Hand in Hand
By: emeraldoni
Disclaimer: I do not own DN Angel, which doesn't really matter much anyway because it would not change the contents of this fic. Okay, so maybe it would. Shut up.
He never looked in her direction, never seeing her probing eyes or the intensity of her stare. All he saw when his eyes happened in her direction by some weird happening of fate completely unintended by him, was just a silly girl for him to tease. And yet, even then, she did not give up hope, for when his lips landed against hers in a mocking gesture of sin she felt something that she could not grasp, but could not let go. His eyes may follow the pretty dark haired girl around, but Towa knew that couldn't be true, just a crush, right? True love was only part passion, then comfort and understanding. He was not comfortable with that cute young girl who held some type of obsession over him Towa could understand but never imitate. He just liked the feeling of his ego being stroked every time that girl grinned in his presence and cried in his absence.
Yet somehow, though she was like a wall in this, there and known but unnoticed, she remained steady in her affections for the handsome thief of the night with wings of ink and eyes a steady mix of blood and violet that seemed so soft Towa couldn't look away when he happened to lock gazes with her.
And so, as she puttered around the Daisuke's house as a maid with open eyes and voiced opinions but muted emotions, she watched the story unfold.
She saw the fight Daisuke and Dark went through, the battle that consumed them in pain and despair and hurt and loss and every other emotion that tugged at the heart and made the eyes water and sting with liquid saturated with sodium that was acrid against the tongue. She saw their enemy, the beautiful Krad and his counterpart, the young genius of a boy with a perfect face and distant eyes, and she saw the confusion flitting across the pages as she tried to help in anyway possible, yet feeling hopelessly significant and helpless.
And still, Towa persisted in her feelings, her heart shrinking, yet still as dense as before in her emotion for the one and only Dark, the thief who had stolen her heart.
It wasn't until the end, when Daisuke came home and the pretty dark haired girl was crying that Towa finally broke, for she knew what had happened. As she knew the sky would fall and the world would end, as she knew the sea would rage and the sun would shine, in her very bones, the seams of her being, she knew that Dark was gone.
And the world shattered.
Oooo000OOO000oooO
She was just a bird, a stupid insignificant little bird that flitted from wave to wave, riding currents as she ignored that rhythms wailing from her heart and the burning of her avian eyes. Birds couldn't cry. It was physically impossible. If only she could stay a bird.
Inevitable as it is, the sun set, leaving nipping breeze to ruffle her pale feathers and spray her wings from the ocean the never calmed or stopped or proclaimed itself broken for its heart was so deeply hidden nothing could wade deep enough to find it.
Towa exhausted herself with flight and pain and every other sort of thing to keep her mind off the indefinable loss that plagued her mind and heart and soul. Slowly she spiraled out of the soothing sky, down to the ground that could even now be drinking up the blood of her beloved, feeding off his hair and skin and his wondrous eyes until only pearl bones were left and even then they were lost in the shifting of earth so when found they could be mistaken by a small pebble or rock.
Towa landed, body morphing into her humanoid form, hair a silvery blue, eyes matching that of a clear and broken topaz, more vivid than the sea. Her body collapsed and she lay half buried in the sand, fingers weaving through the abrasive grains in an embracive gesture. Before her she saw teasing eyes and gentle lips.
Sleep claimed her.
Oooo000OOO000oooO
Immortals are funny creatures; see, because when they sleep it is not measured in the time of minutes or hours, or even days or weeks, but in years. And that's exactly what Towa did. Sleep.
You may think this is ridiculous, that a human could never love another like that, that those emotions are impossible except in a relationship lasting years and beyond, and even then… You may think what Towa had was a mere crush, a school girl with doe's eyes at her older brothers friend, or a school mate that sits next to her, but you have to remember, Towa is not human, and certainly different from the rest. Towa is immortal, and when an immortal gives love, it gives everything. So though Towa did not reveal or even pursue her adoration, she still held onto it as fiercely as any love returned.
Stupid, you may say, she would never get Dark anyway, but that's untrue.
He's dead, you say.
