A few hours later, Aoi and Tarutaru are standing at the door, getting ready to leave. Lily and Rose are standing a bit away from them, Lily having her right arm wrapped around Rose, holding her in an embrace.
"Thank you for inviting us, Lily! It was really fun! I hope I can do something when it’s my birthday, I’d love to have you visit me then!" Aoi says while putting on her shoes.
"It really was nice!" Tarutaru says, putting on her coat, "Sadly we missed my birthday just before school, but I’ll be sure to invite you all next fall!"
"See you at school! Rosie-chan, be gentle with the baby and remember protection!" Aoi says with a mischievous grin.
"AOI!" Lily and Rose both yell at the same time while both blushing bright red.
Aoi laughs so much there're tears coming from her eyes. "Come, Enoka, we should go while they’re still decent!" She says, grabs Tarutaru by the hand, waves at Lily and Rose and then leads Tarutaru away.
Lily closes her door and turns to look at Rose. They both stand there, just looking at each other, both as red as a boiling lobster.
Rose glows like a firefly and there are pink particles in the surrounding air. She fiddles nervously with her clothes and her tattoo-like patterns ebb and flow on her skin. "Lili…" she says and swallows. She takes a step towards Lily and takes both of her hands into hers. "I—I know I’m expected to do something here, but—"
Lily smiles gently at her, she frees her hand, lifts Rose’s chin with it and looks straight into her eyes. "Cotton Candy… I—I can’t say I wouldn’t want to.. do anything and everything with you, I do. I do so much it’s embarrassing, but.. Rose… I don’t expect you to do anything you don’t want to and what you are not ready for. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here the next year and the next. Even decades from now, I’ll still be here. I’ll wait any amount of time you require. I don’t want to push you, however much I want you."
Rose’s eyes well up and her hair glows almost white. "Lili…" she says. "I love you, I love you so much.. Thank you. I’ll… I’ll do.. things with you, but.. I’m not ready yet, I’m.. I’m afraid I can’t control myself and I’ll end up hurting you or worse…!" Rose wraps her hands around Lily and buries her face in her chest. "Thank you, dearest…" she whimpers.
Lily caresses Rose’s hair gently and holds her close. "I don’t expect you to do anything more than this, love… This is enough for me now. Just… just having you here is like a dream I never even dreamed to dream. Like a wish I never even realized I could have…" she kisses Rose’s head.
Rose pulls off a bit and looks at Lily with a tender smile. "I actually did in fact have a present for you, even if… even if isn’t the one…"
"Huh?" Lily says and raises her eyebrow. "Cotton Candy, you didn’t need to, I meant what I said. You just being here is the best…" her words trail out when Rose pulls a box out of her hidden pocket. She opens the box and there’s pendant. A pendant with a white, pearl-like crystal in the shape of a lily. It glows softly with an inner white light and when you turn it around, it sometimes seems to have a pink tint in the center. Lily stares at it with her mouth open. "So beautiful…" she says. "It’s gorgeous, Cotton Candy! Where in the world did you manage to find it!"
"… made it." Rose mutters nervously.
"WHAT?!" Lily exclaims, "You made this?! Yourself! It’s amazing, Cotton Candy! It’s the most beautiful jewel I’ve seen anywhere! I’m not worthy of something like this—"
Rose takes Lily’s hands into hers, pressing the pendant into Lily’s hands. "No, Lili." She says gently. "You’re worth so much more a mere physical jewel can never compare." She embraces Lily tightly again. "I just hope a simple thing I created for you would convey the faintest idea of how much I care about you" she breathes.
Lily wraps her hands around Rose and they just stand there in silence, coiled around each other. Both in their hearts and with their bodies.
ns 18.68.41.179da2
