CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

The Galaxy

I breathed in deeply.

We laid on the blanket, with the ocean as our soundtrack, and the sky as our view. The sky in all its glory. It was three in the morning, and Hanabusa seemed content lying on the cliffside with his hands under his head and his eyes closed. I saw his chest rise and depress slowly, but everywhere else he was still. I had heard and read and watched so many people say they fell in love all at once, and now I understood. One moment, I had seen Hanabusa as a person I unexpectedly found in life and now, I loved him. I watched as he did, well, nothing. I have never seen him this calm before. I felt sleepy, but I did not want to waste the time in our getaway unconscious.

"You awake?" I asked.

"Mhm," he hummed, slow and with a smile growing. "I was just giving you a nice view to look at."

"That's hilarious, Hanabusa." He opened one of his eyes, revealing one of his bluish green eyes under dark gold lashes. My game of recognizing colours still progressed, and it was a miracle I didn't think I'd ever have. Then again, a lot of strange things were happening. Him being a vampire, for one. It was ridiculous. And yet...

"Do you want to bite me?"

His eyes flew open and he shot up immediately, startled. His hands even slid on the rock that surrounded us on the top of the cliff in his fumble. "What?" he demanded, horrified. "What did you just say?"

I laughed at his reaction. "Bite me. I don't know, drink my blood or whatever." It was stupid and dangerous for all the obvious reasons and yet, I had never thought things like this would happen to me and, well, when would I ever do something like this again?

Terrible, terrible logic.

"You're kidding. Kaede, you can't be serious. You have to be kidding"

His objections only made me more curious. "Does it hurt? How does it feel?" I craned my neck to look at him as he stood up and paced, exchanging looks between me and the sea. Then, he laughed and ran his fingers through his hair that seemed more and more tousled and messy, and less of the model version he tended to have. "I'm just curious. I swear, this isn't me prostituting myself for a trip here."

"I didn't even think about that," he said, laughing in a terribly confused way.

"Just tell me," I insisted. "Does it hurt?" I asked again.

He looked uncomfortable. "Not usually, if you're relaxed. A vampire can be aggressive, but...it isn't."

"Even when the fang pierces the skin and all?"

"The, uh, saliva releases a chemical that makes it pleasant."

"Huh," I nodded thoughtfully. "And how is it for you?"

He cleared his throat. "Good."

"And that tablet thing you use to take?"

He made a face. "Not so good."

"Can vampires drink, you know, another vampire's blood?"

He looked very, very uncomfortable. His eyes, glued to the ground, did not look once at me. "They can."

I sat up, pressing against my palm to stay up. "And?"

"It's sort of the goal. Quench the bloodthirst with another vampire's." I felt as if he was keeping something away, but I had enough fun making him squirm. "But you don't have to worry about all of this."

"But now you made me curious!" I exclaimed, laughing, as I threw up my hands. "Come on, Hanabusa. Let's try it."

"Kaede, are you peer pressuring me?" His eyes were wide, and I could have sworn he went pale.

"It's not cocaine, it's just me. My blood."

He sighed. "Kaede…"

"I trust you. Besides, this is like an experiment. Aren't you curious?"

He laughed, and laughed. Laughed for a little too long, in fact. "I am. Dear God, Kaede, I am. But I don't think you understand the magnitude of what you're asking me. Curiosity isn't a good enough reason, and you're going to regret this later." I looked at Hanabusa: the cocky turned exhausted guy that was incredibly smart and sweet when he wasn't too preoccupied with entertaining himself. Even then, I wasn't sure if he was the narcissistic being he sometimes acted as he was. I thought of the Hanabusa that painted stars on my ceiling, the one that cared for me when I got sick, the one that stayed awake during the day in order to help me pass math.

"I'm so sure about this." I went from amusing the idea to being completely on board for, again, the sheer reason of curiosity. "Humour me, Hanabusa."

He sighed again, and dropped down to be at eye level with me. The colours were fading, and my peripherals were beginning to return to achromacy. Still, the centre of my vision was fused with pigments that were not so much as bright anymore, but glazed. "Kaede, I'm trying to make up for what I've done to you before. It was so wrong, it was —"

I cut him off with a kiss. Straightening up, I took his face and kissed his mouth, then jaw, then neck. I felt a rush, and my heart seemed to beat louder and faster. Whether it was the way his skin felt under my lips, or the way I felt his body slacken as if he gave up trying, or just the idea of taking control like this erased all doubts. His arms wrapped around me, bringing me so close to him that he nearly crushed me but I wanted nothing more than to be close.

Then, he groaned, and lifted me up only to gently place me on my back. I felt my hair sprawl all over, and I looked up to see Hanabusa and the sky behind him. Laughing, I let my hands drop to my side. Colours faded again, until the only tone left was the very slight twinge of blue — and his eyes were no longer that. Dark and glowing, he looked at me with the intensity of all the stars. "Are you sure?"

"Very, very sure."

And he kissed me again so tenderly that the pressure of his fangs breaking skin was barely equivalent to the slight air of his breath on my neck. On one hand, I felt a rush of heat to the area, and dizziness everywhere else. On the other, I tingled all over. It was a new high altogether. Mouth pressed to my skin, sending shivers all over. A light headedness so intense I drifted in and out from the the feeling of Hanabusa over me, and the sky over us. I saw the galaxy. The stars, the planets. I saw the skies move with the earth's rotation, and I hugged Hanabusa, desperate to be grounded.

