This is my first GWSM in a long while. I haven't finished my last one (and I think they might now need revision) but I'm starting a new one. Dipping my toes back in the water so to speak.
Dedicated to all those who inspired me before: Chibi Tenshi, Comet Princess, Krys Yuy, Sailor Ronin Usa-chan. If you are still in this fandom, hats off to all of you. Greetings from your long absent Hiasobi(a.k.a. Himiko)-chan: rabid HiiroUsagi fan, because of you. You brought me joy and light.
Title: Sand Beneath my Feet
Rating: PG
Summery: He saw her on the shore of an empty patch of beach. It's that simple and complicated. HiiroUsagi
He saw her on the shore of an empty patch of beach.
People will demand to know more, insisting that there had be more to it, but really, it had been that simple.
He saw her there standing close to the waterline on the sand, feet bare, hair tied up in golden buns with streamers flowing down all the way to her ankles. She wore nothing but a flimsy white sundress, the skirt and her hair floating in the wind. The sky was overcast with light gray clouds signaling possible rainfall, yet the humidity of the air was low, and rain would not come for several hours yet, if at all. She stood, toes digging into the warm sand, body half turned to the sea, and she was a small statue. A small, lean figure stranding on the shore watching the approaching waves, feeling the breeze on her skin, hair, and clothes.
He had been walking on the wooden path that extended across the beach, surrounding the sand and closing in on the water at different points. He wore dark shoes, black trousers, white dress shirt, a black tie, and his jacket slung over an arm, with his hands in his pockets. He had left a meeting in the morning, and had never gone home. Late afternoon with the cool air settling across the city, many avoided the beach for the extra chill coming from the water.
Some distance away an empty towel was laid out on the sand with a large handbag resting beside it, a pair of white sandals was discarded on the other side. The setting was obviously hers.
She turned to him when a particularly aggressive wind blew from over the water and pressed the fabric of her dress close to her body, outlining the delicate curves of her waist and legs. She turned, one hand up by her chin to keep the strands of loose hair from the flowing streamers out of her face. He was standing a distance away on the wooden boards on the path, staring at her.
She saw him, her bright blue eyes clear, and her mouth went 'oh'. They locked eyes; something inside of him tumbled, and clicked into place.
There was the walking up to her and the wide eyes on her face as she stared at him, there was the sound of sand being crushed under his docks and the annoying pebbles which always found its into the bottom of your shoe, there was the silence, and the slow blinking, and the tide coming in to touch the tip of her toes as they waited but none of that was what really mattered.
He saw her standing in that airy white sundress with flaring skirt, tight bodice, skinny shoulder straps, bare feet littered with sand, tangles winding her hair, crystal sapphire eyes looking at him, the bright patch on an overcast day - and that was it.
" Hello." She said, a voice like chimes.
" Hello." He replied monotonous.
Never mind she had Mamoru, and Destiny, and the Future, which had visited its Past. Never mind the pain and heartache and sacrifices she had given time and time again as Sailormoon for her Endymion, her Prince, her Fairytale. She was a Princess destined to become Queen and her Senshi were waiting for her at home, her family sitting in front of the TV on this weekend afternoon watching the news, her Reincarnated Love browsing bookstores searching for interesting reads, her Inners doing what they did best on their own time one of them sweeping, studying, cooking, shopping. Her Outer Guards were split up, two of them performing, one sitting in the audience, the fourth enjoying a cup of tea in a high-class restaurant. Her other suitor was gone back with the Starlights to rebuild their home world out in the far galaxy.
Never mind he had Relena waiting for him to come back and realize that he didn't have to sacrifice his life towards a mission already completed. Never mind the pain, guilt, shame and regret he carried for the lives he had taken. He was an ex-Gundam Pilot, Zero-One, Wing-Zero, Code Name: Hiiro Yui. He had taken lives, killed many, destroyed others, made mistakes, stained his hands in blood, caused a war, lost himself, taken suicidal missions, done the humanely impossible, ended a war, quailed a rebellion. He had no friends, no acquaintances, no one who knew of his true existence except those who had gone up against him in war and four comrades who waited news of his survival: one signing forms of business, one traveling with the circus, one working at a scrape yard, and one who currently sat behind a desk at Preventer Headquaters.
She smiled; the bright, innocent, light-filled smile and he asked, " A cup of coffee?"
It was phrased badly, barely a real sentence, horrible grammar, presumed too much, was horribly intrusive, wouldn't have made sense to half the people when being asked such a thing from a stranger, but she beamed and nodded, saying, " Hai!"
And he knew, they both knew, this was it, was forever. The One. The Only. The Last. The Best. For Better and Worse.
It's the first time he's ever spoken to someone of his same nationality, even though she was blonde, he was brunette, and they were both blue eyed, pale skinned and against the traditional mold of Japanese coloring. She was small, he as sturdy, and he walked with her towards the belongings set out on the sand. She stuck her sand covered soles into the sandals, rolled up the towel messily and stuck it into the large side bag. She hooked the braided straps over her shoulder and turned to him. He nodded and they stepped onto the wooden path leading to the street.
He took her to a local coffee house that he had never bothered to go into before. They each ordered a coffee, a piece of cake, and took it to sit out in the deserted patio in the overcast day. He drank and muttered while she chattered on. They ordered refills and stayed sitting, watching the passing people until the sun set in a collage of red, purple, and orange in the Earth sky. He spoke curtly, bluntly, cynically and she babbled with injections of smiles, laughter, and the occasional mockery of oneself.
