There was music playing. I remember the music - quiet, inspiring, a song I had never heard and will never hear again. We stood on the balcony of the apartment we were visiting and listened to the music that came from inside, the soft voice of a young woman drifting out into a night that was all too still.
"Who turned this on?"
I shrugged in response to his question, smiling as best as I could, my eyes focused on the city below us. "Maybe Rutherford-san?"
"Hm."
"It does sound like something of his... doesn't it?"
"I suppose." He came closer to my side, his hands settling on the balcony rail. "The others must be asleep."
"Mm..."
"Do you want to go home?"
"Not yet." I smiled and lifted my head to look into his eyes. "Let's stay just a little bit longer... ne?"
He looked back at me in silence. I turned away, all too used to this response - but suddenly I heard him chuckle, his voice different from usual. "Ah."
I blinked up at him. "Narumi-sa - "
"Ne." He covered one of my hands with his own, and the sudden warmth almost made me feel faint. "Do something for me."
"... what is it?"
"Shut up."
"NARUMI-SAN!"
He laughed, and before I had time to react he had taken me into his arms, pulling me snugly against his chest. I gasped and then everything was quiet - the music had paused, the night was still, and neither of us were moving. I hesitated before raising my eyes to his, and in them I saw my own reflection - something I wasn't sure either of us had ever fully seen.
The music began again and we danced. It seemed right, at the time, as if there was nothing else for us to do but stand on a tiny balcony swaying in the arms of the person we loved the most. I was sure of that fact, in that moment - that he loved me and I loved him, that we had realized these things in a single night spent visiting friends we would no longer see in less than a week's time. I stood in the circle of his arms and listened to his heartbeat drumming softly in time with the music, ignoring mine throbbing hard in my ears. We danced, for the first and last time - we danced until the song ended and another one began.
"Narumi-san," I murmured, "why...?"
"Because," he answered, needing no expansion on my question, "I felt like it."
I gaped at him and he took that opportunity to stoop down to my level and kiss me. When he drew away he laughed, his voice rich, and then went inside without another word. I stood on the balcony for nearly a minute with my mouth still open, my hands trembling, and his scent on my jacket.
We never spoke of it again - even on the day that I said goodbye. But I think of it now, sitting alone in my room, staring out into the still, quiet night. I think of it now and hum the song we danced to, wondering if he will feel the same when I come home in the summer.
I pretend not to know the answer, but in my heart I know that he will wait for me just as long as I waited for him.