Heart by heart
Disclaimer: I do not own this and do not make any money off of this fic. I also do not own the song. It is sung by Demi Lovato.
Summary: There are times when someone comes into your life and they change your world forever. Meeting each other on that cold winter's night changed everything.
The rain. It had to be raining. Fitting really. He had nothing. Not anymore. So, why should the weather not add to it on a cold January night in Seville. His black hair pasted to his scalp refusing to, at the very least, get out of his way so he could continue to stumble in the darkness. What little clothes he had were soaked through and did nothing to keep out the chill from water and wind making him long for clothes better suited other than button shirt and pants. The biting cold in turn freezing his limbs making them heavy and stiff. Any part of his body visible was clearly discolored from exposure to the elements. He couldn't take it anymore.
The boy staggered a few more steps before slumping against a nearby dirty wall all but giving up hope of finding any shelter and surviving this cursed night. And why shouldn't he give up hope? Everyone was gone. His mother, father, sister, all taken by the inquisitors. Only by sheer luck and a distraction orchestrated by his sister did he escape otherwise…well…people never lasted long with the inquisitors and those that lived to tell the tells were never the same. In his heart, Tulio knew he would never see them again. Death might be easier, a quick release. An end to all his suffering. All this loneliness.
But there it was. A little voice in the back of his head telling him not to give up. That he owned his sister that much. Nearly unable to see in front of his own face from the fog his breath produced, he still rose hoping to make it a few more steps.
With no direction, he simply wondered the barren streets and alleyways searching for a warm door way to sleep in or some sort of discarded crate. Anything really that might offer some relief.
A dead end. That's what is was. He realized a moment later. Seeing no other way out, he was about to turn around, when with luck his eyes spotted a heap of discarded creates, he might survive the night yet. Most of the crates seemed to be up turned and water logged. But one in the corner seemed to be turned on its side preventing the rain from entering. Perhaps he could spend the night there.
As he peered into the crate, the most beautiful set of green eyes stared back at him. The creature's golden hair hanging down nearly covered her eyes. An angel? He often heard stories about angels from heaven who come to watch over people. Could this be one of them? If it really was an angel, he better leave unless he were to disturb her. "I'm sorry." Muttering against to the rain. "I didn't know this crate was taken." Turning to leave, an angelic voice called out.
"Wait! Don't go!"
And there it was again. Those eyes. What was it about those eyes?
"It's cold out there. I can more over. We can share." She reached out her hand into the murky wetness to grab his.
"But I'm wet. You'll get wet too."
"It's ok. If we stay together, we will warm up. That's what people always say." Something is his heart lit up burning warmer than anything he could remember when she smiled at him. That smile was not that of the sun but of pure light and life. Any thought of fleeing left with the wind.
Gently, as not to hurt his angel, Tulio maneuvered in to the box. "Here." A threadbare cloth covered his body. "It would be better if we stay under this together."
His body and nerves well-worn from the past few days easily soothed itself into a calm as the rain tapped a lullaby. "My name is Tulio, by the way."
"Tulio…My name is Miguel!"
Miguel…. So, that was her name…Wait! "You're a boy!"
When your soul finds the soul, it was waiting for
When someone walks into your heart through an open door
When your hand finds the hand, it was meant to hold
Don't let go…
Someone comes into your world
Suddenly your world has changed forever
No there's no one else's eyes that could see into me
No one else arms can lift, lift me up so high
Your love lifts me out of time
And you know my heart by heart
"I can't believe I let you talk me into to this!" Tulio grabbed Miguel by his red shirt slamming him against the brink wall to hind themselves from the guards. Why did he ever let Miguel make the plan? How drunk had he been to agree to that? A simple scam gone completely wrong, ending with the city guards hot on their trail looking for blood.
"Quick! Up there." Shoving Miguel in the direction of the open window above them.
"But what about you?" Refusing to go without this partner.
"I'll be there in a minute. You go."
"But-"
"Go!"
"No!"
"Now is not the time to argue. Just do it. I'll find you. I promise." A promise from a conman but it was still a promise. And from Tulio. And if Tulio was making it Miguel, it was a promise he would keep come hell or high water. The past 10 years they had each other's backs. Ever since that freezing cold night all those years ago.
Finally seeing the back of a red shirt leave through the open window did he let his breath. He had to look after him. No matter what. If it hadn't been for him…he'd be dead. They both would most likely. But now was not the time to think back on that night.
With the clanking of heavy boots on the cobblestone streets, the armored guards round the corner leaving Tulio with little room to run. But he was not out of the game yet. Leaping up on to the barrels, he was able to vault himself over the edge of the wall.
