disclaimer: these characters are not mine, much as i wish i were genius enough to come up with them.
author's note: first fanfic. please tell me what you think!
He kisses her while she thinks in third person. She lacks a soul; does she lack a self? Her hands tighten their hold on his back as she wonders how he could love her. She searches her memory- those words have yet to fall from his smiling lips. Maybe it isn't love, then, but loneliness. The need for companionship.
She has the inordinate urge to bleed. Hurt me. The silent plea escapes with a low moan; she digs her nails into his patterned flesh. tThey move together, but still her mind wanders. Why can't this be simple? Her mouth finds his and she convinces her mind, for a moment, to rest. Her focus is laser-like; she devotes all her energy to his needs only, forgetting her own plight, ignoring her ever-present brain chatter. For a blessed second, all of Oz ceases to exist. This, above all else, is the greatest gift he gives her, and he doesn't even realize.
And the next moment, though she would never tell him, she dreads. Consciousness, reality come crashing down on her. She shudders; he pulls her closer. It isn't cold she fears, but- no. She fears nothing.
He feels her stiffen in his arms and sighs. He would offer his protection, his love, his life. But she would only scoff. Shame fills him, and pain. He cannot bear to admit this one awful truth- he is incapable of saving her.
She winces at the stinging sensation on her shoulder. Shit, what kind of man cries after sex? She rolls over and brings a hand to his face, setting her jaw as she wipes away stray tears.
Their gazes meet, his pleading for answers, hers pleading for salvation.A subtle change and suddenly he is the weak one; her eyes have become unreadable. She holds his stare a moment longer, then extracts herself from his arms and leaves the room, confirming his fear once more.
She is too stubborn to admit that she needs him.
In the next room a tear slips a stinging path down a cool green cheek. She bites her lip but lets the tear run its course. In the shadows her flaws are less apparent, her differences less noticeable.
Perhaps, she reasons, that is why she hides here.