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Miko was never one to need the company of another, not really. She found great entertainment and a departure from her ordinary day through interactions with others but they were by no means a necessity. There was, however, one exception to her self-sufficient nature, one whose gentle and fierce life force created an unforgettable wave amongst the ripples that made up her own life. Miko adjusts her glasses on her face and rereads the same page she must have read five or six times by now, unable to concentrate. She chides so many of her writers about meeting their deadlines and yet here she is having difficulty meeting her own. Well, she supposes that it’s a better excuse than most that her… best friend… has returned after a five-hundred-year absence. Is Ei settling back into her old room alright? Do the new employees also indulge her and let her have dessert at the start of dinner?
Miko spares a glance towards her own kitchen where Ei’s favorite sakura mochi are sitting. She has made them so many times over the years, though whether it was out of habit or devotion she was unsure. She didn’t have the heart to eat them without her beloved, so she always ended up bringing them to the shrine maidens the next morning. For the first time in 500 years Miko has the possibility of eating them with Ei once again, yet she hesitates. Ei’s tastes may have changed, or their relationship has. No, that isn’t the case; Miko knows how consistent the woman is and that something even as small as this would not have changed after a mere 500 years. Though there’s no way that it’s because she’s nervous, that would be such an absurd suggestion.
She sets her glasses down on the table and makes her way to the kitchen, done with whatever silliness was making her hesitate to reach out to Ei when they’re on the same plane of existence for the first time in forever. She grabs the plate of mochi from her kitchen counter and covers the top of it with tin foil when the pattering of rain reaches her ears. How fitting that a storm should grace her home on the same day that Ei’s smile returns to her life. Her hand turns the doorknob and pulls it open, only to be met with that very smile she loves so much on the face she most treasures.
“Miko, I didn’t expect you to still be awake at this time of night,” Ei is standing there looking every bit like a wet cat with that self-conscious look on her face. She’s so undeniably cute, Miko has to struggle to find her silver tongue again.
“You know I have a hard time sleeping when there isn’t any thunder going,” Miko steps to the side and allows Ei inside her home, and the woman closes her umbrella before setting it inside by the doorway, “What brings you here, shouldn’t you be settling back into your home?”
I was home the moment we locked eyes again. That’s what Ei wants to say, those are the words that would tumble out of her mouth if she was half as brave when it came to emotional vulnerability as she was when it came to warfare. “I haven’t slept in a long while since there wasn’t much need to when I was in that meditative state. I was in a constant state of restfulness. I suppose… I suppose I have forgotten how to get myself to sleep, and I hoped that you may be willing to help me as you once did.”
Miko’s face morphs into an amused smirk; that’s what this is about. Ei wants Miko to hold her close and stroke her hair and lull her to sleep with her siren voice as she often used to before everything changed. Some things truly are eternal. “No need to ask twice, but first, why don’t you have some of these?”
Ei’s eyes light up when she finally notices the plate in Miko’s hand… still as predictable as ever. “Would those happen to be sakura mochi? Were you about to bring them to me?”
For once it is Miko’s face turning pink, her mind searching for some kind of excuse that makes her look less smitten. She finds none. “I thought it was only fair for me to bring you a housewarming gift after scheming against you to get you to return home. There’s no need to make a fuss over it.”
“There’s every need,” Ei tenderly takes the plate from Miko, their hands lingering a moment longer than necessary before she turns her attention to the food and moves to sit on the bed with it. “You still remember how to make these after all this time? You’ve touched me.”
Miko says nothing, opting to silently sit on the bed next to her with a quiet smile and eyes brimming with adoration. The purple-haired woman removes the tin foil and takes an indulgent bite before her eyes immediately widen in shock. As polite as ever, she still swallows down the bite for speaking whatever is obviously on her mind. “These taste even better than I remember! What did you do to them?”
Miko chuckles at her dramatic reaction for a moment before answering. “I’ve had more than enough time to perfect the recipe. Did you truly think I wouldn’t make them unless you were here? Tsk tsk tsk, you should know I would want them to be so delightful upon your return that you couldn’t fathom ever living without them.”
A knowing look passes between them, an understanding that surpasses both distance and time. Ei knows in that moment that Miko never stopped making her favorite sweets, and Miko knows in that moment that it isn’t those sweets that will keep Ei from leaving again. Those violet eyes and gilded words of hers are what she is unable to escape from, those are the traits which she had to force from her brain every moment of her meditation because they made her yearn to leave behind everything else she thought was important. If there was any threat to the eternity that Ei sought with such passion, it was not trade with the outside world nor travelers from another nation; it was those two eyes, those two lips, those beautiful words. These were the things which shook her will, the things she felt she had no choice but to run away from if she was to achieve her perfect vision of eternity. And yet. And yet, Ei could not run away from Miko any more than she could run from the beating of her own heart.
Ei sets the tray aside on the bedside table and her hand meets the pink-haired woman’s own on her lap. One heartbeat. Another heartbeat. Two hearts beat as one, wildly in their separate rib cages as their lips meet gently. Their hearts soar as though a new constellation was forming in the heavens in response to their union. Ei’s hands wrap around Miko’s waist and pull her beloved into her lap, relishing in the soft sweetness of those cherished lips on her own. The hands she loves so dearly are in her hair, careful so as not to pull on her braid, and she is being kissed to the point of breathlessness. She could live without breathing, but this was something she could no longer afford to go without.
Their faces are both damp with tears they can finally feel safe enough to allow; their kiss is salty with the sadness that has crashed over them in waves ever since their regrettable parting. Ei pulls away, though it takes all her effort to do so, because she cannot let her words go unsaid for any longer. “Miko, I have to… I regret leaving you. I never should have parted from you without saying goodbye. I have thought so many times that I should return just to offer you the closure you so clearly deserved from me, but I was a coward. I feared your rightful anger, and even more than that, I feared that I would not have the strength to walk away from you again.”
“You were simply acting childishly,” Miko touches her forehead to Ei’s, releasing a shuddering and breathy laugh in response to the apology she never imagined she would hear. “If you do it again, I will not forgive you so easily. I swear it, you won’t hear from me for three days at least.”
Despite herself, Ei lets out a laugh amongst her lingering sniffling. Miko kisses a lone tear still falling down her cheek. “That seems more than fair, I accept that punishment.”
By the time they have both stopped crying and changed into silk pajamas (Miko still had hers from before she left), it is beginning to thunder outside. Ei sneaks a glance up at her beloved’s face from where she is cuddled against her chest, noting with a small smile that she still seems strangely soothed by this weather. This is what she missed the most: her arms are wrapped around Miko’s waist while her hair is softly stroked, there is an occasional forehead kiss, and she can deeply inhale the calming sakura scent that forever lingers around the woman she loves. This is exactly where she belongs, and regardless of how long it will last, she could not possibly ever regret indulging in these moments. Miko is the first to fall asleep due to the rolling thunder above them, and Ei follows soon after. Her final thought before sleep takes her is that she was wrong for thinking that her perfect eternity could ever come to fruition without Miko by her side.