Disclaimer: Masami Kurumada owns all of them.... Which is a
crime to me!!! *sniffles* I wanted to own Sei-chan...
Author's Note: Well, here's another one! This is a little
something that popped into my mind
***
Star Gazing
By Lilas
The youth smiled as he gazed at the infinite sky, standing still on the wet grass, appreciating the beauty nature was offering him on that night. He sighed softly as he found Pegasus and observed how the stars composing the constellation shone with the same rhythm his heart was beating. He moved his gaze around the sky and grinned as he found the Ophiuchus pattern, remembering his life with Shaina, his life as a kid in the Sanctuary. He continued to move his eyes along the sky, his smile widening as he found the constellations protecting his friends…
His friends… Not only that but his brothers too. He knew nothing would separate them, not even death… and he had had first hand experience of that. His smile faded for a short time as he brought his hand up to his chest, tracing the scar left on his chest… There used to be a time he despised that scar, when he would have done anything to get rid of it. Now, however, he found it surprisingly reassuring… He'd turned it into a symbol, a saying that he had encountered death and escaped its grasp then…
He found himself slowly sitting down on the grass, laying his back onto its coolness and allowing the water to penetrate his clothes and sooth his burning skin. He closed his eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply, feeling the fresh scent of the grass invade his body and cleanse his soul as he exhaled deeply, taking his time.
He kept his eyes closed, imagining the stars and their pattern, not fighting off the comforting darkness coming over him. Suddenly he felt something drape over him and snapped his eyes open to see shining gray eyes laughing at him. He blinked several times and looked down on himself finding a red and white blanket sprawled on him, shielding him against the night's cold breezes.
He looked sideways to see the girl, her long lavender hair ending in a pool under her, shining against the night and the stars, a radiance unknown to anyone coming from her. On her, covering her, was a blue blanket she had put around her shoulders. The boy shifted his gaze back to the stars, waiting for her to speak, knowing something was on her mind.
"Seiya?" she finally ventured to ask softly, reluctant in breaking the relaxing silence around them.
"Hmm?" was all he made, too lazy to say anything at all.
"Do you… enjoy your life?" she asked softly, ashamed of her question.
The boy's eyes opened wider, but he relaxed and a small smile played at the corner of his lips. He slowly pushed himself off the grass and edged a little closer to the girl, not wanting to be overheard and too tired to speak loudly. He said nothing for long time and lifted his gaze back up at the stars, staring at the Pegasus constellation.
"Yes, I do…" he finally responded, never shifting his gaze from the heavens.
"Why? You've been through so much suffering, so much pain…" the girl replied, looking at his profile.
"I don't know…" he admitted softly, the smile still tugging at the corners of his lips. "Every morning I find a new reason."
"Like what?" she asked curiously, not caring if she was being nosy anymore.
"I don't know… Maybe because I look forward to the next sunset, or because Miho invited me to the orphanage, or maybe my brothers and I planned something…" he stated, his voice never passing over a whisper.
"But…" the girl started, edging closer to him to see his face better, "if you weren't here, if you had stayed in Hades, you'd be flying… You'd be free…"
The boy's head snapped to the side, his eyes wide, an unreadable expression plastered on his face. He moved his hands to his hair and flung his bangs away from his eyes only to have them fall in front of his face again… Then he laughed. Not a nervous laugh, but a carefree laugh, one that resounded all over his surroundings.
"Saori-san, do you truly think I would be free?" he asked snickering. She did not answer him and after a moment of silence he continued more seriously, "My wings would be pinned down… I would not be flying… Not without you by my side."
It was the girl's turn to snap her eyes wide open. She stood rigid under his stare, her eyes glazed over as she took in the meaning of his sentence. She slowly turned her head to look at him, incredulous and yet strangely afraid that he did mean what he had said. She hugged her legs close to her and as soon as she made eye contact with him, she snapped her head back the other way, unwilling to look at him.
"Seiya…" she spoke his name out softly, treasuring the sensation it brought to her.
"I know I shouldn't… But I couldn't help it. I used to hate you, but time does things to us that we would not expect," he answered looking ahead of him at the darkened mountains.
The girl remained silent afterwards, unsure of what to say or how to react. She was happy inside, her stomach and throat tingling with a new sensation, but she was paralyzed. She felt him fall down on the soft grass and let out a tired sigh as he continued to stare at the twinkling stars.
"Seiya?" she finally ventured to ask, turning her head to look at his sparkling brown eyes.
"Yes Saori-san?" he whispered as he continued to watch his constellation sparkle.
"When did you… change your mind about me?" she hesitated, swallowing softly, somehow afraid of the answer she would receive.
The boy inhaled deeply and let it all out in a single puff of air towards the sky. His eyes closed gently and she almost thought he had fallen asleep but he suddenly shot them open and turned to look at her, his eyes clouded and unfocused as he gazed at her form in the dark of the night.
"I… I guess when I was holding you in my arm when Jamian tried to kidnap you… I can't be sure though. It happened without me realizing it. One day I realized I just couldn't hate you anymore, that all I felt was something I had only felt once as a child before being sent to Greece," he whispered softly, his eyes forever unfocused.
The girl nodded her head slowly and smiled as she turned her head up towards the sky once again, enjoying the feel the cool breeze felt on her bare skin. She gently lay on her back and placed her hands behind her head, her smile never fading as she moved herself closer to the boy next to her.
As he felt her movements in the grass, the boy spied a look at her and a soft smile played on his lips as he watched her slowly approach him. He shifted his hands from behind his head to encircle the fragile body that had come to rest next to him, cuddling up to him in search of warmth and maybe something more… He heard her sigh next him and give him a small hug as her arm rested on his stomach.
"You're right Seiya…" she spoke out, her voice tickling his neck. Silence ruled over them for a small time before she opened her mouth once again and tighten her grip on him, "Time does do things we would not expect…"