YourFavAnon's Various Fictions [Update 3/16]

[YourFavAnon]

I wanted to write cutesy Hanako. Therefore, I did.

I'd Rather Have You


"H-Hisao?"

A cute stutter brings me out of my light nap, my eyes slowly peeling open. Dim light streaks in through our open blinds, a new set that we picked out the other week at the local department store. I notice flake after flake of snow falling from the light grey sky, collecting into a hefty amount on the ground outside. I pull myself away from my sleepy thoughts, turning my attention to the girl sitting on the other side of the sofa. I tease her a bit, groaning in response.

"Hanako, why must you wake me from such a wonderful nap?"

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't realize that y-you-" I cut her off with a laugh while propping myself up, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

"I'm just kidding with you, darling." She smiles in a shy fashion as I plant a light kiss on her forehead, drawing a blush to her cheeks. "What's up?"

"Oh, w-well I was just thinking a bit while you were sleeping..." She trails off, breaking her eye contact and looking down towards the ground. She seems a bit embarrassed about something, which is a bit unusual. She has made a lot of progress with getting embarrassed or hiding things around me in comparison to the day that we met, which was a little over seven years ago.

When we both graduated from university, Hanako attending to become an interior designer - something that I had honestly thought should wouldn't be interested in the slightest - and myself attending to become a medical physicist. We were attending the same school, but didn't move in together until our final year of studies, and that was because I had proposed to her. A year later, shortly after graduating, we got married.

About three years after that, we're at this point. I've managed to reel in a beautiful wife, and on top of that, we're now expecting our first child. My non-occupied hand moves down to her large stomach, the area basically done growing larger because she's already 35 weeks into her pregnancy term. My thoughts are drawn away for a moment, my hand gently stroking the bump. She brings her eyes up from the ground to meet mine once again, a large smile arising on her lips.

"Hisao..." She breaks our loud silence, everything being done by motions and actions rather than words. I can see tears welling up in the corner of her eyes, which sends me nearly into a panic.

"Hana, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Nothing is wrong at all, it's just..." She smiles for a moment and places her right hand over top of mine, her other hand taking it's spot underneath of her belly. "It's j-just everything is right." I raise an eyebrow at her, slightly confused. She catches my expression, which draws yet another blush to her face. I figure I'll ask anyways.

"What do you mean?" She looks me in the eyes, a little trail of water sliding down her cheek. I raise my hand out from underneath hers and lift it to her face, cleaing the tear from her cheek with my finger. This earns me a kiss of gratitude, her soft lips melting together with mine. We hold it like that for what feels like an eternity, a tender moment that I wish would never have to end. She's the one to break it, her forehead resting against mine as she begins talking.

"I n-never thought that I'd ever be a w-wife, let alone be having a child w-with the boy who practically saved my l-life." Her adorable stutter has returned in full in her emotional moment, something that has never completely faded from what might as well be considered her past life. She became a new person, trying her best to become at least slightly social with her design team and a few college friends. Her past has always been with her, but rather than seeing it as something tying her down, it has become something that has pushed her forward. I sigh a bit at her statement, regardless of where my thought process has gone. She has done this before, and it always makes me feel terrible. Hopefully she takes it somewhere else this time.

"I've told you already, I didn't save anyone's-" She cuts me off abruptly, standing up and giving me 'the look', hands on her hips as she sets forth on her tangent.

"Stop s-saying that!" She sounds frustrated more than angry, which I'm certainly glad about. We don't argue often, mainly because she's still a very soft spoken girl. "You know that I would have b-been left alone forever if it wasn't for you, you... you're basically the r-reason I've had any success!" She stumbles over her words, and I'm not sure if it's because of the way she's speaking or if it's due to her trying to gain a train of thought.

I rise up from my seat and wrap her in a gentle embrace, her tense muscles relaxing as arms wrap around her waist. Careful to not push on her stomach, I lean in and whisper in her ear.

"I didn't do anything to make you successful, my love. I've just always been your biggest fan." I can feel a warm moisture stain and seep through my shirt, meeting my skin. I pull back to see her crying again. "You never needed any help. You just needed someone to cheer you on." She wraps around my tightly, sobbing what are hopefully tears of joy. My hopes are confirmed when she pushes up on her tiptoes, elevating her high enough so that she can give me a kiss on the forehead. When she comes back down, she snuggles her head into my chest, my erratic heartbeat seemingly always being an outlet of comfort for her.

"Hisao?" She breaks our silence, looking up into my eyes like a child who had just gotten what they wanted at Christmas time. Quite convenient that it's snowing outside, no?

"Yes, Hana?"

"Do you... do you t-think I'll be a good mother?" I laugh a bit and ruffle her hair about. She literally looks like a lifetime of stress and pain has been lifted from her shoulders.

Maybe that's what happened. Maybe she's been reborn a little inside.

"The best in the entire universe." Sealed with a kiss on the lips, I crouch down and lift up her shirt a little bit. This draws a surprised yelp, which is quickly subdued as I place a gentle kiss on her belly. I listen for a minute, hearing the gentle kicks against the the inside of Hanako's womb. She reaches down and flicks me on the forehead to bring me back from my dazed state. I extend my legs from their previous crouched position and stand back up to meet her.

"You feel a bit cold. Can I interest m'lady in a cup of tea?" She giggles a bit at my formalness as I treat her like a princess. But, that's what she is to me. She's my princess, a girl who never needed a knight in shining armor to come and save her; she just needed someone to give her a little nudge in the right direction.

