Belonging, Bearing, Bond

A salt-and-pepper morning pirouetted through the cracked door. Her practiced steps pivoted about, silent and boastful, tangling with dawn’s dust-filled beams in a chaotic and entirely unhurried dance. Wistfulness met warmth, sensation pushed on emptiness, and the two perpetrated their irresponsible practice before an audience of none. It was the commotion they kicked up that finally settled under a certain demon’s nose, and the finely-spiced promise he breathed in that woke him.

Akai’s arms knew they were empty before his eyes did. Blinking, Akai sat up. The room was uninhabited, at least according to what he saw, but the morning’s scent gave him the answer to the question his quizzical glances asked. He smirked before standing, scattering the cacophonous twirling partners as he walked by.

Butter’s dark hissing and a lithe, shamelessly bare back met Akai in the kitchen. The auburn-haired angel hummed, eyes much more attentive on her task than the rest of her body. Wings colored a muddled mix of the many flavors of rust fluttered about, inches from knocking over a dozen things and failing in a most graceful fashion each and every chance they had.

Akai slipped in behind Haohi and reintroduced his aching arms to the feeling of fullness while nuzzling her head. “I told you I’d get breakfast today, little bird.”

The way her wings stiffened gave him a small pleasure. He knew that was one of Haohi’s lesser-liked nicknames. A fine revenge for beating him to the kitchen.

“And I decided I’d fix it anyways. It’s my anniversary, after all.”

The hands cradling her belly shifted to her hips. “It’s my anniversary, too.”

“Yes, but only I get to invoke it. Angel’s privilege. Demons just have to listen to what I say. Now kiss me.”

The two met lips, the stovetop hissing at them as if jealous it could only watch. Haohi tasted of apples and fire and pride and spice and sunlight and a million other things his infinite mind vaulted away to bask in later. He grieved that his lips could offer nothing more than smoke. Their exchange was too brief, but then again, so is any such kiss.

Hungry, Akai’s hand journeyed up Haohi’s chest, his finger playing with her bra before slipping underneath and flicking her nipple. The finger turned into a hand, a hand that squeezed and pinched until Haohi’s body shivered and she seized his wrist.

“Hun, I will drop these eggs and fuck you ragged if you get me started. Then we’ll have to replace the ceiling in here a second time from all the smoke coming off the charred remains of what could’ve been our breakfast.”

“A second time? Aiko’s only ruined this ceiling once?”

“Through my great effort, yes.” She took Akai’s hand and pushed it back up into her bra. “I didn’t say stop, I just said you should know what you’re getting into if you push too hard.”

Akai licked his lips and paused. No. Not yet. Not now. He had plans for today. Instead, he tilted Haohi’s head upward for another kiss, this one homey and lush, before detaching himself.

“So,” said Haohi, clicking off the stove, “What did you want to do today?”

“What do you want to do?”

Haohi narrowed her eyes at him. It was a piercing stare, as fiery as the hair splashing on her shoulders. Akai felt much like a wick. She served up breakfast—eggs and toast, one of her favorites. “Still being coy about it, I see,” she said.

“Don’t worry, I really do have something planned.”

“Well, if we’re about to do it, don’t you think I should know what it is?” She leaned on an arm, shoving egg in her mouth.

Akai watched her jaw work the food back and forth, hypnotized by the motion. Long ago he may not have been able to believe such a pristine, divine being could eat in such a lackadaisical fashion, but when he saw Haohi, it just made sense. Of course she could. How could it be any other way?

“It’s a surprise.” He smiled. “I see where Aiko gets her impatience.”

Haohi wiped crumbs off her hands. “I am exactly as patient as someone should be, given the big lug I have to deal with. Speaking of Aiko, where is she? I haven’t heard anything break or explode yet.”

“Calliach’s looking after her for today.”

“Calliach? You really think she’s the best person to be watching Aiko?”

“She’s a perfectly responsible adult.”

“She’s ‘perfectly responsible’ about breeding and ball gags. Assuming anything more is questionable.”

