DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of Kingdom Hearts or Square Enix.
Fading to Black
For the first time in her life, Xion was glad it wasn't raining.
She'd loved the rain ever since she was young. Memories of playing in the puddles on the sidewalk flooded her mind, dripping down the sharp edges of reality. She remembered chasing after alley cats in the pouring rain, marveling at their speed, ignoring her mother's voice telling her to come back inside.
The rain brought happiness. And she didn't want it to remind her of him.
But then again, from now on, everything would remind her of him; the warmth of the fireplace, like his small hands wrapped around her fingers. The soft, rhythmic breezes of the wind, like the sensation of his breath on her cheek as he lay curled up beside her. The ticking of the clock. The laughter of children. The golden eyes she'd always looked to for reassurance.
Everything.
Vanitas sighed beside her, and she looked at him, at his flushed cheeks, and the hair that had always been styled once upon a time, but now lay in a tangled mess. He noticed her looking at him, and for once, he could not smile to make her feel better.
His hands closed around hers and he nodded, a subtle confirmation that he would be with her every second of the way. She used her free hand to push the gates of the cemetery open, and together they moved through the gravestones, Xion's eyes darting from one carved name to the other. For once her heart wasn't ready to tear out of her chest; instead, she could barely feel it beating at all.
"Here."
His voice was soft, restrained, and they stopped in their tracks.
"Here," she echoed. She squeezed his hand tighter, afraid to move, afraid to breathe.
Their unnamed son.
Her blue eyes watered at the sight, like she'd known they would. Maybe, she had somehow convinced herself that he was still alive, that he was still lying in the cot beside her bed, sleeping, breathing.
Something about the fact that he was trapped there, under the ground, with no way out, didn't seem right. It didn't seem right at all.
Her hand slipped out of his and she fell forward, onto his freshly dug grave, her nails encased in mud, and she started to dig. She had to get him out of there. She had to pull him close and nestle him in the crook of her neck, and sing lullabies.
She had to.
Strong hands closed around her arms, saying her name, yelling her name, but she couldn't hear him. She struggled to get out of his grip. "He's trapped!" she screamed. "He's all alone! I'm… I'm…"
He whirled her around, and his eyes, bright as the sun just like she remembered them, bore into hers. "You're not alone, Xion," he murmured. She stopped struggling, and now the tears broke forth, splashing down her cheeks.
"You're not alone," Vanitas repeated, and he pulled her towards him, holding her close so that their hearts beat as one. He could feel her shaking against him, her body wracked with sobs, but he said nothing else.
Seconds passed. Minutes. An hour. Then two.
Finally, she pulled away, and she saw that he too, had been crying along with her. She lifted her hand, wiping them away with the slender fingers he had always admired.
"You're not alone either, Vanitas."
"Together," he whispered. And she didn't have to reply.
She didn't have to say anything at all.
Not sure how I ended up with this. Came from a music prompt given to me by truthlieslovestars. The prompt was called "Letting Go."
Here's a youtube link (add it onto youtube-dot-com):
/watch?v=BfgRQ5voUxk
Anyway, thanks for reading! I didn't edit this as much as I should have, so any criticism is appreciated!
- DestinyCrusader, your faithful fanfiction writer who is currently working diligently to update all other stories.