"That would be great." She shoots me a light smile and clutches to my arm as we walk out of the living room and move into the kitchen. I pull out a chair for her and place the kettle on the stove before taking my seat beside her. She reaches and links her hand with mine on top of the table as I stare out the far window. My life feels refreshed, but refreshed doesn't feel like the right word to describe it.

Maybe we've both been reborn.

Together.

[Banda]

Pregnant Hanako...

Why does this make me "d'aww" so hard!!!

[YourFavAnon]

Pregnant Hanako...

Why does this make me "d'aww" so hard!!!

My self image of her with a baby bump makes me want to have a pregnant wife.

[Banda]

Pregnant Hanako...

Why does this make me "d'aww" so hard!!!

My self image of her with a baby bump makes me want to have a pregnant wife.

Time to go romance pregger chicks.

[YourFavAnon]

All's fair in love and war.

Brothers in Arms


This can't be good for my heart at all. I crouch and tip toe behind cover through a deserted, war-ravaged town with my M16 in hand, watching the back as Kenji and I move forward. We've been silent for nearly three minutes now, both of us too paranoid to take our eyes off of our designated direction. The crunch of gravel is constant beneath my feet, making noises that just add to my worry with every single step. Kenji watches the front as we make slow progress towards the rendezvous point, scattered and distant gun fire occuring from multiple directions.

He taps me on the shoulder, which nearly makes me jump and scream out in surprise. With two fingers, he waves them in the direction of a seemingly stable building as the majority of the surrounding buildings crumble to the ground. We stack up on opposite sides of the doorway, sprinting into our positions. With the toss of a stun grenade into the room, we follow shortly after, clearing the first story before moving upstairs. The eerieness continues, as not a single soul was present, drawing me to the brink of a full blown panic attack.

Kenji takes off his sling, setting his rifle against the wall of the bedroom that we've ended up in. He flops down on the bed and shuffles his hand throughout one of his many pockets, fetching a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He offers me one, which I kindly accept to help calm my nerves. With a quick flick of the lighter, I find myself blowing out heavy amounts of smoke before Kenji finally breaks the silence that has settled between us.

"Shit man, what are we going to do?" His voice, for the first time that I've ever heard, is nearly shaking. I'm not sure if it's fear or anxiety, but something has certainly gotten to him. I guess I shouldn't be talking, because it's certainly gotten to me as well.

"Take a few to get our act together, then haul to the rendezvous I suppose." He lets out a big puff of smoke, nearly looking as if he's in thought. I guess certain situations can bring out different sides to everyone.

"But what if we don't make it, man? Taro and Lezard might never even reach it if we do, they could easily get their shit blasted away at any moment..." He trails off, taking another drag from his cigarette. I've honestly never hseen him this uptight about anything, even the feminist conspiracy shit that he's been laying on me for quite a while now. I take a breath out a thick amount of smoke before tapping out my cigarette, offering my hand to bring him to his feet.

"Well, we're in worse shape just sitting here aren't we? Let's get our asses in gear." Kenji's eyes flare up at my words, a decent amount of passion seemingly returning to his spirit. With my help, he gets up from the bed and tosses the sling around his his body, giving me a nod to take lead as we re-enter the ruined streets below.

We run, crouch and crawl our way from building to building, clearing the seemingly deserted town in a very short amount of time. A pit of anxiety rises in my stomach at the thought, as we haven't been met by any resistance yet. The sporadic gun shots in the distance seemingly get closer with every step, growing louder as we inch our way towards the meeting point.

We finally reach the other end of the town, only a country road with scattered remnants of vehicles and debris being the remaining obstacle between us and the point. Kenji takes point this time, but rather than watching our back, we both just start heading up the road the slowly. We duck and dive behind the few pieces of cover that are scattered throughout the path, giving us slight protection from the buildings that could contain enemies in the closing distance.

As we reach the final stretch of the road, there is a large gap between cover, a distance that I would say could easily be 500 feet. We take refuge behind the charred remnants of a truck, facing back towards the ground we've just covered within the past ten minutes. Kenji sighs and rubs his temples a bit, taking a quick swing from his canteen before speaking to me.

"Hisao, this is the home stretch man. If we get to that point, we're home free to winning this battle! With or without Lezard and Taro, we can still win this shit!" He extends his hand to me, leaving it in a position for me to grasp it. I connect mine with his and give it a big pump, as he's never really given me the opportunity to shake it before.

"Let's get moving, we can talk when we get to the rendezvous." He shoulders his rifle as we sprint out of cover, running full speed towards cover. He trails me slightly with a heavier loadout, but still manages to keep a close distance between to the two of us.

A loud crack rings through the crispy evening air, the distance being nearby. Not thinking to stop, I finish the sprint to our final bit of cover, diving and propping my back up against it as I catch my breath. As I open my eyes from taking a quick moment to regain some air my lungs, I notice something has gone extremely wrong. I hear a pained groan about 50 feet away from me.

That's about how far away we are before a gunshot rings out.

I now realize how bad this situation is. Kenji was hit while we hit the last bit of distance between us and cover, and is now screaming and yelling in pure agony a few feet away from me. Without even taking a moment to think, my adrenaline gets sent into overdrive, sending me sprinting once again from protection.

My combat pounds pound into the dirt faster another shot rings out, digging into the ground less than an two inches behind me. I slide in to Kenji's aid, my adrenaline helping me pick him up with some ease. I pull his body as fast as I can into cover, once again barely avoiding a bullet as it connects with the ground off to my right.