“C’mon now, do you really trust her so little?”

“With Aiko?” Haohi’s sweltering gaze softened a little under Akai’s pleading one. “Maybe.”

“Don’t worry about it. Really. I went over everything with Calliach. She knows how important Aiko is. Besides, Aiko’s not a kid any more.”

Haohi raised a brow.

Akai started to reply. “We—”

‘We can’t treat her like a child forever’? No, that’s not what Haohi wants to hear right now. Another day.

“I’m sure Calliach can protect the rest of the world from her for a single day,” he said instead.

Her face lost the edge it had, though Akai was hoping for a bit more. What a beautiful face it was, with all its sharpness, all its glow, but the sort of smoothness he could taste with his fingers just by imagining it. Perfect contours, finely crafted as if molded by hand, defined her silhouette, peppered by wrinkles and creases like tiny ripples around the edges.

“Is there something on my face?”

“Hmm?” asked Akai.

“You’re staring.”

“Ah. No, there’s nothing there I wouldn’t mind staring at.”

Haohi shook her head. “You are so weird sometimes.”

“Only sometimes? Sounds like I need to try harder, then.”

“Please do.”

The two shared a smile, among other things.

“Ready to go?” asked Akai.

“Let me throw on a shirt, first.” Haohi stopped halfway to the bedroom. “Unless you want me to go out with just underwear on.”

“Another day.”

“Alright.” Haohi swashayed her way out of sight.

Before long she returned, clothed in pants and a long-sleeve button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up. If a look could be meant for anyone, that look was meant for Haohi.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

Though she tried to hide it, Akai saw the subtle shade of red on her cheeks along with the telltale dip of her chin. “Thank you. Ready?”

“Yeah. I’ll drive,” said Akai.

“We could just fly there. My wings haven’t tasted nearly enough air lately.”

“Or, we could drive there like civilized people.”

“Maybe I intend to be entirely uncivilized. Your secret isn’t a little purging, is it? I think I have my old spear around here somewhere…”

“Just get in the car, bird.”

“You call me that again you might get pecked.”

 

 

**

 

 

“A pizza parlor.”

“Woman, I take you to one of those every damn week,” said Akai.

“Which would make it a great idea for an anniversary.”

Even arguing with her was soothing. He felt as if he slid into a role and filled it exactly as it should’ve been filled. Like a puzzle piece snapping into an incomplete image of the universe.

“Either way, I’m not taking you to a pizza parlor. Broaden your guesses.”

“Hmmm.” Haohi tapped her chin with a finger to the beat of a song she didn’t even know. “A sex toy shop.”

“There’s more to life than pizza and sex.”

“I know. It all just matters less.”

Akai contained his smile to give an attempt at a glare.

“I take it that’s a no,” said Haohi. She queried her brain for another moment then shrugged. “I’m out of ideas. Are we picking up Aiko?”

“Haohi, I told you, she’ll be fine for a day. Today’s just for us.”

“I know, I know.” She shifted in her seat, her wings twitching. She never liked long rides in the car. “Can you tell me?”

“No need. We’re here.”

Haohi’s eyes ate up the scene before them. Behind ticketed lanes were rows and rows of all sorts of stalls. From cotton candy to funnel cakes, from ball tosses to bb guns, from photo booths to caricatures, there was a little bit of everything. Beyond that, coasters roared above the bustle, some twirling, some falling, all a mess of adventure that begged the watcher to hop onboard. Towering high in an overwhelming backdrop, a flashing ferris wheel completed the package, stalwart and welcoming, churning along at its lackadaisical pace.

Akai observed Haohi’s face through all of it, pleased with the gapes and smiles she rocked between like a boat caught in the waves.

“I’ve never been here before!” She looked to Akai. “So this is the surprise?”

“Yup.”

“Oh, it’s fantastic! Did you have anything…” Her excitement faltered. “Wait, is it open? There’s no one here.”

“No one else,” said Akai. “I rented the park for today.”

