A figure stood silently at the garden, hidden in the foliage, 
steadily watching the mansion, anxiously waiting for something to 
happen. The person stared fixedly at one of the upper balconies 
where, despite the fact that the sun would rise in about an hour, the 
dim light of a bed lamp can still be detected. He had come constantly 
to this place every night for sometime now. And every night he'd 
leave without any luck. But this night was different. He could feel it
A passing glint in the man's eyes signaled that whatever he was 
waiting for has finally arrived as the door to the particular balcony 
opened and a raven-haired woman stepped out into the darkness.

/There you are in a darkened room
And you're all alone looking out the window/

This is it. She has finally come. And his attention was all hers. His 
eyes were focused on her, taking in the features he knew so well. The 
captivating dark blue eyes, almost purple in the night. Her clear, 
creamy complexion, those invitingly soft lips and those curves that 
all seem to fall in the right places, emphasized more by her long, 
yet thin, silk nightgown that clad her body. The moonlight 
illuminated her making her look mysterious, her beauty, almost 
ethereal.

Your heart is cold and lost the will to love
Like a broken arrow

He reveled in her beauty from a distance. He followed her every step, 
her every move, graceful, yet… heavy, burdened. The man's
face betrayed puzzlement. And her eyes… her eyes, though beautiful
were unfeeling. He shook his head. He was confused. `Did I do this to
her? Did I make her a cold and unfeeling person?' He looked again into 
those shining orbs that once captivated him. `No. I could see
sadness under her eyes' those eyes were the only ones that betrayed her
mask of indifference. That and the melancholic air around her.

/Here I stand in the shadows…
In the shadows…
Come to me, come to me…/

He wasn't so far from her. Just a few feet below, but the bushes
and the overlapping shadows had hid him perfectly. Even if he wanted to 
show himself, he can't. It wouldn't do good for her to see
him now. Hidden by the shadows… In truth, he was a shadow himself, a
creature of the night. Not anything supernatural, just considered dead, when 
his existence right know proved him to be `undead'. He wanted
to laugh at the irony.

/Can't you see that…
Nobody wants to be lonely
Nobody wants to cry…/

He wanted to go to her. He wanted to be with her, to go back to his 
old life, to live the rest of his life with her, but…
No. He can't and he won't. Not right now. He had made a wrong 
decision by meddling in the war. Actually, it wasn't entirely
wrong, but still… He doesn't want her to involve her in all the
other mistakes he'd be making in the future. It was already enough that
she became entangled with his past. If that were to happen right now, she 
would only get hurt, not to mention that her life would be 
endangered. Yet here he was, wanting to be close to her, watching her 
gaze out with those pain-filled eyes of hers, knowing all too well 
the source of her sadness. But what was he to do?

/My body's longing to hold you
So bad, it hurts inside…/

It hurt him to see her like this. It hurt to know that he was causing 
her pain. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever plan to hurt her. 
Never. He'd have to hurt himself first before he can do that.
He wanted to run to her and wrap her in his arms. He wanted to 
comfort her, end both of their suffering and kiss her pains away. 
Most of all, he wanted to tell her he's sorry. That he's
sorry for everything... that he'll stay and make it up to her and that
he'll leave again. But right now, that could only happen in his dreams because he
can't or rather, he won't. And he just wanted to curse the rational
side of him for thinking up reasons to prevent him from what he wanted to do. 

/Time is precious but it's slipping away
And I've been waiting for you all of my life…/

He'd known her for six years. Long enough. Six long years of
loving and hiding. Nonetheless, Lucrezia Noin was the only person who has 
ever invoked those feelings from him. From the moment he set his eyes 
on her, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, he knows it
won't take much time before he falls. She had set him free and his feelings 
on the loose by sharing with his friendship and his secrets. He 
wanted her. He wanted to tell it all to her. But for now, he'd
have to be content with memories of her companionship. Until he hadn't 
sorted things out, he'd have to be content with watching her,
like what he was doing now. Silently, he prayed to God for more nights 
like this.

