» C'est La Vie Anata Wo Aishitsuzuketai, Yaten

[Seiya Kou]

It was official, she was nervous. This wasn't like her at all. She did not get nervous. To be honest, she felt as though she were going to go crazy if she didn't do something soon! In all honesty, she was a bit surprised that things had come this far. She had never been the type of person to sit around and daydream about this sort of thing; she had left that to Yaten. Then again, she had never been overly feminine, even when she had been younger. Yaten had always been the girliest of the three of them, and that was something Seiya had to admire about the silver-haired woman. Just the thought of the other woman was enough to put a stupid grin on Seiya's face. If someone had told her in the past that she would one day fall in love with one of her best friends she would have looked at them as though they had grown a second head, and then she would have laughed. But despite all of that, she had fallen in love with Yaten; and the past few weeks had been some of the happiest days of her life. It had only been a week, maybe two since she had confessed her love to Yaten, but it was enough time for Seiya to realize that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with the green-eyed empath who had stolen her heart.

That day in the jewelry store had been a real eye opener for her. In retrospect, she had been a complete baka asking for Yaten's help that way, but despite all that, she had managed to learn a few very interesting things that would surely come in handy at some point in the future. For example, she recalled the way Yaten had been eying one ring in particular as they were speaking. The expression on her face when she had tried it on had almost been enough to make Seiya buy the thing right then and there and give it to her right that second, but somehow she had managed to resist that temptation for the time being. Of course the second she watched Yaten disappear into her room and close the door behind her, Seiya had hurried back to the store and bought the ring her love had been eying so closely. Yes, it would definitely come in handy sooner rather than later. As of this very moment, that same ring was nestled into the pocket of her black slacks. By this point, Seiya was practically twitching as she waited almost patiently for her lover to meet her. They were supposed to be meeting under this tree at sunset, but the raven-haired woman wasn't sure she was going to be able to wait that long!

A lazy grin tugged at the corners of her lips as she lounged beneath the large sakura tree. It would be entirely too easy for her to fall asleep with her back resting comfortably against the trunk while she waited, but Seiya knew there was no way she could do something like that. She wasn't sure exactly what time it was, but the note she had left on Yaten's pillow had requested the other woman meet her here at sunset, and it had to be getting close to that time by now, if only for the sake of her sanity. Overall, it was a pleasant evening, the sky was relatively clear with only a few fluffy white clouds breaking up the seemingly endless expanse of blue. A light breeze billowed through the area, ruffling her hair and causing the leaves on the trees as well as the free floating sakura petals to dance through the air. All in all, the setting was quite picturesque, if Seiya did say so herself. She couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face in that moment. This was the absolute perfect place to ask the woman she loved to be hers forever. . .

[Yaten Kou]

The days that had passed since her walk in the garden with Seiya had been truly heavenly for Yaten. Ever since she had confessed her feelings to Seiya and the other woman admitted to feeling the same as she did, every moment of her existence had been true bliss. She cherished every second that she got to spend with the woman she loved. It was only natural, after almost one thousand years of being alone and holding her feelings for herself, to make sure she showed her love all the time. She had even managed to keep her promise towards Seiya and not say any more hurtful things. For the first time in her life, Yaten felt that she was truly alive. Seiya had brought her back to life, she was the reason for which her heart was beating every day. Probably she was somewhat silly, but she couldn't help but waking up every morning with fear in her heart that she would realize that everything was nothing more but a dream after all. After so many years of being unhappy, everything she was living seemed just too good to be true. Yaten just couldn't ask for more from life. True, there was more she would have wanted for her life to be perfect, but she was aware that it wasn't good to be greedy. If she had Seiya, she was content and she was ready to give up a couple of dreams, such as starting her own family.

The silver-haired woman had never realized just how strong her maternal instincts were until the moment in which she held Aoiko, Taiki's daughter, into her arms. Back then, Yaten knew that she would never have her own children, so she channeled all of that affection towards Aoiko. Now, a slim chance existed that this dream of her to have a children could come true, but Yaten didn't want to push her luck and say anything about it to Seiya, for fear that she could ruin everything because of her dream. That was the reason why, after taking a week's break from her already too often visits, Yaten had went to Ami's, to spend some time with Aoiko. As usual, when playing with Aoiko, the empath lost all track of time so, by the time she returned to her room, the sun was already beginning to set. Upon opening the door and seeing that Seiya wasn't waiting for her there, Yaten couldn't help but pout. Her eyes widened a bit in surprise when she noticed a piece of paper on her pillow. Yaten picked it up gently and instantly recognized Seiya's handwriting, a smile appearing on her face as she imagined that it could be a love letter. The smile vanished after only a few seconds, as Yaten threw a desperate glance out the window. Seiya really was a baka. If she wanted to tell her to meet her somewhere at a certain time, she could have just passed the message in person, after all she knew that she was at Ami's – or did she forget to tell her? That didn't matter anyway, because there was no way she could make it on time unless she made a run for it and, God, did she hate running. Fortunately the location wasn't too far from the Crystal Palace, otherwise Seiya would be a dead woman unless she had called her there for a life-or-death matter.

