The Concept of Forever
~x~
Author's Note: I have had this chapter in my head pretty much since the very beginning. It was more or less the thing that made me start writing the story. Hope you all like it! (more at the bottom)
Chapter Seven: Kiss Me Like You Mean It
As she marched over to his house, Elie thought about all of the things she was going to say to him when she finally got there. The words were all caught in her mouth, ready to burst out at a moments notice. All the things that she had wanted to say to him over the years, and now she finally had the chance to let it all out.
All she could think of was how long she had waited for this. How many times had she gone through this in her head? How often had she sat in class, staring at the back of his head as she imagined what it might be like to run her hands through those silver strands as they laid together, bodies pressed together...
No! This is not the time to be thinking of that! I am on a mission, and I'm stopping until he knows exactly how I feel!
By the time she reached the house, she had cleared her mind of every thought except for what she was planning to say to Haru. She didn't even bother to knock, just bursting into the house as roughly as she had marched over.
Cattleya and her husband, Shuda, were sitting in the living room watching some movie when she burst in. The couple jumped up, obviously not expecting anyone to come barreling into their house. "Elie? Is everything okay?" asked Cattleya, taking in the young woman.
Elie stood there, breathing heavily. "I have to talk to your brother," she said, eyes fierce. Cattleya stared at her for a few seconds before comprehension came over her face, and she began to smile, reaching down to squeeze Shuda's shoulder.
"He's upstairs," she said, rejoining her boyfriend. Elie nodded and began to stomp up the staircase, swinging the door close behind her.
As she was reaching the landing, she heard Shuda call up the stairs, "Don't beat 'im up too bad, kiddo," but she didn't even crack a smile. She didn't intend to hurt him, but she couldn't quite be certain of what she would do in her rage.
At his bedroom door, the brunette paused. It was slightly ajar, and Elie could hear the sounds of a video game. "No, wait, flank, flank!" she heard Haru call, and the sound of his voice was just what she needed to hear to slam open his door fully. At the sound of the door, he turned around, controller still in his hands, mouth open. "Elie?"
"Turn off the game, Haru, we need to talk," she demanded, storming into the room and towards him. Haru jumped up, fumbling with the console for a second as he finally turned it off, ripping the headset off from around his neck and turning to face her. Elie didn't stop until she was right in front of him, their bodies only an inch apart from another.
"Did you think that it would be funny? Coming out of nowhere and then kissing me and then just going on your merry way like it never happened?" cried Elie, one finger jabbing at his chest. Haru's lavender eyes widened in surprise, taking a step back to stop himself from falling over onto his television set.
"Elie –"
"Shut up," snapped Elie, not done yet. "Do you have any idea what that was like? I actually thought that something would happen, and then you just ignored me! God, Haru, it's just not fair! Well, I'm tired of just waiting around for you for to do something about it, so here I am!"
"Wait –"
"No! I am tired of waiting for you!" she cried, whacking him on the arm. "So, here it is: Haru, I love you. I have loved you for as long as I've freaking known you, and I always just thought that I could live with it and it wouldn't be a big deal. Well, I was wrong and it hurts like hell all the time and not telling you how I felt has obviously started to create a rift between us." Elie paused, taking a second to swallow the lump forming in her throat. "Now, you know how I feel, but if you don't feel the same, then just tell me, because I can't do this anymore. I can handle just being friends with you, I really can, but I need to know for certain how you feel about me, otherwise I'm just going to be stuck pining after you and if you don't feel the same, I've got to just move on with my life. And don't you dare get all vague and crap on me, either!"
For the first time all evening, Elie finally realized that the possibility still existed that Haru did not return her feelings. She had accepted that a long time ago, but when he had kissed her, everything changed and now she didn't. She loved him so intensely, had for so long, and now that there was a chance that it would end. Elie couldn't even imagine what it would be like not to love Haru. But, she had meant what she said. If he didn't return her feelings, which may very well be the case, then she would simply have no other choice but to move on. Things would definitely be awkward between them for a while, but she couldn't imagine that they wouldn't bounce back as friends eventually.
Haru looked down at her, eyes softening as he understood what was happening. "Elie," he breathed, reaching up to her hands and gently taking them in his own. "You're so silly sometimes, you know?"
"Shut up," she muttered, looking away from him. She hadn't noticed it much during her spat, but her cheeks were flushed and she felt hot from all the energy.
The blond laughed again, rubbing her arms. "I wanted to do something special for you," he continued, taking a deep breath. "You know, like a moonlight walk on the beach or something like that. But, every time I would try to ask you, I'd end up saying something stupid and then having to wait until the next time I saw you so I could say something even stupider than that." Elie turned back to him, heart racing. He wasn't angry. He wasn't moving away from her. That was a good sign...right? "I'm sorry for taking so long," Haru continued, cheeks flushing as well. "But, Elie, of course I love you. I've loved you from the moment I met you."
"You do?" asked Elie weakly, feeling her legs starting to shake a little bit. "You don't...I mean, you don't just mean like a, like a –"
"More than a friend. I don't just love you, I'm in love with you," he continued, one arm wrapping around her waist gently. "I'm sorry for ever making you doubt that."
Elie felt herself laugh as Haru pulled her in a little closer, embracing him tightly. "You don't know what it's like to hear you say that," she said, blushing. Haru laughed as well, pressing his forehead against hers.
"Sure I do," he responded. "I felt the same way hearing you say it. And, you know, finally being able to say it feels pretty damn great too." The two laughed together, basking in all of the feelings now out in the open. They stayed like that for a few seconds until Haru gently rubbed the tip of his nose against hers, their lips brushing together just slightly at the exchange.
The two separated for a second, gazing into each other's eyes for a few seconds before they silently leaned in, lips meeting. The kiss was considerably gentler than their first one, not nearly as fierce but every bit as wonderful. One of Haru's hands reached up to her cheek, holding her to him as the kiss began to deepen.
Elie lost track of how long they had been standing together like that, lost in the moment that she didn't think she'd ever get to have. When they finally did break apart, she found herself a little breathless. "Come on, let's sit down," Haru said, taking her hand in his as they walked to the bed. "What happened to your plans with the girls?"
"That's actually why I'm here," she replied with a short laugh as they made themselves comfortable. "We were talking about crushes and everything, and, one thing led to another." She didn't know if Haru was aware of Celia's feelings for him, and Elie decided quickly that she wasn't going to be the one to tell him about it. "I told them I did have a, you know, crush on you, and they started asking how come I've never told you and I really couldn't think of a good reason why I hadn't."
"Yeah, but how come you were so mad when you came over?" he asked, moving his arm so that Elie could lean her head against him. "I mean, I can understand why you were so upset, I really shouldn't have made you wait that long. In my defense though, I really wasn't sure how you felt about me."
"You weren't?"
Haru shook his head, reaching over to kiss the top of hers. "I mean, I kind of thought, but then I figured that we'd been friends for so long, that maybe you had started to see me more of a brother or something."
The brunette laughed at the idea of ever feeling like Haru was her brother. "No," she said, snuggling a little closer to him. "I was just so used to thinking that you would never return the feelings that I didn't really think anything of how I was feeling, you know? Like, I never really thought that this would happen."
The two sat in a comfortable silence for a little bit after that, Elie weighing the pros and cons of confessing how jealous she had been about Celia. "And then," she finally said, deciding at that moment to keep nothing from him, "when Celia and Belnika arrived, I kind of thought..."
"You thought that she was my secret, overseas girlfriend?" guessed Haru quietly. Elie nodded, feeling worried for the first time. Haru, however, kissed the top of her head again and she could feel a smile on his lips. "No, she was always just a friend. I never mentioned her because I never really thought you guys would meet them. You weren't...jealous or anything, were you?" Elie didn't answer immediately, but her silence was enough of an answer. "Were you really?"
Elie sighed, hiding her head against his chest. "The way she was hanging on you!" she groaned, shaking her head. "And it was all so surprising, her coming out of nowhere and you had never mentioned her before!"
Haru laughed, hugging her close. "There's only ever been you," he promised, tilting her chin up and kissing her on the lips. "And, if you'd like," he said, fingertips gently tapping on her arm. Elie looked up at him, finding his face red. "If you want, you know, it can be that way. You know...forever."
"Haru, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"
The blond blinked, beginning to stammer out something. Elie only laughed, silencing him with another kiss. "Nothing would make me happier," she said when they broke apart, cheeks just as flushed as his were. "My boyfriend," she said for the first time, unable to stop grinning. "Haru, my boyfriend. I like the sound of that."
"So do I," said Haru, kissing her gently. "Elie, I know this sounds kind of...forward, but would you like to stay the night with me? I'm not, like, asking because I want to, to do something weird! Just, you know, I don't really want you to go."
It was a little weird, hearing Haru stammer on like a nervous fool, but Elie found that she didn't seem to mind much. "Like when we were kids, and I'd get stuck over here during a storm?"
"Yeah, like that. We can put a movie on, I'll go downstairs and get us some snacks or something."
Elie grinned, pulling away from to sit up a little bit better. "It's like nothing has changed, huh?" she asked, stretching her legs out. "Only with some more kissing, right?"
"As much as you want," Haru said, climbing out of bed. "I'll be right back. You know where my pajamas are if you want to change or anything." With one more kiss, he was off, probably going downstairs to make the promised snacks and to let his sister know that she hadn't killed him. Elie stayed on his bed for a few minutes, reveling in the events of the last – she checked the clock across the room – hour. She closed her eyes and pinched part of her arm to make sure that she was awake; she was.
Grinning, she jumped up and went to his dresser, searching for some of his pajamas, most of which were just a pair of pants and a t-shirt. When she found a pair she liked, she held them in her hands and, after a second of hesitating, inhaled deeply. "What'cha doing, Elie?"
The brunette gasped and turned to the door, face bright red. Haru was standing in the doorway, a six pack of soda under his arm, and a grocery bag with various snack foods dangling from his forearm. "H-Haru," she stammered, throwing the pajamas onto the floor. "Don't you say a word!"
"You like how I smell?" asked Haru, placing everything on his desk. Before Elie could fully defend herself, he laughed again, shaking his head. "I think it's adorable. Tell you what, you can even keep that pair."
Elie laughed, covering her face with her hands as her boyfriend – her boyfriend! – came to wrap his arm around her. "Stop worrying about it," he soothed, hugging her gently. "Really, I think it's cute. Go ahead and change in the bathroom, I'll get the movie started. The popcorn should be ready in a second." Elie nodded weakly, still terribly embarrassed from being caught sniffing his clothes. "Oh, and Elie?" he said as she reached the door. Elie turned, catching him blushing brightly. "I'm really glad you agreed to spend the night."
"Me too," said Elie earnestly, grinning at him once more before she disappeared and stepped into the bathroom. She changed quickly, taking a look at her reflection as she did so. She was positively glowing in her happiness. She tried to think of a time where she could remember being quite as happy, but everything fell short to the feeling of hearing Haru tell her that he loved her. She reached up and gently touched her lips with her fingertips, cheeks red. My boyfriend.
When she had finished changing, she balled her clothes up and went back to his room, finding him standing in the middle of the room with the remote, setting the DVD up. He looked up when she entered, a smile immediately coming to his face. "What are we watching tonight?" she asked, placing her clothes and her shoes by the door.
"Princess Bride," he answered, kissing her forehead as she moved past him. "I know we've seen it before, but it's still one of my favorite movies. Unless you want to watch something else?"
"No, that's fine," Elie said, getting comfortable on his bed. He nodded, handing her the remote so he could get the popcorn. When he returned, he brought the other snacks closer, turned the light off and situated himself on the bed next to her, lifting his arm so that she could cuddle up to him.
They spent the night like that, half watching the movie, half talking. It almost felt as if nothing had really changed, even though the entire nature of their friendship had shifted. To Elie, it felt as if their entire friendship had simply been building to this moment, and that now that they had reached it, they were exactly where they were meant to be.
Eventually, they fell asleep with thoughts like that floating around their minds, arms wrapped around each other. The last thing Elie heard before she fell asleep was Haru, gently stroking her hair, whisper to her, "You're so beautiful."
The next morning, the couple woke up in the afternoon, sun shining brilliantly in the sky, with Elie reluctantly climbing out of bed first and going to grab her things. Haru watched her from the bed, propping himself up with his elbow. "I'm going to go home and change," she explained, stretching. "Julia and the others are going to want to know what happened."
"So will Musica and Let," agreed Haru. They had agreed to spend the night playing video games together and were the people he had essentially hung up on when Elie came barreling in. "Why don't we just tell them together? There's no way to not tell them, and since everyone is already wondering what happened, we might as well."
"That's a good idea," Elie said, yawning. They had stayed up late talking, and she was still quite tired. "You text everyone and tell them to meet us at the beach, and I'll go home and change."
"Why not just wear those clothes?"