/Nobody wants to be lonely
So why, why, why don't you let me love you…/
***

Noin looked into the night sky. How long has it been since she last 
went out during the wee hours of the night? One week? A month? Three 
months? She doesn't remember… her mind is just preoccupied by
his memories… their memories. 
She closed her eyes and looked back into the past. Sometimes, 
remembering helps ease the pain. It helps to remember the good old 
days at Lake Victoria, their adventures and misadventures, their 
secrets and everything else.
Yes. It also hurts to remember, but it pales completely when compared 
to the agony she feels once her mind goes back to the present. At 
least in her memories, he was there. 
It's been almost a year yet he still hasn't come back. She
never believed that he had died, but she could feel her faith slowly 
wavering. `Maybe the other were right' No. He's not dead.
Her mind and her heart keeps telling her that. `But maybe it's time to
move on…' She knows he's out there, but as to where and if
he'll ever come back… She doesn't know. She's not sure. `I can't
wait forever…´ Yes. 
She can't wait forever, but she'll never give up hope, much
less forget him. It's time to face what life still has in store for 
her. `For me to do that, I'd have to take my mind off
him' she groaned with the thought. The only problem is how she's gonna be
able to do that.
She savored the feel of the gentle breeze against her skin as she 
kept her eyes closed and tried to relax her mind by fixing it on 
happy things… blissful memories.
Her nostalgic train of thoughts was broken by her sharp instincts. 
Her eyelids shot open with the distinct feeling of being watched. Her 
eyes roamed the gardens below her, trying to find any traces of 
intruders. When she found none, she sighed to herself. Her thoughts 
were somewhere along the lines of `Get real Noin. Do you really
think he's watching you?'
She raised her gaze into the night sky, her sight falling on the full 
moon. A flicker of emotion akin to longing passed her eyes before she 
tilted her head further upwards. `Oh God…' she fought to
blink back the tears threatening to fall from her eyes, `how can I take him
off my mind if everything I see reminds me of him?'
The moon… It reminded her of him. Its pale color matched the
flaxen locks of the man whose vision often haunted her dreams. Tonight was 
one of those nights when they would have sneaked out way back in 
Victoria. And this place… This place was his home. 
She turned her back away from the garden as thought of him assaulted 
her mind and her senses. She gave a soft whimper while the tears she 
had tried so hard to hold back stung her eyes. She could feel her 
defenses falling. She had shed a few tears, but she had never let her 
emotions completely free. She didn't want to cry. `He's
coming back… I won't cry…' Thinking of him now is a torment. No. Even
more than that. Now more that ever, since the year that he's been gone, she 
could feel the emptiness of not having him around. All those pain and 
hurt she's been keeping inside is now threatening to break free.
She could feel herself slowly breaking down…

/Do you hear my voice?
Can you hear my song?
It's a serenade so your heart can find me/

Zechs saw hew turn her back. He thought she would be going in already 
and turned to go himself. That was when he heard the soft cry. He 
looked back towards the balcony in time to see her slide down to the 
floor, her back against the railing, sobs racking her trembling body. 
It took all his restraints to stop himself from running to her. He 
wanted to soothe whatever pain she was feeling. She looked so 
vulnerable. He watched on helplessly as she hugged herself and wept.

And suddenly you're flying down the stairs
Into my arms baby, ohh…

Then he heard it. The cold breeze brought the sound of her soft voice 
into his ears…
"Come back… Don't leave me please… Come back to
me…"
The whispered plea tore at his heart. Seeing her reach out, yet 
grasping nothing struck a chord that lay deep within him. Letting go 
of all rational thoughts and breaking free of the ties that bonded 
him with his earlier resolve, he did something that he's been
wanting to do all along. He made a right decision.

/Before I start going crazy
Going crazy…
Run to me, run to me
`cause I'm dying/

Noin had never cried so hard in her life. She let go of all her 
emotional restraints and poured herself out. Her muddled brain 
surrounded her with visions of her beloved, torturing her with 
memories and longing. She reached out once more to one of the images 
in desperation, "I want you back Zechs,' she cried out softly.

