Vision of Escaflowne: Soulmates
Written by: Meghanna Starsong
"Chapter Twenty-Six"
Standard Disclaimer: Escaflowne is copyright to its creator, Shoji Kawamori, owners, and distributors. I am not making any money off of this fanfiction. None of the Escaflowne characters are mine, although I have inserted my own creations into this universe as well. Please do not steal my original characters or use them without my permission. This is a continuation of Escaflowne the series after Episode 26.
The very talented fire-lemur graciously took up the task of making "Soulmates" a proper cover. (Thank you so much! ^_^) This beautiful piece is based on a scene from Ch.22 where Van plummets from the sky and saves Hitomi. (You can also see the Dragseye in her hand if you look close!) To view a large version of the artist's impressive work, which is absolutely stunning, please visit (without the *'s): https**:/**imgur.**com/**E76R2tu.
If you're interested in more of her artwork or requesting a commission, I recommend checking out fire-lemur's professional portfolio at (without the *'s): https**:/**starcarrot.**com.
Author's Notes: Since thepinkmartini asked, and because Part I was a while ago for us all at this point, allow me to briefly go over this story's timeline. Hitomi and Van during the series are fifteen-years-old, with her birthday being in December and his in April. So, in my head, she's older by four months. When Hitomi returns to Japan at the end of the anime, they remain mind-linked. In Ch.1, Hitomi has faded over the course of the following year with PTSD/depression. When they are sixteen, Van seals off their bond, and Hitomi finally seeks treatment from a psychiatrist.
"Soulmates" opens with Hitomi at the age of eighteen just after her high school graduation. The 2nd chapter picks up in her junior year of college, making Van and her twenty. By the time we are in the 3rd chapter, five total years have passed since Hitomi's stint on Gaea. That's where we are now; our favorite couple are on the latter end of twenty, five years from where the series left off.
Oh, and just for fun, I thought I'd share what songs from the Escaflowne soundtrack helped inspire this chapter. (Music can really add to a mood, after all!) The first half was split between "Neko no Kimochi" and "Deja Blue." For the Van and Hitomi section, the songs were "Hitomi theme," "Eyes," "If You," and "Memory of Fanelia."
Edited: 12/7/2018
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After slithering into the clean dress supplied by Berta, Hitomi yanked open the stubborn washroom window, the hinges almost squawking. Billows of muggy steam, the remnants of her bath, undulated out of it. She propped her elbows on the wood sill, barefoot in the empty, damp tub. With an autumn breeze nipping her nose, she gazed at the deserted cobbled street below and the row of multihued stores, some with their windows lit. By day, the shopping district was quaint and picturesque, catering to a more prosperous clientele than the rest of the night market.
But what disturbed her was nobody was about, not a single soul afoot, when there should be. Because of the Demons, she comprehended, shivering.
She toweled off her feet, put on her socks and running shoes, and ambled back to the quarters she'd shared with Merle. Judging from the secondhand furniture and the odd number of rooms, the store's upper level functioned as temporary lodging for the Wolves. Like the linens she'd slept on, the upstairs smelled musty and carried a hint of animal musk. The beds Ruhm had volunteered that morning were really just narrow, hard cots, adequate but entirely uncomfortable. She kneaded her lower back, wistfully reminiscing about the rustic charms of Arzas and the homey bungalows there.
Once more in the room she'd woken up in, Hitomi stretched and took stock of her possessions: the pendant, an oil stain outlined in gold; her tarot cards, all accounted for and unmarred; the earrings from her loved ones on Earth; and the mysterious Dragseye dagger with its ruby. All these objects had survived the night's excitement. The only thing missing was the dagger's worn sheath, lost somewhere along the way. It seemed impossible everything else was all right, but considering how her track duffel bag had flown magically round Gaea after her in the past, perhaps not so impossible.
Her soiled Asturian gown was wadded up on one of the cots. Grabbing the dagger, she proceeded to strip the garment of its leftover lace and pearl buttons, items which had proven economically valuable in Fanelia. Maybe I can trade them later for local currency. If I'm going to stay here for a while, I'll need it.
