Correspondence

[aidreamofsenpai]

Going home hadn't been an easy decision for Aiichiro to make, after his time in the City of Ariel. Sure, there was much about the city that had been hard on him - he'd died even! - but the life that he'd had there was full of love. When the possibility of going home had first opened up, he'd believed that he'd never take advantage of it, even after some of his friends did.

When it happened, it was sudden, the realization that he needed to move forward with his life, that he was never going to feel "finished" with the place he'd come from until he returned to it. His dreams of swimming and school and his family had gotten more and more intense, until one morning he just woke up knowing it was time to leave.

It hadn't been done carelessly though. In fact, he'd brought something with him, a way of communicating with Zexion, a piece of his Lexicon. Now, on a weekday afternoon, he sat down to write:

Being the swim team captain is harder work than I thought it would be! There's so much to do and think about. I have to know what everyone is best at and how they're doing, but there's also so much stuff that isn't really about swimming that I feel like I need to learn.

I wound up listening to one of the boys talk about some romantic problem he was having today, because he's been distracted enough that it's harming his swimming. Can you imagine? Me, trying to work through someone else's romantic issues. He was really funny about it too; he couldn't seem to decide what he wanted to tell me about the person he liked. It's funny being back in a world where people care if you like boys or girls. I think the person he likes is a boy, and that's why he's being so awkward about it.

I tried to drop a hint that I might be like that too, just to make him more comfortable, but I'm a little worried it might cause trouble for me later. Still, I'd really like it if my teammates could trust me with everything!

I came home this afternoon to find a letter from Rin-senpai. It was nice to hear from him, but funny too. Do you remember, how much I used to cry over him? Sometimes it seems like all our lives wind up being about romance, even when we have other things to do or think about. I'll admit that my heart still skipped a beat seeing his handwriting, but it was such a quick feeling, over and done with before I'd finished reading.

I miss you. But I know that if I say that to you every time, it'll just get annoying and not have any meaning anymore, so just... assume it's always there, whether I say it or not.