The Sun and Moon in Tokyo

10: Ache

Anyone who'd seen either of the two boys on the train ride home on Friday afternoon might have assumed they were headed to a funeral. Not a word was spoken between the two, nor a smile shared; they simply sat there, holding hands, sharing a pair of headphones, trying to choke back tears.

Friday morning had passed by too quickly and the two could do little more than hold each other and wish the future in which they lived together would hurry up. Packing their stuff was a nightmare, as each article reminded them that they would both be sleeping alone that night. At noon they left the hotel and slowly trudged to the train station where they waited two hours for their train. They could've explored the city some more if they wanted to, but both boys were feeling down and neither particularly wanted to drag their suitcase across Tokyo.

As they waited, Tsukishima tried his best to cheer Hinata up, though the little redhead was stubborn in his mourning. "We had such a good time", Tsukki sighed, "so we know we'll have to have another little vacation soon." "Yeah", replied Hinata as he slumped against Tsukishima's arm, "but who knows when that will be? It's not like we even paid for the hotel this time, and I doubt your brother's gonna go on conferences on that often, and he probably won't offer for us to join him, so we--" "Well, why don't you come stay over tomorrow night?", Tsukishima interrupted, putting his arm around the redhead. "I'll ask my mom, but I won't be surprised if she says no...", Hinata replied sullenly. "And besides", the smaller boy continued, "even if I do sleep over tomorrow, I still won't get to be with you tonight, and we have to go back to pretending that we're not a couple in public and-- and--". With that, Hinata started crying once more, as he'd been doing on and off all day. "Shōyō...", Tsukishima whispered, pulling the smaller boy in tightly, "I... I'm sorry that this is all I can do. I want to be with you always... but right now there isn't much we can do. We just have to spend every moment together that we can, and do our best to make it through the times we're apart." "I know", sniffled Hinata as he wiped his tears on the sleeve of his hoodie, "but it still hurts. This week was the best week of my life, and I love you so much, and I don't want to be separated from you again." Tsukishima thought for a minute before gasping lightly. "Hey, is it okay if we make a quick stop on our way to my place?', he asked. Hinata raised an eyebrow but nodded wordlessly, and though Tsukishima was smiling, a silence settled between them.

When the surrounding scenery began to look familiar from his seat on the train home, Hinata finally turned to Tsukki. "Hey", he said so quietly that he barely heard himself, "Where did you want to stop on our way home?" Tsukki pulled his earbud out and shrugged. "I just want to stop at the department store. I thought of something that might help us." Hinata raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?", he asked, his voice returning to it's normal tone. "You'll see", Tsukki smiled. Hinata frowned exaggeratedly but accepted the answer; despite the love that they shared, when Tsukishima resolved to keep something to himself, it was next to impossible to get out. Hinata rested his head on his blonde boyfriend's shoulder, knowing full well that such a simple action would not be able to happen for an unfairly long time.

"Hey, why don't you hold the suitcase and I'll run in real quick?", Tsukishima asked Hinata, who'd been silent the entire walk from the train station. Hinata looked surprised, but nodded. "Okay", he said quietly, taking the heavy bag from the blonde. "I'll be right back", Tsukki said quietly before leaning in and quickly pecking Hinata on the lips. Hinata's face burnt red as the taller boy ran off.

When Tsukishima returned not ten minutes later, Hinata grabbed his sleeve. "Kei!" , he yelled in a whisper, "We can't do that here! You're gonna get us caught!" . Tsukishima grinned and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "I know, I'm sorry", he said, blushing slightly, "I just couldn't help it." Frowning, Hinata warned, "You need to try". Tsukki nodded and, taking the suitcase from Hinata once more, the two continued their walk to Tsukishima's house.