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Still half asleep, Shouta opened the red mailbox that hung on the outside of his apartment door. A whole bundle of letters fell towards him and he had to pick some of them up again from the floor. He carried the stack into the kitchen, annoyed, and placed them carelessly on the kitchen counter. He would deal with it later.
As he was about to leave the kitchen, his eyes inadvertently fell on the bulletin board hanging in the hallway. It was a gift from Nemuri, so he could certainly organize better, but he actually hardly used it. However, various postcards had been hanging there for a few weeks. Actually since the week after his best friend Hizashi had left for England for a year. Shouta had teased the blond that he shouldn't write him a card every day and that he would enjoy the peace and quiet without him here in Japan. But instead of being offended, his friend just gave him a sardonic grin. "I don't think I can make it every day, but I should be able to make it every week."
Shouta thought this was a joke, but Hizashi was obviously serious, because since then Shouta had received a postcard from England every week.
Shouta went back to the mail he had just brought in and searched through the pile with feigned disinterest. He would never have admitted it, but in the meantime he was happy to receive the little colorful postcards from overseas. Sure enough, there was another one. Shouta pulled it out of the pile and looked at the front. There was a bright red bus pictured and in the background was some kind of church tower or something similar. "London" was written above the blue sky in curved black lettering. The black-haired man didn't know much about England, but he knew that London was the capital and the tower was then probably "Big Ben". He turned the postcard over and read through Hizashi's message.
"Dear Shouta,
two days ago I went to London with my host family.
Everything is so different here from home.
We went to see Big Ben and no, that's not the tower pictured on the postcard,
but the huge bell in the clock tower. The tower itself is called Elizabeth Tower.
Did you know that?
I also rode one of those red buses around town and saw lots of great things.
Next week my host family wants to show me the Buckingham Palace.
That's where the royal family lives. The English are very proud of that.
I will write to you again then.
Greetings,
Hizashi"
Shouta could hardly read the last lines because Hizashi's writing had become smaller and smaller during the writing. The blond was just not used to having to be brief. Shouta's mouth curled in a small smile and he hung the postcard on the bulletin board with the others. It was the sixth card Hiazshi had written him.
The host family lived in Cambridge and that was where Hizashi's first card came from. The blond had always chosen a card that showed a landmark he had visited before: Stonehenge, Colchester Castle, or Landguard Fort.
Shouta did not know all these places and found it quite interesting to learn a little about this foreign country without having to mingle with the crowds there.
The black-haired suddenly realized that his friend had been gone for over a month now.
But he didn't even get to miss him because of those postcards.
A little bit Shouta envied his friend. Traveling to another foreign country and seeing and experiencing so much must be an incredible experience.
Hizashi had long talked about going abroad when they graduated. He was open to other cultures, customs, and he loved meeting new people. In addition, the blond was eager to expand his knowledge of English.
Shouta had never felt this urge to travel, but he was happy for Hizashi since he seemed to be having a lot of fun in England.
"Maybe," he thought dreamily to himself. "... maybe Hiazshi will take me with him on his next trip."
WAIT!!
Had he really just thought that?
Shouta's cheeks warmed and he took a step back, shocked at himself.
His mind ran through what a trip as a couple would possibly mean for him and the blond: being together 24/7, sharing a room because it was cheaper or riding trains or sitting on planes together for hours. Would that work out well?
Shouta shook off the thought and turned to his living room or rather his sofa. As he stood in the doorway, he looked again at the bulletin board with the cards. He didn't like to admit it, but he was really looking forward to those cards by now, but he was looking forward even more to when his friend would come back home. He smiled and said quietly to himself, "Maybe...."
"Shouta, are you done?" Hizashi's voice snapped the black-haired out of his thoughts. He put the postcard he was holding back into the box. There were 52 of them in total. One for each week Hizahsi was in England at the time. Shouta smiled peacefully and put the box back in the cabinet.
"Shou?"
"Already done. For my sake, we can go."
"Then hurry up. We won't get to the airport in time otherwise."
Shouta grabbed his bag and headed for the front door, where his husband was already impatiently waiting for him.
"What have you been doing for so long?"
"Oh, nothing important," Shouta waved off.
Hizahsi was in too much of a hurry to make another comment and just grunted in annoyance.
Shouta closed the door behind them with a smile and then they left for the airport, for their first trip together.