It was frustrating, if that was supposed to be a date she didn't even look good enough. Yaten had to settle for the emerald green spaghetti strap dress she was wearing and the simple greek-style sandals, settling for just a quick glance in the mirror before fleeing out the door and rushing to the park indicated in the note. The sun had set almost completely by the time Yaten had arrived to the park and she spotted Seiya sitting against a sakura tree. The empath stopped at a bit of distance, towards Seiya's side, panting softly as she tried to pull herself together after running. Her gaze fell upon her loved one. How she just sat there underneath the sakura, with the soft pink petals floating through the air around her, in the splendid colours of the sunset... Seiya looked absolutely beautiful. Yaten was breathless and not just because of the running she did. The empath just stood there and stared at the woman she loved for a couple of minutes, before realizing that it would be time to announce her presence, because it was already late. Closing the distance between her and Seiya and moving towards her front, Yaten smiled and gazed at her lovingly, leaving all previous death-wishes aside as she softly spoke: ”Gomen, I found the note too late. I hope you're not mad at me...”

[Seiya Kou]

Seiya's gaze lifted to the sky as she waited for her lover to show up. To the casual observer, she looked like just another person that had come out with the intention of enjoying the sunset, but on the inside she was a big ball of nerves. It was really all she could do to keep from twitching. Probably what bothered her the most about this situation was the fact that she was so nervous. And for what? She loved Yaten and it was obvious that Yaten loved her as well. So what was there to be nervous about? True, they hadn't been together very long, but Seiya was dead serious about wanting to be with the silver-haired woman forever. She knew that one of Yaten's dreams had always been to get married, and though she had never really visualized herself as the marrying type, she had only recently decided that it wouldn't be so bad after-all, if it meant she would be with her love forever. She wasn't nervous about the marriage itself, but the proposal. Yaten was always so classy and she was more than a little afraid she would end up saying the wrong thing and mess it up completely. It was probably just silliness on her part, but she couldn't help worrying.

As she waited, she tried to visualize the look on Yaten's face when she first saw the ring. In all honesty she was rather proud of the ring, and the fact that she had managed to go back and get it before someone else had snatched it up. Perhaps it was just good fortune on her part, or perhaps it was something else entirely, but Seiya wasn't going to worry herself with wondering about that now. The only thing she had to think about now was waiting for Yaten to show up and then everything would work itself out from there. For a moment, she thought back to the note she'd left and wondered if perhaps she should have done things differently. Would it have been better if she had been waiting for the silver-haired woman in her room when she returned? Her handwriting was horrid on a normal day and though she had been careful to make it legible this time, she still worried that Yaten would have a hard time deciphering her chicken scratch. Regardless, it was too late to go back and change things now, so all she could really do was pray that the silver-haired woman was able to make out where she was supposed to meet her after-all.

Fortunately she didn't have to wait much longer. A couple minutes later, a soft voice caught her attention and Seiya turned her head to offer the silver-haired woman a bright smile as she approached. From her spot on the ground, she gazed up at the woman she loved, her blue eyes meeting with the green of her lover's for a moment. The corners of her mouth twitched as she fought the urge to grin wider at Yaten's words. The very thought of her being mad about something like that was just too crazy! "I'm not mad about that. I'm surprised you were able to read that note at all really," she remarked honestly, her gaze remaining steadily on Yaten's. "The sunset's nice tonight. . . . sit with me?" she questioned, raising an arm to reach for one of the shorter woman's hands. True the sun had already begun to set before Yaten's arrival, but there was still a bit of time left before it would be completely finished and the notion of watching the remainder with her beloved was a pleasant one.

