In our hotel room, Tetsu was preparing the shower for us. We'd be going to dinner soon. It was a nice place that Shizue knew about, mostly serving local seafood. Tetsu was excited about eating eel. The way his face lit up when Shizue said the place had it? Priceless. I don't like seafood much, but I'd eat shrimp. I wouldn't be able to have too many pieces, but today had made me realize that if I paced myself and didn't eat too much of something, I could still taste it and enjoy anyway. The sweetness of the watermelon was still lingering in my mouth.

Tetsu came out of the bathroom. His shirt was already off in preparation to get us into the shower together. But, I had other plans. I'd let him get us into the shower, but when he tried to take off my bathing suit, I wouldn't let him. I hadn't forgotten his having to think about Buddha on the beach. His loud, happy laugh.

The sliding door to our balcony was wide open, letting in the intoxicating sea air. It was cooler now in the evening, the dark purples of the sky fading into the night. Stars poked out over the horizon.

It felt like it used to. This joy, my energy. It wasn't lost on me. All the things we'd done today. That freedom. Not thinking about limitations. Laughing together. Being somewhere good. I'd fought all day to keep myself at bay. Be in the moment, don't think about anything else. His smile. Joking with him. Taking what comes, thinking about the potential. There could be the very bad, but also the very good.

So, far, it had been the very good.

He came towards me, his arms out, smiling so kindly. His thick hair was still drying, wet with the salty ocean water. The salt was on his skin, so lovely. Suddenly, I didn't want to wait. I didn't want to get in the shower and have that salt be washed away.

I'd watched him swim. It was all I'd wanted it to be. When he almost leapt out of the ocean like an otherworldly creature, I fell in love with him again. The backdrop of the sunset on the water, the ocean awash in pinks and orange. The water sparkling on his skin in what was left of the sun.

I wanted him all, and I couldn't handle that desire.

I lifted my hands to him, and he took them, but I pulled him forward. He went onto the bed in a controlled fall, landing, surrounding me in a careful way.

"Huh?" He asked, surprised. No need to wait. My fingers went up to his face, touching his cheeks and dragging towards his lips, needing to touch every part of him. He puckered them, kissing my thumb. A rush of pinching feeling went up me, and I curled my toes. My eyes squinted in this, my mouth opening. He saw this, and his cheeks flushed with color. He dove to me, kissing below my ear. My arms wrapped around his bare back, his shoulder blades against my fore arms.

He kissed me greedily, going down my neck and onto my chest, and I was already moaning, not caring how loud I was. He kept going downward, poking my ribcage with his lips, following my tattoos. My hips rolled, feeling the warmth of his breath and their softness. His hand swam up my hip, going under my bikini string. With one fluid movement, it was undone. The other one followed easily. Like this, his mouth descended and all of a sudden his lips were my entire world. I put my hand over my mouth as I yelped in surprise, but his large hand overtook mine, dragging it down.

He wanted to hear me. There was no way he wouldn't.

In the end, we made love twice. The first time was too quick. He was too eager. Too turned on by my bikini. But the second time was a slow, loving thing. I tasted the salt on his skin over and over, kissing all over it. It was steamy and hot, so in his passion. He was sweaty by the end, and I buried my nose into his neck, wanting to smell his musky scent forever. Adore him. I held him, a reversal of our usual roles. He was so content in my arms. It was a shame we had to move at all.

But, we got up and took a shower. He washed me loyally, getting every inch. I looked off to the side, smiling, as the result of our loving washed out of me. I felt it slip away, too wet and warm to be anything else.

I watched him clean himself, the shampoo soaping up his hair, making a white foam. It washed out of his hair, down his body. Watching it's progress made me want to go again. What was coming over me?

Then it hit me. This energy I had. It was radiating in me. I wasn't tired at all. I felt fantastic. It was shocking.

As he put shampoo into his hands to wash my hair, I grabbed him from behind. He gasped and dropped the little shampoo bottle. It slid down the tub, clattering somewhere else.

"Huh? Baby?" He asked cautiously, as if something were wrong.

I nuzzled my face into his back. Loving his skin. His hands met mine in front, holding them dearly. "I love you," I said, my words muffled. I didn't want to move from that spot.

Small sounds came from his throat. I felt his body swallow. His fingers played with my hands, adoring them. "I love you, too," he whispered, emotional. I nuzzled more into his skin, kissing that part of him that I love so much, and have loved for so long. Between his shoulder blades, this forbidden part, a tease in so many of his costumes. He relaxed completely in my arms, still making those small sounds.

We laid together for a long time after our shower. Standing for so long had taken it out of me. Finally feeling the effects of the long day. We still had plenty of time to go to dinner, I just needed to recover first. Strangely, I didn't feel negatively about this. Just happy to be with him, in his arms. He played with my fingers. Our hands were above us, the light in the room beyond that, streaming through them. His hand was so much larger than mine, and he was playing with this fact. He spread my fingers out, his palm touching mine. His fingers went over my fingertips, folding over them. We giggled together as they encapsulated them, finding joy in the size difference.

