When Nita saw Ronan she had to press her fist to her mouth to keep from crying out. He was asleep, after all. But the sight of him lying there immobile made her cringe. She crept to his side on achingly arched feet and sat down gently, careful not to wake him. Andrea had had the good sense to remain outside the hut, and Nita appreciated her tact. Now, taking a closer look at Ronan, she realized he wasn't as bad off as she had originally thought. The warm sunset colors blurred the outline of the gash on his forehead, making it look softer, less garish. The color had invaded his cheeks, and his eyelids flickered as he slept. Without thinking, Nita reached out to trace with her fingertips the cut and was surprised by the feverish feel of his skin. She drew her hand back slightly, haltingly, but it was too late.
With the quickness of someone who has been awakened suddenly from the abyss of sleep, Ronan's eyes were open. Nita froze, and he grabbed her hand. Pulled it back towards his face. Nita followed. He was beautiful in this light, his sharp cheekbones softened, his eyes glittering. With an unexplainable strength and caution he pulled her towards him and kissed her. Lightly, but with a hint of a challenge in it. Why can't we finish what we started?
Unbidden, the image of Kit burst into Nita's mind. His laughing brown eyes and clever hands. His seriousness when there was a problem to be solved. His temper tantrums. His moodiness. The way he looked at her when he hadn't seen her in a while, as though she was something marvelous. His stubbornness. His way of backing of her up always and completely. He never knew when to quit, even when he should. Sometimes that frustrated Nita more than anything. And others it made her ache with love with him, so that she thought her heart might break out of its ivory cage once and for all.
Gasping, Nita broke the kiss. She turned away from Ronan so that he wouldn't see the tears slipping down her cheeks.
"Hey," he said, his voice impossibly gentle, "look at me."
She did. And there was no anger in his face, only acceptance. "Hey. That question you asked me before, do you still need an answer?" Nita trembled all over. "No," she whispered, and hung her head.
Ronan smiled, a bit sadly maybe, and took her hand. "It's okay," he assured her, and Nita knew that it wasn't. But someday, maybe, it might be.
A/N: A filler maybe, but a necessary one. Besides, I like it. And I haven't written anything in so long, you guys probably thought I'd given up….but I haven't! The end is in sight, however. I'd say next three chapters or so.