Hopping off the motorcycle, Aria slipped off her helmet as Kousuke cut the engine.

  “You have fun?” Kousuke asked after taking off his helmet.

  Reaching into his saddle, he grabbed the bag holding Aria’s suncatcher and gave it to her.

  “Absolutely!” Aria happily declared, handing the helmet to Kousuke, “I didn’t know that Abol de luz Nocturna grew here! I’ve only ever seen them in Jardin. How did you know they were at that park? They look like normal Weeping Willows during the day. Even I can’t tell them apart!”

  “My Mom would take me and Kouya to a festival that happens here,” Kousuke answered.

  “Festival? Can we go?! When is it?!” Aria asked excitedly.

  “Like six months from now, you sure you want to make that kind of commitment?” Kousuke warned, grinning to hide his concern.

  This was only their first date. It went well, more than well based on Aria’s reaction. Who knows if that same reaction will be around in the future.

  What if she decides she just wants to say friends? What if things start going well, but then she changes her mind and wants nothing-?

  “Of course!” Aria’s confirmation put those negative thoughts to an end, “You could show me around more! I know there’s another path we didn’t take. Hopefully, there’ll be some food stalls. Are there any games? I can’t wait! It’s gonna be so much fun! I’ll be better prepared next time so I’m-“ Aria stopped herself, cheeks slowly turning pink.

  She did it again.

  “You weren’t kidding when you said you wouldn’t stop me?” Aria spoke, trying to keep her voice even.

  “I wasn’t lying,” Kousuke chuckled.

  Frowning up at the Pitch User, Aria spoke in a dry tone, “Ok, ‘Mr. Man-Of-Few-Words-Who-Won’t-Tell-A-Lie-‘.”

  “Please don’t ever call me that,” Kousuke interrupted deadpanned.

  Smiling up at him, Aria tucked her hands into Kousuke’s. Standing on the heels of her shoes, Aria rocked herself back and forth. The glow slowly returned to her eyes.

  “When is our next date gonna be?” Aria asked, smiling sweetly.

  The question caught Kousuke off guard, but he kept his composure. If Aria ever found out how to get under Kousuke’s skin, he just knew she would take advantage of it. A little payback for all the times he’s teased her.

  Grinning back at her, he said, “I’ll let you know,” pulling her into a one-armed hug, Kousuke added, “You should head inside, it’s getting late.”

  Enjoying Kousuke’s warmth, Aria wrapped her arms around his waist. Tucking her face into the crock where his neck and shoulder met.

  This comfort took her to the last night at the cabin. The two snuggled on the patio, Aria helping Kousuke trace constellations. Only a blanket and each other to fight off the cold breeze that rose from the lake.

  “See you when the cafe opens up?” Aria asked.

  Hot breath tickling Kousuke’s neck sent a small shiver down his spine.

  “I’ll be the first one there,” Kousuke promised.

  “I’m holding you. to it, ‘Mr. ell-No-Lie-“

  “You’re not getting a second date if you don’t drop-“

  This time Aria cut Kousuke off by placing a kiss on his cheek.

  A simple action, so sweet and so gentle, made Kousuke’s heart react in a big way. Double tapping its way up his throat to silence his non-threat, making Aria giggle in victory.

  Pulling out of the hug, Aria bit down on her lip, keeping her smile from growing. Seeing the light blush across Kousuke’s cheeks made pride swell in Aria’s chest.

  “Goodnight Kousuke, today was amazing,” Aria said.

  Placing another kiss on his cheek, Aria turned on her toes and walked into her building.

  Inside the stairwell, Aria let out more giggles. Hiding her blushing face inside of her hands, it also muffled her glee. Not enough though, any giggles that escaped bounced off the concrete walls and tapped on her shoulders. Surrounding her in her mirth. From the tips of her toes to the top of her head, Aria vibrated with happiness.

  From start to finish, nothing but happiness and fun. Learning more about the city she chose to make her home. The only downside was that it ended.

  Hearing Kousuke’s motorcycle peel away, Aria took in a deep breath. Calming her nerves before making her way to the elevator by the stairs. Patiently she waited for the sound of a double ding of the elevator’s arrival.

  She didn’t even remember stepping into the metal box or pressing the number five. Too busy holding her suncatcher tight to her chest, afraid that it might vanish and today would have just been a dream.

  The click of the front door opening caught Tommy’s attention. Looking up from their phone, they watched as Aria seemed to float into their home.

  Gliding from the front door to the patio door, Aria hung up the sun catcher.

  A smirk pulling on Tommy’s lips they asked, “So how was it?” and watched as Aria drifted to the couch.

  “I had so much fun,” Aria sighed, “Everything was amazing.”

  “Yeah? Did you kiss?” Tommy teased.

  “Kinda, I kissed him on the cheek,” Aria quickly added, noticing Tommy perk up.

  “Well, it’s a start,” Tommy teased, rolling their eyes, “What else happened?” Tommy asked.

