| Authors note: This fic is set on the boat after Doumiyouji's Birthday party. It's what I would have liked to see happen. Karen ***** "Hey, the floor is shaking." I announce, standing up to find out what's going on. "Where are we?" I ask as I look out the window to see the lights of the city twinkling disembodied and cold a few miles across the bay. My God, we�re on a boat. I look around me in disbelief. Is this the boat from that time in Atami? I don't recognize the room we are in. If it's the same boat it holds many memories for me and most of them aren�t happy ones. Sure, I had worn a Suware borrowed from Shizuka and been Cinderella for a night--beautiful for a moment like a shooting star--but even that had been painful in it its way. Shizuka�s shoes had taken her on to a new life in France but my shoes had brought me right back here. I frown and my forehead protests, still sore from the headbutt inflicted on me by that baka when he was waking me up. I wonder if it'll bruise. Does he even know how to be gentle? "Let's go outside." I say, and he nods. We step through the door and I'm struck by how cold the sea breeze is on my bare arms. I think wistfully about my coat, back at the mansion in Tsubaki's suite, but we got out of there so fast I didn't have a chance to take it. I catch myself shivering and hug myself tight, rubbing the gooseflesh on my arms with the thin gloves Tsubaki lent me. Without saying a word, Doumiyouji takes his tuxedo jacket off and drapes it gently around my shoulders. "Thank you." I tell him softly, grateful for the warmth it affords. I look more closely at the boat now that we are walking around on the deck. "This is the boat from that time in Atami, isn't it?" I ask, remembering the squid he and Kazuya had brought back from their fishing competition and how he had interrupted everyone's privacy and made them join us for an impromptu barbecue. Of course he had ended up making me feel better, as earlier that night I had stood in the shadows hoping I wouldn�t be seen, overhearing Hanazawa Rui and Shizuka as they talked, remembering how my heart had hurt at Hanazawa Rui's words and how casually he'd said them. "Yeah," he answers softly. I lean against the rail, elbows propping me up and start to speak to fill the sudden silence. "We ate squid with all the guys from Eitoku, remember?" He doesn't say anything and I find myself going on, "that's right, Shizuka-san was here too. We had a party on the boat and then�.." I trail off, unable to go on. The memory makes me uncomfortable and I feel colour creeping over my cheeks. I had my first kiss with him. Why did I have to go there? I remember how that first night had ended with me tripping and receiving my unwitting and unwanted first kiss. I hadn�t been able to sleep the whole night after, I'd been so upset. "And then?" he prompts. I can hear the smile in his voice as I avoid looking at him and turn away from his eyes and my cheeks grow hotter than before. "What's the matter?" he asks. "Nothing�." I begin, thinking of how I can change the subject, "boy, I'm cold. I'm going back inside." I turn to face him hoping that he'll agree and we wont take the conversation in the direction it seems to be going. "You�d never been kissed before had you?" A sly smile plays across his lips as he waits for my answer. He�s baiting me, I know it. "Shut up!" Like always I rise up and take the bait. What is it about this guy that makes me so mad? "You�re the one who stole it, you thief!" "You�re the one who bumped into me." He gathers himself up to his full height and glares at me indignantly. "Hmmph!!" The man exasperates me. "Give it back!" I demand. He raises an eyebrow in silent query. "My precious first kiss." I clarify. "What nonsense, you should be grateful, you know." There he goes again thinking he�s God�s gift to Japan. Arrogant jerk! "I want to go back. Take this thing to shore." "No way!" "No way?" Huh? "For once I�ve got to have an �open-knee� talk with you." "Open knee?" I wonder out loud. Suddenly a vivid picture pops into my head. In it, he has his hands on my bare legs and is forcing my knees open. I try to suppress the image and ask, "Don�t you mean �spill your guts?" "Shut up," he�s angry I�ve corrected him again, "they mean the same thing!" "They�re not the same, they�re totally different." How can he mix up such simple things? He suddenly points an accusatory finger at me as the light goes on in his head. "Ah!! I know, you�re