Eureka Seven. Fusion Chapter 1

                                                    Eureka Seven
                                                        Chapter One; Fusion

Renton Thurston was in a crummy mood; twenty minutes ago he’d asked Eureka if she was hungry.  She had replied; no, well, he was!  But he waited, so as to share his meal with the girl he loved.  Then, not ten minutes later, she wanted an apple-pear!  So here he was, slogging through the marshy earth, dodging scratching brambles, looking for the pear tree.

It was so much easier when the kids were with them...The kids, where were they now?  Did Holland make good on his promise?  Of course he did; Talho loved those kids.  Man, they were probably getting big now...He wondered what the baby looked like.

Still, they’d been out here for at least a year, after that, he and Eureka lost track of time.  What they were supposed to do was anyone’s guess; Eureka could still sense what the coral was saying, though lately she’d been kind of silent.  He thought after the “Second Summer Of Love” things would be okay, but they were right back here where they were before the Cluster was destroyed.  What could the coral want?

It wasn’t all bad; the weather stayed almost perfect, there was plenty of food, plenty of water, the Trapar was thick here; sometimes he and Eureka could lift with their handmade ref-boards.  They were really crude, though, so they couldn’t do any real hardcore tricks.  But he and Eureka had been coming to discover what “love” really was; Renton had only read about love in Pointe Press, a strongly masculine publication with a heavy testosterone bent.  Eureka had no idea what love was outside of a few words from Gidget and Talho.  It wasn't long after arriving here that their love really blos-somed; they shared their first kiss, which set off the Second Summer Of Love, now kiss-ing was second nature to them.

That kiss...  Renton thought, touching his lips.  He could still feel it on them.  It was the answer to every question he ever had about Eureka; everything he ever wanted to know, was answered in that first kiss.  It wasn’t long before they started exploring other avenues of their relationship, finally culminating in the physical act of love akin to marriage.

Renton blushed, He could see truth in Eureka’s eyes in their lovemaking, the only thing left to do was to get married....  He still had Charles’ wedding ring as well as the other one that had been encased in amber.  The amber had mysteriously crumbled shortly after arriving here, and it looked suspiciously like Ray’s wedding ring.

Marriage was something Eureka and Renton didn't talk about, to mention it would obligate a proposal.  For now, they just kept each other’s rings tied around their necks.

The tree almost knocked him flat, bringing up his thoughts.  He folded his jacket into a makeshift bag, noting how worn it had become.  He’d gotten it as a gift from Hol-land when he went to rescue Eureka from the Cluster. It really didn’t fit him anymore, but there wasn’t anyplace around to update his wardrobe.

“Oh, well…”  He said to himself, “No use in being upset by something this sim-ple...”  He picked three of the ripest fruit and tucked them into the jacket, and then he turned and headed down the path back to where he and Eureka called home.

Eureka sat on the damp sand of the beach and idly tossed a stone into the surf.  She’d been unable to control her emotions lately; she knew Renton was uneasy about her health.  But her scars were gone, only the translucent wings and the vestige of her soul bejeweled into her forehead betraying the truth about her nature remained.  She wondered what it was going to be like when they returned...

IF they returned, still, she would be content to live here forever with Renton, though she missed the kids greatly.  She missed the crew of the Gekko; She even wanted to share a dialogue with that girl, Anemone.  She wondered if she was as happy with that military man as Eureka was with Renton.

“Love,” she said aloud.  What was love, really?  She couldn’t answer that question, but she knew that when she looked at Renton, she got excited that he was just there.  Was that love?  She knew she would die to protect him, as she would die to protect those kids.  Was that love?

She tried to ask Coral, but never got a response.  She just knew that Coral was pleased with what they were doing, and she was learning so much.  Maybe that’s why they were there. Coral had been “busy” lately; she wasn’t sure what was happening, but she felt a tense excitement coming from them.  She felt a little scared, like something big was going to happen soon, but she was afraid to tell Renton.  Besides, she had no inkling of what was to happen, if anything.

She absently threw a stone into the ocean.  She wished the Nirvash were here; he could always make her feel secure.  She thought about the times she and Renton walked all over this area.  Every time they left in any direction, they would always end up right back here.  They built their makeshift hut from wood washed up on the beach.  They made their ref-boards from the same material.  She felt cozy, but a little lonely.  She was sure Renton felt lonely, too.  She didn’t know how to keep her emotions in control, was it because she had been devoid of them for so long that now they were flooding her?  One second she would be happy, the next sad, or angry, or scared, or whatever.  She was sure Renton was a little scared of her.

Suddenly, she had an urge to leave, to go find the Gekkostate.  Was this a message from Coral?  The overwhelming feeling was “yes.”  She could feel her heart beating in her chest; she felt excited, happy and a little fearful.

Just then, Renton came into view.  She ran to him, throwing her arms around him and kissing him fiercely.

“What was that for?” he laughed, dropping the pears.

“Let's eat first, I’ll tell you after lunch,” she said, smiling from ear to ear.  Renton could only guess what was on her mind.

“A message from the Coral?” he asked, daring not to hope.

“Yes, now eat.  We have a lot of walking to do”