--

Well I was sixteen when suddenly,

I wasn't that little girl you used to see,

But your eyes still shined, like pretty lights

--

 

Sniffling within the confines of Tetsuya 's arms, Krystal clung to his torso, her head buried deeply into the crook of his neck, her tears slowly soaking the material of his t-shirt.

 

"Krys, I'll be back at Thanksgiving," Tetsuya murmured into her hair as he gently her back, gripping her a little tighter as she let out a whimper.

 

Krystal had known this day was going to come; she'd glared at the circled date on her calendar for months. Tetsuya was leaving for University; Bakaleya University to be exact. Bakaleya University in America, over a thousand miles away, to be even more exact.

 

"Please don't go," she whispered against the hot skin of his neck, and Tetsuya sighed before pulling her out of his grasp so that he could look at her.

"Krys, I have to go," he insisted and Krystal let out a sob. "But I'll back in a few weeks for Thanksgiving."

"But that's over two months away!" She wailed, clutching his wrists as they framed her face. " Tetsuya, please s-stay."

"Krystal, I can't – you know I can't." Searching the depths of Krystal's eyes, Tetsuya could see that there was something more. "Krys, what's the matter? Why do you want me to stay so badly? I thought you'd be glad to be rid of me for a while," he attempted to joke, trying to lighten the situation but only to get a tortured gasp in return.

"Never, Tetsuya," she whispered, tears streaming down her face at a rapid pace. "I just…d-don't want you to f-forget about me."

Tetsuya's eyes widened in shock, his expression incredulous. "Krys, I could never forget about you." He pulled her trembling frame towards his, enveloping her in his arms; shocked that she would even think that.

"B-but there's going to be college girls everywhere – and they're gonna w-want you and they're older and-"

"Okay, stop right there," Tetsuya interrupted, his voice hard. "What the hell are you on about?"

 

Krystal stiffened in his embrace before mumbling something against his neck.

 

"What was that?" Tetsuya pulled her away from him again, his heart breaking at the sight of her looking so lost.

"I-I don't want you to fall in love with anyone." Krystal's voice was so quiet and Tetsuya leant in closer to her.

"Why not?" He asked but Krystal just shook her head. "You have to tell me, Krys." She shook her head again, and Tetsuya let out an exasperated sigh. "Krys. Tell me."

"No."

"Krystal, please. Just tell me-"

"Because it's meant to be me you fall in love with!"

 

Krystal gasped and clapped her hands to , her eyes wide. Tetsuya froze, his face a mixture of confusion and shock. He stared at Krystal who was looking anywhere but him, her eyes still leaking tears that were slowly dripping onto the ground.

Tetsuya opened his mouth to respond but was stopped at the sound of the front door opening and both Tetsuya and Krystal's head snapped up to see Jack and Lucille exiting the house, carrying suitcases and boxes.

" Tetsuya, sweetie, we have to leave now," his mom called over to where the two teenagers were standing at the hood of Tetsuya's truck, and Tetsuya nodded his head, focusing his gaze back on Krystal who was wiping at her eyes.

 

"Krys-"

"No, Tetsuya." Her smile was forced. "It's fine."

"But-"

"You have to go."

 

Tetsuya sighed and made his way over towards his dad's SUV, Krystal trailing behind slowly, trying to avoid the inevitable. Opening the front door, he turned back to Krystal who was sniffling again, her eyes glistening. He sighed and ran his hand down her arm before interlocking their fingers before bringing their entwined hands up to his mouth so he could press a tender kiss on Krystal's hand.

Krystal's chin trembled at the motion and she launched herself into Tetsuya's arms, her head burying deeply in his neck and Tetsuya too dug his face deep into her neck, his own eyes stinging at the unshed tears.

 

"I'll miss you," he murmured against her head and Krystal pulled away.

"I'll miss you, too," she replied. "So much."

 

Reaching up, Krystal shakily kissed Tetsuya's cheek and pressed another to his jaw before stepping backwards and finally allowing Tetsuya to reluctantly get into the car and she watched silently as the car drove away.

