[Akira] Galaxy

Galaxy


A hand waves in front of my face.

I reel back and shake my head from side to side, blinking multiple times to get my mind back on track.

I take a moment to take in my surroundings once again, taking a long look at the beach behind me, as well as the various lights that are strung along the bar that the two of us are seated at.

Akira puts her arm around me, rustling my hair a bit.

"You good, Hisao?"

"Yeah, sorry. Was just thinking about some stuff."

As I go to take another sip of my glass of whiskey, she pokes her finger into my ribs, nearly making me choke as the liquid trails down my throat.

She laughs at my pain as I clear my throat, shaking my head to clear the cobwebs of the past few minutes. How the hell did she even convince me to come on this little vacation with her?

Well, scratch that, I know how, but I don't think that's very important...

"Tell me what's on your mind, boy." I cringe at her use of 'boy' while speaking to me. She knows well enough that, within the first week of us dating in fact, that I didn't want her to call me that anymore.

I understand she's a older than I am, but come on, she was the one who said 'yes' to me in the first place.

"You know I hate when you call me that..." She giggles a bit and takes a sip from her third beer of the night, rubbing my shoulder with her hand.

"I know, I know. You need to loosen up a bit. Anyways, what do you have going on in here?" She moves her index finger and traces a circle around the center of my forehead to illustrate her point.

I can't help but grin at the gesture; she's been a very... unique, I guess would be the right word, romantic partner. I mean, we started dating the night I graduated, and I never actually did get around to dating anyone else while I was at Yamaku, but I guess I was smart in waiting for the right one.

I'll be the first to say she's one hell of an odd person. Her short hair, upfront attitude - something about it all is quite attractive to me. It all suits who she is a person, and I think it's alright to say she's definitely my type of woman.

She's so sarcastic and playful, which really takes up the majority of her personality, but at the same time... I don't know, she's actually really caring and personal with me.

Back at Yamaku, she was just a good friend. I guess we got quite close after a while, especially once her previous boyfriend had broken up with her. Lilly and I had become good friends back then, and I'm certainly glad that was the case, otherwise I wouldn't have met this interesting being.

Then again, that's kind of what I've been zoning out about anyways.

"Why'd you pick me, Akira?" I turn on my stool to face her, propping my elbow up on the counter. She stares at me for a moment, looking quite dumbfounded.

She has all the right in the world to be confused.

This is a topic we really never touch on. We've been more of a 'live in the now' type of couple rather than the past, so that really kills any and all arguments the two of us could ever come close to having.

"What brought this up?" She raises her eyebrow at me as her grin fades, her expression showing fairly deep interest in my question.

How can I really explain it?

Maybe it's just because I'm in a spot where I actually have time to sit down and think rather than work and study. There is no true reason behind it, I guess.

It's just my typical train of thought finally coming out.

"I don't really know. Maybe it's being able to finally let what's on my mind out for the first time in a while, I couldn't honestly tell you." She seems to let my words soak in for a moment before giving me a questioning glare, as if I had offended her.

"What, you saying I don't listen to you or something?" She takes her fist and gives me a light punch on the arm, laughing shortly after. She's obviously well on her way to getting at least a buzz, something I'll hope to stop drinking with by the end of the night.

"Not really, though that actually doesn't sound too far off." She gives me a much harder swing to the shoulder this time, making me wince a bit. I rotate my shoulder a bit to regain the feeling in it as she stares at me, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Don't be such a dick, babe. You know I'm not a fan of that sort of stuff." I nod my head in affirmation. She most certainly doesn't, and I really had to learn that the hard way.

There's a fine line between teasing your counterpart and saying something offensive. It seems that the teasing and joking line is drawn when you get into things that are actually about the relationship itself.

"Anyways..." she starts, bending her right arm behind her head and rubbing the back a bit. "So, you want to know why I chose you?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know." She raises her fist, causing me to flinch.
Damn her and Ivan Pavlov...

She lets out an uncharacteristic giggle before standing up from her bar stool, stretching her arms in the air while keeping her bottle with her.

"Then let's go for a walk." She smiles and reaches her hand out to me, pulling me out of my seat.
Surprisingly, she doesn't let go. She keeps a firm grip and begins to stroll down the beach, the tide coming in just enough to touch my bare feet.

I'll be the first to admit, it's a beautiful night. The stars are popping out of the darkness, forming various shapes across the sky.

I turn to look at her as we continue at a slow pace, her head tilted upwards.

She looks... mesmerized.

That's really the only way to describe it.

I watch her for a moment before she finally brings herself out of her daze, looking at me and rubbing the back of her head out of embarrassment.

