Chapter 11

Eternal promise

Haruka invited Michiru in a nice restaurant where musicians played her preferred melodies. Michiru was sensing that this evening had something special but she didn't know what. Haruka was different, a little tensed, but Michiru stopped asking questions because she never answered them. As they where talking together, in this nice place, Michiru thought of what had happened at the beginning of the holidays… she regretted it. How could she have doubted her beloved? Her eyes where shining with love, and she knew that hers were probably the same. She couldn't stop wondering what she would have done if they had really left each other, what if Haruka hadn't run after her… she couldn't imagine spending a whole life, an eternity without her. The thought of that made a drop running slowly on her cheek. Haruka saw it and caressed her cheek to make it disappear.

"Michiru… what's wrong?"

"Nothing… I was just… thinking."

"A sad thought I presume… don't think of anything sad, I want you to smile, unless I'll think you're not happy with me…"

"I was thinking… I don't want to live without you… I couldn't bear it… and I almost leaved you in July…"

"Yes, but we are in September, nearly October, and we are still together. I won't let anything happen, because I couldn't live without you neither. I don't know why… but when I look at you, when I look in your eyes, I know I love you, that nothing is important except you. It's incredible… this way we are… so… meant to be. It's like I've known you for millenniums."

"I've got this feeling too… you know how the sea is important to me; you know how I need it."

"Like I need the wind blowing on my face."

"Exactly… I need you the same way."

The two of them enjoyed this peaceful moment very much. Each other presence, each other glance filled them. It seemed to them that never before they had understood each other this way. Haruka felt she had chose the perfect evening. So after the restaurant, she brought Michiru to another place, a cliff where the wind blew hard and from which the sea could be seen in all its splendour.

"This place is amazing… why did you never brought me here before?" asked Michiru with enthusiasm.

"I discovered it not long ago. And I was waiting tonight to show it to you. A place that fits both of us.' Answered Haruka.

"That's right…"

Michiru got closer to Haruka, who caught her waist by behind and kissed her in the neck. They stayed a moment like this, in their embrace, feeling the wind blowing on her face and looking at the sea waves. After a long moment of peaceful silence, Haruka caught Michiru's hands in hers and made her face her. Michiru felt a sudden desire to kiss her. She pulled her arms around Haruka's neck and gave her a tender kiss that the blonde deepened her arms firmly but lovingly embracing Michiru's waist. "Stop this… you're letting yourself go… if you continue on this way you'll end in the bed and it's not the moment… I'd rather jump in the sea under; it is quite cold at the moment, after I may be able to talk to her properly without undressing her in my mind… Stop now!"

Haruka interrupted their kiss.

"Michiru… I… I came here purposely."

"So you'll finally tell me the reason of all this…"

"Did I need any reason for bringing my love outside?" said Haruka feigning indignation.

"No… that's not the evening in itself… that is more the way you acted."

"How did I act?"

"I don't know… you were a little tensed… well… you are a little tensed, and now it seems you'll explode in a minute."

"I look like this…"

"It doesn't take anything from your attractiveness."

"Did I say you were splendid tonight?"

Their lips were getting closer as they spoke, till they touched. Haruka pulled a hand on Michiru's cheek and caressed it while she ended the kiss. Her other hand released Michiru's waist to vanish in her pocket. When it reappeared, it had a dark blue jewel case in it. Haruka opened it in front of Michiru's eyes. A marvellous silver ring sat by a round shaped aquamarine with a diamond on each side.

"Michiru, would you marry me?"

"Haruka… I… I love you but you know we can'…"

"Shh… please just answer me."

"Y… yes, of course."

Haruka passed the ring at Michiru's finger and kissed her lovingly. Michiru had been surprised, because Haruka had always reacted with coldness when the conversation came to this theme: the marriage, probably because she knew they couldn't. So why did Haruka asked her to marry?... "Well it doesn't matter since I love her. It's not important to be officially married since our hearts are."

Next morning they awoke at the same time, still in each other arms.

"Do you realize that we will awake together forever?" Said Haruka.