“The whole place?”

“Yes. Everything’s open, but only for us. You can do whatever you want, no lines, no prices, nothing.”

“That’s…”

Akai knew she was disappointed she couldn’t make a scene. She’d never admit to it, of course, but with a full park, she’d end up doing something outrageous before the day’s end and while normally Akai would love to play along, today was for them. Not an audience.

However, as Haohi stewed over the situation, her radiant eyes took on a darker shade. “You shut everyone else out of the park for the entire day.”

This he hadn’t expected. “It’s just one day.”

“Maybe. It’s still a bit much.”

“Do you not like it?”

Haohi, in all her perfection, could do little against a precise serving of guilt. “I love it, honey.”

The two connected, Akai pulling Haohi in with an arm across her shoulders and she in return latching on with a wing and arm. Her rosy warmth softened Akai’s craggy exterior in ways nothing else could. A glow, gentle and spinning, filled his chest, permeating his lungs and wafting out his mouth with the taste of sunbeams. His thumb wandered in small circles against her neck, remembering each and every prick of goosebumps beneath it.

As they stepped through the main gate, Haohi hopped in front of him, cute little hands balled into fists of excitement.

“So, where do we go first?”

“It’s your gift. You get to choose.”

Licking her lips, Haohi turned to the park like a predator sizing up her prey. It didn’t take her long to pick her first victim. She pointed.

Of course. Candy stalls.

Akai shrugged as he knew Haohi expected him to before falling in behind the skipping angel on the fearsome predator’s march. To the stall employee’s credit, he was alert and ready for Haohi’s outrageous demands, even with only two customers to please.

Good. I paid a lot for it, thought Akai.

Haohi mulled over her options, feigning restraint before asking for half the menu. Spinning on Akai, she rambled over words so fast they hardly had time to stumble out of her mouth before being crowded by new ones. “They say it’s ‘apple cinnamon spice’, but do you really think they use real apples?” “That mega-XL sucker isn’t going to be nearly long enough to last the day, no matter what they say.” “I wonder if they all go good together? Like if I took a bite of everything at once, would it all taste good?” “Did you want any? I was so caught up I forgot to ask.”

Akai desperately grabbed onto the one thing he could respond to. “No, I’m fine. I’m just happy you’re getting what you want.”

“You did say no prices. I’m not planning on skimping out on anything.”

“As you do.”

Haohi raised her chin as if proud of herself.

Armed with sweets, Haohi unleashed herself upon the park. Their safari began with a fast-moving, spinning ride that tossed them just over the rooftops of the stalls. Haohi giggled to herself as they sped up, but Akai and her both had to concentrate on reigning in her abominable pile of candy lest it fly off. The next ride gave them some trouble with strapping in, as the seats were designed for riders with neither an angel’s wings or a demon’s size. Haohi managed well enough, but teased Akai when the shoulder bar bumped against his head. He went without it, assuring the operator the ride wouldn’t give him any trouble—it was Haohi sticking out her tongue which did that. The two playfully kicked at each others’ feet as the ride slowly raised them upward.

Haohi let out a delightfully satisfying shriek when they plummeted.

It was in that fashion they spent hours bouncing about, ride to ride, with plenty of food mixed in, before they finally came to the colossal ferris wheel that had been looming over them ever since they entered. Haohi stopped, a half-eaten cotton candy in her hand, munching as she stared at the thing.

Akai peeked at her from the side. “Something on your mind?”

“Mmm, just thinking about how I’d like to fuck you on top of it.”

With another look at the ferris wheel, Akai roughly judged the height. For mortal standards, it was fairly impressive. There wasn’t a good spot up top to do the deed, though.

“You really want to?”

“Nah, not today. No one would see.” She grabbed his hand. “C’mon.”

