Title: Cruel Fate
Content: shonen ai (but when is their not?) AUish
Disclaimer: I have the rights to my penguin, Stan. Wait, I don't have a penguin Stan…ok, well, I don't own Megami Kouhosei either…
~Prologue~
Space. That unforgiving, empty thing, that stretched on for miles upon miles. Whatever was lost in its expanse was inevitably never returned. Gareas hated that deep expanse.
There was a time when he hadn't had such a hard driven hatred towards that unknown exposure. A time when he hadn't been alone, even when space was so lonely at times. He at least had the comfort of that soft, smooth voice, sometimes speaking to his face, sometimes a faint crackle over an intercom…Either way, it brought him security in such an insecure life.
But not anymore. He watched with a surging pain in his emotional green eyes, as the sleek black casket spiraled farther and farther out of view, the black void of space swallowing it until it disappeared from sight entirely. Gareas stood, completely awestruck and unmoving. A cry of rage, of overwhelming sadness, of fear, hung in his throat, unable to escape him. He stood before the ranks of fellow pilots, candidates, and staff, his hand slowly lowering from his salute. The movement was empty, just as he felt empty. Eventually, they all left him, returning to their schedules.
Gareas moved forward to the large window, staring out in a trance. He placed a hand on its surface, the palm spread forward. His fingers spasmed slightly on the glass. A translucent reflection of his own ghostly empty face stared back at him in the window, and he realized just how alone he really was. A lost pair of soulless green eyes bore into his own; asking him what was left to live for. He let his head drop to avoid their accusing stare.
A hand rested gently on Gareas' shoulder. The latter tensed, and flung his head around to make eye contact with its owner, his green mussed hair whipping across his face. He was met with a pair of sorrowful, compassionate brown eyes, offering him some one to confide in. Gareas simply turned away, longingly staring after the long since departed coffin. Rio took his hand away, warily watching Gareas' mournful reverie. He dared not speak, the green-haired pilot's emotions far too delicate to predict.
"I didn't get to see him," Gareas' voice came out hoarse and low, barely audible. Rio leaned his face in closer.
"Eh?" he murmured, hoping for some clarification. Gareas slowly turned from the window, slumping against it with little energy in him. His eyes focused on some unknown point across from him.
"I never got to see…the body," Gareas repeated, hesitant on addressing the source of his pain. Rio blinked a few times, wondering why Gareas would have wanted to see the unmoving form of their former comrade. He wasn't stupid enough not to know that Gareas and Ernest had shared a deep friendship. He also knew that seeing his friend's corpse lying dead in a casket would do Gareas no emotional help at all. He himself had shuddered at the image of his own comrade, pale, unmoving…
"Maybe it wasn't something you'd have wanted to see," Rio replied softly. Gareas' eyes burned into him then, anger seething, yet overtaken by the lost sorrow within them. He let his head drop again, green stands of hair hanging dejectedly around his face.
"I don't care. I lo—" he stopped, words dying in his loss of passion. His emotions dipped in and out so suddenly, it began to worry Rio. "They let space have him." Rio raised an eyebrow. He was seeing a side of Gareas he'd never seen before. Maybe it was that Ernest had rubbed off on him, causing him to be more pensive and insightful. Whatever it was, it wasn't Gareas. Gareas just didn't seem to be there at all.
"Well, we couldn't have buried him, you know that," Rio continued. Gareas made no response. Rio hesitated before going on. "What is it that makes you say that?" Gareas murmured something, sounding almost like a sad sarcastic grunt of some sort, before raising his head once more.
"I'm jealous." He stated. Rio's brow furrowed in confusion, but before he had a chance to ask anything more, Gareas had left him. The tall pilot's form stalked listlessly through the corridor as he returned to his quarters. He stood in the doorway, taking slow, dragging breaths. His scent still lingered. Ernest could be felt, his presence seeping from the corners of the room, to where the sheets lay twisted, from lack of being made. It wasn't that long ago the two of them had laid there, acting as if there was no tomorrow…
Ernest's blonde head lay on Gareas' bare shoulder, beneath the sheets their bodies entwined as one. A small smile lingered on his delicate features, blue eyes soft and loving. Gareas feigned sleep beside him, though his secret was blown by the quirks at the edges of his mouth. Ernest's smile broadened, pretending to go along with Gareas, and squeezing the other's waist more tightly. The empath was almost afraid to let go, the moment itself far too precious to leave.
Slowly, own green eye cracked open. Gareas' small smile became a lopsided smile of happiness as he saw that Ernest was already asleep. He could feel it in the blonde's steady, even breathing. Carefully, he reached over the sleeping form of his lover to shut out the light, when Ernest murmured softly into his chest.
"Mmm…Garu…don't leave yet…" Ernest's body shifted closer to Gareas', and the latter chuckled irritatedly. Though he greatly enjoyed the warmth, he was now pinioned against the bed, and couldn't reach the lamp. Oh well. They'd sleep in the light that night. For all the world, they, especially, needed light in such a life filled with darkness.
But having each other would always offer a beacon to that darkness.
Gareas sat carefully on the edge of the bed, afraid to disturb the sheets as they were. He wanted to preserve them, in the hopes that just having something left by Ernest would bring him back. Gareas knew, deep down, that there was no such luck. A tear escaped him, rolling down his cheek, but closely followed by many others. Before he knew it, he was deftly clinging to the lump of abandoned sheets, and silently sobbing into them, each breath he drew smelling and tasting of his lost love.
The young woman laughed, turning her head to look over her shoulder every so often as she ran. She knew her younger brother was quickly gaining ground on her. She raced through the forest, barely aware of the low limbs and bows of trees and bushes obscuring her path. She brushed at them to clear the way, gasping as the scraped at her bare legs and arms. Suddenly, her foot came in contact with a large object, and instead of simply stubbing it, she flew forward as she lost balance. She landed sprawled in the grass, lying there a moment to catch her breath. When she looked up, her eyes widened. The thing she'd run into looked like a huge black box. No…a coffin!
A younger boy came into view, slowing as he saw his sister rising from the ground.
"What's wrong?" he panted. The girl held out her hand to the coffin. The boy's eyes widened. "Whoa! Is that…?" The two sibling's awe was suddenly broken by a sharp, but muffled, gasp of pain. The girl surged forward.
"Oh god! They're alive!" she cried in panic. The boy jerked back, startled, as the woman frantically worked at the casket's latches. Her breath and face were incredibly steady for such a shock. Her brother watched in amazement as she worked the latches open and threw open the cover of the casket. The two stared into it. Inside, a handsome young man with blonde hair framing his elegant face lay. He was asleep, and his cheeks flushed from the temporary loss of breath. The girl lowered her head to his chest, listening carefully. "He's…alive…"
Author's Note: HAHA! My first fic for Megami Kouhosei! Whaddaya think? I, for one, absolutely LOVE Ernest, and could NOT allow him to die…
Pinku: Like all of you're other guys?
Lorelei: Shut up! I can't help it if I have a curse!
Pinku: *snickers*
Lorelei: Anyway, tell me what you think. I'm in WAY over my head now…I think I have four unfinished stories on my plate…plus so many ideas…ugh. It's such a torture being gifted! *dramatic pose* Bai bai, minna!
Pinku: *grin*