"By the way, don't get too used to this. Holding hands is okay, but I think you understand it's not a thing I'm up for doing all the time."

"Of course."

The funny thing is that she doesn't even budge after saying that. She seems comfortable in her current state, probably the most happy I've seen her in quite some time. She has an awful lot of nights where she'll come home and be immensely depressed from work, which kind of sucks.

I chuckle to myself.

I find it cute, that every morning I wake up after she has a pretty rough night, she's always laying there, sound asleep with her arm around my waist, laying right up against me.

The downside is that if I tell anyone her little 'secret', which is her enjoying to cuddle, she will kill me.

I'm not sure whether she was joking or being serious when she told me that, but I am sure that I'm not going to ever find out.

"What's so funny?" I quickly attempt to stifle my smile and laughter, but to no avail. She stops in her tracks and gives me that 'tell me or I'll kill you' look. I gather myself together, my cheeks burning red as I scratch my neck.

"I guess it's just ironic that you're not a fan of holding hands, but love cuddling." I prepare myself for yet another punch to the shoulder, but it doesn't come. Instead she stands there for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

Her cheeks turn a light red, her head tilting back up to the stars above.

"I don't know, maybe I like being close to you, is all, or something..." She scratches the back of her neck before I pull her hand and hold it with mine, allowing her to take lead on our walk once again.

"You know you can be honest with me, Akira. Which, by the way, you still haven't answered my question from earlier." She lets out an annoyed sigh, slightly killing the tender mood between the two of us.

"You're so impatient." She whines, putting out her bottom lip into a little pout. "I... you know, just needed to get some thoughts together."

I look down at my imaginary watch, giving it a long and close stare.

"Any time now would be good."

"You're such a jerk! If you're going to be that childish, then I'll get it out of the way. Don't be upset when it sounds stupid, though." She clears her throat, her tone coming out soft once she finally starts.

"Way back when I was still dating my ex and met you through Lilly, I thought you were a nice kid. I obviously didn't know you at all beyond how you acted on the outside, but you were a really important person to my sister, even if she didn't have any romantic feelings about you."

The waves of the ocean sound distanced as she talks at low volume, adding to the touchiness of the subject.

"Once my boyfriend and I broke up, I really had set myself on not dating anyone at all for a very long time. I wanted to stay focused on work and taking care of my sister, so that's what I tried to accomplish. Then you started hanging out with her while I was around and I got to know you a lot better, and it came to me that you were much more than what meets the eyes."

She pauses in her tracks, turning and facing me while taking my other hand in her unoccupied one.
"Sure, you still looked a little young for my taste, but your personality was mature beyond your years. Of course, we progressively got closer, hanging out together without Lilly around, not to mention... well, that night at the beach house."

I was hoping she wouldn't bring that up. If I ever wanted to try and date someone that was out of high school while I was still in it, it was at that very moment. Even though both of us were slightly intoxicated, that night was very much filled with pleasure and raw emotion.

She breaks eye contact from me and looks down at the sand for a moment, running her toes in between the grains.

"I don't even know how to explain it, Hisao. That night was pretty nuts, but I really felt a bond between the two of us. When you finally hit that night after graduating, I will be the first to say this: fucking hell was that ever the greatest night of my young life. Getting wasted and having sex with the dude I have come to find out that I truly love? Check that one up for life goal accomplished."

She laughs as my face looks away from hers out of embarrassment.

Sex has always been such a touchy subject for me, but for her on the other hand...

Well, let's just say she doesn't give a damn.

"Aww, did I embarrass my little baby?" She reaches her hand up and pinches my cheek, which I quickly get myself out of. She giggles and moves closer to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Now we're here. You caught my attention with your womanly charm and maturity. Is that a good enough answer for you?" I pretend to ponder the question for a moment, removing one my arms from around her waist and bringing it to my face, taking my chin between my thumb and index finger.

Of course, she proceeds to pinch the back of my neck, shooting me an evil look.

"I guess it'll work." She smiles at me, her eyes closed.

"Good."

She pushes up a slight bit and plants a kiss on my lips, leaving me with the sensation of fireworks exploding out of my head.

Kissing your girlfriend on the beach?

Kissing your girlfriend under the stars?

I think I just knocked out two birds with one stone.

She parts from me, pulling back and moving her arms down to my waist. After a brief hug, she removes her arms entirely and offers me her hand once again.

With a grin, Akira beams at me as we head off back down the shore.

"What do you say we get wasted tonight?" I laugh, perfectly used to that question coming up between the two of us.

"I don't see why not."

With the stars shining bright above us, we stroll through the sand, the lights from the bar getting closer by the second.

This is going to be a hell of a night.



'Galaxy' is a song produced by James Woods.