I slam my back into the sandbag protection behind me, just tall enough to keep us from getting hit from most any possible angle. I turn my attention to Kenji as his breathing sounds heavy and uneven. Blood pours from a massive wound in his stomach, forming a small pool as the bullet managed to have a clean entry and exit. I fumble through my utility belt, looking for gauze or something to try and sustain his bleeding. I find some and begin to desperately apply it to his wound, but it doesn't seem to have much of an effect at this point. His breathing continues to increase to a higher pace as my hands continue to be covered in his blood, trying my hardest to save his live.

"Kenji, we're so close man! You can't go dying on me right now, no chance in hell!" He laughs a bit, which causes him to cough up a little bit of blood and wince in pain heavily.

"Bro, I'm toast. This is it for me, where my road ends." He reaches his hand out and grasps for my uniform, grabbing hold of it and pulling me closer to him. "You're on your own, friend. Until... we meet a-again..." His voice finally falters and fades out, his breathing coming to an abrupt halt and his body falling limp. Tears well up in my eyes, but I attempt to keep them at bay. I never got to tell him how it was an honor to fight along side of him before he passed, something that will always bother me. Anger rises in my throat.

I want revenge, and I want it right this instant. With a scream of fury, I propel myself up and vault over my cover, firing round after round in the direction of the town before me. Before I know it, there's yet another loud crack ringing through the air, and I find myself stumbling backwards onto the ground. I feel darkness approaching as blood empties from my chest, yet another clean wound as the bullet passed through my back.

So, this is how it ends, huh?

My eyes fade to black, and with that, it was all over.

----------

"Fucking Hanako, man!" Kenji is yelling at the top of his lungs and he throws his headset at the screen, taking me out of the zone. "How the fuck is she so good at sniping?! I bet that feminist bitch can't even fucking quickscope!" He hurls his controller towards the wall as we hear an eruption from the other room of the beach house, the girls all laughing hysterically at our fate.

I struggle with my words as I fling my headset off and set my controller down on the now unoccupied space beside me on the couch, slicking my hair back in frustration. Lezard and Taro both flick their headsets off in disgust and head into the kitchen for a few drinks, ready to drown their sorrows of getting absolutely destroyed by a couple of girls in the other room.

I think I might finally see where Kenji's coming from with the whole 'feminist conspiracy' thing.

In the hallway off to the side of the living room, a door opens and footsteps tap lightly in my direction. Around the corner peeks a grinning, but still shy, Hanako. She walks on over to the couch and flops down beside me, snuggling up nice and close to me.

"Oh, you think you're just going to make it up to me by being cute now?" She giggles and smiles in her usual shy manner, planting a light kiss on my cheek.

"A-actually... I was coming to ask you a question."

"What is it?"

"Do you want to play another round?" Before I can even answer, Kenji sprints in from the other room, obviously over his frustrations. Hanako squeals and hops from her seat, finding cover behind the wall in hallway.

"You're on, bitch!" Hanako shoots me a cute wink before returning to her room, as I pick up my headset and controller and get ready for the next round. I rub my temples as the four of us get ready to go again, strategizing in a different manner this time.

It's going to be on hell of a long night.

[Banda]

This amuses me, you live for today.

[Guest90206]

I was going to try and find something... but... yeah, that about sums it up.

[YourFavAnon]

I was going to try and find something... but... yeah, that about sums it up.

I appreciate the kind words, I really do.

[YourFavAnon]

Two star crossed lov- Oh wait, wrong story.

The Love We Shared


Tonight isn't any different than any other night. Hanako and I step out into the crisp night air, myself having a heavy winter jacket draped over my typical sweatervest to keep me warm. Hanako is sporting her usual heavy coat and earmuffs, the earmuffs being especially handy on a cold night like tonight. We lock hands as our feet set off along the sidewalk, our path only given light by the dim streetlights that line the road outside of our apartment.

This has become an average night for us, even as we head into the early months of winter. We both get off our shifts from work and have some alone time to get cleaned up after a long day, her job as an interior designer - something that certainly came as a surprise to me - and my job as a medical physicist both can end up being tiring and messy.

Generally, we take a short period of time to talk about our day at work. She's become fairly bouncy and excited around me, although she never does these things around people outside of our household. I don't think it'd be proper to say she's developed the personality of an excited little girl, but more or less just someone who enjoys my company. She'll tell me her stories about her various projects, which always seem to get her very emotionally involved; whether it be designing something for an aspiring business or just a close friend's living room, there's always something that gets her blood pumping good.

In the past couple of months though, she's decided that rather than listening to my pointless rambling of boring scientific lectures that we should take nightly walks together. I certainly can't say I would ever deny the opportunity to relax, hold hands and get some fresh air with my beautiful girlfriend.
I know I keep saying tonight isn't any different.

But in truth, I'm lying.

Thankfully she hasn't noticed yet, but there's a slight bulge in my pocket on the far side away from her. A small box containing the majority of my pay from the past half year or so; a shimmering diamond ring. Maybe not the biggest rock that I could have gotten for her, but we've honestly never been much for spending a lot of money on each other. We always buy things that will benefit us both, not gifts that only really have value to one of us.

I pull out of my daze as we round a corner, which is where I decide to take a slight detour from our usual route. Hanako gives me a look of surprise as I pull her to the left, walking towards a secluded park on the outskirts of our residential area.

"H-Hisao?" Her voice shivers a bit due to the temperature outside while her arm tugs at my hand to have me slow my pace a bit.

"Yes, my love?"

"W-where are we going?

"You'll see soon enough." She shoots me another quizzical glace, but I wave it off as I lead her towards the park. I know where I want to pop the question, certainly, and it's at a special location that we haven't paid a visit in a long while.

