I do not own Earthian. This story was written
for entertainment only. No copyright infringement was intended. There is a
little bit of angst in this story so please be forewarned. It's not that bad as
far as angst tends to go, but I did want to give you fair warning. I hope you
enjoy the story. Thank you for reading it! /\_/\
~Shara~
Love Eternal
Dark lumbering clouds in hues ranging from jet
to indigo hung over the bright lights of the city cloaking it in darkness. The
air thick with humidity was still as if the night was holding its breath. A
tall figure dressed in tan trench coat paced down the sidewalk with his hands
tucked into his coat pockets. The short blond hair that surrounded the stately
lines of the man's face were painted a gray blue by the surrounding shadows.
Overhead the clouds churned in the angry yellow purple hue of a new bruise as
lightening jumped across the sky. Luminous sapphire eyes followed the trail of
light the man's emotions reflecting the gloom of the approaching storm.
Thunder rumbled ominously overhead as
Kagetsuya came to a stop in front of a small fat two story brick building that
was dwarfed by the shiny new skyscrapers that surrounded it. Though the
building had obviously been around a while it was well maintained. A brightly
painted sign that Kagetsuya couldn't make out in the darkness hung over the
double glass doors that served as an entrance to the building.
This was where his lover had stopped. He
could feel Chihaya's presence like a beacon of light shining brightly through
the bleak night. Part of him wanted to barge into that building and demand to
know why Chihaya had come to this place. It was dark and soon it would rain.
Chihaya should be safe at home.
But the last few nights he had been staying
out much longer than normal and Kagetsuya was becoming worried. Part of him was
terrified at what he might find if he followed this journey to its end.
"I want to trust you, Chihaya."
Kagetsuya whispered into the night addressing his absent lover. "But
you've been so secretive of late. That isn't like you at all. You're usually so
open with me, it makes me wonder what has changed. I know it has something to
do with this building, but whenever I bring up the subject you change the
topic. I really wish I wasn't thinking what I am thinking. And I know I
probably shouldn't have followed you. But I have to know."
Squaring his shoulders, Kagetsuya took his
hands from his pockets and pushed the doors open. He winced as his eyes
adjusted to the brightly-lit hallway. The soft murmur of voices at the other
end drew him forward reluctantly. He stopped in his tracks when a soft, oh so
familiar voice sounded from inside the room at the end of the hall. Leaning
against the cheerfully bright yellow wall, Kagetsuya held his breath. His heart
was beating so hard he almost couldn't hear what Chihaya was saying.
He could almost see the light dancing in his
lover's unfathomable amethyst eyes from the sound of his voice. He could
imagine Chihaya's soft rose-colored lips turn up into a smile as he spoke.
"Hai, I will tell him tonight. I can't
wait to see his face when he finally knows the truth."
A warm peal of laughter flowed over the room.
"That sounds like fun. Oh, Chihaya I am so glad you've been coming here.
You are absolutely wonderful. I love…"
Kagetsuya could stand to hear no more of this
conversation. His heart shriveled in his chest as his worst fears were
realized. Upset and confused the tall blond stumbled into the door that stuck
part way into the hall with a loud thud. He froze catching a glimpse of easels,
canvases, and paintings cluttering the small room his lover and the stranger were
standing in.
The stranger was of moderate height with
sandy blond hair that hung down his back in a long ponytail. His face was
angular. The sharp lines and edges gave him a hard appearance. Though the man's
eyes were gentle. He wore a paint covered blue painting smock over a brown sweater;
the neck of witch could just be seen peeking out of the collar of the smock.
Kagetsuya's pain fogged mind didn't really
register what he was seeing as he looked past the unknown man at the lovely and
guilt ridden face of his beloved. Hair so black that it glimmered with violet
highlights framed Chihaya's face making the young man's countenance seem almost
deathlike as he blanched under his lover's gaze. The rich red shirt and dark
black pants he was wearing only heightened the effect.
The man in the smock looked from Kagetsuya to
Chihaya in surprise and back again as if unable to do anything else.
The betrayal branded across Kagetsuya's
handsome face obviously confused and frightened his dark hared lover. Turning
his almost feminine face towards the blond, Chihaya reached out a delicate fine
boned hand. "Kagetsuya, what's wrong?"
Groaning in pain the Kagetsuya turned away
from those seemingly innocent eyes. His face fell. It felt as if his whole body
was suddenly made of lead as a dreadful heaviness fell over Kagetsuya's heart
"How can you stand there after what you just said and act as if you didn't
know. Well, I am not going to let you play with my heart like this any more.
I'm leaving. You can play your little games with your new friend. He seems to
like you well enough."
Taking a step forward, Kagetsuya paused at
the sharp painful sounding intake of breath from his lover. What if he was
wrong? What if this was just some big misunderstanding? Could it be? This was
not the first time Chihaya seemed to want someone other than him. Shoving his
trembling hands back into the pockets of his trench coat so Chihaya wouldn't
see how much he was hurting, Kagetsuya straightened his back and walked
purposefully forward.
The sound of footsteps echoed behind him and
Kagetsuya sped up ignoring Chihaya's pleading calls. Inside his heart he was
torn. He wanted so much to believe in Chihaya's innocence, but the overhead
conversation was not so easy to forget. Nor were the memories of Chihaya's
obsession with Messiah likely to fade any time soon. Even so, Chihaya sounded
so mournful.
"Kagetsuya?," Chihaya screamed
chasing his lover out of the door without a look back at the man in the smock.
Shaking his head the man in the smock
sighed," Oh Chihaya, I am so sorry. I wish there were some way I could
help you." As he glanced around the room his eyes fell upon one particular
painting that had been wrapped in manila paper.
With a look of great determination on his
face the artist picked up the bundle following the couple out of the building.
Chihaya's tears melted into the rain as he
ran headlong through the storm. He shivered as the air pressure changed and a
chill breeze found its way down the back of his shirt. He ignored the thunder,
the lightening and the fat drops of water that fell down from the roiling
clouds. The gurgle of water rushing on its way to the sewer was the only
response to his frantic calls. His shirt hung down on his light frame heavy
with the water it was collecting. But it didn't mater. None of it mattered if
he couldn't catch the one person who meant more than anything else in his life.
Stumbling over the uneven pavement for the tenth time, Chihaya wished he were
more physically skilled. Kagetsuya had easily outdistanced him within the first
block. His throat felt raw from screaming his lover's name, but he kept
calling. He would keep calling until he had no more voice.
After all they had gone through to be
together he couldn't lose Kagetsuya. "Why didn't I just tell him my
secret? I knew he was upset about something. I should have realized it was
because I was acting so secretive. If he overheard my conversation with Ray
sensei, I can understand how he might think I was being unfaithful, but I could
never love another. Oh dearest God this is such a horrid mess. I know I am not
your best or brightest angel, but please let me find him. I can't live without
him."
Bright eyes filled with intense emotions
watched as the dark haired boy ran blindly past the ally his lover had hidden
in. Kagetsuya's heart screamed at him to do something more than just stand
there and watch Chihaya go by. He knew his lover was not the kind of person who
could easily lie, how could the raw emotions on that far to beautiful face be
faked? No matter what his mind said, Kagetsuya's heart wanted nothing more than
to go after his dark angel.
But his mind was in control of his body and
he stayed frozen in place staring as the man Chihaya had been talking to happen
to glance down into the ally. Kagetsuya glared at the man with an icy gaze.
"What do you want. Don't you think you have done enough?" He grated
out in a voice lacking all emotion.
The man bowed very low before meeting
Kagetsuya's eyes. "I am sorry to bother you, but before you make any hasty
decisions could you please look at this?"
Standing up he held out a bulky object that
looked to be some kind of panting wrapped up in paper.
For an instant Kagetsuya felt like turning
and leaving. But that part of him that wanted this all to be a mistake forced
him to stay. Narrowing his eyes, Kagetsuya plucked the object out of the man's
hands. The overhanging roofs would protect the picture from being rained on.
Carefully pulling the protective wrapping off of the painting, Kagetsuya held
it up into the light of a near by streetlight.
As soon as he could see it clearly he nearly
dropped the painting from shock. On a field of stars that hung over a beautiful
blue green planet were the ghostly figures to two angels. The angel to the
right had gleaming white wings that cloaked the stars in a transparent pearly
vale. The angel on the left sported iridescent black wings that blended into
the darkness of space. They reached out towards each other through the vast
vacuum, their linked fingers coming to rest over the earth. The details were
incredible. Even though the figures hand been painted to be see-through their
features were clear and easily recognizable. Kagetsuya gasped as he read the
inscription at the bottom of the painting. "Love Eternal" He whispered
out loud as his eyes began to sting with unshed tears. Like a light turning on
suddenly he understood something he had never really considered before. Chihaya
saw life in a completely different way than he did. He knew that. They were
opposites in many ways. He was negative while Chihaya was positive in his
beliefs and attitudes. That was why they were partnered together in the first
place. When his lover began acting oddly he immediately feared that something
was wrong. It was understandable considering his personality. But he never
tried to look at the situation from Chihaya's point of view.
"That's it!" He thought to
himself," It has to be that I just miss interpreted his actions. He is so
naive and I know that part of his personality is not a show. It's genuinely a
part of him. He probably felt the relationship was secure. He's told me
straight out that all he wanted from Messiah was the friendship of someone else
who was different. Looking back on it, I don't think he even realized why I was
so upset back then. It never occurred to him to think that I might think he
didn't love me anymore."