"I want to see wedding rings on our fingers," he said, unexpected, but filling my heart with such warmth. Like warm, rich chocolate.

"We will soon. I want to see it, too."

His arm squeezed me, causing my smile to go even wider. "What color do you want? What type?"

Looking at his hand, the color of it, I already knew. It would look good. "I like the idea of classic yellow gold."

I looked over at his face, and he was smiling, his eyes closed in how happy he was. So pleased. "My parents have yellow gold wedding rings, too."

I kissed his cheek, and he made a lovely sound. "Let's get rings just like theirs."

"Yes." Such a pretty sound. Gorgeous and breathy, so content. His fingers went between mine, spreading them out. They folded, and I closed mine also, holding his hand like this. It descended, nestling on my chest. His other arm went more around me, and he was hugging me. I sighed so hugely, unsure how such happiness could exist.

Coming from outside, the wavelets were making a symphony with the sounds of the city, Summer bugs bringing a cacophony. The wind whistled and ripped, and far in the distance there was music, barely there.

I didn't care about dinner at all. I wanted to stay right here.

As we went down Kokusai Dori, we were going toward the restaurant. People kept side stepping us, and Tetsu and I were surrounded by everyone in our party. He pushed my wheelchair forward, and I almost didn't care that I was out in public in it. What a weird feeling. I looked up at all the lights and signs. Looked into all the shops one by one. We were going slowly, taking it all in. Above me were so many palm trees.

I wanted to come back and shop in the daytime. There were a lot of touristy shops, but I didn't care. It would be fun to go inside. There was one souvenir that I wanted, too.

A shisa stuffed animal. I had a large collection of stuffed animals in my apartment, and we'd move these to our new house eventually. But, I wanted a shisa. As an American, this creature was totally foreign to me. A lion dog, meant to protect houses. My little stuffed animal could protect our house, too. The perfect thing to bring back from Okinawa.

It seemed like every shop had a shisa somewhere. A large metal one sat on a platform above one of them, protecting the shop. The open wall designs of all the shops let us know all the wares inside. We passed by shops specializing in sake, toy stores, pharmacies, clothing stores, even one that only sold flip flops of varying designs. We stopped in curiosity at this store. I watched Tetsu pick a few up, flipping them over and studying them. They weren't a bad price, either.

We eventually made it to the restaurant, a serious looking establishment with a dark wood façade and gold lettering. Tetsu looking down at his sandals, and then mine. He gave Shizue an inquiring face. "This place seems pretty fancy. Are they going to let us in with shorts and open toed shoes?" He asked.

"Yeah, they will. Hikaru and I dropped in on this place when we were in Okinawa before. They're really friendly." She nodded, so sure of herself.

We trusted her and went inside. They absolutely balked at the size of our party. It was a pretty popular place. We were told we'd have to wait a bit, but it was worth it. It worried me a little. My tummy felt pretty empty. We'd casually came over here slowly, because I thought we'd be able to sit down immediately. It was foolish to think that now, though. We did have a large party. The wait, combined with how little I knew I could eat here? Worry was all over me.

Tetsu saw my face, though. He took my hand, gathering it up and holding it tight. I began talking, and he leaned over to hear me better over the noise of the place. Everyone else looked unsure, too.

"I know you want eel..." I said. That's all I had to say.

He straightened up. "Let's come back during the day," he said to everyone. "Everyone's pretty hungry, right? We shouldn't wait. We passed by a lot of great places on the way here. I definitely want to come back, but-"

Keitaro waved his hand at the matter. "We'll come back. But, let's go eat somewhere else." A much more blunt, and to the point answer. Everyone readily agreed to that. They'd all seemed like they wanted to before we said anything, anyway.

So, we turned around and went out into the night air again. The humidity hit my skin, and we went off into the opposite direction, passing by the same shops. Without having to say a word, their excitement betraying them, Yami and Nobu pointed at the same restaurant at the same time frantically.

A teppanyaki place. It reminded me of home instantly, of the place next to our old practice studio, the grandma who'd cook teppanyaki for us probably now long gone. I missed her. A sad nostalgia filled me immediately, but I didn't say a word. Instead, a worry came with it. All that fried food. Would I be able to eat it?

We went inside, and I thought about taking chances. All the ones I'd taken already today. The sweet watermelon. Eating frozen yogurt, though sugar free, for breakfast. None of that stuff had affected my stomach. Maybe if I paced myself, this wouldn't either. There was no pressure to go fast.

As we rounded a corner, we were met with a large bar with rows and rows of specialty sake. I looked up, and the members of Lyra were already grinning. Oh no. I started giggling.

"Okay, this was the best decision ever made," Keitaro said. There was no need to say that. Everyone already knew it.

A hostess came up to us, bowing. As soon as she straightened up from her bow, she saw Keitaro at the front of our party and her eyes went wide. She jumped a little bit and welcomed us with a squeak. She knew exactly who he was. We all laughed, just so happy to be here.

She led us around the bar to the seating area, and the smell of such familiar food flooded my nose. With it came the biggest smile.