Revelations in the Moonlight
"Akari?" the sleepy voice murmured from the interior of the darkened
tent.
"Hai," Akari said as she quietly slipped back inside. She had hoped
to go and return without disturbing any of her teammates, but she
should have known better, especially where Kris was concerned.
"Are you okay Akari? Is anything wrong?" Kris asked softly, the
worry in her voice very apparent as she sat up in her sleeping bag and
rubbed her eyes.
"Sh-h-h," Akari whispered in response as, shivering, she slipped
into her own sleeping bag next to Kris'. "I'm fine, and nothing is
wrong...at least I don't think it is anymore," she said as she began
wiggling her bag closer to Kris.
"Mmm... you're cold," Kris said as Akari cuddled up against her
larger frame.
"No, I'm freezing," Akari replied. Kris was more than happy to lay
back down and pull the shivering form into her arms.
"Your face is like a block of ice," Kris observed as Akari placed her
cheek against the warmth of Kris' neck.
"So is the rest of me, silly!" Akari complained with a slight
giggle.
Smiling down at her, Kris said, "you know you'd warm up much faster
if you just got into this bag with me and shared my body heat
directly."
Akari sweatdropped as a delicious tremor that had nothing to do with
the cold swept through her body. "Thanks Kris! I appreciate the
offer, but I'm sure I'll be fine in just a few minutes like we are."
Kris held her closer then whispered, "are you sure, Akari? Nights on
the Moon can be very cold and it's not uncommon for couples to sleep
together totally nude to get the full effect of one anothers warmth."
Akari swallowed hard. Though she knew Kris really was concerned with
her well-being, she couldn't help but think about the other
possibilities of sharing a sleeping bag with her...in the nude...in
the dark...alone... But, she wasn't ready for that quite yet! And
they weren't alone! Smiling softly to herself, she placed a gentle
kiss on Kris' neck and snuggled closer to her. "I think we're doing
fine just like we are for now," she said.
Kris smiled as she felt the feather-light softness of Akari's lips as
they lingered briefly on her skin. "Okay, love. If this makes you
happy, then I'm happy too."
They lay in the darkness together for some time, just drinking in the
affection they could feel for one another through their unique
connection. Finally, Kris said, "so, I guess you spoke to your
Father."
"Hai!" Akari responded with enthusiasm. "He still will not allow me
to call him Father, but he has finally agreed to at least start
monitoring my training...hey! How did you know he was my father?"
Akari stared at Kris in shock. "That's suppose to be top-secret,
classified information! I just found out about it myself a few days
ago!"
"I didn't know for sure until just now," Kris said with a gentle
smile. "I just suspected it was the truth."
"But how? Kris, I had no idea! My Mother told me that he had died
years ago! All this time, I had thought that I was all alone in this
world, and now, now of all times, he comes out of no-where like a
long-forgotten dream to save the world? I...I just..."
"Sh-h-h," Kris murmured into Akari's ear as she hugged her tightly to
her chest, rocking her gently in her arms. "Easy love, sh-h-h. It
will be okay."
"But Kris..."
"No, Akari! I can feel this in my spirit. It will be okay. I know
it must be hard, but please trust me on this! I know what I'm
talking about." Pausing just a moment, she then continued in that
same soothing voice. "As for my suspicions, they came from a
conversation I had with him before our race for the title of Cosmo
Beauty."
"A conversation?" Akari asked.
"Hai. In response to a question he had asked me I had said that I had
observed that he often had the same look in his eyes when he watched
you that I did. He was shocked."
Akari blinked at her in confusion.
"He loves you, Akari. He may have never shown it to you or admitted
it to himself, but he loves you."
Tears began to stream down the younger girls face as she tried to take
in and understand the magnitude of this one moment in her life.
"Oh, Kris," she cried as she freed her arms from the sleeping bag
and clung to the young woman who shared her heart. "Kris," she
sobbed softly.
"Akari," Kris whispered in comfort as she rested her cheek against
the top of Akari's head.
A thin sliver of moonlight shone across the floor of the tent. The
only other source of light was it's reflection in Kris' eyes as she
rode out the storm of Akari's emotions with her. When, at last, her
gentle sobbing subsided, Akari pulled back a bit from Kris' embrace
with a soft sniffle and apologized for being such a bother.