The painting wasn't the most technically
correct painting Kagetsuya had seen. But each and every stroke of the brush was
filled with love. The artist had put his heart into this work. As a result the
painting held a vibrancy that reached out to the viewer. "Chihaya painted
this." Kagetsuya stated quietly as he brushed his fingers over the frame.
"Why did he hide it? It's lovely." Carefully he wrapped the painting
back into it's protective paper.
"I think he wanted to surprise you. I
run the art class that Chihaya has been taking. He's been a very fine student,
but that is all. I assure you…"
"I know," Kagetsuya waved him off
as he fled down the alleyway back to the street," I realized that the
moment I saw this painting. Thank you for showing this to me. But now I need to
find Chihaya."
"Your welcome!" The artist called
out as the tall blond dashed away from him with the painting tucked safely
under one arm.
Kagetsuya's heart ached as he felt the ball
of pain and grief that radiated from the black angel. Pain he had created with
his narrow-minded thinking.. He wished fervently that he had come to an
understanding about Chihaya earlier so they could have avoided this grief.
Entering the apartment building Kagetsuya dashed down the hall to the apartment
he shared with Chihaya. A soft weeping could be heard from inside. Grateful for
Chihaya's carelessness for once, he pushed open the door his lover had left
ajar.
Setting the painting down in the entranceway,
Kagetsuya kicked off his shoes onto the mat and closed the door. Lying on the
couch in the small living room area curled up into a fetal ball soaking wet and
shivering was his little lover.
"Chihaya, Chihaya I am so sorry,"
Kagetsuya was across the room in less than a second and kneeling by Chihaya's
side. Weaving his fingers into the dark hair he whispered against Chihaya's
ear, "Please forgive me I didn't understand."
It took a moment for Chihaya to recognize Kagetsuya
in his frantic state. When he finally realized that Kagetsuya had come back he
threw himself into his lovers arms. Tears freely flowed down his pixy face.
"You're here! You came back to me. You really are here." Chihaya
pressed his face into his lover's shirt curling his hands possessively around
the blonde's waist.
"Shhhh," Kagetsuya stopped the
rambling by placing a kiss on the top of shimmering black silk that surrounded
Chihaya's face. "Yes, I'm here. And I promise I won't ever leave you again."
"Never?" Chihaya asked in a tiny
voice without looking up as if he were afraid of what the answer might be.
"Never," Kagetsuya repeated
adamantly wrapping his arms around his soggy beloved. "Can you forgive me
for doubting you?
The dark-haired boy sniffled and shook his
head," It wasn't your fault. If I had been open with you, you wouldn't
have misunderstood what I was doing."
"No, you have the right to surprise me
if you want to. I jumped to the worst conclusion without even asking you how
you felt. I am not good with emotions. Not like you are. However, from now on
if anything bad happens that makes me afraid or jealous I will tell you about
it. Then we can deal with it together."
Nodding into Kagetsuya's chest a powerful
shudder racked Chihaya's small form as his shivering increased.
"D…deal."
Kagetsuya gently lifted Chihaya away from his
chest," Come on now stand up. We should get you into some warm dry clothes
and then I think you could use a nap. This has been a vary trying
evening."
Chihaya stood up with Kagetsuya's aid without
protest, but he leaned into his lover's embrace as if he were afraid that
Kagetsuya might disappear should he let go. "Will you lay down with me? I
don't want to be alone right now. I feel very cold."
"Then I'll keep you warm,"
Kagetsuya rubbed his lover's back reassuringly as he answered.
Slipping into the bedroom Kagetsuya walked
over to the large brown dresser in the far corner to search for clothing while
Chihaya began striping his wet clothes off piece by piece. By the time
Kagetsuya found some flannel pajamas Chihaya was drying his lean and beautiful
body off with a fluffy blue towel he had taken from the bathroom. The dark
hared boy was still shivering despite being dry, so Kagetsuya rushed the warm
clothes over to his frail looking lover. Though he would have enjoyed having
more time to appreciate his lover's beauty. Right now, however, it was more
important to get Chihaya warmed up so he wouldn't catch a cold.
It only took a moment for Chihaya to pull the
little rubber ducky pajamas on. As soon as their warmth surrounded him,
Chihaya's shivering lessened. But it didn't stop.
Wrapping himself around his small lover,
Kagetsuya lifted Chihaya up and carried him over to the futon. Setting Chihaya
down he spooned up behind his lover pulling a blanket over both of them.
Kagetsuya sighed in relief as Chihaya finally stopped shivering and relaxed
into his embrace. Kagetsuya's finger brushed across Chihaya's cheek lingering
on the full rose colored lips. Silently he prayed a prayer of thanks for the
greatest blessing in his life as the gentle rise and fall of Chihaya's chest
settled into the deep slow rhythm of sleep.
The End
