Simplicity Story Two: "Modern Romance/Porcelain"

"Why am I on the ground?"

I find myself looking up to the night sky. Dark was the sky as the indigo-navy ink on silk, almost black but still not in the color of utter oblivion. Stars are scarce in this night sky, this summer sky. Only a few sparkle that night as others become lost in the night. No moon. Just a pitch black canvas with specks of stardust caressing it.

"Yu-chan, you fell asleep."

There he was, sitting still next to me. Lavi, in his eager smile, greeted me with much, uncertain warmth. Odd. It felt like a small glow from a lit-up match.

"Hey, it's not my goddamned fault that stargazing bores me. You should know that I hate waiting."

"You insisted that we should do another activity together. I told you waiting for the perfect time to stargaze will take a long while."

"I thought that imprisoning yourself in the library was way boring than this. Now, I regret not staying in the library."

"I didn't know that 6:30 in the evening was still too early…"

Lavi just stared at me with his emerald orbs intently. He turns away with pursed lips to look up at the night sky. Maybe, I just sounded too harsh…

"Nee, Lavi. Sorry. Sorry 'bout that."

"Hnn, I don't mind."

It's quiet again. Silence just breezed through between us. The atmosphere just pressed slightly upon me.

"So…"

Lavi just sighed deeply before he could look at me. "Ain't this awkward?"

He just grinned as if he was okay after that.

"No." I just wanted to tell him something. But. "What are we exactly waiting for, Lavi?"

"Do you know the story of 'Orihime and Hikoboshi,'* Yu-chan?"

"Er… Not exactly."

"Well, in a nutshell, Orihime and Hikoboshi loved each other so much despite the fact that their love can never be."

Somehow, I understand where the story goes. For some reason, Orihime had to go back to the heavens where she came from and leave her husband Hikoboshi on Earth. Hikoboshi couldn't stand to be apart from his wife that followed her to heaven, but became further separated from her when a wide river was built between them. I just wanted Lavi's voice to drown my consciousness to sleep. His voice so familiar, like a father reading to a child. Harp chords, like a summer's day and the cool gale, scented like flowers.

"And then what?"

"From their separation, they wept from both sides of the river, thinking that they will never be together even if the magpies built a bridge to connect bring them together."

Why am I crying? Where are these tears coming from? Why am I---

"Yu-chan? Are you okay?"

I'm crying. And I find myself in his arms, frail and in tears.

"Please, hold me tighter." I sobbed and hiccupped, still teary-eyed and my head on his chest.

"Yu… I just wanted to…"

"This is the worst date I ever had. I'm crying on you for no particular reason, and I acted like a dumbass fucker. I can't even say what I wanted to tell you, Lavi!"

"Come on, it's not that bad. Now, please stop crying, Yu."

I feel lighter after crying my ass off. It felt peaceful to be held by that one person you love, and he knows. The way he placed his hand on my head and whispered those words I wanted to say to my ear, it gave it away.

"Let's just say that Orihime and Hikoboshi finally crossed a strong bridge so that they can be together."

And in that dark night, the Milky Way shines bright to the presence of two lovers as they kiss under a thousand stars.

"I love you, Lavi."

~Owari~

A.N. The songs "Modern Romance" and "Porcelain" (both by a New York-based band, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) are linked together. Plus, the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi could be found here .org/wiki/Tanabata. (Too lazy to explain.)

Disclaimer: Lavi and Kanda are from the series -Man, which is a property of Katsura Hoshino. And, Hoshino is not me.