And that is where you stumble, because you have to remember that Dark was no mere human either; he was Dark, the famous thief known throughout history, never dying despite time. So though you may think that Dark was gone while Towa lay cloaked in sand, that he truly was a soul in the breeze and a long lost whisper of smell, you are wrong.
For Dark lay in a deep slumber, naked as a new born babe in a dark hollow crevice where salted water dripped and echoed never ceasing and the light steadily grew brighter. Until, one day, the eyes that had been closed for so long, eyes of blood and flowers and warmth and mocking, opened, bright sunlight blinding him.
Dark groaned as he lifted a pale hand to shade his burning orbs from the prevalent UV rays that washed over his skin in a warm, welcome blanket. At first his mind was empty; a vast white that befuddled the young man, the only thought coming was that he had to move.
'Move…'
He stumbled out of the crevice of rock, scratching his feet and knees as he struggled to reach the pale sand that seemed to inviting to his stiff limbs. Collapsing on the soft material, slowly his mind opened, leaking in thoughts and images that pieced together with a strange intensity that he was strangely detached from. They rushed in, like a river long dammed away and straining against the restrictions so as to break loose and flood his brain.
And so Dark remembered.
Fingers trembling, heart constricting, Dark began to survey his surroundings, the screech of caws filtering through his ears and the soft steady beat of waves as they washed, tenderly caressing the land like a lover never satisfied.
Dark attempted to stand up again, this time without collapsing or allowing any more blood to flow from shallow wounds, for now he was all too aware of the biting sting on his feet and knees. Slowly, Dark held himself up, letting his legs stretch themselves in short, hesitant steps that allowed for a safe stroll.
He did not anticipate the slumbering girl half blanketed in drowsy sand.
Oooo000OOO000oooO
Something was pricking her mind, probing the back of her brain and heart with vivacity that stunned her and made her wish to just fall back into her peaceful, numbing slumber. Unfortunately, the probing, pricking sensation had become more of a pressure that pressed around her waist and caused her pain and breathlessness.
With a slight whimpers, Towa opened her eyes-
-only to find a bare, muscled shoulder shoved right under her nose, bright sunlight glaring against the pale skin. The person grunted, shifting as if in pain, or extreme exhaustion, and revealed to her a masculine neck and dark hair that shimmered violet that matched with warm eyes and teasing lips and…
Towa gasped, "Dark!"
And in a twitch he stumbled away from her, eyes wide as he stared at her disheveled form, sunlight reflecting off of her pale locks and eyes bright with hope. Slowly she sat up, crawling over to him slowly, reaching a trembling hand, "Dark," She whispered, "Can it really be you?"
He was silent for a moment, mouth gaping like a fish before muttering, "You."
She was crushed, and she felt herself shattering all over again, "You don't remember me?" A weak smile graced her face, but it was so jittery even Wiz—were he there—would be able to see its falseness.
"No…" He said, then, as though searching his brain, he said, "Towa."
Towa let out a relieved sob, hand pressed against her mouth to suppress the cries that wished to escape.
"You're back. You're back…" She whispered, over and over again.
Disgruntled by her obvious upset, Dark crawled forward, reaching out a hand to rub her shoulder awkwardly in comfort. He still didn't feel enough himself to do anything else.
"It's been so long!" She exclaimed, and with that she threw herself at him, getting tears all over his bare shoulder. Dark was feeling distinctly uncomfortable at this point, considering a sobbing girl with ragged clothes—whose body wasn't that bad—sat between his legs when he wore not a stitch of clothing. He was just a bit uncomfortable.
After a few moments of release, Towa sat back, taking deep breaths and sniffling, hoping her face wasn't too blotchy from her breakdown.
"Sorry," She muttered, though her face held a smile, "I'm just so glad you're back. It's seemed like forever."
Dark then grinned, eyes soft and light as Towa remembered them, "No problem." He said, "I'm always good for a shoulder, I guess."
She was about to respond, when her eyes widened as she looked down, "Oh my God." It was a blur, how fast her head snapped up to forcefully stare at the sky, "You're naked!"
Dark just smirked.
