Take My Breath Away
He watched her, walking along the city sidewalk, the coat she wore wrapped tightly around her narrow form. He had watched this scene day after day. The years had passed and she had gotten older, forgotten her fairy tales and childish dreams. And yet he had continued watching her, visiting her each night in the magic realm of the dream world. She loved him, had always loved him and would never stop loving him. But she could never leave her world. Never leave the world she had grown to love. Casting the crystal from his hand, he knew it was only hours before they would meet again.
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"Why is it that we always meet here?" she asked him, gazing out across the vast abyss that was the sea. A beautiful sunset graced the sky, the shadows of the early evening casting themselves against the light skin of the man beside her.
"Because it is beautiful and reminds me of how deeply I love you."
They stood side-by-side, the thin layers of their linen tunics swaying lightly in the cool breeze. He turned to look at her, his mismatched eyes gazing deeply into her sparkling green pools.
"You know I love you," he told her.
"As I love you," she replied, turning to him and wrapping her arms around his thin waist.
"Then come with me. Leave your world and return with me. I cannot live without you."
"You ask every time…"
"…and you always say no," he said.
He rested his forehead against hers.
"No matter what happens, I will never forget this place. Our place to hide from the world…this secret place inside," she said.
"As I will never forget the way your eyes sparkle. The way your lips curve into a smile. And the way…"
"What?" she asked, her mouth forming into a smile as she looked up at him.
"The way…the way I cannot live without loving you."
He looked into her eyes and in an instant their lips touched in a passionate kiss. She pulled away from him and walked toward the lapping waves of the ocean. She closed her eyes, letting the dew of the sea mist her face. She heard him follow her, stopping quietly behind her to gaze out across the endless water. She turned around to face him.
"My Love," he said, taking a step closer to her.
"Take my breath away," she said, pulling him to her, her lips covering his in a kiss, never wanting to let go.
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"Your wedding is tomorrow," he said, turning away from her and walking toward the sea.
He could not understand how she loved him yet was marrying another man. He hated thinking she would be with another and would never be with him. He turned to look at her.
"How can you do this? How can you let yourself be with another?"
A stream of tears fell down her cheeks. She looked at him. "You know you are the only one I will ever love," she said, her voice faltering.
"How can I believe that when you are marrying another man? When you're not marrying me?"
"Because you have my heart and my soul and every part of my being," she said, taking his hands into her own. "You know I will always love you…and only you."
"Then come away with me. Leave your world and join me once and for all. I will die without you," he pleaded.
He pulled her into an embrace, nuzzling his head into her hair. "Leave them forever and come with me," he whispered, feeling tears start to well in his own eyes. He pulled back and looked at her, wiping away her tears with his soft fingers.
"I will never forget you," she said, stepping away from him, the tears falling freely now.
"Don't leave me…you can't leave me," he said, walking after her. He would not let her leave; he could never let her leave.
"I love you," she said as her body slowly disappeared.
"No! No, you can't leave! You can't! I need your love! I need you!" he cried, falling upon his knees as he watched the last fleeting glimpse of her soul disappear forever.
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He watched as the years passed and she grew older, had children and learned the woes of married life. He watched as every day she lived in fear of him, lived in fear of his temper, of his rage, of his hand. And he watched as she returned to him every time, each time believing his lie that he would never do it again. And as he watched his one and only love live a life of fear, he wished he could have stopped her from leaving…stopped her from making the biggest mistake of her life. But he was always there for her, waiting for her to call him…waiting to be with her once again in their secret place.
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"How could you still love me after all that I have done?" she asked him, her face bruised, her eye swollen. "How could you still have faith in me?"
"I would never lose faith in you. I love you and I will always love you no matter what."
"How could I have been so stupid?" she asked him, burying her face into his chest. "How could I have gone back every time?"
"You went back because you can find the good in every person and hoped that each time he would be telling the truth."
She pulled back and looked at him. "Why have I waited so long? Why did you not call for me?"
"Because it was your decision when we would meet again," he told her.
"It has been so long. I have never forgotten you. It was your memory that got me through the worst of times," she told him.
A tear fell down his cheek. "If I had known how much pain and torment you went through, I would have called so long ago. If I had known…"
She put her hand over his mouth. "It is not your fault. It is mine. I let myself be ruled by him, let him treat me like nothing. You did everything you possibly could have."
"No, I could have done so much more. I could have saved you. You would not have died if I had been there."
She pulled away from him and walked toward the sea. He walked toward the ocean, stopping beside her. Never taking her eyes off the water, she spoke to him.
"I have never forgotten this place. I never could forget this place."
He turned to her, wrapping his arms around her body, thanking the gods she was solid and not a spirit. He held her, finally having her, and never wanted to let go.
"You have no idea how much I've hungered for your touch. How time has gone by so slowly…and time can do so much. Are you still mine?" he asked her, his eyes closed as he took in her scent. She turned to face him.
"I have always been yours, no matter what. And for once in my life, today, I am unafraid."
His eyes opened and his lips were on hers in an instant, claiming what he had wanted for so long. He pulled back to look at her, seeing the tears fall from her eyes. He pulled her into a tight embrace.
"How I've hungered for so long," he whispered into her ear as he gently rubbed his hands over her back. She pulled back to look at him.
"Jareth," she said looking deeply into his eyes, "take my breath away once and for all."
"Sarah, I have waited so long to hear that," he said, pulling her to him, a large smile across his face. He looked out across the sea once again, happy that it would be the last time he would ever have to look at the dark water again, happy that the gods had granted his only wish – that true love would prevail even in death.
Gazing down into her eyes, he leaned in and kissed her, their bodies disappearing into the sunset.
A/N: Hope you liked that. Just a little one shot based on the songs "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin and "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers.