"You know," Lisa said as she sat next to Rick on the couch, "this reminds
me of the time when we were stuck together during the transformation of the
SDF-1."
As she said this, Lisa rested her head against Rick's shoulder. Together, they sat there like that, watching the rain pour down outside.
"It seems that's the way it is with us," Rick said, noticing the way she leaned her head against his shoulder and feeling a flush of affection toward her as she did so.
"We always fight and then make up. Fight, and then make up again."
"Like a couple of monkeys," Lisa said.
"Yeah," Rick said, thinking back to that time, "a couple of monkeys."
* * *
You know, I feel as helpless as a caged animal.
I know. Mr and Mrs Monkey, watching the people go by.
I'm glad I'm here with you.
And you're not so bad yourself.
Oh yeah?
Yeah. After today, I have a feeling I could get to like you.
You know, that's funny, because I was thinking exactly the same thing.
* * *
It seemed to Rick that he and Lisa could have kissed at that moment. The time just seemed right. A few hours ago, it would have seemed unthinkable, but there they were, their faces separated by a distance of only a few inches. He could feel that something new was starting between them. But as so often happened, they were suddenly jolted back to reality with the ending of the battle alert and the resumption of the normal ship mode for the SDF-1.
As they enjoyed a late night stroll and remarked at the destruction wrought by the latest transformation, they had been treated to the unpleasant sight of Kyle escorting Lynn Minmei back to their hotel. The moment passed, and Rick and Lisa were once again alone on the streets of Macross City.
"Well," Rick said, "I guess I better head back to the barracks before they think I've jumped ship."
As he turned to go, he felt Lisa taking hold of his hand.
"Rick?" Lisa said nervously. "Could you stay? I'm sure they wouldn't mind if they knew you were with another officer, and, anyway, I'd like for you to stay."
There was something new in her voice, something tender and gentle. Rick noticed that, and he also noticed the touch of her hand on his. Her hand was soft and warm. He felt a moment of intimacy with her in that instant, and it made his heart glad. They had kissed before, but that was because Dolza had ordered them to do it. That didn't really count. The memory of that kiss had haunted him, though. How many times did he lie alone in his room, staring out the window at the stars outside and trying to recall the exact feel of her lips and the sensation of holding Lisa in his arms? And now they were like this, with her hand on his. He felt closer to her in that moment than he ever had before.
"I'd really like that," Rick said, feeling a flush of pleasure as they walked down the street together, arm in arm.
The two friends walked like that for several blocks, neither saying a word, each enjoying the warmth and presence of the other.
"Where should we go?" Rick asked.
"The observatory isn't far away," Lisa said, nodding her head toward the left.
In this direction, the city ended in a park area of grassy lawns and trees, with a few park benches facing a large window to the outside. Rick and Lisa took a seat on the bench next to one another, and they gazed out the giant window, at the earth beneath them.
Outside, in plain view in outer space, the earth was majestic and beautiful. The swirls of clouds looked like an artist's brushstrokes over the green and blue globe. Rick reflected that, despite the time he had spent in orbit above the earth, rarely had he ever stopped to enjoy the earth's beauty in a moment of quiet reflection like this.
He turned to look at Lisa. There was a look of hope in her eyes that seemed to mask the sadness and loneliness in her heart. Rick knew how lonely she was. He could tell in the way she cried in front of him, thinking about her lost love Karl Riber. The resigned way in which she regarded Lynn Kyle as an unattainable shadow, rather than a real man she could possibly have any kind of relationship with. It was almost as if she couldn't even dare to dream of finding happiness again. The pleading tone in her voice as she reached out to take his hand, asking him to stay.
She was lonely.
Why do I feel so drawn to this woman, Rick thought to himself. Why am I so haunted by the memory of that kiss? When she pulled me out of the water and saved me from drowning, I looked at her and noticed how beautiful she was. Her legs, her waist, her breasts, her face, her long brown hair. I noticed that she was a woman. Not a girl like Minmei. But it was more than that. When she came to visit me in the hospital, she was so timid and reserved. So vulnerable. Like the time I saved her on Mars Base Sara. When we were stuck together in that little corner of the SDF-1 just a few hours ago, I felt like this was someone I could talk to. We could talk about things that she would understand.
