Down the Longest Road

There was something to the summer, a heat that liked to settle on the ground, something heady that curled in the sunshine around your ankles- your throat- until it was hard to breathe. Yumemi felt it now, dissolving her as she looked towards the sky. It was always this way, always on the days he left her behind.

It was as convenient an arrangement as could be made. She still had school, a life, down on Earth. He still had a multitude of Kings and Queens to entertain in court. They met often. Some days she would follow him above the clouds and stay a while, during the weekend, returning to school the following Monday.

That was all right in fall and winter, bits of spring, school kept her occupied enough, but during the summer the wait was almost unbearable.

It had been nearly a week, six days, since he'd seen her last. But that didn't mean she was disconnected. When Munto was in court for long periods of time Rui usually popped in on her, Ichiko, and Suzumei to see them. Yumemi knew it was Munto's way of pacifying them- her- an apology of sorts for not being there himself. It wasn't enough. When he was gone it simply wasn't enough. Still… Yumemi liked having Rui around. It gave her a chance to tease Ichiko, an activity she wasn't able to partake in very often.

Yumemi sat on her bed, hugging a pillow to her as she watched Ichiko undo and re-tie her hair for the fourth time. As the frowning girl moved toward her reflection to check her progress and Yumemi sighed, "You shouldn't wear so much makeup."

Ichiko sounded affronted, "Why not?"

"Because he doesn't like it."

The other girl was definitely annoyed now, "What? What do I care what that stuck up little freak likes?"

Yumemi rolled her eyes, lying back on the mattress. She stifled a smile when Ichiko tried to nonchalantly smudge off some of the eyeliner she'd applied.

There was a whirl and a light thump, then a voice sounded from somewhere downstairs, "Hello?"

Ichiko stiffened, but Yumemi untangled herself from the bed sheet, padding over to the staircase, "We're up here, I was just going to make some tea. Want some?" She descended the staircase, hopping the last step onto the hardwood below. Rui was unbuttoning the cuffs of his dress shirt, rolling them up to his elbows. The blue cape came next as he draped it over the back of the couch.

As Yumemi entered the kitchen Ichiko finally came downstairs, unusually quiet.

"Good afternoon," Rui smiled in her direction. At his easy gaze the girl turned a bit pink, but she returned his sentiment. He took a seat at the marble bar that separated the kitchen and the living room. "I'm sorry I wasn't back sooner," Rui then said to Yumemi as she poured boiling water into two cups. She set one down for the general. She always asked if he wanted tea, he never answered. Still, he nearly always drank at least one cupful. Ichiko retrieved a soda from the fridge.

"How is he?" Yumemi asked, leaning her back against the sink, facing her two friends.

Rui shrugged, "As well as can be expected. It's been nearly three years since our worlds joined and he's still shuffling around various dignitaries. You'd think he'd be done with it by now, allow himself to relax a little bit."

At that Yumemi laughed, "He never relaxes. In ten years I bet he'll still be insisting on getting his hands dirty."

"And why aren't you up there helping?" Ichiko snipped, narrowing her eyes at Rui as she sipped her soda.

The man looked rather guilty, "He gives me time off, though I don't know why. In any case, this is how I choose to spend it." At that last bit he did look up and catch the girl's eye. Yumemi smiled as Ichiko colored. The blonde would have loved to give them a bit of alone time, if only her friend would allow her. Yumemi got the feeling that Rui was patiently waiting for the day that he could corner Ichiko and spend time with only her, without a chaperone. It was obvious, painfully obvious, their affections, but Ichiko was hesitant about lowering her guard to anyone, let alone men who fell from the sky.

Yumemi tilted her head to the side, twisting to gaze out the kitchen window. Above, flitting in and out of cloud cover, was the familiar triangle she'd come to love and loathe. It gave her so much joy to know, really know that he was up there. A power, both tangible and imaginary, filled her when she gazed upon it. It gave her strength. And yet… on those hot nights, the blankets thrown askew, when she stretched and yearned for the land floating below the moon, it was so close she could almost touch it. The unfulfilled need that taunted her… it was almost unbearable.

"Yumemi?"

"Huh?" She turned her attention back to her houseguests, "Sorry, I didn't hear you." She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, fingers brushing over the necklace that bore Munto's ring. She wore it, always, every moment of every day.

Rui glanced at it before meeting her gaze, "I was saying that his talks are ending today. I can escort you back this evening."