thinking something disgusting." "Baka!" I snap, embarrassed. This is no laughing matter. Here I am far from shore--alone with this animal--and there's no way I can leave if things get too intense for me. "Okay, you win, let�s go in." He places a steady hand in the small of my back and steers me back inside. The intimacy of his touch makes me uneasy. Even though we are inside out of the wind now, I'm still chilled and can't help but shiver. I don't know how I'll be able to warm up. I sit on the edge of one of the chairs with my fists clenched trying to will some warmth into my bones. I see Doumiyouji looking at me. Is that concern in his eyes? "Are you cold?" he asks. I answer with a small nod. I don't want to speak, because if I do my teeth will chatter. "I'll order something hot for us from the galley." He tells me, as he walks over to activate the intercom set into the wall of the room just behind the bar. "Yes, Doumiyouji-sama?" the voice on the other end asks. "Can you bring us something warm to eat and drink?" "Sir, there's no food in stock right now as we had no notice the boat was going to be used." The voice replies, somewhat apologetically. "We do have some tea and coffee, though." "Fine, bring us a pot of tea then." He tells the voice, before flipping off the intercom switch. He looks around at the fully stocked bar behind him and shakes his head. As we wait for the tea to arrive another awkward silence descends. I reflect again about what happened tonight at the party. It was truly a mortifying experience, one I know I never wish to experience again. The whole accident with Hanazawa Rui�s sleeve ripping and my falling into the food table is something I wish I could erase from my mind. What a horrific way to meet his mother for the first time. What a scary woman she turned out to be too. And the feelings Doumiyouji Tsukasa has for me were broadcast for the world to hear. I can still see all those wealthy guests standing stunned as he spoke the words to his mother. "She�s the most important woman to me." I still can't believe my ears. I guess he wasn't kidding all those times he told me he loves me even though a niggling little voice in the back of my mind tried to convince me he was just playing with me. Never in a million years had I imagined he would face down his mother and tell her too. I look up to see him studying me silently, chin in his hand and elbow propped up on the bar. What's that look in his eyes? There's a knock on the door and it opens to reveal a servant carrying a tray with a pot of tea and all the fixings that go with it. The servant walks over to the bar and sets the tray down in front of Doumiyouji. "Here's the tea you ordered, Doumiyouji-sama." He says with a bow. "Thank you," Doumiyouji replies, "that will be all." The servant nods and leaves the room, closing the door behind him on his way out. I watch silently as Doumiyouji prepares our cups and pours the tea. I stand up and cross the room, sliding onto one of the bar stools across from where Doumiyouji stands behind the bar. Suddenly, though, as he pushes my teacup across the bar to me, I realize that my parents have no idea where I am. "Mom's going to be mad." I say quietly. "You're such a child." He answers. The way he says it pisses me off especially when I remember how he was acting around his own mother tonight. "Look who's talking!" I snap back. "Yes mother this and yes mother that." "We're not like other families," he replies, "I only see my parents once a year." His revelation shocks me. Is he kidding? The look on his face is serious. "What? Once a year?" I'm still a little stunned. Only once a year? That's really hard to imagine. I cup my hands around the teacup savouring it's warmth before raising it to my mouth to take a sip of the invitingly hot liquid. "Yeah," he sounds a little sad. "Just once a year since you were a kid?" I can't help say it again as the whole thing is unfathomable. "That's right. Except on my birthday they're always overseas." He lifts his own teacup to his lips to drink. So where was his father tonight? Only his mother was there. "I can't believe it. That's so weird!" I see a small frown forming on his brow as I continue. "You're father's that busy and your mother does the same thing?" He sets his teacup back on its saucer and looks at me. "It can't be helped, my mother has a job too�.Have you ever heard of the 'Maple Hotel'?" What kind of a question is that? Who hasn't