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JTemby wrote: kept reminding me of Mehk's Hanako epilogue.

As I said about this, the idea was probably indirectly influenced by that dynamic, though the roles are reversed in that one and Kenji is still pretty insane. The hardest part about Kenji in this piece is that, I kind of want him to be Hisao-ish, but at the same time, not really at all because it's not like him. He needs to be that sort of clueless romantic because he just went through a massive overhaul in his lifestyle, and that's a big change for a lot of people. As for Miki, her dialogue is really... I don't want to say difficult, but it is somewhat difficult because who knows how she's honestly going to react in a certain situation (like this one)? I tried to sort of hammer down that she left her guard down a little because of the whole 'time of weakness' deal with being literally sick, but I might not have made that clear enough. When she's not sick and they're back to being an average couple - well, I guess I should just say couple and leave it at that - the dialogue between the two of them will be very... different, I guess.

I wanted to write a short piece with no real value in terms of hefty story or anything, just something short and sweet.

An Interlude


The train car rattles along the track, the humidity in the cabin just barely tolerable. It's definitely a hot day outside, the short summer break from school finally coming to a close.

A smile spans across my lips, my face feeling quite hot. I don't know if it's from the lowering sun or a blush, but it doesn't matter anymore.

After months of painful loneliness, I can finally be happy again. The days were rough on a consistent basis, even though we were and still will be at the same university. We lived on opposite ends of the town, and with his job and studies...

Well, he really didn't have time for me.

He apologized almost every time he talked to me. He wanted to spend time with me, and his face always looked as if something had been taken away from him. When we would have a chance to be together, we would generally do nothing; ending up just laying around one of our apartments, holding each other - the little things that go a long way.

I spent most of my summer vacation away with two of my friends that I managed to make that shared my major. We spent the past two weeks up at Hokkaido in a beach house, and it was a pretty good time.

But, something was missing.

I spent two nights practically cradling myself and rocking myself to sleep. I hadn't talked to him on either of those days, and it was starting to send me into a big time panic attack. After the trip, we decided that I could move into his apartment and live together - something I had sort of been pushing on him for a while.

It was dreadful. I sent text after text, call after call, and yet he wouldn't answer anything. I spent the last night crying myself to sleep, luckily not waking up the other two girls. I was getting paranoid, checking my phone literally almost every thirty seconds to see if he had called me or something.

A yawn escapes from my chest, my head resting against my hand.

This is what I get for staying up until four in the morning. He finally managed to wake me up after I had passed out for a good hour around two with a phone call - though I had apparently missed his first seven calls. I honestly can't even remember if I cried or not, but I can tell you that I felt like a thousand tons of stress and pain were lifted from my shoulders.

He told me he had lost his phone and couldn't find it before he went to work, accompanied later by a picture of his bedroom in an absolutely mass of chaos. Shirts, sheets, books, boxes - everything you could imagine tossed all over the room, and he told me that's what happened while he was looking for the phone.

Hisao reminded me that he was panicking just as much as I was and that it was perfectly okay to feel nervous, before finally realizing the hour of the morning and letting me get some rest.

That being said, I really didn't get any rest. My body has been running on adrenaline for hours now, and it's only another minute or so until we're supposed to arrive at the station. He said he'd pick me up and take me out to dinner, which I normally wouldn't decline.

But I think he'll understand if I tell him I want to sleep.

I wonder if he'd be okay with laying down with me?

I sigh, dreamily thinking of how our first night together will go. I shouldn't really be so excited about it, because after all, this certainly is not the first time we've spent the night together or anything like that. With that being said, it's just something...

I don't know, different?

It's a fresh start, a big change in my life. Living with my someone that I care deeply about for the first time since way back when seems foreign to me.

The idea alone makes me smile, though.

I think I'm ready.

I'm ready to take that next big step in life, even if it means I'll have to adjust a little bit. I want to be with him for the rest of my life at this point, and hopefully nothing will ever happen to change my mind about that.

I yawn once again.

It's like I'm in a dreamy state right now. The sun is all but set in the distance, and the scattered lights fighting off the shadows begin to lull me to sleep. Thankfully, the train begins to slow its pace, finally coming to a complete stop after a short moment.