Once done with that, Hitomi balled up the tattered dress and left it on the mattress next to the potato-sack of a pillow. She also found that her latest outfit had convenient pockets in the skirt. She deposited her cloth-swaddled tarot cards into one of them and tucked the dagger back into her sash. The Dragseye grumbled at her telepathically when she moved it. Once in her sash, its gemstone clouded over, succumbing again to its comatose state. She'd just pinned the emerald droplets back into her ear and looped the pendant around her neck when Merle poked her head in.
"Um, hey." Her sable tufted ears splayed sideways
"Hi," Hitomi greeted her impromptu roommate. "How long have you been up?"
"Not long. Maybe an hour before you."
"How're you doing?"
"W-What do you mean?" the Catgirl hedged, her expression a mixture of surprise and suspicion.
"You drank a lot last night, and I know how vino affected me in the past when I overdid it." She winced at the recollection of the hangover it'd left her with.
"Oh, that." Merle padded into the room, herself in fresh clothes and looking decidedly more composed than she'd been at the inn. "I had a raging headache, but Dane's tea made it better."
"Good."
"He's in the kitchen eating. Rolf has a plate of food for you, too. I'm sure that you're hungry, but I think we should have a chat first." Merle shut the door and braced herself against it.
Hitomi perched on the nearest bed, looking quizzical. It creaked beneath her weight. "Is something the matter?"
Inhaling, the Catgirl apologized in a jumble, "I'm sorry about last night. I mean, you know, about getting drunk. I said a lot of stuff, didn't I? I remember some of it, but the rest—"
"Most of it wasn't that bad."
"Did I say...?" Merle's cheeks reddened. "About Lord Van..."
Hitomi turned away and contemplated the view out of the window: a sea of azure sky high above rusty-orange and brown roofs. They crested just below the mound of the palace, itself an overturned shell on the horizon. A flock of gray birds flew by like loosed arrows. Her eyes chased after them. "Yes, you did. I already knew, though."
"Since when?"
"Since the beginning."
"Well, I never really tried to hide it." Merle's tail swished. "At least not from you. With your weird powers, it wouldn't have done me much good anyway."
"You were pretty hostile towards me at first because of those feelings," Hitomi pointed out, swiveling back to her companion.
"Someone needed to protect Lord Van. And isn't hostile a little exaggerated? I think my attitude back then was more...sarcastically playful."
"You called me a creepy handmaiden," she retorted.
"You were. Sort of." The Catgirl wrinkled her triangular nose.
"Dumb cat!" Hitomi stuck out her tongue, and Merle mimicked the gesture. The two smiled at each other. They remained hushed for a minute, each in her own thoughts.
Merle scratched an ear with a claw. "Lord Van came by here while you slept."
"Is he all right? Nothing bad happened at the Wall, did it?" She perked up at the mention of his name, her heart beating a trifle faster.
"He's fine, just tired. By the time Aldric and Lord Van got to the Main Gate, the soldiers had slain the last Demon."
"And how's his back, the scar?"
"Actually, you can ask him that yourself." Merle studied her sandaled feet, wriggling her clawed toes. "He's still here."
Hitomi's hand went to her throat, her fingers intertwined with the pendant. "W-Why?"
"Why else, dummy? For you."
She was torn. Half of her desired to hunt down Van and reassure herself he was unharmed, to rekindle the brief, tender exchange between them from the previous night. The other half was more pragmatic and cautious after five years of mental solitude and the less than ecstatic welcome to Fanelia.
After all, this was the day that Van had ordered her to be out of White Castle by. She had no clue what was going on, not with her living conditions and definitely not with him. All she could be certain of now, particularly after witnessing his "public king face" this morning and mulling over matters, was that his antics two nights ago had been dramatized and upsetting. There was also that strange, stirring kiss...
"He wants to see you," Merle said softly.
