A/N: This is pure sap/fluff/bit of angst from two R/T fans who wanted more! You Have Been Warned. This was also written by two seperate authors, as a collaboration. We don't own Rachel or Tobias, sigh. Read the fic, all right!
Where was she? he wondered. Is she all right? Then he chastised himself for worrying. She could handle herself. He didn't have to worry about her.
He did anyway.
He sighed inwardly. This was where his thoughts always turned -- to Rachel. No matter what the topic, no matter what terror had just subsided, his thoughts always managed to find their way back to her. Tobias couldn't exactly say he minded.
< Sorry I'm late! > Rachel's 'voice' was a tonic to his torn soul. < Jordan and Sara were fighting, and they needed me to officiate. So, how are you? >
A bald eagle settled neatly on the branch beside him. In nature, this would have never happened. But, of course, nothing about Tobias was natural. Tobias felt the warmth of the air increase noticeably as soon as she arrived. He didn't reply, but let the 'sound' of her voice echo pleasantly in his head. Rachel's morph cocked its head. < Tobias...? Are you alright? >
< Yeah. I'm fine. Let's fly. >
They took off, Tobias first, Rachel following. Their wings flapped steadily for the first few minutes, but then they found a thermal and began to soar.
Tobias felt the weight of his problems lift away as he floated, Rachel beside him.
This was the way things should be. It felt so...complete. It felt so right. He didn't even need to hear the steady wind from Rachel's wings to know she was besides him. He knew she was there with him, and that might have been the best part of flying with her. All his life, people had left him. They were there besides him one moment, and gone the next, never to return.
Tobias rose up higher on the thermal.
Rachel was still there.
Safety, security, in his grasp. Love, like he'd never felt before, enveloped him.
< Rachel? Will you marry me? >
There was such complete and utter silence that Tobias thought Rachel hadn't heard him.
Finally there was a faint murmur of < What...? > For a second Tobias might have thought he had simply imagined it, if it hadn't been for the louder, slightly more grounded < Are you out of your mind? > that followed.
Tobias didn't reply. Finally, he muttered, < Yes. I mean no..Rachel, I don't know. Just look at us. How perfect is this? >
Rachel didn't respond.
< All my life, > Tobias went on, < I've been neglected. Hated. People wished that I was dead. You...you're the first person to ever really care for me. And I love you. And I want to be with you for the rest of my life. >
Again, Rachel remained silent.
Undaunted, Tobias continued, feeling a rare confidence. < It'd only be an engagement. I mean, you and me, we're way too young to get married. But...I want to know that it's there. That you're not going to go away like everybody else has. That we're going to get married one day. >
Finally, Rachel found her voice. < Tobias, what do you want, a lifetime guarantee? I can't say what will happen in the future. You'll change. I'll change. I...can't promise anything.>
It was Tobias's turn to pause, but only briefly. < A promise...is exactly what I need. That you'll always be there for me. You'll always support me. > A shorter pause. < Cross your heart. >
Rachel's heart eased. This she could promise. < Tobias, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave you like everyone else. You don't have to make me give you some stupid agreement to marriage. I'm not going to get up and run off with some other bird of prey, okay? >
< Yeah. > There was a smile in his silent voice. Then, with just a trace of the innocence that Rachel loved so much about him, Tobias asked, < Promise? >
Rachel would have smiled, if she was a human. As Tobias began to spiral back down to Earth, Rachel still beside him, she answered < Cross my heart. >
Cross Your Heart
by Rb and Sky Sorceress
Tobias was cold, even though the weather was mild, the leaves in the forest only beginning to crisp.
Where was she? he wondered. Is she all right? Then he chastised himself for worrying. She could handle herself. He didn't have to worry about her.
He did anyway.
He sighed inwardly. This was where his thoughts always turned -- to Rachel. No matter what the topic, no matter what terror had just subsided, his thoughts always managed to find their way back to her. Tobias couldn't exactly say he minded.
< Sorry I'm late! > Rachel's 'voice' was a tonic to his torn soul. < Jordan and Sara were fighting, and they needed me to officiate. So, how are you? >
A bald eagle settled neatly on the branch beside him. In nature, this would have never happened. But, of course, nothing about Tobias was natural. Tobias felt the warmth of the air increase noticeably as soon as she arrived. He didn't reply, but let the 'sound' of her voice echo pleasantly in his head. Rachel's morph cocked its head. < Tobias...? Are you alright? >
< Yeah. I'm fine. Let's fly. >
They took off, Tobias first, Rachel following. Their wings flapped steadily for the first few minutes, but then they found a thermal and began to soar.
Tobias felt the weight of his problems lift away as he floated, Rachel beside him.
This was the way things should be. It felt so...complete. It felt so right. He didn't even need to hear the steady wind from Rachel's wings to know she was besides him. He knew she was there with him, and that might have been the best part of flying with her. All his life, people had left him. They were there besides him one moment, and gone the next, never to return.
Tobias rose up higher on the thermal.
Rachel was still there.
Safety, security, in his grasp. Love, like he'd never felt before, enveloped him.
< Rachel? Will you marry me? >
There was such complete and utter silence that Tobias thought Rachel hadn't heard him.
Finally there was a faint murmur of < What...? > For a second Tobias might have thought he had simply imagined it, if it hadn't been for the louder, slightly more grounded < Are you out of your mind? > that followed.
Tobias didn't reply. Finally, he muttered, < Yes. I mean no..Rachel, I don't know. Just look at us. How perfect is this? >
Rachel didn't respond.
< All my life, > Tobias went on, < I've been neglected. Hated. People wished that I was dead. You...you're the first person to ever really care for me. And I love you. And I want to be with you for the rest of my life. >
Again, Rachel remained silent.
Undaunted, Tobias continued, feeling a rare confidence. < It'd only be an engagement. I mean, you and me, we're way too young to get married. But...I want to know that it's there. That you're not going to go away like everybody else has. That we're going to get married one day. >
Finally, Rachel found her voice. < Tobias, what do you want, a lifetime guarantee? I can't say what will happen in the future. You'll change. I'll change. I...can't promise anything.>
It was Tobias's turn to pause, but only briefly. < A promise...is exactly what I need. That you'll always be there for me. You'll always support me. > A shorter pause. < Cross your heart. >
Rachel's heart eased. This she could promise. < Tobias, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave you like everyone else. You don't have to make me give you some stupid agreement to marriage. I'm not going to get up and run off with some other bird of prey, okay? >
< Yeah. > There was a smile in his silent voice. Then, with just a trace of the innocence that Rachel loved so much about him, Tobias asked, < Promise? >
Rachel would have smiled, if she was a human. As Tobias began to spiral back down to Earth, Rachel still beside him, she answered < Cross my heart. >