Code Name: Phoenix

Chapter 13 - Welcome Back

You dropped your bag on the floor of the hallway and wrapped your hands tightly around the girl that was shorter than you. She hugged you back even harder, not wanting to let go of you in case you disappeared from her life again.

“Where have you been?” Yui asked, tears making their way into her eyes. She slowly lets go to give you more space, taking a good look at you.
“Everyone was so worried about you!” One of the tears escaped her eyes, rolling down her cheek to leave a wet line. Never before had you seen her cry about anything other than heroes or love interests. You felt bad for not being able to contact her to tell her that you were fine. There was only hoping that she’d accept whatever excuse you threw at her.

“It’s a really long story.” You sighed knowing Yui wouldn’t let it go until you told her the whole story, and you felt like you owed her an explanation, even if disappearing so suddenly wasn’t your fault.
“I don’t have a home to go to…” You said awkwardly, hoping Yui would understand your situation and maybe invite you inside. You didn’t expect her to let you stay there forever, but having a place for the night would be a good start in figuring out what to do next.

“You should have said so right away!!” Yui excitedly picked your bag from the floor and motioned for you to get inside the apartment.
You stepped into the small mudroom, which led to an apartment you had visited only a few times before. The memories of movie nights from forever ago flooded your brain. You could practically smell the popcorn which had ended up all over the fluffy carpet when Yui got scared of the sudden crashing sound during an intense scene.
You took your shoes off and placed them neatly next to Yui's shoes before walking further in. There was an open kitchen right next to the entrance, just like you remembered it. Yui had obviously been in the middle of cooking food when you interrupted her. An apron was messily thrown on the counter, while pots were steaming on the stove.

“Is your roommate home?” You asked, remembering Yui had complained about her annoying roommate a few times at work. The amount of food the girl had been cooking looked like it would be enough to feed a whole family.

“No, she finally moved out. You can stay in her old room if you really have nowhere else to go! It’s like we always talked about,” Yui replied, wiping away the leftover tears from her eyes now that she was a bit calmer.
You had been meaning to move in with Yui when the roommate she hated left, but for obvious reasons you hadn’t been able to do that yet.

Yui guided you to your new room which was on the other side of the small living room.
The bedroom didn’t have much, just the basic furniture like a bed, a nightstand, a dresser for your clothes and a desk for a laptop… If you had one… Hawks had destroyed it when you had gone back to your apartment to get your stuff. He really could have handled that situation better. The thought of the giant bird made you feel somewhat down. Were you doing the right thing by leaving?

“Say if you need anything!” Yui said happily before she went back to the living room, giving you some much needed privacy and time to look around on your own.
You placed your bag on the bed and started unpacking all your clothes, placing them in the dresser drawers. At the bottom of the bag was your old suit which you used for your vigilante work. That time of your life felt like forever ago, even if in reality it had only been a few weeks.
You quickly placed it at the bottom of the drawer, before heading back to the living room. You saw that Yui had gone back to the kitchen to finish the food.

“Are you hungry?” Yui asked politely as she saw you walking towards her.

“Not really. I ate a huge breakfast,” you commented, not really thinking too much about your wording.

“I wonder how you managed to eat a huge breakfast while missing?” Yui said in a playful tone, clearly wanting to know where you had been all this time.