where you go i go

Twenty

Four-hundred and ninety-nine years had passed since the end of the war, and Nayoko enjoyed the warmth that settled into her skin as she enjoyed a cup of tea in the courtyard of the Museum. The area had become a cafe for visitors, but now, in the warmth of summer as the sun set, it was empty of tourists.

"How were your travels through Dawn?"

"Cold, as always, but the mines are starting to bear fruit, and the people are excited. When the ports are finally completed the economy will begin to flourish," she said with a small smile as she sipped her tea.

"How exciting," the curator murmured as she slathered cream onto her scone, "Perhaps now that they have put their cunning minds to the pursuit of gold instead of conquest, they will be able to find the peace they have always sought."

"Perhaps. Maybe you should visit sometime."

"I think not, I am far too busy with my duties at the museum," she said with a shake of her head.

Nayoko laughed out loud at the admission, and she kept laughing because the empty hole in her chest felt light with glowing warmth and wasn't dark and heavy the way she remembered it.

As she watched the curator roll her eyes at her reaction and cough on a crumb when her foot curled around her ankle under the table, that's when she knew.

She knew this time would be different.

"I think I'm ready," she said with a smile, and for the first time in her life, she felt unburdened by the weight of living.

"Ready...?"

"To be with you, by the sea. For however long we live. I'm ready to watch the seasons go by, to see histories be made, with you."

"Nayoko, I..." the curator's mouth muttered silent words, so obviously at a loss as to what she should say.

For a second, she felt unsure, "Unless you don't want...?"

"No, that's not it! I just never, I–," She replied hastily, knocking over an empty cup as she leaned forward to grasp at her hand, "Are you sure?"

"There's never been anyone else?" Nayoko asked instead, looking down at their clasped hands, familiar even after lifetimes of separation.

"I never thought I would find anyone after my husband, and then I found you. I would not imagine I would be so lucky a third time around, so I never looked, nor did I want to." The curator looked at her earnestly, eyes wide and bright with emotion. It only helped to confirm that glimmer in her heart.

"Then yes, I'm sure. I won't lie, I don't think it will be perfect, and there will be days, months, where I might want nothing to do with you. But I... I love you, and I think I've only just realised that these feelings have always been real. I hope that love will make up for the bad times."

The curator stood from her chair, rounded the small table, and kneeled before Nayoko, still gripping her hand tightly. Her other hand came up to cup her cheek, and as her thumb smudged salt across her skin, Nayoko realised she was crying.

"My love," she crooned, her voice hushed, "No relationship is perfect, but when I promised you I would always be there for you, I meant it. I only hope that you promise me that you will always come back to me, in return. I will always be waiting for you, until my time has come."

Nayoko reached out and took the other woman's face in her hands and brought her closer as she leaned in, pressing their foreheads together.

"What should I call you?" she whispered.

"The first name you knew me by."

"Tanya."

Nayoko sighed and felt warmth suffuse through her like she hadn't felt in centuries. Her fingers curled into the choppy hair and traced the scar on Tanya's neck, and it felt like coming home.

"I love you," Nayoko whispers, "I will say it now and I will say it as long as I'm alive."

"I love you," Tanya responds in kind, "And I will shout it to the stars until each one of them knows the truth, till the sky can shout it back. I promise. Until the stars burn out."

"'Til the stars burn out."