heard of the 'Maple Hotel' "Yes I have, but being just an ordinary person I've never stayed there overnight�." I take another sip of tea before going on. "It's a first class luxury chain with hotels in major cities all over the world." I think for a moment about the name of the hotel. "Maple? That's Kaede in Japanese, right?" "That's right. It's named after my mother." "Hmmm�.Doumiyouji Kaede, huh? That's a cute name for such a scary woman." I take another sip of tea and set my cup down. Suddenly the scope of his family's wealth sinks in and I feel dizzy, reaching out to catch the edge of the bar just in time to save me from falling off my stool. "What?!?!?" I mutter. I look up to see Doumiyouji watching me, a slight grin tugging on the corner of his mouth. "Boy, you're a sad case. It doesn't take much to surprise you, does it?" "B..but�..you guys own a hotel." I manage to stammer in reply. "My mother manages the hotels. That's why both my parents are so busy." I had no idea he was that rich. Trying to get my mind around it only hurts my brain. "That's why it's almost as though my relatives are strangers to me. I don't remember ever living with them. We don't speak openly, you know." Growing up on his own in a house full of servants with only Tsubaki for company explains a lot about why he is the way he is. "So that's why your personality is so impossible!" I tell him. He glares at me. "Hey! Can't you at least look like you're kidding?" "But�" I begin to speak and he cuts me off. "In any case, don't concern yourself about my mother." He gives me a strange look. "Because I'll make my own decisions in my life." What's with that look? He seems so serious all of a sudden. The way he looked at me makes me think that he's talking about us. What does my life have to do with his decisions? I'm spooked and gulp my tea back quickly. I feel like a deer caught in the headlights of a car and it makes me feel trapped and uncomfortable. I have to get away. "Thanks for the tea." I tell him, pushing my now empty cup and saucer across the bar towards him. I slide off the bar stool and move to sit on the loveseat under the window. I'm relieved to be far enough away from him that I'm not snared by the intensity of his gaze. I see him moving around the bar, out of the corner of my eye, to take my place on my recently vacated stool. I surreptitiously watch him crook his elbow off the bar and rest his face in the palm of his hand. He makes no secret of the fact that he's watching me. I can't decipher the look on his face and I glance down at my lap, trying to ignore him. After a few minutes he moves to sit across from me. I pick up a pillow from the loveseat where I'm sitting and hug it tightly against my chest. "I'm starving." He announces suddenly, startling me. "Why do you have to say it with such a scary face?" I ask. "When I'm hungry, I get irritated." He explains. I can't help think he's being a baby. "That's why we should go back." I argue in return. "Don't wanna!" he answers in a petulant voice. He makes me so mad I heft the pillow I'm holding at his face. I'm a bit surprised it connects and so is he. "Stop being such a baby!" I scold. All of a sudden my own stomach rumbles. It seems loud enough to fill the entire room and I blush a little, knowing he can hear it. "Huh?" I say quietly, pressing a hand against my diaphragm in an effort to stop the sound. I watch as Doumiyouji stands up and walks over to the bar. "Things were too crazy to eat at the party." He's scanning the rows of bottles arranged neatly on the shelves behind the bar. "All we have is enough booze to drown in." Suddenly he turns back towards me, the look on his face telling me he's suddenly remembered something. "I know. Let's fish!" He raises a finger to the side of his mouth. "I'm positive that the fishing rods I used with Kazuya that time in Atami are still here somewhere." I can't help but smile as his enthusiasm is infectious. "Fishing?" I reply. "Yeah, let's!" He disappears for a few minutes to go rummage for the rods and returns carrying a rod and a blanket. When I stand up he thrusts the blanket at me. "Here, you'll need this. It's cooler now than it was before." "Thank you, Doumiyouji," I say softly. I'm touched he was this thoughtful. "You're welcome. Now let's go catch some supper!" He holds the door open for me. Out on the deck I see he's already pulled out a couple of chairs for us to sit in. I wrap the blanket around myself and