I grab my bags from beside me, which is only my backpack, a small case with what I could afford of clothes on my own and some other minor things. It's honestly not much at all, and a feel bad knowing that he's probably going to pay for some of my things for a while as I try to establish a part time job or paid internship, but I made sure that I gave him a fair warning about that.

Dragging my bag of clothes behind me on wheels and my other two bags over my shoulder, I step off the train and onto the platform. I look around me for a moment, my smile fading as I can't find any hint of Hisao in the area, causing me the panic a bit.

I walk at a frantic pace, desperately looking for him, before finally and thankfully, I am embraced from behind.

I drop what I have and turn around the face him, his goofy smile immediately cheering my up from my moment I was having.

I grip him tightly, not willing to let go.

His warmth feels as if it's feeding me a bit of strength, though my mind is still heading towards a point where it wants to shut down from exhaustion. My head rests against his chest, my eyes closed as his uneven heart beats send shivers down my spine.

"You shouldn't have started walking so fast, you know. I was just popping out of the restroom when you got in. Not to mention, you got in a couple of minutes earlier than I was expecting."


I move my finger to his lips, silencing him. I love his voice, but right now, it feels like silence is what will keep me from thinking of this moment as a dream.

I remove my head from his chest as he raises his eyebrow at me, my eyes looking down as my cheeks begin to heat up.

"I've m-missed you so much..." I try to form words, but the task goes about unsuccessfully. He brushes the usual strands of hair away from covering half of my face, a habit I've always done for hiding my scars a bit.

I nearly gasp at the boldness of his move; this certainly isn't something he normally does in public, simply because he knows how I feel about my-

"Even more beautiful than the last time I saw you."

Why must you make me feel so good about myself?

I'm not a sight for sore eyes or even close to an attractive girl, but yet he always makes me feel like I'm a princess.

"Oh, s-shut up!" I give him a light punch on the arm to which he feigns massive injury, drawing the attention of some passing people on the platform. I nearly squeal as I brush my hair back over my face, leaving him frowning.

"You know I'm not going to kiss you until you brush your hair out of your face, right?"

I push out my lower lip, giving him a little pout. Not having the energy to start a little argument with him, I brush my hair back behind my ear, my arms and hands practically shaking as my nerves begin to kick it up a notch.

"Much better."

He finally leans down and places a long, loving kiss on my lips. We stay connected for a few moments, the air around my swirling as my head. I let out a small sigh of disappointment after he pulls back, releasing me from his embrace and picking up my bags that are scattered on the platform ground.

He smiles at me, offering his hand.

"Hey now, just think: you get to see me every day now. Don't get upset with me just because I'm saving some energy for later."

I frown at him.

"I'm really tired, Hisao. C-Can we save that kind of stuff for another time?' He seems to step back and ponder my words for a moment, obviously in a joking mood.

It's unfortunate that my lack of sleep is really keeping me so uptight and nervous, otherwise I'd be at least slightly okay with what he said. But right now, in public that's just... embarrassing, to say the least.

"Fine. You can sleep and I'll get your stuff all settled in." I shake my head from side to side, leaving him with his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

"No. Y-You're going to leave my bags on the floor and lay down with me. You k-know how much I've missed being able to do something small like that..." I trall off and he begins to lead me down the platform towards the parking lot, smiling all the way.

"I think I can handle that."



'An Interlude' is a song produced by Module Module.

Arabesque


There's that music again.

It plays every night for a good half an hour, maybe a little more or less depending on what day of the week it is. I can hear the piano notes hitting in a rhythmic harmony, and yet while I should be angry at the sound waking me up, I find myself relaxed with every note that is struck.

Then again, I should feel good. It's my music that I listen on a generally frequent basis, albeit I don't have too much time for music anymore.

Bach, Debussy, Chopin - just a select few of the composers I've always had a fond liking of, find their way to my ears once a night.

Only a song or two ever play, but with that being said, they're put on repeat for a pretty long amount of time.

That's not what stands out to me though.

It's not just the flowing keys of the piano.

It's the voice that pops out over top of them all, custom lyrics leading the way with the music giving it a certain flavor that most people would probably appreciate. Normally, I just lay in bed, taking in the mix of feminine vocals and orchestral sounds that seamlessly blend together.

Hanako thinks I don't hear her.

She thinks I'm a heavy sleeper, which I normally am.