[Yaten Kou]

Caught in the beauty of the moment, as she gazed at her lover just sitting there under the sakura, Yaten couldn't help but think just how much she loved Seiya's smile. As their eyes met, she found herself gazing deeply into that blue which seemed to pull her deeply inside, like the deepest of oceans. Her own smile widened as her heart beat picked up. She truly felt like she was falling in love with Seiya all over again. Seiya's words brought her out of her reverie and reminded her about the entire incident with the note. It wasn't so strange to her that Seiya would be surprised that she managed to decypher her scribbling. Her lover had an awful handwriting even in their own native alphabet. When it came down to her using any of the Japanese alphabets, it was even worse. The notion of calligraphy seemed to be absolutely foreign to the raven-haired Light. Fortunately for her, throughout the years, Yaten had gotten used to Seiya's handwriting and was now capable of understanding what she wrote with only a minimal effort. Even so, she would have preferred that her lover would, one day, do something about her almost illegible scribbling. ”Your handwriting was the least of my problems”, Yaten started, folding her arms in front of her chest. She gave Seiya a disapproving look and shook her head before continuing: ”Didn't I tell you I was at Ami-chan's? You could have found a better way to call me here than a note. Haven't you noticed how distracted I get when I play with Aoiko-chan? You're lucky I even got to my room to see the note before sunset!” With her lips forming a cute little pout, she continued: ”I had to run to make it here in time, Seiya. You know how much I hate running. You'd better have a good reason to have called me here.”

Yaten offered Seiya her hand as she reached for it, intertwining her fingers with her lover's ones, and moved to sit by her side. Carefully arranging her dress, Yaten folded her legs underneath her as she sat down, snuggling against Seiya's side. The silver-haired woman placed her other hand on top of their clasped palms and leaned her head on her lover's shoulder, gazing at the skyline to watch the final moments of the sunset. The last rays of sun coloured the sky and the clouds with the most incredible shades of pink, orange, red and violet. Sakura petals slowly fell upon them, like a delicate rain of pink, as they sat there. ”So beautiful...”, Yaten softly whispered, enchanted by the sunset. She had never really taken the time to just sit and watch the sunset on Earth, this was the first time. It was even more beautiful as she could watch it with her lover, sitting in her arms.

[Seiya Kou]

To say she was nervous about this little meeting would be an understatement. Even after such a long time on the planet, her handwriting was atrocious on a good day, and more often than not, any attempt to duplicate kanji into a passable note just turned into a disaster. She was hoping that this wasn't the case tonight but there was only really one way to tell, and that was to wait until Yaten managed to show up. Patience had never been one of her strong suits and already she was beginning to irritated at the fact that she would have to sit still and wait for her lover to arrive. The thought of just returning to Yaten's room to wait for her briefly crossed her mind, but she immediately pushed that away. Iie! She was going to wait right here and enjoy the simple beauty of the park until the silver-haired woman arrived and then she would wait for the right moment to ask her that question that would change their lives forever. For the moment, she allowed her eyes to slowly flutter closed as she relaxed, enjoying the peaceful breeze ruffling the shorter part of her hair.

Fortunately her wait wasn't long at all and soon after that she was gazing happily up into her beloved's eyes. She arched a slender brow at Yaten's initial comment and had to bite on the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. She had been anticipating some kind of critical remark about her handwriting and the thought that she had just been overly paranoid this one time made her want to laugh out loud. Fortunately she was able to curb that urge in favor of a sweet smile. "Oh?" she questioned innocently. The thought that the shortest Light had had other sorts of problems wasn't a pleasant one, but she decided to wait and see if she would elaborate before saying anything else about that. Her grin widened a bit as her lover went on to explain just what that problem was. All in all, that didn't seem like such a tragedy, except maybe for the fact that she had had to rush to get here on time. She knew perfectly well how Yaten felt about physical exertion of any kind. "Hai, you did." Now that she thought about it, she did recall Yaten mentioning she would be visiting with the senshi of Mercury and her daughter this afternoon.

"Gomennasai," she began quietly. "I guess I wasn't thinking much about that. I just wanted to surprise you is all. I wanted the evening to be perfect. . ." Seiya explained, allowing her voice to trail off. Standing there, with the sun setting in the sky behind her, Yaten looked like an angel. The soft glow of the sunset's colors made her pale hair stand out vividly and Seiya couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked in that moment, even while she was shooting her a sour look. "I know how much you hate it, but believe me when I say I have a very good reason for calling you all the way out here," she responded, her grin widening. Of course Yaten would have to wait a bit longer to find out what that reason was. As anxious as she was to just ask her now and hear that reaction, she also wanted to spend some time just enjoying the other woman's company. Seiya kept her gaze focused on her lover as she situated herself on the ground next to her. A lazy grin tugged at the corners of her mouth as she gazed down at her lover's face. "Hai. . ." she agreed, though she wasn't speaking about the sunset.

