Stars 8

Author’s notes: The last chapter. Sorry for taking so long!

Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed!!

Pairing: TezukaxEiji

Tezuka couldn’t hear what his team mates were saying. His eyes saw what he didn’t want to see and his brain blocked out everything else. The airport was in a state of chaos. Someone pushed against him but Tezuka hardly noticed it. There were sounds of sobbing, voices of distress and shouts of worry all around, yet Tezuka couldn’t hear anything except the voice of denial in his head.

However, reality slowly sunk in and Tezuka found himself in an unknown state of panic. This feeling was new, and he didn’t know how to handle it. For once in his life, he gave in to instinct.

Tezuka’s team mates gaped in amazement at the sight of the usually calm and stoic man suddenly dashing towards one of the counters and pushed his way to the front.

“Where are the passengers of the flight?” Tezuka’s low voice was shaking slightly.

The airline staff looked just as distressed as she tried to address everyone’s concern. “The rescue personnel are still at work. We will release information the moment we get updated news.”

“What news do you have now? How are they?” Tezuka bit his lip as he interrupted her speech.

“I am sorry sir, I don’t have any news except that some of the injured have been carried out and …”

“Where are they? Where are the injured? My friend is on the flight and I have to know if he is safe.”

“Please remain calm sir. We…”

“How do I remain calm when the most important person in my life is on that plane?!”

The airline staff did not respond to Tezuka’s outburst, and only looked sadly at him. Tezuka closed his eyes momentarily to regain his composure and turned around to go. It wasn’t the girl’s fault. The situation was too chaotic and no one really had much information at this moment. He had to look for Eiji, somehow. Perhaps he should try going to the runway. Though Tezuka had absolutely no idea how, he had to find a way to get to Eiji.

As Tezuka jostled out of the crowd, he looked around for directions and then, he froze. The bespectacled man shook his head and looked again. There was no mistake. Overwhelmed by the sudden rush of emotions, Tezuka ignored the shouts of his team mates and ran towards his target.

Eiji kept a firm grip on his luggage as he slowly made his way towards the exit. He was in a rather confused state and before he knew it, someone rushed towards him and pulled him into a strong embrace.

Eiji gasped at the impact but recognized the scent of the cologne immediately.

“Tezuka?”

“Thank goodness you are ok.” The words were choked with emotion and Eiji felt Tezuka hugging him closer.

“Yeah, I … I didn’t get on the flight. I'm ok, don't worry.”

As if never hearing Eiji’s words, Tezuka lowered his head until his face was half buried in Eiji’s coat. “I love you, Eiji.”

Eiji’s eyes widened as the softly spoken words drifted into his ears. It was the first time he heard those words. The three words that he thought he would never hear. The last words he would ever expect to come from Tezuka.

Warm tears began to form and dropped against his will as he closed his eyes and returned the embrace. Despite trying his best to find something to say, the redhead was at a loss for words. It was as if words couldn’t convey his feelings well enough. So Eiji held Tezuka with all the love he had.

The insecurity, anger, disappointment and hurt that plagued them both all melted away as the couple finally came face to face with their true feelings for each other. It was strange that both had let their pride and other emotions interfere with what was truly important. They certainly needed to re-learn a few things about themselves and each other, but at least this time round, they had got the basics right.

Tezuka finally loosened his arms around the red head when he thought he heard a few uncomfortable coughs around him. He turned back and saw his team mates looking on rather curiously at the scene but decided to ignore them as he turned back towards Eiji.

“Will you stay?” As Tezuka spoke the words that just a few days ago he thought were impossible to utter, he placed his hand on the handle of Eiji’s luggage and on top of the red head’s hand.

Eiji felt the slightly warm hand on his own and knew he would never leave Tezuka ever again. “Yes, of course.”

The smile in Eiji’s eyes at that moment would be something that Tezuka would never forget.

