999 Doves
Chapter 2
A/N Here's the second installment. Though there were not many views or comments or favorites, I wanted to get this out there. And while writing this chapter, I realized there were no such things as voice recorders back in that era so please ignore that fact and pretend there were. ^.^ Hope you enjoy!
"Do you, Maria Merryweather, take—?
"Maria."
Heads instantly turned and sighted an out-of-breath Robin. Sweat trailed down his temple to his neck and his fist clenched when he saw them at the altar.
Maria's heart stopped for a moment.
"Robin," Daniel grinned, though, he was evidently annoyed, "We're sort of in the middle of a ceremony." Maria and his hands were joined together, ready to say their committal vows.
Robin looked at Daniel, then at Maria, then back to Daniel, then at their hands. "I'm sorry…I'm late."
Daniel blinked. "Uh…that's okay. Just…take a seat."
"No."
Before anyone could protest, Robin stalked to the couple and grabbed Maria's wrist and pulled her from Daniel's grasp. "We need to talk," He demanded with a fumbling Maria in tow. She struggled and pulled against him.
"Robin! What are you doing? I'm about to get married!" Her eyes burned with impatience which quickly evolved into rage.
Robin halted and whirled around. His speed made Maria stumble and almost trip. "I don't care. We need talk." His expression burned against hers, their eyes like two flames intertwining together.
"Come on, Robin. We're in a middle of the wedding. Can't you talk to her at the reception or something?" Daniel tried to reason. He always tried to reason; it was a weakness.
Robin secretly smirked. He never could handle conflict. Maybe that's why father wanted to quickly rid of him back then.
"I would find a way of talking to her even when all of us are about to die," he confidently stated. Maria's tugs temporarily weakened but she continued struggling.
Knowing both their stubbornness wouldn't end, Daniel grabbed onto Maria's open hand and, as gentle as he could, tugged.
The guest grew concerned over the three fools playing tug-of-war. Benjamin looked as though he wanted to pounce on the two males and wring their necks. Luckily, Loveday was there holding him back and whispering words of doubtful reassurance. The others stared and were prepared to break them apart if it was necessary.
"Robin, please let go," Daniel politely asked. It was a little too polite if you asked anyone there at that moment.
Robin's gripped tightened, glowering. "Why don't you let go first, Daniel?" He mocked, faux gentleness seeping through his voice.
"I insist. You let go before me."
Robin scowled. "I swear, don't make me make you let go."
Daniel observed the two—the ire in Robin's posture and the fire in Maria's snarl. Their demeanors, though different, still held the almost rueful hue to it. Like two colors of thread entangled together. Like a braided cord.
He suddenly grinned. With the most dramatic raise of the arms, he dropped Maria's hand. "All right."
Maria's eyes widened.
He turned around so his back was facing Robin and her.
The crowd froze and a loud commotion rang out. People were yelling and shouting at them.
"What are you doing, Robin?! Let her go!"
"Daniel! Are you senile or something? You need your bride to get married!"
With a shriek, Maria was dragged down the aisle in the opposite direction by Robin.
"Daniel! What…are you doing?" She gasped. Her face paled and fright crawled up her spine.
Shaking his head, Daniel spoke, his voice almost lost in the roaring swarm. "It's simple. I'm letting you go."
With a last plead Maria yelled, she and Robin left the church. While everybody was in his or her own state of panic and ignorance, he or she didn't notice the lone tear that slowly trailed down Daniel's cheek.
He was weak, but strength in this act was unbearable.
Robin…thank you for saving me from your father. After all, I owed you one.
"YOU…YOU BASTARD!" They had rounded the church and were now standing at the edge of the forest. It almost felt like everything always leads to the forest.
"Maria, list—
"Let me go right this instant, Robin De Noir! Let me go!" she snapped indignantly. Breathing heavily, she tried to scratch Robin's hands that held her wrist. Instinctively, he captured both wrists with his hands.
"Not until you calm down."
Maria spitefully snorted. "You didn't seem very calm when you threatened my fiancée."
Robin glared at her. "Maria—
"You couldn't have picked a better time to talk to me. The reception is definitely not the absolute perfect time to converse about whatever serious subject that needed attention right—
"Liar," Robin darkly hissed.
