Disclaimer: We don't own anything. Period. None of Chrno Crusade is ours to claim (Although, I wouldn't mind owning the rights to a certain shmexy demon…)
Author's Notes: Our first fanfiction and debut on fanfiction.net as a pair of round robin writers! Chrno Crusade really needs its own fanfiction category in the anime section, so we're here to help give it a nudge in the right direction, along with the rest of these talented writers. ^_^ This story is relatively AU, but starts out with the carnival scene that some of you may or may not be familiar with. Get ready for lots of fluff and angst, mixed in with a good dash of action and adventure! My partner in crime, Nightelfcrawler, will be posting another of our stories sometime soon: Another Chrno Crusade AU, featuring some of your favorite characters in a detective agency.
Entwined Fates
Chapter 1
White Swans and Shallow Waters
Azmaria leapt out of the car, her eyes sparkling in excitement as she glanced about, then clapped her hands together.
"Hurry up! This will be great!" She spun around, her skirts flying as she smiled brightly at the others.
Stella and Chrno glanced at each other, and Stella smiled in response, stepping away from their parked car.
"Maa, she has so much energy..." Chrno said, grinning slightly.
He was being rather quiet as of late, since he had much on his mind. He turned to Rosette and put on a smile, offering her a hand. "A carnival...I've never been to one. This should be fun, ne?"
Rosette grinned widely and grabbed Chrno's hand, effectively towing him behind her as she burst out of the car.
"Yes, yes it will! This'll definitely be fun for a change! It's not often we get a chance like this, if you ask me!"
She pulled harder and quickened her obscene pace, noticing that Stella and company were lagging behind and trying desperately to keep up. Chrno nearly stumbled. Without warning, Rosette abruptly stopped and came to a screeching halt on the pavement.
It's not often we get to do anything without worrying about what will happen to us next...Especially now that...
Rosette interrupted her own thoughts and cocked her head back to smile brightly at Chrno, perhaps a little too brightly.
Chrno staggered, but couldn't help but grin as Rosette yanked him after her once again. He felt slightly at a disadvantage, as his legs were now shorter than Rosette's....but no worries. He threw a grin back at her, and soon they left the other two behind.
Stella shook her head at Az and placed a hand on the child's head.
"Let them go have fun on their own..." She smiled secretively, and shared a knowing look with a now blushing Az.
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"Ara... I guess I certainly was walking a bit too fast for the others." Rosette coughed and began scratching her forehead idly. "They must've gone to some of the other attractions, so we can just meet them at the car in a few hours!" She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.
She furtively surveyed the thick crowd of people in front of her, and spotted some sort of boat ride close by.
"Ah! Let's go on that ride, Chrno! The one with the swan-shaped boats! They're so pretty..."
Taking heed to not make the poor demon boy pant anymore than he already was, she squeezed his hand gently to signal they were heading in that direction. They made their way up to the ride's attendant at the small docking area. Rosette bit her tongue and dug in her pockets for some spare change.
Chrno peered curiously at the swan boats. They looked fun, and couples were climbing eagerly into them, so it appeared to be a fun ride. He smiled over at Rosette as she was still rummaging for change.
So much had happened recently, yet she still had enthusiasm for small things. Despite their gaining hints to being close to finding Joshua, she still kept positive... that was what he loved about her. He pulled some coins out of his pockets and handed them over to the attendant.
"Thank you sir." The man bowed and motioned for them to step in. Chrno slid into the seat effortlessly, and held a hand out for Rosette once again with a smile.
A light shade of pink graced Rosette's cheeks. "You didn't have to pay for that... I still have money left over from what the Magdale Order rationed to us. It was my idea to go on this silly boat ride anyway!"
Rosette fidgeted as she noticed Chrno's extended hand and gently placed hers in his palm, as she carefully lifted her skirt to step into the rocking boat. She seated herself next to Chrno, and turned her body to lean slightly out of the boat and get the attendant's attention.
"Oi, Mister! Where does this ride take us anyway?" She belted out.
