Well, it's my first one-shot. And my first sad fanfic, my first songfic, and my first fluff fanfic... So yah, not my best work. It's in third person for a change. I'm not sure why I chose Lettuce for this, I just did... So yah. Whatever.

The song is Concrete Angel by Martina Mcbride.

This is what Pie's thinking

And these are the song lyrics.

Diclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew or this song.

To Pie, the graveyard was silent, except for the sounds of quiet sobs from beond the trees he hid in. Others would be able to hear the soft twitter of birds, the gentle murmer of wind over the short, neat grass, the suble sound that seemed to come from the ground itself, like a comforting whisper from lost loved ones. But Pie heard none of this, only the sorrowful sound of crying. That, and his own thundering heart.

She walks to school with the lunch she packed
Nobody knows what she's holdin' back

"It's hard to believe that she's really gone…" Came a girl's voice, prim and elegent, but choked with tears. Pie looked downwards, peering through the branches of the trees he was suspended over, hidden from the humans. He could see four girls standing in a sort of semicircular arc around a grave. Pie's heart throbbed when he saw that grave. Why did this have to happen to her?She had never deserved this.

Pie shook his head to clear it. Why couldn't he stop thinking about her?

Wearin' the same dress she wore yesterday
She hides the bruises with linen and lace

"She didn't deserve this." Said the tallest of the girls, echoing Pie's thoughts. Her deep purple hair was long and loose, blowing around her face in the cool breeze. "She didn't deserve to die this way."

"Hai…" Agreed the red-haired girl, who Pie recognized to be Ichigo, the cat Mew that Kish liked so much. "To be killed by your own Mom…" She wiped the tears away from her face.

"Pudding m-misses Lettuce-oneechan n-na no da!!" Cried the smallest of the four, a young golden-haired girl that Pie remembered to be that monky Mew who was always chasing after Tart. She was clinging onto the purple-haired girl, Zakura, sobbing into her shirt. Zakura scooped Pudding up into her arms and held her close in an effort to comfort the child, brushing away a few tears from her own face.

The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask

"I could have never thought…." Said the blue-haired girl in the same sophisticated, choked voice Pie had heard before. He recognized her as that rich bird girl, Mint. "I mean, she was always so happy, always smiling like the sun. But really…"

"She didn't want us to know." Came the mellow voice of Zakura.

"Why not!?" Demanded Ichigo through her tears. She sounded almost angry. "We could have done something! We could have helped her!"

Bearing the burden of a secret storm
Sometimes she wishes she was never born

You know how shy she is, Ichigo." Explained Mint sadly. "I guess she found it too hard to talk about. And she probably thought her mom would do something worse to her if she told."

"Worse than beating her to death?" Ichigo pointed out quietly.

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above

There was a long streach of silence, broken only by Pudding's continued sobs. Then Ichigo smiled faintly and said in a tiny voice. "It was a nice ceremony though, wasn't it"

"Hai, it was." Agreed Mint. Pie nodded too, even though they couldn't see him. It had been he perfect send-off for her, in a church decorated with seashells and blue zinnias, her favorite flower. Pie had watched from one of the high windows, careful not to be spotted, not quite sure why he had decided to come to this funeral.

But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

"I still can't really believe it…." Ichigo was saying. "I mean, she was here last week, but now….."

"Hai, it was a real shock when—" Zakura began, but mid-sentence Pie clapped his hands over his oversized ears so he wouldn't have to hear any more. He didn't think he could stand hearing the story again.

Somebody cries in the middle of the night
The neighbors hear, but they turn out the lights

Life had been pretty unexciting ever since he, Tart, and Kish had returned to their home planet with the Mew Aqua. The Mew Aqua had been used to turn the planet into a lush, green planet much like Earth, and living there had become much easier. The three were viewed as heroes for bringing back the Mew Aqua, but Kish still spent a lot of his time on Earth, spying on his little 'Koneko-chan'. Pie could remember that day, that terrible day, when Kish had come home early, a depressed look on his face .

