Chapter 2: Big Ben

A short while later, Lara and Takashi are standing at the station waiting for the tour bus. Lara smiles as she keeps talking on the phone with someone. She looks at Takashi who is only looking around him at the beautiful city.

"And here we wait." Lara said placing the phone back in her handbag.

"For?" Takashi asks

"A magical bus I've summoned just for you." She smiles more as she looks into his eyes.

"Not Bad" He smirks at her.

"Now, I'm dying to know why you're so eager to see Big Ben."

"Can't you guess?"

"It symbolizes time"

"Time is something that is going so fast for us and I just want time to pause for once and give me happiness, but I've always known that my role would require me to give up much of my time."

"You're the prince. Can't you do what you want, at least some of the time?"

"As a member of the royal family, my actions reflect on my house and all of Japan." He pauses "It's something I've never allowed to forget. No matter how badly I might want to."

He stares at Lara for one long moment…then looks away disappointed in himself. Here stands a woman who understand him and know he must go and leave her here.

"Takashi…" She calls his name just then; she hears the honking of the bus! Looking out on the road, she spots the tour bus pulling up. "There's our ride!"

A short time later, Lara and Takashi are on there own private tour bus headed to Big Ben.

"Part of me didn't think you'd pull this off" He smiles and looks at her. They are siting on the top of the bus looking at all the buildings they are passing by.

"You just don't know me very well. I always get what I want."

"Your right but I'd like to fix that. You're fascinating, Lara." He takes her hand "Why are you doing this for me?"

"Maybe I'm falling for you." She locks eyes with him as she said it, he gasps

"Lara…With me having to go back to Japan, I hope you know that I can't…"

"I know, but I wanted to say it, even if that's as far as it goes."

Takashi places a kiss on Lara's hand and then holds it to his chest, she feels his heart pumping fast and she knew he felt the same about her.

"Lara…To be honest, no one's ever done anything like this for me before"

"Really? Come one, you're a prince. I bet people do things for you all the time."

"I do get all the perks that come with being royalty, but no one's ever seen me as just…me. No one's ever listened to me the way you do." He pauses and sighs "No one's ever come up with a spur-of-the-moment plan to make my dreams come true."

"What else do you dream about?" She asks as she wonders what he wanted in life. Like no one was ever there for her and she knows how that feels.

"Finding someone. Someone who can be the queen that Japan needs."

"And…also someone you fall in love with, right?"

"That's never been part of the criteria that the Japanese Council uses."

Suddenly, the bus slows. In the distance, they can see Big Ben appear. Lara glance to Takashi who is staring with WOW at the clock and for the first time a tear run down his cheek. Lara know its tears of happiness not sadness or it could be both as he said he must go back home tomorrow then she'll never see him again.

"So? What do you think?" Lara asks breaking his stare on Big Ben

"Magnificent, truly." He smiles at her and steps closer to her. "And right now, looking at this view with you, I feel like anything is possible." He takes a breath and smell her parfum "Thank you for this moment, Lara. This feeling…this means more to me than you could ever know."

"Takashi…"

"I want you to know that I admire you. Your adventurous spirit. The way you follow your heart."

"You can live that way too."

"If only. My whole life I've prepared myself to do what's best for Japan."

"Well, we're not in Japan now…" Lara looks up into his eyes as he draws close to her. She pulls him close and kissing him deeply. He wraps his arms around her, kissing her back. As he kissed her everything and everyone disappeared from his mind. No prince just himself.

Lara pulls away and he leans his forehead against hers "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"

"I try."

"I'm glad to have met you, Lara." He keeps holding her tightly afraid of letting go but he knows he must "I'll never forget this night."

The next morning, Lara gets ready for her day…

Last night was fun but it's time to face the real world and that means going back to work, she thought as she pulls on her uniform.

She then walks out of her apartment and down the stairs past the landlord's office and into the busy street. She rounds the corner to Nine Bells and walk up to the doors when she hears a familiar voice behind her.

"Lara! Glad I caught you" Max says running up to her. "We're heading back to Japan so Takashi can find someone to marry and all that staff but before I go, I wanted to officially extend to you an invitation to join us for the festivities in Japan."

"What?" Lara asks shocked to hear that.

"You wouldn't usually be allowed to join…but I want to sponsor you!"

"Sponsor me?"

"I'm from a noble house, but I don't have any sisters, so we don't have anyone in contention to marry the prince." He takes a breath "Instead, we can sponsor any girl we choose and you're my pick."

"Why me?"

"I'm not just doing it for you I saw how Takashi looked at you last night. I've never seen him so happy. Honestly? I don't want him to lose that. We're kinda crunched for time, though. I've got a plane leaving withing the hour…"

For a moment she thinks about everything that happened last night and she slowly starts to smile "Max I will accept the invitation."

"Yeah! Go pack your bags. This is going to be the adventure of a lifetime!"

"I just need to do one thing." She says and heads into the bar a few minutes later she walks back out.

"So?" Max asks

"Lats get going." She answers and they go back to her apartment.