for wingsyouburn on tumblr for the prompt: "Welcome Home"
It never surprised her—being alone. By a young age, she braced herself for death. How else was she to cope when everyone she ever cared for blinked out of existence? But death never paused before Lulu to contemplate her life; it merely brushed past her like an old friend.
She sat at the edge of her bed and gazed out the window. The sun dipped into the ocean. Memories echoed in her mind—the regrets, the compromises, and the forgotten vows. She settled, because her heart ached for something she could no longer reach. Or someone, more like it. Of all the happiness she experienced throughout her life, she forever longed to share it with someone else.
With a sigh, she retreated to bed, white hair framing a face which witnessed enough of the world. Lulu drifted to sleep, her breaths and pulse slowing, and faded elsewhere.
Her red eyes snapped open. She emerged from the ocean with an abrupt gasp. Whipping black locks aside, she cast her sights to the shore and hitched her breath.
He knelt there, perhaps in meditation, clad in the crimson haori he always donned. His eyes—both of them—opened and a smirk welcomed her.
He stood and entered the ebbing water as Lulu swam and sprinted to him. She laughed and cried before crashing into his open arms. He was warm and solid and real.
"I've missed you," Lulu said through happy tears. She held his face, not a wrinkle in sight. Or on her delicate hands, either. "I dreamed of you every night."
"I know."
Auron swept Lulu off her feet and kissed her. She lost herself in him and wished to never forget that sensation again. Even when he gently broke away, she held onto his every word.
"Welcome home."