She left…
Haruki couldn't accept it, so he stayed there, and waited for the plane to turn around.
But she left…
The snow was heavy, he was shivering by the time he finally snapped out of his trance. He felt two warm hands on his back. Why? He thought, Why was she still here? She should hate me. I hate me. Why is she here?
"Look…" Haruki sighed. He needed to be strong for her now. "That's enough. There's nothing to see here anymore." He clenched his fist to hold back his tears. "Go home."
Setsuna only tightened her grip on his back.
"Come with me then" She pleaded. Haruki couldn't understand how she could be this forgiving. He wanted her to hate him, he wanted to feel some punishment for his actions. She didn't deserve any of this. He didn't deserve any of her.
"I'm staying here." Haruki said. He still couldn't accept Touma's goodbye. He needed to stay until he couldn't bear it any longer. He needed to be alone with his pain.
"If you're not leaving, then I'm staying here, too." Tears started slowly coming down her face as she said, "I'll stay here so you don't freeze…
No…
I'll stay here so that my heart doesn't freeze."
Haruki couldn't handle it. He was trying with all his might not to show her his sorrow. His mind was screaming now. Why doesn't she hate me?! Why? Why? He looked up one last time at the sky in hope of the planes return.
She left…
Haruki waited there in the snow with Setsuna, silent. He shivered, yet made no motion to warm himself. The snow had been falling long enough to start covering up his hair. It was so thick that only a few spots of black were left visible. He took one last sigh, turned around and started walking toward the subway. As he walked away the hands that had wrapped around his chest held him back for a moment, but they let go after he continued. He heard soft footsteps behind him, keeping pace with his own. He peaked over his shoulder slowly, and immediately regretted it. Setsuna's hair was almost as white as his was. She was visibly shivering, her hands were to her mouth and her head was down so he couldn't see her eyes. Her constant sniffing showed that she was silently crying. It took all of Haruki's might not to break down at the sight of Setsuna like this. He stopped in his tracks unable to say or do anything. A flood of emotion overtook him. Guilt, sadness, love, regret, all toward the woman behind him. He couldn't handle them all, and to make it worse, that same moment was when Setsuna decided to speak.
"Haruki…" Setsuna whispered. If it weren't for the complete silence around them, Haruki wouldn't have heard it. He ignored her at first.
"Haruki." She said with more force, yet Haruki remained silent. He took a gulp to swallow back his tears. Setsuna slowly walked up to him. Each step sounded louder than the last until she was close enough for him to feel her warmth. She tried once more, this time, on the verge of tears.
"Haruki please…"
"Stop." He muttered. "I don't…"
Suddenly, Setsuna stepped forward to face him with a look of total desperation. "Haruki! Will you just listen to me!" He was shocked by the sudden outburst. Setsuna looked prepared to slap him. But instead of hitting him, she just grabbed his coat and dug her face into Haruki's chest, wiping away her tears. Her sobbing was muffled now, but her quakes ran throughout her entire body, shaking Haruki as well. Through her cries Haruki could faintly hear her mutter,
"I still love you…(sniff)…why can't you see that
Haruki didn't know what to say, he was too stunned for words. All he managed to mutter out was, "Setsuna." Her weight was entirely supported by him now, and he had to kneel in order for him to be steady. He wrapped his arms around her, it was the only thing that he could do. Her sobbing began to ease up into light sniffles at that point.
"It's all right" Haruki whispered, coaxing her sobs. It didn't do much to stop them but it was the only thing he could think of. He patted her head. She looked up at him with tears still rolling down her cheeks and said.
"I know you love Touma. I've known it all along. I've known you two were right for each other from the beginning and I was selfish to think I could take you away from her."
"Setsuna…"
"I was a fool for thinking I could come between the two of you, I know that, but that doesn't mask the fact that I still love you…" her head went back down to his jacket to cry more, but Haruki stopped her. He gazed into her loving eyes, taking in all they had to offer, and then he kissed her. He kissed her through her tears which felt colder than the falling snow ever could. Her sobbing stopped, and she reached to put her hand on his cheek. He rested the back of her head in his hand and they shared a long, deep kiss in the middle of the storm. Their hands were near frostbitten but their warmth kept each other together. They hugged closer to repel the cold. Their hearts were pressed against each other and beating as one. After they finished, they were out of breath, and as they walked toward the airport door, with Sestina wrapping herself around Haruki's arm, they weren't shivering anymore.
"Let's start over…Haruki"
