Toru and Yuki: Moving Away

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by Stheos

by Stheos

So close, yet so far

She was excited and afraid. It had been 2 weeks since she last met him. He went for a business trip and had returned the day before yesterday. He was too tired and slept through Sunday. They were going to meet after work tomorrow like always. Their offices were nearby. She never realized but since high school, she has been following him, to college and the neighborhood they worked in. They had the same college degree and had similar jobs. She never intended to do this, but on sleepless nights which have become quite frequent these days, she realized, she did want it to happen, she wanted to stay with him. Forever.

Toru had been speaking on how his company wants to transfer him giving him a better position. He seemed ready for it, though every now and then when talking about it a sad smile would come across his face, she didn't know if it was due to him leaving the city he grew up in or was it because of his separation from her. Hori and Miyamura's wedding, which had been a delight for her, gave her a feeling of being left out. The wedding could have been hers, only if she had enough courage. She knew she needed to build up the courage soon, or else if he moved out, she would lose him. Forever.

At that moment, she was lying in her bed thinking of tomorrow, about work and Toru. She soon fell asleep. The next day she woke up and got ready as usual, but with a new energy. She got a text from Toru, her heart stopped for a second, and then started beating as if she had been running in the Olympics. It was a just a normal text. "You have work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I do"

"Cool, will meet as usual, I have something important to tell you."

She froze, the time has come. She knew he wanted to tell her that he was going to shift, psyching herself up she typed a reply

"Ok"

The day went as usual, nothing new. Just normal office work. It was about time for her to leave, right then Toru sent a text, "Meet at the usual Café." As she was ready to leave, her boss requested her to work overtime and her heart broke. Even though she wanted to rush out she couldn't say no, she thought

Have I really not changed?

She replied to Toru with a heavy heart asking him to wait. And so, he did. And did. And kept waiting. It had been more than an hour and she was yet to finish her work. Then a text came

"I am leaving, call me when you are free, will tell you on a call, don't worry I am not angry, I know you are busy, it is the end of the year so work keeps piling up."

It was indeed the end the of the year. Today was New Year's Eve. She wanted to spend it with Toru. To finally tell him what she wanted to, but could she? Can she let this opportunity slip away from her hands? Again. Will she be able to tell what she wants? Will she get the same feeling as when she saw Sakura giving cookies to Toru, the chilling thought of losing him came to her mind.

She cannot, she needed to go. She ran. With no thought of the work she needed to do, she ran. Something was more important. She ran.

Amidst the crowd near the café and the falling snow, she searched for him. And at last, she saw him walking away. She ran to him and caught by his sleeve and yelled –

"WHO TOLD YOU TO LEAVE YOU IDIOT!"

Toru was confused, and Yuki was breathing heavily.

"Uh, I thought you would be busy."

"You.... You could have waited... a little more..."

"uh...I guess."

They both looked at each other, and childish smiles crept on their faces. Toru was about to say something but Yuki cut in between, with all her courage and all of her feelings over the past years overflowing she said, "I... I love you".

Toru was staring blankly, and then smiled slightly. And said slowly, "I know, and I love you too."

Soon when they got over the rush of confessing, they blushed and Toru muttered, "You know... I was going to confess today anyways, I was going to ask you to come with me, you know, all that shifting stuff, will you?"

And with a big effortless smile she said, "Of course I will."

And through the falling snow and bustling crowd, they walked together with their hands intertwined. Toru's hands were cold but soon they warmed up just as they did as ever, when he was close to her. They talked and talked happily until they ran out of words and walked in silence with warm feelings inside their chests. A small snowflake landed on Yuki's hair. She tried to brush it off but struggled not knowing where it was. Toru brushed it off, gently patting her with a warm smile. Yuki smiled back and looked up at the snow-spilled sky thinking...

The cold white snow, had never looked so beautiful....

THE END.