[Yaten Kou]

Yaten had known Seiya for nearly one thousand years and those long years had been more than enough to know her reactions far too well. It was far too obvious for her that Seiya was containing laughter when it came down to her handwriting. ”Oi, I wouldn't smile if I were you. I still think that even a four year old has a better chance at drawing out legible kanji than you do. You should really do something about it.”, Yaten lightly teased her dark-haired lover. Just because she was used to horrid scribbles, didn't mean others would have to be tormented by it.

The silver-haired woman shook her head again as Seiya confirmed that she had in fact informed her that she would be visiting Ami and her daughter. The fact that she knew where she was made it slightly odd that she had opted for leaving her a note when she could have just dropped by to pick her up and bring her to the park. There was a chance that she didn't want to disturb her while she was playing with Aoiko-chan, but she wouldn't have minded... that much. ”You could have come to pick me up, silly. It would have saved you some waiting and me some running.” Her eyebrow quirked at Seiya next words. True, she didn't say something that shocking, but something struck her as a bit odd: note on the pillow to get her out of her room, a surprise, a perfect evening, a natural setting... The last time Seiya got her out of her room, to a garden, the surprise she had given her had changed the entire course of her life. What could happen now? Yaten quickly decided that it was ridiculous that she was putting too much thought into everything and that it was just another sweet and romantice date. After all, Seiya knew just how much she adored gardens of all sorts so it wasn't hard to imagine that a date under a blooming sakura would impress her. Well, if that's what was in Seiya's mind, then she managed to achieve her goal.

Yaten smiled as she admired the wonderful sunset, nuzzling Seiya's shoulder. She took a bit of time to settle herself more comfortably, unclasping her hands from hers as she leaned her smaller frame against the chest of her taller lover. ”This evening really is perfect”, she softly spoke, gazing up affectionately at Seiya. Nothing could be more perfect than being with the woman she loved in such a setting. Although she was beginning to get very curious about that very good reason for which Seiya had asked her to meet her there, she decided against asking anything for the time being, in favor of just savoring the perfect moment. Gently leaning her head back against Seiya's shoulder, Yaten allowed her eyelids to flutter close. Vividly she recalled the song Seiya had sung to her back that day when they admitted their feelings and she smiled.

[Seiya Kou]

Yaten's comment about her handwriting caused her to snicker and shake her head. To most people, the fact that the silver-haired woman couldn't seem to go very long without saying something that could be considered cruel might be a potential reason to avoid her altogether, but honestly Seiya wasn't bothered by it, or at least she wasn't anymore. To be honest, she found that quality endearing, even if some of the things the other woman said could be pretty blunt sometimes. Still, Seiya admired the way she wasn't afraid to be completely honest with people instead of trying to sugarcoat things just to spare people's feelings. She herself was guilty of doing so from time to time, but for the most part she generally tried to avoid situations where it would be necessary. The almost daily arguments with Yaten were an exception to that, but that was mainly because she was just a little bit addicted to it. Things had been that way between the two of them for as long as she could remember and honestly she would miss it if Yaten suddenly decided to change. But then that wasn't likely to happen anyway so Seiya really had nothing to worry about.

"I should. . . maybe I will someday, hehe," she replied with a grin. "Hai, I could have, but I wanted to do it this way instead," she responded, smiling softly as she gazed down at the woman next to her. To be honest, she had considered just going to pick Yaten up from Ami's, but in the end she had decided against that, instead settling on leaving the note and coming here to wait for the other woman. Truth be told, it would have saved her a lot of trouble if she had done things the other way, but Seiya wasn't known for taking the easy way out of things. Despite the perfect setting, Seiya couldn't help feeling a bit nervous about Yaten's possible reaction. She loved Yaten more than anything in the world and the prospect of spending the rest of her life with her was something she had been thinking more and more about lately, but she couldn't help but wonder if Yaten even wanted something like that. It had never really come up in conversation before and she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. It was probably ridiculous, but there was that nagging doubt in the back of her mind that told her Yaten wouldn't want to marry someone like her.