Wings fluttering, she pranced down to the ferris wheel cart waiting for them. Akai gave a nod to the operator at the controls as they entered and closed the door behind him. Haohi was sitting like an eager schoolkid, hands in her lap, wings expanding and retracting, shivering at the touch of the cool windows of the cart. After finishing off her cotton candy, she grabbed one of Akai’s hands with both of hers and squeezed. Her warmth, her excitement, her spirit flowed through that connection, melting into his charred body like ice cream in his mouth. He breathed in the smell of mint.

The two looked out the same window as the ferris wheel turned. The view was nothing special to Akai, just an overlook of the park they’d been spending the last several hours in, but Haohi was captivated. He followed her eyes where he could, but nothing stuck out to him.

“It’s kind of silly, isn’t it?” said Haohi.

“What is?”

“Enjoying all these rides.” She turned to Akai. “I’ve got wings, I could fly higher than any of these could take me. I could fall faster, too. And it’s not like I felt tension on the coasters; any sort of crash wouldn’t’ve put a scratch on either one of us. Yet it was still fun.”

Akai rubbed her back. “I don’t think it’s silly.”

“Of course you do.” She turned back to the window. “But you say you don’t, and that’s what I love about you.”

He scratched the back of his neck, unsure what to say.

“I know you don’t see these things the same way I do. Or the way humans do. But it’s fun to go about, doing silly things, taking life less seriously. I don’t understand why, I just enjoy the moment. It’s not like we’ve always had the chance to.” She glanced back at him, sharing a sliver of that fiery gaze. “I’m glad I got to do it all with you.”

Her wing wrapped around Akai and urged him in closer, where the two cuddled in the ferris wheel, taking their time, enjoying the moment until the cart opened up to let them out.

Haohi took Akai’s hand and they strolled down the main avenue of the park, saying nothing, letting time take its leisurely stroll forward, allowing the two to simply be. Together.

Akai wished he could’ve captured the way her eyes shone that late afternoon. Taken it and put it in a bottle like a firefly. But nothing about that angel was ever meant to be anything but free. He reveled in it while he could. And maybe, in that moment, he understood a little bit of what Haohi said.

After the glowing moments of their peaceful walk down the main avenue, they exited the park and headed for the car. Just as Akai was pulling out his keys, however, Haohi stopped him.

“Let’s fly.”

Akai couldn’t stop from grinning. “I thought we went over this.”

Haohi shook her head, growing her own mischievous grin. “No, no, this is something else. I have my own surprise to take you to.”

“Oh?”

“Yup.”

“Can we drive there?”

Haohi rolled her eyes. “You and that dumb car. Just follow me, we’ll come back for it later.”

As Haohi could not win against guilt, Akai could not win against those eyes. “Alright, lead the way.”

“Be sure to keep up, slowpoke!”

In a gust and a flurry, she was off. Akai brought out his wings and launched after her in seconds, but she already had a healthy lead on him. He beat his wings hard, thinking for a moment that this very well might be punishment for making her sit in the car on the way to the park.

Well, if this is the contest she wants to play… game on.

The air crackled with power as Akai drew in breath and exploded forward. The screaming whistle of speed cut past his ears. He squinted, shrinking his profile and kept his vision locked on the speck of red fighting onward. He ate up the distance in seconds and was well on his way to passing her until he caught a glimpse of her steely eyes checking her lead. Her wings quickened their beat and equalized Haohi’s speed to Akai’s.

She was a shrewd racer, Akai knew, but he had the speed advantage if he turned to alternative methods. He let his attention drift downward. Hundreds of meters below, fields and sparse houses with winding dirt roads between them rolled by. Trying anything fancy could attract attention, populated or not. It wasn’t worth it, not today.

But that didn’t mean he’d roll over for her.

Giving up on the lightly strained pace he’d held to, he tensed up and burst ahead which earned a pleasing gasp from Haohi. He threw back a smirk at her. It was met with a glare.

The two cut through air at roaring speeds, fighting for the lead. The sliver of a lead could be easily lost to a minor lapse of concentration or missed beat of wings. Not long into the competition, Akai detected a hint of desperation from the angel. So when she dove for the lead again, he conceded it.

