His lips twisted into a smile beneath me. I giggled as he slid his fingers over my bare waist, tickling me lightly as he went. I twisted my arms around his neck a little closer, pressing my chest to his. He sighed into my mouth, his sweet breath mingling with my own. The bed creaked underneath us as I shifted, on my knees, legs wrapped around his waist. I rubbed his neck with my thumb, feeling his adam's apple bob underneath it.
He moaned and I opened my eyes. He was staring at me with his own chillingly beautiful gray ones. I pulled back from his mouth, full of regret.
"Too far?" He asked.
"Mmm... Yeah." I sighed, "I know it doesn't make sense... It just doesn't feel right..."
"I know," He smiled.
We clambered off the bed, me still fully clothed. Mori slipped his shirt back on, taking my hand and leading me back downstairs. I sighed again. I hated myself a little, but it wouldn't feel right if we... Ya know... DID it now. Not so soon before we were going to be married. I'd always had the moral thinking that you should keep your virginity until you were married, so it just felt wrong to break that now. Even if we had already... Well, you know what I mean.
"Babe?" Takashi was looking back at me. I blinked, still half absorbed in my thoughts. He laughed at me and tugged my hand downstairs. "Come on," he crooned in his deep voice, "I want to show you something."
Suffice to say I followed willingly. Sometimes that voice had the same lulling, soothing affect as Morgan Freeman's. It was like velvet.
He lead me through the sitting room and kitchen, through the dining room, and out the front door. A little annoyed, as I didn't have shoes on, I asked him where we were going.
"Oh, just somewhere. I thought you'd like to see it." He kept walking along the paved path that lead to the dojo. "I've never shown it to anyone, actually."
"Not even Ouka?"
"Not even Mikskuni."
I smiled. It must be very special...
"Okay... So then it's part of the dojo? Or... Behind it?" I struggled to think of where this mystery place could possibly be.
"No, but we need to go to the dojo to get there if it makes you feel any better." He chuckled lightly at me.
"Well... Alright. So tell me... What's this secret place for? Is this where you learned all your dance moves or something? Because I know those weren't developed in public."
We took a moment to laugh before he responded, "No... Well sometimes. But mostly, I use it to think. Mull over life, the whole sentimental, philosophical deal I guess." We stepped over a small stream on a bridge that led to the dojo, and Takashi pointed at the slippers there. I slid a pair on, then allowed him to lead me from there, hands in pockets, walking lazily.
"All right, so, a thinking spot. What do you think about?"
"You, mostly. Hard not to. This spot is where I came when I first met you... I assume you felt that spark the first day as well?" I smiled and nodded so that he'd go on, "Well I came here to try and figure out my feelings. Then, this is where I decided that I had to meet your family and vice versa. After that, I thought about what your dad told me about your past, and how I should act with all of that-"
I stopped walking. "What?"
"What? What's wrong?"
"My dad... He told you about... About my-!?"
"Oh, God, I never told you about that, did I...?"
I spluttered, "NO! Those were the worst years of my life! How could he do that to me!? And you! How could you not tell me that he told you about it all!?"
"Hey, stay calm for a minute here. I don't see you any differently because of it, do you hear me?" He grabbed my shoulders, "It doesn't make a difference if you didn't always look like this. It doesn't make a difference that you have scars I don't, okay?"
My face was heating up now, though, and I couldn't stop myself from what I felt like was the truth, "But I was a mess. A horrible, fat, depressed mess. And that was why I came here! I didn't ever want to relive that pain! That disgusting state I was in! I hated it, and that's why I left! How could he bring that back...?"
Takashi seemed to finally realize that I wasn't mad at him and pulled me into a hug. He traced light circles in my back for a while while I got my anger under control. After what seemed like an eternity, I pulled away from him nonchalantly. "Well... Let's go, then."
"What?"
"To your oh-so-secret place?" I gave him a watery smile.
"Oh. Right." He took my hand and carried on like nothing had happened. Which, of course, was one of my favorite things about him.
He picked up right where he left off in the conversation as well. "Yeah, so this is also where I decided that I should propose to you. Both times, actually." We veered suddenly off the forest path and into the brush, Takashi swiping branches out of our way as we went.
"Yeah?" I smiled and teased him, "Is this where you decided that your first attempt was lousy?"
"Aha... Yeah, actually... It is." We laughed, "Anyway, here it is!" He pushed a few large fern fronds out of the way for me to see the entrance to his beloved sanctuary.
It was... Beautiful.