Disclaimer: Of course I don't own it
Note: Oi, I had a Miyazaki fix the other day and this is the result of it. COMPLETE drabble, and somewhat pwp. I'm hopeless.
"Are you disappointed?"
He was always there when she entered the gardens, expectant and waiting from the first day she ventured into its bountiful folds. While lithe fingers grazed gently across the budding flowers and tender green leaves, he stood in silent repose. Things had changed inside and out, new faces smiled up at her with blinding respect, and old faces still came and went as they pleased. Ancient customs had become lost, replaced, and even the layout of the land seemed misplaced. Almost all that she remembered of her adventure years ago was altered in some way, changed to reflect the passage of time. Happily, on her first excursion through the new landscape, she found that one thing had at least stayed the exact same as she remembered.
The gardens. It was as if the fertile fields were constantly in bloom.
Over the tips of the tall sunflowers she could glimpse the grand structure and how proudly it cast a long shadow across the rolling hills and endless river. A finger brushed delicately against the strong, golden petals of a sunflower. She was thoughtful before she replied. He was patient and always waited. "Disappointed?" She repeated, long strands of silky brown hair rustling silently with the passing wind. She turned to a hedge of tulips and bent low, inhaling their sweet scent. "How could I be? The flowers here are just as beautiful as I remember them."
"I didn't mean the scenery." He replied mildly.
"Then…" She plucked the tulip from the moist soil, brushing it lightly against her lips. "What did you mean?"
His breath at her neck was warm and his fingertips at her cheek were cold, but his sudden presence did not startle. He could be anywhere he wanted; such were the tendencies of a god.
"Either you have a certain affinity for gardening that I never knew about, or the bathhouse disappoints you to the point where you spend more time elsewhere than there."
"A lot can change in a few years time. Am I the cowardly girl that was spirited away when she was ten years old?"
"No, and neither are you the precocious child who fell into my river to try and retrieve her shoe."
"You still remember that?"
"I remember everything about you, Chihiro…"
His hands clasped against her own, bidding her rise with him. Finally she turned to greet his smoky gaze, a cool hand pressed to her cheek. She was aged, but she was the embodiment of youth and beauty. Childhood had escaped her years ago, a woman blossoming in the midst of separation. He aged to match her, yet neither would ever need to worry about such a thing again. The god pressed his forehead to hers, breathing in her scent; memorizing it for the hundredth time that day. "You made me wait for so long. I thought you would never find your way back…"
Chihiro laughed airily, their noses touching.
"I didn't think immortal souls felt time as heavily as humans did."
"Ah, but you're not human anymore."
"That's right, isn't it?"
"You're avoiding my question still."
She tilted her head back, greeting the blue sky above her. "How could I possibly be disappointed with where I am, right now, for the rest of eternity?" She closed what little distance had been left between them, burrowing her face into the crook of his neck. "I'm so glad I found my way back. I'm sorry it took so long."
The god chuckled delightedly, chest rumbling in a way that elicited the most discrete of smiles from Chihiro's lips. "I'm sorry you had to make the journey alone. Humans have to find their way here; I could not lead you, although I desperately wanted to." He pulled from her, only so he could memorize her for the hundredth time that day. A hand brushed silken strands from her eyes; the touch was affectionate. "Thank good fortune you did not come the way of death."
"You taught me better than that." She replied easily, turning to the garden once more, fingers still intertwined. "I'm overwhelmed, I think." Chihiro pulled him along, the folds of her yukata swaying gaily with the wind. The bathhouse loomed proudly in the distance as the sun kissed the rooftops. Night time was approaching with the promise of loud business ringing in her ears. He understood, following her lead through the cherry blossom orchard now.
"Responsibility?" He suggested.
"Or lack there of." She laughed. "Everyone asks me what to do, what would please me, what they can do to serve me. It's a stretch from before."
"You deserve nothing less, Chihiro." He countered firmly. "You saved them, saved me, saved Yubaba though she would never admit it." There was a moment of respective silence between them in which a silent understanding was made, fingers twined loosely together now bound tightly; holding on.
"You should get back. I think you've worried everyone long enough." She whispered gently, lips fluttering lightly at his neck. He smiled, holding her warm body close to his own. Human touch was something he would never again come to take for granted. He had always known he'd loved Chihiro, but a child's body could only feel a child's love. When he saw her again, felt his form change the moment her spirit entered his world; the physical longing he felt for her was unlike any emotion he'd ever known.
"Yes, I should. They've already begun to light the lanterns." He glanced wistfully to the falling sun, spots of light glimmering furiously in the distance. Another night of work was calling. "Walk with me?" He offered lightly, already leading her from the gardens before she could answer. Chihiro smiled brightly, a simple nod offered. They walked together in comfortable silence as the day faded behind them, street side vendors venturing out into the cool solace of a dark night. Already the square was cluttered with spirits, their massive forms towering high into the starry sky like skyscrapers from the human world, a world Chihiro had once known.
"Master Haku! You're back! And mistress Chihiro too! Where you guy's been?"
Their voices were like a train, crashing down upon them both from seemingly nowhere. Nearly every night upon their return the workers would crowd amongst them, their loud inquiries drowning out every other sound to be heard. Only until Haku dismissed them to their duties would they begin to trickle away, attention turning to that of their bemused and startled guests.
"Enough, enough. We're here now. Back to your work, our guests are waiting." Haku sighed, shooing the small congregation while expertly weaving himself and Chihiro through the main entry. The welcome hall was bright and bustling, and from every corner of the corridor, Chihiro could hear the foreman's booming, bossy voice. A thick mist swirled in the crevices of the tall ceiling while floral scents of tantalizing proportions tickled against her nose.
Haku grimaced, trained eyes scoping their loud surroundings.
"It's much busier than I expected. I'll need to make a few rounds, but afterwards-"
A finger was pressed lightly to his lips.
"I'll meet you upstairs." Chihiro cooed softly, a chaste kiss pressed to his cheek before bare feet turned expertly on the gleaming hardwood floor, sultry eyes casting a knowing look behind her shoulder as she glided away. Without looking back, Chihiro knew he would be smiling, discrete and calm. Lithe fingers found the cool oak railing of the stairs and as she ascended the levels of the bathhouse in which she now dwelled, memories of a lifetime ago playing out before her very eyes, the young woman knew. There was no disappointment in this life she was given. Human worries and pains no longer plagued her soul and years later, she could finally say she had found her way home.
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