/Nobody want to be lonely…
Nobody wants to cry…/

Surprise filled her when, instead of grasping air, a hand clasped 
hers. She looked up to see nail blue eyes met her deep blue ones just 
as a pair of strong arms enveloped her almost limp body.

/My body's longing to hold you…
So bad it hurts inside…/

Crying harder, she submitted to her senses as she hugged the angelic 
vision, burying her head on his chest.

/Time is precious and it's slipping away
And I've been waiting for you all of my life/

Zechs cradled Noin against his body until her sobs finally subsided. 
He felt so contented holding her, smoothing her raven locks. He has 
longed for this for so long. Now he has it, it seems so right, as if 
it's what he needed all along.

/Nobody wants to be lonely
So why, why…
Why don't you let me love you…/

Noin felt herself begin to calm down, yet she kept her eyes closed 
and tightened her hold on the body against hers. She fears that if 
she ever opens her eyes, the comforting arms will vanish 
altogether. `It feel so real…' Fighting of the prospects of
staying there for the remainder of the night, she slowly opened her eyelids.
To her delight, the arms wrapped around her didn't vanish.
Neither did the blue eyes that gazed at her so warmly a while ago.
"Y-you're real…" it was more of a statement rather than
a question, mumbled in disbelief.
Zechs let his fingers graze Noin's cheek lightly before 
answering, "Yes"

/I wanna feel you need me
Feel you need me…
Just like the air you're breathing
Breathing…/

"I though you weren't coming back…" her voice trailed
off. Zechs closed his eyes, hiding the hurt in them. He'd been
dreading that she'd say those words. It hit him right in his heart.
`I've thought wrong. She wasn't expecting me.' He swallowed before
he replied, "I thought so too…"

/Don't walk away, Don't walk away
Don't walk away, walk away
No, no, no…/

He loosened his grasp and was about to let her go when arms circled 
his neck and pulled him down.
"Don't you ever leave me again…" she whispered in his
ear.

/Nobody wants to be lonely
Nobody wants to cry…/

He wasn't expecting her statement. As he begun to comprehend, a
smile started to form on his mouth.
"I won't" he responded.
"Good" she managed to say.
Now grinning, Zechs cupped Noin's face between his hands, "I
love you," without waiting for Noin to reply, he pressed his lips down
to hers.

/My body's longing to hold you
So bad it hurts inside…/

He proceeded to land light kisses all over her face down to her neck, 
then forged a heated trail back to her waiting lips. She moaned as he 
captured her mouth once more, deepening the kiss indulgently. She 
moved in closer in his embrace while his grip tightened in her slim 
waist. She wanted to lie forever in the sweet sanctuary of his arms.

/Time is precious and it's slipping away
And I've been waiting for you all of my life…/

When they drew apart, Zechs rested his cheek against her head, taking 
in the fragrant scent of her hair. Noin on the other hand, laid her 
head on his chest, quietly listening to the beating of his heart.
Zechs was the first to break the comfortable silence, "I'm
sorry."
"Noin looked up to him, her mesmerizing eyes questioning.
"I'm sorry for causing you pain, for not telling you sooner
that I was still alive," he met her gaze with sincerity, "I love you.
And if you'll have me despite my shortcomings and insecurities, then,
I'd like to stay here with you."
"Oh Zechs… I love you too," she took his hand and laid it
atop her heart, "I've loved you ever since we met, and I know I will
continue loving you… probably for forever. Whatever pain you caused me is
now gone. And I'll be damned if I ever let you go…"

/Nobody wants to be lonely
So why, why, why don't you let me love you…/

Zechs pulled her into a crushing embrace. He loves her and she loves 
him back. All is well.
He looked into the horizon before burying his head on her shoulder. 
The sun was already rising, greeting a new day. There's hope for 
happiness after all.


-OWARI-
4.3.01

so what do you think?