But as soon as I hear the melodies beckoning me to listen in, giving me comfort and a sensational feeling of warmth in my heart, I can't sleep anymore.

It almost feels better than sleep, as the sounds take my mind away on a spiritual journey, teaching me ways of comfort and relaxation. Normally I just continue to lay in our bed, not bothering to let her know that I am nearly put to tears by her talent.

I want to be closer tonight, though.

I want to feel the sound coming from our piano or stereo.

Not to mention, Hanako's voice is on par with that of an angel. It's soft, always finding that simple way to enter your mind and progressively relax every joint and muscle in your body. Mix that with her impressive piano skills, something that she picked up during our years in college, and you've got quite a masterpiece.

I'm not saying she's a professional artist or composer.

Hell, I'm not even saying she's close to the best.

But I'll be damned if she doesn't have the most emotional and soothing voice in the universe, I don't quite know who truly does.

I kick the covers up and stand up from the bed, stretching my arms and legs. It's only a tad past midnight, but I've got to be up every morning by five, which is dreadful in almost every way you look at it.

When I go to bed around eleven, I always invite her to come join me in bed. She'll have a book or something, sitting beside me on the couch with the only remaining light in the house coming from a small one on our end table, and will give me a similar answer every time I ask.

'You go ahead, I'll catch up in a couple of minutes.'

'Let me finish this chapter, I'll be up in a bit.'

'I have a couple of things I need to get ready for tomorrow, you go on ahead without me.'

For a while, I would simply just kiss her good night and head off into my world of dreams, but after I heard her playing for the first time, my body has basically set an internal clock.

Around ten minutes after I head up the steps to our bedroom, she'll peak through the door to make sure I'm asleep. Once the act is sold, she'll step in and give me a kiss or hug, testing to make sure I don't stir.

I make sure I don't.

If I do, she hops in bed and doesn't bother going back and playing.

If I don't, she tiptoes back out of our room and sneaks her way down to the piano, which is situated in our living room.

For the first time, I want to go down and listen to her.

Yet... I still don't know if it's right.

I mean, she has been sort of hiding her singing talent from me the entire time that we've known each other, but once I finally caught her in the act, I'm terrified she'll be too embarrassed to sing anymore.

It's a risky situation indeed, but I feel like I need to at least get out of the bedroom for a more clear sound.

I breathe out a sigh and shuffle my way across the room and out of the door, creeping down the short hallway to the top of the stairs. I take a few steps down, listening to the harmony of vocals and keys string together to form a perfect composition.

I reach about the halfway point from the bottom and take a seat, peeking around the corner to get an image of the scene unfolding below.

I'm greeted by the sight of hands dancing across the piano in a series of intricate motions, lightly tugging at the strings of my heart. Her head rolls around, emphasizing the passion and emotion she releases with every high note released into the air.

I'm stunned, practically rendered to the point where I can no longer move. I'm left with my jaw hanging down to the floor, my eyes widening with the increased pleasure and clarity that emanates from her body.

I close my eyes for a moment and allow the music to sink in, evaluating the lyrics that she sings along to Arabesque #1.

It hits me almost in an instant.

She continues to go through her lines, timing each word to meet up in a near perfect flow of vocals and piano.

She... she's not singing about a general topic. It's not about love or a random thought that her head managed to encounter.

No, it's something far different than that.

She's singing about me.

Her words form a creative description of my body and personality from her perspective, even touching on the details of our relationship, such as my 'peculiar taste in fashion' and 'our love forever lasting'.

My vision begins to cloud up, a couple of tears rolling down my cheek as my grin widens at my moment of nearly bursting out laughing.

Nothing about what she's saying it comical.

It's all just amazing to hear her depict how she feels about the two of us and myself as an individual in such an artistic manner.

My train of thought is snapped as the closing notes strike and the piano and voice coming from the living room fall silent. A faint click of a lamp being turned off is the last thing I hear before I realize she's standing at the bottom of the steps, staring at me with horrified eyes.

I stand up and take my time as I stumble down the stairs, her eyes looking away from me out of pure embarrassment. Once I finally reach the bottom, and I stand toe to toe with her, picking her head up to look at me.

A smile forms on her lips, but it's not one of happiness. It's her shy side taking hold of her once more, tucking whatever I had just witnessed and locking it away in a dark cell within her body.

