Tucked Away

"She talked about YOU, Hei…of your past and your future."

Yin's words echoed incessantly in his mind as he laid on a mat in a rundown safe house. Yin sat quietly with her feet in a large pan of water across the room as he lay there with his back to her, desperately trying to sleep. But every time he closed his eyes all he could see was Amber's face, sad and pleading in their last moments of conversation.

"You said you had had enough, didn't you? You won't ever see the true stars or your sister again! You've wanted this for so long. That's why I…"

He could not erase the memory of how she felt in arms as he held her close. He realized in that moment that she had done everything she had solely for him. All this time he thought the woman he had once felt so strongly for, all those years ago, had betrayed him; when she was going above and beyond to give him everything he had been searching for. She had loved him back, and he didn't discover it until it was too late. He wanted to tell her, in that moment, how he had felt for her. But she had silenced him with a single kiss.

His eyes moistened with tears as he recalled the fleeting moment of her lips pressed against his. The one and only time he would ever get to show her he had cared.

"I don't want to hear another word."

He never got his chance. But, he knew she understood. His chest tightened and his heart panged for another chance to make things right with her.

Hei began to recall random instances from the years they spent on assignment together, in the moments of calm they had alone. Sometimes they'd sit side by side and stare out into the nothingness of the jungle in silence. He never paid heed to the voice in the back of his mind; the one that begged him to take her in his arms, and partake of her rosy lips and soft ivory skin.

Now more than ever, he wished he had.

Completely frustrated, Hei sat up and turned to Yin. "I can't sleep. I'm going for a walk. Stay put. I'll be back," he said roughly, putting on his coat and belt. The door clicked shut, locking behind him.

He scanned around to make sure he wasn't being watched or followed. In the corner of town they were hiding in, the electricity had been shut off years ago, after everyone moved away from the gate. Businesses and homes had lost all value and were gradually abandoned. He walked along the upper open-air walkway of the vacant three story apartment building. He came to the end of it and leaned onto the railing, looking up to the sky. His eyes found where Amber's star used to shine. All the years he spent thinking her to be the enemy were washed anew by the bittersweet revelation.

Why didn't you ever tell me, Amber?

"Why, Amber…" Hei sighed softly.

"I would think I've already explained myself pretty well, Hei…"

Hei's head whipped around to the source of the voice behind him. There stood Amber, in her uniform from Heaven's War, looking only slightly younger than he had last seen her in the gate. It hurt his head to try to place when exactly she decided to come to this moment in time to see him. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung slightly agape, knowing that she wasn't truly alive anymore, but she was here from another moment in the past.

"There is so much more I'd love to tell you, Hei…about the future…about the past…But now that you know, I wanted to tell you…" She stepped up to him and stroked his cheek lightly with her fingertips, gently brushing away strands of his hair in the process.

"…that I love you, Hei. Always have, always will."

Two long lean black arms wrapped around her and pulled her into his hard chest as his mouth sought hers with furious passion. She willingly succumbed to him, her lips parting to allow him a taste of her. A groan escaped the back of his throat as the soft sounds of moist lips releasing each other and reconnecting over and over filled the air.

He paused a moment, his blue eyes watery, to look deeply in her golden gaze. "I love you, too. So much that it nearly destroyed me to believe that you had betrayed me. I wish you had told me back then. We could have been—"

"But what would you have done when it had come time to make your decision in the gate, Hei? Would you have chosen Bai and me over the millions of people you have now saved?"

He sighed in resignation, knowing that she really had done the right thing. She rested her hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, Hei. Even for a contractor, it was a hard choice to make to keep my feelings for you a secret…all those times we sat together, just hanging around; we'd be so close I could feel your warmth... I wanted to kiss you so many times," Amber mused with a giggle.

Her sweet smile quickly turned somber. "I can't stay much longer Hei, I must get back to my present time," she said, once again touching his face. She got up on her toes and leaned in for one last kiss. It was sweet and reverent, as if memorizing the feel and taste of his lips. She pulled away reluctantly, a quiet sigh escaping between them.

"I'll miss you, Amber… you'll always be in my heart," he said taking her hand in his.

"I'll miss you, too, Hei…" she replied tenderly. Her expression widened, suddenly remembering something important.

"One last thing," she began urgently. "You have an ally out there. She believes in you. I have seen her in the past, the present, and the future. I hope you recognize it when you see her. Don't make same mistake you did with me…"

She began to fade away, leaving Hei slightly puzzled. "What do you mean, 'mistake'?!" he cried out her increasingly transparent figure.

"Misunderstanding."

And with that, she was gone. Although she had left him with a new thought to dwell upon, he knew now that he could sleep well for once, keeping her love tucked away in his heart always.

A/N: Happy Birthday, Mike! Thank Haruko for getting the plot bunnies scampering. It's my first H/A piece, what can I say?