till we meet again
this story is STILL written after book four. I don't think it'll go on much longer than this as I don't think I want to drag out this storyline any longer. I might try my hand at another PG fanfic but I'm not sure. I think this one sapped all my PG energy. ^^
I'm really pleased I got such good reviews, I wasn't expecting any actually. ^^ go visit me at http://www.moontowers.com
scene: evening, still windy
time: momo is a freshman in college
rating: this story is rated PG-13 for situations that are alluded to that take place in the manga.
chapter four – I love you like the flowers love the sun
"Hello," she said, tears springing to her eyes, "Kiley."
He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, "How are you?"
"Cold." She admitted, sneezing.
Kiley laughed, voice warm, "Why don't we go somewhere warm? Is there a library or someth-"
"You wanna come back to my room?"
That caught him off guard. The bitter cold didn't feel so bad any longer for he flushed so brightly that he was rather warm. Seeing the grimace on her face he knew she was going to yell at him.
"Not like that, you pumpkin!"
"Ahhh…!" he said, tilting his head back and spreading his arms open, "music to my ears. Say it again, my sweet Momo, I haven't been yelled at in a while."
She growled, turned on him, the emotion of their reunion spent, and stalked away. She heard his feet crunching rapidly behind her and she knew he was jogging to catch up. "Stupid wiley Kiley." She mumbled, hands in her pockets.
Momo shoved the door to her dorm open and skipped past all the drunken fools on the ground, climbing the stairs, ignoring the looks people gave her as Kiley followed behind her.
She sighed, knowing that they were staring intently at the dark haired god behind her. She nodded, knowing that they did have reason to stare. He was just as beautiful and handsome now as he was in High School. Dark hair, still wild was a little longer, the longest tips brushing his shoulders as his walked. Brown hazel eyes that when they looked in his eyes bore so deeply into her soul that she could feel a part of him there with her. He walked taller than he used to, though, like the weight of something was making him stand straight so he wouldn't fall over. But his shoulders and chest, they filled his shirt and jacket as nicely as they did when he was sixteen.
And his voice, Momo sighed deeply, blonde hair falling into her face with the motion, was like silk, it wrapped her up in its warmth that seared her to her core. She wanted him to talk forever when they were out in the cold. His words warmed her like fire and she said what she did because her mind was to enthralled with the power behind his voice to think about what was coming out of her own mouth.
She failed to notice that she passed her floor and opened the door to the roof. Stepping out into the terrace she giggled embarrassed. "Oops."
"Nice room, Momo. Must cost a fortune." He said, passing by her with a large grin and a wink. Slowly he made his way to the edge and leaned against it, arms resting on the cold brick wall. The wind tugged at his hair, pulling it, wanting it to float off with it. Aggravaited, he brushed it back and went back to resting on the wall.
Her eyes widened and narrowed, the whole set up feeling like deja-vu. Like a flood during a storm, memories surged and she looked upon the scene in a new light.
In fact, it was a new light. The sun shone from a cloudless sky, hitting the white washed walls of her old school as she stared at the same dark haired youth that was before her now. It was a day, another day, that she tried to forget. They were all so close to graduating, it was only three days away and tension was high. Kiley wasn't talkative much, well he hadn't been since he broke up with one of his newest conquests, and he was just staring down sullenly at the school yard below.
"What would you do if I jumped?" he had asked her, voice hoarse.
The question made her recoil, and her eyes widened, "Kiley, back away from the wall."
"No, really. I'm not going to jump, but," he slowly turned then and looked at her, eyes dark with unshed hurt. "what would you do, Momo?"
"Well," she said slowly, trying to think up something fast, deathly afraid that he would do it despite what he said, "What does it matter? You're not going to do it anyway, you silly pumpkin."
He chuckled, walking over to her slowly, staring down at her, "Your hands are shaking."