I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her into a tight embrace, another drop managing to escape from my eye. I pull back and push my forehead against hers, her eyes continuing to look like those of a deer caught in a pair of headlights.

"Hanako, why do you always hide these kind of things from me?" She seems to ponder my question for a moment, closing her eyes and burying her face into my chest.

"I-I'm not very good at playing piano or singing..." She trails off, causing me to feel slightly upset at her. I pick her head up once again, basically forcing her to look me in the eyes.

"Listen to me. I've been listening to you play and sing for the past couple of weeks every single night." Her eyes go wide and her body begins to shake a bit, nervousness over taking her senses at a time when sleep should.

"With that being said, I would have told you to stop if you weren't 'that good'. Your voice is absolutely mesmerizing. Not to mention, you picked up some of my favorite compositions to sing along with..."

A smile forms on her face at my recognition of her piano playing ability. Arabesque is definitely not the easiest song to play on piano, and I can say I am damn proud that she could play such a song in a flawless manner.

"Can I a-ask you a question, Hisao?"

"Sure."

She pauses for a moment and gathers the words in her head, delivering the question shortly after.

"Did you... did you hear w-what I was saying? In that last song, I-I..." She fumbles her words and finally stops speaking, her cheeks burning a bright shade of red.

"Why does that matter?"

"Because the words were so cheesy. I-I lost focus on what I was writing and it all just turned out so ba-"

I silence her by pushing a finger to her lips and letting out a resounding 'shhh'. She falls silent and looks at me in the eyes, a slight twinkle finding it's way to hers as she's lost in a deep pool of thought.

I grin at her.

"I think they were the most beautiful words I've ever heard sung, and that's not even just trying to make you feel better about yourself."

"My v-voice isn't anything special.."

I grind my teeth a bit. I hate when she puts herself down like that, because it really makes me feel terrible about myself in return.

I'm not letting her get away with a demoralizing victory against herself.

I never do as it is.

"I think you're just pretty incredible as a whole, Mrs. Nakai." I lean down and plant a romance filled kiss directly on her lips, a slight sigh coming from her as she melts into my arms.

After holding each other for a few moments, we finally split apart, a massive grin on both of our faces.

While she still looks embarrassed, her eyes are closed as she attempts to take in the lingering sensation, her teeth showing to me. I lean down and place my lips close to her ear, trying to draw a playful reaction out of her.

"I think you should put a show on for me more often. For now, though, what do you say we get to bed?"

She nods her head with her smile still visible, her hand reaching down and grabbing mine as she basically pulls me up the stairs.

"Geez Hanako, what's with the force?"

"Y-You have to be up early. Not to mention, you w-weren't supposed to be listening to me play in the first place!

I offer an exhausted laugh as we reach our room, closing the door behind me before quickly inserting myself back into bed. Hanako changes into her nightgown before joining me, cuddling her body up nice and close as her head rests against my chest.

Before ceding defeat to slumber, a final thought crosses my mind.

I think I could go for this every night for the rest of my life.



'Arabesque #1' is a piano composition by Claude Debussy.

Bach, Debussy, Chopin

This actually made me think of that stuff about how listening to Mozart makes your baby healthy or smart or something. Of course, Hanako being Hanako, she'd totally do that. You should look into some kinda pregnancy venue if you haven't already- it'd fit well with your insistence on writing everything with the couple living together as opposed to, say, highschool slice-of-life.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'm so far behiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind. Would you mind if I just didn't do in-depth evaluations for a while, and just kept playing Borderlands 2?

Brogurt wrote:

Bach, Debussy, Chopin

This actually made me think of that stuff about how listening to Mozart makes your baby healthy or smart or something. Of course, Hanako being Hanako, she'd totally do that. You should look into some kinda pregnancy venue if you haven't already- it'd fit well with your insistence on writing everything with the couple living together as opposed to, say, highschool slice-of-life.


IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'm so far behiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind. Would you mind if I just didn't do in-depth evaluations for a while, and just kept playing Borderlands 2?

It's all good man, you don't have to give feedback if you don't want to. I just appreciate you actually reading my stuff.

Hmm... Your "Interlude" gave me an idea for a short One-shot.
I'll see if I have time to write it down...