"You're not a bother, Akari! You'll never be a bother to me." She
hesitated a bit as if she were going to say something else, then
smiled and asked, "are you better now?"
"Yeah," Akari replied with a shy smile.
"Feeling warmer?" Kris asked, rubbing her arms briskly.
"Yeah," Akari answered with a short laugh.
"Good!" Kris announced with a grin, but just a bit too loudly...
"Eh? What was that?" came a gruff, sleepy voice from the other side
of Kris, and she received a half-hearted thump on the back from her
younger rival.
"Sh-h-h, It-chan! Go back to sleep!" Akari whispered over Kris'
shoulder to her sleeping friend. "You'll wake everyone up!"
"Oh...okay...sorry...just though I heard...something...," the sleepy
voice trailed off as the spit-fire from Osaka drifted back into a
well-deserved sleep.
Akari continued to smile sweetly as she watched her friend start to
snore softly. Watching her, Kris couldn't help feeling a pang of
jealousy, but she determined to keep it to herself. "So," she said
softly, with a bit of a forced smile, "Do you think you're ready to
sleep now? Coach will be keeping a closer eye on you tomorrow! You
want to be your best!"
Akari had sensed the slight change in Kris, and knowing these two,
it wasn't hard to figure out what had prompted it. She knew Kris was
trying not to show her jealousy, but never being one to hide her
emotions, she was a rotten actress!
"Kris," she said. "What's wrong?"
Kris smiled even bigger, but the pain in her eyes was still evident.
"Wrong? There's nothing wrong! Why would you ask that?" she asked
as a giant sweatdrop rolled down the side of her face.
"Kris," Akari said softly but sternly, pulling away from her
embrace.
Unable to meet her eyes, Kris looked at the ground and swallowed
audibly. For several seconds Akari was sure that Kris would refuse to
answer her, but then she heard the quiet voice begin to speak.
"Akari," she began. I knew the moment I saw you that you were the
one, the only one, the spirits had determined for me to spend my
life with. I loved you from that very moment and that love has never
wavered. It never will..."
As she stopped, the silence in the tent was deafening. The air
seemed tense as Akari could sense Kris struggling to continue.
"You had always seemed shocked by my open displays of affection for
you, but that night...the night after our last race. You came to
me, held me in your arms and kissed me with such passion! Kami-sama!
That was the most wonderful and yet bittersweet moment of my life! I
knew I was returning to the Moon to face the elders who would most
probably stripe away my right to become a priestess, yet walking away
from you was the hardest thing I've ever done! But still I left
because I knew! I knew and I rejoiced knowing that the spirits would
find a way to re-unite us! And I was right! They did! But
now...now..."
Akari could see the moonlight reflected in Kris' tears as they hit the
floor while she continued, slowly and painfully.
"You love her." The words were spoken so quietly Akari almost didn't
hear them. "I know you love her, and I...I could never stand in the
way of your happiness." Kris paused and collected herself, looking
up into Akari's face, her green eyes open, honest and filled with
her endless love. "All I ask is that if it is her that you want to be
with, please tell me now. Don't make me wait, or try to keep me
guessing. My heart couldn't take it...please Akari," her voice
trailed off as she once again seemed to study the floor.
Akari could feel the powerful emotions that were tearing through Kris'
heart, and she was stunned at the courage she knew it had taken her
friend to be willing to let her go. With a trembling hand, she
reached out to take Kris' hand in one of her own.
"Oh, Kris," she said. "Kris, you're right. I do love her."
She felt Kris flinch at her words as if she had been physically
struck, and the hand in hers began to shake. Tightening the grip she
had on Kris' hand she continued;
"It-chan is the best friend I've ever had, and I love her dearly,"
she paused and felt Kris' hand clinch as she braced herself
emotionally for the blow she could feel coming.
"But, I'm not in love with her."
The chirping of the night creatures and the gentle snoring of their
teammates were the only sounds in the stillness of the darkened tent
where two green eyes looked up hopefully into the reddish-brown ones
across from them.