  Grabbing a pillow, Aria hugged it to her chest and crossed her ankles. Holding herself together to keep the joy inside. If she let go she might fly away.

  Starting from her arrival at the cafe, Tommy listened to each word spoken. Noticing the joy in Aria’s tone. That animated way she talks when she’s excited was full force, radiating off her in waves.

  In the middle of her storytelling, Tommy sent Kouya a quick text.

  ‘Aria is on cloud nine, how’s our loveable stormy cloud?’

  As Kouya finished reading the text, the front door opening and closing rang in the apartment.

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  “Hey! How was the date?” Kouya asked, walking into the living room.

  “Hm? Oh, it was good,” Kousuke answered, hanging up his helmets.

  “Did she like the market?” Kouya asked, “How did Aria react to the glowing trees?”

  The memory of Aria’s glowing green eyes made Kousuke smile. His heart beats an extra thump that only she can do.

  “She loved it,” Kousuke answered, making his way to his room, “Night,” he added.

  Looking back at his phone, Kouya texted Tommy back.

  ‘Might want to update our bet. I give it another six months.’

  ‘You give your brother too much credit’ Tommy’s quick text back made Kouya laugh.

  “Stop gossiping about me and Aria!” Kousuke scolded his twin from his room.

  Jumping in his skin, Kouya scurried to his room. Feeling like he was caught eating a fifth cookie he wasn’t supposed to have.

  “Tell Tommy I said ‘hi’!” Kousuke added with a grin.

  Phone vibrating in his pocket, Kousuke opened the new QuickPics notification.

  A picture of the sun catcher Aria bought looked up from the phone screen. It was dangling in front of her patio door. The door was next to a window, a perfect spot for the sun catcher to reflect some light.

  ‘had the most amazing day with @tattooed_okami02 ?????? #datenight #sweet #happy’

  The double beat in Kousuke’s chest happened again. Something he’s going to have to get used to.

  Not that he was complaining.

  Quickly liking the post, Kousuke sent Aria a text.

  ‘Three hearts? really?’

  In response to the teasing, Aria sent a wall of hearts. Followed by a ‘Should I send more?’ text.

  ‘I’ll block you,’ an annoyed emoji was added to the response.

  ‘It wouldn’t last long, you’d miss me too much.’

  There goes that double beat again.

  ‘I’m going to bed now.’

  ‘I knew I was right!’

  Rolling his eyes at the text, Kousuke crawled into bed. Sending a goodnight text with an annoyed emoji.

  Closing his eyes, Kousuke allowed his body to rest. Today’s adventure left his body, the memories fading into clouds, only to return in his dreams no doubt. Sleep crawled from the back of his head to the back of his eyes.

  Before sleep could reach all the way around, Kousuke’s phone buzzed with a notification. Then another notification buzzed from his phone.

  An annoyed groan left the back of his throat, he grabbed the device. Ready to angry text the person back.

  All negative thoughts left his mind seeing it was from Aria.

  It was a picture text, captioned with: ‘Happy Dreams ?? See you in a few days ?? I’ll have your favorite ready ??’

  Opening the picture, Kousuke’s heart did a triple beat. Heat traveled up to his ears from the back of his neck.

  It was Aria taking a selfie in her vanity mirror. Sitting on her pink duvet, wearing pink pajama shorts and a black spaghetti-strap crop top. Blond to pink, to purple, to blue hair draped to the side. Smiling sweetly and her eyes glowing with her magic.

  That’s how Kousuke knew she was so happy. Green eyes glowing so bright, they could be seen in the dark.

  Whatever he needed to do to see that happiness again, Kousuke would do it.

  Texting ‘Happy Dreams’, back to Aria, Kousuke returned to getting comfortable in his bed.

  Wrapped loosely in his blanket, window a jar to let a cool breeze in. A few clamors of city life lull him to sleep. Traveling with him until he couldn’t hear it any longer, and turned into something new.

  Opening his eyes, Kousuke's dream greeted him with the sight of a forest. The tree’s taller than any Kousuke had seen, with leaves a lush green and hints of purple. Stars in the sky with the three moons provided the best light ever.

  Without meaning to, Kousuke started searching for the stars. Trying to see if he could find any of the constellations. A grin pulled on his lips when he found Aria’s first and then his, the two were side by side with each other. Almost touching and creating a whole new design.

  Committing it to memory, Kousuke’s traveled forward. He followed the open path before him, it was better than standing there doing nothing. A gentle breeze now and again tickled Kousukes bare arms. The only sound was Kousuke’s bare feet brushing against the soft grass.

  This is a dream Kousuke could get used to. It was a nice escape from reality for a minute. Something to relax in after a hard day.

  The path opened up to a field. A field full of Glowing Moonlight Flowers, shining as bright as the night sky. Seeing their purple and blue glow reminded Kousuke of a pair of brilliant green eyes.

