Garden of the Heart
Brooklyn shifted in bed, his breath coming quickly, his heart beating erratically. The orange haired teen was currently trapped in a nightmare, and the full moon was only amplifying it. While the moon protected his counterpart, the mistress of the Queen of Light, it brought only horrors to him, the master of the King of Darkness.
Dream...
Brooklyn cautiously pushed a rusty, worn and plant encrusted metal gate open. He knew that this was the entrance to a garden that, at one time, must have been very heavily guarded. Besides the worn gate, it was surrounded completely by faded but solid brick walls. The place was unbelievably derelict, but the brick walls still stood firmly. Pushing his questions about that away for the time being, Brooklyn entered the garden.
It was then he decided he preferred the brick walls. They were safer, and easier to question than take this mess of a garden in. Brambles grew up the walls, the decaying bodies of wildlife lay strewn about everywhere, and the fountains no longer ran. Approaching the black colored fountain nearest him, he stopped, freezing. It still ran, yes, but it ran with blood. The black color of the fountain was dried, cached on blood.
"Where am I?" He asked aloud, knowing he would receive no answer. A rumbling started and the path he stood on began to crack beneath his feet. He spun around only to find his darker half; the being he had become during the final match with Tyson.
"You are in the garden of your heart." It stated, fangs bared. "How could you do this?!" It snarled at him, wings extending in its fury.
"W-what?! I didn't do this!" He stuttered, backing away.
"Yes, you did." It snarled back, its wings starting to flap in its agitation. "You destroyed this place when you created me!"
"I-I created y-you?!" Brooklyn stepped back again, his eyes wide.
"I am what had been the life-force of this place." It growled at him. "You wrecked it in order not to lose and lost anyway!"
"I wouldn't--I would never--" Brooklyn kept backing away, whether it was from the creature or the realization that it was the truth he didn't know. Before he realized it, he backed up and fell into what should have been a stream. Right now, though, it was a river of blood and he was covered in it. He screamed--
"Brooklyn!" A voice called; he shot up shaking, eyes wide, heart pounding, and face drenched in sweat. "Are you okay?" Breathing shaky, he turned and saw a very concerned Kira kneeling by him. "I heard you scream..." It was too much for the teen; he threw his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder to muffle his tears. Startled, Kira stared for a moment before wrapping her arms around him, and rubbing his back soothingly. "Shhh, it's okay, Brook. I'm right here..."
"Hey, is he okay?" Whispered a concerned voice from the doorway. There stood Max; it appeared he too had heard Brooklyn's scream.
"I'm not sure." Kira admitted, still soothing the shaking boy. Conflicted, Max stood in the doorway: on one hand, he wanted to help his friend, but on the other, he knew Kira was what was best for him right now. "You may as well get some sleep, Maxie." The girl grinned tiredly at him, earning a weak one in return.
"If you're okay with it..." He mumbled, still hesitant.
"Yeah." She nodded, still soothing the boy half-on her lap.
"Alright." Max agreed reluctantly before heading back.
"...was that Max?" Came the slightly hoarse voice from her shoulder.
"Yeah, he wanted to see if you were okay." She told him, still rubbing his back; his response was to slowly relax. "What happened?"
"My dream..." He mumbled, slightly muffled, but broke off, wincing.
"C'mon." She murmured, helping him to his feet. "Let's get you some warm milk for that throat." Kira led the way to the kitchen, not noticing or apparently minding that the teen was still leaning on her. Halfway there, she slipped an arm around him to help support him; he had recently just got over being ill, and she was hoping he didn't have a relapse.
"Thanks." He managed to croak out quietly when Kira placed the mug of warm milk in front of him; she smiled and sat down next to him at the table.
"Less talky, more drinky." She scolded. "The last thing we need is for you to get sick again." At that, the teen looked down, staring into the warm milk as he took a sip. "Hey." She placed a hand on his arm.
"I..." He began to mumble, but broke off as a coughing fit ensued.
The girl next to him sighed and poured some honey into the milk, stirring it in thoroughly. "You okay?"
Brooklyn nodded as she handed him back the mug and took a sip. His eyes widened when he felt the burning in his throat ease.
"Wow..." He murmured, staring at the cup.
"It's what my aunt would make if Kai or I got sick." She confessed. "And seeing as we were little kids in Russia of all places, you can imagine how often that happened."
"Thanks." He whispered, taking another sip as they lapsed into silence.
"You're welcome." Kira grinned, and hastily covered her own cough; his mournful look told her he wasn't fooled. "Relax." She popped in a cough drop. "See? All better..." It was then she made a face and shuddered. "Mentholy." That got a grin out of her companion, albeit a weak one.
"You should have some too." He admonished softly.
"Nah." She muttered. "I'm fine. I have the tendency to cough a lot in dry weather 'cuz my throat dries out."
"How did you live in Russia, then?" He wondered quietly.
"It was horrible and I'm going to leave it at that." She grumbled. "That's why I liked America." A small smile over the rim of Brooklyn's mug told her that her mission was being accomplished.
