Learning to Run

by guthrum06

Emi and Hisao reconnect in their 30s, after Hisao has suffered a terrible loss.

71. Part 2, Chapter 39

Triple Date

We're riding up the elevator right now. We just spent two nights at my mom's after my surgery and I still feel very pent-up. It is taking everything I have not to just grab Akari right now and make out with her in the elevator. But I guess I can make it to her dorm room.

The minute we enter it, I drop my bag on the floor and put my good arm around her. She puts her arms around my neck, and we share a long, deep kiss. I slide my hand down to her butt and give it a little squeeze. She breaks the kiss and smirks at me.

"Still in your mood, I see."

I frown, "Yeah…is that okay? We aren't at my mom's…surgery was two days ago so I thought-"

Just as I'm starting to feel a little rejected, Akari puts her finger on my lips and takes off her top, putting a huge smile on my face. "You thought right…it was r-really hard to tell you no so many times. So, I'm in a mood too." She sits on the bed and wiggles her finger for me to follow. Probably a good idea for us to sit to avoid further injury.

I sit down next to her and start kissing her neck and collarbone like I have so desperately wanted to for the last two days. She puts her hand on the back of my head as she enjoys my affection. I feel her hands start to find their way under my top, she's holding my hips now. I lean back and smile at her.

"We can take it off, but we have to be extra careful."

She grins, "I'm always careful."

She really is. Ever since my mom's 'training' before I moved in across the hall from her, she seems to know just how gentle to be with me. Even in the heat of the moment. It's an important trait for someone I'm sleeping with. And I intend for her to be the only one I sleep with for the rest of my life, so it's even more important.

I sit up and grab the right side of my shirt and get my arm and head out of it. But it still isn't quite off on the left, with my sling in the way. Akari gently takes that side and maneuvers it around my surgically repaired elbow without hurting me. Once we get it off, she locks eyes with me and removes her bra before doing the same for me. She had to help me put it on this morning. It makes sense she gets to take it off too.

We sit on the edge of the bed and start passionately kissing each other while caressing one another's bodies. Only having one arm is really frustrating right now. Before long, Akari removes her skirt before doing the same for me. We resume kissing and each of us slides a hand inside the other's underwear. We gently caress and kiss each other, really taking our time, which surprises me a little given how pent-up we're both feeling. But going at this pace allows us to really savor everything.

Eventually, Akari breaks our kiss and stops touching me, causing me to let out a sad little moan. She smiles at me and says, "Th-there's something new I want to try. It w-will be good since your arm is hurt."

I pout at her. "You better not say I don't get to do stuff for you."

She grins, "I won't. We both get to f-feel good."

Akari is timider than me in most situations. But that's not the case in the bedroom, where she usually takes charge. It started because my condition limits how I can move. So, she has to lead the way. But I think she has come to relish the role, and I've found that I quite enjoy mine too. I guess that's a good thing. It wouldn't be good if I always had to be in control to really get into this.

Now that it's clear I get to pleasure her, I excitedly nod, "Y-yeah…let's do it."

She giggles, "You d-don't even know what it is yet."

I feel a little embarrassed at how obviously submissive I was, but I may as well just go with it. "I know, but…I just want to do whatever you want to do. I trust you. I'm sure it will be good. It always is."

She smiles at me, "Okay…lay down with your l-legs apart."

I do as instructed, deriving more than a little arousal out of the fact that she told me what to do. She smiles at me as she slides my underwear off. I feel myself tremble with anticipation as she does. She locks eyes with me as she takes off her own. Then she positions herself over me. Almost like a guy would if we were going to have sex. She turns herself at an angle, and pushes her genitals against mine, which feels amazing. She adjusts herself some, making sure that our most sensitive spots of them all – the little mounds above our openings – are in direct contact with each other. As usual, she's taking great care not to move me. Eventually, she finds the right configuration and she starts rubbing us together by moving her hips. I briefly worry that this might be painful for her given all the damage and surgeries her hips have experienced, but the pleasure I'm experiencing quickly drowns out those concerns. It feels…better than anything else we have done.

We both moan at the sensation. So far, we've only used our hands and mouths to pleasure one another. This…this is different. Using a part of our body that experiences pleasure to produce pleasure in the other isn't something that we've done, and it results in an even more intense sensation. I can feel my own pleasure of course, but to know my body is producing pleasure for her at the same time really enhances things for me. It seems to be having a similar effect on her.

I love that in this position I can look at her and see her entire face and body, which I'm running my hand all over. She can do the same and she takes advantage of it by watching my breasts bounce as she gently moves my body. I always love how she looks at me. I instantly know she thinks I'm the sexiest person in the world any time she does. She reaches out with one hand and caresses my right breast while she continues pressing herself against me.

We were at it for a while before this, and now that we've arrived at the most intense form of pleasure, we're both already very close.

As I caress her body and watch her move, I say "Ak-akari this i-is…amazing…"

She smiles at me and says, "I l-love…y-you…Kayoko…so…much""

I'm about to respond in kind, but then she increases the speed of her hips, and my mind starts to go blank. We both begin convulsing in our legs and abdomen. She starts to squeeze my breast more roughly. It makes my moans even more intense. We reach our climax at almost the same instant, our dual moans forming a kind of eerie erotic melody as Akari continues to move her hips and squeeze me even harder. We're so into it that neither of us remember to muffle ourselves. We both cascade into a second orgasm that for me at least is more intense than the first.

We both reach the end and Akari collapses to my side, exhausted. She did a ton of work. I roll on my side and give her a kiss. We both have a few tears on our face, not an unusual occurrence for either of us after we make love. But now that the moment has passed I remember my concerns from earlier and start to worry that the tears might not just be from emotion.

"Hey…are your hips okay?"

"M-mostly."

I frown at her, "That's not a yes."

She sighs, "It hurt a l-little near the end. But I'm n-not going to damage them more or anything. They j-just hurt a little." She smiles at me and pulls me in for a deep kiss. "But it was worth a little pain."

"Okay, but if it ever hurts too much you can stop."

"Okay. I will."

I start tracing her face with my finger. "I'll stop nagging you now. That was amazing. It might be my new favorite."

Akari giggles, "Me too. It was a great way to celebrate your successful surgery."

I laugh, "Does that mean I have to have another one for us to do that again? Because I'll sign up for one."

—-

It's the day of our triple date. There's a wheelchair accessible pedestrian mall in Sendai. It has a really nice food court and a there's a karaoke place in the same mall so it works out perfectly for us.

Akari and I are riding down in the elevator. She is wearing jeans and a white peasant blouse along with a pink cardigan. I'm already looking forward to her taking the cardigan off when we're at karaoke. She's also wearing the headband that I got her, as she always does when we go out as a couple. I should probably get her a new one soon.

I'm wearing jeans and a black cable-knit v-neck sweater. I have a black wool coat over it, and I'm of course also wearing the hair clip Akari got me.

I take my girlfriend's hand. "If you ever feel anxious tonight, just let me know and we can remove ourselves from the situation. I'll be watching too."

She smiles at me. "P-part of the reason I can do this is because I know you'll be watching." She puts her arms around my neck and pulls me down for a kiss. "I love you."

The elevator doors open, and I say, "I love you too" as we walk out hand in hand.

We find the other two couples waiting at the gate. Ai and Carsten aren't dressed any differently than the norm for them, which means casual sweaters and jeans this time of year. Meanwhile, Hana and Koji are overdressed. Hana is wearing a beautiful red sweater dress that is a little big on her. I imagine the dress is something she has from before she developed her condition and lost so much weight. She's also wearing white wedges that make her tower us even more than she usually does. Koji is wearing slacks with a blue button-down shirt. He's wearing a hoodie over it which seems a little out of place, but I imagine he still isn't comfortable without it once we are out in the open.

We are going to make for an interesting group, that's for sure. We exchange greetings and then Hana smiles and says, "You two look great."

"Thanks, I love your dress."

"Yeah, me too. It might be my favorite thing I own. Maybe a bit over the top for what we're doing tonight, but oh well. I don't get much of a chance to wear it. Koji likes it too." She winks at him.

Koji smiles and says, "It's true. Should we head down the hill?"

I nod. "My mom will be here soon, and we'll meet you down there." Hana and Koji go down the hill, and the other four of us wait at the gate for my mom.

I notice Ai looks very jittery and she's playing with her braid. I'm about to check on her, but Akari beats me to it.

"A-are you okay, Ai?"

She nods. "Just a little anxious. I haven't gone out like this in a long time. Not since…before Carsten left. I'm worried about my wheelchair and stuff."

Carsten bends down and gives her a little kiss. "It'll be okay, we made sure everywhere is accessible. I'll be here if you need me, too."

She nods, "I know. I will be okay once we get there. Just anticipating it all makes me overthink things."

Akari says, "I know what you m-mean. I'm anxious too."

Ai smiles, "We'll look out for each other then too."

My mom pulls up shortly thereafter, and we make it down the hill without incident. My mom is very excited for our triple date, of course.

Luckily, making our way to the city was also uneventful. The bus wasn't very busy, and we were able to sit together. I did notice that Koji pulled his hood up as soon as the bus pulled up.

We got some looks of course. After all, between the six of us there is a wheelchair, a sling, facial scarring, and a prosthetic leg. Carsten is also very clearly foreign, which always seems to draw attention.

We're getting off the bus now. The pedestrian mall is a short walk away. It's crowded, but every time I look at Akari she squeezes my hand and smiles at me. Without even realizing it, this has become our little code for me checking on her and her letting me know she's okay.

When we get to the food court, me, Ai, and Hana find a table while the others get food for themselves and their significant other. I am surprised Akari volunteered to do it. I only have one arm of course, but I could have gone with her just to soothe her nerves. She insisted on going on her own, though.

The food court has dozens of options, and there's a live band playing light acoustic music. It has a relaxed, fun atmosphere. I had a hard time making my food choice, but I eventually went with pizza. I haven't had it in a long time. My dad made it sometimes, and I don't think I've had it since he passed away.

Hana does look a little funny in an outdoor food court dressed as elegantly as she is, but she does look good. Ai, however, doesn't look like she is doing super well. She's fidgeting with her braid again.

I reach over and squeeze her shoulder and whisper, "Are you okay?"

She smiles, but it seems a little forced. "I think so. I'm more anxious than I used to be in this kind of situation. I think I avoided social contact so much last trimester that it is kind of overwhelming to see all these people now." She takes a deep breath and exhales. "But I'm dealing with it."

Hana says, "I feel it a little too. I haven't done much of this since coming to Yamaku."

I was worried about Akari, but it almost seems like these two are more anxious right now. Maybe Akari is just better at hiding it thanks to her lifelong experience.

Not long after that, our beaus return with our food and theirs. Akari sits down next to me with a whole cheese pizza.

I give her a quick kiss. "It'll be fun to share. You wanted pizza too, huh?"

"Y-yeah, it sounded really good."

"Getting it went smoothly?"

"I was a little anxious and froze up a little, b-but they were patient."

I rub her back with my open hand. "Good."

I look to see what everyone else went with, and we have cuisine from the world over. Carsten went with some Yakisoba of course. After all, he's only been back in Japan for a couple of weeks. The rest of us went for international cuisine. Koji and Hana got hamburgers and Ai has some Korean bulgogi.

Our pizza is excellent, probably better than anything my dad ever made to be honest, but it does still remind me of him and that always makes things taste better. Everyone else is happy with their food too, so much so that we don't do a whole lot of talking. The silence is broken by Ai saying, "Is that a Baskin Robbins over there?"

Carsten laughs, "You haven't finished your dinner and you're already looking ahead to dessert?"

Ai shovels the last few forkfuls of food into her mouth and gives Carsten a "There, are you happy?" kind of look that makes all of us crack up.

Akari says, "Y-yeah there is one. I saw it. I was thinking we might get ice cream for dessert."

Hana grimaces, "I can't do dairy because of my…thing. But you all should get some."

"W-well, we don't have to get it. That doesn't sound f-fun for you."

I look down at what little is left of our delicious cheese pizza and feel bad for enjoying it so much in front of her.

Koji says, "Actually, I think they have some dairy free flavors. I'll go check." He tightens his hood, which hasn't come down at any point during our outing so far.

Hana says, "Thanks babe, that's really sweet." He kisses the top of her head and heads off towards Baskin Robbins.

I smirk at her. "That's some man you've got there. Willing to go check for you so you don't have go in there and be disappointed."

Hana laughs, "It's true. He is the sweetest. He does a really good job with my dietary stuff in general."

Ai says, "How restricted is your diet? I feel bad for not noticing before."

"It's mostly just dairy that I can't have. It isn't common in most Japanese food, but it shows up in packaged foreign food. He's always checking labels and stuff to make sure."

Koji returns with a satisfied smile on his face, "They do have dairy free. But only vanilla and chocolate."

Hana smiles, "I think I can make do with those."

By now everyone has finished eating. We gather up our things and head to Baskin Robbins together. When we get there, we find a colorful ice cream wonderland. In a freezer that is behind glass, there are dozens of big tubs of ice cream with a variety of classical and exotic flavors. Just like the food court, there are so many options that it is a little overwhelming. I'm kind of jealous that Hana only has to choose between two right now.

As I try to make my choice, I see Koji and Hana have made theirs and are paying. I need some inspiration.

"What did you get, Koji?"

"Um…not one you would like."

I scoff and cross my arm, "How do you know?"

Hana laughs, "Because his is disgusting."

"Okay…now I have to know."

"It's habanero."

"You lost me."

Hana laughs, "It's really spicy. He gets spicy ice cream. Spicy-sweet is his favorite thing. He's a weirdo."

I laugh, "Well, look who his girlfriend is, you know? It isn't too surprising he likes spicy-sweet."

