Flight II: In Transit

Izumi powered off the laptop and slid it into his carry-on. He leaned back in his seat and resisted the urge to stand up and demand that the plane go faster.  He felt like he’d been stuck in this uncomfortable seat for days.

It was late and most of the other passengers were asleep. The lights were dimmed and the plane was eerily quiet, despite the constant whine of the engines.

Flying alone was boring and Izumi hated to be bored.

He turned towards the window, thankful that the flight was only half full and that he didn’t have someone sitting next to him, trapping him, breathing on him or trying to talk when Izumi only wanted silence.

Outside the window, everything was shades of black and grey. He stared at it, unfocused, until he felt his eyelids droop. He shook himself slightly and forced his eyes wide. He hated sleeping in public.

Shifting backward in his seat, he caught his faint reflection in the window. He stared at his image, frowning; it looked as insubstantial as he felt these days.

He wondered when he’d become so uncertain of everything – questioning his studies, his career path, and his life. The only thing he didn’t question anymore was his relationship with Takamiya.

He offered his reflection a smile, remembering how, just a few years ago, that relationship was the one thing he did question. He’d been so sure of himself then, confident in what he wanted and who he was.

Leave it to Takamiya to change all that.

There was something about the man and his unfailing cheerfulness that just wiped away all of Izumi’s objections. It never mattered how harsh Izumi was to him, he always responded with kindness.

Izumi reached into his pocket and removed his keys. He turned the keying over, looking at the ridiculous puppy charm. It was scratched, and some of the paint had come off, but Izumi couldn’t bring himself to remove or replace it just yet.

He remembered arriving home from school one afternoon to find the apartment dark. There’d been a note on the kitchen table from Takamiya with an address and a meeting time. After the day he’d had, Izumi only wanted to change into his slob clothes and watch movies, but instead he put his shoes back on and hurried so Takamiya wouldn’t have to wait.

He’d almost turned around when he found himself in front of a toy store.

“Why are we here?”

“It’s a surprise,” Takamiya insisted, taking Izumi’s arm and steering him, not into the store as expected, but away from it. “Humor me?”

“I hate it when you look at me like that.” Izumi grumbled, but he went willingly. He was very glad he wouldn’t have to endure an hour of Takamiya making a fool of himself in the toy store. The man was worse than a kid – trying everything and laughing loudly.

“I know,” Takamiya assured him, putting an arm around Izumi to guide him to a small restaurant. They nodded to the hostess and proceeded towards a small room in the back. A server was waiting for them, sliding the door open to admit them to a small private dining room. A feast was already laid out, awaiting their arrival.

“What’s the occasion?” Izumi asked, half his attention on the table where all of his favorites were displayed.

Takamiya turned towards him and gathered him into a loose embrace. He lowered his head towards Izumi’s ear and said: “Happy anniversary.”

“What?” Izumi took a step back and Takamiya let him go, calmly taking a seat and looking up questioningly when Izumi didn’t join him.

"It's our anniversary today," Takamiya explained. "One of them, anyway."

Izumi dropped to his knees and stared at Takamiya, brain working frantically to remember what he'd obviously forgotten.

"I got you something." Takamiya slid a small box across the table towards the confused younger man. "It should help you remember."

Izumi blushed a little and looked down. It wasn't fair. Takamiya was always so thoughtful and - he guessed it would be considered romantic. Izumi just couldn't seem to ever reply in kind. It was such a struggle for the little things he did manage.  Takamiya's effusive response to those small efforts usually just made Izumi feel worse.

And now, here was something else, obviously important, that he'd managed to forget.

"What is it?" He scowled at the box, his pulse pounding in his head. The box was too big for a ring, thank goodness, but it could hold any number of other, embarrassing things.

Takamiya placed a hand over Izumi's. "It can wait," he said quietly. "Why don't you come sit next to me and we'll enjoy our meal first."

Izumi looked down at the hand, bigger and stronger than his own, but capable of such gentle caresses. He nodded without looking up.

"We could feed each other the first bite," Takamiya suggested when Izumi settled at his side. "For luck."

Izumi looked up into those eyes, that calm face, and nodded. He selected a small portion of one of his lover's favorites and offered it to Takamiya. Takamiya took it with a soft smile, one hand closing over Izumi's where he held the chopsticks.

When the morsel had been consumed, Takamiya used his hold on Izumi's hand to direct him to pick up another bit of food. He continued to direct, moving the food towards Izumi and into the young man's mouth.

"Good?" Takamiya asked once the bite had been consumed. Izumi nodded and offered a smile in return.

"Let's eat then, while it's still hot." And without any of the showy behavior that Izumi dreaded, Takamiya turned to his meal. His arm occasionally brushed Izumi's, and once in a while a hand would ghost over his, but otherwise they shared a very pleasant, calm meal together.

When the table was cleared and they were lingering over their last cup of tea, Izumi lifted the little box from its place on the edge of the table.

"Should I open this now?"

"If you'd like. It's not much."

The wrapping was removed carefully, the folds smoothed out and the paper set carefully aside. The small, square white box had no name to identify its origins.  Izumi looked up at Takamiya before taking a breath and lifting off the lid.

The tissue paper moved aside, he stared at the item inside.

"Remember now?" Takamiya asked with a hint of humor.

Izumi lifted the item free of the tissue and set the box aside. It was a key ring, plain gold and obviously inexpensive, with a small dog charm dangling from it.  The cartoon-like charm was painted tan and brown and looked like something a child would use.

It reminded Izumi of the story Takamiya had translated a few years ago. He remembered lying on the sofa, propped against Takamiya while reading the thing.  Takamiya had fallen asleep, and Izumi had wrapped him in a blanket and fallen asleep leaning against the older man.

But why... the significance of the gift struck him suddenly. But it couldn't be...

"A year already?" he asked his companion. He was rewarded with a gentle laugh.

"Hard to believe, isn't it? One year ago today you officially moved in with me."

Izumi looked down at the key ring and remembered the confusion and disbelief from his parents. How he and Takamiya sat across from them over tea and tried to make them understand that they were together, in a relationship that had nothing to do with an older man being kind to a youth.

His parents could be rather slow about things, but, thankfully, they got over their shock after only a few days and had been supportive, if a bit distant, ever since.

He looked up at Takamiya and reached for him, throwing himself against his lover, the key ring still clutched in this hand. He pressed his lips against Takamiya's ear and breathed, "Katsura."

Takamiya's arms were wrapped around him, holding him close, just breathing Izumi in. They remained like that for a few minutes until Izumi pulled back to look in Takamiya's eyes.

"Let's go home."

Takamiya nodded once and rose, taking Izumi's hand and drawing him up. They bid their hostess good evening on their way out.

On the ride home, Izumi put his house key on the key ring and he was the one to open the door when they arrived.

The soft chime of the plane's intercom brought Izumi out of his memory. The pilot announced their approach to London and Izumi noted the other passengers around him starting to wake.

He wrapped his hand around the key ring with its little charm and looked out into the darkness. There was a hint of color in the distance and he imagined he could see the outlines of buildings below. They'd be landing soon and Takamiya would be there, waiting for him. He'd probably have flowers or kiss him right in the airport.

For some reason, Izumi didn't think he'd mind. He might even kiss him back. Or not. Either way, he knew he'd be walking out of that airport beside the man he loved, and a brand new day would greet them.

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