Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, plots, and settings of Maid-Sama! do not belong to me.

A/N: My word was 'Charge' and my genre 'Hurt/Comfort'. Enjoy. (Read until the end. Trust me.)

Sorrowful Dreamer

"Until death do us apart," she repeated, her voice a happy whisper.

"No," he countered cheekily, a genuine smile, for once, on his face, "we'll never be separated. No matter what may happen, we'll always be together."

The sun broke out from the middle of the sky, shining its bright light on the multiple graves, the patches of light overpowering the clouds that smothered it. The last figments of a rainbow had shimmered and quickly disappeared, making way for a bright, blue sky; something that seemed so close, but was unreachable. Soon, more light began streaming in from the gaps in the clouds, reflecting on the remaining water left on the ground. Droplets of water dripped from the neatly cut grass of the graveyard that the rain had poured heavily on hours before.

Misaki Walker closed her eyes, breathing in the heavy air; the familiar scent of grass when it had just been soaked and then dried by the sun, doing nothing to calm her beating heart. The cool breeze blew pleasantly and ruffled the flowers she tightly held close to her chest. The flowers were arranged in a delicate spiral pattern, the pattern such so the largest of the varied flowers was in the center. The young woman was dressed in a black, freshly-pressed suit, which seemed at war with her black, messy ponytail, lopsided at the right side of her head.

Everything around her was blurry. She could barely see the large trees, the ones that could always be relied on for shade, nor could she see any benches. All the other tombstones fuzzed into the background other than the one she had come looking for. She tried to control the involuntary shaking of her body. It was slightly chilly out, but she wasn't shivering because of the cold. Her grip tightened around the bouquet, but, even so, she felt as if they would fall out of her grasp, down to the below, the beyond.

"I've missed you so much," Misaki finally spoke softly. Her voice was forced like she was demanding herself to speak in a narrow line; one small slip-up would send her words out of control. Even though they were words she repeated over and over again, to someone who could never give a reply, she could never say them without closing her eyes and wishing she'd fade away into the past. She didn't want to live in this reality again.

It was too much; she couldn't even fathom how she had made it through a week, or maybe more, without him by her side. Granted, she had run around the house - their house - screaming his name, pleading with him to come back. She cried until she had no more tears left, she yelled until she lost her voice, she stayed up long nights, hoping he would come through the door with a smile, until her eyes burned, she apologized again and again, knowing that no one could hear her, until she didn't even know when day was and when the moon began shining. But, still, their house remained silent and cold.

She kneeled down slowly in front of her husband's grave, with both his name and smiling face engraved on it.

Misaki looked at the words under his name, her eyes swirling with mixed emotions.

Devoted husband, caring son and brother, so young and loved, with much life to give,

You will forever be missed.

Setting the flowers aside gingerly, she gazed at his smiling face, tenderly tracing a cold finger over his marble cheek. "Why, Takumi? Why did you... why did you leave me?" His smiling visage stared back at her; she didn't get any response, but she hadn't been expecting one, either way. Her shoulders slumped as she lowered her head in front of the tombstone, her hands now clenched tightly at her side.

"You're such a big idiot, you know that?" the raven-haired girl choked out, a lump forming in her throat. She felt sharp tears sting in her eyes, but she swallowed deeply and contained them, knowing that if even one slipped down, she wouldn't be able to stop the other tears from following. "You were a-always in charge," she continued, her voice breaking, but laced with anger, "and you would always be the one to kiss me, to say you love me, to-to... to..." she paused, unable to continue.

"But I-I loved you. You were the only one with me that would hold me when I cried, the only one who could make my face turn so red, the only one who could make my heart beat so wildly - when we were separated, even for a little, I felt lonely." Misaki's slender frame trembled and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold everything back - she suddenly felt so angry. The rage whispered through her body, rushed through her mind, and pricked at her eyelids.

Tears welled in her eyes and she buried her head in her hands, feeling as if all the walls she had built around in her life were breaking once more. She was always so weak when it came to Takumi. And why did she always feel so... different around him? Even when his presence was beside her no longer... how? How could she continue bearing this? After so long of loathing men, she had found someone to love, someone she could trust. But, time and again, they had been separated and it seemed like their love just could not be; in those times, they had always made it through. So why couldn't it have continued? Why did everything have to end, when it was only just beginning? But she knew what she had felt when she was around him.