She didn't reply right away. Instead, she soaked up the words of that sentence, letting hope ignite in her. Somehow, I have to make Van listen to me. He needs to understand what's going on with the Demons, and I need to know what's truly in his heart.
The Catgirl coughed delicately into a paw. "I heard about what happened between Lord Van and you. Not all of it, just some. We quarreled too, as you know."
"Yes."
"He apologized to me, and we patched things up. I wasn't sure I could, or that I even wanted to, forgive him at first. We'd never fought before, not really. But I ended up talking with him today, and he's...changed. It's like he's the old Lord Van before you went away, before ruling became too heavy a burden for him. He told me he couldn't return my feelings, but he does love me in some way."
"Oh, Merle, I'm so sor—"
The Catgirl held up a paw. "Don't. I'm fine. At least, I will be."
Hitomi could only nod sympathetically.
"Do you love him?" Merle plucked at her pleated skirt with her fingers, her eyes stealing furtively to Hitomi's face.
Taken aback by the frankness of the question, the Mystic Moonling deliberated her response. She could feign friendly concern or outright indifference. It's what the teenage version of herself would've done. But no. No, she couldn't this time. She hadn't journeyed across planets and through death itself to deny her heart now.
"Yes," she whispered.
"I see." Merle's eyes glistened, the pupils dilated. She wiped a wrist across them and then forced a toothy grin. "I saw it coming years ago, even when you were shamelessly obsessed with Allen."
"I wasn't obsessed!" she defended herself, blushing self-consciously.
"Suuure."
"I wasn't!"
"At least you wised up and chose the better man in the end. No offense to Allen."
Hitomi crossed her arms and jutted out her chin, opting to say nothing. Instead, she glared scathingly at her conversation partner, letting her eyes speak volumes.
"So, you going to talk to Lord Van or not?" Merle persisted, unphased.
"I'm not sure he really wants to."
"He's waiting for you, actually."
She shook her head, disbelieving.
"Ruhm warned me about getting involved in this thing between you two, and after tonight I won't. I have something else I need to say to you." Merle twisted the door knob from side to side, cogitating. "I don't agree with the Council pushing for a marriage. Honestly, I don't like any of those harem bimbos that've overstayed their welcome in Fanelia. They don't deserve Lord Van, and none of them could ever love him as much as I do. I'll never accept any of them. But if it's you, if you're Lord Van's match, I might be able to accept that. Just a little."
"I-I appreciate that, but I don't think he regards me as more than a friend, if even that, these days." Her eyes prickled, but she fought the urge to cry and unload her burdens on Merle.
The Catgirl sighed and rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that. I watched him for years after you left. He often kept to himself and never discussed anything with me, but I knew what was wrong. There were always signs: glances up at the Mystic Moon, star watching on the castle roof, mouthing your name when he believed no one was around. He never took a lover despite opportunities to do so. He tried to let you go. But you know what, Hitomi? He never really did."
"I-I can't believe—"
"He loves you."
"B-But—"
"Do us all a favor, you stupid handmaiden, and talk to him." With that, Merle pulled down the bottom lid of her eye, flashed her tongue once more, and skipped out the door.
"""""""
Steeling herself, Hitomi consented to a private visit from Van, but not before Rolf brought up her meal on a tray and had her eat it. She mechanically scooped food into her mouth, the fare tasteless in her distracted state and haste. Once the Wolf left with the dishes, she checked her reflection in a mirror hanging from the wall, its metal frame tarnished. She borrowed a brush that Merle had discarded on her cot and dragged it through the cornstalks of her hair. Dipping her fingers into a glass of water that she'd barely drank from, she slicked down her antenna. They popped back up almost immediately, tenacious as ever.
Three loud knocks reverberated through the door. Her pulse accelerated. She commanded her feet to walk, not scurry, to answer it. Her palms perspired, and she dried them on her skirt. Not for the first time, she wished for the miracle of an Earth flat iron and makeup. Shaking her head ruefully at her own vanity, she seized the knob and drew the door inward.