Mirage_GSM wrote:Hmm... Your "Interlude" gave me an idea for a short One-shot.
I'll see if I have time to write it down...

Heh, that's how I get all of my ideas. I write one thing, suddenly another idea will branch off of that in some way or another.

YourFavAnon wrote: Heh, that's how I get all of my ideas. I write one thing, suddenly another idea will branch off of that in some way or another.

I wish I could say the same
I get ideas from NOT writing things

Yes, there is a blatantly obvious Psychology reference in here.

Galaxy


A hand waves in front of my face.

I reel back and shake my head from side to side, blinking multiple times to get my mind back on track.

I take a moment to take in my surroundings once again, taking a long look at the beach behind me, as well as the various lights that are strung along the bar that the two of us are seated at.

Akira puts her arm around me, rustling my hair a bit.

"You good, Hisao?"

"Yeah, sorry. Was just thinking about some stuff."

As I go to take another sip of my glass of whiskey, she pokes her finger into my ribs, nearly making me choke as the liquid trails down my throat.

She laughs at my pain as I clear my throat, shaking my head to clear the cobwebs of the past few minutes. How the hell did she even convince me to come on this little vacation with her?

Well, scratch that, I know how, but I don't think that's very important...

"Tell me what's on your mind, boy." I cringe at her use of 'boy' while speaking to me. She knows well enough that, within the first week of us dating in fact, that I didn't want her to call me that anymore.
I understand she's a older than I am, but come on, she was the one who said 'yes' to me in the first place.

"You know I hate when you call me that..." She giggles a bit and takes a sip from her third beer of the night, rubbing my shoulder with her hand.

"I know, I know. You need to loosen up a bit. Anyways, what do you have going on in here?" She moves her index finger and traces a circle around the center of my forehead to illustrate her point.

I can't help but grin at the gesture; she's been a very... unique, I guess would be the right word, romantic partner. I mean, we started dating the night I graduated, and I never actually did get around to dating anyone else while I was at Yamaku, but I guess I was smart in waiting for the right one.

I'll be the first to say she's one hell of an odd person. Her short hair, upfront attitude - something about it all is quite attractive to me. It all suits who she is a person, and I think it's alright to say she's definitely my type of woman.

She's so sarcastic and playful, which really takes up the majority of her personality, but at the same time... I don't know, she's actually really caring and personal with me.

Back at Yamaku, she was just a good friend. I guess we got quite close after a while, especially once her previous boyfriend had broken up with her. Lilly and I had become good friends back then, and I'm certainly glad that was the case, otherwise I wouldn't have met this interesting being.

Then again, that's kind of what I've been zoning out about anyways.

"Why'd you pick me, Akira?" I turn on my stool to face her, propping my elbow up on the counter. She stares at me for a moment, looking quite dumbfounded.

She has all the right in the world to be confused.

This is a topic we really never touch on. We've been more of a 'live in the now' type of couple rather than the past, so that really kills any and all arguments the two of us could ever come close to having.

"What brought this up?" She raises her eyebrow at me as her grin fades, her expression showing fairly deep interest in my question.

How can I really explain it?

Maybe it's just because I'm in a spot where I actually have time to sit down and think rather than work and study. There is no true reason behind it, I guess.

It's just my typical train of thought finally coming out.

"I don't really know. Maybe it's being able to finally let what's on my mind out for the first time in a while, I couldn't honestly tell you." She seems to let my words soak in for a moment before giving me a questioning glare, as if I had offended her.

"What, you saying I don't listen to you or something?" She takes her fist and gives me a light punch on the arm, laughing shortly after. She's obviously well on her way to getting at least a buzz, something I'll hope to stop drinking with by the end of the night.

"Not really, though that actually doesn't sound too far off." She gives me a much harder swing to the shoulder this time, making me wince a bit. I rotate my shoulder a bit to regain the feeling in it as she stares at me, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Don't be such a dick, babe. You know I'm not a fan of that sort of stuff." I nod my head in affirmation. She most certainly doesn't, and I really had to learn that the hard way.

There's a fine line between teasing your counterpart and saying something offensive. It seems that the teasing and joking line is drawn when you get into things that are actually about the relationship itself.

"Anyways..." she starts, bending her right arm behind her head and rubbing the back a bit. "So, you want to know why I chose you?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know." She raises her fist, causing me to flinch.
Damn her and Ivan Pavlov...

