Sumire

His bedroom is richly furnished: crystal chandelier, floor-length satin curtains, queen-sized bed made of heavy mahogany, and woolen comforters to snuggle into during the night. His mother insisted on being the one to decorate his apartment, he explained. It was a simple complex, and no doubt his space is the most extravagantly designed there is – what with towels flown in from France and all, - nothing but the best for a prince in his own right.

It's in the darkness, as I stare up at the ceiling, that I think about the events that passed today. Aoi especially, was a surprise for me. I hadn't thought much about Natsume's sister, so when she materialized on the doorway, with her long dark hair and frilly little get up, it took me a while to realize who she was. I have to say, there's something a bit off about her. Not that she's ugly. How can she be when she's related to Natsume? But, there's something about her that reminds me an awful lot of…

"Ruka?" I say out loud.

"What is it?" he mumbles, the sound barely reaching me. He's sleeping on the couch in the living room, the door to the bedroom wide open in case I needed anything. I told him it was fine for us to share the bed, but the gallant boy wouldn't hear of it.

"Has Natsume's sister always been like that?" Watermelons. A pink skirt. Snuggling Bugsy. Waving good bye until the car is out of view.

I hear him shifting on the couch, probably facing the bedroom. "Aoi? Been like what exactly?"

I couldn't pin-point it in one word. "Like… the total opposite of Natsume. I have to say, it kind of freaks me out. They share the same face but totally different personalities. It's like watching a female Natsume smile and be nice."

Ruka chuckles. "Natsume was a lot nicer and smiled more when we were kids. That was because of Aoi-chan. It's hard not to be happy around her, not when she laughs at everything and always finds ways to have fun." I try to picture a perky Natsume but just can't.

"Sounds like a Mikan Sakura Jr." I roll my eyes involuntarily and laugh at the instinct. I wonder how she and Hotaru are doing in Switzerland. It's been a while since I've had heard of them. Only once since graduation, I think.

Silence. Ruka doesn't respond.

"Do you think that's why Natsume fell for her?" I continue on, "'Cause she reminds him of Aoi?" Finally, I hear Ruka shuffling around, and I sit up to find him doing the same. His gaze is lost to the window in the living room, the blue-white light of the moon casting a glow to his disheveled hair and sleepy eyes. It's a while before he says anything.

"I think Natsume fell for Mikan because she's Mikan," he says after a while. His voice is soft and pensive. "Mikan to Natsume is the hearth on a cold winter night, keeping him alive during his darkest time. She's warm where he's cold and loving where he's grim. How could anyone, for so long lost, not be drawn to the light at the end of the tunnel? Whereas Aoi… Aoi is summer, always easy and always happy. Natsume and I, we preserve her because she's sunshine. She's too good, too real. She's the innocence of our childhood."

"Sounds like a dream," I hear myself saying. I'm drawn to the picture in my head of a young Ruka, a young Natsume, and Aoi dragging them along, smiles and laughter, trouble-free. The thought makes me feel weightless, like floating. I see Ruka deep in his own thoughts and know that he's thinking the same thing.

The trance ends. He blinks several times and whips his head my way, as if realizing he's been mumbling something very intimate. "I… uhh… we should sleep." I smile and watch him lie back down – or try to lie down, rather. He's too tall to fit. His feet stick out on the armrest of the sofa, the blanket barely covering them. Still, he shuts his eyes determinedly. Too good, too real. You and Aoi have a lot more in common than you think.

I too fix myself on the bed and pull up the comforter up to my chin. I stare up at the ceiling and try to sleep, the crystal chandelier coming in and out of focus as my eyelids droop to a close. My last thought is an image of a grown up Aoi dragging Ruka along by the hand, still all smiles and laughter. He's looking ahead at her, smiling serenely, completely at peace in her presence. Innocent and yet intimate, as if they eventually just decided that they were meant to be together. That's ridiculous, I remember thinking. Just what would Natsume think.