When he finished the last sip of his drink, cake long gone, half stolen by her, he placed the dainty china cup back onto of its saucer and stood. She had long finished her drink and snack, only chattering to him as he sipped slow sips of coffee in-between watching the people, watching the scenery, watching her. He offered a hand out to her as she stopped talking and she blinked. She laughed, reaching down to take the bag by her feet and placed her hand in his.
They walked down the street hand in hand and when the sun slipped totally beneath the horizon he placed the jacket over her shoulders to fend off the cold. She flashed him a beaming smile and he tightened the grip on her hand. They passed by the closing shops and stopped to browse through some open venders. She was warm and exuberant. He was relaxed and cool. As the stars twinkled in the late night sky and all the shops closed, they skipped over the option of going to a dance club or bar, which would be the only places open at the hour, and he stuck their joined hands in his pocket.
She walked next to him, languid and content, her energy spent and now she matched him step for step in silence. He was quiet, didn't speak, the night air was fresh and calming. He took her past the park, the convenience mart owned by a Scottish couple, the antique store that marked the corner, the elementary school across the street taking up half a block, the row of suburban houses with lights on in the window, and walked up to his front door with her.
The detached two-story house with a basement was bland, the colors faded in the night. His neighbor's cat looked at them from behind the fence and he reached with the hand not intertwined with hers for his house keys. He opened the door, stepped up, tightened his grip, and she did not hesitate at all to follow him through the doorway.
That was it. She followed him home and she hasn't left since. She made some phone calls, to home, to her family across the country. She had come on a lone holiday by herself after graduating to find peace, acceptance, and found him. She told her family she was moving to the new city she had stopped in; she called her aunt who she had been staying with that she was going to pick up her things the next day. She asked her mother to ship her things to the new address, and soothed her irate father saying he could come visit sometime soon.
He calls no one, because no one knows where he is.
It's all very domestic. She rearranged some of his furniture, cleaned the house, cooked the meals some times, did the laundry, and laughingly tells him how she had been a disaster the first times she tried, but she has gotten better in the time since. He only has to clean up after her half the time.
His neighbors, whom had welcomed him into the neighborhood when he moved in, whom he acknowledged but was very distant to, were shocked and pleasantly surprised at the new addition to the household. She opened the door to let herself in when she had fetched her belongings and turned, saw them looking at her, and she beamed invitingly at them, offering a cup of tea or snacks in the house. She was high-spirited and cheerful, petite and upbeat, she looked like the shining sun moving inside his living room, and touched him when they had all thought him untouchable. She breathed life into the air and they all were all infatuated with her within one meeting.
" You're good for him." They told her before they left, smiling amused at her blush.
He took her shopping the next day, most of her things still back in Tokyo with her family. They bought her new clothes, furniture, and more kitchenware. They stopped off at decoration stores to pick wallpaper and curtain drapes. On the ride back as she chattered about the purchases he pulled to a stop in front of a simple, fancy looking, jewelry store.
She blinked and looked at him. " What are we here for?"
" Rings." He replied curtly, turning the engine off but not getting out of the car yet. If she was going to say no and he was making a fool out of himself, he rather it happened now and outside instead of in the store. She went 'oh' like on the beach and then smiled. The tension drained from him and they entered.
They picked matching sets but the jewels on his were small, less gaudy, while hers caught the light and sparkled at every angle. He paid and three days later the rings were resized for their personal fit. He slipped it on her finger as soon as he got home and she had tears in her eyes. A week after with a special license he obtained they were married with their multiple neighbors as witnesses.
The neighborhood loved her. They visited all the time and as a loner he might have hated it more if the wives didn't take to bringing meals and teaching her how to cook. It started off disastrous but soon she had many recipes added to her repertoire. The husbands and male members didn't have as close as a bond with him but they accepted his reticent behavior and were friendly.
He worked at a large business corporation in the security department; his job was to find holes in their electronic security system. His main work comprised of trying to hack into their system, create non-lethal or damaging programs that tested their security, and send the report up to the software department. To him the system was always riddled with holes, but he took to mentioning only one of two of the most obvious ones, send the report up, then waited and watched how they fixed the potential entry, if they fixed or riddled the system with more holes, then sent another report. Occasionally he also wrote protection software when he felt the company was working too slowly. The company let him do whatever he wanted as long as he continued to turn out the top-of-the-line results.
Few days later when her family called she told them she found a job. She had been hired as a part time assistant to the head of the Public Relations of his company. The head of the Public Relations had three different assistants at all times and he had submitted her resume when the opportunity had arisen. She was bright, cheerful, hard working, personable, and people liked her. After some initial accidents, she became a hit.
They both went to work and rules about internal fraternizing didn't affect them when they were already married. They both worked odd hours but they always went to work together in the morning, she dropped by his office during lunch, and he tried to be there to pick her up when she got off work.
She cooked and cleaned most days at home; the days when she was tired or stressed he took over. She liked doing the laundry, decorating the house, entertaining their neighbors, and playing with the neighborhood children. She was light and laughter, sunshine and hope, love and joy. She was bringing him out of his shell, helping him forgive himself by pieces, and he saw the shadows in her eyes, the secrets she also kept, and he accepted them too. The neighborhood bustled and Usagi became a central figure in many lives. She grew under careful guidance and flourished with new confidence.
When they looked at each other she felt complete, something tumbled inside of him and he was whole, and they both understood each other, accepted each other, even when they hadn't known the other's secrets.
By the time their family and friends came it would be too late, they had settled into this life, this house, this love. More then settled, they thrived.
Under the covers at night, fingers intertwined looking at each other across the pillow, they confided their hopes, fears, dreams, scars, desires, pain, secrets, and love.
. : follow your emotions : .