Within what feels like five minutes, we arrive at the park, adorned with bare trees along each side of the path that runs through its center. I finally slow my pace to a casual stroll and remove my hand from hers, draping my arm around her shoulders and bringing her nice and close to me as we take in the scenery around us. Snow covered trees are illuminated by the light from various lamps, revealing one of the most gorgeous sights I've seen in my entire life.

I steal a peek at the girl who has her arms wrapped around my body, her eyes and mouth open in amazement at what's been laid out before her. I feel my heart starting to race as the moment begins to approach at a rapid pace, my left hand finding a place over the bump in my pocket. Before I can start talking to her as a lead in, I'm met with two hands on my shoulders, pulling me into a long and passionate kiss.

After what feels like an hour, she breaks away, much to my disappointment. But, I'd have to say the sight before me is far from disappointing. Our foreheads are still connect as she wraps her arms around my neck, a light blush rising to her cheeks in reaction. I pull back and look up to the sky as I notice a snowflake fall beside me, many more following it.

Rather than offering to return home though, I take Hanako by the hand and lead her a bit further up the path to a bench. I offer a seat to her, which she accepts, before flopping down on the bench. I draw her close to my chest, which causes her face to show a somewhat worried look. After a moment of thinking, I realize that she hears how erratic and fast my heartbeat is, the anticipation of the upcoming moment beginning to make me feel light-headed.

"Hisao, is something wrong? Your h-heart..." She trails off, and the question just makes the pace pick up even more. I stagger around the question, beginning my lead up to the big moment.

"H-Hanako, you remember the importance of this spot?" She looks puzzled for a minute before her face brightens up in realization, a shy smile forming on her lips.

"Of course I d-do. This is w-where we came and sat after m-moving in together." I smile at her recollection of events, as it was a tender moment for the two of us. We sat here under the stars during the summer that we moved in together, talking about our future and having one of the most personal moments of our entire relationship. I remember it as if it had just happened yesterday, especially the tender kiss I received before our departure back home. Shaking myself out of my current train of thought, I get back to the matter at hand.

"What does this spot mean to you?" She picks her head up and faces me, shifting around uncomfortably. I feel like hitting myself in the head, as I know what the next question is going to be.

"Why are you a-asking so many of these question, Hisao?"

This is it.

This is that glaring opportunity.

"I've only got one more question for you tonight, just bear with me." I find myself standing up from my seat, which out of normality, Hanako follows suit. With her standing before me, flakes of snow dancing around her perfect figure and a look of innocent confusion reflecting in her eyes, I drop down to one knee and reach into my pocket. I remove the black box and hold it up to her, opening it up to her. Her hands fly to her mouth, covering it as if she was about to scream. I smile like an idiot as I say the words that have been weighing me down for months.

"Hanako Ikezawa, will you marry me?" I deliver the line flawlessly. Her hands stay over her mouth and her eyes widen, shimmering nearly as bright as the diamond does under the light from the street lamp above us. Tears are flowing freely from her eyes as she collapses down onto her knees and tackles me backwards onto the ground, nearly making me drop the ring. She embraces me tightly and cries the most happy tears I've ever seen in my life, repeating one simple word over and over again.

"Yes, yes, yes!" She pulls back slightly and dips her lips to meet mine, her smile warming my body with a sensation that I've never felt before. After our moment of pure love, she breaks off, drawing hearty laughter from me as I realize that she didn't even let me go through with the most important step.

"W-what's so funny?"

"You didn't even let me put the ring on your finger!" I continue to laugh as she finally offers me her hand, an embarrassed blush rising her face. The embarrassment quickly fades, though, as the ring slides onto her ring finger, her hand pulling up to her face as she stares at it in amazement. After a moment of admiration, she embraces me once again, a muffled question rising from my chest.

"H-Hisao?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, Hanako."

She pushes up on her tip toes as our lips meet again, the snowflakes falling around us beginning to pick up in frequency. I break off with a smile and nuzzle my nose against hers, a gesture that earns me an absolutely adorable smile.

"Let's head home, I'll make you some tea to warm you up." This earns me a kiss on the cheek as our hands link together once again, my fingers feeling the sensation of rubbing against her new piece of jewelry. We set off down the path, heading back to our apartment as winter makes its presence known around us.

I don't think this path isn't just leading back to our home anymore.

It's leading us on a path to a bright future.

Together.



'The Love We Shared' is a song produced by Kill Paris

[YourFavAnon]

1183 words can work wonders for the mind.

Rejuvenation


Getting older sucks, you know?

I drive the same route every night, darkness fighting with my headlights as I stop at a red light. I sigh to myself and take a sip of coffee from my thermos, a bad habit I've never really been able to drop. It feels like time slows every night on my drive home from work. Work is a miserable thing, even though it's doing something that I love. Being pulled away from my family for anywhere from eight to fifteen hours is absolutely abysmal, to the point that I've had so much work related stress when I've walked in the door that I've just gone, taken a shower, and crashed on the bed.

It makes me feel terrible, you know? Not having the strength to stay up for a little and play with your daughter, cuddle with your wife, the usual things. I wake up every morning wrapped around Hanako, and it pains me every morning that I have to pry my arms away and go labor in a laboratory. I love what I do, but sometimes the workload kills me on the inside.

Being miserable during the week is basically how it goes for me, though. As soon as Friday rolls around though, and I walk through that door to my home, I'm ecstatic to spend time with the two most important people in my life. The trouble is, once it hits Sunday, the pattern starts again for the next five days, the monster of labor once again eating me from the inside out.

The light turns green and I hit the home stretch, only about five minutes away from a weekend of fun and relaxation. I sort of lose focus on the road for a moment, tears welling up in my eyes. A few harsh memories always hit me the hardest on Friday, knowing that my life is wasting away and I'm not given a lot of opportunities to spend time with my wife and kid. One memory, in particular, still stings the most of them all.