With the strength of a lion, Maria forcefully tugged her wrist free and massaged them. His tight grip had already turned them red. "What are you talking about?"
"You said I should marry someone I loved. Just like you're marrying for love, right?"
Her eyes widened and she lowered her gaze then raised it again. Her anger dissipated. "Well, yes." She began playing with her fingers behind her back. "So?"
Robin suddenly grew a little anxious. As his expression changed, he fished out the piece of paper from his pants. Unfolding the dove before her eyes, he held out the newly opened origami. He held it out to her palm.
Her throat dried.
.
.
I love you.
.
.
Tears immediately rose to her eyes. She raised her hand to hide her twitching lip. "How…how did you find out?" A tear fell. "I hid it…for so long…and so well." She couldn't look into his eyes.
Robin stared at the girl in front of him. Here she was, dressed in a highly sophisticated wedding dress, with a groom waiting in the church, and a crowd of expectant people waiting to see the Moon Princess wedded. He did something impulsive. This whole ordeal was based on the feelings he cannot say.
But even though all of this was rash, it was too late to stop now.
"Follow me," He whispered to her. Maria hesitantly obliged while biting her lip. They trekked through the woods and she was attempting to shield her face from the incoming tears that were on the edge of falling—
.
.
"Robin—
When they arrived, the ethereal sight of the paper doves she crafted where all there, resting elegantly on almost all the branches of a single tree.
Now the tears that were originally going to be small, fattened and rolled down her cheeks at a fast rate. She was blubbering and trying her hardest to stop.
Robin noticed this but kept his plan in mind. His expression, however, softened.
"I lied," he simply said.
They both gazed at the tree that held so many untold secrets and feelings.
"What—why…why did you keep them?" she cautiously asked. "I—you told me that—
"I don't know," he whispered as he darted his gaze to anywhere but her eyes. "I just kept one and I guess they started piling up." He took a deep breath. "When I left every hunting trip, I brought them with me…"
"Why?" Maria whispered, her tone timid and soft and anxious.
"Be…because I…liked them."
Just because he liked them.
"Only because…you liked them," she repeated, a frown growing. Not because of anything remotely personal, only because he liked them.
Maria's eyes hardened. "I don't have time for this. I need to get back to my wedding." She turned to leave.
Grabbing her shoulder, Robin swiveled her around, his eyes still looking anywhere but her face. "I know. You should get back to Daniel. I've…I've ruined both his and your day. I just wanted…I just wanted to tell you the reason I kept them," he explained, a mournful edge to his words.
At this, fresh tears flowed from her eyes. And all he could do was watch as sobs racked through Maria's body. Her wedding was today and she was crying because of him. He gave her sadness on, supposedly, the happiest day of her life.
Her happiness was not supposed to be with him. Her happiness was with…Daniel.
That's right.
He was only her first crush but Daniel…Daniel was her first love. A past and a future. Which would she choose? Robin already knew the answer.
But throughout the past, she kept giving him those paper doves. They were dated back when she first confessed to him. That had been three years ago. Three years wasn't that long ago. Was…was she able to move on in that amount of time?
Robin shook his head.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, his teeth gritted. "Maria…I thought…" His fists were clenched so tightly inside his pocket that they probably could've been swollen. "I thought…maybe…"
He breathed a hollow sigh. He felt guilty for the selfishness he held. The desire for the things he rejected in the past. But that rejection turned into a flame, that eventually dwindled into a wish—a wish that was kept between the shadow and the soul.
.
.
"I came to tell you that I love you!"
.
.
"I'm sorry, Maria. I can't accept your love…it wouldn't be fair to you. Please…give it to someone else."
.
.
It would remain a wish. Forever.
He lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry. I've ruined everything." His voice cracked at the end. "I thought…well, I assumed too irrationally…that…"
A pause.
A breath.
"…that you loved me."
Maria's breath hitched as her heart sped up.
Ba-dump.
Ba-dump.
With the last ounce of courage he had, Robin forced himself to look her in the eyes. She was staring at him, body frigid and mouth opened hanging open a centimeter. Slowly, he reached up to cup her cheek, the lingering wetness of her tears still resided on her face.
