First of two vague, angsty shots. Please review and tell me who you picture as the pairing.
Words: 481
Characters: Any
Time: During the Tortall series' timeframes - depends on the pairing
Genre: Angst
EDITED
He watched her absently, his mind trying to block out the intruding thoughts that often seemed to come whenever he set eyes on her. It's perfectly understandable, he told himself. She's strong and smart. Why can't I love her? There was a simple answer to that, and he knew it. But that was something he really didn't like to think about, because it always convinced him to turn away from her and go about his business.
But today he didn't. Today he stayed, slightly hidden in the shadows, staring at the sparkling lights that danced magnificently in her hair, a result of the blinding summer sun. She was kneeling on the ground, with a small, dark shape near her shoulder, and appeared to be showing something to a few of the young children. Drawing a picture in the dirt, perhaps. He couldn't catch her words across the distance, but he could tell she was speaking, and her voice was soft and sweet, for as hard a person as she sometimes had to be.
A gust of wind blew past, making the dust on the ground blow up with a great whoosh. The children to shrieked in either glee or fear; he couldn't tell. She just laughed a little, shaking her head. He caught a brief glimpse of her smile – it was always beautiful. Always a little sad, but beautiful. Her smiles reflected her entire life: struggles, peaceful moments, everything in between. To him, each one was a bittersweet reminder of what he couldn't have. He had a lot in his life, he figured, and he had worked for it. But no matter how hard he worked, he knew could never gain the one thing he wanted most. She could never be his. He knew that. There were reasons he couldn't be with her, and nothing to justify why he, over someone far more deserving, would be worthy of her company.
But I love her.
But that never matters.
No one could love her as much as I do.
She's happy. Leave her be and let her choose someone for herself.
Can I do that?
No. He couldn't. But he'd have to. He liked being around her too much to purposefully avoid her and put an end to his troublesome thoughts. Many times, they had to be together, to work and to plan. So he'd have to think of something else to stop himself from ruining everything they had, which would surely happen if he told her how he felt. It wasn't that he was ashamed or frightened of rejection, though that was inevitable. There was more to it than that. For she wasn't an option; never a possibility, for the most basic reasons.
She was unreachable.