6/30—First sunlight after the darkness
She was breathing. She was breathing.
She could feel the rich texture of air as it slid gently through her nose, down to inner, deeper parts of her that she will never see. Each breath eased her onto full consciousness. She dared to open her eyes to see... nothing. A sigh escaped her lips. Wasn't this situation all too familiar?
Perhaps this time, she was actually dead. One could hope.
She closed her eyes again and felt for her heartbeat. Yep, still there. A wry smile appeared on her lips. She knew what to look for next; she lifted one hand and placed it on her abdomen. There you are. On her abdomen was a very warm arm that held her under the blanket. She rubbed the unfamiliar texture against her fingers then turned to where his head must be.
"You're awake." He whispered and his hot breath sent tingles on the exposed skin of her neck. He sounded really close, which should be no surprise for her. Since she met him he was never too far away. "How long was I out?" She was surprised with how steady her voice sounded.
Her nose was tickled by his hair as he shifted until she could feel the complete length of his body against hers. "I don't know. Doesn't matter, you needed rest." One arm, she finally noticed, had been under her neck. He shifted to a more comfortable position, brought his nose closer to her and breathed in.
It surprised her just how much she enjoyed just being held. She sighed. She felt him press his lips on the exposed skin of her collarbone and shuddered. When was the last time someone embraced her like this?
Never.
A stray thought directed her to one special night under the Highwind, before AVALANCHE went off to fight a battle they were not sure they would win. Cloud had let her lean against him and held her as a lover would. It was an intimate gesture from the normally stoic swordsman, but it did not have the intimacy with which Genesis held her now.
It didn't even come close.
A sob escaped her lips.
"Sshhh... You're ok now. I won't let anyone hurt you." She felt him press her more firmly against her. His nose nuzzled against her skin.
She sighed and tried to calm her nerves. "You know, I... I... a-almost died again."
"It's becoming a habit for you isn't it?" he said as he turned his head and kissed the crown of her head.
Her answering laugh was lost in a hiccup. "O-one day it will just happen. It won't matter."
Suddenly she was enveloped in a tight embrace. She could feel desperation, desire and something else from the way he held her... something she couldn't quite place. "Goddess..." he murmured against her hair. "When I thought you were dying, I thought to myself, I can't lose her yet. I haven't even seen her under sunlight..."
She snorted but kept her head tucked under his. "Are your eyes that bad? You need the sun to see how I look like?"
He laughed and the vibrations felt nice against her body. "Cheeky girl. Listen, this is important to me." His tone changed and he held her closer. "I know that we can't go up to the surface. The passageways are blocked and there may not be anything left up there to come back to... but one day, we will."
She could only listen as him carefully, at the promise behind his words. "And when that happens, I want to be there. I want to share that first sunlight after all this darkness with you."
The smile that she came upon her features was small, but in the darkness and in his eyes, it shone as brightly as the sun.
Updating again! I'm glad ff net's problems are fixed now because I waited quite a long time to post that last chapter up!
Thank you as usual, to shynsei (hey, my writings are safe for work... so far. can't promise it won't change though, heheh), compa16 and xxDarkAssassinxx (thank you for reviewing every chapter! your words of encouragement go a long way :D), xPhiieebeex and Carrie88 (I bend to your will of updating quickly). Till next time dears! :)
