A/N: Remember in the beginning when I talked about really random pairings? Yeah, this is one of them. Although...in the end I actually quite liked this story. I know that the way I characterize Tonio (which this was the first time I've written for him) is really different than how most people choose to portray him, but I like to imagine that under that opera facade, he's just an awkward, cute boy. Also, this story made me realize that I really like writing characters in war settings; it gives the story a sense of constant danger. Anywho, enjoy this odd couple!

Thanks to the wonderful anonymous reviwer for the review. It made me smile. :)

Song: No One But You - Mark Seibert

Couple: TonioxRin

They called her The Golden Angel.

It wasn't difficult to see what earned her that name; her short, blonde hair was in sharp contrast to almost every other girl around her that had long hair that they tied back in a loose ponytails or braids. But it wasn't just the short, blonde hair that set her apart from all the other girls.

She had huge, blue eyes that everyone swore were the same color as the sky. Everyone always claimed that it was good luck for The Golden Angel to follow you on to the battlefield; that the soldiers she treated were always the quickest to heal and she had pulled many men back from the brink of death.

Another factor that added to the mystery was the fact that she never spoke. Rumors flew that she was unable to because her tongue had been cut out or she had been beaten as a child. No one knew if any of them were true, but the possibility was one the men continued to bring up.

These were all nothing but fables, but in a time of war, stories like these helped to keep the men's moral up. They would tell them as they marched or conjure even more miraculous stories under their breath as they prepared to enter enemy territory.

Whatever the case was, with each telling of the story, it became more and more unrealistic until it was the stuff of legends.

But as one soldier watched The Golden Angel flit about treating men after their most recent bout with the enemy, he couldn't quite understand what everyone was going on about. Sure, she moved about efficiently and somehow managed to smile warmly for each soldier she treated, no matter how badly he was disfigured, but many of the other girls also did that.

When he looked at her, all he saw was a fourteen year old girl that had seen far too much death for her own good. She shouldn't have been forced to look at those soldiers and smile; she should have been at home worrying about silly, girlish things.

But the soldier knew that was never the way things worked during the war. His thoughts instantly flew to his kid sister, who was currently God-knows how many miles away, who was serving as a nurse with a different battalion. He took a moment to say a silent prayer for her and her safe return home.

"And there he goes holding the rosary to his lips once more. Let me guess, he's praying for his little sister, right?"

Ignoring the voice for a moment longer, the soldier finished his prayer and concluded with a quiet amen before he turned to the man that had sat down next to him. He couldn't help but give a smile.

"Just because you don't believe in the good Lord above doesn't mean that I don't, Leon," He said with an easy smile.

"No, it just means you're a superstitious old goat," Leon retorted as he also smiled.

"Well I guess all this superstitious old goat can do is continue to pray that the Lord will someday show him the error of his ways."

"And here we go again, talking in circles," Leon said as he threw his arms up in defeat, "Isn't that what we do every single time we sit down and talk."

"If we didn't I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have anything to talk about."

"Really? I'll take you up on that theory. What exactly are you doing out here by yourself? If I remember correctly you took a shot to the shoulder that looked pretty bad."

"It was already treated and anyways, it just grazed me," The other man responded as he subconsciously touched the place where he had been shot that was now safely wrapped in sterile gauze.

"Already?" Leon asked before a smile broke out on his face, "You must have been under the watchful gaze of The Golden Angel."

"You're talking about that too?"

"Everyone's talking about it except for you Tonio," The other man retorted.

"Well maybe, but I just don't see it," Tonio said as he once more looked down at the nursing field. The Golden Angel had moved off to smile at yet another soldier as she began examining the terrible gunpowder burns that covered his face and arms. He saw her give a dark grimace as she pulled out a small bottle. Tonio instantly recognized it as chloroform; another man was going to lose a limb.

"And what exactly do you not see?"

"How she's any different. In my opinion, she's just another fourteen year old girl that's had to face far too many horrors in her life. Sure she has blonde hair and blue eyes, but does that make her and angel?"

"So you're willing to believe in this hokey God of yours, but you won't even believe that he might have sent and angel down here to comfort us?"

"God didn't send her," Tonio answered instantly as he fiddled with the rosary around his neck, "He would never sentence a young girl to the horrors of this war."

"He sentenced your sister," came the flat reply from Leon. Tonio's hand instantly fell away from the rosary as he nervously played with grass blades that surrounded him.

"Well yes, but-"

"No buts," Leon said resolutely as he stood up and hauled his reluctant friend with him, "We're gonna test out your little theory that The Golden Angel isn't an angel at all."

"W-Wait! I never agreed to anything!" Tonio called helplessly as his much stronger friend dragged him along.

"You didn't have to agree," Leon retorted as he turned back to his friend and smiled, "I already decided that you're going to let The Golden Angel treat you and then, since you're a God fearing man and all, you'll let me know if she's a true angel or not."

"B-But!" Tonio tried once more in desperate protest, but it was too late. Leon had managed to drag him all the way to where The Golden Angel had just finished treating the man with the gun powder burns on his face. Her eyes spread slightly in surprise as she looked at the one man dragging the other reluctantly behind.