Minmei wouldn't understand. Minmei acts and thinks like an adolescent. When we were trapped together on the SDF-1, just a couple of scared kids, I felt closer to her than I had ever felt with anyone. I saved her. She put all of her faith and trust and hope in me. She depended on me. Day in and day out, there was only the two of us. We shared our hopes and dreams. When she was sad, I was sad. When she felt hope and gladness, so did I. I never knew what it meant to be so close to a girl, so intimate. It was a kind of emotional and spiritual intimacy. We were so close, we seemed like a married couple. It seemed so natural for me to suggest that I could be her husband and we could pretend to get married. I lifted that little veil off her face and almost kissed her.
It was a precious memory. I never felt that way before, I never knew how truly wonderful it could be to be so close to someone. I never wanted that feeling to end. I would have been happy if we could have spent the rest of our days together, alone in that little corner of the ship. I wanted to hold onto that wonderful feeling. I hoped that we could continue to grow together, that we would become closer, that maybe she would become my girlfriend. We'd been through so much together. It felt like fate had brought us together. But I guess she didn't share my feelings. She thought of me as a friend. 'He's just a friend,' she said. I guess that's all I ever was.
Couldn't you see how much I wanted to be more than that for you, Minmei? Couldn't you see how much I wanted to be your everything? I thought about you every day whenever we were apart. Your name was always on the tip of my lips. I would whisper it to myself when I was alone at night. It was a kind of mantra. You were my good luck charm, you were the most wonderful thing to ever happen to a guy like me. I dreamed of swooping in on my Veritech to save you again and again, and someday I would take you to a place far away where we could be together. Another world, a place where you would always love me. I thought about what I would say when we saw each other again, I thought about how you would feel in my arms, I thought about how beautiful you would be with that smile on your face. I dreamed of hearing your words of welcome and love.
But we drifted apart. What changed? I became a pilot for the Robetech Defense Forces, and you became Miss Macross. Then there came along your cousin Lynn Kyle. That's all true, but it was something more than that. We lost that connection we had down in the bowels of the ship when we were trapped together. We were friends, we still hung out together, but something was different. How do we get back to the way things were before? How do we find that certain something that we lost? How do I find the key to the treasure of your love? We're so far apart now. When I look out now on the world through the glass and thousands of miles of empty space, that's how it feels like with you and me, Minmei. We're separated by some kind of timeless gulf. I don't know how to bridge that gap. I don't know how to find that special feeling we had down there together.
I found something with you that I never knew was possible. I found something precious, a treasure, but I lost it. I'll spend my whole life trying to find that feeling with someone special, someone I love, who loves me back. Maybe I'll never find it.
Lisa is lonely, sure.
But maybe I am, too.
Maybe that's why we're here together, sitting on this park bench like a couple of regular people. We're both searching, longing for that special something, that treasure we had only a tiniest glimpse of before vanishing. It teases us, tantalizes us. It's so near yet so far. It seems if we only reach out with the tips of our fingers, we'll touch that angel's face once again. We'll find that distant and lost shore. We'll find that place where dreams come true.
* * *
"Rick?"
Rick was interrupted in his thoughts of his own loneliness and his hopeless relationships. Lisa was looking at him closely, a little concerned. They were still sitting together on the park bench in the observatory, contemplating the view of the earth below.
"Yes?"
"What are you thinking about?" Lisa wanted to know.
Rick turned back to face the earth, aware of Lisa's searching eyes on his face.
How could I tell her, he wondered. How could I express my own feelings and thoughts in words to her in a way that she'd understand? There's so much to tell, about Minmei. It's not Minmei herself, though-It's what she meant for me, what she signified in my life. That longing, that yearning, that desire for intimacy with another person. Someone to share your life with, your hopes and dreams with. Someone who understands me more than I understand myself. I could try to explain what I've been thinking in the last few minutes, but it would take too long. I would stutter and stumble to a long-winded and not very clear explanation of what I'm feeling. Maybe I don't have to try to explain. Maybe she already knows.
Rick sighed.
"I was just thinking, Lisa, about how things will never be the same again."
Rick and Lisa shared a long look into one another's eyes. In that moment, Rick felt like she did understand. He was certain that she too shared his loneliness and his longing for love and intimacy. He saw it in the sadness and vulnerability in her eyes, the soft lines and curves of her gentle face, and the invisible aura of desire, longing, and hope that seemed to pervade the core of her very being. He could see that they shared more than a common duty. They shared one of life's precious dreams.
"I was thinking the same thing," Lisa smiled as she stood up in front of Rick and reached down to take both of his hands in hers.
Rick felt himself cherishing the feeling of her hands on his. He wanted to commit this feeling to memory, etch it into his heart.