-------

It was a hot summer night and Eiji busied himself with keeping himself cool using his paper fan. He had moved back to Tezuka’s apartment and tonight, Fuji and Oishi came over to enjoy a barbeque dinner of freshly caught fish. As he leaned against the plastic chair in the balcony, Fuji leaned over and placed something on Eiji’s lap.

“What’s this?” Eiji looked curiously at the white envelop.

“Open it up and take a look,” Fuji’s eyes were closed as usual, but Eiji detected the hint of mischief easily from his lighter-than-usual-tone.

Eiji glanced at the equally curious Oishi and then shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s wait for Kunimitsu before I open it then. If it’s a bomb we can all die together.”

“Ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” came the suspicious reply.

Oishi’s eyes widened. “What on earth is in that envelop, Fuji?”

“Eh?” The redhead frowned and deliberated. He didn’t have much time to do that, however, as Tezuka came with a glass of water and sat down beside him just then.

Fuji immediately leaned away and his smile widened.

“Should I open it now?’ Eji hesitated as he stole a glance at his boyfriend’s stoic face. Was it something offensive? Why did Fuji say not to open it in front of Tezuka? Could it be a nude photo of Tezuka?! Eiji quickly shook his head to stop his brain running wild.

“Up to you,” was the smiling reply.

Tezuka looked on disinterestedly and sipped from his glass of water as Eiji finally tore open the seal and pulled out a few photographs. Then Tezuka choked. What was that?!

Oishi took the photos from the now red faced Eiji and then turned to Fuji in amazement. “When did you take these? We were at the airport together but I didn’t notice you were taking pictures?”

“Ah, you were concentrating on trying to overhear what Eiji and Tezuka were talking about. I just snapped a few photographs during that period. The emotions were nicely captured, weren’t they?”

“EH?! You were both at the airport that day? Why didn’t I see you?” Eiji snatched the photographs back and demanded an explanation.

“You two were rather busy, so we decided to stay at the side. Anyway, you were safe, so we didn’t have to go up and hug you passionately, right?” Fuji replied smoothly as Tezuka choked again.

“But we were really worried that day, Eiji. Thank goodness you weren’t on the plane. What made you change your mind at the last moment?” Oishi chimed in to reduce the couple’s embarrassment, but Eiji’s face turned even redder at that question.

Tezuka took a discrete glance at his boyfriend as he waited for the answer. He didn’t ask about that day as it still brought some fear into his heart whenever he thought about how he could have lost Eiji. Still, he wanted to know what exactly made Eiji change his mind.

“I decided that if I was really leaving, I should at least just take one last look at Kunimitsu. So I missed my flight, thinking I could always just buy another ticket. I never thought that it would save my life,” the redhead paused for a few moments before continuing. “…and a relationship.”

Fuji smiled again as he observed the discrete squeeze on the hand Tezuka gave Eiji at the end of that speech. Tezuka had learnt to express himself a little more, and though he was still stoic and serious, the bespectacled man was now more open with how he felt. He tried not to make one sided assumptions and learnt how to open himself up to Eiji.

Eiji on the other hand, learnt that not everything needed to be said outright, and subtle hints of love meant just as much. Now that he knew how much Tezuka really loved him, he felt more confident about the relationship and was back to being who he really was. Tezuka had told him about how much he actually liked hearing about things Eiji saw and felt, and Eiji was glad that they straightened out the expectations of each other. There was no longer a need for a wild goose chase for something that didn’t matter in the very first place.

The night sky was clear and the stars were shining brightly. Eiji smiled to himself as he admired how sparkly they were. He reached out his hand and tried to touch them, and then laughed at how childish he was.

“What are you laughing at?” Tezuka’s voice was soft.

“The stars are so far away, I can’t reach them. But it’s ok.” Eiji turned to Tezuka as he spoke, the smile still in his eyes. “As long as you are beside me, I don’t need anything else.”

And the stars blinked in agreement.

The end.