Notes: I'm sorry for how long this took for me to post; I will try to have new parts up in a day since I'm leaving on vacation on Saturday and I have no idea if I'll have internet access while I'm gone.
Title: Paper Lanterns
Pairing: Delic/Hibiya
Part: II. Waiting and Dreaming
Words: 2349 words
Prompt: I JUST WATCHED TANGLED AND NOW I WANT A TANGLED X DURARARA CROSSOVER. SOMEONE MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Disclaimer: It's not mine. It all belongs to others who I am in no way associated with and I make nothing from writing this, got it? I don't own the song either...

II. Waiting and Dreaming

Morning dawned bright and early each day, light creeping in from the cracks in the curtains of Hibiya's bedroom. He yawned and blinked before climbing out of bed.

And nearly tripping over the long length of his hair.

Grumbling out a couple of complaints, Hibiya sighed and bent over to straighten out his hair as he yawned again and stretched. He sighed and grabbed his brush off the bedside table; breakfast and chores could wait, he wanted to make sure that his hair was free of tangles. His mother wouldn't accept anything less when she returned later that day.

He smiled a little at the thought as he started running his brush through his hair. Even if it was a little annoying sometimes, Namie loved his hair and always insisted on brushing it and singing the song to invoke its powers. She said she found it relaxing and that it calmed her after a long day of work – and it did seem to rejuvenate her, so Hibiya saw no reason to complain.

It took him the better part of an hour to brush his hair completely. Hibiya slung it over his shoulder before leaving his room for the main part of the tower to tidy up and do a few other chores; being on his own for so long meant that he'd begun establishing something of a routine for every day to keep himself entertained and occupied. Sometimes Namie would take the results of he's hobbies into town to sell.

He always felt a certain surge of pride whenever she complimented him on his skills. It hurt to think about letting her down or disappointing her.

Throwing open the curtains of the window seat, Hibiya could see the sun cresting over the cliffs which walled in the clearing around his tower. The sky was painted a myriad of shades of dark blue, violet, orange and red; it was rather pretty and Hibiya wondered if he'd have enough room on the tower walls to be able to paint it. There was just something about sunrises that really reverberated inside of himself.

With a sigh, he tore his gaze away from the window and back to the main room of the tower. There was so much that he had to do...

"Well, let's get started!" he chirped to no one in particular.

Maybe there were some disadvantages to spending so much time up in this tower by himself, there was no one to talk to.

Chores were mind-numbingly repetitive, leaving Hibiya's thoughts to wander as he swept the floor of the tower, trying to keep his hair out of the way; he didn't want to have to wash it again. That was just too big of a pain and Hibiya hated it.

Humming to himself as he swept, then mopped the floor, Hibiya threw open the shutters of the tower to let in fresh air and some sunlight. Outside he could hear birds chirping and the wind rusting the grass and the leaves in the trees, such lovely and relaxing sounds.

Sighing, he went back to his chores. The only problem was that no matter how hard he tired to focus on them, he just couldn't. He got them done alright, but they couldn't stop the rather morbid turn that his thoughts had taken.

Turning to one of his paintings, he touched the wall it was painted on, "I'll be eighteen in three days. I wonder if she'll let me go."

With a frown, Hibiya glared at the wall, "Oh, who am I asking? She won't let me... but maybe if I ask nicely...?"

Glancing up at the walls, covered with paintings that went back years – and Hibiya winced at some of the older ones, maybe he should think about fixing some of those? – Hibiya sighed. He'd spent nearly eighteen years of his life dreaming and wondering what the outside world was like.

And those lights...

Hibiya smiled to himself, "Well, that's one thing to look forward to I guess."

Turning away from the wall, Hibiya made sure that everything had been dusted – going over a few areas that he convinced himself he must have missed on his first sweep of the tower – before returning to that one blank space just above the mantel.

Frowning, he tilted his head to the side. What could he paint there?

An idea hit him. "I know!"

Stowing away his cleaning supplies, Hibiya ran over to the small cupboard in which he kept all of his art supplies. He pulled out a sketch pad and several charcoal pencils and colored bottles of ink before settling down on the window seat, staring at the expanse of blank wall in front of him.

First you plan what you want, then you do it.

Already there was an idea in his head, he wasn't sure where it came from, but he quickly sketched out a couple of guidelines, the rough shape of the blank wall and what he wanted to fit into it, before he started.

Rough outlines took form under his pencil, first a couple of trees to mark the horizon, the cliffs in the background... the water reflecting the lights which floated up into what would be the darkness of the sky, and those lights that he always saw on his birthday.

As the image took shape, Hibiya wondered about those lights. Each year he would sneak out to the tower's entrance and throw open the shudders to watch them float up into the night sky. He didn't know what their significance was or even what they were, but he couldn't help but feel that they were special. That, just maybe, they were meant for him.

It was a weird and silly thought, he didn't know where he got it from.

He spent the rest of the morning planning out how he was going to spend his afternoon; his picture gradually took shape until he finally put the final touches to the colouring. Lying it down on the seat to let the ink dry, he got up and stretched.

"Lunch time I guess."

There wasn't much in the cupboards, Namie had gone into town for groceries two days earlier. If Hibiya's estimations were correct, then she would be home sometime later in the afternoon or early evening.

"And... maybe this time if I ask, she'll let me go."

– –

"Hibiya! I'm home!" Namie called up.

There was a thud as Hibiya stumbled off the window seat, "Coming mother!"

"Well hurry up! I'm not getting any younger down here! You had better not being doing something stupid!"