The rush was indescribable. And when he leaned away and kissed my neck like a goodbye, I was reeling. I didn't even hear what he had said before my eyes shut close, and I did not know if I was entering a dream or leaving one.

xxxx

Hanabusa had known he loved her for weeks now. But he did not know how full he'd feel like this. It felt like his heart was overflowing, and he was not sure if that was metaphorical or literal. "Kaede?" he asked quietly. She mumbled, and her dark hair fell over her face as she leaned towards him. Her hand found his, and they were warm and soft. She's okay, he convinced himself. Kaede is okay.

He didn't know he could feel exhausted after such an experience, but he was. With a groan, he laid down next to her. Her heart beat was steady, and she was breathing normally. Meanwhile, his heart was ready to fly out of his chest. So this is what it feels like. He felt so, so tired but so, so alive. He rolled over to his side to look at her. "I love you," he said out loud, whispering. "I have never loved before, and I can't imagine who or how I could possibly love anyone after you. I don't want you to go, I want you to stay."

She didn't respond. Only her steady breathing answered him.

The world was silent. Night surrounded them, and warm winds wrapped him. He felt like he could fall asleep next to her, but instead he looked at her for one last time before getting up and slipping his arms under her to lift her up. She mumbled something else and curled close to him. Carrying her in his arms, he brought her back to the car, and then quickly went back for the telescope. The drive back to the house was quick and quiet. Driving with one hand, the other hung out from the window as the wind whipped his face and hair. His hand was at his mouth, and his finger swept over his mouth as if there were still blood on his lips. He sighed.

All of his life, Hanabusa experienced privilege and wealth. He lived in dozens of country, charmed his way through every situation, never glanced once at price tags, and had nothing barred to him. He felt the satisfaction of praise, of solving a problem no one else could, of outsmarting those who doubted him. He felt the esteem of his classmates and fellow researchers. He felt the love of his family. He felt the admiration of many.

But he did not know happiness, not until then. And he would give up everything for Kaede's love.

xxx

I drifted into a state where I could not tell the difference between a dream and reality. I felt Hanabusa hold me up, and I remember the feeling of his shirt against my shoulders. But then I remember a really, really weird sinking feeling of rushing waters. It wasn't altogether terrible, just disorientating. Then I was in a car, head against the window. Then the feeling of being in a stream.

My hands were in Hanabusa's. His touch was warm, and a part of me thought that was strange — I felt like it used to be cold. But that feeling went away almost immediately.

Someone was holding my hand. Earlier that day, I had been on a plan to a different continent. I was at a beach house. That night, Hanabusa kissed me. A lot, and hard. He also bit me, and drunk my blood. That was more than strange, but it happened. Maybe the insanity arisen from boredom had finally hit me.

I guess I was crazy. But regardless, my hand in his was the most intimate sensation I felt even in this delirious stage. I felt like I had the universe in that moment. I felt like I had everything. Nothing was closed.

Maybe I saw the galaxy, I don't know. I was in the car, sideways glancing at Hanabusa driving as his eyes stayed on the horizon. The next moment, I saw the world.

xxx

I woke up refreshed and happy. Yawning and stretching, I felt like each muscle was strong and new. Maybe I should start working out, I thought before laughing at the ridiculousness of the idea. I stilled for a moment and did nothing but breathe and take in the moment. Long seconds passed before I rubbed my face and pushed my hair back, blinking away the sleepiness for sunshine coming in through huge windows and billowing white curtains. Sure, my sight was blurred and unfocused and everything was on a gradient of gray but it was comforting. For a moment, I forgot where I was but then the memory of night returned and I shot up. I patted my neck, but it was smooth and unblemished. Looking around wildly, I moved the duvet and swung my legs over the bed.

Just yesterday, I woke up to a plain, dark, dormitory room in the late winter. Today, I woke up to sunlight and warmth, with the sound of the ocean instead of high schoolers getting ready in a frantic rush. "Hanabusa?" I called out down the hallway that wrapped around the house so it was little more than a walkway with rooms on one side and the beach on the other. I walked into the section of the beach house where the living room and porch sprawled under the protection of glass walls and long, light-proof curtains that had been tied back to the corners to allow the light to flood in. I saw a french press, still steaming, placed on the coffee table and helped myself. With the mug in hand, I wandered around Hanabusa's beach house until I found him face down in a massive king size bed on the other side of the house. There, all the curtains were pulled so the room was entirely shrouded.

Only his fair hair peaked from under all the blankets. With him asleep, I wondered who made the coffee. I was about to let him sleep when Hanabusa moved under the sheets, murmuring something as he got up. "Good morning," I said.

"G'morning," he mumbled, his voice rough. "What time is it?"

"I have no idea," I said as I sipped the coffee. Then, Hanabusa became immediately alert and took the mug from my hand. He sniffed it quickly, took a sip, and then set it on the nightstand. "Sumatra," he muttered. Throwing his blanket aside, he stormed out of the room and I watched him go for a second until I realized that perhaps I should get up too. I took another sip, breathed in deeply, and got up.

It took one look at the man standing with his back faced to me to wish I really didn't.

Thank you so, so much for all of you readers who stuck around! Seriously, I can't thank you enough for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as we are very close to the end here :) Sure, I could have expanded on more story plots but I'm very excited with what's coming up next.

Thanks again for reading! And, reviews will be lovely.