Oooo000OOO000oooO
Towa stared up at the sky, waiting for her partner to step out of the bathrooms so they could get a move-on. He was the one that had been so insistent on getting back. Towa knew changing clothes and such took time, but not this long. She tapped her fingers in impatience as another laughing couple strolled past with a child bouncing ahead of them. Summer light refracted from green branches and blinding pathways forcing Towa to blink and shade her eyes. At least they were in a park, not some crowded shopping center or something, which would be infinitely worse.
Towa flinched as she felt a hand grip her shoulder. Twisting around, she turned to glare into a pair of teasing eyes.
"Took you long enough." She muttered, irritation lacing her words and flecking her face, "I only waited about an eternity."
Dark just grinned, "That doesn't really matter though, since you're immortal, right?"
Towa just frowned.
"Stop that." Said Dark as he smoothed her face with a callused thumb, "It makes you seem old." If anything, her displeasure greatened. Why must he always mock her so?
Towa narrowed her eyes in suspicion as a glint reached Dark's mischievous eyes. Before she could react, Dark pushed her chin up with a palm and tenderly pressed his lips to hers.
It was only supposed to upset her at first, to fluster her and laugh at the blush that would paint her cheeks pink, but somehow it became something much different.
Dark's hand wrapped around the back of her neck, fingers entangled in her hair as he tried to pull her even closer. Towa had wrapped her arms around his neck, grasping the new cotton shirt into tightly grasped fists. His lips were glued to hers, sucking on her lower lip, barely backing up to breathe.
A mutter and cough pulled them away from one another, faces flushed and panting as shocked gazed turned to the disapproving old couple that had been bumbling past. Towa quickly jumped up from the bench, backing up a few paces while staring with horror at the slightly out of breath thief before her.
"D-Dark?"
There was silence for a moment, only the punctuation of the faint sound of playing children and the temperate breeze.
Dark turned away, "Come on. We should go."
Towa felt like crying, but followed him anyway.
The house hadn't changed much in the years spent away. It still held the simple design and though it was aged now it was still kept and clean, the flower beds in the front blooming and bright as ever. Towa felt sick.
They both stood across the street from the small structure, and whether it was fate or just coincidence, neither of them would ever know, but it was at that moment when a laughing figure stepped out of the door, voices of glee following as his own grin didn't waver.
Dark tensed, as well as Towa, who took that moment to form into a bird and flutter across the street to get a closer look at the man. He was a man, but it was so surreal Towa felt like flying away and finding her little bed of sand and going back to sleep until she found her real home in the past.
For the smiling man with his laughing family was none other than Daisuke, hair speckled with gray and laugh lines bracketing his eyes. In the window sat his wife, and Towa saw the twin of the girl that had loved Dark, and a whole coven of children, all three of them smiling with some sort of humorous incident that had just taken place.
Towa watched them for a few more moments, reveling in the comforting feeling caressing her mind, before she soared back over the street and to the apprehensive Dark.
"So." She said once she was humanoid again, "Are you going to go over there?"
Dark was silent for a moment, his eyes looking at the house but seeing something altogether different. He followed the man that was supposed to be Daisuke, but wasn't their Daisuke, before he turned around, "No, I think this will be the last time I see Daisuke Niwa again."
Towa nodded, a dimple melancholy washing over her as they walked away, away from their home.
Oooo000OOO000oooO
Dark felt a muscle jump in his throat, over and over again, the frustration tense inside of him, release needed as the object of his irritation bumped around in the bathroom. She hadn't physically done anything, per say, but really, did she do that thing on purpose, that thing with her hips and the hair and…
Dark crossed his arm and flopped down on the double bed. It was bad enough that they had to stay in a hotel room (Dark had used his thief skills to snatch them some money) that was kind of dingy and only had one bed, but now to have this happening? Well, it was a bit frustrating. What made it even worse was the distance she had kept after the incident. She had been especially detached when they visited Risa's home, though maybe a little placated seeing her marriage to Satoshi doing quite well (though Dark certainly didn't care for the pale haired bastard, if she was happy…) with a handful of kids themselves.
Dark had expected to be upset by this insightful revelation, but to tell the truth, it only served to help him say goodbye and offer a bit of a sweet, but unneeded nostalgia. In fact, his mind had been more consumed by the showering bird only a few feet away than the girl he had once loved. Though to say they loved might be an overstatement, it was more like a…like a spark.
