He Dreamt She Would
The pale green orb of light danced gracefully through the air as the Chaos Kin fell with a piercing shriek, ripped through the centre with a final shot from Pit's Wolf Claws. The impact of the weapon's projectiles lifted it off its feet, carrying it clean over the edge of the small platform, it's insect body disintegrating even as it toppled beyond into the depths of the Chaos Vortex. Dark Pit hefted his blade to his shoulder, rolling his neck and shoulder as he turned to watch the Goddess of Light's stolen soul return to its body.
Viridi had transported Palutena's stone form to the platform that had served as the Chaos Kin's final stand, and Pit was already kneeling by its side, hoping with every breath in his body that they had not been too late. His eyes tracked the orb of light as it danced and looped through the air towards the Goddess, both hope and worry shining and clouding his eyes.
It reached her petrified form, finally, and nestled gently upon and then sank into her chest. A moment of silence and stillness passed, before the Goddess' form suddenly began to glow with warm light. The corners of Pit's mouth lifted into a relieved grin as he watched the stone fall away from the Goddess' body like scales, rattling as they showered upon the ground around her. Pit clutched her hand between his as it was freed from the embrace of stone, watching her face glow with light with a widening smile.
She was released completely at last, her soul finding its place within her. She gasped suddenly, taking large gulps of air while holding a hand tightly to chest as she came to. Her eyes were unfocused and panicked, and they slid right past Pit as she looked around wildly.
"Lady Palutena -!"
"Where - where am I? What's happening? Pit. Pit? Are you here?" Palutena rattled off the series of questions without noticing Pit in the slightest.
"Lady Palutena, please", Pit said, clutching her hand tighter and shuffling a little closer to her. "I'm here. Everything is going to be okay".
"Pit!" she said, her eyes snapping back into focus as she final saw him, wide still in her state of panic. And without warning, she grabbed the front of his chiton tightly in hand, pulling him towards her. He yelped at the sudden, and almost violent movement, but that yelp died swiftly in his throat not a moment later.
Palutena drew him into a hard and passionate kiss, clutching him to her as though for dear life, her mouth urgent upon his as though to reassure herself that he was real, and so by extension the world around her also. Pit's eyes widened even further than his Goddess' had, and he only at the last second planted a hand to the ground at her side to stop himself from bowling straight into her.
Palutena released her grip on his chiton gradually, her hand sliding up the ruffled material to Pit's neck, and then around to the side of his head. Her fingers slipped into his hair, and she kissed him.
Pit melted. The world around him blurred into unimportance. Past events dissolved into mere memories retained somewhere at the back of his mind. The pressing issue of the war between Man and the forces of the Underworld were carried away by a silent breath of wind. There was nothing - nothing - else that mattered right now, save the intimate touch of his beloved Goddess.
"I thought I would never see you again, Pit", Palutena whispered to him as she parted their lips and rested her forehead upon his, running her fingers through his hair.
"I thought you were lost to me", she said, her voice pained. Pit reached forward and took her silently into his embrace, one which she returned passionately as the peace of silence settled around them.
"Ahem".
Their eyes sprang open and Pit remembered himself, immediately growing red in the face and almost trembling with sheer embarrassment. He seemed only to regain the capability to move his neck as he turned, still clutching Palutena tightly to him.
Dark Pit stood with his jaw fully dropped and eyes wide, his weapon held motionless in mid-air just above his shoulder. The astral projected form of Viridi towered over them all, with an evidently tight grip clutching her staff in hand as a frown shaped her features. And to his surprise, Hades had appeared a small distance away to Viridi's left. He had an eyebrow raised as he folded his arms and regarded the angel and Goddess with a lopsided smile; it was safe to assume he had interrupted their little moment.
"My my, Palutena", Hades said in his typical silky tones, "I do believe my eyes have been opened".
Palutena, having looked up and finally taken note of their impromptu audience, blushed furiously alongside Pit as she turned to him.
"You didn't tell me we had company!" she whispered hoarsely.
"You didn't even give me a chance to breathe!" Pit retorted with his own hoarse whisper.
"Would you mind?" Viridi said as Palutena pushed Pit away and stood to her feet, "explaining", the Goddess of Nature clarified when Palutena looked up at her questioningly.
"Um, of course, of course. It's rather simple, actually. Pit was performing the...post de-petrification resuscitation procedure upon me".
"'De-petrification'?" Hades repeated, "why aren't you well prepared for all outcomes. I'm sure little Pit enjoys practising these procedures with you", he finished with a wide grin.
"Um, well, anyway", Palutena spoke quickly, "Chaos Kin dead, I'm back to myself, battle with Underworld to prepare for. I do say, I'm quite busy, and awfully tired - come along, Pit!"
