I live and die; I burn and freeze,
I am hot and the cold makes me knock my knees;
My life is both easy and mean,
I am bored and then serene.
At once I both laugh and weep,
Bow to the dust and in gladness leap.
My fortune flies and is with me still,
At the same time I have a fever and chill.
Love lifts me up and knocks me flat,
And I do not know where I am at.
The quiet stretch of road spreading out before the lone man's feet was the last leg of a journey that had taken him far too long and much too far away. At the end of the gray lane was a solitary house filled with warmth that was quite at odds with its surroundings. A thick forest of gloomy vegetation surrounded the ivy ridden stone walls, sheltering the home as a fortress would its people. The gravel drive wound from the road into the dense, towering trees, into a world eerily different from the fast paced bustle of the city the man had grown accustomed to. The air held a sacred stillness, an ancient magic that ran deep through the veins of the land. The man could almost envision mysterious sprites and devilish pixies perched from the grasping boughs dripping with Spanish moss. The slightest, lightest of movements danced in the far corners of his vision as if fairies took wing and flitted across the shadowed hollow.
The man felt as if he'd stepped into a distant dream; a memory that had begun slipping away into the watery depths of time. He had the strangest sense of déjà vu as his eyes drank in the primeval trees, the elusive fairy rings, and the haphazard stone fence as a man thirsting for water. He wondered, not for the first time, if they were still waiting for him. He had been absent from their lives for far longer than he had wished. He hoped they were there, hoped their love still filled the ancient house and the surrounding glade. His body ached with the phantom embrace that often haunted his nights.
His long stride brought him unhindered to the front door. The wood was warped with age and the water stains of time. An iron lion rose to greet him, its snarling features leering from the door frame. He grasped the archaic knocker firmly in one trembling hand. He pulled back slowly, reverently, before letting clenched fist swing forward to rap against the gnarled wood grain. He held his breath in anticipation for long moments before letting his hand swing backward and forward once more. Standing there, in that long stretch of endless time, he again wondered whether there was even anyone in the dwelling to answer his desperate knock. And if there was, would they be willing to allow him back into the life they had eked out, here in the wilderness?
The breath the man had been holding rushed out in one large exhalation. Overwhelming relief coursed through his veins at the soft footsteps approaching the door. It was long moments before they stopped. In those precious seconds of anticipation, the man took several shaky breaths to calm his racing heart. Years had passed since he'd departed from this place, since he'd seen his daughter's face, since he'd held his wife in his arms. And now, years later, all those toxic hurts could be remedied in a short juncture. If only the weathered door would open and reveal his heart's most fervent desire to his parched eyes.
A lock clicked. A knob rattled. The solid groan of heavy wood being pulled back. A breathless gasp and intake of air. A whispered, disbelieving, "Kyouya," from weary lips. A pair of wide blue eyes, exhaustion ridden and lined with grief. A pair of dimples, deep and beautiful, embedded in rosy cheeks, brought to life by the infectious grin peeking from behind the leg of his wife. A small body followed closely behind, a small girl dressed in a worn, patchwork dress as varied in color as the summer sunset. A wild array of mint curls bounced around the face of his beautiful daughter, her pixie features lit up in excitement.
In a moment of complete ecstasy, the heart-weary man felt his shoulders relieved of their worry laden burden as a pair of skinny arms wound their way around his legs. Tears leaked out of his eyes as his young daughter accepted him back more readily than he had ever hoped to dream. His daughter clung tightly to him as he lifted her into his strong arms, his hands clutching her small body close to his in fatherly protection. He held fast to her as a drowning man would a lifeline, her warmth his safety and her familiarity his guidance. His eyes released rivers of salt as he reverently whispered her name, "Yuri, Yuri."
She smiled breathtakingly and placed a small hand to his tear-stained cheek, her whimsical voice murmuring to him as if out of a dream. "Daddy. Daddy, you're home." He buried his face in his daughter's neck, hiding his tears from her sight. "Daddy, Daddy don't cry. All is good. All is good 'cause you're here with Momma and me again." He only sobbed harder, trying to repress the shaking of his shoulders.
His sweet, innocent daughter continued her consolations as her father cried his apology with a strained, husky voice. He gasped an incoherent, "No!" when his daughter, his angel, was softly pried from his weak arms. A hushed voice whispered unknown, incomprehensible words, each slipping through his ears as the background music to his intense sorrow.
Overwhelming grief flooded through his systems like burning ice and freezing fire. The realization that they had left him here, stranded on an island built of his regrets, hit him with a crushing force. His knees buckled forward and he couldn't be bothered to break his own fall. He crumpled to the ground, curling into himself in an attempt to shield his heart from the impending spike of pain that would shatter it once more. Just when he felt himself implode, his body falling in on itself, a pair of warm arms embraced him, replacing the phantom touch he'd felt lingering all those years. A shuddering gasp ran through him, his mind frozen in a state of painful disbelief.
The gentle pressure of those arms wrapping him in his wife's love relieved the crushing guilt and depression, if only for a moment. His head lifted to gently meet her eyes, his shame lining his face and leaking into his eyes. They were met by a cerulean gaze filled with intense passion and unconditional forgiveness. A bubble of warmth worked its way into his heart, exploding and releasing a wild inferno in his soul. Her eyes widened slightly, her pale fingers finding his face in a caress that filled his chest with aching love. A hesitant moment, an unsure instant. A flicker of doubt in her azure stare, the searching of his face for a sign of his intentions. A silent question, pleading. An unheard cry of desperation, whispered in the silent hollow.
Will you stay?
Her probing eyes found their answer. He felt as if he was exuding a promise which leaked from his very pores, oozing from his skin and dripping onto hers. His very essence he laid bare for her to peruse and tear apart in her search. His oath, like her question, remaining unspoken but still loud in the sacred quiet of the heavy woods.
Forever.
As if to prove his fealty to her, his absolute subservience, he captured her lips in a heart searing kiss filled with his love and cherishment. Slowly, supporting one another, they stood, locked in a lover's embrace. He held her tenderly, disbelievingly in his strengthened arms. She melded into him with a passionate familiarity. Together the two clung like two who knew that a sorrow laden future awaited them, a future that would not wait for silent confessions of love or pleading embraces of apology.
But for now, they stood entwined, knowing-hoping- that in this moment, their love would pull them through.
For without love, they had nothing.
A/N: This is for blackcatneko999, her requested one shot as the winner of my challenge as stated in my drabble collection, The Other Side. MadokaXKyouya with a unique twist, I think. It's rather different than what I normally write. Slightly AU, I would guess, though it does take place in the beyblade world. I just don't mention it. I hope you've enjoyed what I've written. I sincerely encourage you to voice your thoughts as I'm curious about the response this will receive.
Chaos