"Sorry to bother you miss," Leon said as he shoved Tonio forward, "My friend here had his shoulder patched up not that long ago and he's been complaining that it hurts. Think you could take a look at him?"

The girl's blue eyes scanned both men over until she settled on Tonio. He couldn't help but shift uncomfortably under her penetrating, unwavering gaze. Finally, she gave a nod of her head as she approached Tonio.

"Sounds good, then I'll be back when you're done," Leon said with an easy grin and a wave. Tonio only responded by giving him a deep glare.

"Ow!" Tonio suddenly said as he felt a pain shoot through his upper arm. He turned his head and looked down to see the young girl pushing gently on his shoulder. She gave a gentle smile as she indicated a patch of grass for him to sit down on.

"Oh, r-right," Tonio said as he plopped down on the grass and quickly averted his gaze from the young girl. He had never been very good at talking with girls; for reasons he couldn't quite explain, they always made him tongue tied.

"So…um…do you think it's serious?" He asked as he attempted to look at anything but the young girl that was treating him.

He got no response, not that he was expecting one, but he could feel her blue eyes looking intently at his face.

Before he realized what was going on, her hands were on the buttons of his shirt, meticulously unbuttoning each in turn.

"W-What are ya' doin' Ma'am?" He managed to stutter out as his face turned a deep shade of crimson, "I-I'm begin' your pardon, but please stop!"

The girl did stop in her unbuttoning endeavors as she looked up at the flustered and embarrassed face of her charge. Tonio wanted to punch himself; he had allowed his southern drawl to work its way out of his system.

"I-I'm sorry," He apologized quickly as he awkwardly cleared his throat, "I grew up in the south. When I get nervous I guess the accent comes back."

His hasty apology was met with a soft giggle that made him turn his head and stare. It was the first time he ever heard her laugh; he was pretty sure it was the first time anyone had ever heard her laugh. It was light and soft and fit perfectly with the image of the girl with wide, blue eyes.

Tonio found himself staring at her and his cheeks burning with a blush. She gave another giggle as she noticed his graze before she lightly tugged on his shirt and then pointed to his shoulder.

"Oh…r-right, you just wanted to get my shirt off to look at my shoulder…" Tonio said as he felt hot embarrassment run through his entire body. He watched as Rin nodded kindly, indicating that his prediction was correct. Tonio gave a nod in response and began to remove the shirt from himself. He winced as pain shot from his shoulder when he made a particularly quick movement.

The action had The Golden Angel instantly at his side as she assisted him in pulling off the last of his shirt. Tonio couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as she began to lightly poke and prod at the exposed flesh near where his wrappings were.

They continued on in this manner for a few moments longer before the young girl stood up and gave a smile and a nod of her head. Taking that as an indication of good things, Tonio snatched up his coat and began to button it once more. With each movement of his shoulder, he tried his best to hide the pain, but some shred of it always seemed to find its way to his face.

Suddenly, he felt soft hands cover his own and he felt the now familiar hot blush return to his face. He watched as the girl gave a slight shake of her head as she lightly pushed Tonio's arms down and began to button the rest of his buttons. When she reached the top on, her hands lingered for a moment and Tonio was forced to look at her.

She was staring at her hands, or rather, the red blood that painted her hands. The two of them stood locked in position for a moment before she swiftly lowered her hands and once more looked up at his face and gave an encouraging smile.

"R-Right then, thank ya' very much Ma'am," He said with a hint of his southern drawl slipping into his speech, "I…uhm…I hope that you stay well Miss…uh…"

"It's Rin."

The answer came so quickly that he wasn't sure he heard it at all, but when he looked up at her face, she was smiling calmly as she waited for her response.

"…Miss. Rin then," Tonio responded before he gave a slight nod of his head and quickly walked away. As his heart beat like crazy in his chest, he couldn't help but run her name over in his mind.

Rin.

It was a good name.

He felt the name fit her better than the title The Golden Angel ever would.

He was just on his way to find Leon and inform him that The Golden Angel, or rather Rin, wasn't as mute as everyone thought her to be when he heard the sound of a general calling. Tonio knew what that meant; it was time to line up and prepare for the next battle. Reluctantly, he supposed that his news would have to wait until the battle was done.

Tonio searched frantically amongst the fallen that littered the battle field. The battle had been so unusually swift, so brutally punishing, that he had next to no time to collect his thoughts before the battle came to an end. As he ran around the battlefield searching, his thoughts were even more scattered then they had been in the battle.

Leon; Leon was missing.

"LEON!" Tonio called desperately across the barren battlefield, "Leon! If you're there, please respond!"

He knew it was a stupid sentiment and he could feel several looks of disapproval on the faces of other soldiers around him, but it didn't bother him in the least. In his time in the army, Leon had become like a brother to him and if he could find him alive, Tonio would have gone through far greater humiliation than the one he was currently subjecting himself to.

"LEON!" He called again. His voice was more strained this time, worn down by the relentless yelling for surrogate brother. Once more, there was no response but the far off call of vultures, annoyed that people were still standing around their food supply.

