Guys, I've been listening to Florence and the Machine and I've been trolling FFN so now I need to write this, K? Btw, I know the song had a few cuss words in it, so I censored them from this fic. It's set, like, right after the world championships, when L-Drago is starting to evolve.

Regrets collect like old friends

Here to relive your darkest moments;

I can see no way,

I can see no way

All of the ghouls come out to play

When you leave someone or something behind in a fit of rage, when you cast them aside like so much rubble and storm off into the rain like a whirling cloud, all logic and reason leave you, washed away in the water.

And as the clouds break apart and evening falls, you turn back around and walk home, wondering if your world is crumbling.

And every demon wants his pound of flesh

I like to keep some things to myself

Days pass. Weeks turn into months. Not a word is said, not an eye is caught - you avoid each other.

And then you find herself at your door three months later, steeling yourself to knock.

She isn't home.

I like to keep my issues drawn

Ryuga stood on the concrete step, peering through the curtains, half hoping she'd be there and half hoping she wouldn't. She wasn't.

It's always darkest before the dawn

He turned and leaned against the rough brick of the building with his face to the sky. It was chilly out. He wondered where she was.

His feelings had always betrayed him. Now they'd turned her away from him, scared her. Ryuga let out a breath into the air that immediately turned to frozen smoke and dissipated. He would try again in the morning. Or maybe not; the ideas that seemed best to him in the dark often ridiculed themselves in the light of day.

I've been a fool, and I've been blind

I can never leave the past behind

I can see no way,

I can see no way

I'm always dragging that horse around

Day after day, he had told himself he was over her. They were through. What they had was gone. But Jenny still filled his mind in the stillness of his bedroom. And so, night after night, he found himself at her window in the dark, wishing he had the courage to knock on her door.

How could someone so brave - someone who had given his life to a dragon and fought foes large and intimidating, once even with no launcher - how could such a strong warrior pale at the thought of simply talking to someone?

Our love is pastured, such a mournful sound

Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground

So I like to keep my issues drawn

As he walked away, drawing his coat around him tighter in the frosty air, Jenny peeked out around the curtain. She slid the bolt on the door open and looked around the frame at his receding figure. Her eyes told a story of indecision. He scared her, and yet he made her insides flutter with longing.

Day after day, she had worked at the coffee shop like a robot, going through the motions without joy or purpose. She had forced herself to keep going. But night after night found her waiting behind the closed curtains for him to come to her window and gaze at the outside of the building. He would stay there for hours, and she waited for him with an aching heart and a locked deadbolt.

It's always darkest before the dawn.

She leaned against the door and heard it click into place. She was safe and secure in here. Why did she have to feel like she needed protection when he was around? Why couldn't they just be...them, like they used to be?

Shake it out, shake it out

Shake it out, shake it out, oh, yes

Shake it out, shake it out

Shake it out, shake it out, darling...

It's hard to dance with a devil on your back,

So shake it off

He would have left anyway. Ryuga was finicky that way, with a restless heart and a wild spirit, like a young colt bucking against its restraints.

It's hard to dance with a devil on your back

She guessed she was his restraints. She was holding him back, anyway. He was better off without her. She wanted to apologise, but she didn't know what for. Something had happened between them. He had stormed off and never come back. What had she done wrong?

Morning found Ryuga on the sidewalk, staring across the street at a flower stand. He could get flowers. He could go to the coffee shop right now and apologise to her, in front of all those people. But he wouldn't.

He went and sat at one of the outside tables with a newspaper and watched her through the window. Every time another guy smiled at her, he bristled. Several times the waitresses came up to him and asked him what he would like to order, and he said he was just reading. He stayed there long after lunchtime had passed.

Given half the chance, I'd take any of it back

It's a fine romance, but it's left me so undone

It's always darkest before the dawn

It was like the world was unbalanced now, now that they weren't together anymore. Something was wrong. Everything had shifted, and he couldn't seem to do anything right at all now.

He laid his head down on the table to muffle his noise of frustration. He heard a ripping sound, and looked up to see the newspaper splitting down the middle, the edges crumpled in his fists, and his hands white-knuckled.

A guy passing by peered over his head and patted Ryuga's tensed shoulder. "The news is pretty upsetting, huh? The world's always in an uproar about something."

"Yeah", he sighed absently. It was always something.

I'm so done if I do, and I'm done if I don't

So here's to shots in the dark at the end of my road

I'm read to suffer and I'm ready to hope

It's a shot in the dark aimed right at my throat

It got worse. That wanderlust was at him again. He could feel L-Drago shifting and changing, slightly, but still. He needed to go somewhere safe.

He could get away from all this, and easily. But the conflict with Jenny tied him down. He couldn't leave until it was done.

