These characters are not mine.

Rufus Sixsmith/Robert Frobisher. Songfiction. After the aged Sixsmith is shot and killed in his apartment, he is finally free and Frobisher awaits him, as he promised.

I just had to write a happily-ever-after for Frobisher and Sixsmith. Their story still breaks my heart. I found "Penelope's Song" by Loreena McKennitt was most fitting, given Penelope's steadfast wait for her Ulysses (in part because in 1998 McKennitt's fiance, his brother, and a mutual friend were killed in a boating accident and I suspect that their memory partly influenced the song).

This couple is the sweetest part of Cloud Atlas to me and I will never be the same after seeing Frobisher's suicide and a heartbroken Sixsmith cradles his body. They deserve their happily ever after...!

Sixsmith's Song

Rufus Sixsmith's final memory before everything went dark was the smell of gunpowder and his own blood… for a brief moment, spurred by the smells, he had returned to that horrible day when he thought that he'd found Robert and was greeted instead by a gunshot, after which he'd rushed to find the ghastly sight of his beloved Frobisher dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound…!

No, he no longer cared that he'd been killed. He trusted that Ms. Rey would manage to send the documents to Megan. All of that would work its self out. His work was finished.

As he left the shambles of his bedroom and his dead body, he finally felt the burden of nearly forty years releasing him. The light from the window shone as brightly as the sun, and yet it did not hurt his eyes. Anticipation welled up from deep within a heart that had been cruelly shattered… he knew what would come next and he hoped that it would hasten him to the man he could not forget, who had written to him, "I believe there is another world waiting for us, Sixsmith. A better world, and I'll be waiting for you there."

Now that the time has come
Soon gone is the day
There upon some distant shore
You'll hear me say

The warm, soothing light guided Sixsmith away from the world with which he had become disillusioned. Higher and higher it carried him, and he felt the light reshaping him. His wrinkles and old-age spot vanished, his skin becoming young and pliant again. His hand flew to his hair, which was becoming as golden and thick as it was before.
"Robert…! Robert, my darling, please be there…!" Sixsmith's heart was more full than it had been in a long time as he came closer and closer to his destination, the butterflies in his stomach overwhelming him to the point of tears. But while he felt residual pain and sadness, he was filled with a joy so great that he couldn't help but weep.

Long as the day in the summer time
Deep as the wine dark sea
I'll keep your heart with mine.
Till you come to me.

While he could not see clearly what his destination was with the light so bright, Sixsmith could not wait to arrive. His clothing now felt different, although hardly uncomfortable, but the light still obscured his view.
Finally, he seemed to find his footing as he landed delicately on a steady surface.

As the light began to dim to more natural levels, Sixsmith could see that he was dressed in black trousers, black boots, and a white tunic fastened at the collar by a drawstring. He could see in amazement what looked like the landscape of Corsica on an evening in springtime. Flowers were fragrant and the sunset over the sea was breathtaking to behold. He was astounded by the sights, the smells, the warmth…

"Sixsmith…! Rufus, my darling…!" a voice come from his right side, a voice that he was afraid he would never hear again.

There like a bird I'd fly
High through the air
Reaching for the sun's full rays
Only to find you there

Gingerly turning to face the speaker, Rufus froze as he caught sight of the man who always managed to take his breath away. It was Robert. He was there. He was dressed similarly to Rufus, except that he had somehow regained the vest that Sixsmith had lent to him. He was as beautiful as ever. His eyes spoke of desire, of regret, of pain, of hope of forgiveness, and overwhelmingly of love for the man who he had so cruelly left behind.

"Robert…!" Rufus gasped, overwhelmed with emotion.

"Yes, I'm here, Rufus…!" Robert whispered, reaching his arms out hopefully.

In an instant, Rufus broke from his reverie and ran to Robert, who caught him eagerly. A clumsy but eager kiss confirmed for Sixsmith that he was real, that they were together again.

"Come, let me look at you…!" Robert took Rufus' face in his hands as Rufus did likewise with Robert. The tousled shock of raven hair, the succulent lips, the deep green eyes… Sixsmith's vision blurred and he felt convulsions that threatened to become sobs.

"You're here, thank goodness you're here…!" Rufus sobbed for joy as he collapsed against Robert, weeping into his lover's neck, hugging him like he was afraid that this was another dream.

"Shhh, yes darling, I'm here. Weep all that you must…!" Robert crooned as he stroked Rufus' hair and back.

And in the night when our dreams are still
Or when the wind calls free
I'll keep your heart with mine
Till you come to me

"I can't begin to say how relieved that I am that you were right…!" Rufus gasped as he and Robert embraced, "I've been so afraid that I'd have to wait for you forever…!"
"Can you ever forgive me for how I left you, my Rufus? I never wanted to hurt you so…!" Tears pricked at Robert's eyes now, "I felt trapped by what Ayrs was threatening to do…!"

Rufus suddenly felt the bitterness and regrets that he had of that day leaving his body, along with the residue of the horror and anguish of that moment. They hardly mattered now.

"I understand why you did what you did," Rufus whimpered into Robert's collarbone, "It's haunted my dreams for so long…! As long as I'm with you again and we're safe, I'll be happy."

"We are safe, my love," Robert caressed Rufus's back, "I have befriended many people here and they wish to meet you. No harm will come to us. And we're here, together, under the Corsican stars…!"

Rufus glanced over Robert's shoulder, amazed at the brightness of the stars, "The Corsican stars…! Is this Heaven? How can this-?"

Robert smiled as he placed a finger to his lover's lips, "I like to think that Heaven is the place where we were the happiest. This is where we fell in love, my Rufus. I could not think of a better place to spend eternity. And I can now share it with you.

Now that the time has come
Soon gone is the day
There upon some distant shore
You'll hear me say

The room looked even more luxuriant than it had when they first spent the night in bed together. Everything was beautiful and Rufus could not imagine anything better for them.

Rufus jumped in pleasant surprise as Robert kissed his neck, sliding his arms around the blond's waist. It was all that it took Rufus to keep himself from orgasm then and there.
Robert chuckled before Rufus overtook him in an enthusiastic kiss.
"It's been so long, Robert…!" Rufus gasped as they embraced.
"It has been," his lover crooned, both of them very aware of their mutual arousal.
They doffed their tunics and soon tumbled into bed stark naked.

Hands caressed over chests and taut nipples, over legs and hips, over taut buttocks, fingers and hands laced together as the two lovers enjoyed each other for the first time in nearly forty years.

Rufus tenderly kissed Robert's belly and the black thicket of his loins, still fragrant from their recent orgasm, and he was overcome with lust and emotion, "I never want this to end, Robert…!"
"It doesn't have to," Robert fluffed Rufus's hair, "We have forever, darling."
Rufus eagerly came to rest his face over Robert's pounding heart, lacing their hands together as they kissed and cuddled. Finally, they had found peace that their former life had denied them.

Long as the day in the summer time
Deep as the wine dark sea
I'll keep your heart with mine.
Till you come to me