Seiya smiled and pulled Yaten closer, situating the smaller woman so that she was now sitting in her lap, with her back to Seiya's chest. Her arms wound their way around the silver-haired woman's waist and she leaned forward to rest her chin against her lover's shoulder. "Hai, it is," she responded softly, pressing her cheek against Yaten's. "The only thing I can think of that would make it more perfect would be hearing you say yes. . ." For a moment she just sat there, with her cheek pressed against Yaten's as she tried to work up the courage to ask the question she had been wanting to ask for quite a while now. Turning her face slightly, she placed a soft kiss to the other woman's cheek and moved her right arm away to reach into her pocket, her fingers closing around the box she'd stuffed in previously. Taking a deep breath, she slowly withdrew the box and placed it in Yaten's hands. "Kekkon shite kuremasu ka?" she whispered, opening the box to reveal a silver ring with a charming emerald setting.

[Yaten Kou]

Yaten chuckled softly as Seiya snickered. Even if it might have seemed unusual for lovers to tease each other the way they did, this was just the way things had always worked between them. True, she had kept her promise not to say any more hurtful things, but this daily share of teasing they had was far from being hurtful. It was just an unique way in which they expressed their love. Yaten nodded as her dark-haired lover confirmed her suggestion that her handwriting needed to be dealt with. The empath promised herself that if they were to spend more time together, she would offer herself to help with Seiya's kanji. Hopefully she would also find a way to suggest this to Seiya without making it sound insulting.

Smiling, Yaten sighed softly and shook her head. ”You are so odd... but I love this about you”, she softly spoke. Truth be told, Seiya's behavior had always been a bit odd but that's what made her love the other woman so much in the first place. It was just that this evening, just like a couple of weeks ago, she just couldn't shake the feeling that Seiya was acting too strange. Based on what had happened the last time she had done so, Yaten had all the reasons to imagine that Seiya has called her there for more than just a date to admire the sunset. But she refused to allow her mind to wander off and imagine anything of the kind, simply because the only thing she could think of was the one less likely to happen. They had only been together for a couple of weeks and Seiya wasn't even too much of a family person to begin with so it was ridiculous to even entertain such hopes. Yaten shook her head at her own foolishness. She really had to stop putting to much thought into things unless she wanted to ruin this perfect evening and leave with a pout on her face just because her silly dreams didn't come to reality. ”Ne, maybe you could come with me to play with Aoiko-chan tomorrow?”, Yaten eventually added in an attempt to distract her own mind from revolving around such ideas.

Yaten smiled and sighed contentedly as she leaned back into Seiya's embrace, placing her own hands over the ones her lover had wrapped around her waist. As she just sat there with her eyes close, she was thinking just how much she loved being held into Seiya's arms. She could have spent an entire day just sitting like they were now, enjoying the closeness of Seiya's body and the comforting and protective feeling of the embrace and she would have found nothing to complain about. The silver-haired woman nuzzled her lover's cheek as she felt it pressed against her own. The words Seiya spoke next made Yaten's heart skip a beat and she opened her eyes, staring ahead in confusion. Her mind was suddenly racing with all the ideas she had barely managed to distract herself from. Her heartbeat picked up as seconds seemed to pass painfully slow. She didn't even dare to ask just what exactly Seiya had meant, for fear that she would have deluded herself. Lost in her thoughts, Yaten had no reaction to the kiss pressed on her cheek, the only thing bringing her back to reality being the sight of a small box Seiya brought in front of her eyes. Her hands were trembling so hard that Yaten didn't even know how she managed to extend them so that her palms could nest the box. What followed seemed almost surreal. Under a rain of sakura, Seiya has just uttered that one question which she had longed to hear ever since she became a teenager. Tears welled up in her eyes and slowly streaked down her cheeks as the petite woman found herself completely overwhelmed with so much happiness. She stared in shock as the box was opened to reveal that charming emerald ring that had caught her attention the other day. Turning her head to gaze lovingly at Seiya even as tears clouded her vision, she tried to speak, but no words would come out. Taking a very deep breath to calm down, Yaten finally managed to utter that one word which would bring even more happiness into her life: ”H-hai...”

[Seiya Kou]

"Mmmm. . . I don't recall ever claiming to be sane," she countered, grinning. Truth be told, she would likely never get tired of hearing the other woman tell her that she loved her, even if it was because she was odd. Then again, what was the point of trying to be normal anyway? She wasn't hurting anyone so what did it matter if her behavior was a little bit different from time to time? "I know you do. . . and that's why I do it. Just for you~" she added with a playful wink. It was obviously a joke, but she still loved to tease her lover regardless of what other people might have thought about that sort of thing. She could only imagine what sort of thoughts must be whirling around inside the silver-haired woman's head at this moment. But then, she had wanted to make the evening special and memorable for the other woman. With any luck she would be able to accomplish that without having to do something too over the top. The sound of Yaten's voice caught her attention moments later and she smiled faintly at her lover's question. "Hai, I think I'd like that," she replied honestly.