She lets out an uncharacteristic giggle before standing up from her bar stool, stretching her arms in the air while keeping her bottle with her.

"Then let's go for a walk." She smiles and reaches her hand out to me, pulling me out of my seat.
Surprisingly, she doesn't let go. She keeps a firm grip and begins to stroll down the beach, the tide coming in just enough to touch my bare feet.

I'll be the first to admit, it's a beautiful night. The stars are popping out of the darkness, forming various shapes across the sky.

I turn to look at her as we continue at a slow pace, her head tilted upwards.

She looks... mesmerized.

That's really the only way to describe it.

I watch her for a moment before she finally brings herself out of her daze, looking at me and rubbing the back of her head out of embarrassment.

"By the way, don't get too used to this. Holding hands is okay, but I think you understand it's not a thing I'm up for doing all the time."

"Of course."

The funny thing is that she doesn't even budge after saying that. She seems comfortable in her current state, probably the most happy I've seen her in quite some time. She has an awful lot of nights where she'll come home and be immensely depressed from work, which kind of sucks.

I chuckle to myself.

I find it cute, that every morning I wake up after she has a pretty rough night, she's always laying there, sound asleep with her arm around my waist, laying right up against me.

The downside is that if I tell anyone her little 'secret', which is her enjoying to cuddle, she will kill me.

I'm not sure whether she was joking or being serious when she told me that, but I am sure that I'm not going to ever find out.

"What's so funny?" I quickly attempt to stifle my smile and laughter, but to no avail. She stops in her tracks and gives me that 'tell me or I'll kill you' look. I gather myself together, my cheeks burning red as I scratch my neck.

"I guess it's just ironic that you're not a fan of holding hands, but love cuddling." I prepare myself for yet another punch to the shoulder, but it doesn't come. Instead she stands there for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

Her cheeks turn a light red, her head tilting back up to the stars above.

"I don't know, maybe I like being close to you, is all, or something..." She scratches the back of her neck before I pull her hand and hold it with mine, allowing her to take lead on our walk once again.

"You know you can be honest with me, Akira. Which, by the way, you still haven't answered my question from earlier." She lets out an annoyed sigh, slightly killing the tender mood between the two of us.

"You're so impatient." She whines, putting out her bottom lip into a little pout. "I... you know, just needed to get some thoughts together."

I look down at my imaginary watch, giving it a long and close stare.

"Any time now would be good."

"You're such a jerk! If you're going to be that childish, then I'll get it out of the way. Don't be upset when it sounds stupid, though." She clears her throat, her tone coming out soft once she finally starts.

"Way back when I was still dating my ex and met you through Lilly, I thought you were a nice kid. I obviously didn't know you at all beyond how you acted on the outside, but you were a really important person to my sister, even if she didn't have any romantic feelings about you."

The waves of the ocean sound distanced as she talks at low volume, adding to the touchiness of the subject.

"Once my boyfriend and I broke up, I really had set myself on not dating anyone at all for a very long time. I wanted to stay focused on work and taking care of my sister, so that's what I tried to accomplish. Then you started hanging out with her while I was around and I got to know you a lot better, and it came to me that you were much more than what meets the eyes."

She pauses in her tracks, turning and facing me while taking my other hand in her unoccupied one.
"Sure, you still looked a little young for my taste, but your personality was mature beyond your years. Of course, we progressively got closer, hanging out together without Lilly around, not to mention... well, that night at the beach house."

I was hoping she wouldn't bring that up. If I ever wanted to try and date someone that was out of high school while I was still in it, it was at that very moment. Even though both of us were slightly intoxicated, that night was very much filled with pleasure and raw emotion.

She breaks eye contact from me and looks down at the sand for a moment, running her toes in between the grains.

"I don't even know how to explain it, Hisao. That night was pretty nuts, but I really felt a bond between the two of us. When you finally hit that night after graduating, I will be the first to say this: fucking hell was that ever the greatest night of my young life. Getting wasted and having sex with the dude I have come to find out that I truly love? Check that one up for life goal accomplished."

She laughs as my face looks away from hers out of embarrassment.

Sex has always been such a touchy subject for me, but for her on the other hand...

Well, let's just say she doesn't give a damn.