"One of Koneko-chan's friends died yesterday." Kish had said in dejected sort of way. "That green dolphin Mew, remember her?"

Pie could still remember how those words felt, like someone had just whacked him upside the head. "L-Lettuce?"

"Right, yah! Her name was Lettuce Midorikawa, I think" Kish had brightened for a second as he remembered the name, then sighed again. "Koneko-chan's so depressed, nothing I did could cheer her up…. Pie, you have any ideas?"

But by this time, Pie was already gone, ran off to his room to pack for Earth. He had left the first chance he got, without telling anyone where he was going. Why he had to go to Earth right now, he didn't know. But he did, and he found out the full story:

Lettuce had a secret, one that she never told anyone. She was, as the police called it, 'a victim of child abuse'. To Pie, all this meant was that her mother beat her up a lot. One night it had gone too far, and…..

A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate
When morning comes it'll be too late

Pie shook his head, blinking back tears. No, stop. Stop thinking about it. She's gone and there's nothing you can do about it, so stop thinking about her!

But Pie couldn't stop thinking about her. He wasn't sure why he couldn't just forget about her, but she kept popping into his mind. When he closed his eyes he could still see the way her eyes seemed to glow green when she was fighting, still hear her sweet, clear voice.

Ugh, no no no no no no no no noooooooooooo! Stop thinking about her, you idiot! Pie opened his eyes to see that the graveyard was deserted, Ichigo and her friends long gone. How long had he been thinking?!

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above

Pie leapt down from his spot in the trees and landed neatly on the grass, a few yards in front of the grave the Mews had been clustered around before.

Lettuce's grave.

But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

Pie stood there, just staring at it. Then, as if pulled by a magnet, he began the slow walk towards it. He had the thought that he should just fly out of here and forget this ever happened, but something made him stay. Maybe it had something to do with this pain he felt, an intense pain right in his chest, in his heart, alongside a hollow, empty feeling of regret.

A statue stands in a shaded place
An angel girl with an upturned face

By now he was standing right in front of the grave, close enough that he could reach out and touch the gravestone. He ran his hand along the small statue that served as a marker to where she was buried, tracing the feathers on its wings, the round glasses, the faint smile. An angel, made out of concrete and made to look just like Lettuce. At the statue's feet was a small block of stone. Pie's voice choked slightly as he read the words imprinted onto the stone "Lettuce Midorikawa: A True Mew Mew"

A name is written on a polished rock
A broken heart that the world forgot

Pie sighed as he traced his finger across the letters. Someday the wind and rain would wear these words away and turn the statue into a lump of broken rock, and no one would know of the beautiful girl that lay buried here. No one…

There was a drop of water on Pie's cheek. He wiped it away and looked to the sky, but it was a cloudless sunny blue, not even the slightest chance of rain. It took Pie a few seconds to realize that he was crying. Actually crying.

Pie had seen Tart cry many times before. He always thought it must be hard on the kid, losing his entire family when he was so young. And once or twice, in the middle of the night when everyone else was asleep, Pie heard the distant sound of muffled sobs coming from Kish's room. But Pie rarely cried, always keeping his emotions bottled inside himself.

But now was different.

Now Pie let the tears fall freely, gave himself over to the unbearable grief and sorrow he felt. "I'm s-sorry Lettuce…" He whispered to the grave. "I-I'm so sorry f-for everything…I n-never wanted to h-hurt you, not even when you were m-my enemy. I—"

He stopped before he could go on. It was something he had always known. But he hated himself for feeling that way, and buried this feeling deep inside himself. But it was always there, just under the surface, this emotion he had never felt for anyone before.