"I love It-chan like the brother or sister I never had. I love her
confidence and enthusiasm. I love her loyalty and the spark of life
she has that seems to influence everyone around her. Yes, I love
her, but" Akari reached out and cupped Kris' cheek with her other
hand, "I'm in love with you."
Leaning forward, she gently pulled Kris' face to hers. Closing her
eyes in wonder as their lips met, she marveled once again at the
powerful emotions this wonderful and strangely endearing person
inspired in her. As she felt Kris' arms enfold her once again, she
knew she had never felt more at peace...or confidant...or safe...or
loved. She was home. This was her home, and she would always be
welcome here.
Pulling reluctantly away from Kris, Akari held her face tenderly in
her hands and gazing into her eyes whispered, "I love you Kris
Christopher. I will always love only you. Friends may come and go in
our life together, but my heart belongs to you."
"Akari," Kris said quietly, moving in for another kiss.
"Uh.uh.uh," Akari replied, putting a restraining hand on both of
Kris' shoulders.
"Nani?" Kris asked in surprise. "Why stop now? I want to kiss you
some more and..."
"No way! Are you out of your mind?" Akari said.
"But why?" Kris asked, puzzled. "We've just declared our love for
one another and the natural thing to do would be to to celebrate it by
sharing our love with each other," she said as she tried once again
to pull a nervous Akari back into her embrace.
"Kris," Akari pleaded. "Please, we are not alone! What if somebody
wakes up and sees us?"
"What about it?" Kris asked.
"KRIS!" Akari wailed.
"Well, what's wrong with that?" Kris asked, mildly frustrated.
"Kris, I know that you follow the teachings of the Beginners, and
that you guys are really open and honest about what you feel and what
you think. You're taught not to hesitate to express your feelings or
your opinions...and that's great," she added quickly in response to
the puzzled look on her love's face. "But I'm from Earth, and not
just Earth but Japan, and in our culture it is considered a bad thing
to show public displays of affection."
At the hurt look on Kris' face, Akari continued. "It doesn't mean
that I love you less, Kris! Believe me when I tell you that I love
you with all my heart! But please understand that I'm very
uncomfortable sharing my love for you with people who are
not...well...us."
Kris thought about that quietly a few seconds, then seemed to
understand. "Ah," she said. "What you're saying is that in your
culture you feel it is nobody's business what you do when you're with
the one you love."
"Right!" Akari said with a smile and not a small amount of relief.
"Intimate relationships are best kept private, between the people
involved."
"I see," Kris said thoughtfully. "What a shame."
"Why do you say that?" Akari asked.
Smiling gently, Kris gazed into her eyes and said, "I want to shout
it from the rooftops, and proclaim it to all with songs of joy!" She
paused a moment while Akari sweatdropped. "But, I won't...if it
makes you happy!" Akari breathed a sigh of relief as Kris leaned in
again and caught her lips in a tender kiss. They both moaned softly
at the contact, and let it linger longer than they intended to.
Breaking away from each other they smiled and wordlessly settled back
down to sleep.
"Akari?"
"Hum?" came the sleepy response.
"So, what are we going to do about It-chan?" Kris asked quietly.
"What about It-chan?"
"You know she has a crush on you..." Kris said.
Akari sighed. "Yeah, I know."
After a few moments of silence, Kris spoke again. "If you don't
handle it, you know I'll have to."
"Kris..."
"I'm serious Akari! I know she's your best friend and all, but if she
doesn't apply for a credit card and buy a clue real soon...I mean
every time we even get near each other, much less touch, she..."
Akari placed a firm, yet gentle finger over Kris' lips, and gazed into
her beautiful green eyes. "Don't worry about it. I'll think of
something," she whispered, and with one last peck on the lips, she
snuggled back down to get some much needed sleep.
Kris smiled gently as she watched the young woman drifting off to
sleep in her arms. Sure, they had a tough road ahead of them. The
fate of the world rested on their shoulders and the odds looked pretty
bad, but...she closed her eyes and centering herself, called upon
those ever-present guiding spirits that were so much a part of her
life. As a quiet stillness at last settled over the unusual training
camp, she opened her eyes and with a knowing smile settled her arms
more securely around her love and returned, at last, to the land of
dreams.
====================================================================
Like it? Send me mail! I live for feedback!
Back to Battle Athletes Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction