Welcome to An Englishman's Side Stories, where I'll be putting up bits of the story that either don't make it in for whatever reason, and some will change format (which will be indicated in the notes before.)
This chapter is set between Chapters 3 & 4 of Floor 10.
Idea - Shooting Stars
The beach just outside Rovia held a special place in both Jet and Koharu's hearts, as the site of their first date. Even almost a month on, Koharu would admit to still feeling a little giddy thinking about it, and she was almost certain that her boyfriend felt the same way. Which did bring her onto her next thought...
''What are we doing here, anyway?'' She wouldn't deny that the beach at night was absolutely stunning, and that the slight breeze that the night time bought along the beach was a welcome change from the heat elsewhere on the floor, but she was still a little confused by their presence here.
''You'll see...'' Jet gave her a small grin, a telling sign that why they were here was something he was interested in too. The past few days had been a welcome change from the fighting, and all the chaos it entailed, giving the couple a chance to have a relatively normal life, even if it was only for a fleeting moment. The gondola tour of Rovia had been a particular highlight for Koharu, who'd admitted to Jet that she'd always wanted to go to Venice one night on the first floor, when feeling a bit down about their lack of progress. The fact that Jet had remembered that, nearly six weeks later, had reinforced something to her - he was occasionally an airhead, but he would go to the ends of the floating castle for her, a thought which bought a soft smile to her face as they continued along the beach. ''Now, if I read this right, we are...'' Jet adjusted himself about five paces down the beach, and Koharu followed suit. ''...here.''
Without moving about, he summoned a blanket from his inventory, and placed it down just in front of where he was standing. ''Mi'lady?'' He held a hand out to Koharu, who took a seat on the blanket, still slightly confused as to what was happening. ''It's a bit late for a picnic, isn't it?'' She asked... though she'd admit, she wouldn't say no to some cake from the bakery on the eighth floor...
Jet just gave a slight laugh in response, and placed a pillow behind her, and another next to it. ''Now, if Argo's intel was right, we've got about three minutes.'' Jet mumbled to himself, as he took position besides her, hands behind his head, and an anticipatory grin on his face.
''Three minutes until...?'' She asked again, the answer being even more baffling than the question in this case.
''Oh, shooting star.'' Jet answered nonchalantly, before explaining slightly, ''Well, actually it's a glitch in the visual engine, trying to render some particles in the night sky, which appears to move across the-'' Koharu looked over towards him, as if to playfully tell him to shut up and enjoy the light show for once, and he took the hint, ''-shutting up now.''
With only the rustle of the breeze against the nearby grass on the sandbanks, and the crashing of the waves against the sand, the beach was almost silent. To both of them, silence was usually an ominous reminder of the risks they took, but now? It felt reassuring, a sign that no one was watching them for once, that both could be themselves. With that in mind, Koharu hugged up against Jet, resting her head onto his chest, as Jet looked towards his clock - one minute to go.
As the couple lay on the beach, a small, traitorous part of Jet's mind reminded him that he was, in fact a teenage boy, with a very attractive girl that he called his girlfriend lying on top of him, and that it was perfectly normal for a couple to make out with no one around...
...That part was soon hushed though, as he looked up to see the unfolding light show. Multiple streaks of technicolour lights streamed across the night sky, illuminating the otherwise dark void that was the waters of Rovia. As bad as it sounded, he didn't want to even turn away for even the briefest of seconds, that transfixed on the shooting stars was he.
Koharu found herself equally in awe at the sight, and for an all too brief moment, the constant fear of this world that lingered in her mind disappeared, replaced by a sense of amazement at the sights she'd seen so far. She'd never forgive Kayaba for all the death, the misery and the monsters, but she could admit that his blinkered vision had made something truly incredible - an entirely new world, floating tens of thousands of feet above the world below. She spoke softly, to not disturb the tranquillity around them, ''It's gorgeous...''
''I always wanted to see a shooting star. Never thought I would, and definitely not here of all places...'' Jet admitted, as the light show began to wind down. He felt Koharu looking up towards him, before she placed a kiss on his cheek.
''You know they say you should make a wish on a shooting star?'' Koharu asked, her smile starting to develop into a grin...
Now it was Jet's turn to look confused. ''Um, yeah, why?''
''I don't think I need to. I've already got mine...'' Koharu stated confidently, watching as the usually composed Jet bristled under the compliment, rubbing the back of his neck, and giving her the dopey, but innocent, grin he always had whenever he'd made an embarrassing error.
''Um, Koharu?'' Jet asked, considerably more meekly than his normal tone.
Koharu looked back towards him. ''Hm?''
''I love you too. I, uhh, I never said it before, but I do.'' Jet smiled earnestly towards her, watching as the moonlight shone against her hair and her emerald eyes, and tried desperately not to give some cringe worthy speech. Koharu looked back to him and smiled, before locking their lips together into a kiss. To Koharu, it was possibly the most romantic setting she could've thought of - under the moonlight, on a beach and against the backing track of the waves hitting the shore, and she made a promise to herself.
She wouldn't forget tonight, not for as long as she could recall anything.
{Author's Comments}
Sometimes, an idea just appears fully formed in my head when writing.
This was very much one of those ideas, as I basically wrote it to get a bit of writer's block out of the way on the upcoming chapter of An Englishman.
Also, a musical recommendation with this chapter, which is Take That - Rule The World, the song that I had in my head whilst writing this. I think it fits really quite nicely with this bit of shameless fluff.
