I was about to knock on Hikaro’s door when a sudden wave of unexplainable hesitancy crept over me. My hand hovered, millimetres away, for what felt like an eternity. But I eventually shook it away and firmly rapped on the metal door. “Yeah?” came Hikaro’s familiar grunt. I pushed the door open and slipped in, smiling. “Oh…hey. I thought you had some…people to help out.” He seemed less than pleased to see me. I cocked my head as I spoke, “Yeah, but I put you first. Something up?” He didn’t answer at first, but jumped off his bed and grinned. “Course not!” His smile was infectious and I found my own smile growing.
We fell onto Hikaro’s bed, staring at the ceiling, and I stifled a sigh. “Huh? S’matter?” I chuckled at his one word sentences before answering. “Oh, nothing, I’m just always a bit exhausted at the moment.” Hikaro nodded. “I know how that goes. It’s cus you’re just suddenly an adult now, isn’t it? All of a sudden you aren’t treated like a kid. You have all these duties and responsibilities, and it’s knackering…” I nodded in agreement, and we lapsed into comfortable silence.
I wasn’t sure how long we lay there, gazing up, but it was warm and comforting. Hikaro’s room was the one place that truly felt like my home; my safe, protective spot. His fingers were twitching nervously next to mine, so I smiled reassuringly at him. “Is something the matter?” He looked at me and opened his mouth to speak, but clearly decided against it and closed his mouth again, grinning. I let my head fall back again and found myself staring up at the ceiling once more, the white searing into my eyes. It became slightly painful, so I closed them again. And then I felt Hikaro’s hand slowly, nervously, crawling into mine.
His touch felt electric; my eyes flew open. Hikaro’s fingers were interlaced with mine, and his hand was warm and soft. I forgot that it was ten thirty at night, I forgot how tired I was or how worn out or how drained. All that I knew was where I was right now. My brain was running a hundred miles a minute, but all I could think about was Hikaro. I tried to speak but I had no idea what to say, so instead I grinned at Hikaro stupidly. He grinned back, looking more than a little nervous.
We lay like that for a while, our fingers intertwined gently, in a softer silence. I was drinking in all of Hikaro’s features; it was as though he was a whole new person to me. His vividly blue eyes; his soft, flaming hair; his strong, smiling face. And I could feel him doing the same. “…Would you kiss me?” he asked quietly. I jumped. “Huh? W-why?” He shrank back into himself. “Because…I like you…and I thought maybe…I thought we could…” I smiled as his voice tailed away. “Go on then,” I whispered, and couldn’t stop smiling as he drew closer to me.
I could feel his lips on mine; his body was next to mine; his heart was beating on top of mine. And then it was over, and he pulled back softly, his eyes focused on mine. I felt like I was blushing – but I never blushed. Hikaro laughed quietly, and I nodded, still smiling heavily. And then we were kissing again, stood up now, his hands on my back, and my hands in his hair…his fingers tickled over my waist gently as I drew closer to him…and his smell was so familiarly comfortable, his touch was so well-known…
We broke apart as the bell rang loudly. I gasped; that meant it was midnight, and I had to get up early in the morning! I pulled back and pulled an apologetic face before rushing over to the door. If I was caught out of my room now – although actually, I was an adult now. That meant I didn’t have a curfew anymore. But I knew I should still go. “I-I’m sorry!” I said from the doorway. Hikaro smiled, his head cocked a little. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he breathed, drawing closer to me. I stole one last kiss from his soft lips and slipped out of the door, into the darkness.
I walked back to my room as quietly as possible, but I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears. Bubbles of fizzy dreams kept popping inside of me, filling me with a warm feeling of movie tomorrows. In my own room, tucked under the heavy covers, it didn’t seem real. Everything felt so crazy and mixed up; it was Hikaro. I was Shii. We weren’t a ‘we’, we couldn’t be! I hadn’t even entertained the idea of us…being an ‘us’. Although I hadn’t thought of there being an ‘us’ with anyone yet. I was too young for love! But my mum met my dad when she was seventeen…My head was so full of thoughts that it was a wonder I fell asleep at all that night.
The next morning, I threw my covers off and jumped straight out of bed. Looking in the mirror, I seemed to notice a definite change. My hair seemed to shine with electricity; my eyes were jumping with excited lights; my face seemed to be radiating a light that matched the burning hope inside of me. But there was no time to stand and think; I had work to do. Today I needed to take breakfast down to the Summoner’s Sanctum before anything else.
I rushed down to the kitchen, hoping to see Hikaro there; he worked breakfast in the kitchen this day every week. But if he was there, I didn’t see him. Cook descended on me straight away, pressing two trays piled high with food into my hands and shooing me out of his busy kitchen. I protested, but when I couldn’t spot Hikaro from a quick glance around, I gave in and left. I would see him later anyway.
Knowing this, I started to walk down to the Sanctum, slowed by the precarious stacks of breakfast in my arms, when I bumped into Hikaro himself. “Hikaro!” I said happily. “Hey,” he responded, trying to take my hand but realising that was impossible. “You need a hand with that?” I smiled at his politeness, but shook my head. “I would love one, but Cook will skin you alive if you’re late today. He’s in a right mood, and I wouldn’t want you to be wasting any time later pleasing him.” Hikaro’s shoulders slumped, but he nodded, taking one quick kiss before scurrying in the opposite direction.
Down in the Sanctum, I let myself in and rang the bell by the door. “Come on, rise and shine!” I called in a bright voice. “It’s set to be another wonderfully sunny day, guys!” I walked around the room handing food packages to each of the people sitting up and stretching. Various yawns and groans bounced off the walls, and I sat down with the Summoners to make sure they were eating, as per my duty.
