"What's a soul mate?"

"Eh?"

It was a cool, sunny afternoon. Tohru and Ritsuko were sitting on same bench, but each of them were in the opposite end. The blond-haired man could only stare at the turquoise-haired woman with a dumbfounded look. What made her asked him a question like that? They were only eating snacks together as they rested from the driving lessons they were having.

The cheery woman made a wide smile. "Can you answer that, Tohru?"

"Hmm..." He closed his eyes as he shifted his thoughts on that specific question. What was a soul mate? He dug deeper on his head. Deeper. Ritsuko's smile... it was so beautiful. So pure. It was perfect. She was perfect. Ritsuko could understand him perfectly. She cared about his company. She enjoyed his company. They both understood each other. They had no trouble with their differences. They may be ages apart, but they really got along so well. That might be it.

"It's..." Tohru gazed directly at Ritsuko. He could feel his heart thumping rapidly in each breath he took. "It's like two people are more than best friends, but they are still friends."

Ritsuko nodded, understanding what he was answering to her.

"Like... the best friend knows you a lot. A lot more than your normal friends. Someone who, uh, helps you to become a better person than you are. It's someone who can be with you forever, without leaving you behind."

Like how Tohru never left her company even though she was getting frustrated by him. Although Ritsuko could had left him on the road, but no. She stayed.

"It's someone who knows you as a whole, and accepts you no matter different you are to them. Like, when you share a terrible dark secret, that person still stayed."

Tohru shifted his gaze to the sky above. It was clear, and there weren't that much clouds. "Do you know why that person stayed?"

"No. Why?"

"Because no matter what happens", Tohru returned his gaze to Ritsuko, his face serious and had a hint of determination, "No matter what happens to that other person, that person will always love that person."

"Wow." Ritsuko's lips curved into a sweet smile. "You seem to know a lot more than I thought."

"Yeah..." Tohru shifted his gaze to the scenery in front of him.

The two fell silent as the wind blew gently across their direction. Tohru wondered if Ritsuko suspected anything on his explanation. He really let himself get caught by her, because what he could not do was to lie to her. Even though he may get rejected, he did not have to regret things on not actually admitting it to her, directly or indirectly.

"Tohru, can I... sit next to you?"

The man was baffled. What made Ritsuko ask like that? And she sounded nervous somehow. All he could do was regain his composure and nod with a small smile. Tohru received a rather shy smile back.

The woman slowly inched her way closer to his side, as the man patiently waited for her to get settled. When Ritsuko finally sat beside Tohru, she carefully placed her hand on his hand that was on the top of his knee. Tohru was surprised on the sudden act, but could not say a word when Ritsuko gently leaned her head to his shoulders. The man could not shook her off. All he could do was slowly and gently wrap an arm around her, distributing a small amount of warmth to her. Ritsuko didn't mean to mind.

Silence befell upon them as they remained in their position. Despite not speaking a single word, both of them knew what had transpired: their mutual feelings bloomed, and both of them welcomed it as they return each other's feelings. The two concluded that they were soul mates on that point.

A/N: Heavily inspired on the short AMV titled "Soulmates".