Elie glanced down at them. She wanted her friends to know that they were now, officially, a couple, but she didn't want them to know she had spent the night. Elie wasn't worried about them teasing them for it – they were going to tease them regardless – but she did want to keep this night to themselves. It was their moment, and she didn't want to share that with anyone. When she explained that to Haru, his cheeks reddened just a bit before he nodded, standing up and embracing her. "I'll see you soon," he said softly, kissing her deeply for a minute before he allowed her to break away. "Bring your bathing suit. This will probably be the last time we can swim before it starts getting cold!"
The brunette made her way out quietly, thankful that Cattleya and Shuda weren't in the living room again. As she made her way through town, she found herself grinning at everything. The island was the same, but everything just seemed better. She laughed, unable to contain her joy at everything and suddenly twirling around. Nothing could ruin this day for her.
When she arrived home, her brother was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper in front of him. He looked as serious as ever, but at the sight of his sister positively beaming with happiness, he smiled. "You're in a good mood," he commented, lowering the paper more to talk to her. She could feel his violet eyes scanning her choice of clothes – Haru's pajamas. "How was your night?"
Elie laughed, spinning around again before she collapsed into the chair across from him. The truth was ready to burst out of her, and before she could think of whether or not he'd be upset with her for spending the night at Haru's, the story burst out of her.
"Well, first, I was at Julia's for our girls' night. And we were talking about crushes and Celia had said that she liked Haru, but it was super obvious that Haru wasn't interested because he was interested in me instead and I kept denying it, and the girls – one of them – told me that I should just tell Haru how I feel so I stormed over there all mad at him for making me wait around for him all this time, and I told him that I loved him and he said he loved me too, and I spent the night with him and oh, Sieg, it was all just so magical and wonderful and I can't think of a time I was ever this happy!"
The story came out nearly in one full breath, with Elie using her hands to enhance the story for him. He listened with an amused expression on his face, leaning back in his chair. "You two are finally an item?" he asked. Elie laughed and nodded, slumping down in the chair and sighing contentedly. "Congratulations."
"Thank you."
"If you two don't have plans, how about you come over for dinner tonight? It's been a while since we had a home-cooked meal, and it'll be nice to see you two finally together," asked Sieg, pausing for a second before a smirk came to his face. "Plus, I have something I'd like to share with you. A surprise."
Elie nodded, getting back to her feet. "We'll be there," she promised. "I'm going to change, and then we're meeting everyone at the beach to tell them the good news. I'll be back for dinner!"
As fast as possible, she changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, bathing suit on underneath those. She tucked Haru's pajamas into her dresser for safekeeping, grabbed her beach towel, and ran out of the house with one final goodbye to her brother. The half-run, half-walk to the beach went by quickly, but by the time she got there, everyone else was already there and waiting for her. "Okay, she's here, can you guys please just tell us what happened last night?!" asked Julia as she approached, arms crossed against her chest.
Elie and Haru exchanged a smile before he gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling in for a sideways-half hug. Before they started, Musica cut them off, trying to look fierce. "You guys finally fess up?" he asked, leaning back on his hands.
Again, the two looked at each other and smiled. No point in drawing out the whole story. "Yup!" said Elie cheerfully, laughing. Haru laughed as well, scratching the back of his head in his own confirmation. "Sorry we didn't tell you guys immediately."
Everyone but Let and Belnika jumped to their feet, obviously surprised by their response. "Seriously?!" said Julia happily, pulling the brunette into a tight hug. "Oh, I was so worried that it hadn't gone well! Congratulations Elie!" Celia said, hugging her from behind. Musica went to Haru and held out his hand, shaking it. "'Bout damn time, too," he joked, pulling Haru into one of those one-second hugs that guys did.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, answering questions and accepting their teasing graciously before Haru, taking Elie's hand, began to run towards the beach. "Come on! This is the last time we'll be able to swim before it starts getting cold!" The others followed behind them, running headfirst into the waves.
The seven of them stayed at the beach for the better part of the day, enjoying the good weather before it was too late. When dinnertime rolled around, they were all tired and a little sunburnt, but the good feelings were enough to keep them afloat. They bade each other goodbye for the time, congratulations and thank you's exchanged one final time before Haru and Elie began to head back to Elie's house.
Haru and Elie strolled there casually, still basking in the newness of their relationship. "I hope Sieg doesn't burn anything," Haru said as the house came into view, sticking his tongue out at her. The brunette laughed and gently hit his arm, shaking her head. "Come on, your brother could burn milk!"
"You don't burn milk, you curdle it," corrected Elie with another laugh. "Besides, he said he had news or something, and whenever he's got something big to tell me, he makes some sort of pasta dish, so I'm sure that it'll taste wonderful."
