Hands In The Stars

14. The Break-In

They barely took one shallow step out of the elevator before Edwin stopped and slowly let out a deep groan, causing Ethan to turn around and look wonderingly at him with a confused expression.
"What the heck was that for?" Ethan laughed a bit.
"Ugh, you just wait here, I have to go back out, I forgot something all the way at home- Fuck..." Edwin grumbled in an annoyed tone and turned around, suddenly pressing the elevator doors back open again and stepping inside. He pushed the big '0' button, but just as the doors started closing again Ethan slid through into the elevator as well with a beaming smile.
"I'll follow you!" He almost demanded, the rocky elevator slowly starting to move beneath their feet. "I don't like just having to wait for you, what did you even forget anyways?"
"Oh, it's not-" Edwin began, but promptly shut his mouth again. The elevator had came to a sudden stop, only one floor from where they had started. The doors slid open to reveal the empty hallway of floor five, and the distinctive sound of echoing footsteps running in the stairwell could be heard clearly. 

"Damn annoying kids, can they ever stop pressing all the buttons..." Edwin complained and rapidly pushed the doors button to close again. "Well, anyways, you don't have to follow me all the way back just for that, you'll just get bored and... Uh, yeah, it's kind of a surprise." He finally mumbled out the last words. Small smile across his lips, he grabbed onto Ethan's one free hand and gave him a shy kiss to the cheek, which caused Ethan to giggle a bit. Edwin adored Ethan's shocked face for a second, then continued his debate again before Ethan had any chance to argue against him.
"You need to get yourself a proper breakfast anyways, and relax for once. You're so distressed all the time Ethan, calm down. I'll be back in just some minutes. I'll drive right there, then I'll drive right back, I swear."
The elevator stopped and the two of them stepped out to the ground floor. Ethan followed close behind Edwin, feeling a small blush creep onto his face as he smiled lovingly to himself.
"Fine, but really Edwin you don't need to get me a ton of surprises, again and again, and again? I don't have anything to give you back anyways... I'll at least follow you out." Ethan insisted, and Edwin nodded approvingly a bit, squeezing Ethan's hand in his.
"Fine, I suppose that's reasonable. I can't really hinder you anyways now can I?" He smiled . Clasping hands, they stepped back into the warming heat, where they had already been just a minute earlier. Edwin turned around to give Ethan a hug. Ethan had to hold out the flowers towards the road to prevent them from getting squished between their embraces.
"I don't need any surprise from you. It's enough if you just stay here with me forever. Let me spoil you a little bit." He informed Ethan, eagerly giving him a peck on his blushing cheek. He pulled himself free from Ethan's tight hold and quickly rushed towards his luxury car in the parking lot a few meters away.

The blushing boy was left alone outside the doors to the building, thinking about what Edwin had just told him before running away. He stared at the black car as it abruptly disappeared behind a turn, holding the fragrant flowers tenderly against his chest. It is possible they would actually be together evermore? It was a lovely thought, and after all the terrible things him and Edwin had been through together there was no one else he wanted to repay more, after all. He stood outside the grand building for a minute, merely enjoying the moment, getting lost in the slight breeze, before he finally snapped back to cruel reality and walked inside again. A sudden thought interrupted his dreamlike state. Did the two of them really deserve being this happy together? He experienced a sense of guilt over how he was enjoying his relationship with Edwin, now that they were just two. They didn't bring up Shun often, didn't know how. Ethan knew Edwin thought about it too. Every so often, they cried together over their lost lover, but they still enjoyed each other. Three turned to two, but Ethan wouldn't have cherished it with anybody else. He genuinely wanted to consume his life with Edwin, from the bottom of his heart. 

He operated the elevator up to the sixth floor and fished up the keys from his purse. He walked up to Edwin's apartment, soon unlocking it, stepping inside and closing the door behind himself. He threw his purse down onto the chair next to the door, then froze as he noticed the two unfamiliar pair of shoes thrown onto the floor of the hallway. He was absolutely certain they hadn't left shoes thrown all over the place the last time they were here. Ethan silently slid his feet out of his own shoes and placed them neatly in the corner, the same place he always put his shoes at. Then, he slowly started walking through the slim apartment hallway. He took a turn into the kitchen, staring around every corner he passed, then gently put the flowers down onto the black stone surface that covered the cabinets. They had managed to stay completely fine up until this point, so he hoped they would survive a few more minutes as he inspected the rest of the apartment. One step back to the hallway and he stopped suddenly, turning to the direction of the bedroom, which was almost right in front of him.