Seconds later, she dove to the ground, landing with angelic grace.

“I win!”

Her victory didn’t quite share the same eloquence as her landing, but Akai found it cute all the same.

He landed, putting his hands on his hips and feigning being out of breath. “This time. Besides, how could I possibly win? I didn’t even know where we were going.”

“Excuses.” Haohi threw out her arms and spun. “This was our destination.”

They were a good distance outside the city, in a genuine wilderness. Haohi had put them in a field of wild grass with a thick forest just steps away. The canvas of green before them glowed in the setting sun, cutting a swaying line across a sky splotted with the colors of a ripe peach. Putting a hand to his ear, he listened for sounds of civilization, but was greeted with the chatter of leaves and the singing of birds. He snuck a look at Haohi, finding her with eyes closed, breathing in deep and smiling at the atmosphere.

“You’re looking awfully adorable right now,” he said.

Her face dipped a moment as it always did when she blushed. “I’m always looking adorable… but thank you.” Breaking out of it, she reached out and grabbed his hand. “Now come!”

She guided him through brush and trees for a short time before she stopped. “Okay, close your eyes. It’ll be better if you see it all at once.”

Akai raised an eyebrow. “You’re not pushing me into a pit or off a cliff, are you?”

“That was a one-time thing, love. Now stop joking around and close your eyes.”

He did without any more fuss, and Haohi stepped behind him, guiding him slowly forward. He soon sensed something more solid before him, something Haohi took him right to the edge of.

“I thought, given all the destruction and decay you’ve seen, you might like a little beauty. Now open your eyes.” He did.

The view was breathtaking.

It struck him in waves. Directly before him stood an aisle of pitch and hue, roses and tulips, pulsing to a melody of glowing resplendence. Just as he began to soak in their color, contrast seeped into the panorama. Choirs of lavender, daffodils, and chrysanthemums sung a supporting rhythm to his left and right, circling to meet up where the aisle ended. Right where they met, the trees parted, opening wide as gates to the love-red sunset. While he feasted upon the brilliant color which could’ve alone fed him for days, the coup de grâce struck his olfactory senses. What should’ve been a chaos of heavy smells and thick pollens blended together in a treacly movement, synced perfectly to the sights before him. It ate up more and more of him until all but the muscles holding him upright had been consumed.

“Honey?” said Haohi.

Akai walked—no, stumbled—forward, his eyes picking out one flower in particular. Not only because trying to behold the entirety of what had just been revealed to him would paralyze him again, but because he thought he saw something familiar in this bloom. He reached, careful not to hurt the thing, running his finger around the petals and the stem. It was a defiant tulip, opening just a tad more and reaching higher than its neighbors. He remembered… something. Had he seen this before? Or was this mere déjà vu?

“Do you like it?”

The voice. He wasn’t alone. Yes. This collection of flowers, all these different species and strands, this isolated location with only a window of sunlight, and this time of year, it was impossible. Impossible, without the touch of an angel.

“Pulchritudinous,” he said, finally.

“What do you mean?”

“I couldn’t think of a word until just now. To describe this. To describe you.”

“So, that long word means you like it.”

“Like it?” He turned, scooping up Haohi, ignoring her little squeak of surprise, and raising her high before embracing her, touching her beating heart to his own. “I love it. If the longest word would say the most, then I would speak it for hours, for days, for years. I would ramble it until it alone surpassed the length of language. And if brevity would say the most, then I would speak without words, without sound, and condense what I felt into a single shard of a second. That is what this means to me.”

Haohi, the stunning ball of divinity, watched Akai with such soft but powerful eyes, her fire never quenched, radiating upon her face with unrestrained embarrassment and joy at the same time. She hugged Akai back, fiercer than ever before, the cheeks of her smile pressing against his side.

“I’m glad you like it.”

The two hugged there, silently, as the calm wind and the dipping sun wrapped up their little moment and put a fine bow upon it.

 

 

**

 

 

“Shit, I forgot the car,” said Akai moments after walking through the front door.

