Escape artistry

16. The lovely contrasts of life (now)

I woke up on the Sunday more well-rested than I had been in a long time.

The bed felt heavenly unfamiliar beneath me, the scent of him lingering in it, making me feel like I could stay there forever.

As I pulled the duvet up to my face to sleep a bit more in the pearly morning sun, I realised the bed was empty next to me. I sat up and saw Tobirama had left a note on the bedside table.

Good morning gorgeous.

I was... busy yesterday night fucking the living daylights out of a certain gorgeous someone with amazing black hair and the cutest little body, so I forgot to tell you I have a meeting in the morning. You slept so deeply, I didn't have the heart to wake you up.

Feel free to do whatever you want in my apartment - there's no drawer I wouldn't let you open, no cabinet I wouldn't let you browse through because I am done having secrets from you.

At 11 am, my agent will knock on the door and ask you to let him take you have brunch with me. Please, say yes.

Love, T xx

I smiled and held the note to my chest, the only thing between the words Tobirama had written with his bare hands and my heart being skin and bone and the fabric of the giant T-shirt I had borrowed from him to sleep in. The words he had written made me shiver, both because they elicited memories from last night and because we would talk... Actually talk and I could ask what had happened all of those years ago when he had disappeared out of my life without a trace.

I spent some time in bed, seeing I had the time and felt I had to process all that had happened. We had gone to bed late, him still emotional, me feeling surprisingly calm and collected. He had held me close throughout the night and I had clung to his chest; whereas I was a dressed sleeper, he liked sleeping entirely naked. I had woken up several times by him kissing me over and over on the lips, and I had pulled him to me. It had gotten heated several times, but we had both been so exhausted, we fell asleep before we could fuck again.

It had been delicious.

At nine am, I finally got up to get my day going. I didn't want to spoil my brunch appetite by having breakfast, but I went to his airy kitchen, opened his fridge which was full of surprising raw ingredients speaking of a man who could cook, and took a Red Bull. I then went through all of the cabinets of his four bathrooms in the lookout for a new toothbrush but didn't find one, so I just used his. I found an incredible rain shower in a dark, stony bathroom and couldn't help but have an hour-long shower in it. He didn't have a hair dryer so I just braided my hair to let it dry into curls.

Then, I went to look for clothes, seeing I only had my dress and certainly wasn't going to wear it for brunch. We were probably five or six sizes apart, but I managed to find a long-sleeved, violet T-shirt that must have been tight on Tobirama, because it was just huge on me instead of giant, and a pair of black trousers that looked good once I tucked them into a pair of Tobirama's socks (the heels were at my ankles) and used a belt. I only had my platform heels, but that was okay, and had just put them on when the doorbell rang at exactly 11.

"Are you ready to go to brunch, Mr Uchiha?" the agent asked.

I noticed he didn't even ask me if I wanted to go; he knew.

I smiled and took his arm. 

The car stopped at a five-star hotel and when I went into the lobby, I felt a little out of place seeing it was so luxurious. I went to the hotel restaurant where the brunch was being served and looked around nervously.

Then, I saw him.

The scene in front of me made my heart bleed; it was so sweet. Tobirama didn't look like his stage self at all. He was still as big as an entire door frame, as white as a sheet and with hair like a white hedgehog. But he wore a red flannel over black jeans with caramel-coloured boots which made him look sweetly casual. He still drew some glances from the guests around, but this hotel was honestly so extravagant, the guests were probably used to seeing a celebrity or two.

He was leaning his chin in his hand, his elbow on the table that was set with cutlery and a glass of orange juice each as well as black coffee for him and tea with milk and, undoubtedly, sugar for me. He was looking out the window and didn't notice me approach.

My heart was fluttering with joy as I approached him. I stopped in front of the table, but he was still far, far away in his mind.

"Umm... Hi."

He jerked and turned to me. The joy in his face was unmistakeable and so instant, it left no doubt that it was real. To my surprise, he rose up and threw himself over me, hugged me tight.

"I missed you so much", he murmured into my hair.

"It's only been a few hours!" I laughed, hugging him back, breathing in the scent of him, so familiar from our childhood but with a few new layers on top.

"I mean... I missed you... All these years."

I squealed involuntarily. Truth was, I had missed him, too. And I was suddenly very, very eager to talk to him.

I looked down on the table.

"You remember how I take my tea", I said.

"Half milk, half tea, three sugar cubes?"

I grinned at him.

"I'm hungry", I said. "Shall we order?"

We ordered scrambled eggs, cookies with Frosties ice cream as well as pancakes with caramel sauce and fruit and shared everything. We ate in silence. Slowly, the atmosphere changed. His pupils were hunter-wide again, and he grinned at me in between bites. I would blush and look down when I caught his eye. Both of us were undoubtedly thinking about the contrast between this breakfast and last night's play.

When we were about halfway through our food, Tobirama sighed and put his fork down.

"I can't wait anymore", he said. "I need to tell you everything."

I looked up at him and in that moment, I believed it was my eyes that were pinning him into place instead of the other way around.