"Aww, did I embarrass my little baby?" She reaches her hand up and pinches my cheek, which I quickly get myself out of. She giggles and moves closer to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Now we're here. You caught my attention with your womanly charm and maturity. Is that a good enough answer for you?" I pretend to ponder the question for a moment, removing one my arms from around her waist and bringing it to my face, taking my chin between my thumb and index finger.

Of course, she proceeds to pinch the back of my neck, shooting me an evil look.

"I guess it'll work." She smiles at me, her eyes closed.

"Good."

She pushes up a slight bit and plants a kiss on my lips, leaving me with the sensation of fireworks exploding out of my head.

Kissing your girlfriend on the beach?

Kissing your girlfriend under the stars?

I think I just knocked out two birds with one stone.

She parts from me, pulling back and moving her arms down to my waist. After a brief hug, she removes her arms entirely and offers me her hand once again.

With a grin, Akira beams at me as we head off back down the shore.

"What do you say we get wasted tonight?" I laugh, perfectly used to that question coming up between the two of us.

"I don't see why not."

With the stars shining bright above us, we stroll through the sand, the lights from the bar getting closer by the second.

This is going to be a hell of a night.



'Galaxy' is a song produced by James Woods.

Well, let's say I've located the joke, but either I do not understand all of it or I don't find it funny...

Mirage_GSM wrote:Well, let's say I've located the joke, but either I do not understand all of it or I don't find it funny...

I guess I'm the only one then. Oh well.

I wish it was winter...

Snowflakes


A cold blast of air makes my face tingle, my shoulders shaking ever so slightly. I've got my earmuffs, gloves, heavy winter coat...

Most importantly, though, I've got her.

Beside me on the bench sits Lilly, snuggled up in her winter apparel. Our porch has been our favorite spot on a nightly basis. Every single day of the past two years, even during a wintry night like right now, we find ourselves out here, sitting together and enjoying the outdoors together.

The porch luckily shields us from any rain or snow that comes by. It's a simple layout, really: a bench for us to sit and a table for our tea.

It's become second nature to come out here every night, whether it ending up as me attempting to describe the stars in the night sky to her, or what snow makes the area around us look like.

I don't think that those little moments make what we do to that level of 'special', though.

It's just being together, holding each other and sipping tea like days of old that makes it all the more enticing.

Another slight gust of wind sends a shiver down Lilly's spine, causing me to lean down and pull out a small box from underneath of the bench. For nights like tonight, where it's really too cold for our own body heat and coats to keep us warm, I have a blanket stored that Lilly's mother had knitted for us as one of her various wedding gifts.

I stand up for a moment and unfold the blanket neatly, wrapping Lilly in its entirety.

She frowns at me.

"Hisao," her voice comes out, sounding a little raspy as the freezing air attacks her lungs, "I've already told you this more than once: we share things as a family." She drags her hand down to the edge of the cover as I sit back down beside her, grabbing the end once she finds it and tossing it over my body.

I sigh.

"I know that well enough. I was just trying to look out for you, I don't want you to get sick or something.."

"But what about you, then? You're just putting yourself at risk when we could easily both just share." She smiles brightly, obviously preparing to tease me a bit. "That is, unless you dislike being close to your wife."

I pout a bit, making a whining noise to get my point across.

"That's not fair. If anything, it's you that doesn't want to be close to me!" She reverses the act onto me, attempting to stifle a giggle as she faces me, tilting her head.

"Is that so?" She pauses for a moment and takes a sip from her cup of tea, obviously her flavor of choice in french vanilla. "Care to elaborate? I must be quite dense, because I don't understand what you're saying..."

"Oh, I figured you wouldn't. I mean, you don't practically push me off the bed when I try to cuddle up or anything. Nope, not at all." I scoff at her, the playful smile on her lips dropping into a sincere frown.

She looks a little bit upset with herself now, although I really didn't think that she knew. After all, the majority of the time when she does it, she's actually asleep.

"Oh my, that's no good. I personally enjoy our little cuddle sessions before we fall asleep..." She trails off, appearing pretty sad.

I lean in a bit closer and plant a kiss on her forehead, rubbing her shoulder with my arm that I have wrapped around her.

"Don't worry about it. For the record, that only happened a few times, and you were asleep for all of them." She blushes a bit, a light smile creeping back to her face.