"Because you asked me a stupid question and it bothered me. How am I supposed to know you're not messed up either? I'd rather not lose a friend by suicide." She told him fiercely.
"Momo, my sweet, I didn't know you cared."
She punched him lightly, turning a dull red, "Of course I care, stupid."
"Enough to go out with me?" he asked. She laughed and he cut her off, arching a brow and a hand on his hip, "I'm serious."
"I bet. But I wouldn't." she told him, her stubborn streak evident.
Kiley frowned, looking hurt, "Well, if you ever find yourself single, you can always ask me. I'll love you until I die, Momo. I love you like the flowers love the sun." and pulled a single carnation from his school jacket, handing it too her shyly.
Momo came out of her stupor, her glazed expression vanishing when she heard thunder crash in the distance. Her memory over she stared at Kiley, her eyebrows forming the frown that her cherry lips wouldn't. "I would cry, Kiley." She said, heart thumping in her chest. "I would cry my heart and soul out."
He froze, his heart stopping in his chest, knuckles turning dead white as they involuntarily gripped the ledge. Eyes widening slowly he faltered before turning to face her, his complexion paler than before. Brushing a hand absently through his dark locks he put his other hand in his pocket, mouth and brain trying to figure out how to reply.
Finally he found the words, "What?"
"You asked me what I would do if you jumped when we up on the roof a few years ago. I would cry." More thunder crashed, closer now and lightening joined it, lighting up the roof and casting glares across both bodies. The wind stayed the same, bitter chill as it had been, but droplets of rain joined in not wanting to be left out of the fun. Momo hugged her arms across her chest, ignoring the rain that fell into her shoulders and hair.
"Would you?" he asked.
"Yes." She repeated, voice forlorn, unsure of why he sounded doubtful.
Rain fell quicker and thought it wasn't as cold as the wind, it still chilled them as it ran on their faces. Mist forming around their bodies, Momo followed Kiley as he sought shelter under an overhang. He paused as soon as he was out from the rain and turned his gaze to her, eyes still looking like he had lost something very important to him. "Why didn't you ever call me? You never talked to me after High School. I didn't even know you were coming to the US until I called you about Sae. I know its because I had done something to-"
"No, Kiley!" she exclaimed, cutting him off, distress flushing her face. She hadn't thought about what other people would have thought when she took it upon herself not to talk to anyone and become a hermit in her own home. It hurt her to know that for nearly a year he thought that he had done something to make her hate him. "I didn't want to talk to anyone… after I got a phone call from Toji… I- I just… I couldn't bring myself to talk to anyone anymore. I'm so sorry…"
He glared then, "So because of Toji, yet again, you cut yourself off from the people that actually care about you? Good idea, Momo, fantastic."
"Excuse me, Mister." She retorted, anger flaring up, "I couldn't deal with it anymore."
"Why didn't you talk to me about it then."
Momo bit her lip, unsure of how to say it, "I didn't want to bother you with my problems any more."
His gaze softened, "Momo…" Kiley broke off, rubbing a hand down the side of his face, "Have you wondered yet why I'm all the way in the States?"
She blinked, anger vanishing quickly out of surprise, "Well, no… why are you out here?"
"Because I hadn't heard from you in a year… I didn't know if you were all right and your mother told me where you were so I came out here as soon as I could. I've missed you so much."
Rain water plinked on the ground, sounding like a thousand small drums as they stood in silence. Momo was the first to break it, "I'm sorry I left without saying anything. I didn't know that not being… near you would hurt so much, but I didn't think you'd want me if I came back." Tears misted her vision and she willed them to stay back for as long as she could. As it was her voice had cracked, and she looked down at the ground. Trying to ignore his gaze and focus on the cold biting wind that brushed by her. Her face was warm, perhaps from the flush, but she took comfort in the fact that Kiley couldn't see it for it was too dark.