settle into my chair as he sets up the rod and throws the line overboard before securing it to the railing and sitting down next to me. We sit for a few minutes in silence, looking across the bay at Tokyo. "You know," I strike up a conversation, "when I was a kid, I used to go clamming near my grandmother's house." "Clamming?" He looks over at me, puzzled. "You've never heard of clamming?" I can't believe it. I stand up and face him. "You take a little shovel and dig them out of the sand like this." I crouch to demonstrate the technique and continue to explain how it's done. "In a position like this, you just keep digging and digging for shellfish." He looks doubtful. "One time my father overdid it and pulled a muscle in his back. The family practically had to carry him home." I smile at the memory. "What a scene that was!" "You sure have an interesting family." He remarks, as I sit down again. "Huh? We're just like everyone else." He snorts, apparently disagreeing with my comment. "You're so poor and you have a worthless father and you live in a house that's not much bigger than our bathroom. If it were me I'd rather be dead." I can't believe my ears. You'd rather be dead? Keep it up and you might just get your wish, buddy. He pisses me off so much I want to slug him. "I'm going to hit you." I warn. "But it sure sounds like fun!" His voice is soft, like he's a million miles away, and my anger dissipates as I remember how things were for him as a child. It must have been strange to live with only his sister for company and such a scary woman as a mother. I guess he doesn't understand what makes people happy. "Aaachooo!!!" Doumiyouji sneezes violently and I'm concerned. "Oh, no! You're catching a cold. It's because I borrowed your jacket earlier." "I'm fine." He answers, a little curtly. I look down at the blanket I'm wrapped in. It looks big enough to keep us both warm. "Here," I hold the end of the blanket out towards him, "you can share it with me." He flicks a glance at me. What was that? "I said I'm fine." This man certainly does his best to make me mad. I reflexively clench the fist that's holding the end of the blanket I'm holding out. "It's not alright," I tell him. I know how he thinks--he'll twist the circumstances and it'll all be my fault. "You'll end up blaming me. Come on." I stand up and move my chair so that it is right next to his and, before I sit, I spread the blanket out so that it will cover us both. He doesn't fight me as I set it over his shoulders, which is a bit surprising. I sit back down next to him and my pull half of the blanket tight around myself. As I settle in, I'm suddenly aware of his arm, so intimately pressed against my own. The experience is strange and it causes all the nerve endings in my arm to tingle. I feel a blush crawl across my features to settle, deep crimson, on my cheeks. "H�Hey, wait a minute. Not so close!" I stammer. Again he flicks a glance in my direction and I can't decipher it. "What do you mean? You're the one who came closer." "But our arms are touching�." I try to explain, trailing off as he turns to look at me. "What?" He's staring and it makes me uncomfortable. "What is it?" He rolls his eyes. "If this bothers you so much, I'll never get anywhere with you." He answers. I can't believe what I'm hearing. Now just what does he mean by that? "Get anywhere?" I ask, noting my voice is a little shrill as I ask the question. "Just what do you mean by that?" I'm afraid to hear his response and scramble to my feet, the blanket falling around my ankles. "If you try anything, I'll throw you into the ocean!" I glare at him to show I'm serious. "But I'm crazy about you! I want to do lots of things with you." Oh-oh! I know where this is leading and I'm going to nip it in the bud. "A lot of things?�..I don't want to do anything!�..I'm not interested." He shakes his head at my outburst. "Boy, you're old-fashioned!" It's a natural thing for a couple in love." Again, I can't fathom what he's telling me. Couple in love?!?!? I know I must look a little stunned at his latest statement. "Well�there are dirty guys like Soujiro around too, but�.." I have to cut him off. "Couple in love?!?" I lean over and wave a hand in front of him, trying to bring him back to reality. "Hey, Oniisan, aren't you being a bit presumptuous?" What the hell is he thinking? "I've been wondering for a while�.why me? Why do you like me?" "It's a gut feeling." He's got to be kidding. "Well gut's feelings can't be trusted." I argue. "Am I wrong?" he replies as I stand there looking blanker by the second. "Then let's clear things up right now. How do you feel?" Why did he have to ask me that question? "How do I feel?