Strange and Beautiful
Naito Tenshi
Their fingers were intertwined, firmly clasping each other's hands, bodies pressed tightly together. The blonde had his other arm wrapped around the blue-haired man's waist, and the blue-haired man was tracing his fingers gently down the line of the blonde's jawbone. Golden eyes were brimming with tears in the corners as a wide and true smile of complete elation spread across the pale face. The moist amber hues gazed into the blue pools as the plant mirrored the smile. The arm around the bluenette's waist was tightened as Knives pulled him closer, burying his face in the curve of Legato's neck. Legato's eyes closed softly, tears streaming down his face as his smile spread. It was an expression of joy, of complete bliss – the kind that can only be achieved by the attainment of a longing that had tortured one for years and years on end. The hand that had been tracing the curve of Knives' jaw – and, for all it mattered to either he or Knives, Legato's hands were both his own at this moment – was now buried in short-cropped, albino-gold strands, gently caressing the head they crowned.
Knives turned his head slightly and lightly placed a kiss on Legato's neck, followed in close succession by several more moving upward from the joint of his neck and shoulder, the last placed right behind his ear. Legato sighed softly and contentedly, nuzzling his head against Knives'. The plant pulled his head back, and the human – which had no negative connotation associated with it at the moment – followed suit. They gazed silently into each other's eyes for a few moments. Knives gently raised a finger to wipe away the tears from Legato's eyes, smiling softly. Then, pulling slightly at Legato, he drew his human love's lips close to his own, hesitating only a split second before pressing them together. Legato kissed back, true and deep, desperate and urgent, his love at least as, though likely far more, potent than the torment he had experienced wishing for this moment. Their lips moved in a passionate and loving kiss, tongues gently drawn over each other, necks tilting in perfect time with each other. In that moment, that one small expression of love, every twinge of pain and misery melted away and nothing and nobody else mattered, and all that existence was composed of was the soft breaths on upper lip, the heat the other body radiated, the love they both felt and could both feel in each other. Mental touches were reached out, soft caresses of the mind, and were grabbed greedily by the other. The entanglement of lips and thought could have lasted for seconds or hours, and neither of them could have told you how long it really did last, other than to say it wasn't long enough.
Legato felt as if his heart might burst, as if finally getting the only thing he had ever really wanted – no, needed – was just too much to take. His free hand was flat against the small of Knives' back, and the one that had been clasped with his love's was now wrapped around shoulders. Knives had a hand still around Legato's waist, the fingers of the other stroking and caressing at the marine strands they were currently entwined within. Through the mental link, the plant softly whispered.
I love you.
Legato shifted in his sleep, turning on to his side, a smile clearly present on his unconscious face. He gave a small yawn and stirred once more, reaching an arm out to drape over the other in his bed. He frowned slightly and golden eyes fluttered open, finding that his arm had met with nothing but mattress. As sleep's disorientation cleared from his head, the dream became apparent for what it was. His lips promptly contorted into a tormented frown as he curled tightly about himself and began to cry. He closed his eyes as the tears made their way down his face, and nobody reached out to dry them. His chest tightened as he shook with sobs, and curled even more so, making himself as small as possible. Raising his head slightly, he looked beyond the bed to the cracked mirror that hung on the wall, the crack directly across the reflection of his face. "His" left arm gave a violent twitch and spasm and he cringed in pain as he curled back up, tears flowing anew. He grasped the left arm tightly with his own hand in an attempt to still it, but to no avail. As he held it, he stared at it with all of the loathing and all of the misery in the world... the limb, the reminder that he was nothing but a broken, pale reflection.
He closed his eyes tightly and curled his head back down with the rest of him, and tried to recall from his dream what Knives' voice had sounded like in his thoughts when he spoke the words Legato had always longed to hear from him.
end