Ruefully, he lowered his hand and gaze, his curls growing long enough that they covered his stare. It was painful and harrowing. And all Maria did was stare at him with watery eyes, smudged makeup, and a gorgeous wedding gown.
"I'll bring you back to him."
He turned around, but before he began walking he turned his head around. "Do you hate me, Maria?" He wouldn't meet her eyes.
"No."
He gave her a sad smile. "Good. I don't want you to hate me."
"Why are you doing this, Robin?"
Why? All this…is for what reason?
He turned around so he could face her. "I don't know." These words would have to be said face-to-face. "But I know…with you, I can be happy."
She gasped.
"Only with you."
Robin walked towards her and gingerly lifted her hand. "I want to be the most important person to you and vise-versa."
No reply.
"…Or at least someone you can rely on."
Her lack of reaction stabbed him a hundred times. His hands tightened around hers and he dropped his stare down to the muddy ground. His heart felt…heavy. Even though he always knew, it hurts even more in person.
"…Robin."
He bit his tongue.
"I said it nine-hundred and ninety-nine times," she whispered.
He breathed an inaudible sigh as his fist clenched.
Suddenly, his hands were being lifted by Maria's. She raised them to her mouth and gave him a feathery kiss. It was light and gentle but gave off the feel of fierceness. Just like the person she was.
Raising his head, he just watched. Maria's eyes were closed and when she finally broke the kiss, auburn eyes connected with his. The initial warmth her lips gave him was gone and he yearned, desired it even more now.
She softly smiled at him. It was beautiful. Like an incandescent candle illuminating the solitude he's kept for so long. A light in the forest, a flame in the night. She retracted her hands from his and reached down into her dress pocket.
He stared at her, waiting.
"And I'll say it again."
She gave him a small smirk as she held out her hand. There, clasped between her index and middle finger, was a white paper dove.
A smirk grew on his lips.
.
.
Is 999 enough times to say I love you?
.
.
She smiled again at him as the sunlight crept through the clouds, enveloping both of them in a harmonious glow. The breeze blew her hair to the side and Robin swore she has never looked so beautiful.
With a giggle, she said the words that were folded ever since she was thirteen-years-old.
.
.
"I love you."
.
.
1000 times.
Maybe 999 times is enough for most, but for them, it had to be 1000.
.
.
But who cares?
It's their love they had for each other.
.
.
Two years have passed.
He watched from a distance as his lover sat on the swing that was connected that single tree. He had created that swing so she could comfortably rest underneath the things she worked so hard on. Whenever she looked up, all one thousand paper doves were above her.
Almost like a field of daisies.
Smirking, he observed Maria attempting to sew socks that had a picture of a robin plastered on it. Her eyebrows were set into a line of concentration as she bit her lip. The robins honestly looked like a brown lump. "But it's the thought that counts," she would always say to him.
She suddenly dove the needle into the sock and poked her index finger. "Ow!" He couldn't help but snicker. She was always so bad at domestic skills. Her cooking was awful—only the ice cream she made was delicious.
"Stupid needle," she growled. Annoyed, she sucked her finger while glaring at the socks and needle.
Recalling the reason he had come to his beau, he stepped out from behind a tree and approached the frustrated Moon Princess. Since he was a trained hunter, his footsteps were inaudible as he ambled with talented grace.
"Boo," he whispered into her ear.
She squealed and almost fell off the swing if it was not for Robin who steadied her. He was chuckling as she scowled at him.
"Robin! I told you not to do that."
"But you're just too innocent."
Her eyes widened in challenge. "Oh, I'll show you innocent…" She rose from the swing and was about to pounce when Robin stopped her.
"I didn't come here to wrestle." Maria snorted but willingly sat back down on the swing. In reality, she wasn't about to jump on Robin with a probable Mrs. Heliotrope peering out the window.
"Then what did you come here for? Other than to see me, of course." She teased with a playful smile.
Robin attempted to appear as calm as possible. It was now or never. His cheeks flushed slightly as he thrust an object into her hands. Startled, she stared at Robin then at the object.
A pause.
A blink.
Robin, the heir to the De Noir throne, the strongest of hunters, had given her—
"A music box!" She squealed joyfully. It was so simple, so elegant, and so…cute! Who could've known the Robin De Noir would be able to gift someone something so adorable.