Dark traced the stained ceiling with his eyes, trying to distract himself from the puffs of steam escaping under the large space under the bathroom door. Really, couldn't they have sealed the door better? He may be, in a sense, immortal, but that didn't mean he wasn't in the body of a young man with raging hormones and a girl who wasn't too shabby in the looks department (and he was quite attracted to her beyond the physical aspect as well)was just a bit away, naked.
Sighing, Dark rolled over, trying to curl himself up in a comfortable position on the bed, wrapping the blankets around his lithe form.
A drowse hit him then, so he was barely aware when the shower turned off and a warm body slid under the sheets on the opposite side of the mattress.
Towa felt so tired that she didn't even care that Dark was already asleep in the bed, and that sunset had barely even begun. She didn't even care the Dark wasn't wearing a shirt and he was almost in the middle. All she wanted to do was find a soft spot and close her eyes. The past few days, over a week now, had been more exhausting than imaginable and lying down felt like pure bliss. Sighing and scrunching herself up, Towa followed Dark into the mystical land of dreams.
Oooo000OOO000oooO
Dark lounged against the dirty plastic with a scowl on his thin face. This was certainly not what he was expecting when he had suggested a good restaurant. Maybe the idea of metal silverware and a covered table had entered his head, but nothing of this sort.
Dark twitched and hunched over slightly in his seat as a screeching child ran past with ketchup staining his wrinkled trousers. Dark glared at the table littered with crumbs as Towa approached the table, tray in hand, weighed down by artery-clogging food.
"Stop pouting," she said, sliding in the seat across from him, "You look like the little kids in the play structure."
Dark just muttered to himself, snatching a burger before she could organize her own food and hopefully make the oily, greasy mess look more appetizing. Dark didn't think it work. How pitiful, they were immortals and they were eating junk at the local fast-food restaurant. What shame. He had fallen so far since his Phantom Thief days. If Krad was still around he would have laughed.
Towa crunched into her own food, looking over at Dark with curiosity, "Are you going to eat that or what?"
Dark shot her another scowl, "I didn't want to come here."
Towa rolled her eyes, chewing of a French fry, "Yeah, but we don't have much money left and I didn't want to wait while you went out on another jaunt. Fast and Cheap, as the name implies."
"You know, I am the Phantom Thief Dark, which obviously means I can steal something quicker than you can blink."
"What's really sad," Said Towa, setting down her food to direct her full attention to the annoyance, "Is that I'm a better pickpocket that you."
"Oh? Is that what you were doing last night?"
Towa flushed, hands clenching at the thought that Dark had just gotten the upper hand in this little tiff all because he had no shame for that sort of thing.
"Shut up!" Towa hissed, "That was your fault, not mine! You should have stayed on you side of the bed."
Dark leaned back, smirk in place and arms crossed, "You didn't seem to mind too much. You wouldn't even let me get up."
Towa regretted ever slipping in that bed. Really, she should have known that trouble would come of it, even in her zombie-like state. To wake in the morning and find them selves spooning had practically given her a heart attack. It wasn't that she disliked it, she loved it actually, but she was afraid of what Dark would do. It's not like he particularly cared for her or anything, instead just seeing her as the annoying little bird she was. Towa just didn't want to have her heart crushed any more that possible. What would happen when he found another girl to love?
She would have to leave. Him loving Risa—Towa had learned her name—had been bad enough, but them growing closer, and the kiss…
It was like a taste of forbidden fruit that she would never be able to hold in her hand and eat the full thing. It was a drop of water from a lake separated by a wall that she could never cross. It was a kiss that revealed what was possible for another girl, but impossible for her.
She hated it when he teased her.
Dark sensed Towa's change of mood, as though the girl had deflated, lowering her eyes to the burger that she seemed to be picking at now rather than tearing into. He narrowed his eyes, leaning forward.
"Hey, did you hear what I just said?"
"Yeah, I did."
"And you're not going to say anything?"
"Do you want me to say anything?"