"I didn't need a proposal to know this… but you were right, even if we can't marry, I'm glad we did this. The important is not the official side…" said Michiru before giving Haruka a tender kiss.

"A minute… I was serious!"

"What?"

"I found a way. You thought… it was just a… Michiru… don't tell me you accepted because you thought we couldn't?"

Haruka was not smiling anymore.

"No… but you know we can't… what is this way you're talking about."

"Michiru… if I had told you I found a way for you and me to marry legally would your answer have been the same?"

"Yes, of course."

Haruka looked in Michiru's eyes and regain confidence. For a minute she had been very scared.

"I was serious; I really found a way for you and me to marry. First… do you know where I was born?"

"London?... somewhere in England if I remember."

"That's right. My father is Japanese and my mother is British, I spent my childhood in England, but moved to Japan at twelve when my father inherited his own father business."

"What's the link with marriage?"

"The link is that I'm not Japanese."

"And?"

"And that England recently allowed homosexual marriage. It's been about a year or two but I don't really care about English news. I learned it while talking with Lily this summer."

Michiru slowly absorbed the information Haruka gave her, with an absent look on her face.

"So… it means… that… we will be… married…"

"Yes… only if you still want…"

Haruka didn't have time to finish her sentence, Michiru had closed her mouth with a passionate kiss, she was on top of her. This was an answer more explicit than any word.

Later in the morning, they took their shower and dressed up.

"So… I suppose you're really willing to marry." Said a rather exhausted Haruka while buttoning her shirt.

"I am… I guess you have no doubts about my sincerity by now… We just have to choose a date."

"The sooner the better… I'm impatient… you know… marriage implies honeymoon."

Michiru laughed.

"I think you don't need a honeymoon for this… but if you want to wait till the marriage to do it again…"

"No! Be careful because if you do this I'll make you jump into the next flight for London!"

"Haruka! We won't marry everyday! I want it to be special… I must find a marvellous dress and organize the whole thing…"

"The list of the guests will be much reduced… our dear families won't come and we're not mundane people… maybe I could invite some of my friends of the tracks… and you have Lily… and maybe some violinists friends of yours…"

"We haven't seen Lily for about a month… and you never talk about those racers friends."

"We're lonely people… maybe we should just make something between the two of us, with the witnesses."

"It is a little sad… but it is only you I marry… so that's not important. But maybe we should call our family… just to announce the marriage. They've got the right to know, even if they don't agree."

"As you wish."

"We could even try to…"

"I won't invite my parents!"

"But…"

"No buts. They won't come, you can invite yours if you want, but don't expect me to do the same."

"I don't know… after all they said about you… and about me, because whoever insults you insults me… But I always thought that my parents would be there for my marriage."

"I don't have this problem, because I know for long that I love women, so I never really took time to imagine my wedding day… and even before… I was against marriage and I always said that if I did I would wear a tux, because white wedding dresses were too large, I thought you cannot run with them."

"Your wish will come true… I think you'll wear a tux… unless you want a beautiful white dress…"

"I leave that to you! And I can say you'll look like an angel… you always do."

Haruka took her fiancé's thin ways in her arms and bent to kiss her with love.

"So what about the date?" asked Michiru.

"I'd rather do it in summer days… cause in a week or two it the weather will become to be rainy. Spring or summer… but only if we keep making love… if you let me wait till the honeymoon I swear we'll be married in the week!"

"I guess… June would be perfect, after the exams. Don't forget we're still students… and don't worry I won't let you wait till the honeymoon." Added Michiru in front of Haruka feigning worry.

"So let's go for June… the 25th for example…"

Michiru took a calendar.

"Yes… 25th will be perfect."

Not far away, a dark green-haired woman watched the scene with attention, accompanied by a young girl with black straight hair, from the balcony of another flat facing Michiru and Haruka's.

"Do you think we finally found them, Setsuna-mama?" asked the girl anxiously.

"I think so… those two never change whatever time and space… always together, linked by love and by something deeper that no one ever understood… it must be them." answered the woman.

"Do you think they'll remember us?"

"I don't know…"