"Now you just wait one moment, missy!" Viridi cried out, brandishing her staff at Palutena and Pit even as a column of golden light encircled them and their forms began to disintegrate to sparkling dust.
"Ugh! Don't you get any ideas either, Pittoo!" Viridi shouted down at the angel, who flinched at the mere suggestion.
"Close your mouth, boy", Hades advised as his form began to melt into nothingness, "wouldn't want to catch a stray underling in there, would you?"
"Hmph! I'm coming for you next, Hades!" Viridi promised the God of Death's vanishing form, "come along, Pittoo. And don't you get any ideas!"
XxXxXxX
Pit dashed to side, the Eyetrack Orbitars at his shoulders kicking back with recoil as they fired their powerful homing blasts of energy. Pittoo, currently caught in a tangle with one of Pit's team mates, recognized the signature chime of the Eyetrack shots a little too late, kicking away the Light team Fighter and dashing away - only for the twin shots to track his hurried movement and strike him squarely in the chest. He was flung into the air, and a moment later the arena vanished in a flash of light.
Pit held his hand out to the fallen Pittoo as the light dimmed and a victory fanfare played across the arena. The dark angel winced slightly as he took Pit's hand and allowed himself to be pulled up.
"Nice shot", he said, patting Pit's shoulder.
"Heh, good ga - "
"Screw that!" yelled a clearly infuriated Dark team Fighter, approaching Pit and brandishing a pointed finger at him, "Eyetracks need to be banned!"
Pit held up his hands, "I don't make the rules, or choose the weapons".
"Wish we could sometimes", Pittoo muttered, "wouldn't be stuck with...whatever the hell this is supposed to be", he said as he shrugged Fairy Orbitars off his shoulders.
"Eyetracks are overpowered!" the Fighter yelled, even as Pit and Pittoo were surrounded with a column of light, what he said next was conveniently muted out by both angels being transported completely away from the arena.
Pit alighted upon the familiar floor of Palutena's Temple atrium, alone. Pittoo, although an inseparable part of him, preferred to spend as little time in Palutena's realm as possible. Pit rolled his shoulders and sighed as he felt the tension and fatigue settle in, taking the usual route that would lead him to one of the Temple's foremost hot springs.
"La la la la..."
Pit slowed up as he strode eagerly towards the hot spring, the scented mist already streaming from it into the corridor. That melodious voice was unmistakeable.
"La la la la la la...oh yeah, take that!"
Pit came to a stop. Of course he knew that voice. He was devoted to it, in love with it, but lately he had been starved of it. Palutena had been avoiding him.
It had been several days since Pit, with the help of Pittoo and Viridi, had rescued Palutena's soul from the clutches of the Chaos Kin that had taken, twisted and thrown her power full force against humankind. Palutena had not yet called him forth to continue the fight against Hades, and when he had approached her about this, she told him she was taking the time to recuperate...but as a Goddess, Pit knew she hardly required such a thing.
His fingers ghosted across his lips absent-mindedly, remembering. He would never forget that moment, and nothing could ever part it from his memory, but...he found that he needed more. He was devoted to Palutena as an angel should be to their deity, but it was more than just an expected manner of devotion. Pit had fostered for longer than he could remember emotions that he had been certain Palutena would never return, for though their relationship appeared close, he was so far beneath her that it made him feel guilty to even harbour secretly such emotions.
"Oh, for goodness' sake. I hate those things", Palutena's voice floated out upon the scented mist, a wondrous sound accompanied with a heavenly aura that Pit breathed in deeply, as though it infused him with life, and then he sighed softly, leaning against the wall. Palutena probably thought of him as a little brother, and their relationship certainly suggested it to be as such. He was cheerful, energetic, and reliant on her for guidance at almost every turn. Banter was their primary means of conversation and she was always teasing or playing tricks on him. It hurt sometimes, a pain like no other. Well, taking a direct hit from clubs during Light vs. Dark tournaments certainly left their mark, but of course, this was different. Pit knew he shared a relationship with Palutena that was unique to them, he knew he was closer to her than even her most devout of worshippers...yet still, he felt the chasm that existed between them.
"Argh! Eyetracks!" Palutena lamented, "who's idiotic idea were those things?"
Pit looked up, raising an eyebrow as the corner of his lips twitched. Leaving his sandals at the edge of the open archway that led into the room that housed the hot spring, Pit quietly entered. The mist was heavier inside the room, and Palutena's form was obscured, though thankfully, she appeared to have her back to him, her head bent over something. Pit swiftly slipped behind the nearest column, peeking out at the Goddess as frustrated sighs and groans of impatience replaced the melodic tune she had been gracing the corridors with a few moments prior.