Koji chuckles and gets a slap on his arm as retribution.

"But yeah, definitely gonna have to pass on the…halagueno, or whatever."

I turn around and look for my girlfriend, who is looking at the ice cream through the glass. Her face isn't right up against it, but it's not very far away from the glass either. Her face is scrunched up in the kind of cute expression a young child would have in the same situation. She's having a hard time making a choice too.

"What are you getting?"

"I'm trying to decide between a couple. What about y-you?"

"Same problem. I think…maybe rainbow sherbet or raspberry."

She giggles, "I was trying to decide b-between raspberry and chocolate."

"Okay, why don't I get raspberry and you get chocolate. That way you can have both."

"B-but what about sherbet?"

"I'll be okay. Raspberry sounds better now anyway, since we can share." I wink at her, making her giggle.

Now that we have finally made our decisions, we make our order. I get a cone because of my arm situation, but I actually really like cones. Just not the mess they make. It means I sort of have a time limit in which I must finish my ice cream. Hopefully I don't get brain freeze. We rejoin our friends who are at a new table closer to the Baskin Robbins.

There we find Ai and Carsten sharing ice cream in a way that reminds me of when they were first dating. Ai has the cup of ice cream and is getting spoonfuls and saying, "Say ahh…" and then Carsten does exactly that and she puts the spoon in his mouth. It takes a lot of effort to stifle a laugh. I'm just going to have to ignore them to make it through this. I can't spend too much time laughing if I'm going to finish my ice cream before it melts.

Koji and Hana are the more mature couple. They are eating their ice cream like normal people, and like me they are doing their best to ignore the spectacle their friends have created. I guess they never knew Ai and Carsten when they first got together so this must be a big shock for them.

However, Akari has decided on a path different from the three of us.

"H-hey Carsten, how's that ice cream?"

He blushes a little. "It's good."

"Does it taste b-better when she feeds it to you?"

Ai frowns. "We're being over the top, aren't we?"

The four of us laugh, "M-maybe a little. But you two just reunited a few weeks ago. So that's okay."

I whisper to Akari, "You know…I was kind of wanting to feed you a couple bites of my ice cream. Guess we can't now, huh?"

Akari giggles, "Nope. We can share without b-being like that can't we?"

I sigh, "I guess. I know it's kind of obnoxious, but the idea of being like that sometimes is kind of appealing."

She pats my thigh under the table. "Well, w-we can do it sometime if you really want. B-but not now. We don't want to be hypocrites."

I pout at her for a moment and then nod.

After we finish our ice cream, we head to karaoke which is a short walk from the food court. We reserved a large room for the six of us.

When we get there, we are guided to our reserved room. It has lots of seating and a large screen for music videos and song lyrics. Koji and Hana get settled on the couch, and now that we're in a private environment he pulls his hood down, which makes me smile a little.

Akari excitedly heads to the machine before anyone else can. Last time she went to karaoke with Michi and his friends, she didn't want to sing. But with us, she wants to go first.

She flips through the song choices with a sense of purpose. She must be looking for a specific song. Suddenly, her eyes light up and she gets a huge smile on her face.

In a surprisingly loud voice she asks, "K-kayoko…will you do one with me!? Please!?"

I laugh, "You don't have to plead so hard. Of course, I will. What do you want to do?"

"It's the theme song for Bloom into You."

"It has a theme song?"

"Well…the anime does, y-yeah."

"There's an anime?"

Carsten chuckles and shakes his head at me, "Most good manga gets made into anime. Are you even a Japanese teenager?"

This makes us all laugh, given the very non-Japanese-looking person asking the question.

I walk up to where the machine is and take a microphone. This is really meaningful to both of us, as silly as that sounds when talking about an anime theme song. But…it's the manga that made her realize she liked girls, and when I read it, it really did bring us closer together. It was like learning about a very special, intimate part of her. Especially because it's something she read when she was stuck in the hospital. Plus, it's just a beautiful love story. I wish I could put an arm around Akari. Stupid sling. Luckily, she gets next to me and puts an arm around me, and we start singing the song together.

Even though we're both musicians, neither of us is what you would call a 'good' singer. Adequate might be the best description. But we try our best.

[If you want to listen to the song they're singing, you can find it here: watch?v=kRdNI4XAxRw]

"The sunlight wavers as it shines through the road of trees / I can hear your voice with the usual 'good morning' / What are you hiding inside that locked glass chest?"

This is already a cute song. It feels like they did good justice to the source material. Akari is smiling while she sings it, and it might just be the cutest thing I've ever seen.

"In this story that has just begun, I want to know more about your world / Now I grasp onto those fingers I've touched by mere chance / Your show of courage, your weakness, your everything. I'll embrace it all / Firmly"

Yep, starting to tear up now. Of course this is going to make me think about us. She must have known that, of course.