That look is enough to make my mind soar. She's so adorable when she gets embarrassed, and it's truly not an easy feat to accomplish.

I bring my hand up to her face, brushing a strand of hair out of the way and tucking it behind her ear. She's a bit surprised as my action and faces me again, closing her eyes and lifting her chin.

I laugh a bit and lean in, bringing our lips together. She brings her arms around my neck - well, after nearly hitting me in the face first, that is. We hold together for a while before she pulls away, leaving one final kiss on the tip of my nose.

That has kind of become her signature way of doing things. When she's feeling romantic and happy to be with me, she'll end by leaving a little kiss on my nose, as if I'm her child. Sometimes, that idea that she thinks of me as a child can get annoying, but she doesn't do it too often.

Not to mention, if I was looking for a woman who wouldn't be a good mother, I would not be married to this woman.

After a moment, she slides her hand down to mine with little struggle, grasping it firmly. She leans her head down onto my shoulder, closing her eyes and taking in the sounds of the surrounding winter night.
I smile and take a sip from my cup of tea, warmth spreading throughout my body.

"Hisao?"

"What's up?" She seems to pause for a moment, stringing her thoughts together.

"What do you think of me?" I raise my eyebrow, the question taking me off guard. That's certainly not something I've been asked in a very long time.

"What's brought this up?" She sighs dreamily, snuggling her head into my shoulder a bit.

"Nothing really. It's just, we've been married for a little over two years now. I figure I should ask considering how long it's been since I last did..." She trails off in thought, her voice gentle and fairly filled with emotion. She doesn't sound like she's crying, but rather as if she's in a state of deep thought.

"What makes you think my opinion has changed any bit?" I question, nudging my elbow into her a little.

"Oh don't kid yourself, dear. You know well enough that you see me different as your wife rather than your girlfriend."

She does have a damn good point, I must admit. I feel like most people would see someone they're married to in less positive light than just as a romantic partner, but I think that's not nearly the case for myself.

"Well, if we're talking looks, that hasn't changed at all. You're still beautiful as ever, you know." She places a little jab on my stomach with her hand, making me laugh a bit at her embarrassment.

"Stop it. You know that's a lie."

"Do you think I'd lie about something like that?" She pauses and ponders for a moment, before finally shaking her head no. "Good. Now, let me continue."

"Fine..." She pouts, encasing my hand in between both of hers. I clear my throat as the wind blows through once again, leaving my cheeks stinging from the blast of cold air.


"Anyways, besides your natural beauty, your cooking skills and motherly qualities are on point, as always." I bring my non-occupied hand up and pinch her cheek, making her groan in disapproval.

I smile.

"Most importantly, you're just being yourself. While we were dating, you had a lot of moments where you would try and change yourself for me, and that's not really what I wanted at all. You're a much better person when you're busy being yourself. Is that good enough for you?"

Her emotions all fade into happiness, a grin spanning from ear to ear.

"Always short and sweet, aren't we Hisao?"

I shove my original context to the back of my mind as I chuckle a bit, bringing a hand up and rustling her hair a bit.

"I guess you could say that." After that, we rest in comfortable silence for a few minutes, hanging onto each other and sharing warmth as we take a few sips from our respective cups of tea.

She breaks the silence after setting down her empty cup on the table, her breath coming out visibly as she breathes out.

"What do you say we go warm up?" She pops the question as she stands up, brushing off fuzzy leftovers from the blanket.

I can feel my cheeks heat up as I rub the back of my neck, laughing at myself. God damn you, male train of thought.

"What did you have in mind?"

She smirks in an evil manner, leaving me stunned at how accurate my mind might have been.

"I know of a couple of things we could do..."



'Snowflakes' is a song produced by Rawtekk.

...if I was looking for a woman who wouldn't be a good mother, I would not be married to this woman.

Why would anyone explicitly look for a woman who wouldn't be a good mother?

Mirage_GSM wrote:

...if I was looking for a woman who wouldn't be a good mother, I would not be married to this woman.

Why would anyone explicitly look for a woman who wouldn't be a good mother?

Not everyone cares to have children. Some people get married just for the shared health benefits and tax breaks. In that case, it doesn't matter how good her motherly qualities are.

Yes, but why would you look for a bad mother rather than just not caring about that quality?