Through the curtain of mist, Pit could see her long green hair fanning out behind her, pooling around her body in the water. He faintly made out droplets of water upon her shoulder, slowly tracing paths down her skin, seeming to hug the curvature of her body as they travelled down her back and returned to the water of the hot spring. Pit swallowed hard and felt heat rising to his face as Palutena huffed and turned slightly to rest an elbow on the edge of the pool, the swell of her chest becoming barely visible to him. Belatedly, Pit realised that sneaking into the room and peeking at the Goddess may have been a terrible decision with potentially disastrous, painful consequences.
"Gah! I hate this game - !"
"Oh man, I'm so tired!" Pit announced with a theatrical yawn and an exaggerated stretch as he quickly emerged from behind the column, walking as though he had just entered the room directly, "time for some good old hot spring relaxation".
Palutena yelped, throwing her hands up into the air in surprise and seemingly dropping something into the water involuntarily as it splashed noisily before her. She turned in the water, sweeping her hand through the mist at the same time, causing it to thicken around herself.
"Pit!" she called out, "what are you doing here?"
"Umm, bathing?"
"Well, you can't right now", she told him flatly, "there are literally dozens of hot springs in the Temple - "
"But, this one is my favourite!"
"Tough!"
"That's not fair!"
"Don't make me come over there, Pit".
"Well, that would be a start", Pit muttered, "I'm always chasing after you".
"...What?"
"Nothing, Lady Palutena. I'll be going", Pit said. Silence filled the room, but there were no footsteps to indicate that Pit had indeed left. In fact, Palutena heard instead the ruffle of cloth, and through the haze of the scented mist saw a small form besides the edge of the pool.
"Pit..."
He didn't respond to her. Palutena drew closer, keeping the mist thick around herself whilst she dispersed that which had gathered and shrouded the angel's form. He was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, arms rested upon them. He hid his face behind his arms, and remained very still.
"What did it mean, Lady Palutena?" he asked quietly.
Palutena opened her mouth to speak, but then thought better of it and looked away, remaining silent. She wouldn't insult him by feigning ignorance.
"Lady Palutena, I know it must be hard for you, being a Goddess. You have so many responsibilities to bear. And I know that I am just a servant, but it's hard for me, too".
"You aren't just a servant", Palutena said, "I value you more than that".
Pit looked up, and she saw him try to narrow his eyes and pierce the mist shrouding her form. Subtly, she stirred it thicker still. He saw it though, and as he rested his chin upon his arms, she saw the sadness and pain in his eyes.
"As what?" he asked the difficult question.
"Pit", Palutena began, knowing she walked such a fine line now with the meaning of her words, "there is no one closer to me than you. You have done much and more for me, and I will be eternally grateful".
"So, I am just your friend?"
"Pit, if you would think of me as a friend, I would be honoured", Palutena said.
"Honoured. Of course", was all Pit said in reply. Palutena remained silent, quietly treading the heated water of the pool.
"Lady Palutena, you can see things that others can't. Maybe you can really see and hear people's thoughts. So maybe you knew, even before I did. I...I love you".
Pit looked up again, seeing with a dull thud deep within his chest that the mist around Palutena had thickened once more. His declaration, his secret that he had kept locked within an aching heart for too long, was met with a stretching silence.
"Lady Palutena?"
Nothing. Not even the sound of Palutena moving within the water, no matter how slight. Pit hid his face once again.
"It wouldn't work, would it, Lady Palutena", Pit said, "we are too far apart".
"There is an order, Pit", Palutena said quietly, "rules established long before you or even I", and as she spoke, Pit heard the sounds of moving water, a moment later the sounds of water cascading down unto itself as Palutena pulled herself up out of the pool, followed by slow and wet footsteps upon the stone floor.
"I don't care for an 'order'", Pit said fiercely, lifting his face and his arm, reaching up to snatch Palutena's wrist boldly in his hand as she passed by, "and for a moment, neither did you".
"Pit, I am a Goddess", Palutena said, and as though her words were a fiery brand, Pit's hand sprang open. "I have responsibilities", she told him quietly, "there are things that I cannot ignore, even if..."
Pit waited, but Palutena did not finish the sentence. His arm fell limp at his side, and his eyes turned to the pool before him, his forlorn expression wavering as ripples swept across the surface of the water. Palutena's wet footsteps upon the stone floor resumed and continued until Pit spoke one last time.
"Lady Palutena, do angels cry?"
"Everyone cries, Pit. Even Goddesses".
The water beneath Pit's face splashed and rippled even as she spoke.
A/N: This was originally supposed to be a part of 'Pit and the Legendary Ladies' but I feel it's a bit too...heavy, for the sort of playful mood that I'm going for with that series, so I've decided to separate it. I didn't intend for this to play out the way it eventually did, just sort of...happened, I guess. Lemme know what you think, if you have the time. Have I been a little cruel to poor Pit? : P