Marmalade Boy 2, Epi 9

It was late by the time that Yuu and Michael got home after their day in Yokohama.  Michael had wanted to go everywhere.  They even ran into a few of Yuu’s old classmates who were fascinated with the “boy from America.”  They had talked Yuu and Michael into joining them for dinner and kept them there late asking questions about their exchange, Yuu to New York and Michael to Japan.

The house was dark and quiet upon their return.  Michael chattered away about one of the girls who had sat beside him during dinner.  Yuu excused himself to the bathroom and Michael started up the stairs.  Once he was away from Michael, Yuu leaned his back against the closed door of the bathroom and listened to Michael’s footsteps.  Miki must be furious with me, thought Yuu with a sigh.  He had not intended to be in Yokohama for so long.

Taking his time in the bathroom, Yuu hoped that Michael would change his clothes and go straight to bed.  Coming out of the bathroom, Yuu listened for any sound coming from upstairs.  Slowly, not wanting to alert Michael of his presence, Yuu ascended the stairs, trying to keep as quiet as possible.  

On the second floor, Yuu continued to the hall.  A floorboard creaked loudly with a step, bringing Yuu to a sudden stop.  He listened for a sound, besides that of his heart pounding in his ears, from his and Michael’s room.

After a moment of hesitation, Yuu took two quick steps towards Miki’s door and entered her room as silently as he could.  Keeping a hold of the door handle he closed the door behind him so that it wouldn’t click.  

Yuu let out a deep sigh of relief as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of her room.  Very little light shown in through the window.  He could faintly make out Miki’s sleeping form on her bed and he inched his way further into her room.  There was just enough light to make out the furniture placement so that he could safely find his way to her desk.  Once there he switched on her desk lamp and turned to watch for her to stir in her sleep.

Miki didn’t even twitch.  Her breath remained deep and rhythmic.  It wasn’t anything like the first time he had kissed her.  He knew that she was only pretending to sleep then.  When she was resting in the school infirmary after being hit in the face with a basketball during P.E. class.  Then, she had held her breath when he leaned down to kiss her lips.  Now, she slept soundly.

Yuu pulled the chair out from it’s place at her desk and sat so that he could rest his chin on the back of the chair while he watched her sleeping.  The eye movements beneath her eyelids further confirmed that she was far into the world of her dreams.  

Yuu returned his attention to her desk, where the journal she shared with her best friend, Meiko, lay.  The pages beckoned to him, and though he knew he shouldn’t, Yuu opened the book to the page bookmarked.   After staring down upon a blank page for a moment Yuu found a pen nearby on the desk.  Bringing the point of the pen to the first line of the page, he thought for some time before beginning to write.

Gomenne, Miki.  I rushed home with the hopes to spend some time with you, but I was too late.  As I write this to you now you sleep peacefully in your bed.  It reminds me of our night together in New York.  Tomorrow, let’s go out.  I want to spend as much time together as we can before I return to America.  Lets make happy memories of our time together.  Your dreams must be sweet, for just now you smiled in your sleep.  Sleep well.  Oyasumi.  Aishiteru!

Yuu put the pen back down and left the journal laying open in the middle of the desk.  He switched her lamp off and after waiting a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness again he crossed the room to her bed.  After briefly gazing down onto her sleeping form, he pulled her blanket up around her shoulders and bent low to kiss her lips.  A yearning pulled at him as the memories of holding her as they slept played through his mind.  Yuu brushed a stray strand of her hair off of her face and lightly caressed her cheek before guiding his way back to her door.

He slipped as silently out of her room as he had when going in and passed down the hall to his own room.  While he opened the door he hoped beyond hope that Michael would be asleep.  It was hard to tell.  The room was dark and he could see Michael’s form lying on the top bunk.  Michael appeared to be asleep.  After closing the door in the same manner he had closed Miki’s to assure there wasn’t a clicking sound, Yuu crossed the room to his lower bunk and striping down to his boxers he lay in his bed.  

His mind wandered back out of his bedroom door and down the hall, back to Miki’s room.  Ah Kami-sama, he thought.  Miki would be starting school again soon, and not long after that he would be returning to St. Andrews in New York.  He would have to think of something to ease the distance that would be between them.  Already, after only one day of not being able to spend time with her, he ached to hold her, to tease her, to see her smile.  Tossing on his side he allowed his mind to wander where it would until the peacefulness of sleep surrounded him.