I'm smiling like a fool

Chapter 10: It's Magic, Rima

Rima thinks about Nagihiko all the time. When she wakes up, when she goes to sleep. In her dreams, she and Nagihiko are sitting side by side on the steel bench in their secret garden, holding hands. When she wakes up, she is alone, and suddenly, Rima is afraid of loneliness now.

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Rima leaves the office late. It's November, and she's already wearing her warmest coat, a puffy one with a furry hood that Kukai had told her made her look like an arctic explorer doll. He was kidding because Tadase had told her she looked like some kind of porcelain doll that was fragile.

The sidewalks are a little icy, and Rima watches her step as she heads toward the subway, her hands jammed in her pockets.

When it's time to cross the street, Rima looks up to wait for the walk sign to glow blue.

That's when she sees it. A frog. She blinks, trying to clear her eyes, and it's gone. Rima swallows and curses at her brain for making her heart leap like that.

She makes it down into the subway, shuffling into a train and ignoring the press of people on their way home from work. She unzips her jacket to loosen her tie and patted part of her hair.

Something cold brushes against her calf, and she looks down and sees it again. A giant frog, slimy and wet and looking up at Rima like he's possibly been looking for her.

Rima's chest feels impossibly tight. She looks up, away from the frog, and doesn't look back just in case it disappears. She gets off at her stop, and the frog follows her. She can hear it, leaping footprints on the ice, and she sees it, too, when she turns the last corner to her flat.

She goes inside, leaving the door open long enough for the frog to hop inside, then walks over to the stairs. Rima only lives on the second floor, so it only takes two minutes to ascend them, and another few moments to get to her door.

She unlocks it with shaking hands.

The frog follows. It watches Rima slip out of her boots and pad into her hallway. She went to her room to strip of her thick coat and took of her collar shirt revealing herself in a camisole and her work skirt, a simple pleated black. Rima walked to her closet and after a few steps, Rima stops and turns around, dropping to her knees.

"Are you really here?" she asks, and the frog jumps closer. "Or am I imagining this?"

The frog doesn't answer. Of course it doesn't, because it's a frog. Rima licks her lip and wonders if she's lost her mind.

"I might be imagining it," Rima says "I thought Amu and Ikuto getting married would make it stop hurting that I couldn't be with Nagihiko" Rima stretches a hand out, and the frog hops closer "I thought I wasn't supposed to be able to fall in love again. That that was my punishment for walking out on the curse."

The frog feels gross beneath her fingertips, but it's reassuring that the porous skin feels exactly as Rima remembers it.

"Then I realized it wouldn't be that easy," Rima says. "Because I don't need to fall in love again. Because I had already fallen in love with you, well if you are you"

The frog peers at her, and Rima swears its eyes are just like Nagihiko's.

"The last time I kissed a frog, it got me into a whole lot of trouble," she says "But I guess I'm stupid enough to do it again"

She takes a giant gulp of air, filling her lungs, and then she drops a kiss right in between the frog's eyes.

When she's shoved back to the floor by a lapful of naked man, she allows herself to exhale.

Nagihiko drops soft kisses all over her face, and Rima laughs, her hands sliding on his back, all the smooth human skin and heat, Nagihiko's warmth chasing away all traces of the November cold.

"I'm here," Nagihiko says. "I came here for you."

"But," Rima says, "how did you—"

"I'm twenty-five," Nagihiko says, "and unmarried. Plus you know I couldn't leave the palace to come looking for you before. You're back at home, remember?" He kisses Rima on the lips "So I was kind of in a hurry. And I love you"

"But—"

"It's magic, Rima," Nagihiko says. "And now, I am your prince." He kisses Rima's nose, and then her lips again, and Rima pulls her down, tighter, Nagihiko's thighs on either side of her hips and Nagihiko's face close enough for butterfly kisses, he didn't though, leaving Rima hanging.

"Great, my prince watches me from the corner of my room while I change, I'm lucky I didn't strip of my camisole" she teased.

Rima will never let Nagihiko go again; Nagihiko chuckled as he nuzzles her neck, as though he'd missed Rima as much as Rima missed him.

Utau will be happy, Rima thinks, to see Rima revise her story. Rapunzel will get her happy ending after all.

"Hey," Nagihiko says, "Since I've already broken all the rules to come and find you..." He laughs; it's loud and the neighbors can probably hear Nagihiko laughing through the walls "What do you say to travel the world with me?"

"What if you get kidnapped?" Rima says, sliding her hands up Nagihiko's cheeks, confirming to herself that this is not a dream.

"Then you can write a book about it," Nagihiko says. "What do you think?"

"I think we'll live happily ever after," Rima says, and smiles so wide her cheeks hurt "Before that though, you, naked on top of me is very tempting, I need you to cover yourself"

Nagihiko chuckled as Rima covered her eyes and he pecked her forehead once more before standing up and pulling Rima's white blanket over his bare body. After being fully covered, he took Rima once more in his arms and lifted her, earning a yelp from the smaller of the two.

"I love you, princess" Nagihiko said and Rima smiled at him, for once, a gentle smile with no other meaning other than joy.

#End

Cookie: Before you ask or comment or review any questions; Yes, this is the last chapter, sadly *sobs*. No there will be no sequel, *what does sequel mean? It's not in my dictionary*

Utau: You didn't even make a scene where Souma and I were together!

Ikuto: You're the one to talk, I wasn't even seen kissing Amu.

Tadase: Oi oi, I think it's Kairi and I who are supposed to be sad, having no one with this December

Kirishima: Kairi has Yaya, Tadase you're a prince, girls follow you. *sigh* What it's like to be me.

Cookie: All right you ungrateful actors, leave the set and go to your dates! Thanks for sticking up to this story *whispers* spread the love to your friends who are SC fans *slowly disapparate*

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"Wait!" Rima cried while she was on Nagihiko's warm hold "Does that mean you came here without anything at all?!"

Nagihiko looked at Rima with wide-eyes asking what's wrong with that? with the look on his face. Rima bit her lips "Don't you have any decency? You're not sleeping on my bed NAKED!"

Nagihiko chuckled at kissed Rima on her hair "Princess, I can hear the neighbors angry cries, I'll ask Ikuto to bring me some, don't worry"

Rima smiled.

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Cookie: That's all folks!

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"WAIT!" Rima cried again "That'll take days! And it's evening, you can't expect me to not sleep when I have work tomorrow!"

Nagihiko chuckled, he was right, it was never boring with Rima, with his Rima "All right, I'll go borrow some from the guy next door"

Rima sighed and stole a kiss from Nagihiko "I love you, now go borrow some clothes Prince"

Cookie: *Growls* That's it! OUT! OUT ALL OF YOU! THIS STORY HAS ENDED!

Rima: Geez, what's sticking in your ass, getting so cranky?