Good Morning, Goodnight.

separation...

Toshiya watches the sun slip away, turning the horizon red and purple, draining all the colour from the sky and replacing it with indigo. He knows, back home, on the other side of the world, the sun will be rising again, bringing with it a new day, like the one that has just ended for him. He knows, back home, on the other side of the world, his family and friends will be waking up soon, the start of spring fresh in the air, the petals from the cherry blossoms raining down in pinks and whites, the cool heat comfortable and refreshing.

Here, on the wrong side of the world, when he wakes up, he’s greeted by the smells of greasy fast food and the only thing falling on his head is the typical, English rain.

He sighs and closes his eyes, taking a long drag of that cigarette he’s been fingering for around half an hour now, the ash starting to fall on his thigh. He sits cross-legged on the windowsill, watching the city move beneath him, the city without the familiarity, beauty or glamour of Tokyo… or Nagano… or Mie.

He feels his heart twinge a little, though he tries to ignore it. He knows that, back in Japan, back in Mie, millions of miles away in another bedroom, Die will be waking up, rubbing his eyes and stretching his long, endless limbs after a night of being curled into a ball. And he’d give anything to be there right now, to see him smile widely and mutter ‘good morning’ in that hoarse, sleepy voice, to feel his soft, large lips on his own.

Four more days. Toshiya knows that’s all he’ll have left to endure before getting on the plane and heading back home, back to Tokyo, Nagano and Mie, back to Die and his terrible fashion sense. But, it’s too long.

Especially when everything reminds him of Die. The bright red buses that demand your attention, much like the mass of endless hair that frames Die’s face. The pseudo-Japanese sushi restaurants, because Die hates fish with a passion and refuses to eat anything that comes from the sea. The long streets filled with designer shops, because Die just can’t have normal clothes, he has to have the most expensive, most unusual, most outrageous clothes he can possibly find.

Again, Toshiya sighs, turning away from the window and walking over to the double bed, over to the side nearest the wall. He can’t sleep on the right hand side of the bed. That’s Die’s side. He crawls beneath the covers and reaches for his phone, typing out a quick, simple message to send to his redhead.

‘Good morning, babe.’

Just as he clicks the send button, a noise and a buzz comes from the phone in his palm, telling him he’s received a message. He raises an eyebrow and opens it, a smile instantly spreading across his lips.

‘Goodnight, honey.’