"I can't forget, the day I first met you was outside in the sun / The time that we had gradually accumulated is engraved in my heart. / The future that had once looked so far off, feels so close by."

I'm struggling to keep my composure and keep singing this song, but Akari's doing it. I can too.

"These irreplaceable feelings grow little by little. / I had simply wanted to find what's "special" together with you. / Hold onto this hand until it's enough to erase your insecurities, forever / "I want to tell you, 'Because I'll be by your side."

I am angry about this sling. I want to hold her hand like the song says.

"In this story that has just begun, I want to know more about your world / Now I grasp onto those fingers I've touched by mere chance / Your show of courage, your weakness, your everything. I'll embrace it all / Firmly"

When the song ends our friends applaud with very sincere smiles on their faces, Ai even looks like she teared up a little. All our friends like our relationship, but I think it's extra important to her because she was the only one who knew Akari had been in love with me so long. We're smiling too. There is a steady trickle of tears down my face, and I can see that the same is true of Akari. We put down the microphones and hug each other.

As our hug lingers for a while, Ai laughs and says, "Just kiss already!"

Me and Akari giggle and then I put my hand on her cheek and give her a soft long kiss, which causes our friends to whoop and holler with excitement. We break the kiss and walk back to the couch hand-in-hand. Her face is bright red, I'm sure mine is too. We don't usually make a point of kissing like that in front of our friends. When we sit down, Akari snuggles into me and sighs happily.

Hana beams at us, "That was really beautiful."

Ai says, "She means how much that song meant to you both is beautiful…the actual singing not so much."

I stick my tongue out at Ai, even though she's probably right. There's a reason we both play instruments.

Akari says, "W-well, Ai…now's your chance to show us how good you are."

She smirks, "Oh, I will."

Carsten says, "Do you want to do one together too babe?"

She waves him off. "Maybe later. You'll hold me back. I want to show off first."

As she heads towards the machine I whisper to Carsten, "Is she actually a good singer?"

He laughs, "Not that I know of. I've never heard her sing. But maybe she has a hidden talent."

Ai selects a Taylor Swift song that I'm not particularly familiar with. She has a look of extreme confidence on her face. Then she raises the microphone to her mouth and…

She's horrible. She can't carry a tune and she is butchering the pronunciation of every other word. Her voice is very high-pitched and grating. She's smiling as she looks at all of us, and we all have smiles plastered on our faces. But if you watch closely, our eyes flinch every few words. Even Carsten isn't immune to this. Mercifully, she finishes the song and returns the microphone to the machine.

She smiles proudly at us and says, "So, am I amazing, or what?!"

We all sit in an awkward silence with fake smiles on our faces, unsure of how to answer. Should we lie? Or tell her we never want to hear her sing again? Maybe something in between. Neither I nor any of my friends produces a response.

After a while she laughs and says, "Come on, I know I'm awful. I don't have a musical bone in my body. I just thought it would be funny to pretend like I think I'm good. I even exaggerated how bad I am."

Carsten laughs, "Well, it was pretty funny then. It's a relief to know you know you aren't good though. I was a little worried I would have to pretend you were a good singer for the rest of my life."

Ai rolls close to him and smiles, "Did you just propose?"

Carsten realizes what he said and blushes. "Um…not quite a proposal. But a hope, maybe?"

Ai gives him a quick kiss. "I'll take it. I guess I probably don't want you to mention how bad of a singer I am when you do propose."

He laughs, "Noted."

Koji says, "Hana actually can sing, if we'd like a change of pace."

Hana laughs, "Don't oversell it."

"Have you heard the other performances? I'm not sure I could oversell you. By comparison you're going to sound like a professional."

I scoff, "I know Akari and me weren't good, but don't lump us in with Ai!"

Ai giggles, "Seriously. They were way better than me."

"Yeah, maybe we should hear you sing if you're going to be such a critic."

Koji's face becomes very fearful. "Oh…I'm not going to sing."

Hana slaps his arm, "You shouldn't have been so mean to them, then. You have to now."

Akari says, "N-No he doesn't. If he doesn't want to, he doesn't want to."

Koji looks surprised to have found an ally in Akari. I guess they don't know what happened during her last karaoke experience.

Koji frowns, "I was mostly trying to compliment Hana. I got carried away. You two were good. It was really meaningful to you both, so it doesn't really matter what you sounded like anyway."

Akari smiles, "It's okay. I am looking forward to hearing her now, so you d-did a good job."

Ai laughs, "Are you apologizing to me too?"

Koji smirks, "Nope."