“You can get it tomorrow,” said Haohi. She plopped down on the couch and held out her arms. “Come cuddle with me.”

He hesitated for a moment, but only a moment. “You don’t have to work hard to convince me to do that,” he said, snuggling up against her.

“Of course I don’t. No one in their right mind would resist it.” She laid her head against his shoulder and a wing across his back.

“So, how did the day go, you think?” he asked.

A thick contentment rolled out with her breath. “It was wonderful. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“What if I gave you more, anyways?”

“Oh?” Her eyes and wings both perked up. Akai started to reach under the couch, but Haohi put her hands out. “Waitwaitwait, I’ve got something too. One sec.”

Akai watched with amused eyes as the rust-winged angel ran up the stairs and back down a second later, a small box in hand. She shoved it into his lap. “Open it.”

“I’m pretty sure I brought up my gift—”

“Doesn’t matter, you hulk of a demon, open mine first.”

“Alright, alright.” He picked up the box and examined the outside. It was smaller than his hand and wrapped up tight.

“Don’t stare at it, open it!”

Haohi’s eyes were glowing with anticipation now, her wings shivering along with them. The poor woman was on the verge of bursting.

Taking his time, Akai peeled a fine line of wrapping off the box, following the strip with his eyes all the way around until it completed its circle, leaving the wrapping in two perfect halves. He set the strip carefully off to the side, resisting the temptation to look at Haohi and drive his lethargy home. With equal precision, he grabbed one half of the wrapping and pulled it off.

Haohi growled. It was a growl he was well familiar with, the, ‘This joke has gone on long enough’ growl. He ignored it.

Soon enough, the box was free from wrapping. Unable to sacrifice his curiosity for Haohi’s ire any longer, he opened it.

Within was a necklace boasting a fine but sturdy silver chain, one that glinted in the light of the room. Far more impressive, however, was the rock hanging from it. He pulled the necklace out to examine the rock closer. While no larger than a raisin, it spoke loud with vibrance. Moving it caused a rainbow of colors to flash at him, and when it spun, it seemed to glow. The cuts on it were rough, amplifying the effect to the point of captivation.

“It’s incredible,” said Akai. “What’s the rock?”

“Meteorite. I’m not totally sure what the composition is, though.”

“Meteorite? Really. I never knew they gave off this kind of color.” As stunning as the rock was, Akai couldn’t help but lean into his curiosity. He’d never expressed a particular interest in meteorites. “Is that why you chose it?”

“Mmm, no.”

Akai looked at her. Haohi wasn’t being coy. It instead looked as if she was considering if it was worth the embarrassment of speaking the real reason out loud. It was rather interesting, in fact. Usually when people let shyness get the better of them, they would look away and mumble. Haohi, however, held onto eye contact like it was a precious rope that held her from the chasm of panic. Her ears would quiver and her wings retracted, but those eyes… there was no such thing as too much of them.

“I know we—you especially, are outsiders to this world. We weren’t born here and often feel like maybe we don’t belong. That meteorite is a stranger here, just like you. And I figured, if you can’t belong, maybe you can be proud of the difference. Wear it happily instead of sulking in it.”

Akai put the necklace on, playing with the meteorite, watching the colors play. “So I’m sulking?”

“I—” Haohi’s ears went red. “You know I didn’t mean it that way!”

He chuckled, pulling Haohi in and kissing her on the forehead. “I’m kidding. I love it, dear.”

Her body relaxed, but only for a second before she punched Akai in the side. Her wings flared out with attitude. “Your gift better be awfully good to make up for that.”

“Oww,” he said, fake-wincing from the blow.

“Demon, what has gotten into you tonight?”

“Just a little giddy from getting to spend the entire day with you.”

That one Haohi couldn’t defend against. Her wings calmed and she held out her hands. “Alright, fine, let’s see it.”

Akai reached under the couch where the gift had been hiding and put it in Haohi’s hands. It was a long box, about arm’s length, but not tall and very light. Haohi picked up as much while looking the present over. Unlike Akai, however, she wasn’t there to mess around.