Wrapping her arms around herself tightly, Krystal knew that the following two months were going to be torturous.

 

--

Two months later – Thanksgiving.

 

He couldn't get there quick enough.

 

Not even bothering to take his bags inside, Tetsuya leapt from the car and began racing down the street, his heart racing at the mere thought of being reunited with her. Feet pounding against the pavement, his mind cast back over the many long phone calls, the pages-long emails, the every-hour texts – and he tried to decipher at what point during those two months he had fallen in love with Krystal. He was pretty sure that it had been long before the months of absence, but it was only during his time away that he properly realized. And he was furious with himself. Krystal had been right. It was her he was meant to fall in love with. And he had; but why had it taken him so long to realize? How could he have been so goddamn oblivious?

The fierce pace of his feet lessened slightly as he barged his way through the back gate and into her garden, not paying attention to the harsh 'bang' of the gate against the house and the effect it would have on the sleeping neighbors.

Almost desperately, Tetsuya climbed the tree knowing that Krystal would still be asleep but that didn't matter, he'd wait for her to wake up. Hopping over the balcony, his suspicions were confirmed as he peered through the glass of the balcony doors to see Krystal curled up in bed, her face serene and calm and so beautiful.

Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved the key Krystal had given him years ago and unlocked the door before slipping into the room as quietly as possible. He moved over towards the bed and crouched down beside it, peering closely at the slumbering girl. God, he'd missed her.

As gently as he could, he lifted the soft, slender hand that was curled around the duvet up to his mouth and pressed tiny kisses against her knuckles before it softly with his thumb.

 

"Krys" he whispered, leaning down so that his nose was softly grazing her cheek. "Krystal, wake up."

 

Krystal shifted slightly, murmuring something indecipherable before her eyes fluttered open. It took her a moment or two to come to before she noticed –

 

"Oh my god!"

 

She shot up, nearly bashing heads with Tetsuya, and squealed before lunging forward and wrapping her arms around his neck as he laughed.

 

"Hey pretty girl," he murmured as she pulled back and framed his face with her hands.

"Tetsuya" she breathed. "What are you doing here?! Your flight isn't until this afternoon."

"Well," Tetsuya countered. "I couldn't spend another minute without seeing my best friend so I booked a much earlier flight."

 

Krystal squealed again before she finally became aware of just how early it was.

 

"6:45am?!"

"I told you it was early…" Tetsuya looked a bit guilty and immediately Krystal softened, pulling her duvet back and scooting over.

"You look exhausted; come here," she said, gesturing to the empty space beside her and Tetsuya nodded before kicking off his shoes and climbing in next to her, stretching and yawning widely. Grinning lazily at Krystal's muffled giggles; he rolled onto his side so that he was facing her and lifted an arm so that it was curled around her hip. Krystal murmured and shuffled closer to him causing Tetsuya to roll onto his back slightly which she took advantage of by resting her head against his shoulder, her arm latching tightly around his waist.

 

"I really missed you, Tetsuya," Krystal whispered against his chest.

"God Krys, I miss you so much," Tetsuya responded, pressing soft kisses against her temple before sighing in contentment.

 

He knew he had to tell her; it'd been eating away at him for the past two months – he had to tell her that he loved her. He'd wanted to tell as her as soon as he had finally come to his senses but had continuously put it off, thinking that he would wait for the perfect moment. Only, a hundred of perfect moments had presented themselves, yet Tetsuya hadn't been able to form the words, and claimed silently that it wasn't something that should be done over the phone or by email. He wanted to see her reaction; he wanted to be able to hold her while he said it.

 

"So, anything interesting happen whilst I've been away?" He asked sleepily against her head, his left thumb tracing soft circles on the exposed skin of her hip.

"Mhmm, nothing." Krystal mumbled in response. "Only that I missed you, and wanted you here every minute of every day."

"Really?"

"It may sound cheesy, Tetsuya – but it's true."

