Shinjuku, Tokyo
Japan
January 2018
8:47 PM
“You’ve got a little something there.”
“Hm?” Aether peeked up at him and blinked as Mathieu wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “Oh—thanks,” she mumbled, ducking her head to hide the blush on her cheeks. Across her, he could only smile.
The two of them had decided to go out that night. While initially agreeing that they could just stay in the hotel room and have a dinner of convenience store food, it would actually be nicer if they went out and explored around the vicinity of the area that night. While Aether had wanted to do initial research, Mathieu insisted on merely walking around and going wherever fate wanted them to end up. It took much coaxing—she was worried about getting lost—but she finally agreed and went off to freshen up.
After fifteen to twenty minutes of walking and her clinging to his arm (it was cold, ridiculously cold that night), they ended up in a comfortable local eatery that served large bowls of ramen and tall classes of cola. It had taken a while for them to fully adjust; Mathieu spent minutes conversing with a waitress over the place’s bestsellers before ordering for the two of them while Aether rubbed her hands, regretting not wearing gloves that night.
“I regret not wearing gloves,” she admitted. The now-empty bowl of ramen sat in front of her, the tall glass of coke three-fourths consumed. Chuckling, Mathieu took her hands into his and ran his thumbs comfortingly over her knuckles. “I wasn’t expecting for it to be this cold.”
“Neither did I,” he agreed. They really didn’t—Mathieu looked at her, seeing Aether bundled up in a thick, white coat. She had on two layers—she had a long-sleeved top underneath, as well as a woolen skirt and back tights. Mathieu had dressed warmly, sporting a hoodie with a shirt underneath and long pants. Despite that, the cold was something else all together. “I really thought it wouldn’t be this cold, ma chérie….je suis désolé.”
“It’s alright.” She gave him a small smile, squeezed his hands. “If it’s more of an excuse to cuddle you later tonight, then I don’t think I’d mind as much.” That made a grin come to his face; Mathieu kissed her hands upon hearing that.
“I’m looking forward to it. You want anything else?” she shook her hand and he gave her hands another squeeze before pulling away and asking for the bill.
After paying, the two started walking back to the hotel. “So what are we doing for tomorrow?”
“We’re visiting a temple first thing,” Mathieu told her. “Senso-ji temple, if I remember right. Apparently we’re supposed to stop by there first before any other place for luck.” She nodded slowly and they stopped walking, Mathieu lightly pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Aether?”
“Hm?”
He contemplated on whether saying it then would be a good idea or not. Shaking his head, he pulled away and took her hand instead. “Never mind. Let’s get back to the hotel.”
On the way back, Aether wondered what he had wanted to tell her.
Getting back to their hotel room was a dream; she let out a “thank God” upon feeling the warmth seep back into her skin and pulled off Mathieu’s scarf as well as the white coat. “I know that Atlanta’s almost as cold—if not colder, but outside was something else,” she told him. Mathieu was seated on the bed, scrolling through his phone quietly. She waited for a response but got none; frowning, Aether climbed on the bed after kicking off her ankle boots. “Love?”
“Oh, hi there,” he greeted, setting his phone down. Mathieu blinked when she hugged him from behind, lightly patting her arms. “You alright?”
“I am. Thought you needed it,” she admitted. “You wanted to say something a while ago?”
“It was nothing—”
“Bullshit. I know you wanted to say something,” she urged. “What is it?” Mathieu went quiet for a while before moving to face her; Aether adjusted so that her arms now hung loosely around his shoulders. He leaned in, pressed a kiss lightly to her forehead again.
“I just—just want you to enjoy. The entire trip.” He took a breath, “After everything that’s happened back home, I wanted you to enjoy here.”
“I am enjoying,” she told him, confused. Mathieu smiled a bit.
“I know. Can’t help but worry, you know?”
“Worry?”
“Yeah. Worry if…” he trailed off, glancing away. Aether leaned in, pressed their foreheads together. It caught him off-guard. “Aether?”
“I’m enjoying,” she repeated quietly. “With you. That’s all that matters to me right now. And you’ve been nothing but sweet so far. So don’t think about it too much,” she told him. Mathieu nodded and let himself close his eyes.
“Alright. I’ll remember that.”
* * * * *
Senso-ji Temple
Asakusa, Tokyo
9:23 AM
Mathieu had never seen Aether’s eyes light up as much upon reaching the stairs to the temple. “This is amazing,” she breathed.
“It really is,” he agreed. Before them stood the actual temple; surrounding the two were potentially hundreds (or thousands) of people going up the stairs, taking pictures, and buying items from the stalls many, many feet away. “We can go shopping after—Aether?”
She had wandered off to a water pavilion on the side; Mathieu watched as Aether took note of what locals and tourists alike were doing. “I think we’re supposed to do this first,” she told him, going next and scooping some water into the ladle. “Mathieu?”
“Go first,” he told her. “I’ll watch.”
It was a simple process, he noted while watching. Aether finished after a minute and he took her spot, repeating what she had done. When he finished, she pulled him away and they walked back to the center, seeing people head straight to the temple right after.
“The temple next?” They watched as a line formed on the stairs, “They’re lining up for something and stopping at the top.” Mathieu pulled her towards the line and they lined up, Aether standing on her toes to look at what they were doing at the front. Mathieu, the taller of the two, understood within a few minutes.
“You’re supposed to throw a coin into the box, clap thrice, and then bow.” Mathieu lowered his voice and whispered to her, “and based on what I’m hearing, you’re supposed to make a wish.”
“A wish?” she repeated. Aether dug into her bag and searched through her coin purse, “And how much exactly?”
“I’m not sure. I think any amount would do.” She nodded and took a coin into her hand, Mathieu waiting patiently with her as they climbed the steps slowly.
They reached the top eventually; he saw her take a deep breath and then toss a coin—what appeared to be a hundred Yen—into the box. Aether clapped twice and bowed, murmuring something under her breath before moving aside. Mathieu did the same with the same amount, letting his wish echo in his head.
Before he knew it, he was done. Aether tugged at his arm and pulled him aside, chattering excitedly on where they could go and what they could do for the rest of the day. He listened to her talk; his hand found hers and he laced their fingers together. “I need a picture,” he heard her say.
“I can take yours here,” he offered. But Aether shook her head.
“I meant of the two of us, right here and right now.” He couldn’t help it—Mathieu let out a laugh and agreed, Aether taking a selfie of the both of them; one with them smiling at the camera and another with her kissing his cheek.
The rest of the morning was filled with shopping; Aether had promised the rest of her team that she would get something for them, and Mathieu as well for Jin-ho and Tony. Before they knew it, they ended up in another eatery an hour and a half later, Aether buzzing with excitement at a jacket she had gotten and Mathieu just watching her with a smile on his face.
“I’ve taken so many pictures of the temples and of the stalls,” she told him, swiping to the left and showing them to him. “And to think this is only within the vicinity of Senso-ji—and that we have the rest of the week to explore around Tokyo,” she went on.
He merely watched and listened. Aether’s eyes were wide, excited; her cheeks were a little flushed from the cold but there was a certain energy that he had missed seeing in her. The tension she had from work was gone, and instead, she was excited. Happy.
His heart fluttered in his chest.
“I’m glad you’re happy,” he told her softly. Aether blinked, startled at his words but took his hand and squeezed it.
“I am happy. And it’s all because of you.” Mathieu opened his mouth to argue against that, but he looked at her again. There was Aether, staring back at him with a smile on her red lips and pure joy in her eyes.
It was enough to cast away the doubts for a while.
“I’m happy, too. And it’s also because of you.”
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