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Attraction is a really strange thing.
I found it to be twice as strange in Gensokyo.
Things are so different in this place and I mean, I know there is a very good reason for that.
The difference from the Outside World is why everything thrives here.
When I fall into my moments of missing my old home, I only have to glance around once to see how much more I have gained by being in this land.
I think I'm going off trail here, with both my thoughts and from Reimu too apparently as she's giving me that look.
The look.
Which I'm sure all the Hakurei shrine maidens have perfected over each generation.
I wonder which look the Moriya shrine maidens have perfected, something to ask Lady Kanako & Suwako when I get home.
Anyway, the look. Right.
Something that only Reimu can make seem cool but then again, everything she does is like that. Hell, even when she defeated us she did it in such a calm way, like defeating two goddesses and a living one was the norm.
Okay, maybe it is normal for her.
I'm switching topics again I know but it's to be expected, cause, Reimu.
You can't help but to get distracted by her because she's just incredible. She has an eyebrow up, in a half concerned and half bored way. Her hair is up in a ponytail as it's so warm here today, bringing out her features that much more. She doesn't have her sleeves on and neither do I, both lounging at the shrine and overlooking the main ground as the sun beats down on it. I can hear her asking if there's something wrong with me and I think maybe there is.
Maybe there is something so wrong with how...smitten I am with her.
It's like every year that has passed since we arrived in Gensokyo, every moment I've spent with Reimu, every time we've fought besides each other has opened my eyes as to what attraction is.
Reimu might be beautiful; like so, so beautiful that she'd definitely catch the eyes of anyone in the Outside World just like everyone does here in Gensokyo.
But I can see that it is so much more than what is on the surface, something that I might not have thought of before, especially when we were younger.
Don't get me wrong.
It isn't just the weather that's making me sweat a little, Reimu is responsible for a good chunk of that.
I mean, she's literally sat there a few feet away from me, peering at me now with those red eyes you literally can't ignore. The way the sun is hitting her skin that is beneath the shade practically glows, a nice, easy on the eyes kind of glow. You know, the kind that brings out those curves on her arms, the taut yet delicate skin peeking through her collar and those legs, obviously.
Wait, was I going somewhere with this?
Her calling my name brings me back and I finally muster a reply that all is perfect.
Perhaps a bit too cheerily since she enhances that look, now a bit more intrigued.
It is true though. Perfect might not really exist and I've seen that myself but Reimu, well, she's close enough right?
Perfect for reasons that are not limited to the way she looks.
Like how she's a good person, how much of a heart she has, how she believes that all are equal, how she is willing to help anyone in need; human, youkai, whatever, it doesn't matter as she will help.
It is stuff like that that makes me so attracted to her.
There are lots of sayings & clichés about this, you know, like attraction being skin deep, beauty is in the eye of the beholder etc and it's actually true.
The deeper you look into the actions of a person, you see so much more appeal in their whole character rather than one part of it.
Don't get me wrong, Reimu isn't some pure & innocent shrine maiden who is always right and I like that about her too; flawed perfection.
I'm definitely not that kind of shrine maiden either so it isn't like I could judge even if she was.
But it's how you treat those around you that can depict how you are as person is what I'm getting at.
It is how Reimu is as a woman that makes me twice as grateful for being here, because every day I learn something from her or about her.
She has experience, strength, insight, intuition, composure & compassion.
All of these traits that are something not many can reflect on the world around them.
Though that nifty Hakurei title certainly helps huh.
She is Gensokyo's primary shrine maiden for a reason, as much as I don't like to admit it sometimes, mainly cause it annoys her.
It's calmer days like this that help me to appreciate her more than I already do.
Though what I don't appreciate is her nudging me for my attention by kicking me on the leg even if it was softly.
The look on her face makes me laugh and she gets more irate so I apologise and tell her I was just reflecting, thinking.
As is her curious nature, she sits up straight and scoots closer to me and questions what's on my mind.
A light breeze whips across us and it feels refreshing in this heatwave as I think of what to tell her, how to tell her how in love with her I am.
She knows this already, mind you. I tell her all the time and she tells me though I'm probably a lot more vocal about it. What do you expect when your shrine maiden of a girlfriend befriends everyone accidently & causes crushes like Lady Kanako used to create incidents.
Seriously, if I have to listen to Remilia saying she missed her chance with Reimu cause of the sun or Seija telling me she'd take a shot at her if she wasn't wanted, I'm going to lose it.
Anyway, as I was saying, oh wait a second, she looks concerned now.
I must've been frowning because she's closer to me, eyes furrowed and knees touching mine.
Reimu takes my hands in hers and tells me to spill it and I smile at how adorable she is.
She really does care.
Uh, not that I doubted her!
I squeeze her hands and play with her fingers for a bit before glancing up at her.
Everything I was thinking does spill out so easily, it makes her blush; stammer about how she feels the same.
Her eyes are truly like two of the shiniest gems I've ever seen and they get brighter whenever I tell her I love her, that there isn't anywhere else in the world I'd rather be.
It is something Reimu needs to hear, this much I know if what I've gathered about the loneliness in her past is anything to go by.
I gulp lightly because she lifts one of my hands up, despite how shy she is about stuff like this and kisses my palm.
Her words of gratitude follow this as well as letting me know that these moments with me are her best; the moments she looks forward to the most, the moments she cherishes.
Now I'm sure I match her outfit and she grins at that, kissing my palm again with renewed confidence.
Why is she so cute!?
Somehow, I manage to get a grip and make eyes at her because it feels like words wouldn't quite convey how everything feels so at ease right now.
The silence around the shrine other than the chirping of crickets & fairies playing in the distance.
The sun in all its glory highlighting the contours of the Hakurei shrine & its immaculate grounds.
The humid air that is doing nothing to stifle the flames flickering between us.
The sounds of the trees around us swaying around lazily with the breeze.
The skin of Reimu's knees continuing their delicate touch on mine.
The way her palms fit so snugly against the gaps of my fingers.
The way her eyes never leave mine till I sense myself being drawn to her.
Suddenly, the external heat feels like a soft burn compared to the feeling of Reimu's lips pressing against mine.
No matter how many times we kiss, every single one catches my breath and pushes it back into my lungs just so that I can stay like this a bit longer. Even if I know more kisses will follow, something in my brain feels the need to draw each one out and I can't even help it because it's Reimu.
It's her kiss.
It's her lips moulded against mine.
It's the taste of her.
Those are the things I want branded into my heart & mind because to me, everything about Reimu is perfect.
Just like I've always said & have been saying for the duration of this internal monologue, you know?
Of course you do & so do I.
Everything is as it should be & I wouldn't want things any other way.