Tetsuya chuckled lightly. "Well, I wished that I was here every minute of every day, too."

Krystal made a soft sound of disbelief. "I find that hard to believe – it sounded like you were having an awesome time."

"I was, but it would've been better with you there."

Krystal snuggled closer. "I kinda wished I was there too. Japan when you're not in it, you know."

Tetsuya laughed again. "And America blows without you there."

Krystal giggled lightly. "So tell me, Tetsuya – anything interesting happen in America?"

 

Tetsuya faltered slightly before letting out a deep breath. Here it goes. "Well, I…fell in love, for starters." No going back now, man. Tetsuya held his breath as he felt Krystal's petite body stiffen within his arms.

"Oh." Her voice was small, and Tetsuya could detect the tears laced behind it. He rolled his eyes, expecting this reaction, and he slowly eased away from her before rolling her onto her back so that he was hovering over her.

"But I think that you and I can both guess who she is," he declared as he lowered his grinning face to hers and kissed away the few tears that had leaked from her eyes. Pulling back from her, he watched as Krystal just stared, her eyes unfocused.

 

"Krys?"

 

Krystal blinked once, twice, three times before her lips slowly spread out into a wide smile, her cheeks painted the lightest of pinks.

 

"I think I can guess…" she murmured before dropping her gaze to Tetsuya's grinning lips and back again to his shining eyes, asking a silent question.

 

Tetsuya answered the unvoiced request by leaning down and ever so gently, pressing his lips against hers, immediately tumbling into the most incredible feeling. Her warm, soft lips gently against his, and although it only lasted a few seconds, it was bliss. The warmth reached all the way inside and filled him with the most exhilarating sensation. Lifting his gaze to search hers, Tetsuya was relieved to detect nothing but elation and love shining within the depths of her eyes.

Grinning lazily, Tetsuya pressed one more soft kiss against Krystal's lips before settling down beside her, his head facing hers, their noses brushing ever so slightly. Krystal's closed eyes fluttered open, and she smiled radiantly, bringing a small hand up to rest against his cheek, her fingers softly against his skin.

"

Thank you, Tetsuya," she whispered. "That was perfect."

Tetsuya smiled, gently kissing her finger tips as they traced his lips. "Be mine?" He murmured softly, his warm breath washing over Krystal's pretty features.

"Of course," came her soft response. "Always."

 

--

 

And our daddies used to joke about the two us,

They never believed we'd really fall in love

And our mamas smiled and rolled their eyes

And said "oh, my, my, my"

 

--

 

Sitting at the table in the back garden, Jack Asada watched the two teenagers snuggled together in the hammock, whispering and laughing together, their faces etched with happiness as they swung gently backwards and forwards.

Krystal's legs were draped over Tetsuya's, her head resting on his shoulder as both his arms were wound tightly around her body, shielding her from the slight chill in the night air. Every now and then he'd press a small kiss into Krystal's hair and whisper something in her ear that would make her giggle.

 

"It's a pretty picture, isn't it?"

 

Jack turned his head to see Antonio Tatsunami sliding into the vacant seat next to him, his eyes also trained on Tetsuya and Krystal, a smile gracing his features.

 

"It sure is," Jack replied, grinning at Antonio. "Who'd of thought it, hey?" He said, shaking his head. "I mean, sure we joked about it when they were kids, but never did I actually think this would happen."

"I know what you mean, buddy," Antonio responded as he watched his daughter throw her head back and laugh deliriously at something her boyfriend had said. "But it's so good to see them like this. Krystal's never been so happy."

"Same goes with Tetsuya," Jack said, turning to his friend again and the two of them clinked their beer bottles together in a silent toast.

 

At the other end of the table, Lucille and Maria sat sipping at their coffees, their expressions exactly the same. Maria rolled her eyes jokingly and her best friend laughed softly, her own heart swelling as she gazed at the two love-sick teenagers.

--

 

Take me back to the creek-beds we turned up,

2AM riding in your truck,

And all I need, is you next to me

 

--