Thrill welled in her stomach and her breath caught, "Really? I was told it would be another three days or so."

Rui smiled into his cup of tea, black with a pinch of sugar, "One of the Lords fell ill and has returned to his own kingdom." His eyes crinkled. "It has effectively ruled Munto free of all matters of state, for the moment of course."

Yumemi laughed, a dizzy, happy feeing filling every fiber of her being, "Tonight? Really?"

"Well," Rui sat up a big straighter, "We can leave now if you would like, but I didn't know if you had anything you wanted to bring with you."

Yumemi looked from her best friend to the general and back again. "Is there… is there any way to send me without you actually going?" Rui's eyebrows shot up. "It's just, this is your time off and I'm sue you have better things to do than escort me around."

"I-uh."

Ichiko cleared her throat; "It's already four thirty. If you want I know a noodle bar downtown. Have you seen much of the city since you've been here?"

He rounded his gaze to the girl sitting at his side, swallowed, and then voiced in barely a whisper, "Not as much as I would have liked, no."

"I'll get my things," Yumemi said under her breath, slipping out of the room and up the stairs; she had to force herself not to take them two at a time as her hands clenched in excitement. This was the best surprise she could have asked for. Her heavily used duffle bag was pulled out from under her bed. She stuffed a couple shirts into the canvas sack. It was very nice of Munto to supply her with all the gossamer dresses a girl could want, but sometimes it was nice to kick back in sweatpants and her old volleyball t-shirt.

Pausing a moment Yumemi looked out her bedroom window, the kingdom floating high above her. Closing her eyes she brought the heavy ring around her neck to her lips and kissed it. She couldn't wait to see him- her King.

He had only really confessed his love for her once, in his own way, not long after he'd come back to Earth after their worlds had joined. That night he had taken her home late in the evening, when the sky was spilling purple out across the horizon, low nightly fog settling into the farmland. She had gripped his hand as they embraced, saying their goodbyes for the night.

"You'll come again, right?" She'd said breathlessly against his chest. "You won't keep me waiting."

Munto was silent for a moment, warm against her. "No," he finally admitted with a slow moving smile, every ounce of tension leaving him, "I cannot seem to stay away for long."

His hand reached up to cup her cheekbone, fingers tangled in the wisps of her hair. "No?" She'd teased him.

He had looked down with what Yumemi could only identify later, lying alone in her bed, as a lustful gaze, "I do not want to stay away." Her hand, clasped in his, had found a way to his chest. She could feel his heartbeat under her palm through the thin fabric.

Perhaps, Yumemi rationalized, he was alienated from the colloquial use of 'love'. His parents had left him at such a young age… She knew he cared for her, felt a special synchronicity with her, but 'love' was an emotion she didn't think he could quite define- not yet anyway.

But she did love him, oh god did she love him. In the black of night, when her dreams of him, of him dying, of him hurt, she would call out again and again, waking finally with a dull aching throb in her breast. She knew then, as her breathing came in heavy pants, as she yearned for him, that Munto would be the only man she'd ever love so irrevocably.

"I'm ready," she called as she descended the stairs, pulling away from the memory. Between the slats she thought she saw Rui sit up straight where before he had been speaking quietly with Ichiko. The other girl looked down at the counter, the general standing with a hand on his hip. Yumemi shouldered her bag, "I can get there on my own, right?"

Rui nodded, reaching his arms out, "Just take my hands." She did so. "It might feel a bit like… a bit like jumping very, very high, but just keep thinking of the courtyard outside the kitchens and you should land on your feet."

"Should?" Yumemi quirked an eyebrow. Rui chuckled.

"Ready?"

She nodded, smiling at Ichiko briefly, "Goodbye!"

Ichiko nodded, "See you soon."

"Three, two, one-"

He bent his knees, power and swirling magic like a whirlwind around them. Yumemi was lifted off the ground as though she'd been tossed, or perhaps as if she'd jumped on a trampoline. She felt Rui's hands leave her as she shot up and up and up- Her eyes snapped closed as she focused, bracing herself.

There was a rush of sound, and then it was over. Her center of gravity, her balance, settled back on her heels as she looked up to see the side of Munto's castle looming before her. Rui had indeed set her by the kitchens. One of the windows was propped open with a large plank of wood, sweet steam billowing out the opening and into the afternoon air. Yumemi wiped her brow, hiking her bag.

"Who is that?" A high female voice sounded from inside.

