[D11MA] Keeping Promises (expecting)

[Usagi Rei]

That brought Rei to a stop. He laughed, deep and honestly, hands coming down to rest on his knees, shoulders shaking.

Finally he turned back around to look at her. His eyes, ever alert, caught the tears right away. His smile faltered, just a moment. To expose her heart, only to have it be stung again. That she could manage it was something. But would this cause her to retreat again? Rei couldn't bring her happiness the way she... no, the way they both wanted.

But he'd still try his best.

Smiling again, Rei shook his head. "I'm gonna need to come up with a nickname for you. But hey, you can always call me Rei-Rei-Daddy." He flashed a grin; if his eyes showed a hint of concern, well, that was honest.

Still smiling, he offered his hand. "C'mon. Let's face the waves together."

[Akodo Reki]

Reki stood for a moment wiping her eyes. What could have been...

She could at least enjoy the time they had now. "I hope you swim better than you shoot, Rei-san."

Taking his hand with confidence her smile grew a fraction. A memory of Naomi smiling back, hand outstretched came.

Stumbling isn't weakness, Reki-chan, as long as you keep moving forward.

"Charge!"

[Usagi Rei]

Rei smiled. "I swim well. But if I don't, I trust you to have my back. Just like last night." Taking her hand, he gave it a squeeze, his eyes meeting hers one more time. The two of them understood each other all too well...

He grinned at her order, turning and leading the way into the ocean. The water was warm, but noticeably cooler than the hot air, and the waves gentle. Rei slowed noticeably as the water reached his waist. Not long after that, he turned to floating, reclaiming his hand at last.

As his feet left the sandy bottom, he turned himself, looking at Reki.

[Akodo Reki]

Reki on the other hand had stopped with her toes brushing the edge of the sand. Her face was bright red.

"Usagi-san," the formality in her voice given all they had disclosed was possibly like a slap to the Hare's face.

She hopped a little on the sand, keeping her head above water. "I... have never actually learned to swim...I mean to do more than tread water..." With that the Lioness let her feet go flat on the sand. Only from her nose up was visible. A shock of red brown on a literal sea of blue.

Reki looked terribly embarrassed and agitated, like a cat forced into the bath.

[Usagi Rei]

Rei blinked in surprise, then in mild alarm as Reki revealed her deep dark terrible secret. And then, with the stubbornness only a Lion could manage, stood just above nose-deep in the water. Despite his alarm, he couldn't help but laugh, although not unkindly, as her pretty hair floated all around her like some sort of exotic sea creature. Well, he had heard that cats didn't like water. This seemed like proof of that.

Quickly, he paddled back, his lean form cutting skillfully through the water. "Hey, no problem. I'll help you. People float naturally, you just have to get in the right position for it." His voice was pitched a bit loud, in case she had water in her ears.

He held his hand out to her. "Take my hand again, and stretch your other arm out. Then just kinda lean back, keeping your face and chest up, until your feet come off the ground." Rei's smile was encouraging, his eyes bright.

[Akodo Reki]

Reki eyed him suspiciously, tilting her head back. "No ulterior motives Usagi-san?" That formality again, though given the circumstance it was almost comical and despite her suspicion...Reki took his hand and started to lean back.

She wasn't totally new to the water but it had been the most basic of survival. Put on your vest and let it do the work.

A little unease was in her eyes as her feet slipped out from under her and she began to float. Rei felt his hand uncomfortably squeezed for a moment as her body tensed.

[Usagi Rei]

In fact, with the second repetition, Rei did find that the return to formality stung a little. It only showed in the slightest flicker across his handsome features. "None. Or... not many." He teased gently "But you know you can trust me."

He grimaced, just a little, as she tightly squeezed his hand, but he wouldn't let go, not until she was ready for him to do so. "Try to relax." He said soothingly. "Tensing will make you sink. You're doing well, Reki-san."

His arm flexed, helping to keep her aloft. "Now, stretch your arms and legs out, and see if you can bring your hips up. And then... float." He looked at her face, trying to meet her gaze. "Let me know when you're ready to let go."

[Akodo Reki]

Reki looked up at him, willing herself to relax and float..."If I didn't...I wouldn't have followed you out here, Rei-san." Her eyes eyes flicked away from him as her cheeks reddened again

Damnit I wish I could sink my face below the water again...

"...And if I don't want to let go?" She whispered.

[Usagi Rei]

Rei kept his eyes on Reki, but he didn't speak for several moments.

Then, gently, he smiled. "Then I won't let go either." He said softly, his hand squeezing hers again. "Not until it's time to leave." What he and Mariko exchanged was a promise that he wouldn't break. But perhaps, while the two of them floated in the ocean like this for a while, they could pretend that things were otherwise. For a time.

[Akodo Reki]

Copper colored eyes stared into his for a long while.

Regret is a sin, the past can't be changed. Nothing but to keep moving forward.

Slowly her hand slipped from his, her gaze remained.

"Just... another bad play from fate." She murmured. Then more confidently. "...there is more to swimming then just floating, yes?"

[Usagi Rei]

Rei's gentle smile remained even as Reki's hand slowly slipped from his. There was undoubtedly something between them... but as they said, it wasn't meant to be something more.

"There is." Rei chuckled. "But it's a necessary first step." He considered for a few moments. "Maybe next try kicking a bit, from the knee, with your toes extended. Slowly." With both of his hands free, Rei began to float as well, but upright, arms and legs churning the water slowly.

