There's a Story Behind Every Smile (Hitachiin Triplets, OHSHC)

Chapter Thirty-One

To actually see her figure through her black, ripped skinny jeans and Panic! At the Disco tee was still odd to look at, even if it was her own body. But, she had to admit, she was healthy, and she looked like her brothers now that she was about their weight. She reached down, re-velcroing her knee-high converse as quietly as she could, so as to not annoy her fellow passengers, who worked for the government like she had once done. They all wore formal attire, but they smiled at her whenever she looked in their direction, ignoring the line between them; their ages, lines of work, and mental health were all different, but she was still an equal in their eyes, their friend.

She brushed a hand through her black and burgundy-dyed hair. It was now short again, because that was how she was used to it being; she wasn't going back to being the ladylike woman she'd been at 13. She had grown since then. 

"The plane will be landing shortly. Please fasten your seatbelts..."

Her anxiety suddenly spiked at those words, and she gripped onto Akira's jacket and quickly slipped it on, hiding her scars. 

And she smiled as they got ready to land, finally having escaped her entire life, finally getting to live one all her own. 

"Now landing in Berlin, Germany."

"Hey, Teru," Kyoya said as he walked into her apartment, sitting down on the beanbag next to her after putting the sushi he brought on the glass coffee table. Teru hummed in response, keeping her eyes closed and her feet propped up. Sekai no Owari played in the background. "Got your food, and some good news." Her eyebrow raised, and her eyes shot open as her hand shot out to grab her glasses from the coffee table. After she had them on, she met his eyes with a bright smile lighting up her face. and red and golden eyes he'd grown to love.

"So, you gonna tell me?" she asked as he reached for the sushi with a pair of chopsticks he'd gotten out. 

He looked back at her. "Well, you have permission." He ate it as he watched her light up, as though she'd always seen in black and white and could suddenly see colour. He smiled weakly, loving her smile but really not wanting her to go. 

She noticed his pain, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. "And?..." She had assumed their was a bad side. 

He shook his head, looking down. "Nothing. It's in a year, by the way, since your lease has to finish out first."

She shook her head at him. "Tell me, Kyoya." 

He sighed, looking off at the wall, where the ornament of her and Akira hung on a tack on the wall. "I just... don't want to see you go." He closed his eyes, suddenly standing up and clenching his fists. "It's not fair! Seeing you... seeing you happy just because you might see your best friend again! One who could have easily gotten over you, and could leave you alone! And we're both in our twenties, I could go with you, but..." He glared down at her, but his eyes softened as he saw her tremble in fear. "I just... Teru, I... I'm sorry. I love you." He sat back down on his beanbag, whispering the phrase again as though in disbelief that he'd said it out loud. "I love you."

She bit her lip, her mind swirling. "Kyoya, I..."

He met her eyes again, in tears. "Please. Say you won't go. Or at least let me go with you." He took her hands in his before pulling her into a hug.

"Kyoya, I don't think... Even if Akira is there when I go, there's no guarantee that I'll be with him in that way. With you... I don't know... I'm sorry, too...."