Robin just watched as Maria started inspecting its details and engravings. "Thank you, Robin!" she exclaimed while subconsciously opening the music box and turning the handle.
A soft, simple tune began playing. It was short but held so much melancholy between each note. Then, when the song was about to finish, a recording, clear as if it was real, spoke.
"I love you."
Her mouth gaped and her eyes widened. She momentarily stopped spinning the handle, and then started again. The same tune played and when the end arrived—
"I love you."
That voice…that voice was so familiar. That husky, low, deep tenor…
As she began playing it again, a snort was heard from above. Quickly spinning around and raising her head, Maria spotted a Bird Boy resting on one of the branches surrounded by paper doves.
Shrugging, she sat back down on the swing and continued playing the music box.
"Stop it, Maria," Robin whined.
She chortled. "Of course not. It's not every day you give me a voice-recorded music box." She tried to sound nonchalant, but inside, she was jumping with delight. After years of making paper doves, he had finally said it back to her. Perhaps it was not face-to-face all the time, but it's the thought that counts.
"If you keep playing it, you'll get tired of the tune soon."
She smiled. "No, I'll never get tired of anything about it."
Dropping the music box in her pocket, she clumsily climbed the tree to the branch Robin was sitting on. Grabbing the music box, she turned to him. "Thank you."
He nodded and turned his head away. At least he was expecting more than simple words of gratitude. Maybe…a kiss would've sufficed at that moment. His inflated ego had been wounded with an effortless thank you.
Then, the corners of his lips lifted when Maria carefully wrapped her arms around his midsection. "Robin," she began, "I love you too." Her whisper was reacted with a haughty smirk.
"Then," he flatly stated, "Marry me."
Her arms grew slack and eventually let go. Her heart pounded in her ribcage. "Was that…a proposal?"
"No."
"No?" Maria repeated. "Then what was it?"
Giving another conceited smirk, Robin simply replied. "An order."
A pause.
"Why?"
Robin stared at her quizzically. "Why what?"
"Why do you want me to marry you?" she asked, eyes searching.
He was silent. The world stopped, anticipating his words. Abruptly, he reached for the music box and began spinning the handle, the same tune playing with the same words said:
"I love you."
Before Maria could say anything, he handed the box back to her. His eyes lowered. "And because…it's finally fair to you."
She looked at him, confused. "It's finally…fair to me?"
"Yes."
And she finally remembered.
.
.
"I came to tell you that I love you!"
.
.
"I'm sorry, Maria. I can't accept your love...it wouldn't be fair to you. Please…give it to someone else."
.
.
She softly smiled. "Oh, Robin." She giggled and wrapped her arms around again. In reply, he enveloped her in the same warmth, his chin resting above her head. The music box was in Maria's hands as she began spinning the handle again.
The melancholy tune and paper doves were surrounding them in the secrets that no longer hid between the shadow and the soul.
"This is perfect timing, actually," she giddily said, "I just knitted you a pair of socks for our wedding day!"
.
.
.
.
Just spin the handle.
And you'll know.
.
.
Spin it 1001 times.
You'll know how I feel about you.
.
.
.
.
"I folded you one thousand paper doves. I won."
"I gave you a music box that was probably worth a lot more than one thousand pieces of paper."
"Yes, but you didn't even make the box."
"But you still loved it anyway."
A sigh. "You got me there."
A smirk. "See. I win."
"You're very clever."
"I know."
"And arrogant."
A snort.
"But…I love you anyway."
"I know."
A pointed look.
A sigh. "And I…
.
.
.
.
"I love you too."
A/N Awwww, wasn't that cute? I really enjoyed writing this. Anyway, please follow and favorite and comment. It really motivates me to keep writing! Plus, I really enjoy writing one and two-shots.
Bonus points to people who understood the shadow and soul reference.
I was also thinking about adding an extra chapter that explains the situation about Daniel and Robin. Who knows, maybe I will.
Also, for the tune of the music box, I was thinking it would be the tune "Lost my Pieces" from the anime Toradora. I love that OST so much and Toradora is such a good anime.
Thank you for reading!
-Donutbird