Van stood in the doorway, wiry and tawny-skinned. He wore simple trousers, boots, and a three-quarter sleeved tunic. Even in clothes as humble as these, he still looked attractive. Grainy stubble darkened his jawline, another physical sign of the years between them. The mauve rings beneath his eyes and the creases in the corners attested to his lack of sleep. His hair, shiny as a raven from bathing, flopped invitingly across his forehead.
"Van." She meant to say more, but nothing else came out. It was as if his name somehow encompassed everything and was enough.
"Thank you for agreeing to see me." He scrunched a pair of leather gloves between a hand, the only outward hint of his own discomfort. This close to him, she detected a whiff of the Wolves' honey soap and mowed hay.
Recouping her senses, Hitomi conducted him in and over to a cot. He hesitated, glancing around the room at the unfinished pine floorboards, the blank walls, and ultimately back to her. Then he strode in, unstrapped his belt from his waist, and set his curving sword across the bed within easy reach. He sank onto the mattress and tossed the gloves aside on it, his legs spread and fists on his knees. She hauled the only chair in the room over opposite him, linking her fingers primly together in her lap. They faced each other, two nervous cats with fur on end, both tense and gauging the situation.
At last, Van ventured to inquire, "Did you get enough rest?"
"Y-Yes. Thank you." She offered him a fleeting smile. "Did you have trouble at the Wall?"
"No, my men handled things before Aldric and I even got there. My generals have trained them well. The damage was bad, but it could've been much worse. We were lucky."
"I-I see." She peeked at him through the fringe of her lashes. "How is your scar?"
"It's nothing for you to be worried about." He jiggled a knee, the heel of a boot tapping the floorboards.
"O-Okay." She toyed with the dagger's handle, a nail picking at the metal cross guard.
The small talk concluded as brusquely as it had begun, and they were once more mired in silence. She wracked her brain for a safe topic, anything to quell this awkwardness. Her gut churned with anxiety, partially digested food, and everything that she'd yearned to ask for so long.
Abruptly, as if cementing a decision, Van bowed his head, the wild wings of his hair screening his face. "Hitomi, I'm sorry for my behavior two nights ago. What I did wasn't much better than Rogeric and his lackeys. I shouldn't have kissed you like that against your will."
She recalled the kiss with a combination of confusion, sadness, and lust. While it had started off unexpected and angry, it had evolved into something else entirely. When Van's lips had softened on hers, she'd reciprocated. She'd ached for that moment of connection between them, sought it in the psychic bond of their joint dreams as teens. He shouldn't regret that now.
"No, Van. Don't be sorry, at least not about that." She shook her head, face and chest flushed. The little room was doubly cramped with his presence and her hypersensitivity to him. "The kiss was surprising, but I wasn't really against it. Towards the end, it was...kind of nice."
He straightened up on the bed with a snap, his eyes large with astonishment. Then two rosy spots colored his cheeks, and he ducked his head once more. The tops of his ears shown bright pink through the midnight of his hair, almost matching the studs in his earlobes. His shyness caught her off guard. To counter the urge to touch him, she clasped her hands together in her lap, her knuckles white.
"What bothers me," she forged on, licking her lips, "is what you said. You hurt me, did everything in your power to separate us, and cast me away as if there'd never been anything between us."
"Yes, I wounded you on purpose. I worried at that time that you'd see right through me. I'm not a good actor, as Trigornia often tells me, but his training these last years managed to fool even you." He pinched the bridge of his nose, his mouth quirking up self-mockingly.
"Even me?" she echoed, her voice gaining in volume. "Is that all you have to say? You owe me more of an explanation than that!"
"It's true. I do."
"Why did you kiss me?" She glowered at him, her eyebrows a V over her nose.
He shrugged, embarrassed. "I didn't intend to originally, but you took me by surprise. You were there in my room, and I couldn't stop myself, couldn't control myself, until it was too late."
"So, that kiss was just a...a loss of control?" she scoffed, a bitter taste on her tongue.