More lightening crashed and it threw its light in all directions, for a moment throwing its eerie glow on the pair. Kiley sighed deeply, shuffling forward, toward Momo who cringed, unsure of his reaction. He stared at her, hazel eyes soft, and absorbed her every inch. From her long blonde hair that cascaded down her slender shoulders her slim waist to her eyes that were glassy from the tears she held back set in her normally beautifully tanned skin so vibrant with color. Droplets clung to her suede jacket and hair like the morning dew, they slipped down her arms as she shifted her long limbs so that she gripped each bicep in her slender hands. Chewing on her cherry red lip between her teeth was something he hadn't seen her do since her last year in Junior High, when he first spotted her across the library room, nose stuck in her algebra book, pencil tapping the wood table swiftly.
It was instant love on his end, and he had loved her through High School. He loved her still, but it wasn't something that he could openly admit, not with her normal, punch to the face, reaction. After a time, he stopped announcing his love for her and kept it hidden, doing little things that wouldn't bother her, to express his feelings for her. The carnation, red tipped with yellow for love and friendship respectively, was his last act. The last thing he would do to try and win her love. That plan failed miserably and all hope was dashed. His beautiful pixie would never be his.
"Would you really cry if I jumped? Would my death mean more than just one more person abandoning you?"
That stung her and she fidgeted, a few tears clinging to her eyelashes before descending down her paling face. For a reason she didn't know, it took her a moment to answer. Toji had left her, Sae had died, her father left before her graduation never to be heard of again and she didn't know what to make of Kiley. At first she thought the humming in her ears was from her frustration, but she soon realized that it was from the pain she felt deep in her heart that soon reached her soul.
A noisy sob broke the last barrier and she curled her arms over her head, crying like there was no tomorrow. "You… stupid… pumpkin!" she choked out, stomping her foot, "I hate you! Of course… of course I would cry… Kiley!"
He reached for her then, knowing that she would fall and rather than have her collapse on the floor she collapsed in his strong arms. Feeling them once again hold her up, being her support. She leaned her head into his chest and sobbed, "I-I would… I would die too… if you left me. Please… don't… I-I… Kiley, you…" her words were just random, incoherent mumblings by this point and Kiley rested his lips against her hair, trying to calm her.
"I wanted to be sure, please, don't cry, Momo. My sweet, my pixie. My peach." Still holding her up with one arm he reached into the folds of his coat and pulled out a red rose, "I'll love you until I die, Momo." and placed it in her slightly open hand.
She backed out of his arms, her tears stopping while her heart thudded in her ears and chest. Wild beating feeling like a bird held in too small a cage. He moved one large hand over his other and wrestled with something on his finger.
No, two somethings. Small and silver he pulled a thin band from his ring finger, reaching out with his opposite hand to take her hand that wasn't holding the rose. She stared at the ring he held to the rind around his thin finger, "Kiley, why is there string attached to that ring?"
Taking her warm hand in his he slid the band down her finger to where it settled comfortably and he smiled down at her, eyes for once looking brilliant. Like whatever he lost has come back to him. She thought lazily, staring at the ring on her finger and the string that connected both rings to each other.
"This is my promise to you, Adachi Momo. My promise that I will ask you if you would take me as your pumpkin husband one day when we're both ready for that. This string is so that I never have to you loose you again." Taking her hand, he threaded his fingers through hers and grinned, face red with his blush.
Tears ran anew down her equally red cheeks and she didn't protest like she had all those years ago when he kissed her. Lips connecting with a spark that ran like wild fire through their bodies they kissed like they were long lost lovers coming back together after being apart for years.
She held his hand close to her heart, and they pushed their bodies closer, feeling each others heart as it beat on their hands. Slowly, he pulled away and rested his forehead on hers, brown eyes glowing with joy, "I love you, Adachi Momo. I love you like the flowers love the sun. Now and forever, until I die."
"I love you, Okayasu Kiley, like the sun loves the flowers. Now and forever, until I die."
The end.