"Oh it's Miss Yumemi," an older woman rasped. "Do let her inside."

"Hello Miss!" The young girl, the old cook's understudy, pushed back the hulking wooden door that led inside. Her smiling face and dark blue hair were dusted with flour, Yumemi could see it as she bowed at her entrance. The scent of cooking sugar, no doubt for the sweetcakes they were making, hit her in a pleasant wave.

"Thank you," Yumemi sighed as she skirted the large chopping block in the center of the room. "I'll be on my way. Do you happen to know where Munto is?"

The older Heavenly being, a short stout woman, waved her spatula in the direction of the main keep, "Lord Munto'll be in the library at this time of day."

"Won't you take these to him?" The cook's apprentice handed Yumemi a folded terrycloth. The parcel was hot in her hands. "These cakes just came out of the oven; he'll have a pitcher of water ready on the desk. They'll be a pleasant snack for both of you."

Yumemi smiled and thanked them, slipping out of the stifling kitchen before she started sweating from the steam, the cakes safely in her duffle.

The castle was mainly empty. The war was long since over and the many soldiers had returned to their families in the town below. Now there was just the soft pattering of handmaids and footmen echoing off the stone floor instead of crushing military boots. The castle staff barely spared her a glance, if not a smile; they were use to the Earth girl showing up at odd times. Yumemi had no idea if they 'approved' of her being there, but she doubted Munto would care either way.

But what was she really? Not royalty, not marriage material in the eyes of tradition. The most apt name would be consort. Didn't that bother her? She trained her eyes on the floor. Didn't it?

The Library was one of her favorite rooms. The floor was covered in a patchwork of soft rugs, each laid out haphazardly so that they overlapped at some parts, weaving a comfy quilt on the otherwise stone ground. On the right and left walls, reaching up to the tip tops of the vaulted ceiling were books; a massive amount of books. Munto hadn't a ladder to reach them all, he didn't need one. Many times had he snaked his arm around her, flying up so Yumemi could reach a book on the top shelf. The wall opposite the doors were windows just as tall; they looked out over the rest of the kingdom, and at this time of day they would allow the sun to spill across the single wide desk and armchairs scattered about the room.

Yumemi reached the doors, finding one slightly ajar. She slipped in, dropping her bag to the floor at the entrance. Munt was slumped in a low-backed armchair, boots resting up on the table. He was sleeping, although he had probably been staring out the windows before her arrival. Yumemi snuck up behind the chair, bending so she was hovering over him.

His left arm hung limp over the side of the chair, his left hand cradling his chin, elbow propped up on one of the armrests. His breathing was deep and even; calm.

Smiling deviously Yumemi leaned down and laid her hands on his shoulders. He didn't stir. Her hands moved lower over his collarbone, down the front of his chest. It was easy, too easy, his wide necked tunic allowing for plenty of room. She enjoyed the way the white and gold shirt contrasted against the black of his trousers and the flame-red of his hair. She leaned down and buried her face against his mane, hand coming to rest against the sides of his stomach.

He was awake now, she could hear the change in his breathing, but he allowed her to continue massaging his skin. Finally his chest rumbled, his free hand coming up to clasp her upper arm, His voice was rough from sleep, "You smell like honey… vanilla."

"I came through the kitchens. They gave me cakes to bring you." She slipped her hands away from his skin, coming around the chair to rest against the table. He had since placed his feet back on the floor. Yumemi tilted her head to the same angle his was. She felt excitement and arousal spike in her stomach as his eyes flicked open, pools of gold, which focused on her with an equally intense gaze.

"Rui did not escort you?"

"He's with Ichiko."

"Hn."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh let them be. They need a little alone time." She reached out and petted his forearm.

He watched her quick fingers, "I'm glad you came."

"Why wouldn't I?" He stood, Yumemi drawing back as he stretched his arms up. "How long have you been napping?"

"Not long," he rolled his neck, "I seem to be trying to catch up on all the sleep I've lost…no thanks to the Lords I've been hosting," he added as an after thought, scowling at no one in particular.

Yumemi crossed her arms over her chest, "That bad, huh?"

Munto waved his hand, "Matters of state, nothing of consequence." She quirked her eyebrow at his flippant disregard. He knew she liked to hear about it, even if it was dull. He sighed, "It's just border disputes. One old man thinking he can claim stock in something that isn't his."

