HEADPHONES ‧ k.tsukishima

𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭;

'Promise me you'll text?' Eri gave a sad little smile and gripped her suitcase tightly. The airport was loud and jam packed with mostly frantic families. Tsukki grinned, eyes stinging with tears.

'Of course. You'll probably be spamming me either way.' They paused, as they often did nowadays mid conversation, and locked eyes. They had found that sometimes silence spoke better than words.

Tsukki wrapped his long arms around Eri's trembling body and sighed. 

'You're gonna do so great Eri. Fresh start, new school, new friends.' He pushed his glasses up absent-mindedly and wiped away Eri's salty tears, 'Just don't forget Japan, hm? I'll always be here if you want to call or text. Now go! Conquer America, little Kobayashi!' 

Eri laughed and muttered a friendly curse in Spanish. She gave a wistful smile,

'I need you to look after yourself Tsukki. You can't... you can't wait for Atsuko forever. It'll be hard but...' she struggled with her words, 'but maybe moving on is the best idea.'

Tsukki stiffened, 'I- I can... I'm sorry Eri. I just... it's complicated. I'm still working on it.'

She smiled fondly, 'I know beanpole. Just... give it a try? Don't be afraid to be selfish.'

 Eri sighed and began to walk towards the gate, before turning back and giving one last cheeky grin,

'See you beanpole. Good luck with... with everything.'

And so she ploughed on towards the departure gate without a glance back. Tsukki fell into a chair and couldn't help but smile a little. America was the perfect new start for Eri. He hoped that she too would find happiness there.

Delicately, Dr Miranda combed her fingers through Atsuko's once beautiful hair. It was a little flatter now, with less volume, less sheen. She intertwined thick stemmed daisies through it, weaving them intricately through the faded mahogany locks. Atsuko stared silently at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was less sallow than it had been upon her arrival at the hospital and her dark eyes had regained a sparkle. She pursed her lips and smoothed down her hospital gown: it would soon be exchanged for a simple satin dress, spun morning dew's modest colour. 

Dr Miranda patted her shoulder gently and grinned, 'Looking gorgeous Miss Daichi. Come on let me help you up; we need to get the dress on, do some quick paperwork, administer a last medication prescription and boom bam! To graduation you go darling.'

With the patient help of Dr Miranda, Atsuko managed to hobble over to the bathroom. Her dress was hung from the shower rail and she reached out to stroke it gently, awestruck. Dr Miranda pulled it over her head and she wriggled into it, frustrated, until the sleek cold material slipped over her shoulders and rested coolly against her lean frame. Dr Miranda grinned,

'Beautiful! It's perfect Atsuko! Now let me apply a little makeup.'

 She took out a dusty palette and several lip tints before mixing, dabbing and applying onto Atsuko's delicate face. All throughout, Atsuko sat motionless, acclimatising to the feel of the cool fabric against her pallid skin. She remembered feeling warm skin against her chest, fingers tracing patterns down her arms, pressing soft kisses to her forehead. She was sharply cut back to reality when Dr Miranda gasped and smiled fondly.

'Look in the mirror darling.' Dr Miranda whispered softly.

Atsuko struggled over to the grime dusted mirror and stopped in shock in front of it. It was as if she had been taken back 6 months, youth and happiness restored.