.
"I know…to have you with me…to touch you…I haven't been this happy for a long time." Mikado whispered sniffing as his tears began to run dry. "I just…missed you so much…" the teen sobbed and Izaya held him close.
It was confronting to see Izaya in a wheelchair, to see him so feeble and weak but the emotion of seeing him alive and well, in fact, seeing him at all was enough to completely overshadow the sadness Mikado felt for his lover's condition.
He just wanted to hold Izaya close and never let him go.
"Thank you Mikado…thank you so much for coming." Izaya murmured, burying his face in the teen's shoulder and wrapping his arms around the younger male. "I was so afraid that you wouldn't come and I know I probably deserve to be miserable and alone, but I couldn't bear with the thought of never asking you," Izaya said quietly and the teen tightened his hold of the wheelchair-bound male.
"Of course I came, I love you more than anything in this world Izaya. I've always known you had flaws, we both do. We're no better than each other remember?" Mikado gave the man a small smile. "We had it rough but I truly believe that we have what it takes to make this love work, Izaya." Mikado pulled back slightly so he could cup the man's cheeks and look at him in the eye.
"I love you and I want to be with you even if it's hard, even if you're different – I don't care. I know we can make this work out, I know we can be happy Izaya, that's why I came here." Mikado gently cupped the older man's face ignoring the wetness of Izaya's tears as they dripped down his cheeks.
"Because I know we belong together Izaya." Mikado smiled looking into the man's eyes.
"Mikado…" Izaya sniffed his eyes brimming with tears. "Thank you…thank you…thank you…" he mumbled over and over again. But the teen said nothing, he only held Izaya close as the man he'd once seen as invincible broke down. Izaya wasn't apologising to Mikado, not really, he was apologising for everything he'd ever done to everyone and that wasn't something Mikado could offer him forgiveness for, he couldn't.
"It's alright Izaya, you're not alone anymore, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." Mikado comforted the man trying to calm him down. Izaya nodded shakily taking a few deep breaths.
"I really love you, Mikado…more than anything...if you didn't come…I…I surely would have gone insane." Izaya murmured, "I know I deserve to suffer, I don't deserve to have you here beside me but I'm so happy…so happy you're here." Izaya's voice broke slightly and Mikado held him tighter.
"No one deserves to suffer Izaya…You need to repent." He pulled back to look at his lover in the eyes. "This is a fresh start Izaya, repent for your previous actions and help people. Let's start again and let's do this right this time, okay?" the teen smiled tenderly.
Izaya's wide eyes searched Mikado's before the man smiled. "Yeah…you're right. Let's start over…I'll repent…we can move far away and never have worry about Ikebukuro again, the gangs, the v-violence – everything, let's leave it behind." Izaya stuttered slightly but Mikado just smiled.
"Yeah…Let's start over Izaya…I love you." Mikado leaned in and Izaya tilted his head up.
"I love you too…" their lips met in a soft, loving kiss that lasted a few minutes before they pulled back and smiles on their faces.
There was a warmth in Mikado's chest that he hadn't felt in a long time and he knew despite whatever difficulties they'd run into, no matter what happened – he'd made the right choice.
His life was finally starting again.
No, their life.
Their new beginning.