Seiya knew how much Yaten loved spending time with Taiki and Ami's daughter, Aoiko. Normally, she didn't tag along when Yaten went to spend time with the senshi of Mercury and her family, but on the few occasions she had had the opportunity to watch Yaten with Aoiko, she had witnessed how good she was with the baby and how she genuinely enjoyed the time she spent playing with her. On more than one occasion, Seiya had found herself thinking what a good mother the silver-haired woman would make one day. Of course, it had seemed like just a random thought with no basis in reality before. But things were different now, and she couldn't help wondering what Yaten would think of having a baby one day. . . Hah! She was getting ahead of herself now. She had barely managed to propose and now she was already thinking about babies. . . She could only imagine what Yaten would have to say about that. Seiya was almost entirely certain that her lover would think she'd gone completely out of her mind at that.

Her smile widened as Yaten leaned back against her and she could feel her heartbeat begin to pick up in anticipation of what she was about to do. Taking a deep breath, she managed to keep a straight face as she made that seemingly random comment. In truth, she supposed it was probably a cheesy way to lead into it, but it couldn't be helped really. Yaten hadn't said anything in response and she stole a quick glance at her lover's face, smiling faintly at the rather cute expression. For a moment, the fact that Yaten was crying confused her, and she wondered if maybe it had been a mistake to ask her this way. Iie! She would not think that way. She loved Yaten and wanted to spend the rest of her life with her no matter what. A moment later, Yaten turned her head and she found herself gazing into the beautiful green of her eyes. Smiling, she inched closer and brushed her lips against Yaten's briefly as she continued to gaze into her eyes. When Yaten spoke again, Seiya released a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding and smiled wider. "I'm glad. . ." she replied honestly.

Reluctantly, she tore her gaze away from Yaten's eyes for a moment as she removed the from from its box and gently slipped it onto her lover's left hand. "Aishiteru, Yaten," she whispered, lifting her gaze to Yaten's face once more. Her arms tightened around the smaller woman's waist and pulled her closer as she gently nuzzled Yaten's cheek. It was almost funny really, how worried she had been before about Yaten rejecting her or laughing. Now that she had actually worked up the nerve to ask that one question, she realized how silly she had been to worry so much. Now all she really had to worry about was the wedding. . .

[Yaten Kou]

”Mmm, true... I don't think you ever did”, Yaten answered after taking a few seconds to pretend she was trying to remember a time when such a thing happened. Seiya's next words made her chuckle. ”You must really love me to be odd just for me”, she said, half-joking. Seiya had proved to her that she really loved her and she didn't doubt that the raven-haired woman would to just about anything for her. And she would have done absolutely anything for Seiya. She breathed for her, she lived for her. A wide grin spread on her face the moment Seiya accepted to join her the next day when visiting Ami and Taiki's daughter. It made her feel less guilty about spending so much time with the baby if Seiya would be there with her. As much as she hated to think about it, Yaten knew that soon it would be the case to stop being so attached to Aoiko-chan because she was just hurting herself in the end. It was probably better if she gradually stopped visiting by her own will, before either Seiya or Taiki and Ami would ask her to. ”Arigatou”, she replied in a happy voice.

After Seiya asked her to marry her, Yaten's brain seemed to have stopped functioning properly, just remaining stuck on this idea: Seiya wanted to be with her forever, they would belong to each other until the end of time. That was all that mattered. Not for one second did she stop to think that maybe it was too soon to think about marriage and that they could be rushing into things. Nothing was too soon after waiting for happiness for so long. She was so surprised about what had just happened that she couldn't even think straight enough to realize that Seiya had brushed her lips against hers. The petite woman just gazed into her lover's eyes, crying and sniffling. She couldn't remember a time when she had been so happy about something – even that day in the garden paled in comparison to this.

