79 - Drabble - Post Neo TWEWY

xxxxx

Missing You

'Don't miss me too much!' were the words that Shiki teased him with as she departed with Eri on their two-month trip to the US.

He jokingly replied with an 'I'll try'.

It turned out that it was no joke and that Neku was, to his surprise, having a harder time than he anticipated with it.

He was reminded of her, whenever he passed by a clothing shop that they would go to together, or if he got something from her favourite snack stand or if he passed by that obnoxiously huge Def March Returns billboard dominating over the Scramble.

Waiting three years to see her again while he was in Shinjuku was no walk in the park but the city was lifeless and he had a mission so he always fought those thoughts.

Now, when his biggest issue was whether he wanted extra fries with his burger or not, missing Shiki was a lot more palatable to him. He was surely allowed to miss his girlfriend while she was away, wasn't he?

"Bro's lookin' like a lost puppy, yo," Beat said, over lunch, in a not-whisper to the rest of the table.

"Parting once again is such sweet sorrow…" Nagi agreed, nodding solemnly before lunging for the dip that Fret was about to steal from her.

"Like, she's on a business trip, she's not heading back to the UG or anything," said Shoka. Rindo shook his head at her. "What? Too soon?"

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," offered Rhyme. She may not have been offering to share her fries but she did share those wise words.

Neku appreciated their efforts to cheer him up and it did.

Momentarily.

Because when he headed back to their empty apartment and flopped onto his bed, the feeling of missing her grew stronger.

Lovesick?

Was that what he was now?

Damn, he never thought it would apply to him.

Perhaps it was hitting him now because he hadn't had the chance to go through it as a normal teenager.

He took out his phone, scrolling, texting, and watching random videos until the sun was no longer visible in the sky. Not in Japan, at least.

Neku hit the call button.

"Mmm…morning!"

The sun, the lucky bastard, had travelled over to Shiki by now.

"Mornin' Shiki."

"I know we agreed that this was a good time to call, since I'll be out for most of the day and you'll be asleep but I didn't realise how punctual you were going to be for these." Her last sentence was bookended with a yawn.

"Did I wake you up?"

"Yes and no. I snoozed my alarm and then you called me," she said. "Eri's been awake for at least an hour, she went for a run."

"You weren't up for joining her?" Neku asked, knowing full well that Shiki did not do morning runs.

"Ha ha…I'm not up for anything right now…the bed is so comfy."

"Ours isn't. It's definitely missing you. It told me to say hi to you."

"Neku, you can be a little dorky sometimes, you know."

"I know," he said. He rolled over from his side to his back. "You're having your big meeting today, right?"

"Yep, that's today!"

"You nervous?"

"...A little."

"That's fine. Keeps you on your toes. You'll show 'em who's boss." She was always good at doing that, even when she wasn't running her own brand.

"Thanks Neku," she said, laughing. It sounded like she had gotten out of bed now. "I can always count on you to hype me up."

"'Course you can," he said. He imagined that she must be smiling, still. "You've got this."

There was a small pause before she spoke, "No, really, thanks Neku. Think I needed that." Another pause. "I miss you a lot, too. Sorry you're feeling so down about this."

"Down? I do miss you but I wouldn't say I'm - "

"Joshua may or may not have sent me a picture of you moping around from earlier today."

"Huh? I didn't even see Josh today, the hell?"

"What, he wasn't at lunch with you and the others?"

"No? What?" He was going to strangle that man later, Composer or not. "That's - nevermind that. Yes, I've been going around town with a little raincloud above my head. Not sure it's a look that suits me."

"Definitely not." He could hear her giggle and he wished he could wrap his arms around her and hear that closer to him. "Oh - I think I heard the door open. Crap, Eri must be back, I should be getting ready too then."

The short time they had on the phone was cut shorter. He didn't even have time to ask if she'd wanted to switch to video calling. "Yeah, you gotta live up to the Gatto Nero name!"

"I will! I'll knock their socks off at this meeting. And if not, well maybe I'll give them some free Mr Mew merch and that can convince them," she said. "Alright, I'll text you when I'm done. Call you same time tomorrow?"

"Same time."

He couldn't believe he was one of those people who didn't want to say goodbye first but he was being proven wrong so many times so far.

"Okay, bye Neku. Love you."

"Good luck Shiki! Love you too, speak to you tomorrow."

At least they didn't do a back and forth between who had to hang up first - if only because Shiki did, due to having somewhere to be, while Neku returned to the quiet of their room.

The call ended and it left him at the home screen of his phone.

He read the date. "One week left, then."

Seven Days.

He could wait that long.

It was a different kind of countdown, this time.

A/N: Tadaa! I fully thought I would be writing the other prompt for this but this is what you get stuck with for Neshiki Week 2023 Day 06 with the prompt of 'Long Distance'. Yay for established relationship but pining within that because they're just silly and cute :D Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading!

- Dina (06/12/2023)