He inhaled sharply and was about to yell once more when he felt a soft pressure on his hand. He turned instantly to look who it was. He saw Rin standing there with her soft blue eyes staring up at him.

"…Rin?" Tonio ventured dazedly. She seemed to be almost a phantom of the battlefield; an image that shimmered in the morning light and grew hazy the longer you tried to concentrate on it.

Without a word, she took Tonio's hand and dragged him through the battlefield. The two of them stopped a few yards off from where Tonio had been yelling. What Tonio saw there caused his heart to catch in his throat. He fell heavily to his knees as he stared at the scene before him.

No, it wasn't possible. He was the strong one; he was the one who was going to go home to the girl he had waiting for him back home.

No it was a lie; no it wasn't happening.

Without a word, he watched as Rin stepped forward and gently closed the eyes of the corpse. No, not a corpse; Leon.

In that moment, all reservations flew away and Tonio found himself crying uncontrollably. He wanted to grab the rosary around his neck and say a prayer for Leon, but all he could think about was how much Leon scoffed at the thought of prayer. He would have been annoyed if he knew that Tonio was praying for him.

He once more felt her soft touch that was quickly becoming familiar to him. He looked up at her and found her smiling sadly. The look only caused the tears to run with renewed strength down Tonio's face.

"Why aren't you allowed to cry Rin? Why do you have to be so strong? Why do I have to be the one that cries for my lost friend? I'm sure you've lost so much, but you never cry."

Each sentence was punctuated with sobs and gasping breath as Tonio fell deeper into his despair. He was vaguely aware of Rin kneeling down in front of him so that they were on eye level with one another.

"Please cry for me," She said in her soft voice, "I've seen so many horrors, I don't have any tears left to shed. So please, cry for me too."

At those words, Tonio lost all control as he took the young girl into his arms. As he held her, he couldn't help but notice how frail and thin the body was that housed such a strong heart; a heart that was so much stronger than he could ever be.

Tonio let the small bag of belongings he had fall to the floor with a soft thud. The farm house was empty, not that he had expected anyone to be there. He had been swiftly informed on his return home that his sister had been killed when she was assisting men on the battlefield and the rest of his family had been killed in one of the many raids of the southern towns.

The only thing that remained of his old life was this farm house and even that had fallen in to disrepair due to neglect. So Tonio did the only thing he could think to do.

He began to rebuild.

He worked tirelessly to rebuild not only his home, but also his life. He wanted to return the farm to its former glory in hopes that somehow, that would give him a purpose or direction in his life.

So he worked and worked for three years.

But he never forgot.

Every year on the day that the war officially ended, he would allow himself to simply rest and remember. He never wanted to forget; he couldn't forget.

He always started by recalling the battles, the horrible grizzly battles that he had managed to survive through somehow. His thoughts would quickly shift to all the places he had visited in the long march. Finally, his thoughts would settle on the people he met in his time serving in the war.

He always thought first of Leon, his war brother that had been so cruelly torn from him. He thought of how Leon should have been the one to survive all the battles.

But finally, his thoughts would settle on her; on The Golden Angel.

On Rin.

After the war ended, he never saw her again. They both went their separate ways and he currently had no idea where she was. Sometimes he contemplated running and finding her and taking her in his arms just like the first time he had held her. But, his courage always waned and he would return to his simple life as Tonio, a farmer's son who would do anything to recover his father's farm.

Each year, he would close out the night with a simple drink in honor of all those who had fallen.

On the third year, the ritual proceeded as normal and he finished off his drink. As he looked over the rim of his glass at the door, he nearly dropped the glass in shock.

It wasn't possible; he had to be dreaming.

But she stood there, her huge blue eyes staring at him.

In the three years since he had seen her, she had grown considerably from the fourteen year old she once was. Her hair was longer and now fell just past her shoulders. But her eyes, those blue eyes, remained exactly the same.

"…Rin?" He ventured quietly as he took a cautious step towards her, afraid that the apparition would dissipate if he approached.

But she remained there and she gave a gentle smile; a gentle smile Tonio remembered so well.

Tonio felt pure joy rush through him as he quickly closed the gap between the two of them and encircled her in a tight, warm hug. If he had a choice, he would have never let her go. But suddenly, he felt her small frame begin to shake within his grasp.

It was then he realized that she was crying.

"I'm so glad to see you again," She said between her sobs, "I'm so, so glad. I've missed you so much."

"But…why are you crying? I-I thought you didn't have tears to cry anymore," Tonio said wonderingly as he continued to hold her.

She gently detangled herself from his grasp as she looked up at him with tear-filled blue eyes and her gentle smile that Tonio knew and, he realized for the first time, loved.

"I'm not crying because I'm sad; I'm crying because I'm happy; I'm crying because I found you after so many years."

"You're…crying because…you love me?" Tonio ventured.

He wasn't even given the benefit of a nod of the head as she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. The two of them stood wrapped in each other's embrace as the girl who never cried wept with joy and the soldier that had cried far too much held her closely knowing that he would never let her go.