Only when Seiya moved to pick up the ring did she remember that she was still holding the box in her hands. Her eyes followed her lover's movements as she slipped the ring on her still trembling hand. Yaten gazed at the ring on her finger. She was hardly a fan of jewelry but the few items she owned and chose to wear held a special significance to her. Yaten already knew for sure that she would never take that ring off. Emeralds were her favorites and the tear shape reminded her of the many tears she had shed before finally finding happiness. It was absolutely perfect. Though, once she would be able to think properly, she would have to scold Seiya for spending a lot of money on that ring. She would have been just as happy if she would have gotten no ring, or a simple tin one. She didn't need material proof of Seiya's love. ”Aishiteru, Seiya”, she whispered, lifting her gaze to meet Seiya's. Turning slightly, she wrapped her arms around Seiya's shoulders and embraced her tightly, between a mix of tears and happy laughter. ”You can't imagine how happy you've just made me. I love you so much!”

[Seiya Kou]

"Hai. . . I love you more than anything else in the world," she agreed happily. Yaten was just teasing her and she knew it, but it was how she honestly felt and there was no harm in telling her so! To be honest, she was a bit amazed at how Yaten managed to put up with her sometimes. She realized she wasn't always the easiest person to get along with, and yet the other woman seemed to have no trouble sticking by her side despite that fact. It was just one of the many things that Seiya loved about her. Probably if someone happened to be walking by and hearing their conversation right at that moment, they would have thought the two women to be out of their minds, but that didn't bother Seiya in the least. She honestly didn't care what other people thought of her most of the time. Really the only opinions she genuinely cared about were those of the people she cared about, and that was simply enough for her. Seiya smiled and nodded at Yaten's expression of gratitude. In truth, she thought it was a good sign that the silver-haired woman spent so much time with Aoiko; as it meant that she was at least not against the idea of spending time around young children.

She had been so scared before, that Yaten might have laughed at her or flat out refused her offer, but fortunately that had happened. It had been completely ridiculous of her, but she couldn't help it. All she knew was that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Yaten, no matter how long that was going to be. They had already lived so long up until this point, and she realized that she probably could have saved both of them a hell of a lot of trouble if she had just opened her mouth sooner. Perhaps they could have spent the past thousand years or so happily together instead of the way things had gone? Ah well, no point in worrying about it now. They were together now and that was all that mattered to her. It was entirely too easy to lose herself in Yaten's eyes, she realized, and after a moment she tore her gaze away and brought a hand up to gently wipe away her lover's tears, her fingertips lightly brushing against her cheek. A gentle smile curled her lips as she slipped the ring onto the silver-haired woman's finger and she found herself wondering what Yaten was thinking in that moment.

Seiya's smile widened as Yaten embraced her shoulders, and she wrapped her arms around the smaller woman's waist, pulling her closer. "Aishiteru, Yaten!" she replied cheerfully. "Oh? Well, if it's even half as happy as you've made me by accepting then I think I have a pretty good idea. It may have taken me a ridiculously long time to figure it out, but you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. Falling in love with Kakyuu-hime, and then Usagi and finally Minako-chan was not something I planned, or even wanted, but I think with them it was just a matter of wanting something I could never have. It's different with you, and I think a part of me has been in love with you since we were teenagers. I was just afraid to admit to myself that something like that had happened because it would have screwed up everything, or so I had thought at the time. And then we came here the first time and I'm pretty sure you wanted to murder me on more than one occasion. . . " She was rambling now, but for some reason she felt the need to explain. She didn't want there to be any doubt in Yaten's mind that she was the one Seiya wanted. "Gomen nasai, I know I drove you crazy and I just want you to know how truly sorry I am for that."

[Yaten Kou]

Yaten's grin widened when she heard Seiya declare her love once more. No matter how many times she said it, she couldn't have enough of hearing it. ”I love you more than anything else in the universe”, she softly countered. This time she wasn't joking, nor teasing. She knew that words would never be enough to express just how much she loved the raven-haired woman, holding her now. After having kept her love a secret for nearly a thousand years, now that she could be open about her feelings, she literally felt like screaming her love from the top of her lungs on a daily basis. She wanted Seiya and the rest of the world to know how she felt, to know that she was truly happy for the first time in her life. If she wasn't doing it, it was because she didn't want to be considered crazy and get locked up in a mental institution – unless Seiya was locked up with her. Yaten snuggled closer against the woman she loved, her mind already flying to the next day, imagining herself and Seiya playing with their friend's daughter. ”If only...” Yaten cut off the thought and mentally scolded herself for thinking about such things again. Unless Seiya ever said anything about it, she surely wouldn't be the one to mention it.