Four weeks after our child was born, just a little over three years ago, I started working my usual hours again. I woke up that Monday and treated it just like any normal work day; only there was a slight problem. As I pushed up, Hanako's arms wouldn't let go. She was having a nightmare, something that had become less and less frequent as we adapted to our life together. That morning though, she said a words that stick with me to this day, nearly breaking my heart everytime they pop into my mind.

"Please don't leave me! Please... please stay here with me!" She was whispering, sounding drowsy but desparate. She wasn't even awake, but seeing her in tears while hanging onto my body, begging for the person in her nightmare to stay with her was one of the most heartbreaking things I've ever been through. I gave her a kiss on the forehead and cuddled with her for a few more minutes, her mind finally becoming calm and her embrace finally loosening around my body.

Leaving her that day was one of the most difficult things I've had to do in my life, even if it was only for a few hours.

That night when I returned home, I practically tackled her with a hug when I stepped through the door, bawling and saying something close to 'I'm so sorry' repeatedly. She was confused and worried, the obvious things, but she calmed me down. She rubbed my back, shushed me, wiped away my tears, all of the things that showed even with my hefty schedule, that I still meant more than anything in the world to her.

I shake my thoughts away as I pull into our suburban neighborhood, whipping the vehicle around and parking in our driveway. I've got a huge grin on my face and a wetness on my cheeks.

Friday night, once again.

I fling my car door open and sprint up the door, fumbling with the knob before entering our home. I'm greeted with the sight of two angels; Hanako and Miyuki, sitting on the floor and coloring an image of a princess together as the TV flicks through international news. My smile widens as my daughter's eyes light up, jumping up and sprinting towards me.

"Daddy!" I pick her up into a hug, a much more difficult task with each day of growing. Hanako stands up and brushes herself off, smiling at the scene unfolding before her, before speed walking over and joining in, wrapping the two of us in a tight embrace.



"How are my favorite little ladies doing tonight?"

"Great, Daddy! Me and Mommy were just coloring and stuff, waiting for you to get home so we could all play together!" She's nearly bouncing out of my hold on her, the excitement in her voice very visible. I look at Hanako and lean down, planting a kiss on her lips. We linger for a bit as our daughter rambles on about how much fun she had at daycare today before Hanako got off from work, our lips touching a few times before we finally break apart.


"I-I missed you..." She trails off and I put Miyuki down, telling her to go color for a minute so that I could spend a moment alone with my wife. She skips off as Hanako trails her finger down my chest, her other arm still wrapped around my back.

"Not as much as I missed you." I smile and plant another quick kiss on her lips, ready to finally reveal my plans. I nearly laugh, as this is something I've worked towards for nearly eight years now, my seniority finally starting to pay off a bit at the lab.

"In fact, I've missed you so much, I'm not going to be leaving your side for two weeks." Her eyes brighten and her mouth opens wide, her arms wrapping my body into a tight embrace. I return the favor, picking her up and spinning her around a little bit.

"H-How? How did y-you manage to-"

"That's nothing to worry about. Just know that you'll wake up with me next to you for the next fourteen days. In fact, I was thinking maybe we could take a little trip to the beach?" She smiles in her signature fashion, her cheeks burning red at the tone of my voice near the end. She plants a kiss on my cheek and releases our embrace, finally heading back towards the living room to continue playing with our daughter. As she walks down the hallway, she practically yells out my favorite words in the universe.

"I love y-you, Hisao." I grin like I'm in high school again. Maybe that's what this vacation is about; it's about me rejuvenating my body and mind. I kick off my shoes and toss my suit off to the side, not even bothering to get changed as I head to the living room, a little hop in my step.

"I love you too, Hanako."

[YourFavAnon]

Time winds down on one journey, just to bring on the next.

Smile


There are tubes everywhere.

Breathing tubes, IV's, every tube imaginable is coming out of my body. Pale sunlight streaks in through the window in my room, making stripes across my blanket. My body feels weak and brittle, as if I could pass at any moment.

Well, in reality, I am going to pass at any moment.

My heart condition finally caught up to me. It only took until now, when I'm seventy-two old to do so. Medicine truly works wonders, but at the same time, there was no possible way for me to outrun this thing into my eighties or nineties. This year, it finally caught up to me. After years and years of being heart attack free, nature truly unleashed its wrath on me this time around.

Three heart attacks in one year.

Three.

This is the result of my latest one, in which the doctors have said will be my final stand. I've been was given about seven hours to live when I recieved an update this morning. Lilly clutched my hand as he delivered the news, really the only news update of importance that we had recieved all week.

I knew it was coming. All I've felt is pain all week, hell, all year at that. My body has weakened to the point that I've been walking with a cane ever since I was released after my first heart attack.

Lilly has remained faithful and as helpful as anyone could be in my life, especially during the most recent times. Over the past ten years, her hair has faded from shimmering blonde to wintery gray, her skin transitioning from smooth to a tad wrinkled. Her smile and wit has yet to change, and doubtfully ever will.

I turn my head from the window, the thoughts still flowing through my head. My hand is having the life squeezed out of it by my wife, sitting in here and crying silent tears as the time quickly approaches.

Only five minutes left.

My body already feels like it's beginning to shut down. Breathing, even with help, has become a struggle as my lungs fight for oxygen. My bones feel like they could break with a simple touch, as every simple movement shoots pain up my spine.

At this point, though, it isn't about me anymore.

It's about her.