Golden hair spilled over the sill, Hibiya hooking it into the make-shift pulley system that his mother had devised once his hair was long enough to do so. He couldn't really remember what she did before, maybe she really was a witch and teleported up? And his hair was enchanted, so it wasn't too much of a wild guess.

Hauling her up, Hibiya sighed. He knew what was coming next.

"I don't know why you take so long to do that," Namie said as she climbed into the tower. "It's not like there's anything more important than making sure your mother gets home alright."

"I'm sorry. I was just–"

"Not right now Hibiya, mother's feeling a little tired," Namie waved him off, flopping down into one of the chairs near the window. Almost instantly, though, she leaned forward and began inspecting her appearance. "Oh, I look so old..."

Hibiya gave a small smile, "You look lovely mother, just like always."

Waving him over, Namie continued, "Nonetheless, do you think you could be so kind to your mother as to sing a little? I'm awfully tired..."

"Right!"

It took a little bustling, but Hibiya found his stool and retrieved the brush from his room and plopped the stool down in front of Namie as he handed her the brush. Taking his seat, he took a deep breath and began to sing.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine... make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine..."

As he sang, his hair began to glow a brilliant shade of gold. Quickly, Namie began to run the brush through the locks; Hibiya could feel that but ignored it and focused on his song. He knew that if he wanted to ask his mother something, he first had to make sure that she was in a good mood... and if he was lucky, than she might just be willing to agree to his request.

He loved his mother, really he did, but there were times where he felt that she was just a little too over-protective. True, his hair was special, and if it was cut it would lose its power and this was something that needed to be protected, but he couldn't help but think that the entire world couldn't be this ugly place that she painted it to be...

There had to be wonderful people out there just like her. He was sure of it.

The glow from his hair faded as the last notes of the song died out into nothing. Namie ran the brush through Hibiya's hair a few more times before she let out a small sigh and set the brush aside, fingers running through the long blond hair of her son.

"Feel better now mother?" Hibiya asked, turning to smile at her.

Returning the smile, Namie nodded, "Yes, much better. And I have a surprise for you!"

"Really?" He couldn't help it, he brightened up.

"Yes! Tonight I'm going to make your favourite meal for supper tonight! How does that sound?"

His mother sounded so cheerful; it took a considerable amount of effort for Hibiya to keep his smile in place and not let it fall. After all, he'd just gotten his hopes up for nothing... and now he was going to be asking a question that was potentially going to upset her. He did feel a little bit guilty for that.

"That sounds great, and um... I..."

Namie gave him a hard look as she stood up and hustled over to the kitchen to start unloading his basket, "Speak up Hibiya, you know I hate when you stutter like that!"

Taking a deep breath, Hibiya began, "Well, it's just that my birthday is coming up–"

"That can't be right–"

"– and I was wondering if you'd take me–"

"– your birthday was last month–"

"– to see those floating lights."

Silence hung in the hair for several long moments as Hibiya's request sunk in. The young man fidgeted just a little with his hands, watching his mother for any signs of an outburst of sorrow that her son was tired of her company and just wanted to leave. It really wasn't that; all Hibiya wanted was to go and see the lights. That was it.

"What." Namie had frozen, she turned slowly to stare at her son; there was a look of stone cold fury in her eyes. "What did you just say?"

"That I was hoping you would take me to see the floating lights," Hibiya murmured softly, quickly averting his eyes to stare at the floor. I knew this was a bad idea.

"No. That's out of the question. You're not leaving this tower."

Hibiya chewed his lip, "Please? It doesn't have to be far–"

"NO!" Namie snapped, rounding on Hibiya sharply, making the young man jump. She sighed, "What have I told you before?"

"That the world is a dark and cruel place and that I need to stay in this tower for my own protection," Hibiya recited. He had the entire lecture memorized by no, with how frequently it had been given. His shoulders sagged, "I know that, but..."

"Oh... I'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you my dear..." Namie cooed gently, sweeping her son into an embrace, smiling as he returned it. She ran her fingers through his hair comfortingly. "I just worry so much about you... I just want what's best for you after all."

"I'm sorry too," Hibiya murmured. "I didn't mean to upset you, I just..."

"It's alright my dear, you won't ask again, right?" There was that tone that brokered no argument; Hibiya knew it too well.

He let out a sigh and nodded, "I promise."

"Good!" Namie chirped, pulling away from the embrace and practically skipping back into the kitchen. "Now, go get cleaned up for dinner! It'll be ready shortly!"

"Okay."

Dinner was a quiet affair, with Hibiya asking his mother a few questions about how her trip went and the like. As though she was guilty, Namie offered quite nicely to go on a longer trip to fetch a 'special surprise' for Hibiya's eighteenth birthday after apologizing almost profusely for nearly forgetting about his birthday. He figured that it was better to indulge her on that, and he was kind of curious about what the surprise could be.

Much later that night, once Namie had retired for the night, Hibiya slipped from bed and made his way to the window seat where he'd left his drawing from earlier in the day. He hadn't gotten a chance to start on the actual painting, and now... he wasn't sure if he could ever manage it.

Plopping down onto the seat, he glanced out at the night sky, covered with countless sparkling stars. He gazed up at them and sighed before looking back at his drawing.

You must never leave this tower Hibiya; it's for your own safety.

Hibiya sighed and glanced out the window, pressing a hand up against it, "But I'm lonely..."

.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.

Hopefully I'll be able to post at least one more part before I leave for vacation, so you have that to look forward to. Ugh, I am so behind on updates that it isn't funny... .

Twilight.