"Do..." He began, but broke off. The dream had felt so real...
"Brook?" She frowned and placed a hand on his forehead, hoping he wasn't feverish. Finding out he wasn't, she moved her hand from his forehead but forgot that her hand was still on his arm.
"Do you know why I didn't have any nightmares last week?" The boy decided to change the subject, not ready to talk about his dream yet.
"Uhm..." To his surprise, she looked down and blushed.
"Kira?" He set his mug down, wondering what on earth had happened when he was delirious. "What did I do?"
"It was Max's idea!" She mumbled, flushing more, apparently not having heard past her name.
"Max...?" Brooklyn stared. "What?"
"Well, you were sick, obviously...and..." Kira broke off again, flushing horribly.
"What did I do?!" He managed out before he had another coughing fit.
"You didn't do anything." She told him. "Now please drink that. Hearing you cough is making my throat hurt." A weak glare was her reply from him as he picked up the mug again. "Ya know...fever, body heat?"
His look indicated he didn't, but he was surprised to see her face as red as it was. He was more than willing to bet it was as red as Tala's hair, if not more.
"Max-suggested-I-curl-up-with-you-so-your-fever-wouldn't-get-worse."
"W-what?" He managed to choke out in a whisper.
"You heard!" Kira was now probably redder than Tala's hair had ever been in his life, but he just gave her a tired grin.
"Thanks." The redhead murmured as he took another sip.
"W-what?" She stared at him.
"You heard." Said redhead returned, feeling much better; she at least cared about him as a friend, but if her blushing was any indication, it was more than that.
"Now you're teasing me." The girl grumbled and looked away, still blushing.
"Maybe I am." He returned, trying to avoid the question he knew was coming.
"So what about...?" Frowning, Kira trailed off, knowing he would tell her when he was ready. She was about to move her hand from his arm, realizing it had been there a while, but as she pulled it away, his hand caught hers.
"I might as well tell you now." He mumbled. "I was in a destroyed garden...and my other self showed up..." Kira gave his hand a gentle squeeze of encouragement. "He said that the garden was my heart and I destroyed it to create him...I freaked out...and...and..."
She frowned, but knew better than to interrupt; she settled for running her thumb lightly over the back of his gloveless hand.
"I was backing away..." His bangs over shadowed his eyes. "I fell into a river of blood...it was the blood of all the animals...and..."
She stopped him, feeling his hand shake before standing and enveloping him in a gentle hug.
He relaxed in her embrace, recognizing the feeling as the one he had felt a lot of the time he had been sick. "Thanks..."
"Any time." She smiled softly, giving him a squeeze before releasing him. "Back to bed?"
He nodded and finished his mug of warm milk and honey. Just as both were about to stand, a disheveled Kai peered over the back of the couch.
"...Mom?" He mumbled tiredly. Brooklyn froze, wondering what the heck he was talking about.
"I look just like my aunt." She mumbled to him in an undertone. "Go back to sleep, Kai."
"'Kay." Came the soft murmur as his head vanished.
"What was...?" Brooklyn turned to Kira, confused.
"It's because of the milk." The girl explained. "If one of us is asleep, and we smell it, it brings back memories...more so for him, because he's sick...I'm guessing he and Hil both curled up together."
"Why?" He asked before he could check himself.
"Both of them have been sick for almost the same amount of time as you. Tyson and Daichi were both sick for about a day, but everyone else except Max and I have been sick as long as you." She took the cup to the sink and washed it before placing it in the dishwasher.
"You haven't been sick?"
"Nope. I also drink a mug of that every day, just to be on the safe side. I managed to convince Maxie to drink some as well, but I had to drink orange juice as part of the deal." She grumbled.
"Must have been horrible." Brooklyn agreed; both hated orange juice with a passion. He shakily stood and she slipped her arm around his waist again to help him walk. Once they made it back to his room, she helped him lay down and covered him up with the blanket.
"Sleep tight." She whispered as she reached the doorway.
"Kira?" The tone in his voice made her stop and turn.
"Yes?"
"Could you..." He trailed off, blushing, and examining the floor. "Would you...sleep with me?" Brooklyn turned as red as Tala's hair, realizing his wording could have been better. To his surprise, Kira walked over and crawled under the covers with him.
"Fine, but I intend to sleep, and only sleep." She informed him with mock severity as she curled up next to him. He flushed, but knew she was only teasing. Soon, she was sound asleep; as he looked over at her sleeping form, curled up beside him, he could have sworn he felt a flower bloom in that garden from his dream.
Elsewhere, his other self smiled wearily but peacefully, and vanished as the garden was restored.
--
I know. Short, kinda fluff-y...Argh. You probably won't get it...not for a while, anyway. You especially won't if you haven't read Wish Upon A Star or Trouble In Paradise...even if you do, you probably won't get it. This was just an idea that was bouncing around in my head anyway, and I blame Arin!
Arin's note: hehe. She blames me :happy look: I'm so glad! I'm not the Queen of Fluff for just anything...
Ahem. Hope you liked it!...or at least that it wasn't a complete waste of time.
Emma