"Let's go home," she said as the two left the park together.
As she said this, Lisa rested her head against Rick's shoulder. Together, they sat there like that, watching the rain pour down outside.
"It seems that's the way it is with us," Rick said, noticing the way she leaned her head against his shoulder and feeling a flush of affection toward her as she did so.
"We always fight and then make up. Fight, and then make up again."
"Like a couple of monkeys," Lisa said.
"Yeah," Rick said, thinking back to that time, "a couple of monkeys."
* * *
You know, I feel as helpless as a caged animal.
I know. Mr and Mrs Monkey, watching the people go by.
I'm glad I'm here with you.
And you're not so bad yourself.
Oh yeah?
Yeah. After today, I have a feeling I could get to like you.
You know, that's funny, because I was thinking exactly the same thing.
* * *
It seemed to Rick that he and Lisa could have kissed at that moment. The time just seemed right. A few hours ago, it would have seemed unthinkable, but there they were, their faces separated by a distance of only a few inches. He could feel that something new was starting between them. But as so often happened, they were suddenly jolted back to reality with the ending of the battle alert and the resumption of the normal ship mode for the SDF-1.
As they enjoyed a late night stroll and remarked at the destruction wrought by the latest transformation, they had been treated to the unpleasant sight of Kyle escorting Lynn Minmei back to their hotel. The moment passed, and Rick and Lisa were once again alone on the streets of Macross City.
"Well," Rick said, "I guess I better head back to the barracks before they think I've jumped ship."
As he turned to go, he felt Lisa taking hold of his hand.
"Rick?" Lisa said nervously. "Could you stay? I'm sure they wouldn't mind if they knew you were with another officer, and, anyway, I'd like for you to stay."
There was something new in her voice, something tender and gentle. Rick noticed that, and he also noticed the touch of her hand on his. Her hand was soft and warm. He felt a moment of intimacy with her in that instant, and it made his heart glad. They had kissed before, but that was because Dolza had ordered them to do it. That didn't really count. The memory of that kiss had haunted him, though. How many times did he lie alone in his room, staring out the window at the stars outside and trying to recall the exact feel of her lips and the sensation of holding Lisa in his arms? And now they were like this, with her hand on his. He felt closer to her in that moment than he ever had before.
"I'd really like that," Rick said, feeling a flush of pleasure as they walked down the street together, arm in arm.
The two friends walked like that for several blocks, neither saying a word, each enjoying the warmth and presence of the other.
"Where should we go?" Rick asked.
"The observatory isn't far away," Lisa said, nodding her head toward the left.
In this direction, the city ended in a park area of grassy lawns and trees, with a few park benches facing a large window to the outside. Rick and Lisa took a seat on the bench next to one another, and they gazed out the giant window, at the earth beneath them.
Outside, in plain view in outer space, the earth was majestic and beautiful. The swirls of clouds looked like an artist's brushstrokes over the green and blue globe. Rick reflected that, despite the time he had spent in orbit above the earth, rarely had he ever stopped to enjoy the earth's beauty in a moment of quiet reflection like this.
He turned to look at Lisa. There was a look of hope in her eyes that seemed to mask the sadness and loneliness in her heart. Rick knew how lonely she was. He could tell in the way she cried in front of him, thinking about her lost love Karl Riber. The resigned way in which she regarded Lynn Kyle as an unattainable shadow, rather than a real man she could possibly have any kind of relationship with. It was almost as if she couldn't even dare to dream of finding happiness again. The pleading tone in her voice as she reached out to take his hand, asking him to stay.
She was lonely.
Why do I feel so drawn to this woman, Rick thought to himself. Why am I so haunted by the memory of that kiss? When she pulled me out of the water and saved me from drowning, I looked at her and noticed how beautiful she was. Her legs, her waist, her breasts, her face, her long brown hair. I noticed that she was a woman. Not a girl like Minmei. But it was more than that. When she came to visit me in the hospital, she was so timid and reserved. So vulnerable. Like the time I saved her on Mars Base Sara. When we were stuck together in that little corner of the SDF-1 just a few hours ago, I felt like this was someone I could talk to. We could talk about things that she would understand.
