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Hitoka sighs as she leans into Kiyoko’s side, letting her fingers softly run along the elegant black roses adorning Kiyoko’s forearm. The sun’s going down, yet it is still warm against her face.
“You’re graduating,” she blurts out suddenly, biting her lip.
“I am,” Kiyoko confirms, her voice somber as she addresses it aloud for the first time. They’ve both known since the start that Kiyoko would be graduating before long, but neither of them have wanted to discuss what that means.
But it’s time, regardless of whether or not they want to.
Hitoka tries to keep her voice from trembling as she asks, “What’s going to happen to us?”
It’s Kiyoko’s turn to sigh, and the arm around Hitoka’s shoulders drops down to her hip, tugging her in closer.
“What do you want to happen?” Kiyoko’s tone is steady, as always, but Hitoka knows Kiyoko well enough to hear the uncertainty layered behind her words.
“I love you,” Hitoka tells firmly, “and that’s not going to change.”
“Hitoka-chan, I’m going to Tokyo,” Kiyoko reminds.
“It’s only three hours on the train,” Hitoka argues, “I can visit you, or you can visit me. And we can always Skype, or talk on the phone!! I’d text you every day!”
“I can’t do that to you.” Kiyoko’s voice cracks, if only slightly, and Hitoka has to force back a wave of tears. “I can’t make you wait for me. I don’t want to hurt you that way.”
“Kiyoko-san, you’re not making me do anything!” Hitoka corrects, “I want to wait for you. I’d wait forever for you.”
“Forever’s a long time,” Kiyoko says, and Hitoka doesn’t know how to respond. Instead, she watches the sun as it sinks below the horizon, still idly tracing lines and curls on Kiyoko’s arm.
She peeks up at Kiyoko’s face. Her hair sparkles in the sunlight, dancing around in the wind and throwing elegant shadows over Kiyoko’s delicate features. There’s the glint of a tear on her cheek, and Hitoka sniffles.
She doesn’t want this to end. She wants them to stay there, together, for as long as they can.
“Mama told me,” Hitoka says finally, “that we’d never work out. We’d drift apart, or life would get in the way. She told me that high school love doesn’t last.”
“Hitoka-chan—”
“But!!” Hitoka interrupts fiercely, drawing away from Kiyoko in order to meet her eyes. “I’m not like her. You’re not like Papa. We’re different.”
“Is that enough?” Kiyoko asks softly, and in that moment, all of their insecurities are laid bare. Hitoka looks into Kiyoko’s eyes and sees all of her worries, her stresses, her uncertainties.
“Love,” Hitoka says, “is always enough. Love isn’t fleeting, and it isn’t broken by something like distance. I love you, Kiyoko-san, and nothing could stop me from loving you.”
Kiyoko goes silent, and a tear slips down her cheek. Hitoka smiles softly, wiping it away with her thumb and leaning in to press a kiss to Kiyoko’s cheek. Hitoka catches the edge of her lips, and Kiyoko giggles softly, pulling her in for a proper kiss.
The setting sun watches over them as they sit there, two hearts becoming one, soft lips on lips.
“I want to grow old with you, Hitoka-chan,” Kiyoko murmurs.
Hitoka smiles against Kiyoko’s lips. “There’s nothing I want more.”