When they reached the house, Elie thought that she heard voices inside, and glanced at Haru. "Wonder if he invited Cattleya and Shuda," he suggested, going to open the door for her. It was not, however, Cattleya and Shuda that were sitting at the kitchen table, much to their surprise.
"Niebel!"
"Elie!"
Letting go of Haru, the brunette ran forward and met her nephew in the middle of the room, falling to her knees and hugging him tightly. "Oooh, I've missed you so much!" cried Elie, squeezing him tightly. He laughed and hugged her back just as tightly, small body a welcomed return. "How long are you going to be staying here?"
Niebel pulled away, beaming just as much as Elie had been earlier. Before he could respond, a tall woman with long black hair stood up from the table, brushing from hair out of her eyes. "Hello Elie. My name is Hilda, I'm Niebel's mother," she said, going forward to shake her hand. Elie stood slowly, offering her a confused smile. "And, I'm sorry, who might you be?"
For just a second, Elie had nearly forgotten about Haru, standing there in the doorway. "Oh, I'm sorry, this is my...my boyfriend, Haru," Elie introduced, gesturing him to move forward. He did so, shaking the woman's hand as well.
"Pleasure to meet you both, Sieg and Niebel have told me all about you," said Hilda, placing a hand on her son's head. "Now, to answer your question, we are staying here indefinitely."
The words rang in the air for a few seconds after she had said them, and Elie could only look between the two in shock. "R-really?" she stammered, a smile slowly coming to her face.
"Hilda and I have discussed it extensively, and we feel that it was wrong to try and juggle Niebel between us as we were," explained Sieg from the kitchen, unable to leave what he was doing but still very much part of the conversation. "Previously, Hilda was unable to leave the Empire due to her job. However, she was recently offered a new position, one that would allow her to work from home."
"And since it had made Niebel so unhappy to be away from his father and yourself," continued Hilda with a smile, "I felt that it would be best if he returned. And, after all, it is much better for a child to grow around both parents, not going between the two."
Elie looked between the three of them, almost not believing what she was hearing. "Mom says she's gonna get a house here!" said the child, unable to contain his excitement. "That all of us can live in, so we won't have to be the whole world apart!"
The brunette began to laugh, rushing over to her brother to hug him tightly. He laughed, hugging her back for a second before he was forced to return to whatever he was making. "We're going to see the house she was thinking of after dinner," he explained, looking happier than Elie could remember seeing him. "You're more than welcome to join us, Haru. I'm sure Elie would love to have you along."
For the rest of the evening, Elie found herself completely incapable of not smiling. Everything about life was so wonderful, so much more so than she had ever dreamed it could be. Her brother was finally reunited with his son, they would finally leave the financial red zone, and the man she had loved her entire life was her boyfriend.
Later that night, after they had seen the house – a beautiful two-story home with enough rooms for everyone to have their own sleeping place and the adults to have their own personal offices and a basement where Sieg promised he'd finally invest in a television and compute for the younger two – Elie bid Haru good night with a long kiss outside, thanking him for spending the day with her and promising that she would tell him when they were moving so he could help. Niebel had asked to spend the night sleeping with Elie, as he had when he was very little and missing his mother, and Hilda and Sieg were sitting at the table, discussing some serious matter in voices too low to eavesdrop on.
For Elie, she found herself laying in bed with her nephew curled up next to her, looking out the window and up at the stars. She remembered when school had started, how desperately she had wanted a change. For a while, she had thought that she could find the change within Lucia, someone new and exciting, but change had, instead, found her. For the first time since her parents had passed away, things were looking up for her and her brother. She smiled, rolling over and closing her eyes, thinking that, if it was possible, she'd quite like things to stay this way forever.
~x~
Author's Note: Hello again! For those, like, five people that read Experiment University, I'm sorry for taking it down. I posted the first chapter and then kind of realized that I actually had no idea where to go from there, so I took it down. As for this chapter, part of the reason it has taken me so long to finally update it is actually pretty similar – I know how I want the story to go, but I just hadn't really worked out the details in a way that I liked. But, finally, I have it all down! I'm also working on finishing Holding Out For a Hero, since that one is, like, three chapters from being done and I know exactly what I want to happen.
Either way! I have heard your reviews, and I have not forgotten you! Like always, I will try to get this up in a moderately quick amount of time, but we all know that I'm bad with keeping that promise. I'll try to get the next one out before Christmas, though!
I hope you all enjoyed!