I can't peel my eyes from her face, her eyes letting tears flow free as she does her usual blank stare towards the window. She obviously can't see anything, but I feel that at this moment, sight is the least important sense. A drop touches my hand and runs down towards my wrist, giving me the courage to finally speak with her.

"My love, why are you crying?"

Silence settles in for a moment. I raise my hand as she loosens up her grip a bit, moving it and wiping away a tear from her cheek.

"Lilly, please." My voice is weakening with every word spoken. It feels as if someone is slowly dropping weights onto my throat, closing the airway and attempting to cut stop me from getting out my final words. She shivers a bit at my touch as I caress her cheek to the best of my ability, her head nuzzling into it.

"I don't want to lose you..." Her voice trails off as she nearly loses composure once again. She's honestly never been one to make huge emotional scenes, such as bawling or getting absolutely furious, but all of that has seemed to taken a backseat at the moment.

"You act as if I'm going to be leaving you." Her ears perk up a bit, raising an eyebrow at me. "I mean, I may be leaving you in person, but I will never leave you in spirit and love..." My voice begins to choke up a bit as I can feel tears welling up in the corners of my eyes.

I still remember what we said on our wedding day.

"Don't you remember our promise, Lilly?" She looks as if she ponders the question for a moment before a somewhat sad smile forms across her lips. Then, she surprises me, and repeats it word for word.

"Stay faithful, stay playful, stay kind or I'll beat your behind. Promise to me and I'll promise to you, for we are inseparable with love as our bind." She rattles it off straight from memory, a few more tears dropping as her voice begins to shake towards the latter part. I move her hand to my face and allow her to feel my smile for what could be the last time.

"You know, I thought you would have forgotten by now. I guess I was proven wrong, huh?"

"I could never forget. It is what we based everything off of, remember?" It truly was and still is, to this very day. We had our one and only daughter together with that simple promise being the basis of our family. Even our daughter learned it by heart. It was like a motto, but it sort of died off as our daughter moved out and started a family of her own.

I guess it still is our motto, to this very day.

My daughter already came by, drenched in tears as she gave me her final goodbye. My two grandchildren and son-in-law came as well, but my son-in-law refused to come in and see me in my state. He was like the son that Lilly and I never had, and he sat in the hall with his head buried in his hands. All of this sadness...

But, what is it for?

Passing away is just another step in life.

Whatever happens afterwards, I'll know soon enough.

I regain my train of thought as my vision begins to blur. So, the final moments begin now I assume. I give Lilly my strongest squeeze that I can muster, before giving her some of my final words.
"I'm feeling tired, my dear. I think it's about time for me to go."

"I understand, Hisao." She leans down and kisses me on the lips, my vision beginning to fade into white. She grips my hand tight as a warm sensation begins to spread throughout my body, easing the pain of the past year in nearly an instant. Before I entirely lose my vision, I catch one final glimpse of the beauty before me, and weakly smile at what I see.

Along with her tears is a smile.

"Smile in memory of me, Lilly, for it is how I want you to remember our time together..." My voice trails off as my vision completely fades, but one image stays stapled in my mind as my body finally shuts down.

The gentle and caring smile of a woman who saved my life.

[YourFavAnon]

Updated 'Rejuvenation' to include an image that Drawbro drew for me.

[Brogurt]

The kid reminds me of cirno

[YourFavAnon]

Arcadia


A gentle breeze whistles through the leaves around us, giving way to the cool temperature on this beautiful autumn morning.

A remote cabin getaway for our week long honeymoon, out in a northeastern forest of the United States. It was quite an intriguing idea when Lilly proposed it to me; she wanted to come here during autumn as the leaves were changing colors. Now, just a few weeks later, here we are, her arm locked with mine as we walk down a hiking path not too far from our cabin.

It's one of the most, if not the most, gorgeous sights I've seen in my life. Leaves trickling down from the tops, showing signs that winter is fast approaching. The colors all blend together to make a beautiful landscape, all enhanced by the crisp morning air. The air here feels pure, filtered by the trees and fresh as we're fairly high up in the mountains, making breathing simple and satisfying.

Our pace is at a slow stroll, taking everything in stride on this trip. I turn my head to Lilly, who has her eyes shut as she takes in the surrounding sounds. Birds are chirping and leaves are rustling as we continue to progress along the path.

"Hisao?" Lilly speaks up, her voice blending right in with the soothing sound of leaves rustling in the wind.

"Yes?"

"Could you describe to me what you see?"

I'm immediately brought back to the past.

Fireworks at Yamaku, describing the beautiful explosion of color as she attentively listened to the noise above. The first time I ever really had to describe what I was seeing to someone, and it truly made me think.

What do I really see?

How do you describe sight to someone who has never had the opportunity to use it?

I shake my thoughts off as she faces me attentively, waiting for a response.

"Of course." I stop and grasp her hands with mine, turning my body to face hers. She giggles a bit as I lean in and give her a kiss on the lips before I turn to my surroundings. She stands patiently as I gather my thoughts, sort of describing the area as I go.

"Well, I guess we'll start with color. Splashes of orange, red and brown seem to be the most abundant, colors that are supposed to make you feel warm. The shade of orange is that of the fruit, while the red matches more of a savory apple and the brown like bark of a tree." Lilly listens intently, her eyes still closed as she attempts to focus on my words. The breeze once again rustles the branches and leaves around us, emphasizing my description of our surroundings a bit.

