Better Than

Yumie stumbled as Braith closed the hotel door behind them. It was late now - dinner had stretched longer than planned, filled with far more laughter and merriment than either of them had expected.

As Braith had discovered, the effect of spicy ramen on a Mahotona was remarkably similar to alcohol.

He also had the honour of being the first person to discover this, since Yumie was the first humanoid Mahotona to ever eat spicy ramen. Thankfully, no one else would ever know. He certainly wasn’t planning on telling anyone.

All he knew was that Yumie was definitely not her usual self. She giggled constantly and could no longer stand on her own. Being intoxicated while blind had to be a deeply disorienting experience, but somehow he managed to guide her to the bed and sit her down safely.

She giggled again.

“It’sss… it’sa bit dark.”

He sighed. She’d been saying things like that the whole way back.

“You’re blind, Yumie.”

Another giggle.

“Yerrr… I’mms in the dark.”

He sat down beside her, rubbing his face tiredly. One thing was certain - she was never eating spicy food again.

She hiccupped.

“Where arrrrrre you…”

He placed his hand over hers.

“Right beside you. Like I promised.”

She giggled, shoulders relaxing.

“That’s good… mmm…”

She sighed, as if she were about to say something profound.

“I wanna-hic-I wanna get busy…”

He shook his head gently.

“You need to sleep, Yumie.”

She groaned.

“But shi’m not tired…”

Suddenly her hand flew to her mouth.

“I’m gonna be si-hic.”

Braith was on his feet instantly, guiding her toward the bathroom. He placed her hands on the edge of the toilet just in time as she bent over and retched.

He looked away, listening, his thoughts drifting despite himself.

The way the other Mahotonas had watched them at dinner.
The way Yumie’s blindness had served as just enough of an excuse for everything unusual about her.
The man in the black suit - who hadn’t taken his eyes off them for a single minute.

Braith wasn’t naïve.

They were being watched.

The government knew where they were.

So why hadn’t anything happened?

Were they afraid?

If they were, why not act when Yumie was clearly incapacitated? Why wait?

The thought chilled him.

Nowhere was truly safe.

He finally understood the desperation of runners. The constant movement. The paranoia. Their only real chance at peace would be leaving the country - and that was impossible.

Even if it weren’t, they’d likely never stop being observed.

Braith shivered.

Every dream of a quiet life was gone.

The only thing anchoring him now was the girl throwing up half-digested ramen into the toilet.

The thought nearly broke him.

“Are you still there?”

Her voice pulled him back.

He nodded, though she couldn’t see it.

“As always.”

She nodded weakly.

“Thank you.”

Her stomach finally settled. She breathed heavily, exhausted.

“I’m sorry…”

An ugly sob tore free.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

The toilet flushed automatically as Braith helped her stand. She wobbled, then collapsed into his arms, her tears soaking into his shirt.

He held her tightly.

“It’s okay… it’s not your fault…”

Her voice was suddenly startlingly clear.

“I’m not talking about being sick.”

The words hit him like a sledgehammer.

He swallowed hard, forcing a smile that didn’t quite hold.

“Hey… it’s alright.”

She shook her head.

“Why couldn’t I have been a normal Mahotona… a normal, dumb fox…”

She sniffed, the intoxication clearly fading now.

“It’s just like they all say… I’m a curse…”

He hugged her closer.

“You’re not a curse to me-”

“But I am!” she cried. “I’m ruining your life! Think about everything you could’ve done if it wasn’t for me!”

He spoke softly, steady.

“But Yumie… if it hadn’t been for you, I’d be dead.”

Her sobs faltered.

“You can’t prove that…”

“And if I wasn’t dead,” he continued, “I’d be lonely.”

“You can’t prove that either…”

“And if I wasn’t lonely,” he said gently, “I wouldn’t be with you.”

She stilled.

“What?”

He stroked her hair.

“No one could replace you, Yumie. No one ever will.”

“But-”

“And I don’t mean as a weapon. Or as a Mahotona. I mean as my fiancée.” He took a breath. “I love you. Just you.”

Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

“I’m still-”

“You’re not whatever you were about to say.” His voice softened. “You’re a treasure to me. Nothing else compares. I would rather die than lose you.”

She made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob.

“I’m a treasure in everyone else’s eyes too…”

“Not like you are in mine.”

She nodded, her head bumping against his chest as a shaky laugh escaped - still full of pain, but lighter now.

“I want to marry you so bad…”

He smiled.

“Then let’s get married.”

She nodded again.

“When?”

“Whenever you want.”

She squeezed him tightly.

“Let’s find rings.”

He squeezed back, and they stood like that for a long moment before she sighed.

“I feel filthy.”

He smiled softly.

“Want to take a shower?”

She nodded, her hand finding his shoulder, following his arm until her fingers laced with his.

“Only if you take one too.”

He chuckled.

“I figured you’d say that. Come on.”

She nodded again, clinging to him as he led them onward - together.

The bed was every bit as comfortable as it looked - clearly designed for enthusiasm, its soft foam springy yet supportive, easy to melt into. Yumie’s hand was tightly intertwined with Braith’s beneath the sheets, the night not yet warm enough to make them unnecessary.

That was probably for the best.

They’d once again found themselves without spare clothes, and neither of them wore anything beneath the covers. Yet just like the night they’d returned from the hospital, neither of them was truly aware of the other’s nakedness. It simply… didn’t matter.

Instead, they spoke in hushed whispers, ears tuned for any sound of danger, but minds almost entirely absorbed by one another. Yumie’s tail, trapped beneath the sheets, wriggled until it brushed against his leg as she whispered,

“But… who would we invite?”

He considered it.

“I don’t know. It might just be us.”

She squeezed his hand.

“I wouldn’t mind that,” she said softly. “I can’t see anyway. But… would you feel strange?”

He smiled in the dark.

“No. I think I’d be too absorbed by you to notice anything else.”

She giggled quietly.

“Do you like the idea of me in a wedding dress?”

He didn’t need to answer.

The image bloomed in his mind unbidden, and for a fleeting instant her world shifted - she saw through his eyes. The ceiling above them surfaced faintly in her perception, blurred and shadowed by the darkness of the room, but unmistakably there.

She giggled again.

“Enough to make you feel like that?”

He chuckled softly.

“Of course. How could I not?”

She sighed, content.

“And then what? A honeymoon?”

He nodded.

“We can try. Though we might not get much farther than Tokyo.”

“Where would you want to go?”

He shrugged beneath the sheets.

“I’d like to go back to my hometown. Introduce you to my parents. Then… find somewhere to live there.”

“I’d like to meet your parents too,” she said brightly.

Then she giggled, softer this time.

“Especially since I can’t introduce you to mine.”

He drew in a breath through his teeth.

“Well… technically they’re yours too. But that’s a moral rabbit hole I’d rather not fall into.”

She smiled.

“Either way, they’ll be my parents soon.”

He felt his cheeks warm - and then warmer still when he realized how silly it was to be flustered after spending the entire night talking about marriage.

“That… that’s true…”

She shuffled closer until their shoulders touched. It wasn’t anything suggestive - she just wanted the closeness. She sighed.

“I can’t wait…”

He smiled.

“We don’t even have a date yet.”

She shrugged lightly.

“I can’t wait anyway.”

He chuckled.

Not much sleep would be gained that night, but neither of them minded. It was all they could do to keep moving forward, together, as the country searched for them with intentions they couldn’t yet name.