�..I don't really know." "You're always like that." He sounds a little disappointed. "But I really don't know!" How can I explain what's going on inside me so he'll understand? "I'm not just teasing you�." He turns to look back out at the bay and holds the blanket out to me. "Sit down. You'll catch cold." His voice sounds so flat, my heart lurches a little. I take the proffered blanket, wrap it around myself and sit down again. I'm not sure what to make of the last five minutes. "Doumiyouji�." I'm a little afraid to say what I'm going to. "I've always wanted to ask you�.why me? I don't have social status, name or beauty. Eitoku is full of girls who have all those things�.so why me? I still don't understand�.All I can think is that you must have lost it." "You're right." He answers. My eyes narrow as I look at him. I didn't expect him to agree with me. "I myself often wonder 'Why this woman?' " He sighs and stands up to lean against the railing of the boat. "Anyway, this kind of talk is useless." He turns to look at me just then, a wicked grin playing along his lips. "I've got the social status, name and beauty--so you're okay the way you are." I can feel my blood pressure rise as he speaks. "Beauty?!? What do you mean by beauty??? I'll admit you've got the social status and the name, but�.." He cuts me off with his rebuttal. "Idiot! If there's anyone who has as much going for him as me, I'd like to meet him." Oh! My! God! Give me a break!!!! Where on earth does he get such self confidence? It's almost like he's saying it would be unnatural for me not to like him. Narcissistic bastard! Suddenly we're distracted by the fishing rod. The line has become taught--something has to be snared on the end of it. "Pull it in!" I cry. He grabs the rod and tries to reel in whatever is caught on the hook. It looks big because he's struggling with it. "Come on, put some backbone into it!" I cry in encouragement. 'You know, whenever he acts so carefree, it's so easy for me to be confused.' I throw the blanket off my shoulders and stand up, grabbing onto the rod to help him land his catch. 'It's like where the sky ends and the ocean begins�just like the ocean tonight.' We both end up laughing as we struggle with the rod and, as we both heave as strongly as we can, the line gives. I let go of the rod and Doumiyouji reels it in. I can't help but stare at the pile of kelp pooled on the deck. All that effort for this? "What's so big about it?" I wonder out loud. "Wow, it's a giant kelp." He's got to be kidding. I lean over and backhand him. "Idiot! It's just a young sprout." He can be so na�ve sometimes. He seems defeated and drops to hunker down on his heels next to the pile of seaweed. "I'm hungry. I've used up too much of my energy." If I didn't know better, I'd say he was whining. I get down on my haunches next to him. "You sure do exaggerate." I observe. He glares at me. "Unlike you, I don't have a lot of excess body fat. I can't go too long without eating." Bastard! And he professes to love me? "I'm cold and hungry, myself." I tell him. "On top of that, I'm sleepy�people start wishing they're dead at this point." Wait a minute�.I suddenly remember I brought something along that might help. I stand up without as much as a 'by your leave' and rush into the lounge, almost tripping over myself in the haste to reach the bag I brought. I pull it out from it's hiding place behind the loveseat and rummage through my clothes, looking for our salvation. My hands close around the carefully wrapped box and I find myself wondering what will happen if I show it to him. "What is it?" I jump when he asks the question. I didn't think he followed me. I clutch the box to my chest. "It's nothing!" I protest in a voice that lets him know it's something. Damn! "Are you hiding something?" Great, now he's suspicious. I look over my shoulder at him to see his eyebrows raised as he digests my answer. He starts to walk towards me. "What is it?" He's behind me now. I clutch the bag even closer against myself and sputter an excuse. "It's nothing!" I'm so disgusted with myself�Can't I come up with anything better? I'm shocked he's suddenly charging me. How can I defend myself against this onslaught? "Show me!" he