Written by Delita-chan
Author's note: I
told you I suck at titles. Leave me alone. NOT a Serge/Leena fic.
Just how much can two little words hurt?
I do.
Two words which are normally used in a positive way. Simple
right? So how are they supposed to
hurt?
A lot.
They can pierce your heart right to the core, as Norris
Ishito discovered.
He felt this way as he followed the excited crowd out of the
chapel and into the ballroom. Inside
the room, fancy lights lit up the place and the band stood on its platform,
ready to perform at any given moment.
Guests chatted happily with each other, eagerly anticipating the newly
wed couple's arrival. Norris, dressed
in his navy-blue and black formal military uniform (not to be confused with his
everyday uniform), stood by a lone table, staring down at his polished black
boots. He was completely lost in
thought, unaware of the excited crowd around him. Everyone seemed so happy except him.
No, he was far from happy or cheerful. He was miserable. The most miserable a man
can get, and all because of this wedding.
He himself didn't know what the hell he was doing here if it
was making him so uncomfortable. Had it
been just to see her one last time, to seek some closure to their
friendship? Did he come to watch her
and her new husband celebrate their love in front of everyone while silently
torturing him?
Norris felt his eyes burning with the development of
tears. This was already the tenth time
that he felt he was going to cry. The
other nine times or so were in the church, while she walked down the aisle,
said "I do" to him and then kissed Serge so passionately. Everything was so sickening. So why was he still here at this wedding,
torturing himself?
"Norris…you ok there, man?"
A hand went on his shoulder. Norris turned around to see Dario standing there in a black suit,
his face solemn.
Norris forced a smile, which took all of his effort. But
hey, he'd wasted all his energy trying to look happy back at the ceremony. "Dario…y-yeah, I'm ok. Thank you for your concern."
Dario blinked, his expression unchanged. "Are you sure? I know it's none of my business, but I thought I saw you wiping
your eyes a couple of times inside the church."
"Oh. Just a mild allergy, that's all. I assure you, I'm
alright. Why wouldn't I be? Today's an
important day for Serge and Leena…" He stopped shortly when his voice cracked.
Dario's solemn expression changed to that of concern for his
friend. No doubt, Norris needed a good
cry.
But before Dario could open his mouth again, several excited
shrieks were heard from the crowd. Both men looked and saw the newly-wed couple
make their entrance. Serge scanned the
crowd almost immediately, while smiling proudly. His dark blue hair was neatly combed back and he wore a suit,
making him look quite handsome.
Clinging to his arm was the bride, Leena.
Norris drew his breath in sharply, almost afraid that if he
breathed, he'd miss something. She was
so beautiful in the soft white dress her mother had sewn for her and flowers
that decorated her veil. Her long red
hair was neatly pulled up with two strands of hair hanging on each side of her
face, framing her gently made-up face.
Those emerald green eyes of hers shone with such joy that Norris had
never seen before. Nothing he'd ever done had made her as happy as she was
now. The very thought of that made his
heart ache even more than before.
"Um…" Dario cleared his throat to get Norris'
attention. "Sorry buddy, but you don't
look ok. I can see it in your eyes."
Norris shifted his gaze from Leena to the other people around the
room. The tears were started to brim in
his eyes again.
"Dario, honestly I…"
"You love her. I know."
Norris sharply turned to face Dario, not caring if he would see
the tears. He bit his lip hard, not
answering him at all. So his friend
knew all along.
After a long silence, Norris choked back the frog in his
throat. "…Sad, isn't it? You're right, I am in love with the bride.
I'm surprised no one could tell. I mean, she and I had been close friends for
almost a year." He swallowed hard. "The
sadder thing is that we all know that Serge's heart is with another girl."
Dario shook his head. "That's true."
"Yet he decides to marry the woman I love just so that he doesn't
end up alone in the future. Their
marriage is nothing but a sham, Dario.
It will never be the beautiful marriage she's always dreamt of because
he loves Kid so much and there's no room for Leena. I can give her everything she wants and more. I can give her the
love she needs and deserves, not that…" He hesitated. "…that bastard! God, she belongs with me, Dario, me!" Norris
clenched his fists hard, trying to choke back the tears.
"Norris…calm down. I
know you're in terrible pain, but you're not being fair. It's true that Serge is in love with Kid,
but he also loves Leena. She was his
childhood companion. I don't even know
if Kid really existed or where she is but with her gone, Serge is able to
freely pursue Leena without second thoughts.
Who knows, maybe Serge will eventually put Kid out of his mind and love
Leena the way she wants to be loved." Dario said, placing both hands on Norris'
shoulders.