"No, it was more." Van kept his face defensively to the side, a half-moon. "I wanted to kiss you. I have since..."
"Since?"
"Before Allen ever did."
Her face and neck flamed, partly from mortification, partly from the belated confession. She cleared her throat and attempted to change the subject. "W-Why did you kick me out of your life, out of White Castle?"
"I told you my reasoning that night." He sighed, his eyebrows scrunched together. "I wanted you to go home to the Mystic Moon. That much was true."
"But why?!"
"Because it's safer there for you!" he rasped.
"Earth isn't a utopia, Van! Even where I lived in Japan there's crime and other problems. No place is perfect." She folded her arms obstinately, nose in the air. "As I said days ago, I'm not a damsel in distress, and you're not invincible."
"I'm well aware of that." He trembled, his bangs once more shading his eyes.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up recent events." When his face blanched, she tentatively laid a hand across his fists. His skin was warm and calloused.
He swallowed but didn't avoid her touch. "I know how weak I am, and how easy it is to lose everything. It's happened to me more than once in this lifetime. Whenever it did, I couldn't save the people most precious to me."
"Van—"
"It never mattered how I felt or how I struggled to get stronger. I was always helpless and needed to rely on someone else: Balgus, Allen, you." He gritted his teeth. "This time was no different. It terrified me when you were left behind with that Demon and catapulted me back into life. I wanted to save you, but I was so fucking powerless. I've hated that, hated me."
Her fingers, which had soothingly stroked the backs of his hands, stilled. She withdrew from him and leaned back in her chair.
"I know you, Hitomi. You're goodhearted and brave. If someone needs help, you'll help them. It doesn't matter to you who they are, what they've done, or how you might be hurt in their place." Van's chest rose and fell at an increased pace, betraying his agitation. "You're even more selfless when it comes to someone you love. You'd go through the very hells and back for them. And because I know this, I had to be cruel and lie to you, so that you'd go home and be as far away from danger as possible."
She nibbled the inside of her lip. A tiny, firm bud of emotion swelled and bloomed in her left breast as if her heart were flowering.
"This isn't the Gaea you knew. So much more is at play here now, and I'm not just talking about the Plague and Demons." Van put a hand to his forehead, like a visor over his eyes, and massaged his temples. "The Great War changed everything. Zaibach proved a power could rise and conquer this world, because it almost did. Now countries distrust their neighbors, squabble over ammunition and technology, and build alliances only to break them later. Fanelia's position is unstable and our supporters few. It's only a matter of time until the next despot rises, and we're not ready for that."
"Is that why you agreed to a political marriage?" she asked, her lashes masking her eyes' vulnerability.
He shifted on the mattress, causing the springs to squeal. "Partly. We need real allies, not fair-weather friends. A marriage alliance could give Fanelia just that. My advisors have also been after me for quite some time to fulfill my familial obligation and produce an heir. This year they've been especially persistent. The contract seemed to be the solution to everything."
She nodded. As a king and the sole member of his bloodline, of course his subjects would hound him to settle down with some princess and make babies. She could understand their reasoning, but that didn't mean she liked it.
Van spoke huskily, earnestly, "Despite all of that, the real reason I gave in to the idea of marriage was because of you."
Hitomi blinked, her eyebrows shooting up. Perplexed, she sought his eyes. He no longer hid them from her. Instead, he lifted his head and stared back at her, his countenance stern and penetrating. That flower in her chest stabbed its pale roots deeper into her heart, feasting on her blood, threatening to strangle the organ.
"W-What're you saying?" she whispered, clutching the coarse fabric of her skirt between clammy hands.
Stiffening, Van was quiet for several seconds, and the pressure between them mounted. An artery in his neck ticked, timing the rhythm of his pulse. One of his boots squeakily chafed the other.
"I needed to move on, Hitomi. You weren't coming back, and I had to accept it. But you...you consumed me; my every thought winged back to you. Gods, I tried so hard to forget you! I threw myself into my duties, trained with the sword till my fingers bled, labored on whatever building project was available. None of it made a damn difference!" He pounded his fist into the cot, vexed.