demands. I collapse over the gift bag with my full body weight. "No! I don't want to!!!" I cry, impotently. As he grabs the gift bag, I can do nothing but scream at the top of my lungs. "Kyaaaaaa!!!" Suddenly he's in front of me and my bag is on his lap instead of my own. I try to reach over his shoulder to snatch it back from his grasp but it's nothing less than an exercise in futility. It's like running against a brick wall and expecting it to give. "What's this?" he asks as he pulls the box from the bag. How can I tell him? My heart sinks as I answer. "It's your birthday present." My voice is sad. "Present?" He turns to look at me. "I thought you'd forgotten it?" "Everyone's presents were so extravagant. They were giving you cars and stuff." How can he refute that? We'd driven here tonight in a Ferrari. What kind of teenager gets a Ferrari for their birthday? I'm lucky if I get a present at all, given my family's situation. "I just couldn't give it to you when I saw all your other presents." What's a box of homemade cookies compared with everything else he was given today? I watch as he rips the paper off with abandon. It took me an hour to wrap that! I watch a look of surprise plaster itself across his features. What's he thinking right now? I can't tell. "I figured you'd make fun of me." I tell him softly. I don't like this. I'm not good at stuff like this. He's sitting with the box open on his lap and he's just staring, not saying anything. I knew he wouldn't like it. I can't handle this silence and I feel like I have to explain myself. "We don't have an oven at our house, so I cooked them on the fish grill and they kind of burned�They might smell a little fishy." I can feel my cheeks flush. He's still sitting there like a stump, looking at them. I wish he wouldn't study them like that. "Don't look at them so closely! It's embarrassing." Why can't I stop the words from tumbling out of my mouth? "That's the best I could do�.I don't have any money�..You're facial expressions were easy but your hair was really hard to do." Why do I feel so nervous that I have to justify my gift? Why am I explaining the cookies I gave him? Each one a miniature caricature of him--all his different expressions; happy, sad, angry�..Why isn't he saying anything? His silence is frustrating me. "Aaaahhh!!!" Enough already�.just give it back!!!" I reach around him to snatch the box back out of his grip. I'm startled when he finally moves and grabs tightly onto my wrist. I can't keep my balance and find myself being dragged across his lap. Before I can react, his lips are on mine and he's kissing me. It is a soft, gentle kiss and even though I'm surprised I don't object. I'm a little overwhelmed by how my body reacts--I'm tingling all over! Oh, God. He finally releases me and I'm able to sit back up beside him. I try not to show him how flustered I really am and make a show of straightening the skirts of my dress, smoothing the material with both hands. "I'm soooo happy!!!" he crows, with the biggest grin I've ever seen on his face. He looks just like a little boy. He's so happy he forgot what he's mad about. I never expected him to be excited by just a few cookies. My stomach rumbles loudly again and he looks at me. I reach out to take one of the cookies from the box and am surprised when he slaps my hand away. "These aren't for eating, Makino." He tells me, wrapping them back up carefully. "What do you mean? They're cookies, aren't they? Cookies are for eating." "Not my cookies." He sounds adamant. "But I'm so hungry�" I trail off when I see the look in his eyes. I guess he means it. "So, can we go back then?" "Not yet." He gets to his feet and walks over to the bar, setting the box down next to the teapot and cups. "There's some things I wanted to do tonight, but I never got a chance to do them with everything that happened." What's he talking about? He goes behind the bar and rummages there for a moment. When he stands back up he's got something in his hands. What is it? He sets two glasses and a bottle of champagne on the bar top. "Champagne?!?" I ask, puzzled. "I wanted you to join me in a birthday toast�" I watch as he pulls the foil off the top of the bottle and cover my ears with my hands as he pops the cork. It's loud and bounces off the ceiling to land next to me. I pick it up and stand up, walking over to join him. I set the cork down on the bar and he hands me one of the glasses he just filled. I hold my