(Characters © ZUN)
An Eternity With You
Part Six
The sun has long since set by the time Mokou finally makes her way back towards her home, eyes still red from crying.
I'm an idiot, she curses herself, sniffling quietly. Why don't I tell her? Why is it so hard for me to just say how I feel…?
The white-haired girl shakes her head, blinking away the last few tears that are beading up in her eyes.
She'll have gone home by now, she thinks to herself, seeing her own home in the distance. I… I have to tell her tomorrow… I have to. After tonight…
She forces herself to not think about it anymore; she walks to her home in silence, save for the small sniffles as she tries to stop herself from crying. After a moment's pause, she opens the door slowly, slowly stepping in.
The faint light from the moon shines softly on Keine, who is sitting on Mokou's bed, slumped against the wall and breathing quietly.
She freezes, eyes wide.
Wh-What is she still doing here? She — she should have gone home hours ago…
When she sees Keine shiver, Mokou snaps herself out of her thoughts; she reaches under the bed, pulling out a spare blanket.
There we go, the white-haired girl smiles sadly, carefully draping the blanket over the were-hakutaku. That should be—
"Nh…"
Mokou freezes as she sees Keine's eyes open slowly.
"Mnh…?" the silver-haired woman groans, blinking her eyes tiredly before noticing the other girl standing over her. "Mokou…? You came back…"
"I — Y-Yeah, I came back. It… It's my house," Mokou stutters, trying not to have another emotional breakdown. "Wh-What are you still doing here, though…?"
"I was waiting for you," the were-hakutaku replies, her voice still somewhat thick with sleep. "I wanted to make sure you'd come back safely…"
The white-haired human can feel the tears welling up in her eyes once again.
"K-Keine…" she mumbles, awkwardly clambering onto the bed next to the were-hakutaku. "Y-You're… You do too much for me. You didn't have to wait for me… You sh-should have just… gone home…"
Keine can hear Mokou's voice catching.
"Mokou? What's wrong?" the silver-haired woman asks, sitting up straight as she snaps out of her sleep-induced fog. "Are you—"
She stops when the white-haired immortal throws her arms around her, tears streaming down her face once again.
"Mokou, are you—"
"No, I'm not," Mokou sobs, her chest heaving as she holds onto Keine as if for dear life. "I'm an idiot, on top of everything else. I should have just told you from the beginning that — that I…"
She takes a deep, shuddering breath, not daring to look Keine in the eye.
"…th-that I — that I love you, Keine. I love you…"
For a few long, torturous moments, there is silence between them both.
Mokou feels Keine work one of her arms free of the immortal's grasp, then use it to pull her closer.
"Is this why you've been so nervous lately?" the silver-haired woman asks quietly, looking down at the white-haired girl. "Is this what you couldn't tell me?"
Unable to speak, Mokou just nods, not even bothering to try and stem the flow of tears.
"Why? Why would you be upset about that, Mokou… oh, never mind. It doesn't matter right now. Just look at me."
The immortal girl looks up, still crying…
Her red eyes widen as Keine presses her lips against Mokou's.
It only lasts a few seconds, but they are some of the longest seconds of Mokou's life; time speeds back up, however when Keine finally breaks off the kiss, gently framing Mokou's face with her hand.
"I don't know why you're sad about this," the were-hakutaku murmurs, brushing away the white-haired girl's tears with her thumb. "But I love you too, Mokou."
"K-Keine…"
"…you look tired," the silver-haired woman smiles faintly, gently pushing Mokou's bangs back and kissing the white-haired girl's forehead. "Let's get some sleep."
"I-I…"
Mokou pauses, then finally lets a faint smile appear as she closes her eyes.
"…yeah. Let's," she agrees, laying down on the bed with Keine.
Neither of them can muster up the energy to separate from each other long enough to close the door.
(Life has been ridiculously busy lately. I'm still working on my various fics, but expect some sort of short-term hiatus.
Please review!)