A goofy smile played on her lips when her lover's fingers brushed against her cheek, wiping away her tears. It was a useless gesture, because more soon fell down to replace them. Seiya would surely think she was crazy for crying like a baby after being proposed, but she was just so happy that she felt completely overwhelmed. One day they would surely sit down and have a good laugh about her reaction – or Seiya would have the good laugh and she would call her a baka for making fun of her sentimentalism. Hopefully Seiya would know that she was crying out of too much happiness. It was so strange to feel that ring around her finger – a symbol of the other woman's love for her. Yaten felt guilty that she didn't have anything to offer to her lover as a symbol of her love, but she would take care of that the next day, after a shopping session. Though... that would be mission impossible. Seiya wasn't exactly the jewel wearing type. Out of the three of them she and Taiki had always been closer to the masculine side. Well, she had to find something, she had all the time to worry about that tomorrow.

Resting her cheek on Seiya's chest, her palms at its sides, Yaten listened to her lover's words. Sadness clouded the sparkle in her eyes and she snuggled closer, crying. It still hurt too much to remember how her life had been until a couple of weeks before. She knew that she couldn't just erase nearly one thousand years with the happiness she had felt in a matter of days, it was absolutely impossible. Yaten just preferred not thinking about it at all. It was painful to remember how she felt to see Seiya chasing hopelessly after Kakyuu, Usagi and Minako. With each of the other woman's new crushes, she felt as if she was dying a little more inside, until she became what she had been until recently, a shadow of her former self, one step away from giving up on life completely. Lifting her head to gaze into her lover's eyes, she softly started: ”Iie, don't apologize. There's nothing to apologize for, I have nothing to forgive you for. Let's not think about the past, it hurts too much. Let's just focus on the present and the future. We will be happy, just the two of us, for as long as we live.”

[Seiya Kou]

As ridiculous as it probably was, Seiya was pretty sure she could sit here and listen to Yaten telling her how much she loved her all day and all night. Of course at some point they would have to move. It probably wouldn't be the best idea to stay here indefinitely, but she wasn't thinking much about the practical side of things just now. Part of her was still amazed that she and Yaten had ended up together at all. That day in the palace's garden had quickly become one of her fondest memories. It was almost too good to be true to think that Yaten would want to be with someone like her. And yet, here they both were, just enjoying the sunset, not bickering as was usual for the two of them. "Okay. . . you win," she replied cheerfully in response to Yaten's remark. Ordinarily, the very idea of Yaten winning one of their ridiculous arguments would be too much for her, but this time she was going to assume it would be alright to make an exception. ". . . for now," Seiya added after a moment. Sure it was entirely silly to sit and argue about who loved who more, but some habits were just harder than others to kick. Besides, it wasn't like this one was going to end up with either of them storming off in a fit of rage.

A content sigh parted her lips as she held Yaten closer, just enjoying the warmth of the smaller woman's body for the moment. It was something of a shock to see Yaten crying, mainly because she could count on one hand the number of times she had ever seen such a thing in the entire span of their lives. It just wasn't something she did, so it was kind of odd seeing it now. Still smiling, she brushed away more of the other woman's tears even as they kept falling. "Don't cry," the raven-haired woman whispered, though the smile on Yaten's face assured her that at least she wasn't sad. Seiya wasn't normally the type to sit and plan things out for overly long, but this was definitely not a spur of the moment type of thing. She knew without a doubt that Yaten was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Of course, she had felt so sure that Usagi was the one, at that time as well, but that had never worked out. She wasn't bitter about that though. Perhaps she really had changed for the better? And then she had been so in love with Minako. Falling for the senshi of Venus had been completely unexpected, but she couldn't regret that either, even if it hadn't turned out the way she would have liked.

It was probably odd to be talking about other women when she had just barely finished proposing to Yaten, but she simply felt she needed to explain. She knew she was running the risk of upsetting Yaten by doing so, but the silver-haired woman at least deserved her honesty. "You're right, thinking about that now isn't going to change anything. . . and I'd much rather think about the future than to dwell on what happened in the past. I know I'm not really the brightest person in the universe, but I know I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you," she replied softly. She had no way of knowing just how long the rest of her life was going to be, though she was looking forward to finding out. At this point she was willing to do whatever it took to convince Yaten that she was the only one for her. Falling in and out of love with the other three had been enough to show her that. They would always have a place in her heart, but Yaten was the most important person in her life now. If only she had realized this sooner. . . No, there was no point in dwelling in the past when they had the rest of their lives to be happy together. "Aishiteru," she whispered again, pulling the smaller woman even closer.