whispers in the dark
The stars dotted across the clear sky twinkled and illuminated the darkness and shone through the vicinity. They sparkled a little too brightly in the eyes of Hana, or that's what Yuta thought as he couldn't seem to avert his gaze, full of adoration, anywhere away from his beloved.
"Why are you staring at me?", she asked, wearing a playful smile as she felt his eyes on her.
"Just wanted to look at my universe watching the universe above."
Although she scrunched her nose at the cheesy remark but at tye same time, she felt her heart melt. He'd never let her lack the feeling of being loved and would shower her with loving words, affectionate touches, gentle kisses and melt her every moment he got, because he rarely got one.
And tonight, he couldn't let a single second slip from his hands 'cause time was ticking and he knew, he had just a few hours in his hands so he breathed in the ecstasy of the moment and let the soft silence around him settle deep within his heart. He was observing everything with double the attention to let it all get engraved in his mind.
Yuta wished to become the air wrapping Hana in its embrace. He wished to become the stars shining in the sky to get reflected within the dark brown orbs of the person he loved with his entire being. And more than all, he wished to become the time which was constantly passing by – he wished to make it stop and cherish their moment together for as long as he would live.
Drowning deep within the reality of this circumstance, he didn't realize a tear rolling down his cheeks but felt it when a soft touch brushed across his face, gently wiping those tears. He looked up to find Hana with the same gloomy look in her eyes but still trying to keep a smile intact, for his sake.
"Why does it have to be this way Hana?", he asked in a voice laced with a tone of anguish.
"I'm sorry Yuta...forgive me for being this –"
"No...don't ever apologize. It's not your fault, love. You were never at fault. You....", he looked into her eyes and felt mesmerized once again and continued, "you are an angel. You cannot be wrong. It's...the universe at fault. It's the goddamn universe. I hate it for making us this way and yet, look at you my angel. You still look at the same universe with love..."
And he broke down. He couldn't contain himself anymore. How could he, after knowing this, probably, would be the last time they'd see each other as Hana would have to move the next day to the U.S. to get married to a person chosen by her parents.
The arguments that had stirred up in her house ever since her wedding was announced were unending. She couldn't let her family ruin her so easily. And yet, here she was, tied in their shackles, ready to tie the knot with the one everyone said was her fiancé but she had never accepted him as that.
So here she was, spending the last night in Japan with the person she had been loving for the past five years and now that she was told to leave him, she couldn't. She didn't have the heart to do that. She'd rather lose this life of hers rather than breaking the heart of Yuta.
Yes, she was breaking too, but she knew how much in agony Yuta might be right now. She hated herself for being the reason for his pain. She hated the entire universe. Now how'd she tell him, it wasn't the universe she was gazing at, it was the star – the brightest one.
Before she could think of anything further, she was broken from her daze with the sobs of her beloved echoing through the silence meeting her own cries. She held him close to her, encapsulating him in her warmth, leaving gentle pecks across his head, cheeks, nose and lips. She wanted him to know, he'd be the only one she'd ever love.
"Please don't ever...forget me..."
He sounded so lost and broken that it shattered Hana's heart. He didn't deserve this. They didn't deserve this. She knew the fate was not in her favor and had destined her for something she despised. Yet, she felt, she had a slight thought in her mind, she wouldn't give up so easily. They didn't have much time left but she'd make use of the time they had.
She had never seen him so vulnerable and her heart ached, thinking of how she was the reason of this side of his. Cupping his cheeks gently, she kissed his tears away and looked straight into his tear-filled eyes.
"You are the only one I have loved so damn much and you will be the only one owning my heart for the whole fucking eternity", she said it in a firm tone to show the seriousness of her words and yet there was an affection those words carried, that only Yuta could understand.
"I'll fight for us. For as long as I can, I will. Just...be with me. Stay with me and", she whispered while letting their foreheads touch and closing her eyes, "...and I don't care about any consequence."
"I love you so much Yuta...so much."
The next minute, Yuta tilted his head and let his lips meet hers in a soft kiss full of affection, longing and an eternal love. It conveyed all the emotions that they had in their hearts and knew that the other one got to know them all but still, Yuta pulled back and held her close to him and whispered across the darkness surrounding them,
"I love you more than love itself."