Minmei wouldn't understand. Minmei acts and thinks like an adolescent. When we were trapped together on the SDF-1, just a couple of scared kids, I felt closer to her than I had ever felt with anyone. I saved her. She put all of her faith and trust and hope in me. She depended on me. Day in and day out, there was only the two of us. We shared our hopes and dreams. When she was sad, I was sad. When she felt hope and gladness, so did I. I never knew what it meant to be so close to a girl, so intimate. It was a kind of emotional and spiritual intimacy. We were so close, we seemed like a married couple. It seemed so natural for me to suggest that I could be her husband and we could pretend to get married. I lifted that little veil off her face and almost kissed her.
It was a precious memory. I never felt that way before, I never knew how truly wonderful it could be to be so close to someone. I never wanted that feeling to end. I would have been happy if we could have spent the rest of our days together, alone in that little corner of the ship. I wanted to hold onto that wonderful feeling. I hoped that we could continue to grow together, that we would become closer, that maybe she would become my girlfriend. We'd been through so much together. It felt like fate had brought us together. But I guess she didn't share my feelings. She thought of me as a friend. 'He's just a friend,' she said. I guess that's all I ever was.
Couldn't you see how much I wanted to be more than that for you, Minmei? Couldn't you see how much I wanted to be your everything? I thought about you every day whenever we were apart. Your name was always on the tip of my lips. I would whisper it to myself when I was alone at night. It was a kind of mantra. You were my good luck charm, you were the most wonderful thing to ever happen to a guy like me. I dreamed of swooping in on my Veritech to save you again and again, and someday I would take you to a place far away where we could be together. Another world, a place where you would always love me. I thought about what I would say when we saw each other again, I thought about how you would feel in my arms, I thought about how beautiful you would be with that smile on your face. I dreamed of hearing your words of welcome and love.
But we drifted apart. What changed? I became a pilot for the Robetech Defense Forces, and you became Miss Macross. Then there came along your cousin Lynn Kyle. That's all true, but it was something more than that. We lost that connection we had down in the bowels of the ship when we were trapped together. We were friends, we still hung out together, but something was different. How do we get back to the way things were before? How do we find that certain something that we lost? How do I find the key to the treasure of your love? We're so far apart now. When I look out now on the world through the glass and thousands of miles of empty space, that's how it feels like with you and me, Minmei. We're separated by some kind of timeless gulf. I don't know how to bridge that gap. I don't know how to find that special feeling we had down there together.
I found something with you that I never knew was possible. I found something precious, a treasure, but I lost it. I'll spend my whole life trying to find that feeling with someone special, someone I love, who loves me back. Maybe I'll never find it.
Lisa is lonely, sure.
But maybe I am, too.
Maybe that's why we're here together, sitting on this park bench like a couple of regular people. We're both searching, longing for that special something, that treasure we had only a tiniest glimpse of before vanishing. It teases us, tantalizes us. It's so near yet so far. It seems if we only reach out with the tips of our fingers, we'll touch that angel's face once again. We'll find that distant and lost shore. We'll find that place where dreams come true.
* * *
"Rick?"
Rick was interrupted in his thoughts of his own loneliness and his hopeless relationships. Lisa was looking at him closely, a little concerned. They were still sitting together on the park bench in the observatory, contemplating the view of the earth below.
"Yes?"
"What are you thinking about?" Lisa wanted to know.
Rick turned back to face the earth, aware of Lisa's searching eyes on his face.
How could I tell her, he wondered. How could I express my own feelings and thoughts in words to her in a way that she'd understand? There's so much to tell, about Minmei. It's not Minmei herself, though-It's what she meant for me, what she signified in my life. That longing, that yearning, that desire for intimacy with another person. Someone to share your life with, your hopes and dreams with. Someone who understands me more than I understand myself. I could try to explain what I've been thinking in the last few minutes, but it would take too long. I would stutter and stumble to a long-winded and not very clear explanation of what I'm feeling. Maybe I don't have to try to explain. Maybe she already knows.
Rick sighed.
"I was just thinking, Lisa, about how things will never be the same again."
Rick and Lisa shared a long look into one another's eyes. In that moment, Rick felt like she did understand. He was certain that she too shared his loneliness and his longing for love and intimacy. He saw it in the sadness and vulnerability in her eyes, the soft lines and curves of her gentle face, and the invisible aura of desire, longing, and hope that seemed to pervade the core of her very being. He could see that they shared more than a common duty. They shared one of life's precious dreams.
"I was thinking the same thing," Lisa smiled as she stood up in front of Rick and reached down to take both of his hands in hers.
Rick felt himself cherishing the feeling of her hands on his. He wanted to commit this feeling to memory, etch it into his heart.
"Let's go home," she said as the two left the park together.