"The trees are old looking, but it gives a nice feel to the area. A place that has seen many seasons, storms and snowfalls alike." She hums a bit in approval, smiling as my words continue to flow seamlessly. "The path is of a fresh layer of dirt, but it's compacted well. Some leaves have fallen along the length of it, which is what results in the crunching when we walk"

Lilly raises her hand for a moment, indicating for me to stop. I look at her for a moment, slightly puzzled. She reaches her hand up and caresses my face a bit, tracing my lips with her fingers to understand my smile and confusion. She giggles a bit before sealing her actions off with a kiss.

Her lips are soft and taste of french vanilla, the robust flavor making itself noticeable. The sensation is uncomparable to anything I've ever felt before, and I find myself a bit disappointed as she pulls away. She let's out some light laughter and rubs her nose against mine, a childish gesture that she has always seemed fairly fond of.

"You've gotten quite good at letting me see through your eyes a bit, you know that?" She gives me a light smile and intertwines her hand with mine once again.

"I guess it's just because how often I end up doing it. You're always using me as your eyes." I whine a bit, which earns me a playful punch on the arm and a pouty face, which actually catches me off guard a bit. She generally doesn't hit me unless I actually strike a nerve. "I'm sorry! I was just kidding!"

She laughs heavily and traces up to the point where she hit my arm, placing a gentle kiss on it.

"All better? I didn't mean to hit you that hard." She really does treat me like a child sometimes, but I can't say I mind it. Her motherly attributes truly are some of her best traits, I must admit.

"It doesn't hurt there though, it hurts here." She looks a bit puzzled as I pull her hand up to my face, dragging her finger tips along my lips. She giggles at my immaturity, but proceeds to wrap her arms around my neck, pulling me into another deep kiss. After a few moments, we split, and I hold her in a tight hug for what feels like an eternity.

Finally, she wiggles free and offers her arm to me once again, a smile being offered along with it. I glady take it, as we begin to head off down the path forested path once again.

"Where to, m'lady?"

"I don't know... how abot you surprise me?"

I laugh a little and rustle her hair a bit with my off-hand as we approach what appears to be a clearing in the woods. We come to the end, and I'm taken aback by the sight before me. Lilly obviously hears what I see, as she turns her ear towards the location of the sound. I pull her along at a fast pace, catching her off guard.

"Hisao, where are we going?"

"I'll tell you in a minute. For now, it's a surprise."

Light reflects off the water as it cascades down the rocks, a light mist floating above it as it crashes into the bottom a couple of feet below. We walk up a small clearing, which proved to be a little bit of a struggle, to the top of the fall. I bring her over to a rock at the edge of the stream that feeds the feature, the rushing water speaking to Lilly as a large grin forms on her face.

"A stream?"

"It's actually a waterfall." Her muscles relax with the sound of water cascading over the rocks to our left. I sit take a seat and tug her arm to indicate that she should join me. She does, and as we sit there, listening to the relaxing and foreign sounds around us, I pull her in close to me. She nuzzles her head into my chest, and I take a look up into the deep blue sky above us.

What a fantastic way to start the day.


'Arcadia' is a song produced by Blend & MH20

[YourFavAnon]

A change of heart leads to love.

Sleep Well, My Little Angel


It's midnight.

I'm up like this every single day. I walk through the door to the apartment around the turn of midnight every night, absolutely drained from work and school. In fact, I don't even think I can call it being drained anymore as much as being in severe pain. I come home every night with every muscle in my body aching, which averaging three hours of rest will do to you.

Six to three in the morning, every day of the week.

I toss my bag and coat off to the side, landing over next to the fridge. I move my hands and rub my arms a bit, as the cold of winter is certainly showing no mercy on my heavy amounts of pain. Out of desparation, although it may end up waking Misha up because of how loud it is according to what she's told me, I turn on a small box heater that we generally use to keep the apartment warm.

It's a nice place. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a decent sized kitchen and a living room... it's honestly all that I could ask for as a temporary home. I flop down onto the sofa and breathe out a shaky sigh, my throat quivering a bit in the freezing cold air.

I feel like crying.

I just want to go to sleep.

Unfortunately, I can't. I bring my hands to my temples and gently massage them for a few moments. Then, I painfully rise from my seat and grab my backpack, dragging it on the floor into my bedroom. Leaving the door cracked, I fling my bag over to my desk, grabbing a pair of pajamas and getting dressed in some more comfortable clothes before heading to sit down for three hours.

Studying and homework is frustrating, especially after a day of classes and an eight hour shift at work. Coming home every night to mounds of homework is... well, it's frustrating, to say the very least. I sigh once more and reach over into my mini fridge, grabbing a can of soda. Caffeine has become my best friend, keeping me sane in my time of need. I take my glasses off and lay them off to the side, as I can feel yet another migrane coming on.

It's depressing. I have no happiness in my life, and feel like I've been struggling through depression for my two years of university so far. It's as if I'm getting overloaded, and sometimes, my head just can't take it. I cry almost every night, begging myself to go to sleep, but my hands just keep writing and my brain continues to work.

I can feel tears beginning to well up in the corners of my eyes once again, my hands shaking from exhaustion as I try to focus on diving into my physics homework. My grip tightens and my vision continues to blur.

Please.

Not tonight.

I don't want to wake her up.

I worry Misha a lot. It's gut wrenching to see her so sad because of my own problems, and that's why I almost can't consider her a source of happiness for myself anymore. Whenever I have the opportunity to have a conversation with her, or whenever I need someone to help relieve some of my stress, she always seems to be be depressed.

I know she still has feelings for me.

It's beyond painful, for that reason, to see her sometimes.

I'm always confused when I see her. I told her no back in high school, and it was because I meant it then. I'm not saying I'm interested in women, because I'm not, but... things have really changed recently.

She offers me her shoulder when I need to cry, a smile when I need to cheer up.