glass up to salute him. "Happy birthday, Doumiyouji." I tell him with a smile. "Thank you, Makino." He knocks against the edge of my glass with his own and they ring in the way only real crystal seems to. I wait until he has raised his glass to his lips before I follow suit. I'm alarmed by how quickly I drain my glass. Am I nervous? I guess I must be. He refills my glass again and sets the bottle down on the bar. In the back of my mind a little voice wonders if he's trying to get me drunk. I pick up the glass and, as I sip the contents, swivel around on the bar stool to look out the window at the lights of Tokyo bay once again. I can't help but worry, what with the turn our conversation took earlier. After all, he told me he wants to do lots of things with me and the things I'm seeing in my minds-eye are making my blood pressure rise. "Hey, Makino." "Huh?" He shakes me out of my trance. "What is it?" I ask, turning around to look at him. He's not there. "Hey, where are you, Doumiyouji?" "I'm still here." His disembodied voice rises from behind the bar. He's not rummaging for more booze, is he? I hear sounds I cannot place and lean over the bar to look down at him. "What are you doing?" I inquire. He looks up at me and I see he's got a CD case in his hand. "Setting the mood." He answers with a grin. I had no idea there was a stereo system behind the bar but there it is, right next to the little fridge. I watch as he slides the CD into the player. "And what mood would that be?" I trail off as the room fills with music--a slow song with a rock beat. He stands up straight and comes around the bar to stand beside me. I watch--a little detached--as he holds his hand out to me. Does he want what I think he does? "I've wanted to dance with you ever since that night in Atami when we had the party." He explains. "I've wanted it so badly, but I never had the chance. I was going to ask you to dance with me at my birthday party--I had the song picked out and everything--but you know what happened there too." "Really?" I ask softly, looking up into his face. "Really." He replies. "Will you dance with me now, Makino?" There's something about the look in his eyes that makes me unable to refuse his request. I set the champagne glass down, take his outstretched hand, and stand up. He leads me to the centre of the room and turns around to face me. I blush as our fingers interlace and I feel his arm slide around me. He takes the lead and we start to move, slowly, to the music. It turns out he's a good dancer, but then again, he's probably been taught how. I find myself relaxing and melt into him, closing my eyes and laying my head gently against his chest as we move. I feel his heart beating steadily against my cheek and I find it comforting. Stay by me And make the moment last Please take these lips Even if I have been kissed A million times And I don't care if there is no tomorrow When I could die here in your arms Even if the stars have made us blind We're blind, we're blind So blind in love Sweet darling Don't you know that we're no different to anyone We stumble We falter But we're no different than anyone And all the winter snow has melted down Into a pool of silver water And we were standing in a thundercloud Dark as your hair Dark as your hair The song comes to an end and I feel oddly bereft, I don't want to step away from him just yet. He makes no move to pull away from me either and I'm happy when another slow song begins to play. Here, pressed against him on his boat, I feel like I'm floating and I don't ever want it to end. "Makino," Doumiyouji whispers, and I look up at him. His eyes are dark and profound. Without saying anything further he leans down and kisses me. It's a soft deep kiss that tastes like the champagne we were just drinking and, as I kiss him back, my knees feel like water. Oh, God, I've never felt anything like it before. There's something about it that feels so right. The song ends and the next song is a fast one. It wrecks the mood and we break apart. I'm know I'm blushing furiously and I raise a hand to my lips, touching them in disbelief. That kiss was the most intense I've ever experienced. Doumiyouji raises a hand and strokes my cheek gently. "Now we can go home." He tells me, that little boy grin plastered across his face again. ***** {for anyone who wants to know, the song is called Stay By Me by Annie Lennox}. |
| Floating |
| By: Karen McVicker |
| A.K.A. The Real Dedanaan |