Alright, well, the need wouldn't leave me alone, and now I have a one-shot left on my hands. It's 1x7 through and through, so turn back if it's not your pairing. Here, there be monsters.
I disclaim.
The most beautiful view is the one I share with you. ~Author Unknown
She hummed quietly to herself, picking up a rock from the rubble around her. She didn't know where she'd heard the song. It had just trickled into her head and insisted on being let out. She looked down from the tower, throwing the stone out into the sky. She watched it as it plummeted down past the clouds to the dusty earth below, humming her song and getting lost in the melody. There was a creak behind her.
"Are you always so absent minded? I've been standing here for at least five minutes."
She turned sharply, her humming cutting short. 1 stood behind her, a few feet away. She berated herself slightly for letting him catch her here. She had planned on leaving before he arrived. But the beautiful scene in the sky had distracted her. His gaze shifted from her silhouetted form to just past and into the setting sun. The light was shining strange colors onto his face. She didn't answer him, studying him as he walked up to stand to the left of her, his scepter thumping on on the wooden floor. He seemed to be distracted, standing just out of arm's reach.
He broke the silence. "I used to love watching the sunset." It was little more than a muttering.
Unsure what to say, she turned back to the sky. "I see you coming up here every night. What do you do then, if you don't watch the sunset?"
"I just watch."
7 turned to look at him with a perplexed look on her face. Another silenced filled the air, before it was her turn to break it. "Why don't you? Watch the sunset anymore, that is."
He gave no indication that he heard her, continuing to stare into the colors in the sky. 7 was getting uncomfortable fast, wondering why she hadn't left yet. The thought was becoming more and more appealing. Just when enough time had passed that she had given up on an answer, his voice slid into the air.
"There are too many things to do." he rumbled.
She shook her head. There was no way that he was up here every night and didn't even look at the sunset. Was he too caught up with his 'responsibilities' to enjoy the few good things life offered? She said as much and he scoffed irritably, but quietly. He seemed much more mellowed than normal. Not something she was used to. Usually, he would have already eaten her head off about something or other.
"Some things must be sacrificed for proper security."
"So you limit the beauty you see in the world?" She hadn't meant for that to come out so harshly, but his strange behavior was unnerving. She didn't know how to respond to him when he was like this. At least when he was being a pompous idiot, she knew how to shout back.
To her surprise he merely chuckled, albeit a little bitterly. She felt herself growing tense. Leaning back, she listened to his next words. "You think I don't see beauty?"
"No. I don't." she said, her voice surprisingly strong for how weak she was feeling. She didn't like weakness. It made her too vulnerable.
For the first time since their conversation began, he turned to look at her. She met his faintly wounded gaze for a moment, before the uncomfortable feeling seeped in and she glanced back to the view. She asked herself again, why she hadn't gotten up and left. But something held her there, nailing her to the woodwork beneath her.
She wished he would stop looking at her as he spoke again. "Don't speak of things you don't understand."
Her hands clenched into fists. She was so tired of being treated as a child. "And what don't I understand?"
She found herself relieved and strangely disappointed when he turned away from her. He obviously was done with the conversation. Well, too bad. She spoke before she could stop herself.
"Tell me." she demanded. Her body seemed to have a mind of it's own as she stood up, walking swiftly behind him. She was at complete odds with her emotions today it seemed. When she wanted to leave, her emotions locked her down. When she wanted to stay put, she jumped into action. She halted suddenly, her temper boiling over when he didn't even acknowledge her. "Tell me!"
He paused at her outburst, looking over his shoulder at her.
She gradually calmed herself, letting her gears slow their pace. Confusion took anger's place. "What's wrong?" she asked, desperately.
His normal scowl flinched slightly, and for a moment he looked worried. He walked a few abrupt steps toward her, as if confused himself. She tried not to show her surprise when his hand hesitantly came to rest on her cheek, the sharp metal scratching against the fabric. Hers was one of the few cloths that 1's jagged fingers didn't hurt or tear. The strange, uncomfortable feeling stabbed back into her inner workings.
"We are a cursed race." His voice echoed into the room. "Far more than the humans, for while we live on with this damaged world, striving to survive, they... carry on into death... Forgive me... if I do not observe the world as bright as you do. I suppose I'm just an old man, too tired with the world to see much beauty."
He began to take his hand back, but she placed hers atop it, preventing him from leaving her. He looked just as startled as she felt. She realized then that he was just as lost as she was, neither knowing when they had become such bitter enemies that a simple civil conversation had turned into such a strange and foreign thing. When had shouting at him become her normal reaction? When had his anger become her hobby?
Lost for words, she fumbled with her voice. She fell quiet after a moment and silence found a holding once again. Then slowly, and ever so gently, they leaned into each other, lips touching in a sweet greeting. Her hand clasped his to her face as the other reached up caress his. She fell into the kiss, sinking into the waves of feelings that swept over her. She allowed herself to let her barriers crumble and automatically leaned into him more.
The kiss had started off sweet, but as neither showed signs of stopping, for fear of what was left when it ended, it began to take a hungry need to it. She felt 1's arm wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Her hand holding his, left to join the other so his face was framed by her hands. She could feel his finger caress her cheek, the tender gesture causing her to whimper slightly, filling with an unbearable emotion. He took this as a sign of injury and steadily ended the kiss, instinctively holding her tighter, almost in a protective manner.
Their faces still mere centimeters apart, 7 felt his body next to hers as if it were a hot ember.
"You're wrong." he whispered, afraid of what might happen if he spoke too loudly.
"I do see beauty."
Aaaand, end with a corny line. This can be set in whatever time period you think best, whether pre-movie or post (as in 1 and the others were resurrected). This is my second 9 fic, but my first time using the Seven instead of 7. Iffen you don't like it tell me and I may just go back and change it, which I'm willing to do with whatever mistakes and such you see. Please leave a review so I know how horrible I did. Cuz if you liked it, you wouldn't need me to persuade you to drop a line would you? That's what I thought. Thanks for reading!
(Seven and One have been changed to their numerical names. Thanks for all the reviews!)