Water Lilies: Epilogue

Epilogue

Makoto sighed in satisfaction as she placed the box on the floor and squeezed her way through the many boxes across the room to the open window. She had worked up quite a sweat and the cool springtime breeze felt incredible on her overheated skin. Ami grinned at her from across the room, footsteps light as she gracefully navigated towards the brunette and the window. She slid her arms around Makoto and although the tall woman felt quite hot she welcomed the smaller woman into her arms. She bent just as Ami stood on tiptoes, their lips lightly brushing together. Makoto felt a familiar stirring within her the moment Ami's lush lips touched hers. A different kind of heat pulsed gently inside her.

She felt Ami's cool slender hands on her forearms before the small woman slid them in feather-light touches up her arms to rest on her shoulders. Fingernails gently scraped against exposed skin at the nape of Makoto's neck and the tall woman drew in a deep breath. The woman in her arms gave her a sweet little smile. But Makoto knew there was more to the eye here. She was being toyed with. Her eyes narrowed as she mock-glared at Ami.

The doctor giggled, perusing the room before returning her attentions back to the brunette, "Is that the last one?"

"Yes," Makoto sighed in relief, a smile growing on her lips. She leered at the doctor, wriggling her eyebrows, "Want to take a break?"

"A break does-ah! Mako!" the doctor shrieked in surprise and laughter, her response interrupted the moment Makoto's strong hands glided down from the middle of her back to grasp the small woman's rear firmly with both hands. She moaned softly when Makoto pulled her closer.

The brunette leaned in; her lips achingly close to Ami's. She could feel Ami's exhalations against her own lips and yearned to kiss them. Instead she pressed her lips to the column of the smaller woman's throat. Makoto felt Ami's response when the hands on her shoulders pressed into her flesh.

"Makoto...as much as I'd love to right now...Grandma Hana is expecting us in the kitchen," Ami gasped out; she did not release her hold on the brunette, however.

Makoto leaned in to kiss the corner of Ami's lips, muttering as she did, "I'd rather have you...right here." She finally captured the doctor's lips with her own. It was a breathtaking kiss, seeming to last forever even though it was only a mere moment. Ami's lips were pliant under hers, accepting, no, welcoming every sweep of her tongue. She could feel the rapid beating of the smaller woman's heart, her own pounding just as hard. They broke apart for air, gazes intensely tangled in recognition of what they shared.

The botanist caressed the side of Ami's face, waiting for her brain to form the words her heart felt and knew to be true, "Thank you for loving me, Ami."

She could tell her words affected the doctor but the woman merely winked at her and huskily replied, "Wait until I get you into bed tonight!" Before Makoto could properly respond, Ami sauntered out of the room.

Makoto felt a grin grow on her face. It had only been eight months since she returned to Yukikura and confessed her feelings. Ami had changed; the smaller woman had always carried herself with a quiet, if reserved confidence but now she seemed lighter somehow, more carefree. The tall woman felt quite different herself and she knew it was attributed to the fact that she finally allowed herself to love and be loved in return. It was so simple really, and she couldn't quite understand how she hadn't realized it all these years. But somehow Ami had broken through the stone wall she built around herself. Makoto fully understood it hadn't been easy for the doctor; nevertheless, she was quite happy that it was Ami who had done it.

She glanced around the room, taking in all the unopened boxes arranged on the floor. Those boxes contained her life, the things she deemed important enough to bring with her: books, mementos, work related items and her clothing. Her furniture she had either sold or given away. The lease to her apartment was fast approaching the expiration date and she had not bothered to renew it. She still retained her position as a field researcher at the university. Technology had made the transition from Tokyo to Yukikura quite simple, through emails and video conferencing she could communicate with her co-workers and the department head. She would still have to travel but instead of returning to Tokyo, she would be returning to Yukikura. To a place where she felt like she finally belonged instead of a place to rest in between her travels.

The doctor had been quite concerned about the brunette and her position at the university; after all, Makoto had worked diligently to get where she was. She reassured the small woman, stating she could live anywhere and do anything as long as she was together with Ami. She did not want the doctor to give up the clinic; it was something that had once been very important to Hana and was now just as important to Ami.

Lost in her thoughts she was interrupted by Ami's voice floating down the hallway from the kitchen, "Mako! Are you coming?"

"I'll be right there!" she called back as she glanced around the bedroom she now shared with Ami. She walked out of the room with a smile, following the footsteps of the smaller woman. She was finally home.