This came to my mind yesterday, and I just wrote it today... don't ask me where did I take from the idea, it just came to my mind. Well, finally I could write a oneshot! You know? I was planning Because of Love to be a oneshot at first, but I got a bit too excited while I wrote it and... it ended being a little story, so this is the first one I have ever done. Hope you enjoy!!!

Please, read and review!

TOO LATE

"I love you…"

Those words. It would have been so simple and easy to say them years ago, when it was time… before she met him.

Now I'm standing here, just observing… observing the employees arranging the chairs. Observing the preacher in the distance, looking for some imperfection on his black tux before the ceremony starts.

I look at Angel worriedly. She's right beside me, and she gives me only a sad glance, a glance that says "it's not too late yet. You can reach her and confess it. I let you free because I wanted you to be happy. Don't waste this opportunity".

People are taking their seats. The ceremony is about to start.

The groom is already waiting for the bride. Everybody is waiting, under the sunset sky of Hawaii. I look over the sea as I start to wander on my thoughts. What am I going to do? Should I…?

Then I hear a loud noise. Everybody's clapping, but why? Soon I see the reason… there is she. There is my Lilo.

She looks gorgeous on that white dress. It is not a too fancy dress, but she looks beautiful. It is a lovely dress with no sleeves, and it reaches her ankles. A necklace made with white flowers adorns her neck. How much I wished those were my arms wrapping her instead of that necklace! And there, dancing on her head, a beautiful blue orchid adorns her raven hair, so soft and silky as always.

As she walks to the altar, I look at her beauty and smile, but soon it vanishes as I remember. In a few moments, I will lose her. She smiles at me when she walks by, and all I return is a sad smile. Me and my stupid heart… why my feelings did not stay on friendship? Why I couldn't love Angel instead, as everybody expected?

Now I'm waiting in agony. What am I waiting for? I don't know. The minutes pass quickly, and finally, the preacher says the words:

-If somebody here objects something to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace…

I'm sweating. What should I do? Am I really going to miss this opportunity? Am I going to let go the only girl I have ever really loved?

Then time freezes. Angel is looking at me desperate, expecting me to say something, to stop and unmake this terrible mistake, but what should I do? I don't even know if Lilo loves me the same way I love her!!!

I turn my head. Jumba is looking at me the same way Angel did. Besides of her, he's the only one who knows about my feelings for Lilo. But maybe I shouldn't…

"Come on, say something! You love her!!!"

Something inside me is stirring, and I can hear the voices in my head screaming loud and telling me… demanding me to stop all this. My head and my heart are fighting against each other… my common sense says "let her go. You know perfectly that love between a human girl and an experiment wouldn't work. You have no chances to have her",but my heart replies "who cares the species thing? Go on and tell her you love her!!! Stop all this before you lose her forever… before you have to regret this by the rest of your life".

-And so… —the preacher continues, seeing there's no one to object something.

"Let her go…"

"You love her!!!"

"If she doesn't know it, you won't hurt her…"

"She's the one meant to be with you!!!"

-…by the power vented in me…

-She's not the one for me… —I mutter under my breath, trying to convince myself, but my words sound lame to me. I know very deep inside that I won't be able to love anyone this same way… I know that I'm going to die, emotionally and if I'm lucky physically too. But I hope she will be happy…

Angel pushes me softly. I turn my head at her. By her glance, I can tell she has guessed my decision… my last decision. She looks at me with disbelief, and then drops he head sadly. I don't feel any better than she is feeling now. A deep pain starts to sting on my chest, and all what I can do is bringing my hand to the paining spot, trying uselessly to calm it down.

-I now pronounce you… —the preacher makes a little pause, but it seems like an eternity to me.

The pain in my chest increases as the seconds pass. It grows more intense as I wait the last hit that will kill my heart. My fists clench, turning into two rocks… come on, do it now! Stop my pain now!

-…husband and wife. You may kiss the bride —the man smiles at the couple.

The groom smiles widely as he takes the white veil off the face of Lilo. She is smiling as well, and then he places his lips firmly on hers.

Finally, the pain stops. I can feel and almost hear something cracking inside of me. I haven't a heart anymore. It is broken forever. Now that I don't have one, I know I won't be able to feel anything ever again for the rest of my life. I'm dead. Experiment 626 has been finally defeated, not by a powerful experiment or by a mortal gun, but defeated by love itself, first my reason to live and now the reason of my death.

Everybody is cheering at the couple. I look at Lilo… she's not mine anymore. Now she belongs to the man she married, and I know it is too late. I lost her.

If only I told her when it was time…

If only I confessed her my feelings…

But now it is too late.

Then, all of sudden, my little world starts to shake, but nobody else seems to notice it. In fact, everything is shaking, it's not my imagination.

-Stitch…

A sweet voice is calling me. No, it can't be true… I'm hearing Lilo's voice, her childish voice is filling my head, but how can it be possible? She has not that voice anymore, and besides she's far away from me, enjoying her wedding day…

-Stitch, come on… are you okay?

Yeah, it is Lilo. Everything ahead of me is starting to be engulfed by darkness, but I'm not afraid… not while I hear her voice, still calling me sweetly…

Then the darkness turns into a blinding light, and I open my eyes. My vision is blurry, and all what I can see is a blurry face in front of mine. I focus my vision and then I see her sweet face… she's again a ten-year-old girl, and I'm back at home. She looks at me worriedly:

-Stitch, are you okay? You were crying and twisting on your bed.

My bed… then it all was a nightmare?

-Gaba? —I ask in confusion. Then she sits on my cot and looks at me with a sad smile:

-You were dreaming of Angel, right? You still feel sad about your breaking-up?

Breaking-up… yeah, that's it. It all was a nightmare, and now I remember I just broke up with Angel because she realized I didn't love her that way anymore… because I realized I love Lilo. Then I remember my dream and I see again Angel's face, telling me with her glance that it is not too late yet. I was given another chance to confess my feelings. I must do it, if I don't want to get a broken heart.

Without saying even a word, I sit up on my cot and pull her by her waist, and finally, I plant my lips on hers. At first, I feel her going stiff with surprise, but after some seconds she goes totally limp in my arms, as if she was melting inside of them. Then I feel her arms pulling me closer by my neck, and then I pull out my extra-arms, wanting to wrap her with all of them. Her lips feel so warm and soft… I love this feeling I get while I'm kissing her. Now her hands are caressing the back of my head. I can sense she likes to feel my fur on her hands, and I don't stop her.

It feels so good to finally reveal what I had so well-hidden inside of my heart. I wish I could pull her even closer to me, but if I do I just might suffocate her. Talking about suffocation, I'm feeling my lungs going empty now. They are demanding me to have some air, but I don't want to pull her away yet. I want to make clear to her how much I love her, and this is not good enough. I let go of her lips only a split of second, inhaling a bit of air, and then I catch her lips once more to kiss her. Unfortunately, the amount of oxygen I inhaled was not enough, and my lungs are again demanding their usual amount of oxygen.

Reluctantly, I start to pull away, still holding her. She seems like if she doesn't want to pull away either, for she's still trying to glue her lips to mines, but our lungs overcome us quickly and we've got to pull away totally if we don't want to die suffocated. Finally, our lips aren't touching. I rest my forehead on hers with my eyes closed, still holding her on my arms. Hers are still wrapped around my neck.

Then I open my eyes and I find that she had already opened them. On her eyes I can see a look of confusion and deep musing… but she's staring at me in a way I had never seen her looking at me as well. As I catch her eyes with mines, she deflects her gaze suddenly and unties her arms from my neck. Her cheeks are now tinged with a deep red color. She looks beautiful while blushing. Then she looks back at me:

-Stitch? W-what was t-that for? —she stutters as she looks at me straight in my eyes. I expected I would stutter as well when I told her, but to my surprise, I don't stutter… I can even speak in perfect English these words.

-Lilo… I love you —I say. One of my arms detaches from her back and then I take her hand on mine. Then I stop it, fearful… I hadn't thought if she even loved me too, so I decide to find it out now —do you… feel same way?

She drops her face. I was afraid of this… I guess she only loves me like a friend. Then all of my arms unwrap from her and I let her go, but when I was about to jump off my cot, she pulls me by my arm. When I turn my head to look at her, she crushes her lips against mine and wraps her arms around my neck again, almost tackling me to the ground. Once more, all of my arms wrap around her and I pull her close to me again.

She didn't need to say a word to answer my question. By her actions, I already now it. I love her, and she loves me too. As I hug her tighter, I feel both relief and… and a deep feeling of joy. I'm glad to know I told her my feelings in time… before it was too late.