Dark was taken aback. His eyes widened and he felt a flicker of anger flare up in his chest. What was this? Why was she suddenly acting cold and indifferent again? She was supposed to be fighting with him, her cheeks flushing in anger which was thoroughly attracting. She certainly wasn't supposed to be sitting across from his as cool as ice, resembling her wintry appearance a little too close for comfort.
Dark was not going to let this pass.
Standing up, Dark grabbed Towa's bicep to tow her along behind her, leaving their food behind without a backward glance. It wasn't much of a loss anyway, even if they did have to waste five dollars to get it. Dark made sure to remember it so he could rub it in Towa's face years from now. Ah, sweet revenge.
That was completely irrelevant now, though, considering Towa was struggling against his grip and spitting like a trapped cat. So much for her bird-like nature. The fates had a funny way of messing with people.
"What the hell!?" Screamed Towa, "What do you think you're doing!? Dark! Answer me!"
Dark shot her a silencing glance that did nothing to silence her and dragged her into a more secluded spot, a thin alley between the fast-food place and some other grungy building. Pressuring her into the shadow, Dark palmed her shoulders, his eyes lit intensely against her face.
"I'm not sure what your problem is," He hissed, searching her shocked, vivid blues, "But you have been like this since we saw Daisuke. I want to know why you are treating me like some stranger."
Towa opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water before regaining her spark, "What's my problem? What's my problem? You're my problem! You just keep messing with me and teasing me and confusing me and you just won't stop!" By this time tears had started to trickle down her face, chin trembling, but she still pursued her rant, "Why do you keep torturing me like this? You're going to make me want you even more, then leave me for some other Risa girl without even knowing the difference! How stupid do you think I am? You kiss me and think nothing of it! You're just messing with me!"
Dark stepped back, hand falling away from Towa's body as her last sentiment echoed down the dank and smelly alley. All that was left was the sound of her feathery soft sobs.
"Towa…"
Towa turned away, pressing her forehead against the brick wall and wrapping her arms around her self. She had just revealed something she never should have. She was over a century old and she had just cracked like a weak human teenager. Towa tried to ignore the warmth at her back, the soft whisper racing up her spine, embracing her self in shame instead.
His voice resounded again, "Towa… Turn around." A velvet fist is what she compared it to.
"No." She sobbed lightly.
"Towa, turn around."
"Leave me alone." Broken, broken, broken…
"Towa! Listen to me!"
She didn't need to.
Dark grasped her shivering shoulders, twirling around and wrapping her up in a blanket of a hug.
"Stop it." He whispered into her pale hair, "Just stop it."
Towa blinked into his shoulder, arms crushed in between them, heated by the warmth of their bodies. She sniffled, mind blank at the sudden proximity they held together. Both were silent for quite a time; Dark holding her tightly and Towa leaning against him.
"Towa." He finally said, bending his neck so that his mouth brushed against her ear, "There is no other girl, and there will never be another girl."
Towa stayed silent, letting him continue.
"Even in this short time, you have somehow grown on me, like a growth of some sort."
Towa tried to shrug him away in indignation. Did he really just call her a growth?
"I don't mind that much though, and I would very much like to continue this companionship we hold. Maybe we could even travel, because I think we've seen enough of this city for now."
Towa held the silence for a moment, a tense waiting, the tip of the scale, before answering, "I am getting a bit tired of this place."
She felt him smile against her cheek, before he slowly lifted her chin up and pressed a gentle kiss against her chapped lips. It was at that moment that Towa felt completely safe. Yes, it was cold and smelly and she feared she stepped in something less than appealing in that damply cramped alleyway, but she was in her love's arms and that set everything right, making up for the possible chance of cynicism.
After a few moments of tender kisses Dark released her.
"Come on." He whispered, "We should go." His lips (so soft, so pretty, she just wanted to…) curled in a faint sign of disgust, "This place is kind of gross."
Towa laughed, following him out into the blinding sunlight.
Hand in hand.
Oooo000OOO000oooO
A/N: So, there you go. I'm not a huge fan of DN Angel, though it certainly is enjoyable. The reason I wrote this though is because someone asked me after winning a question on another account. Good job, anonymous person, you did well and this is dedicated to you.
Until next time…
emeraldoni