Stretching his abundance of strained muscles, Zandre stepped off of the plane with a deep exhale. Was it too much to claim that that had been probably the longest journey he'd ever had to suffer? A fairly large storm that had been travelling a safe distance from any shores abruptly changed directions while Zandre had been travelling to the airport, aiming to head in land. This had not only caused delays to several long haul flights and cancellations for local and short distance flights, but the rugby matches due to be scheduled that day were postponed, a rare thing in their sport. Zandre could only wait in the shelter of the airport for it to pass. Almost twenty four hours later, when the strongest of the winds had died down after the storm had moved on, Zandre's flight had taken off. However, he and his agent could do nothing about missing the connective flight they had been scheduled to take midway. The airport personnel at their stop managed to find them seats on a different flight and they were on their way once more, some three hours later. Of course by this time, they had already missed the Charity Event that his managing agent hoped for him to attend. The Event that was intended to raise money for underprivileged children, had been a buffet and auction affair. Several celebrities were invited to attend to increase the profile of the event, though in truth, there would not be any A-list celebrities actually attending. Most would state that it conflicted with their schedules, they had a prior engagement or event that required their presence or they were heading abroad to film. A few wouldn't make excuses at all, but donate money or treasures for the auction itself, which kept the organisers happy and didn't mar their reputations. In truth, Zandre hadn't wanted to attend either. Most of the people attending were the arrogant wealthy second generation, who, in the name of charity, wanted to improve how the public perceived them while enjoying themselves and throwing about their wealth. The celebrities attending had some fame, talent even, but who couldn't see that their faces were beautiful or handsome and were an excellent accessory to the whole affair. The two young women that had come up with the idea, however, actually had wanted to raise money for charity and had no ill intentions, just that they were a little naive and hadn't eyes to see beyond their little worlds of glitter and the foil covering the seedier side of the event was enough to satisfy them. Zandre considered the fact that he couldn't go due to the flight delays, the silver lining in the exhausting experience. While his agent headed towards the luggage carousel to pick up their suitcases, Zandre glanced down at his phone to check the time. It was not quite midday. His Ichiro would likely be working and as much as he wanted to hear the other's voice, he didn't want to upset Ichiro's boss. He already knew that the Omega was having a hard time with his second job, though he didn't know the details as Ichiro wouldn't tell him and Saburo couldn't, but he didn't want to make it worse. So he sent Ichiro a text to mention that he was back in the country and wanted to see him. He couldn't help but add that he missed him. His agent returned frowning, pulling their luggage as he did. "What's wrong?" Zee asked. "It's nothing," the man responded. "The battery of my phone discharged. I hadn't realised that I hadn't switched it off during the flights, leaving it on silence instead. I had wanted to check in with the company before sending you home." "Too diligent," Zandre chuckled. "I just want to return home to shower and sleep!" Or better yet shower, see Ichiro and then sleep. The man was equally as weary. Napping on the plane in business class during the first leg of their journey had been alright, but the second part of the journey, the two men had been stuck in economy. Not so bad for him, he wasn't a particularly tall or large man, the leg room had been enough, but for Zandre... just seeing him squeezed into the small space made his manager feel uncomfortable. They chose to take a taxi, the agent claimed he'd simply add the cost to expenses and the vehicle began to take them to their destinations. Zandre was dropped off at his home first, after signing an autograph for the driver; apparently he was a rugby fan. He had chatted about the seasonal game, about the country's performance, not leaving Zandre time to think about calling Ichiro during the drive. Unlocking the door, he checked for the umpteenth time his phone, only his message to Ichiro hadn't any response. Lunch hours that were typical for workers to take were already over, surely Ichiro must have seen his message... was he still angry about before? He couldn't help but worry about it as he headed to his bedroom, determined to take a shower. He barely looked away from his phone to grab a towel as he quickly sent a second text with a series of apologies indicating how wrong he was and how there was no excuses for his behaviour. He once more added to the text how much he missed Ichiro before sending it and reluctantly placing the phone on his dresser before he rushed to shower. The stickiness and discomfort of his unwashed body was becoming overwhelming. Plus, he didn't want to appear before Ichiro stinking to the high heavens. He didn't bother to dry off nor shave the unwanted stubble, before neatening his beard, even left wet puddles as he returned to the bedroom wearing just the towel about his waist and eagerly picking up the phone to check it. Mr Kotze does not need to apologise me, I'm obviously not worthy. If Mr Kotze wishes to make up for his transgressions, then by all means, fuck off and stay away from me. An Omega I might be, but a third wheel, a rebound or an amusement for your entertainment I am not. Goodbye. He froze and not due to the cooling water upon his dark skin. What the hell did he mean? Forgetting his earlier worries, he immediately tried to call Ichiro directly, however after hearing the phone ring for half a day, it was cut off. Unrelenting, he hit the green button again, redialling. "The number you have dialled cannot be reached. Please try again later." Shit! He cursed, selecting his contacts and scrolling for Saburo's number instead. His Omega's little brother had been so encouraging, lending a hand in his quest to sway Ichiro and push him into Zandre's embrace. In Saburo's words, he thought that Zandre would be good for his big brother, that his big brother deserved to be happy and loved. However, before he could dial the little Omega's number, his phone began to chime. It was his managing agent. "What is the current state of relationship between you and Elani Van Zyl?" The man asked him. "When I asked you about it when you were first assigned to me, didn't you tell me that the relationship was over?" This man was his second agent since signing the contract, the first had left the company. "It was.. it is," Zandre added more firmly. "I broke up with her several months... holy shit!" Zandre's eyes suddenly widened and he blinked a couple of times as if he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. "What's wrong?" His agent questioned. "Ah, it's nothing," Zandre replied between gritted teeth, reaching for the ambiguous image that had appeared upon his wall in order to remove it. What had that woman been thinking? His tired brain sluggishly attempted to understand 'Lani's mind, before hesitating. "Wait, what's with the question about Elani?" A sudden sixth sense, a feeling that something was horribly wrong came over him. He thought about Ichiro's text, about the odd recorded message from 'Lani and the fact that the woman clearly been in his room while he hadn't been in the country. His eyes wandered to the bedside cabinet, hoping he wouldn't see what he suddenly prophesied. As the world around him seemed to slow, his manager's words continue to pour through the phone; "Miss Van Zyl attended the Charity Event last night wearing a diamond ring upon her ring finger. Although she did not confirm or deny an engagement, she did lead reporters to believe that you were her intended. It was reported in several papers as part of the overall articles about the event. In one, it even overshadowed the entire thing." Zandre felt his knees give way and he collapsed onto the bed, holding the phone in one hand and the empty jewellery box in his other. "Yes! It's most definitely a yes!" Oh, shit. He thought he'd fucked up badly before, but he'd hoped he could still rectify it. Begging on his knees, kowtowing and knocking his head against the concrete floor like Ichiro's distant ancestors might not even fix this huge disaster. Of course, it didn't mean that he wouldn't try. Despite the exhaustion in his body and his agent's promise to release a statement to deny the rumours, he dragged himself down the stairs to grab his coat and keys. He couldn't get through hold of Ichiro at that moment, but it didn't mean he couldn't deal with Elani. He was going to make her understand without a shadow of a doubt that it was completely over between them and there was never any possibility of them getting back together either.