Smiling at this moment of triumph, those guards would never be able to catch him. But it was short lived. However, when he turned around, another set were standing there as if they had been waiting for him. Crap. These guards were smarter than the ones he was used to dealing with.
"Now come along. If you do not put up a fight, we shall go easy on you."
Tulio was great at many things, hand to hand combat was not one of them. At least with out back up anyway.
"Wait! Didn't he have a partner with him?"
"You're right. Tell us where he went."
Like hell he would! If he was going down, he was going down alone. No one was going to get their hands on Miguel. And anyone who did, would be sorry. But he had to play it cool. The moment they thought Miguel had any real meaning other than a partner in crime, they would both be done for. "Don't know. We split as soon as we saw you coming. Left me high and dry wouldn't you know it."
From the look on the guards' faces they obviously did not believe it. Looks like they had done with homework and talked to the locals. Crap. Oh well, looks like he couldn't bluff his way out of this. Putting up his fists, he was not going down without a fight.
"I was hoping you would put up a fight." One of them called brandishing his sword.
Tulio's Adam's apple bobbled as his mind whorled with all the possible outcomes. What was his percent to get away? 20, if he was really lucky and they had no fighting skills what so ever. But in that 20 percent, there was only a 1 percent chance he would escape unharmed. 10 percent of it he would escape with only minor injuries. 5 percent severe enough that he would need some sort of treatment outside of what Miguel could provide and the last 4 percent…he would last just long enough to say his final good bye to his friend. The odds were not in his favor in the least but he had to get out of here. He had to see Miguel again. Despite the fool being a conman himself. He could fall for anything. Far too trusting to be on his own. And what would Miguel think if he never returned to their meeting spot? Would thoughts of Tulio abandoning him flood his mind? Would he think he just left because Tulio blamed Miguel for their current predicament? Or would he know the truth. Either way, his mind pictured his golden-haired angel sitting in the door way waiting patiently and obediently like a dog waiting for his master to return. His emerald eyes starting to shimmer with unshed tears as the hours pass leading into night and then the next morning without him ever arriving. How long would he stay there waiting? Would he come looking for him? No! He wouldn't let Miguel wait. He couldn't. He would get out of this. It didn't matter what damage he took, he would make it out alive and meet up with his friend.
Bracing himself, his heart full of purpose as the guard approached.
The guard launched at him, sword in hand determined to make critical blow. There was no way to avoid it.
His own sapphire eyes opened wide seeing a fist suddenly came into contact with the approaching guard's checks sending him colliding into the other guard. That momently distraction was all he needed. Running towards his partner, grabbing him by his arm and pulling Miguel with him.
They never stopped running, they couldn't. If they stopped, they would be caught. It wasn't until they were safe in meeting spot far away did they finally try to catch their breath.
"What were you thinking?" Again, Miguel's red shirt found it clenched in Tulio's fist as he was lifted off the ground forced to meeting him at eye level.
"Me? You were the one in trouble!"
"I would have gotten out of it. Do you remember that little voice? The one I keep telling you about. Well, listen to it!" Dropping him back down to his feet. This was too much. Had that punch not been strong enough they both would have been caught. Tulio could live with prison, but Miguel…
"For your information, I did listen to that little voice. And it said, 'Tulio was in trouble and needs your help!' So don't go acting as if I did anything wrong."
"But you did! You could have been caught. Then what? Miguel, I can't…" this was too much. Everything was too much and it seemed to get worse every day. This burning in his chest, the fretful night sleeps all the worry and fear. This life meant nothing to him but Miguel's…Miguel made life worth living and without him, Tulio was sure he would shrivel up and die. After all those years of friendship, of companionship, of being partners, they seemed to have morphed and deepen into something more profound than he could have ever imaged. Now he didn't live his life for himself, but for Miguel. To keep him safe and to keep him happy. It was love, it had to be. The type that he often saw when couples would walk down the street for a night time stroll. It was as if there was no one else in the world but themselves. That feeling…that's what he felt for Miguel. But never would he say a word of time. Some lines were never meant to be crossed.
Warm hands cradled Tulio's face, gently bringing him back to the present. "Tulio." Those eyes. Those sparkling emerald always held such light and all that light was directed to him. All the life them held. All the love.
For a brief moment, all the voices inside Tulio's head were silent. There was no right or wrong. There was no live or die. There were no consequences to be fearful of. There was only what he wanted. Tilting his head closer, their lips met. It was meant to be brief. A flash of impulse and he could easily say was a mistake but he couldn't pull away. Especially when a set of arms wrapped around his back refusing to let him go.