Christ, now the tears are going good.

I can see drops of water forming on my textbook pages, streams flowing freely down my cheeks. I'm sure I'm making some sort of noise as, I find myself struggling to breathe right now, but she won't hear me. Whenever I'm up late, bawling my eyes out as the pain and depression of daily life begin to blend together into one major storm, she doesn't come in.

Maybe she sleeps through it.

Maybe it's just too painful for her to face.

I need her.

I'm not even afraid to admit it anymore. I just need her to be here with me.

My heart is racing. I really don't know this kind of emotion, it feels like a foreign feeling to me. I don't know what to call it.

Should I call it love?

I don't know what love is. I've never felt it in my life. My parents haven't ever shown affection, and none of the guys at school ever caught my heart or attention.

But how can it be love if I don't find myself attracted to women?

Is it just her?

My mind is an absolute jumbled mess.

I feel like someone's eyes are glaring into my back. Maybe it's just paranoia and lack of sleep. Maybe I should just skip out on homework tonight and try to get a good six hours of sleep for once.

I stretch my arms, tears still falling off my cheeks. Pressure is something I can handle, but a load of stress is something I cannot. I swing my computer chair around and notice that my door is open further than it was before. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand, and then I notice something.

The front of a pair of fuzzy slippers peek past the door, but nothing else does.

I propel myself up from my chair and walk over to the door, ripping it open. There stands a girl with cascading long hair, hair that has long since been dyed back to its original brown color.

Misha stands before me, looking more scared than anything else. Her eyes and cheeks look puffy, as if she had just gotten done crying herself. In fact, a drop catches light from my bedroom as it rolls down her cheek, dropping off and heading down towards the floor.

I can't take this anymore.

I wrap my arms around her, not even bothering to sign. I'm not mad at her at all.

I'm relieved.

My heart begins beating at that pace once again, as it has every time she's been in my presence for the past year. I clutch her night gown, sobbing into her neck. She strokes the back of my head, attempting to calm me down. This is what I need, this is what I've wanted from her for ages.

Someone who I can come home to and talk about my problems with rather than attempting to fend them off on my own. My heart feels like it's about to jump right of my chest.

I peel my head off of her neck, positioning my face right in front of hers with a small gap in between. It appears she was crying with me.

But for what reason?

The next thing I know, I'm pressing my lips against hers. Her lips taste of a parfait, a taste that I wish could linger for ever. A warmth and sense of relaxation wash over my body, as well as a hefty wave of exhaustion. I hold my lips there for a moment, and she's the first to break off.

She tries to escape, attempting to push me away and get back to her room, but I won't allow it. I hold her tight against my chest, as I can feel drops of warmth gathering against my top. Her muscles relax, and I finally release her from my grip, confident that she won't go anywhere.

[Please don't think of this as desparation.]

Her eyes look sad for a moment, before lighting up a slight bit. She signs back at me after gathering thoughts for a moment.

[Shicchan, I don't know what to say...]

Her hands drop to her sides in the middle of the word say, but I can understand what she's getting at.

[Look. I don't know what the hell is going on with myself anymore, and I don't even care. All I know is, everytime I have a chance to spend time with you, I feel different.]

I pause for a moment as her expression looks intrigued, her hand moving to her eye to wipe away some excess tears. I move her hand away from completing the action and do it with my own hand, gently moving my thumb against the bottom of her eye. She gives me a less pained smile, which in turn makes my heart melt.

She looks happy. Pained for the moment, but this could possibly be the happiest I've ever seen her.

Has she been faking happiness for my sake?

[Misha, I don't know what love is. I've never been given love my parents or sibling, and have never had any real feelings of affection towards boys at school, or girls for that matter. I'll tell you now, I'm not gay or anything of that sort.]

I stop for a moment to gather my thoughts, her eyes slowly beginning to widen up from their previously half squinted state.

Is she surprised?

I guess she should be. After all, I did deny her once before, why wouldn't I do it again?

I'll tell you why.

[I'm not going to give you an opportunity to confess to me once again.]

Her smile begins to drop to a frown, making me panic a bit.

Hopefully I do this right.

[Because I'm going to tell you right now. I love you.]

Her eyes widen to a stare.

[What?]

[If there is such thing as love, then that is how I feel about you, Misha.]

She bounces forward, wrapping her arms around me once again. This time, she initiates something I'm sure she's wanted to do for a very, very long time.

She presses her lips to mine, a sensation rushing to my head.

I could get used to this, I think.

After a long moment, our lips disconnect, our foreheads still touching though. She's smiling with her eyes closed, and I find myself running my hand through the back of her lengthy brown locks of hair.
I pull myself away, giving her a smile.

[Come with me, Misha.]

She looks puzzled as I walk into my room, leaving her a clear path to enter. I close the door as she finally makes her way in, shuffling across the room and flopping down onto my bed. I lift the cover and pat the open space beside me, indicating that I want her to come lay down with me.

She hesitates.

[Shizune...]

She falters a bit, actually addressing me by my given name. I grin at her, my eyes beginning to strain a bit as I struggle to stay awake.

[If I wasn't sure about this, you wouldn't be in my room right now.]

She giggles visually before finally taking a few slow steps to my bed, rolling in and getting herself comfortable. I cover her up and reach over to my desk lamp, turning it off.

I find myself wrapping my arms around her next, her head nuzzling into my chest. She looks up at me for a moment, and I lean down into one final kiss of the night.

I can tell you, it feels strange to finally give this girl what she's wanted for so long.

Maybe she just moves a bit faster than I do.

I grin for a moment before I find myself falling off into slumber.

You certainly have won this battle, Misha.