No, he could. Who was he to let petty relationship problems get in his way? He pulled out his phone and, leaching off the coffee shop's wifi, booked a flight in two days. It was time to go. Time to get out of here.

Looking for happiness, found a devil in me

Just looking for happiness, but I found a devil in me

Well let it come, I'm gonna let it happen to me now

Two days later, and the airport was waiting. Late night flights were all that were left. He didn't even know where he was going. L-Drago burned in his pocket, and guilt tore at his insides, as he gazed at the flower stand, closing for the night.

Marty, the owner, looked up as Ryuga slapped a wad of cash down on the counter. "How many?" Marty smiled tiredly. It was late, but someone wouldn't go to all this trouble for flowers without a good reason. Marty firmly believed that flowers changed lives.

Ryuga shrugged. "Dozen. Doesn't matter what kind."

Marty chuckled. "Tryin' to get your girl back?"

"No." Ryuga glared flatly at him from under the awning. He could feel icy drops on the backs of his arms, and he moved in closer for better shelter.

The flower seller shook his head. "Son, don't think I don't see ya coming around here every night. She lives over there, don't she?" He pointed to the house with the pink striped curtains and the brittle vines climbing desperately towards the roof.

"Can I please just have the flowers without the interrogation?"

"Hmmm." Marty smiled at him slyly. "She looks kinda like a daisy kinda girl. Maybe poppies." His fingers searched through the variety of flowers scattered around the stands, organised clutter, like the inside of Jenny's house.

"I already told you, I don't care", Ryuga moaned, running his fingers across his face and through his hair. "I've got a flight to catch, so could you please just hurry up?"

Shake it out, shake it out

Shake it out, shake it out, oh

Shake it out, shake it out

Shake it out, shake it out, and just don't worry

It's hard to dance with a devil on your back,

Just shake him off

Marty smiled. He handed Ryuga the flowers, and then the money. "You take 'em, OK? Just promise me you'll never let go of her. That one's a keeper. It's for your own good", he added grimly.

Ryuga gazed at the crumpled bills lying against his fingertips. And then he flicked them back.

"I can't promise that."

I'm done with my graceless heart

He took the flowers from Marty's weathered hands. "Keep the change."

Tonight I'll cut it out, and then restart

Jenny watched the exchange from across the street, and for a moment her heart caught. It was really done, then. He was buying flowers for a late-night liaison with another girl. All this time, she'd held on to the hope that somehow they would reconnect. She was such a fool.

Then he started across the street through the rain, his black umbrella dimpled by its furious streaks, and the glow of a streetlight caught the eges of the petals in his hand.

Poppies. Her favourite flower. And he was headed to the door.

This time, she would open it. She must. She might never get another chance.

Ryuga raised his hand to knock on the door. The engagement ring on his finger made a hollow tapping sound against the wood. He still wore it, after all this time. At first he had torn it off and tried to lose it in the clutter of his apartment, but it was always there, gleaming at him sadly.

This time, she opened it.

"Ryuga."

"Jenny." His voice was resigned and tired.

"Come in", she urged him. "It's freezing out there."

"I can't." He looked away. "I've, uh, got a plane to catch, actually. I just thought I'd come and...say goodbye."

"G - goodbye? But where are you going? Why?" Tears rose up and threatened to choke her yet again.

"I don't know. I'm just...going. Listen, you know how I am, better than anyone!" He was upset. Frustrated. He hated explaining himself. "Look, I just didn't want to leave this unresolved. I know you're still mad, and you don't want to see me, but I'm sorry."

He shoved the bouquet at her. For an instant, before she took it, he caught the reflection of himself in her deep espresso eyes, and turned away. "I'll be seeing you, I guess."

Jenny tossed the flowers down at her feet. She didn't care about flowers; she cared about him. "Wait a sec, will you?"

He looked back over his shoulder at her, his umbrella sagging into the street and filling slowly with water.

"I forgive you. I forgave you a long time ago", she whispered.

Longing filled his eyes, and he laid his palm along her cheek for a moment. She pressed her hand over his, wanting to feel that love she'd had once before, but the zeal was gone. Their engagement rings clinked together like bells, and then she collapsed into his arms. The tears came.

"Don't go", she whispered. "Stay here. Please."

I like to keep my issues drawn

"Jenny." She looked up. "You know I can't."

"Why?" she whispered.

He pulled gently away. "You know why."

"Ryuga..."

"I've got a flight to catch", he repeated. "I'll be seeing you."

"I love you", she told him, one last time. One last shot in the dark that might get him to stay.

"I love you too. Wait for me, OK?"

"OK."

He looked at her over his shoulder one last time.

It's always darkest before the dawn.

"I promise I'll come back soon."