Yumemi watched him walk over to the desk, tidying up papers that were strewn there. She could feel her fingers itching to touch him, to draw him close. They had been intimate before, chaste moments in his bed, the morning sun filtering in through the pale drapes as they fluttered. Although Yumemi couldn't be sure, those moments were so bright, so perfect, she might have dreamed them. It had always been demure, their lovemaking; he always seemed afraid of breaking her. Part of her cherished that gentleness, his care for her- but at times she wanted to throw him upside a wall and have her way instead.

Perhaps he could sense her tension, the yearning stiffening her frame, because he smiled deeply, taking her hand in his. Despite her tipping up on her toes he laid a light kiss on her forehead. Yumemi scowled; he may or may not have noticed.

"Come," he said with more than a mere hint of amusement in his voice, "let me take you to dinner." She went willingly, locking her desire away from a more appropriate time.

That same desire must have finally bubbled to the surface, for Yumemi woke in the night as if it was commonplace to sit straight up in bed. Her legs stretched out; she frowned when her touch was met with cold sheets. Munto was gone. Perhaps his absence was what had woken her up? Standing she drew a silk robe around her body, looking around the room with a purse to her lips.

It was not the first time she had woke to a Munto-less bed. At times he was plagued by demons in the night; he would rise and walk the halls until exhaustion took him and he came back to her. He never talked about it in the morning, but Yumemi knew they were deep seeded, something he had wrestled with since he was young.

That night, sated from a long dinner, they had sunk lazily among the pillows, naked, but simply holding each other until they succumbed to sleep.

Now Yumemi was awake, wide-awake, and she thought of the King roaming bare-chested through the halls and felt heat ripple through her. He wasn't going to get off that easily.

She slipped out the door in search of him.

It didn't take long. Yumemi walked the slow expanse of the Hall, Munto's ridged throne before her; the King lounging against the stone seat, a leg thrown over one of the armrests. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I knew you'd find me eventually." He was indeed naked from the waist up, yet he had the decency to put back on the slacks he'd wore for dinner. Yumemi's gaze dropped to linger on his legs, then on his hip- particularly the area of skin that disappeared under the fine fabric.

"It wasn't too difficult. Are you alright?"

Munto let out a haughty snort, looking away into the moonlit night. She struggled to keep her annoyance in check. She didn't want him thinking she was angry with him. She just wished he would open up a bit, let her in to what he was feeling, instead of locking her out like she wouldn't be able to handle what tormented him.

"I'm sorry I woke you," he said finally, swinging his leg back down to the floor, leaning forward to rest his elbows against his knees, head in his hands.

Yumemi planted her hands on her hips, walking towards him, "You didn't wake me. Not directly… I could feel something missing, that's all." She smiled shyly as he lifted his head enough to gaze darkly at her over his clasped hands. Yumemi was so strong, she felt so confident, except when he looked at her like that. It was a look that suggested he was consuming the very sight of her, drinking her in. It was a respectful possession; he knew he could never own her, but he sure as hell rush up and meet her head on. It always reduced her insides to jelly. Plus, that throne threw an aura of regality over him- he wore it well, she thought, like he swathed himself in royalty and sex.

She would have argued more about his not being in bed if not for that look. Perhaps, she thought with a lazy smile spreading over her lips, she could satisfy both their desires at the same time. She'd been waiting to jump him ever since that afternoon, and he'd exhaust himself to the point where sleep would come easy.

Yumemi didn't normally take control; she liked the feeling of being perused- by a King no less- and Munto was only too willing to indulge her. But there was something that pushed her to grab the reins. She tugged loose the tie that bound her silk robe. The garment slipped easily off her shoulders onto the floor in a fluid puddle of fabric. She was too far away to see Munto's breath hitch, but she could very near him.

Well then, she was more than happy to milk the situation since he seemed completely enraptured with her. She sashayed down the aisle to the base of the throne, the coolness of the night causing her skin to rise in gooseflesh. Munto sat back against his throne, a smirk quirking his lips. The expression dropped quickly when he found her leaning over him in a matter of seconds. She saw, with immense satisfaction, as his gaze dropped quickly to her bare chest, to her lips, and then met her eyes.

"Yumemi," he ground out in warning, jumping as her hand came to rest against his inner thigh.

She cocked her head, "Are you going to deny me?"

He colored, "This is hardly the appropriate place."

