Work Text:
Umeko has always liked Ban. She liked his passion, his kindness, his straightforward attitude. She knows he was necessary to them, back in the beginning, because he had something the rest of them didn't. But she also thinks, now, he's given them everything he can.
That was why he needed to go to the Fire Squad, to give what he could to others throughout the galaxy. That's why he can't stay here with her.
It's dark, the time just before dawn. She's on the roof, and there's a breeze that makes her shiver. She hasn't been out long, she thinks, just long enough to put her head in order.
He has to go back.
*****
"Ban?" Umeko's voice is soft, but it still carries in the early morning stillness. Ban stirs, and looks up at her, standing across the room. He notices she's completely dressed, and her expression is uneasy. The clock reads 5:27.
Ban sits up and rubs his face, then his hair, trying to get the sleep out. "Good morning."
"When are you going back?" she asks bluntly, without returning his greetings. He doesn't know how to answer.
Ban had taken two weeks originally, to allow for the travel and seeing old friends. Meeting Umeko, realizing how hurt she still was, he'd been thinking of extending his stay on Earth. Maybe permanently. "I don't know yet," he answers finally.
"You'll have to leave sometime today to get back in time," Umeko says, pretending to misunderstand him.
"I was thinking of taking a little more time," he says. She smiles, because he's never been anything less than completely honest.
The smile fades. "You'll have to leave sometime today."
Ban is confused. He's not about to leave when she's so hurt, she should know that. "But what about--?" he starts, unsure for the first time.
"I'll be fine." She looks towards the sunlight coming in through the window, and something changes. Or, rather, something has already changed.
"You're different," he blurts.
"I'm glad you came."
Ban watches her leave, and when she's gone, he stands and goes to the window. He doesn't understand what she saw out there, so he turns back around and faces the room. The sunlight catches his red badge, and he realizes. He picks the jacket up, and goes.