"You mean you don't know?!" He asked incredulously and tweaked his curly mustache. "It's the tunnel of love of course!"
Rosette gawked, as did Chrno, and they slowly rotated their heads to look over at each other—red from head to toe.
"EH?!?!" They chorused together loudly, as the boat had already begun to teeter and bump off the docks, and into the darkness of the tunnel that lay ahead.
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Chrno almost felt the urge to fan himself, as he realized the implications of that. Not that it hadn't crossed his mind before, as they HAD been close together for four years, but...well it just wouldn't be right, on many levels, at this moment... still...He couldn't miss the irony of the situation, as the tunnel loomed close, and darkness began to encompass them.
He really couldn't stop wondering: just what did Rosette think? He glanced over at her and spread his hands, shrugging a bit.
"Maa, I guess we're stuck, ne?" Chrno laughed and rubbed a hand behind his head.
"Yeah, I guess we are..." Rosette twiddled her thumbs nervously in her lap, as she stole a glance at Chrno's profile. She blushed.
"Ne, Chrno... have y-you...ever been in love?"
She stared straight ahead, as the shadows of the tunnel began dancing their way across her face.
I don't have the right to ask him such a question...I've known him for four years, but...I've learned so much about his past in only the past week. Not even from him, but mainly because of DeFaux. Maybe it's not my place...Maybe he'd rather I didn't know.
She bit her lip roughly and clenched her fists in her lap, wondering if she'd made a wise decision in breeching such a delicate subject for the both of them. The waters of the river sloshed gently against the sides of the tiny boat, providing the only ambient noise in what seemed to be an eternity of uncomfortable silence.
Chrno turned his head as Rosette spoke, but as she asked that question, his whole body went rigid, and his breath sucked in sharply. It felt as if he had just been hit by a pound of cement over the head, and his heart ached at the question, and he cast his eyes aside, tears suddenly filling them. How could he answer that question...? What should he say? He had planned on telling her one day but... He hesitated.
Not able to bare the silence any longer, Rosette turned her head away from Chrno and shut her eyes tightly.
"It's okay...you don't have to say anything. I understand. Really."
Her figure slouched and trembled slightly, as she couldn't bring herself to straighten up and say anything else to lighten the already oppressive mood.
Chrno sighed a bit, and a sad smile graced his features in the dim light, and he shook his head.
"Iie--it's all right. I just...was surprised is all..."
He glanced at her, and threw her a guilty look, then clasped his hands together in his lap and bent over to stare blankly at the water. "I was going to tell you one day, but since you ask, I suppose now is as good a time as any..." He took a deep breath, feeling his chest constrict tightly.
"Yes...I was in love before."
Rosette's eyes snapped open, and she slowly turned to look at Chrno with wide eyes. Her gaze softened.
"I'm really sorry I brought it up though. It...It's not my place to ask, is it!" She said, her voice wavering slightly.
She brought her knees up to her chest and leaned her head on them with a heavy sigh. "I've known you for four years now Chrno, and you haven't changed a bit since the day I met you." Her eyes misted over.
Chrno glanced at her and smiled sadly.
"It's ok...they say that memories grow fonder over time..."
He trailed off, remembering the aching pain that had remained constant the whole 50 years he had spent in her tomb. He shook his head vigorously and put a hand on Rosette's hands, and leaned forward, smiling over at her.
"And...it's not true that I haven't changed...maybe I haven't aged, but..." He smiled wider, beaming over at her. "What you, and Joshua, and Az, and everyone else has shown me, has helped me grow more inside than I ever could back in the grave when you found me."
Rosette smiled as she choked back a small sob. His hands were so warm...A demon with a history such as his, even with such a cold and distant past, had the warmest and kindest hands she'd ever felt in her entire life. He wasn't lying. He'd grown, and he'd changed too, right alongside her. She steeled her nerves to press forward with her questions, since he'd indirectly given her a good reason to. She wanted to know more about him! She needed to. She swallowed.
"When Joshua and I found you..." Rosette paused with uncertainty. "Who...Who was it you couldn't bear to leave behind in that tomb, that day...?