She tore into it with reckless abandon. Wrapping paper flew beneath the wrath of her fingers, thrown left and right, careening through the air at the mercy of the beating of her restless wings. The finely-crafted flower pattern on the paper evaporated into a meaningless mess of curves and aimless color. Akai swore Haohi somehow tore off more paper than he’d put on the present based on the mess at her feet. All this, in a single second.

The first obstacle gone, Haohi beheld a plain cardboard box with a slip-off top. She popped it off without a second look, pausing only when she saw the item within.

“A scarf?” she said.

“Take a closer look.”

She picked it up out of the box. It was a rather plain thing, no patterns or intricate weaving, but clean. The edges were smooth and the tips had nice, fuzzy tassels that were comforting to the touch. A uniform chocolate shade of brown colored it from one end to the other. Bland, really. But as Haohi inspected the fringes, she noticed the coloring of the tassels didn’t quite match. That wasn’t what she found most intriguing, however.

“It’s… familiar, I think,” she said. “But I’d never have such a boring taste in colors. Where did you get this?”

“About fifteen years ago.”

“What? You’ve been holding onto a scarf for fifteen years? But I know I’ve never seen you wear this and I could’ve sworn I’ve seen this somewhere before.”

He smiled, shaking his head. “You have. On Aiko.”

“Honey, I am well-aware of what Aiko wears, and she does not have a scarf like this.” Contrary to her wording, her tone took on a twist of doubt, perhaps a shimmer of a realization of what she was holding.

“It didn’t used to be a scarf. Do you remember that little blanket you’d always wrap her up in? She was so attached to that thing, clutched it in her little hands like it was the only thing worth holding onto. She was so broken up when she lost it. And while she might’ve forgotten—”

Haohi was crying.

“She used to grab my hair,” said Haohi. “thinking it was this blanket. And when she had it, it was the only thing she ever needed in the world. She tripped over herself so many times trying to stand while still wrapped up in this.” She sniffed loudly. “Do you know how often I had to clean her snot out of this thing? It was starting to fray from all the cycles in the washer. When she lost it, I figured it was about to fall apart anyways. I did miss it, though.” She looked at Akai. “Where did you find it?”

“Behind the washer earlier this year. Cleaned it and re-knitted it into a scarf. All original except for the tassels on the ends.”

“It’s perfect.” She wrapped it around her neck and nestled her cheek against it. “Thank you so much.”

Reaching up, she pulled Akai down into a kiss. Their lips met and his senses exploded once more into a hundred million pieces. Her breath was peppermint, her lips were candy, and her tongue was hungry. Her eyes were closed, but they leaked more than tears. The way she held him with such strength, such confidence made him want to pull her closer even if it was impossible. A phoenix she fed into his soul, a hurricane he shared to hers, but through the maelstrom of passion, the only noise was their breaths and their hearts.

After a million years in a second, Haohi drew back, grinning at Akai as she wiped away tears. How can someone be so flawless? thought Akai.

“I’ve got one last thing to show you,” he said.

“More?” Haohi put a hand on her chest. “Akai, I’m going to become a brat if you spoil me like this.” She sniffed, wiping the last of her tears away.

“You already are. But it’s just a little something. C’mon, we have to go outside to see it.” He stood, helping Haohi to her feet.

“Outside, hmm?”

She let him lead her out to the front porch where they stopped. Akai pointed to the empty sky. “Right over there, any second now.”

Haohi opened her mouth, but was cut off when the first firework exploded. Her eyes went wide as she stared, the dying sparks of the firework falling slow through the sky reflected in her pupils. Another quickly took its place, exploding with a red glare in a hundred patterned dots. Without a word, Akai pulled Haohi to his side and she wrapped an arm and a wing around him in return. They watched and the fireworks dazzled. What they shared there, that evening, under the flashes of celebration and booms and cracks of festivity, was silence.

They didn’t need to say anything was beautiful.

They knew.

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