"Damn it all…damn Kid for leaving!" He turned back to look
at the couple. "I can't accept this marriage,
Dario. I can't accept that I'll never be with her."
Dario was silent for a while. He then spoke again.
"So…what will you do with the item you purchased several weeks ago?"
"What? Now you've developed a habit of following me, huh?"
Norris said.
"No, no. Of course not.
I happened to have been there when you purchased it. I was having the chain fixed on Riddel's
memento pendent. You didn't notice me
there and I was quite in a hurry to stop and chat. But I saw the ring you bought. Diamonds. Really beautiful, man."
Dario said, wiping a spot on his suit.
"Yeah. I did buy something like that. But what the hell do I want it for now? I
was too FUCKING late," he exclaimed, surprising Dario with his language. "What the hell was I thinking, Dario, trying
to ask her to marry me when I hadn't even told her how I feel? Tell me!" Norris fished in his pocket and
felt for the small ring he'd purchased.
Once he found it, he clenched it tightly in his fist. "I stood there like a dumbass and let Serge
take her from me. I deserve this
miserable fate."
"Norris, stop that! This isn't like you to beat yourself
up. Now I know you're in agony, but
you've got to do something about it. For starters, there's no reason to be here
and torture yourself by watching her," Dario said, patting him
sympathetically. "You don't have to be
here. You've had enough shit to last you a lifetime. Go on home, I'll cover for you."
Norris smiled at the Deva.
"Thank you, Dario. But I just
want to see her a little bit more…"
"How much more pain do you want to cause yourself? Come on,
don't do this. Please, go home. If you wont go, I'll make you go." Dario began to grab Norris' arm and pull him
backwards when a voice interrupted them.
"Oh, Norris!"
Both men turned to see Leena looking back at both of them,
grinning ear to ear.
Go away. This is all your fault he thought sourly to
himself then realized that it really wasn't.
She didn't know of Norris' feelings and that was all his fault. He was the one who didn't come though and rescue
her from this stupid marriage.
Looking into her eyes, he remembered Dario's
conversation. Did she really want to be
married to Serge, her childhood friend? The tears of joy brimming in her eyes
gave him the answer.
"Norris…dear friend. I'm so glad you're here today. I-" she
stopped short when she met his gaze.
His deep blue eyes were filled with tears, but they weren't of
happiness. Leena's smile faded.
"Oh dear God, what is it? Are you alright?" her voice rang
of concern, which gave Norris a slight feeling of happiness. Even now, a married woman, she could still
read into him very well.
She began to approach him slowly. Norris suddenly lost his ability to speak and soon found himself
slowly drawing back. She looked hurt as
she noticed his actions.
Oh God, help me.
She knows something is wrong but I can't talk to her about it now. I can't be near her. This is her day and
I'll be damned if I ruin it for her. He
completely avoided her gaze altogether.
"Norris! Why are you avoiding me? Have I done something
wrong?" she asked once again, stepping forward. Again, Norris said nothing.
Finally, he turned to look into her eyes and a sick feeling washed over
him. She was Serge's wife.
I'll never be able to hold you, my love. Your lips will never meet mine. We'll never be able to feel our bodies
wrapped around each other as we make love. No. It will be Serge's lips that
kiss you, his arms that will hold you at night and his body that—
The last thought was the final straw. Without another word, he ran from the
ballroom, as fast as his legs would carry him, leaving Leena standing there
surprised. He didn't stop for anything,
not even to wipe the tears that ran down his cheeks.
Norris opened his eyes and found himself shrouded in total
darkness. The moonlight poured in
though his window pane, telling him it was nighttime. He blinked and sat up, realizing he was on his bed. He looked around in confusion, taking note
of the familiar things around him; the nightstand, the curtains, the door that
led to his study. It then dawned on him
that he was in his bedroom.
So it was only a dream he thought to himself,
relieved. He placed a hand on his head,
trying to suppress the nagging headache he had. The clock on his nightstand read "5:00am".
I wonder why I had that dream. He lay back on his bed and closed his eyes,
allowing the dream to replay in his mind.
The pain and hurt rushed back into his heart once he reached the part
where Leena married Serge.
Why didn't I let her know he thought to himself
miserably. It had only been 2 weeks
since Serge Juujinkou announced his engagement to Leena Lopez of Arni. And everyday since then had been nothing but
hell for him.
As he closed his eyes once again, a sudden sick, nauseating
feeling came over him. Something about today bothered him. He bolted up once
again, remembering why he was having nightmares.
Today was Serge and Leena's wedding.