Chrno sighed faintly in response, and looked down the hall as they continued to float slowly down the waterway, soft music filtering through as atmosphere, practically ignored as he looked distant, and whimsical. It was some time before he spoke quietly.
"It was.... Holy Woman Mary Magdalene...."
Rosette silently brought trembling fingers up to her lips, as she now stared at the floor of the boat. Her head spun with this revelation, and she wondered if she could really even comprehend its true meaning.
How...can I ever compare to someone as great as her?
Rosette's hair whipped around her head from a sudden gush of air, as the river forked and quickened pace. She continued staring aimlessly, but was obviously still deep in thought.
Chrno...
He'd loyally sat by his deceased beloved's tomb for fifty years, until Rosette had found him and gently coerced him into coming out into the world of the living once more. Was she... jealous of this woman? Her patron saint?
Yes, I'm definitely jealous... Regardless of whom she was. Rosette ruefully thought to herself.
Chrno glanced at her with a concerned expression, as she was sitting rather quiet. He smiled gently at her, though his eyes were still sad.
"I have much to thank you for... for bringing me out of there and into the light again, teaching me what it's like to laugh and smile once more. Those are far more important things I've discovered in all my precious days with you, Rosette."
He squinted as the light spilled through the tunnel as they burst out into daylight once more.
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Rosette squinted too, the daylight making her dazed expression melt into that of happiness. He was right. They'd both learned things, together, since that day.
Always together...Rosette smiled and turned to Chrno, resting a hand on his shoulder.
Always...
She closed her eyes and rather impulsively leaned in towards him to peck him lightly on the lips. It was so brief that it almost made her wonder if she'd really done that. The realization of what she'd done finally dawning on her, she mentally smacked herself on the forehead.
"Umm...err...yarr... I'm-so-sorry! I shouldn't have done something stupid like that!" Rosette gushed loudly. She turned her head away, her face hidden by her bangs and undoubtedly red once again.
Chrno's expression was one of baffled confusion at first, as he stared at her with wide eyes, and then slowly but surely, a blush crept up his cheeks. He smiled shyly, and looked down, fiddling with his coat seam.
"Erm...no...it's ok!" He hesitated, and then opened his mouth to say something more, when *SMACK!* their boat was hit by behind by another boat, and Chrno lost his balance and went flailing into the water head first!
Rosette gawked.
And then...she laughed.
A lot.
"Oh gosh... Chrrrrno! I didn't know you wanted off the ride that badly!" She doubled over laughing even more, stumbling around on her feet in the boat's interior until... it happened. The boat began swaying precariously and she fell in, causing the boat to capsize along with her.
"Gack!" She screeched suddenly as she more or less belly-flopped into the water.
Chrno's head broke the surface, only to give him a mouthful of water as Rosette joined him, but he couldn't' help but laugh out loud at that and stand up in the shallow water, grinning, hair plastered down to his head. Even with all the other couples in their boats staring...who cared. It was times like this that made life precious...and made him realize that he couldn't let his past and sadness weigh him down all the time. He climbed out of the moat, dripping, and held a hand out to Rosette to help her out.
She giggled incessantly as her laughter was still only just beginning to subside. Getting a firm grasp of Chrno's hand, she allowed him to hoist her out of the water. Droplets glistened on her blonde hair in the sunlight, and dripped to the floor in heavy amounts
"We're both soaking wet, aren't we?" She chuckled, as she tried wringing a bit of water out of her skirt.
She noticed that the heavy cotton fabric clung generously to her chest and unfortunately, her rear also. She also noticed that a certain male standing next to her was staring all too noticeably at her and became flustered.
"Peeeeervert." Rosette grinned and winked coyly.
Chrno's face turned beet red for the umpteenth time that day, and he held his hands up waving them frantically before him. "Uh...no... erm… here!" He blurted out, as he unbuttoned his own coat and held it out to her. It was soaking wet too, but at least it would cover any...err...generous views she was displaying. His face reddened even more and he wondered suddenly what was wrong with him.
Above their heads, though he did not spot it, an eagle soared by.