A/N: I was on my way home when this song came on the radio and all I could think was "Oh my god, this would be perfect for a Biker Mice romance!" Nothing like having a plot bunny jump up and bite ya when you're on the freeway. A little one-shot dedicated to a couple that has started haunting me and will probably cause a full blown story at some point here. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Biker Mice and make no profit off of this. The song that inspired this fic is "Stars" by Grace Potter and The Nocturnals and it is beautiful. I suggest listening to it while you read just to add that little something extra. It is, however, addicting. I've seriously listened to it ten times now and can't seem to stop.
Can't Look at The Stars
There would always be a day to fear, a day that meant the universe would claim them, their world would claim them, and she would have to let go. There would always be a day closer, a day she dreaded – there would be a day that came where she would want to tell him she loved him, and she wouldn't be able to. The words would lay still in her throat, uncomfortable against her throbbing pulse. Her hands would itch to touch him, to hold him and deny that their time together had come to an end.
And that time…she knew it was limited. Yet every opportunity that came her way, every moment that presented her with that perfect chance to give voice to the emotions that filled her …she never took it.
With a weary sigh, Charley reached for the radio as one of her favorite songs started to trill softly through the speakers. The sad tune filled the empty garage, vibrating off of the walls. She could feel each word to the depths of her aching soul. Closing her eyes, she added her voice to the perfection of the singer's. She would never match those vocals…but she could feel the words with everything she was. She could sing them with emotion because it allowed her to be honest about her fears, to recognize that looking at those stars…it was exactly what she could never do once he was gone.
Tears burned her eyes and she closed them, her voice wavering into nothingness. She turned to lean against the counter and instead, was pulled into a pair of strong arms. She knew it was him without having to look. There was no one that felt like him. His presence radiated a gentleness that wrapped around her, holding her as tightly as he did. She swayed with him, pressing her face against his chest as fear, love and desperation overwhelmed her.
The slightest pressure at the nape of her neck and though she knew her cheeks were stained with her tears, though she knew every bit of truth would be devastatingly obvious in her eyes and she would be unable to hide it from him, she looked up, meeting his knowing gaze.
He lowered his forehead to hers and it took so much to keep the broken sob at bay. He wasn't leaving tonight. Fate wasn't taking him – not yet. And still…her heart broke. Because he knew, and knowing wouldn't change a thing.
"I love you," she whispered, her voice trembling past her lips.
He closed his one good eye and nodded. His acceptance made it so much worse.
"I love you too, Charley-girl."
With a shuddering sigh, Modo lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her with such sweet tenderness. She clung to him because she could, because the moment had finally come, and the words were out and her heart was still breaking. Because their love was not a forever love. Their love was something she would hold dear as she refused to look at the stars, refused to wonder where he was…refused to let go.
There would always be that day. Until then, there was a song, a Martian who held her heart in his large, gentle hands, and it was enough.