[Akodo Reki]

Reki watched the Usagi as he leaned back. It didn't take her long to pick up on his movements and mimic them clumsily at first...getting better with each motion set of her leg. The Lioness might have picked it up even faster...were she concentrating solely on that.

"Learning to walk...before one runs?" Her smile returned, slowly. "Where did you first learn to swim, Rei-san?"

[Usagi Rei]

Rei watched with as the Lionness gracefully kicked, admiring her form. "Exactly. One step at a time." He said. Rei's form was very good, his trained athleticism clearly working well in the water.

Tilting his head up, Rei smiled playfully at her. "Would you believe here? This is the first ocean I've ever seen, not counting from orbit. I remember one station I was on for a while had a pool for exercise, but I never used it. But I came here, and hey, I'm a Hare. We jump into things both feet first." His smile became a quick grin.

Rei tilted his head back, looking up at the sky, drifting idly, close to Reki but not too close. Close enough to touch, but only as a deliberate action. "Tell me about where you grew up?" He asked.

[Akodo Reki]

Reki frowned at that, "...I grew up on Kiyomizu no Tama." She stopped paddling for a moment to think back on her childhood. "My parents were both warriors...both gone most of the time. I grew up in a creche with other children until I was old enough to begin formal training."

The Lioness closed her eyes, "0500 - First Call, 0530 - Second Call, 0600 - First Formation, 0630 - Breakfast, 0700 to 0900 - First Training Rotation, 0930 to 1030 - Second Training rotation, 1100 - Midday meal, 1130 to 1330 - Third Training Rotation, 1400 to 1600 Fourth Training Rotation, 1630 - Personal time, 1700 - Final Meal, 1730 Final Formation, 1800 Maintenance and Hygiene, 1900 Hours Personal time, 2000 - Sleep."

"Over and over again, when they identified my aptitude for tactics most training become studying the countless volumes and analysis my family has written over millennia of waging war." She opened her eyes slowly, "Then of course I passed my gempukku and it was assignment, its own cycle of reptation. Until..." Her voice drifts off.

[Usagi Rei]

Rei listened, as attentive as ever, as Reki described her routine. Based on how she described it, it made total sense that she'd describe it these many years later.

"I didn't have a single routine." Rei began. "Mine changed a bunch of times, depending on the ship I was on. My parents were both support officers, and I travelled with them. Didn't get into the thick of the fighting, so it was safe enough. Growing up mostly on ships and stations had its own sort of discipline, even it was kinda different from that."

He tilted his head, cheek touching the water, to look at her. "Yeah." He said sympathetically. "It's a big change. One of many in life." He remembered his marriage, too. How much an absence changed him.

[Akodo Reki]

Reki took Rei's hand again, the motion pulling them close enough that to floating bodies bumped.

"Like night and day...I had so internalized the routine, then Naomi with her Unicorn Compassion and Sincerity." She smiled sadly, "And her...daring, it shook everything up. Made me consider life outside of the familiar routine."

"She always said I grounded her, gave her the confidence to take the leap knowing I was there to catch her." Reki looked back up at the sky, squeezing the Hare's hand gently. "I felt some of that again with you."

Reki let the silence linger, "I...am glad you found someone, even if it hurts. I'll...find my own happiness again someday. And then when I return to the kharmic wheel, perhaps Naomi and I will find each other again." She rolls her head over to look at him, feeling the cold water on her cheek, "Maybe someday we will all three meet."

[Usagi Rei]

Rei glanced at Reki as she took her hand, but was happy to let her do so. To let the two of them drift together, bumping pleasantly against each other as they floated.

He looked at her again as she spoke, another little confession. "Reki-san..." He murmured, giving her hand a little squeeze back. "You will. And perhaps we will. I think I would like that."

Then he smiled. "And there's no reason this Winter Court has to be the last time we meet in this lifetime. Maybe the next time you have leave, you can come here on purpose. See if my shooting's improved at all. I'll buy you another drink."

[Akodo Reki]

"I would like that Rei-san." She blushed at that, "I would like that a lot."

They floated their in silence for a moment before Reki looked away. "So...umm...I think I have the floating part down now....should we go back to the kicking part." She most definitely was not still blushing or being awkward. Reki was a stoic Lion!

She did squeeze his hand again before loosening her grip to let his fingers slide from her's.

[Usagi Rei]

Rei's eyes, which had briefly closed, flickered back open as she released his hand again. Even if he had someone, it was nice to gently pretend, at least for a few minutes.

"Right. Kicking. So." Rei said, shifting to plant his feet in the sand. "You can try using your arms, too. Sorta swing them down, but pull them back up carefully, so you're only pushing in one direction."

He pushed through the water with a forward stroke, adjusting his position. "This technique is good for conserving energy, by the way. I figured after you showed me your shooting, I should show you something practical too."

[Akodo Reki]

Reki watched him for a moment, there was a temptation to turn onto her stomach and try to mimic the forward stroke. But she tried the movement instructed.

The Lioness was a little surprised at the momentum her arms added, but most of that movement died as she messed up lifting her arms.

Undaunted she began again.

"You like it here." It was a statement, "Even with all the shadow games and the temptations."

She grins, "...The world suits. Handsome and dangerous." Her cheeks reddened again. "I mean...not terrible looking!"