She sat on the chair like Medusa's latest petrified victim, too stunned and elated to do anything. Is it really possible? Can he...does he still love me?
"The Council graced me with several mistresses. I suppose it was their way of trying to help my frustration. Maybe I should've taken them to bed and used them to exorcize the demon, your demon, in me, but I never did. I rejected them all. No one but you appealed to me. Since I couldn't rid myself of you on my own, I thought marriage might somehow force you from me."
Her lungs burned from holding her breath, her head spinning. The flower in her breast unfurled new, jungle-green leaves, silky with optimism.
"I see now that's not true. It was a foolish idea." He raked both hands through his hair, tendrils spiked up between the prison bars of his fingers. "It's not fair to you, me, or whomever I would've married. I'd be making false promises, and I don't want to lie anymore."
Now the blossom in Hitomi's heart was a crazed, plump rose, all sweet perfume and lush petals. Its vines coiled around her heart as unrelentingly as a constricting python. She was almost overcome by its loveliness, by the inability to respire.
Almost.
Every rose has its thorns, and she hadn't forgotten this one's barbs.
"How dare you tell me this after disappearing for five years?!" She sprang to her feet, her shoulders taut with old rage and anguish. "Do you know how many times I returned to that dreamscape hoping to see you? I searched and searched for you! I had no clue what had happened to you. I feared you'd died! Once I traced our link and found it blocked, I realized that you'd cut me off of your own volition."
He set his jaw, eyes downcast. He clenched and unclenched his hands, at war with himself. When he failed to respond to her, she lost the shreds of her patience. She bent over him, grasped his shoulders, and jerked him back and forth. Startled, his head rattled on his neck, his eyes widening. He recovered quickly, though, and clamped his hands around her arms to stop her from repeating the action.
"Why did you do it? Why, Van?" she demanded, her voice thick.
"I had to." His tone was equally miserable. He gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"Tell me!" she shouted, hands full of his shirt. The crisscrossed laces bit into her fingers.
"Because you were killing yourself!" he yelled, a raw sort of agony etched across his face.
The outburst jolted her. Dumbfounded, she released him, taking two, three steps backwards as if he'd spat lightning at her. Her legs buckled, and she plopped down onto the chair. The truth dawned on her. In horror, she covered her mouth with a hand. "You knew. I thought I'd hid it from you back then, but you knew."
"How could I not? We joined minds! Even if you never admitted it or opened up to me, how could I not know what was wrong with you?" Van dug the heels of his palms into his eyes, his nostrils flaring.
A flurry of goosebumps encased her; she was cold all over with realization. She hugged her arms around herself. The memory of the depression and trauma descended upon her like a death shroud. With it came a sense of shame that she hadn't known since high school. Out of everyone on both worlds, Van was the one person she'd wanted to keep the truth from.
Keeping his hands over his eyes, he exhaled raggedly. "I saw how torn you were between your family and me, your world and Gaea. I watched you stop eating, stop caring, stop trying. You pushed everyone away except for me. You withdrew further and further into our dreams and gave up reality. The war never left a wound on you, but the inner one was gangrenous."
Traitorous moisture collected in her eyes. It distorted her vision, making the room a foggy rain-scape.
"I'd seen a similar mind-disease in Mother before she disappeared. I knew what would happen if someone didn't intervene. I tried, Hitomi! I tried so many times to speak with you and comfort you. You always deflected my questions and downplayed my worries. Soon all that mattered to you was me, and that scared me more than anything I ever had to face in battle." He dropped his hands, and a sheen of wetness sparkled in his own eyes. "You loved me, but if that love caused you to self-destruct, if it hurt you so much, then it wasn't worth it. I was not worth you losing yourself over!"
A globule seeped between her lashes and dribbled down her cheek like a shooting star, gleaming.
Likewise, two fat tears overflowed from Van's eyes and off of his chin. "But so long as our connection was present, you would continue to neglect yourself and focus on me. And so, I sealed myself off from you. I used the pendant to build a wall and vanished."
Her hand fumbled for the pendant, anchoring herself with it. The fey chain tangled around her fingers, and the dead, sable jewel chilled her palm. At that moment, she almost hated the necklace.
"It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, Hitomi!" When a third tear leaked out, he shielded his eyes with the crook of an elbow. His sides heaved, yet he somehow suppressed the sob.
"I-I thought that you'd abandoned me, that you didn't need me anymore." She sniffed, smearing tears across her cheekbones.
He bared his teeth below his elbow. "I needed you every single day we were apart! And as much as I longed for you, I couldn't have you!"
"V-Van, I—"
"But that didn't mean I stopped wanting to know what happened to you. I hoped that without me there you had relearned to value yourself. I prayed that you had healed and were happy, but I couldn't stop myself from wondering how your life had turned out and if you'd found love again. It hurt to imagine you with someone else, but I'd've rather had that than you wasted away to nothing!"
She dabbed at her eyes and cheeks with her sleeve, leaving drizzly dots and streaks there. After four breaths, she got up, positioned herself between Van's legs, and gently tugged his arm away from his face. His bicep contracted, but he obeyed her prompt and lowered it. Strands of his coal-black hair feathered his forehead and neck. His lips slanted down, his mien that of a woeful, kicked dog.
He watched her wordlessly. His red-rimmed eyes were more striking than usual, resembling rain-flecked garnets. He shuddered and put his left hand on his sword's sheath, squeezing it. He cried inaudibly, reluctantly, as one who seldomly reveals their pain so often does.
With the utmost compassion, she wrapped her arms around the king's shoulders and pressed him against her. He froze, the motion both shocking and inappropriate with their current height difference. Another surge of scarlet swept across his face. He mumbled something into the valley of her breasts, but she didn't pay attention. When he placed his hands on her waist to shove her away, she tightened her grip and refused to let him go.
A heartbeat thudded by, then another. With a moan, his resistance crumbled.
Van circled her waist with one arm and her hips with the other, bringing their bodies snug together. Hitomi gasped at his sudden capitulation, and he buried his face between her breasts, seeking solace. Despite their layers of clothing, she felt his muscles flex and bunch with the suppleness of living rock. Of their own accord, her palms contacted the hot flesh of his neck and shoulder blades beneath his tunic, caressing him.
He clung to her as if a pillar of light might uproot her at any moment. All she could see peering down at him was his dense mane and zigzagging hairline. He burrowed deeper into her chest and quivered, smothering any sound which escaped his lips. The bodice of her dress soon grew damp from his mute tears.
"It's alright now." Hitomi kissed his crown, rocking and embracing him. "I understand. You were trying to save me. I forgive you."
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To Be Continued
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To quote Judy Hopps from Zootopia, "Oh, sweet cheese and crackers!" I finally finished this chapter after almost two months, and as a result, much of this story has come full circle. I hope that you enjoyed it!
I need to give a huge shout-out to Mystical-Grace. I was really doubting the characters' voices in this chapter, and she assured me over and over that they were fine given the current situation. She especially kept me motivated every time I stagnated or just simply slacked off. (I discovered Persona 5, the anime...oops. ^^;;)
Let's also give a round of applause to the very patient reviewers from Ch.25: fire-lemur, Miniclio, jossi-31, sakura son zukina, Nimouway, Mystical-Grace, lalalala, 40Four, Saiiwa, Ag-1017, MidnightReader1, and Pretty Much A Big Deal.
In the prior update, I mentioned how excited I was to have a new job and potential career change. Sadly, the opportunity fell through. Though I did my best, due to life circumstances and a toxic work environment, I had to bow out. It just wasn't worth the stress anymore, but giving up this chance has left me rather depressed. To be honest, I'm afraid for the future and finding new employment yet again, but I am grateful to my good friends on here who have helped to bolster my spirits.
Around the worrying, resume updating, and job applications, I'll keep writing. Mata ne! ^.^;;