  Smiling at the flowers, Kousuke walked right up to them and admired their wonder. Well, she was one thing that Kousuke didn’t want to escape from.

  “I know that look,” a voice echoed into the field.

  Looking away from the flowers, Kousuke looked around the empty field. Trying to find the person who spoke.

  He was greeted with a chuckle bouncing off the trees. When it reached the middle of the field, a flash of light blinded Kousuke. Making him take several steps back as he covered his eyes with his arm.

  Hearing footsteps, Kousuke dropped his arm and stiffened his body to keep himself from jumping.

  Standing before Kousuke was a towering man, standing at least a foot and a half taller than Kousuke. His hair was a pale blond, falling to his shoulders and tucked behind his pointed ears. Red eyes stood out brilliantly thanks to the black markings around his eyes, traveling to points at each corner. The man wore a dark blue long-sleeved Yukata shirt with white trimmings, his wide-legged pants the same shade of blue and white trimmings.

  The man stood with a knowing smile, his eyes shining in the moonlight.

  “You found her,” the man said, making his sharp canines impossible to miss.

  Double halos growing in his eyes, Kousuke glared up at the man. The moons above glowed brighter with Kosuke’s magic, making the man look up at them.

  A hollow chuckle left his throat.

  “My, you’re almost as strong as I am,” dropping his gaze to Kousuke, the young Radiant User was surprised to see double halos in the man’s eyes, “Almost.”

  At the man's words, the moons started to glow brighter along with the flowers. Creating shadows in the land around them, making the bark on the trees more noticeable, showing how green the leaves were, and the purple veins they had.

  Just as quickly as the glow started, it ended much faster. The moon and flowers dimmed to their natural hues while the double halos in the man's eyes faded.

  “Now make sure to keep her safe,” the man instructed.

  His words confused Kousuke, his magic retreating from his eyes.

  Why did he need to keep Aria safe? She was more than capable of doing that herself. Not only would she be able to tap into a strong part of her magic, but she also knew how to fight.

  “You don’t want anything to come between you two,” the man leaned forward so he was face-to-face with Kousuke, “She brings out the happiness in you.”

  Before Kousuke could say anything in response, the double halos appeared in the man's eyes just as quickly as that flash of light. Blinding Kousuke this time, taking away his sight and only leaving black and white specks behind.

  Hands flying to his eyes, Kousuke rubbed and rubbed and rubbed at them. Trying to ride the burning sensation that was left behind. It was the same feeling when a strobe light hit just the wrong spot on a person's retina.

  Dropping his hands, Kousuke let out a relieved sigh seeing his room ceiling. The fan above his bed shifted ever so slightly with the breeze from his window. Rubbing at his eyes again, with his other hand Kousuke pawed for his phone.

  Feeling the sleek metal in his hands, Kousuke brought it to his vision and groaned at the time.

  Why couldn’t his weird dream wake him up at the time he was supposed to wake up? He didn’t have to be awake for another four hours.

  Phone vibrating in his hand, Kousuke blinked at Aria’s profile picture looking up at him. Waiting for him to answer the call.

  “Aria?” Kousuke asked confused.

  “Why are you awake?” Aria asked just as confused.

  “You called me,” Kousuke reminded in a deadpan voice, “Everything ok?” he asked, stretching out in his bed, trying to get comfortable again.

  “Yeah, I just woke up and had a feeling I should call you,” there was a pause in Aria’s words, short, but long enough for Kousuke to question if she was still on the line, “I’m just now realizing how crazy that sounds. I’m sorry, I didn’t wake you up did I?”

  The worry in Aria’s voice pulled a smile on Kousuke's lips. He can just picture her right now, wrapped up in her blanket like a cocoon, hugging her pillow close. Probably wanting the ground to swallow her whole.

  “No, I was awake, a weird dream woke me up,” Kousuke answered with a yawn.

  “Are you ok?” the worried tone made Kousuke chuckle.

  “I’m fine Aria, it was just a dream, I barely remember it already,” Kousuke promised, and added after hearing the yawn in her voice, “You should go back to sleep.”

  “Yeah, I should, sorry for calling,” Aria apologized.

  “Don’t be, call me any time,” Kousuke assured her, looking out the window, seeing only the pink moon, “I’ll always pick up.”

  “Promise?” Aria's tease was followed by another yawn.

  “Next time I see you I’ll even pinkie promise it,” Kousuke's chuckle made a tired giggle leave Aria’s lips, “Happy Dreams Aria.”

  “Happy Dreams Kousuke,” Aria’s voice drifted off as the call ended.

  Tucking himself back under the blankets, Kousuke’s eyes stayed on the pink moon. Enjoying the way it illuminated his room in a soft shade of pink. Combined with the soft breeze and the calming sounds of the city, it wasn’t long before Kousuke was back to sleep. This time a dreamless one, the dream from before long forgotten from his mind.