Reunion

I poured over the guest list exhaustively searching for Richie’s name, but it wasn’t there. I let my hopes wither in my chest, accepting that the gap was too large, that this was his way of laying to rest the last hopes of a reunion. In my searching, I did see the name “Rome Hernandez” on Ozean Horizon’s list. Kiia hadn’t mentioned anything, so I didn’t know who reached out to him.

Eventually, I left security alone and settled into the shared dressing room. Kiia was taking a quick nap in the corner on a bench, and I considered joining her for a second, but I knew how tired she was, and she was far too cute for me to risk disturbing her. Instead, I took a seat next to Nate.

“Man, it’s crazy how much more intense the stadium shows have been than the arenas,” he lamented to no one in particular. “I thought we were out of our depth before, but this is a lot.”

“Yeah,” I said, reassuring him. “At this level, every show takes at least a day to recover from, and by the time we’re done, you’re not even going to want to go into the studio.”

“I don’t even know how you did this for ten months straight,” his expression had softened. “I’m sorry for not understanding how difficult that must have been.”

“It’s all good,” I sighed. “It’s hard to understand things without context.”

As we fell into silence, the entire room had a relaxed aura about it. This quiet moment would be one of few over the next nine weeks, so we knew to enjoy it properly.

***

Over an hour later our slumberous quiet was disrupted by a sudden knock on the door. It turned in as quickly as the sound ended. Tony emerged in mid-conversation with whoever was behind him, I couldn’t quite discern what he was talking about. As soon as the second shape took form in the room, I realized that it was Rome.

I should have stood up to greet him right away, but I stayed comfortable in my seat next to Nate, which I figured looked like a betrayal.

“So, Cy, I found an old friend while I was bumbling around the VIP area,” Tony was laughing, disturbing the stillness of the room.

“It’s been forever,” Rome said, extending his hand to me. “I’m sorry I haven’t kept in touch, we’ve all just been so busy.”

I rose to meet him, “Yeah, I was not in a good place for a few years, so that’s on me.”

“It’s all good, life is too short to hold grudges with people you care about,” he said, passing it off like it was nothing. “Hank! Good to see you old buddy.”

His voice stirred everyone in the room. That felt like trouble after how things ended for him in OH.

“It’s good to see you, too,” Hank spoke in an indiscernible tone. “I take it you’ve stopped getting into fights?”

Rome laughed, “Yeah, it’s crazy how much you mature when you settle down and have kids. I can’t even believe the way I used to act back in the day. I was crazy.”

The room was warming to the touching reunion that Beyond the Realms never got.

“Kiia, it’s been forever!” Rome practically yelled as he approached her on the bench.

“Yeah, I can’t believe it’s been more than what, seven years?” she was still a little groggy.

“Let me tell you, I didn’t expect any of this when the media announcements came,” Rome was sounding like a fan boy at this point. “When it broke that the band that was so staunchly DIY for so long announced they signed a major deal, I was in shock.”

The room was waiting to see where he was going with this as his eyes kept darting from one person to another.

“Then I heard you were signed by your old rival and my old friend, who inadvertently cost me my job in this band. I thought I was reading fanfic…and then it came out that you two started dating and I almost had a stroke.”

“I don’t know where I’m going with this, I’m just excited that everyone is happy and healthy.”

I noticed that he never acknowledged or so much as looked at Nate during his rambling.

“I appreciate it, Rome,” Kiia said. “If you have time tonight, I’d love for all of us to catch up over drinks after the show.”

It was clear that she was a little miffed that he stirred her from her nap.

“I can make that work,” he said, still being able to read her. “I’ll drop by again after your set, unless you give me directions to a hotel bar or something.”

He vanished from the room as quickly as he entered. In the chaos, I used the opportunity to nestle myself next to Kiia as she attempted to return to her pre-show nap.

She pulled me closer to her as she leaned against the nape of neck.

“It took you long enough…you know I sleep better when I can hear your heart,” she muttered as she tucked her hand against my chest.

I wanted to unwind as she fell back to sleep, but I couldn’t get past how cute she was trying to get comfortable on this lightly padded bench. As the hour went by, we shifted to a point where she was laying neatly on top of me on the bench, my chest once again her pillow. The light snores gave me the confirmation she was getting some restful sleep. Looking up at the clock, Tony was set to perform in twenty minutes. If she was in a deep enough sleep, she could probably make it through his set before I needed to wake her.