"I love you, Lettuce"

Through the wind and the rain
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above

There. He had said it. It was a bit of a relief to finally admit what he had been holding back for so long, but it did not ease the pain in his heart, which felt a lot like a sword had been rammed into his chest. Was this what people meant when they talked about 'broken hearts'? Pie thought so, because he had never felt this broken before. He just stood there, letting the tears fall freely, hands clenched into fists at his sides, eyes closed tight. The memories came fast as the tears: Lettuce overcoming her fear of water to save Ryou from him, Lettuce pleading with him not to fight, the huge battle with the harpy-like Chimara Anima in which he had nearly killed Lettuce, the way the fight ended when he gave up his life trying to save her from Deep Blue's attack…..

"Pie…"

Pie blinked. Oh great, now I'm hearing things…

"Pie, why are you crying?"

He blinked again. Now he was sure someone had spoken, someone behind him, a voice he recognized.

No….impossible…..

Pie turned suddenly to face the speaker. It was a tall, beautiful girl, looking to be about thirteen years old. Her long grass green hair was tied into two braids, her sea green eyes glowing from behind her round glasses. The school uniform that she wore looked crisp and neat, like it had just been ironed, and there was a slight smile gracing her thin lips.

Lettuce.

But not quite the way Pie remembered her. It was definitely Lettuce, but she looked lighter. Not pale, but almost clear, transparent. Pie could make out the dim outline of the trees behind her. And she had— Pie's heart froze when he saw them—wings. Large feathery wings reminiscent of an angel.

"L-L-Lettuce…?" Was all Pie could manage to say.

Lettuce giggled at his confusion "Hai, it's me." She walked towards him, her feet making no impression on the grassy ground. "Hold out your hand, there's something I want to give you."

Pie held out his hand, his mind blank. Lettuce was dead, yet Lettuce was standing right in front of him.

Lettuce laughed again, making Pie's heart skip a beat or two. "Confused?"

Pie nodded. She was only about a foot away from him.

Lettuce smiled again and placed something gingerly on the palm of his out stretched hand. Pie could see it, feel its weight. Proof this wasn't a dream. He brought it close to his face to see it better and gasped as he realized what it was. It was an egg-shaped gold pendant, with a complex green design on it.

The pendant Lettuce used to transform into a Mew Mew.

"Will you keep it safe for me?" Came her sweet voice. Pie glanced up at her to see that her pale cheeks were flushed red. "Hai." He answered softly, closing his fingers around the precious pendant. "You can trust me."

"And, uh, P-Pie, um, I really, er, w-wanted to tell you…." Lettuce was back to her stuttering, blushing, shy self. "I, uh…Pie, I-I love you"

Pie smiled. "I love you too, Lettuce" He whispered, his arms wrapping around her waist, gently pulling her closer, his arms brushing against the tips of the feathers on her wings. He was surprised that his voice was so steady. "I always have."

"Y-you mean…" Lettuce's face was a nuclear shade of red. "I mean, y-you…then, uh, I, I mean, y-you won't m-mind if I, uh..." She looked at him, leaned her face forward, and her lips met his.

He stood there for a second, eyes wide open in surprise. Then he wrapped his arms around her a little tighter and kissed her back. He felt her arms wrap around his shoulders, felt the edges of her wings graze his face. This was the best feeling Pie had ever experienced. It was like a tingling electric shock had burst from the point where his lips met his and spread all across his body. Was this what people talked about when they said they felt a spark? Pie wanted to hold her closer, so tight no one would ever be able to pull them apart. But Lettuce's slender body felt like it was made of mist, and he feared that if he held her any tighter, she would dissolve away like dew on a hot day and be lost forever. But though her body felt like a ghost, her lips felt real, locked against his. And the longer they stayed like this, the harder Pie's heart throbbed, and the more sure he grew of this feeling. It was amazing how those three tiny words can change your entire life.

"I love you"

But her dreams give her wings
And she flies to a place where she's loved
Concrete angel

So yah. R&R. Flame if you must. I know it's not my best work, but I wanted to write it, so...

It was fun to write!

Actually, when I reread this, I realized I had written stuff I don't even remember writing...lol