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Scents of newly manufactured fabrics enveloped the ballroom as the dulcet tunes of the symphony drowned out the sounds of heels clicking and guests conversing. But to Yuuji and Megumi, glistening stars and ambrosial blossoms were far more riveting.
The grand harmonies that resonated from the orchestra were no more than muffled chimes in the backmost garden where the two were indulging in their very own dance. An illicit affair in a room finally devoid of an audience, the sole rendezvous this lifetime would allow them.
Megumi’s pearl necklace mirrored the moon’s delicate illumination, but not a single bead stood a chance of shining brighter than the woman standing in front of her and holding her close; her rosy locks, elegant figure, and her ardent gaze rendered the luminescence virtually useless.
With Yuuji’s delicate hands on Megumi’s waist, she pulled her in, closed the gap between their bodies entirely, and pressed a tender kiss on her forehead. Their heartbeats were synchronized—as were their steps, but slower. They moved ever so intimately and gracefully, a gentle reassurance that there was no need for Megumi to perform in front of Yuuji, that she was safe in her arms.
Wilted white rose petals detached from their thalami as the dense, frigid wind cradled them softly towards their destination.
Yuuji took a hand off Megumi’s waist and lowered one of the arms draped over her own shoulders, her fingers taking slow and careful advances to intertwine them with the other’s.
One, two.
Three, four.
Yuuji faintly hummed along to the opus chorused by the instruments in the distance—the very piece that served as a backdrop for when the two had first locked eyes, held hands, and shared footsteps together. Hours past midnight it had been, when it was only their souls breathing sweet nothings and fond gazes into the dawn, away from piercing stares and pharisaical whispers.
She recalled the way Megumi’s lips tugged at their corners as she fought a smile, the biggest she had ever seen from her. The way her eyelashes fluttered and casted soft shadows on the shimmering gems right below them, twinkling and flashing with every blink. The way her fingers grazed Yuuji’s skin with an inexplicable warmth laced with hints of devotion and adoration. Her silent declarations of love encapsulated by longing stares and an irrefutable tenderness she had only ever seen Megumi display around her.
Five, six.
Seven, eight.
Megumi misstepped, nearly tripping over her absurdly lengthy gown. If Yuuji noticed, she didn’t mention anything.
Eight, seven.
Six, five.
Megumi’s eyes shakily darted over to the clock in one corner of the garden. The minute hand was only two ticks away from the 12th hour. Her breath hitched for a millisecond, like she’d been knocked out of all the air in her lungs; the supermassive blackhole of her impending fate was beginning to draw her in hopelessly.
Yuuji sensed Megumi’s discomfort and lightly circled her thumb along the back of her hand in an attempt to calm her nerves, which she deemed effective as soon as the woman’s stiffened figure melted with a sigh.
They both knew what would transpire once the clock struck midnight, and that there was nothing that could possibly be done to alter the course of their destiny. The pen was never theirs to wield. They could only stand and watch helplessly as the pages wrote and flipped themselves.
This was something they knew from the very beginning, but God, can’t two girls try to reach for the stars?
Four, three.
Two, one.
The piano’s silken melodies flew and faded into the night as the composition approached its resolution.
Yuuji inhaled bitterly, taking a final whiff of Megumi’s floral perfume that she promised she’d always repurchase for her whenever necessary.
“Send me a letter every time it’s run out,” she had bid one sunlit afternoon, “allow me to get you a new one. I’m sure your husband would know nothing about such matters.”
She brought Megumi’s hand to her lips where she planted her last kiss—a kiss that heaved down all the stars and celestial bodies of the heavens and inflicted on the recipient the intricate care put into every single one. A kiss that didn’t bid Megumi farewell, but injected into her vessels the love that will always remain.
They shared gazes for one last time, wholly taking in what they might never see again.
Yuuji was on the brink of losing her beloved to a man whose name was the only thing Megumi knew about him—a marriage she had been involuntarily chained to, fated to bear a loveless kismet—yet she could do nothing but watch as Megumi turned her back, and with a heavy heart, took reluctant steps on the uninviting concrete, planting traces of regret in their wake.
And there, Yuuji stood, her gaze still locked on Megumi’s figure gradually dissipating into the moonlight. Her delicate touch still lingered on Yuuji’s now empty skin, yearning for its other half, aching to feel complete.
Perhaps she should get Megumi’s perfume for herself, too.