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"Come on," he muttered, gritting his teeth. "Faster."
Kousei ran up the stairs, taking two at a time before he reached the third floor. Propelling himself off the wall with one hand, he turned the corner. He bumped into a nurse who shot him a nasty scowl but he couldn’t care less.
Sweat ran down his face as he raced through the long hall of the hospital corridor. His eyes were frantic in the way they darted from each sign labeling the room numbers as he passed them.
'1E… 2E… 3… 4E, finally!’
He had too much adrenaline coursing through him to falter before he pushed the steel door open. The resounding slam against the wall echoed throughout the halls.
“Kaori!” He all but shouted.
Kousei comes into the room panting heavily and sees her standing with her back to him, looking out the window. One of her hands was pressed against the pane of the glass as she admired the view from her room. She enjoyed the simple things in life. He didn’t have to be looking at her face to know that she had a tiny smile on her face.
Kaori turned around quickly, surprise lining her expression. She didn’t know what scared her more, the slam of the door or the magnitude of his voice. Kousei never shouted.
Her color had not fully returned yet but even after going through surgery, she managed to look as angelic as ever.
A smile began to form on her face before she noticed the piece of paper grasped in his hand. Her expression immediately transformed into one of shock as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.
‘I knew I shouldn’t have mailed that letter,’ she thought. Her original plan was to give it to her parents to give to Kousei but impatience won out.
“A joke! A joke! That letter was just a prank…” Kaori sputtered half-heartedly while letting out a hesitant laugh. But he heard none of it. The roaring in his ears could block out a train.
Kousei made his way across the room in four long strides and stopped right in front of her. She bowed her head, ashamed, and expected him to scold her, scream at her, maybe even hit her for being so stupid. Her eyes remain trained on his scuffed shoes, afraid of what’ll happen if she looks him in the eye.
She was depriving herself. Kaori always loved those sapphire eyes of his. They were mesmerizing in the way they sparkled after every one of his performances.
It felt like they were silent for hours when in reality it had only been a few seconds. She couldn’t take it anymore and opened her mouth to yell something ridiculous but she’s shocked when he stepped even closer and wrapped his arms around her lithe frame.
His embrace was forthright and very tight as if to ground her to existence. It was unlike anything she’s ever felt before. His touch was different. Different from her parents. Different from Watari. Different from anyone she had come in contact with.
There was a warmth to him that spread slowly from where their stomachs and chests touched before it enraptured her entire being.
She could feel him shaking and as he cried into her hair. It tore at her heart to think that she was the reason for his suffering. Hesitantly, she raised her arms and wrapped them around him. Tears of her own were now rapidly falling as she held the boy she’d loved for the better of a decade for the first time.
“You stupid girl,” he murmured into her golden hair. “That was your one lie?”
She let out half-sob, half-laugh, and clutched onto him tighter. Her head was comfortably tucked into the crook of his neck. The fabric of his sweater felt softer than it should’ve against her cheek. Quicker than she would’ve liked, he pulled away. The loss of heat was now very apparent as she yearned to be in his arms again.
She didn’t have to wait long. The raven-haired prodigy looked up, hesitation splashing across his face before he tentatively pressed his lips to hers.
It was a chaste, inexperienced kiss. But by no means did it fail to light a raging fire under her skin. The two stared at each other, wide-eyed and in disbelief of what just happened.
Moments passed but neither said a word. And they didn’t need to.
The smiles on their faces were more than enough.