When you're one with the one you were meant to find
Everything falls in place, all the stars align
When you're touched by the cloud that has touched your soul
Don't let go…
Someone comes into your life
It's like they've been in your life forever
No there's no one else's eyes that could see into me
No one else's arms can lift, lift me up so high
Your love lifts me out of time
And you know my heart by heart
The jungle at night was more like a symphony unlike nighttime in Seville. Bugs and birds of all sorts making themselves heard throughout the night making the 3 travelers remember they are never truly alone. But they could only go so far in the dead of night. With not map, no destination, it was better to bunker down for the night then risk catastrophe in the foliage.
But as Tulio watched Chel and Altivo sleep off in the clearing, a familiar feeling of uncertainty gripped him. How was this going to work? It couldn't. Not with the three of them. It barely worked with just Miguel and himself.
"You think too much." Again, that bright smile seemed to light the darkness all around him.
"No, I think just enough. And don't pretend that you don't have concerns too." Miguel for all his jovial appearance and attitude had shown what could lay underneath back at the cliff with Tzekel-Kan. All the pain and betrayal, he hadn't meant to say those words. Not really. It was an act. All be it a very convincing act but still, Miguel should have known by now that he never really wished to part ways with him. But there was no going back after seeing the hurt in his angel's eyes. It was too late. The damage was done. The only thing he could do was save Miguel from further pain and give him his freedom. Miguel loved that city. Every waking moment his eyes shone with wonder and amazement. That was where he belonged. Not traveling around aimlessly, lost in the jungle.
"Tulio, I know you better than anyone else." Miguel inched his way closer to Tulio, his calluses finger tips searching in the darkness for his partner. "You are thinking about the cliff and don't lie to me. I want you to talk to me. Like you did before. Please, I lo-"
Miguel never got a chance to finish his words as he found himself lying with his back on the ground, Tulio's lips sucking all the words out from him. "How can you even think of saying something like that! After what I've done?"
"Don't. I don't want to self-deprecating you are so fond of. I only want to know why you weren't going to stay and try to win me back. I can forgive everything else. Chel is amazing and I think she will fit in nicely with the two of us. Of course, I would have liked to been in on it especially after your whole "Chel is off limits" and "It's just business." speeches. But leaving me, that I need the answer to."
He wasn't going to get up. If he did, Miguel might disappear. Foolishness naturally but Tulio was tired of all the close calls and near misses. Of all the times they might never see each other again. Of his own folly. All the cards needed to be on the table if there was any chance of a future together. "I don't think you can understand how much you mean to me. After all these years, I only want to see you happy and safe. But I can't give you that. Life with me, you're always on the run. Living from one con to another. But in that city…you were happy, you were safe, you were treated like a god. Like you should be. And even if, for whatever reason they found out the truth, I think they were so in love with you that they would keep up the act."
"Chief Tannabok knew the truth and I'm sure others did but that didn't matter. He would have welcome you to stay as well. So, why leave?"
They had known. But still even after the trickery, they still loved him. Images of what Miguel's life could have been, images of him running in the sun for the thrill of it, not because their lives depended on it, images him playing music for the people throughout the day and night, smiling all the while. Things that were now out of reach. "Because, you deserve better. You deserve to find someone who is as kind as you are. Someone who has as much life in them."
"Was I ever to get a say in what I wanted? Of course not, Tulio you need to believe me when I say, I am by your side because I want to be there. So, our lives are not peaceful. I'm not one to complain about it. I love adventure. And if you ever forget that, which I hope you never do, remember that destiny brought us together and destiny will always allow us to find each other. You say that I was safe and happy in the city. I was but I don't think I would have been half as happy without you. Even if Chel had stayed and you sailed off, my heart would miss you and eventually I would leave to find you. And I would too! Don't ask me how but I know I'd find my way back to you."
"Miguel.."
"Tulio, I love you. I know all there is about you and I know your heart" Placing a hand over Tulio's erratic beating muscle. "by heart." Moving it to touch his own.
He really was an angel. Everything proved it. Love, compassion, justice. He was an angel sent from heaven to save him from himself. "You are a sap, you know that."
"But I'm your sap, darling."
"Better believe it." Their mouths meeting again in a fiery passion.
So Now we've found our way to find each other
So now I found my way to you
No there's no one else's eyes that could see into me
No There's no one else eyes that could see into me
No one else's arms can lift, lift me up so high
Your love lifts me out of time
And you know my heart by heart
And you know my heart by heart
And you know my heart by heart
And you know my heart by heart
Happy International Fanworks Day!
Thought the fandom could use some new work and since I started to replay "Broken Sword: Smoking Mirrors", my mind went back to Mesoamerica. Wasn't sure what to write until I heard this song.
Till next time, write on and live the write life.