Ai giggles, "Fair enough."

After that Hana heads to the front of the room and picks a song. She chooses a Japanese pop hit from a few years ago.

She is surprisingly good. She sounds like the original song and can hit every note. Her range is especially impressive. Koji didn't oversell her at all. Now that she's singing, the ostentatious red dress she wore for this outing seems to suit her and the situation. It makes sense she wants to be a music teacher. She can probably teach choir just as well as she can teach band. When she finishes, we all applaud enthusiastically. Koji gives us his best "I told you so" look.

She laughs, "Thank you. I did choir at my old school. I kinda miss it, I guess. Anyone else want to sing?"

I laugh, "Well now that we have a professional, you can just be our musical entertainment for the rest of the night, can't you?"

She chuckles, "I can sing a few more. But I'd like to hear more from everyone. Well…except Ai." We all laugh. "And, if you really don't want to Koji, you don't have to."

After that, Hana does a few more pop songs. Then Akari does a few more anime theme songs that I'm not familiar with. Carsten joins her for one of them that they apparently bonded over when they first met, and they had a blast. He has a surprisingly smooth baritone voice and is likely the second-best singer of our group.

We just heard a buzz that indicates we only have five minutes left. Hana kisses Koji on the cheek and says, "You still don't want to do one? I really want to hear you sing." He looks like he isn't going to budge. Then, Hana whispers something in his ear. He gets a goofy smile on his face and then says "I will do one but…I don't want you all looking at me. I know none of you are bothered by my face but…having so many people looking at me is hard."

He walks up to the machine and starts flipping through the choices.

"Okay, w-we'll all turn around." We nod in agreement with Akari and then do exactly that.

Hana says, "Are you okay with me watching?"

"Yep, you're allowed." He continues flipping through choices.

I whisper to Hana, "I have to know - what did you say to him to get him to change his mind?"

She giggles, "Just promised to do a little something special in the bedroom later."

This makes both me and Akari crack up, making Ai and Carsten wonder what's up. Before they can ask, Koji starts singing.

He chose a 1980s English-language power ballad of all things. He doesn't sound bad or good. Probably about what me and Akari sound like. His pronunciation of everything sounds exactly like the song, though. He really is good at English. Mrs. Yoshida would be proud, I think.

When he finishes Hana cheers him on and applauds enthusiastically. We join in the applause. Then things go quiet and I ask "Can we turn around now?"

There's no response. But he isn't singing, so I'm sure it's fine.

When I turn so does everyone else. We see Koji and Hana enjoying a rather deep kiss that goes on for quite some time. It wouldn't be incorrect to refer to it as 'making out,' so we all avert our eyes. It's only stopped by Carsten clearing his throat. They both blush and apologize.

Just what did she promise to do I wonder? Seemed like they were about to get started right here.

Ai grabs Carsten's shirt and says, "You have to kiss me now. We're the only couple that hasn't shared a long kiss in the booth now." She laughs, "And to think, these perverts were giving us a hard time about the ice cream…"

Carsten laughs and kisses Ai, just as our time in the booth runs out.

We leave the karaoke place and head back to the bus stop. Now we're waiting for the bus. We all had a really great time, but it feels bittersweet. I go and hug Hana without warning, startling her a little.

She laughs, "What's this about?"

"Just shut up and hug me." She does.

"I'm sad you two are leaving before too long. This is probably the only time we got to do a triple date with us all here. It was fun. I wish there was time for more."

We break the hug and Hana sighs, "It does suck. I really didn't get very much time with any of you. Not even a whole year."

Koji says, "It's true…but we aren't leaving just yet. We're just busy. So…probably no more triple dates, but you'll see lots of us."

I nod, "Yeah, I know. Sorry for bringing the mood down, everyone."

Just as I'm apologizing, our bus pulls up. It is packed full of people. I wonder if we should wait for a later bus that might be emptier. I look at Akari and squeeze her hand and she smiles and squeezes back. Okay, she's ready for this.

The six of us find our way on to the bus, but we have to separate. Ai and Carsten are near the front where the wheelchair spaces are, Koji and Hana are somewhere in the middle. Akari and I end up in the back standing near the back door of the bus. Despite being surrounded by people, it feels like we have privacy in our own little corner. I know Akari agrees because she has her arms around my waist and is resting her cheek on my shoulder. I have my good arm around her. I can hear her softly humming the Bloom into You theme which puts a huge smile on my face. I guess that's our song now.

However…it soon becomes clear our feeling of privacy is an illusion.

From behind us, a gruff male voice says "Do you two have to be doing that in front of my kids? It's disgusting."

I wince and Akari's contented expression shifts to one of horror. She pulls herself away from me and her body tenses up.