"I think this is the perfect place," Yumemi said matter-of-factly. She was tired of letting him lead; she was going to control this for once. Her hand moved slowly up to the juncture of his thighs, the fabric of his trousers warm against her palm. She applied just the barest pressure and was rewarded when he hissed in response. His hand shot out to wrap around her wrist, staying her ministrations. She frowned, "Let go."

Munto blinked at her command, perhaps taken aback by her sudden sharpness, but he did as she asked, instead moving his hand up to caress het right breast. Yumemi smiled; his gaze was dark.

She moved to grasp him through the smooth fabric, giving a satisfying tug before flicking the buttons on the crotch with her fingernail. He was breathing heavy. Resting her knee against the throne she reached down to undo the fly of his pants, pulling at the material as he shifted his hips. She grew impatient, pulling down on the waistband until it slipped down his thighs to his knees. Yumemi glanced down at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that's flattering."

He grunted, his lips pulling into a frown, "You're toying with me."

"That was the general idea, yes."

She could feel his frustration ripple over them both; it tugged and culled at the magic singing through his veins. His aura almost pulsed with it. Yumemi rolled her eyes, enjoying the fact that she could tease him so easily. Munto was the most impatient man she had ever met.

His hands clasped around her wrists once again, pulling her up to him. Yumemi had to place one knee on the throne's cold seat just to keep from falling over. In such a position she brushed against him, just barely, as her other knee settled on the other side of his hip. Straddling him, she leaned forward as he dotted her breast with quick kisses.

Yumemi settled herself into his lap, sighing with contentment at their combined body heat. She leaned into him, warming herself against his skin as her hand flitted down his chest, his stomach, lower still, searching. She lifted her hips by a fraction, and then came down again. Munto growled, a low, barely-there sound in this throat as her body sunk down onto his as he came up into hers.

She giggled, he groaned.

The psychic connection they shared was intimate, but nothing like this, never like this. If anything the magic only enhanced the feeling of skittering shocks across their skin where the touched, right down to the point at which they joined. feeling was hard to describe, to comprehend. It left both of them breathless.

Yumemi lifted, pushing up, but his hands were at her hips pulling her down again with a force that made her gasp on impact. His fingers moved to tangle in her hair, at the nape of her neck, her breast; moving, squeezing, caressing, as she gripped his shoulders and moved with him. She had to fling a palm out against the throne as his slow, hard movements threatened to undo the her tenuous balance.

She bit back a moan as his pace quickened.

There it was- she felt it- that weird swirling of pleasure and magic. It blinded her, even though her eyes were shut tight. As the momentum built, their bodies sliding together, she could feel the rushing of his power slosh against her own, tipping her forward into his arms as if a wave had crested on her shoulders.

"Yumemi-" his voice was in her ears, choked and pleading. Munto never sounded so vulnerable as when they did this. Whatever 'this' was. It wasn't sex; fucking, even making love- it was bigger than that.

"Don't stop," she said, breathless.

He didn't.

As she reached her limit, Yumemi fell around him, a small noise rushing past her lips in the midst of coming. He joined her shortly after, clutching her hips and straining against her equally tight hold. Yumemi panted, hot breath on his shoulder, skin slicked with sheen of sticky sweat. Cradled in each other's arms they held each other through the afterglow.

"Maybe I should have nightmares more often," Munto said gravely, voice raw.

"You can always talk to me, you know that," she whispered into his hair, "whatever is bothering you, I can help."

Munto's mouth curved against her skin into a contented smile, "Mm."

There was a happiness swelling in Yumemi's breast like she'd never felt before, "We should do this more often."

Munto sat up, an arm coming under her bottom, holding her to him as he got to his feet. Yumemi wrapped her legs around his waist easily. Magic swirled around them, warm, like the heat of summer caressing her body. They rippled out of the throne room, reappearing on Munto's bed. Yumemi's back sunk into the downy comforter, the King's knees pressing down beside her hips.

Munto kissed her lips, then her neck, moving lower.

"Hey, hey," she threaded her fingers in his hair, staying him as his tongue swirled around her navel.

"Hm?"

"I love you, so much."

He smiled against her skin, running his lips feather-light against her skin. "You mean more to me than I can express, Yumemi."

She closed her eyes, tilting her head back into the soft cotton sheets so he couldn't see her smile, "I love you too."

A/n- Sorry for the wait and the long absence in fic writing. I still have some unfinished works on my page that I am going to wrap up.

This one is for Ari-chan. Her art and her encouragement have always inspired me!