FINALLY

Nita nodded. "Meanwhile," Kit said, "something I forgot to ask you."

"What?"

"Just what was it you called me back there?"

She shook her head. "Back there where?"

"You remember. Back at Argyre Planitia, when you were telling Aurilelde you didn't have to keep yours in a cage."

Nita stared at him, bewildered — then realized what he was talking about, and took a very deep breath.

"My boyfriend?" she said. And then Nita felt like cursing at herself for the way her voice squeaked with stress on the second word, turning it into a question.

Kit just looked at her. "Took you long enough," he said. He grinned at her and vanished.

Nita's eyes went wide: then narrowed with annoyance — and relieved delight.

"I'm gonna get you for that!" she said, and went after him. . . .

She appeared a moment a later in his backyard. The contrast in colors hardly registered as she scanned the area. She saw him leaning casually against the fence. With out she found herself running at him. The second before she would have collided with him, she stopped dead as if hitting an invisible barrier.

Suddenly, Nita felt herself go numb. Her heart had taken over her brain, and quickly shut down all signals through out her body. The instinct in her was know in control, the irrational, reckless instinct that was always held under lock and key somewhere deep inside her brain. It was not a sensation of pain, in fact, quite the opposite. There is a strange sense of freedom that is closely tied with complete and utter terror that accompanies the victory of the heart.

Her senses became sharper than ever before and then she had ever felt possible. Although her sense of touch was on hold her sense of feeling seemed to come alive in away it never had before. It was like a heavy but weightless fog was filling not only her brain but all of her body. Her heart had stopped supplying her with blood but was filling her with pure and utter feeling. The slight breeze that fluttered past seemed to sweep over her limbs, caressing every inch of her skin.

Nita's vision seemed to be fuzzing around the edges until she could see nothing else but the entire world, her world. As the face of the world focused into her view she filled with one thing and everything at the same time. The planes that stretched in every direction, refracting light and giving a unique shape to the otherwise barren landscape of a face. The high arches that would rise and fall with the expansion of the lips as they made their way to the heavens.

The lashes that surrounded the soul in the middle of a lake of chocolate. Arcing to the sky, the blades of grass stretch themselves hoping to catch as many rays of sunlight as possible. The pure snowy landscape that surrounds the chocolate lake hold the most precious cargo of all. The entry way into the soul of her world.

There was a slight space that lay between the powdery rose surface of the petals that formed his lips. It was inviting her, calling to her to fill the void. She wanted nothing more than to oblige, completing his perfect image. Doing all that she could to take care of her world.

The space between them was lessening and soon she could see no more. Instead of seeing him she could feel him. Every cell in her body seemed to be pulling her. A magnetic force that was drawing her to him. As if each of her cells were incomplete and it's other half lay in him.

She no longer felt the air that ruffled the leaves on the trees and carried whispers in its wind. As she felt his breath on her skin a new sensation, one even more peculiar than last began. As his breath made contact with her skin, the place where it touched seemed to warm. It began like the first few sparks on a log before the friction began to cause heat. A warm yellow like the sun that turns to orange as it beats down on the dry dessert. Then a deep red-hot flame flickering and consuming whatever it touches to make way for a single clear blue flame. So intense that it ceases to be hot and actually becomes cool. Then when Nita thought she could not handle the sensation any longer it stopped.

Kit held his breath and Nita realized that her breath had stopped too. As if they were already one. Then, her life changed forever as Nita realized what it meant to feel whole. Her lips collided with his and the impact was enough to leave a crater in its place. The spot were her lips made contact with his slowly began to come alive as a warm sensation began to grow. Her lips slowly filled the void until there was no empty space left. The moment the space was filled the warm sensation became hot and slowly began to spread. It gained momentum as it traveled from her lips and slowly engulfed her.

Her eyelids filled with color. The colors began to multiply and change and swirl. The most beautiful rainbow held no candle the spectacle that Nita was witnessing. As the sensation further traveled every part of her came alive. More alive than it ever had before. The last part of her to be enveloped was her mind and once that happened the concept of time disappeared.

It was as if she never existed before. Her mind and his became one as she explored his mind she felt as if she finally knew who she was. She finally knew who she was, his other half and all the questions she may have had drifted away. She learned that while physically she had been living, her mind had never truly been alive until now.

Although she still had no control over her body she felt her hands leave the cool surface of the fence and onto the soft cotton of his t-shirt. They rested on his shoulders for a brief moment before they slowly circled around him until dangled freely around his neck. She could feel his gentle touch as his arms wrapped loosely around her waist.

Nita brought her hand tentatively up to the nape of his neck and laid it on his hair. He instantly responded by tightening his hold on her pulling her closer to him. She ran her fingers slowly through his hair leaving a tousled trail as her other hand slid to his neck.

How long they stayed like that, she had no idea. She gradually pulled back, feeling as if she was pulling apart the strongest of magnets. Once she was far enough away the fog in her brain cleared and she realized that her eyes were still closed. Her eyelids were heavy and sluggish, as she struggled to open them.

He was looking at her with a dazed a look that suggested he was in the same dreamlike state as she was. Neither one of them had made any other movement, she was still pressed up against him with his arms securely around her waist. Her hands were still warm on the nape of his neck and tangled in his hair.

Slowly as if coming out of a dream the far edges of lips turned upward. As if a dam had broken his face became alive with emotion. As far as Nita could tell, it was complete and utter happiness. She could sense that she wore a similar expression but for the life of her could not form any coherent thoughts.

"Wow," the sound came from Kit's lips but judging by the sudden look that clashed with his previous expression he had not meant to say it aloud. The silence that stretched before them was awful. The smile slowly drifted off Kit's face as his eyes darted wildly trying desperately to gauge her reaction. Once again she tried to form words but her thoughts were in an uncooperative whirlwind.

The only thought that she could distinguish, Kit had already vocalized so she was a loss of what to do next.

"Can we do that again?" the words were out of her mouth before she even knew what they were, let alone had a chance to stop them. As soon as they left her lips, her eyes widened in horror. She had but a single heartbeat to contemplate her embarrassment, then his lips were on hers once more as she got her answer.

Slowly at first he began to deepen the kiss. His lips parted slightly and she responded by further entangling her hand in his hair. She felt herself being pulled into him again and briefly wondered if she would ever be able to think straight again. As she felt the fog settling over her again she wondered briefly if this was what it felt like to be in love. Then her thoughts vanished as she felt like she was being pulled under. She had no idea what or why but all she knew was that she never wanted to come back up.

A/N: Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. I would love to hear your thoughts, constructive criticism is always appreciated. If there is something you didn't like please tell me so I can improve. If there is something you liked . . . tell me! It makes me really happy to know that people like what I write. Also a disclaimer: Nita and Kit are not my characters they belong to the extremely talented Diane Duane as does the rest of the Young Wizards series!

* the italics at the beginning are from the very end of A Wizard of Mars