Shit. What did Daisuke and Kaito say? Ignore, get away, and be ready to call the police.

I ignore him. I don't even look back to see who it is. I get out my phone and text everyone, "Someone harassing us back here. We are getting off at the next stop. We will get a later bus." Then I dial the police without hitting the call button.

I put my phone away and look at Akari, who is now experiencing a full-blown panic attack. She's breathing quickly, is white as a sheet, and has a pained expression on her face. Her therapist told her that physical contact could help in this type of situation. I don't care what this man has to say, I need to help her by holding her or she might faint. With one arm I can't really hold her up. There's no way she won't get hurt. I put my arm around her and pull her close to me while humming our song to her. Luckily, we don't hear anything else from those around us. I feel her breathing start to steady, and her body start to loosen up after about a minute. She's still not fully out of it, but things are moving in the right direction. And that's a good thing because the bus is coming to a stop.

I whisper, "We're going to get off here, okay?"

She nods slowly with a blank look on her face. When the bus stops, I take her hand and guide her off. I have to let go of her hand to get my phone back out of my pocket. If that man follows us, I'll be hitting the call button. No one gets off the bus. It was short notice, so I'm not surprised none of our friends since that I take. I cancel the call and then take Akari's hand and guide her to the bench at the bus stop. I put my arm around her and stroke her hair while I hum our song to her. She comes back to me after about five minutes.

When she does, she gives me a squeeze and pulls back from me and says "Thank you. I a-almost fainted."

I frown, "I thought so. Fuck that guy. Whoever he was."

She frowns, "Were we…being t-too affectionate?"

"No. We were basically just hugging. We didn't even kiss. He wouldn't have said the same thing if we weren't both girls. He probably would have just said, 'they're young and in love.'"

Akari nods. "Y-you're right." She frowns. "I…don't want to get on a bus again tonight. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." I get out my phone to see where we are. "It looks like we are 20 minutes from town. My mom can probably get us."

"B-but she has to give Ai a ride when they get there."

"That's true. We could get a cab on one of the apps, then."

Akari hugs herself and looks down at the ground ashamed, "I'm s-sorry…I d-don't want any more s-strangers t-tonight. They might s-say something about us. I know it p-probably isn't r-rational and I'm b-being annoying b-but-"

I interrupt her. "Akari, will you look at me?"

She does as I ask.

"Something really scary and upsetting just happened to us. It's okay to be worried about it happening again."

She nods. "B-but how do we get home?"

"I'm going to text my mom about the situation. She can probably come get us after giving Ai a ride. We may wait for a little while, but this bus stop is deserted."

Akari grimaces, "I'm s-sorry for making this harder than it needs to be."

I take her hand and look into her eyes. "You never have to apologize to me for your anxiety. I'm not upset or annoyed or anything, okay?" I squeeze her hand. "I love you. You could never be a burden to me. I just want to do what you're comfortable with."

She nods. "Thank you f-for understanding." She looks around and once it's clear there isn't a soul around, she gives me a quick kiss. "I love you too. I'm sorry for apologizing for my anxiety."

I giggle. "You don't have to apologize for that either."

She smiles bashfully, "I guess I w-was apologizing for apologizing huh?"

"Yes. Jeez you're cute." I give her a kiss that is interrupted by my phone vibrating in my pocket.

Oops. I never texted my mom.

"It's my mom." Akari nods and I answer.

"Hey, mom."

"Are you two okay!? Your friends told me about your text, and I was really worried."

"Yes, we're safe. I was about to call you. We're at the first bus stop outside of town, can you come get us? We…don't really feel like getting on another bus."

"Of course. I'm on my way. Love you both."

"We love you too. Thanks, mom."

…

We're in my mom's car now headed home.

My mom is looking at us in the rearview mirror. "Do you two want to talk about what happened? I understand if you don't want to."

I'm not sure if Akari wants to, so I'll let her answer.

Akari sighs, "S-someone said we were disgusting because we were hugging. It gave me a panic attack, so Kayoko got us off the b-bus."

My mom clicks her tongue. "You two are the exact opposite of disgusting."

"Thanks, mom."

"I hope you didn't let that ruin your night."

Akari smiles, "We didn't. It was a good night." She sighs. "I just don't know why some people are like that. I know I sh-shouldn't let it hurt me…b-but it does."

I take Akari's hand. "It hurts me too. That someone would feel such…hatred when all we are doing is loving each other."

My mom frowns. "It's better than it used to be…but still not anywhere near perfect. I know it doesn't really help, but I love you both, and I love your relationship."

"It helps a l-little. Thanks, Emi."