She felt loved and protected and she knew she didn't always have to push herself beyond her limits. She had someone who would support her the whole way. Instead of running in front of her, he'd started to pace himself with her. When she fell, he'd be there to pick her up. But, before she knew it, he was gone. He had left her. In his emerald eyes, she had found solace and comfort. And it had all been snatched away from her. She was helpless to do anything about it.

"You idiot! Do you have any idea... how much... how much it hurts me to come here so much?" Misaki demanded, pounding her fists on the ground beside her. Sobs still clogged her throat, tears still stained her skin and fell onto her thighs. She felt like her heart was torn into pieces. How could she continue living her life without him? Every day, she would long for his warmth, his perverted remarks, his annoying teasing, anything! It was so... so... so cold without him.

Misaki looked up, new determination sparked in her. She should be happy, Misaki bitterly realized. She was lucky, wasn't she? The black-haired girl wiped her tears away with her sleeve, and gingerly set the bouquet of flowers at the base of the tombstone.

"This can't go on," Misaki breathed, rising to her feet steadily. "I know you're always here, waiting for me to come. I know you want me to apologize for all the times we could have been together. You... I can't take it anymore. I can't bear the pain." She bit down on her lip, shaking her head violently.

Raising her head to the sky, with a face so scarred with pain and pure anger, she yelled to the world, "Why did you take him away from me!? I can't live without him!" She furiously dug her nails into her skin, not even realizing, or feeling the sharp pain. "What did he ever do to you?!"

Quickly realizing that her efforts were fruitless, she sighed so deeply and explosively, she felt air touch her throat. "But, from now on, I'm going to be the one in charge." Her voice was pained as if she still had tears to let free. She wished she could have a clever smirk, just like he always did, instead of the overflowing eyes of a child. "I'm going to have to forget about you. I'll continue my life normally and leave you in peace."

Yes, she was lucky if she had someone so special that it was this hard to say goodbye... but was that really true? Misaki's eyes fell from his carved face and she turned on her heel, walking away briskly. "Goodbye, Takumi."

The raven-haired woman gasped, immediately throwing her blanket off her, and sitting up, her breathing heavy. She shook uncontrollably, her hands anxiously running through her hair, unable to understand what was going on. Only when she felt something wet on her hands did she realize that she had been crying.

"Misaki?" A tired voice from beside her called her name. A familiar voice. "Are you awake?"

Misaki inhaled sharply, her head snapping to the other side of the bed. Wait, bed? How had she come here? "T-Takumi? Is that you?" she asked timidly, watching the figure under the blanket closely.

The blond man rose to sit up in bed beside her, rubbing his eyes. Misaki could have sworn that her heart missed a beat. "Of course it is," he replied. "Who else would it be? Are you okay?" His eyes pinned their gaze on her, and even in the darkness of midnight, Misaki could tell that they were concerned.

"I..." She couldn't go on. Her hands clasped firmly over her mouth, as she attempted not to break down in tears. A surge of shame washed over her. It had been a dream all along! She didn't know what sorcery caused her to have a dream in such vivid detail, but all she knew was that Takumi was here. With her!

"Misaki, did you have a night-?" Takumi cut himself off, looking surprised when his wife started tearing up, and even more-so when she all but leaped into his arms, holding him tightly, and sobbing her heart out onto his chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please forgive me!" she cried, her shoulders shaking.

"It's okay, it was just a nightmare, it's okay, I'm here," Takumi soothed, rubbing her back, while he whispered sweet nothings into her ear.

As she held on tightly, Misaki relaxed into his arms, sniffling. She felt like, in her dream, she had been a completely different person. She would never do that. Deep down inside, though she never wanted to think of it again, Misaki knew that she would have, in reality, never have been able to accept the loss. Because that was like admitting that Takumi was gone and she was over him. And she wouldn't have been able to do that.

She'd made a new decision now. She'd let Takumi be in charge. Because she liked it that way. And she didn't know what tomorrow would hold, nor did she know when the time they spent together would end. So, Misaki would always spend every day like it was her last. And she'd always love her husband as much as she could.

Like there was no tomorrow.

A/N: So this took a while to finish. As you know, this is for the Misakumi one-shot challenge, and, to win, you have to have the most likes. So, if you liked this, please do drop a review and favorite. It would be really appreciated.

If anyone else wants to join the challenge, it's still open! Until April 27, that is, so there's loads of time!

I'd like to thank Minniemiss123, for supporting me the whole time! Without her, this fic would never have been written. I couldn't ask for more. Thank you!

-ShadowOfDarkness2004