Try as he could, Norris couldn't fall back to sleep. He
tossed and turned and felt like vomiting on his carpet floor. He tried to close his eyes but the feeling
remained looming over him like a dark cloud.
For the rest of the early morning hours, he would lie awake
in his bed, thinking of possible ways to stop the wedding.
In the village of Arni, Serge Juujinkou lay awake in his
bed, pondering the same dream he shared with Norris. It wasn't as important as it was to Norris, but it disturbed him
very much, especially when Norris suddenly ran away from the ballroom. He knew it had something to do with Leena,
for the last thing he remembered was her trying to say hello and he totally
freaking out.
Serge's mind wander to the moment in his adventure where
he'd rescued Kid from her unconscious state.
She looked so beautiful and peaceful sleeping. But when her eyes opened up, it was like looking at a pair of
sapphires and when she spoke, her thick accented voice was music to his
ears. When they embraced, Serge finally
knew that he was truly in love. Not the
caring-love he had for Leena, but the firey-passionate kind where Kid was
simply his reason to be. Serge had
never experienced this feeling before, not even with Leena.
However, Kid disappeared shortly after the adventure,
leaving him to wonder night after night if she really existed.
Kid…I love you more than anything in this world. If you are out there, please come back. It is true that I'm marrying Leena, but it
is you that I wish to make my wife. I've almost given up on hoping for you to
return to me. If you don't, in all
fairness, I must move on with my life he thought, clutching the blanket
tightly at the last thought. He knew
that this attitude wasn't very fair to Leena at all, but he couldn't help
it. He cared for her a lot, and he
always would, but he knew he might possibly never love her the way he fell in
love with Kid. But that's the way
things had to be, right? He simply couldn't sit and wait for someone who might
not even be real. He had to move on and make a future for himself.
As he shifted in his bed, he tried to reassure himself that
his fiancée is the one he loves and getting married was the right thing to do.
In the small hut next door to Serge's, Leena was trying to
reassure herself of the very same thing.
In Termina, Glenn sat on his bed, polishing his
Einlanzer. Having been woken up by the
same dream, he decided that he needed to do something to keep himself occupied.
The dream didn't appear to be a nightmare but in every way
possible, it was.
The people celebrating with Serge and Leena appeared to be
joyful as they danced all night long with their partners. Serge and Leena joined in on the fun with
everyone, but Glenn knew better.
Everyone's true feelings were being masked by fake enthusiasm, so fake
that the whole wedding could have passed for a masked ball.
Serge's doubtful expression was easily visible as he scanned
the ballroom when making an entrance.
Glenn knew exactly what—or who he was seeking.
Leena's sorrow showed itself when she'd seen and approached
her dear friend Norris. Glenn feared
their close friendship would likely be destroyed by her marriage to Serge.
Norris was obviously in deep pain, especially when Leena
tried to go near him. The very sight of
her was enough to drive Norris insane.
Glenn couldn't even begin to understand his agony.
These people would all live phony lives if the wedding came
though. One person especially would be
destroyed emotionally for good.
But Glenn knew that it didn't have to be that way. He knew that things could be right…
…if he could just tell everyone the secret he'd stumbled
upon.
He knew, however, he couldn't do that. He'd sworn on his
life that he wouldn't reveal it and he hardly broke a promise.
Glenn sighed miserably, placing Einlanzer down. "Father…" he began silently. "…please help me with this. I know I promised I wouldn't tell, but if I
don't, no one will ever be truly happy. Serge and Leena seem happy, but you
know everything, father. That's not the way it's supposed to be, but if I tell,
then I will be betraying the person I care about so much. What is the right thing to do?"
He lay back into his bed and stared at the ceiling for a
long moment. He then closed his eyes,
trying to erase everything he dreamt of.
Sleep, however, would not come.
Author's remarks:
I'm getting mixed feelings about this story because I wrote this during
finals week. My writing skills are not
very good at the moment so it may need to be revised once I wind down and
relax. I apologize if you Norris fans
think he's out of character, but come on, guy's DO cry and perhaps Norris is
sensitive inside. Despite the story so
far, this is NOT going to be a Leena/Serge fic at all. Don't worry, Norris won't be crying for
long. I may or may not continue this, depends on how I feel about it. I am not going to ask for a certain number
of reviews because that's not the way I work.
Like I said, I will continue this if I think it's good enough.
As with all of my other works, don't bother commenting if
all you're going to do is nit-pick at grammar/spelling. Remember, it's up to the author to find her
mistakes and I'm sure once I read over this again, I'll see them. Feel free to email me at delita_chan@hotmail.com. Ignorant, unintelligent flames as well as
personal attacks on me will be ignored. Hope you liked this.