…

When we get off the elevator and head towards my room, I see Hana stick her head out of her room. She must have been listening for the elevator. She and the rest of our triple date party emerge from the room and wave to us and come down the hall to my room. They all look concerned. I probably should have updated them, but it was easy to forget.

I open my door and we all go into my room. Akari and I sit down on the bed and explain what happened.

"I'm glad I wasn't back there. I might have been sent back to Germany again."

I laugh, "I'm glad you weren't then, we like having you here."

Koji says, "Maybe we should try not to split up in the future?"

"Y-yeah…if possible, that might help. B-but…this is just going to happen to us every now and then. I don't think there's m-much we can do."

Hana frowns, "Don't think like that…"

"Actually…I think it's better if we do. I know it sounds pessimistic…but we need to be prepared for it to happen. We don't have to expect it, but we are ready if it comes." I take Akari's hand and smile at her. "We did what we needed to tonight. We will next time too. We'll be okay."

Hana says, "But…that isn't fair. None of us have to be prepared for that kind of thing."

Koji says, "Well…we kinda do, though."

Hana looks at him like he just said something in another language.

"It isn't exactly the same…but at some point, I can guarantee you someone will make comments about my face. It isn't most people…and it probably won't happen to us as often as what happens to them, but it will happen. It has before."

She nods and puts a hand on his cheek directly caressing one of his scars, "Okay. But that's still not fair."

Ai says, "It definitely isn't. But it's a fact. I have to be prepared too. I mean…I'm in a wheelchair, do you think there's no one out there who will say horrible things to me about that?"

Carsten frowns, "The fact I'm foreign is what comes up the most for me…people don't even notice my leg most of the time. At least, not before they notice my face."

Hana sighs and makes a guilty face. "I guess I am still new to this world compared to all of you. I don't want to believe that there are enough people like that that you actively have to be prepared to encounter them. But…you all know from unfortunately extensive experience, obviously."

Koji nods and puts an arm around her.

Ai says, "Anyway…we kind of got off topic here. We all have shit that people are mean about sometimes. But…I think it's worse when it's because of who you love." Ai turns to us and says, "It sucks that happened. I'm glad you're okay. Fuck that guy." Then she hugs us by getting between us and putting one arm around each of us.

Our other friends follow suit. Akari and I stand up so we can hug them.

"Thanks everyone. It means a lot that you waited for us to see if we were okay. It was a really great triple date, even if this last part was a bit of a speed bump."

Everyone agrees and we say goodnight to everyone. We get ready for bed and climb into bed together.

Before long, Akari starts to sniffle. I give her a little squeeze. "It stinks that happened to us tonight. Do you want to talk about us some more?"

"Just…sad about what happened." There's a long silence. Then she says, "D-do you think…we should act more like we're just friends in public?"

"No."

She raises her eyebrows. "That w-was a quick answer."

"I've thought about it before. Maybe it would be slightly safer if we did that, but it isn't worth the price."

"The price?"

"I want to love you how I want to love you where I want to love you. I'm not going to let these sorts of incidents stop me from doing that."

Akari cries for several seconds without responding. I feel my heart sink.

"...do you disagree?"

"It's m-more complicated for me. B-because I also had a panic attack. I think if that happens in public again…I'll probably have another one. My anxious b-brain tells me to avoid things I'm anxious about, and acting differently is one way to d-do that…"

I'm an idiot.

"You're right. It is different. You could get hurt." I take a deep breath and force the words out. "If…you think it's best we don't act like a couple when lots of strangers are around…we can do that. I was being selfish."

She hugs me tight. "My anxious instincts want me to d-do that. But I'm trying not to listen. It takes a lot of energy on m-my part to ignore them, though. Especially the day I had a panic attack. That's why it isn't such a quick 'no' for me…and why I'm asking these questions. But…you're r-right. We shouldn't let it make us hide who we are. And who we love."

I squeeze her as tight as I can with my one good arm. "If this does start happening a lot…we really can consider toning it down. But I don't think it will happen too often. And when it does…I want you to know that I will my best to help you. Like I did tonight."

She sits up and kisses me. "I know you will. You make me feel s-so much safer. I worry less about panic attacks. You take good care of me."

I pull her down for another kiss. "We take good care of each other. I think it's one of the best things about us."

She giggles, "Yeah? What else is on that list?"

I put my hand to my chin and let out an exaggerated "Hmmm…" Then I say, "Our sexual chemistry, how much fun we have together, how we are willing to do anything for one another." I pause for a moment. "Basically, I guess all of that is just 'how much we love each other', isn't it?"

"Yeah…sounds like it. I love you so much, Kayoko…every day I think, 'There's no way I could ever love her more,' but…every day I'm proven wrong."

I pull her down for a kiss and then say, "I know the feeling."