Zechs Merquise sat
deep in thought on Christmas Eve's night.
I miss
you, Noin, he thought as he stared deep into
the warm fire before him.
When he'd
finally returned home from the colonies, he had moved to a quiet little town in
England. It was a comfy little cottage,
and the people in this town didn't seem to know who he was, and acted like they
didn't really care. He was comfortable
here.
He wondered
how Noin was doing in Ireland. He knew
she had moved there, but didn't go to her.
She must hate him for all the suffering he caused her. He deserved her contempt; he must've put her
through Hell along with himself. That
was a hard time for everyone during the war, but mostly for himself. But that was all in the past, and there was
no use ruining Christmas with it.
Zechs' gaze
suddenly ticked over to a small bookshelf where he kept most everything, but
more specifically, an old homemade tape that Noin gave him for Christmas about
six years ago.
He didn't
have to watch it to remember what was on it.
The year before the tape was made, he went over to Noin's for Christmas
and her little sister had received and early Christmas present of a camcorder.
When
everyone had seemingly left the room, they had shared their first kiss, only to
have it recorded and interrupted by Noin's baby sister.
The next
year, Noin gave him a copy of the tape as a Christmas present with 98 Degrees'
"This Gift" playing in the background.
He kept it along with all the other gifts he received from her that
Christmas along with all the other Christmases before and after.
Tiring of
the fire, he turned to a frosty window and looked out over the falling snow.
It was
beautiful. The sparkling flakes drifted
contentedly to the crystalline ground.
There wasn't a blemish on the silken snow on the frozen velvet
land. Not a footprint, not a spot, not
a lump…completely smooth as antique porcelain.
The black trees looked as bleak as death against the virgin snows. The dark trunks reached like Death's twisted
claws into the dark sky. The sky itself
looked like a deep blue-black woolen sheet spread gently across the top of the
world. The silent scene before him was
simply gorgeous.
But not
nearly as gorgeous as his dark-eyed love…
Turning
from the winter window, he popped the tape in the VCR, he watched and wanted to
relive those sweet moments again.
//The lamp is burning
Upon my tabletop
The snow so softly falling
The air is still
In the silence of my room
I hear your voice softly calling
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy
Just to hold the hands I love
On this winter's night with you
The smoke is rising
In the shadows of our head
My glass is almost empty
I read again between the lines upon
each page
The words of love you sent me
If I were lonely in my heart
And you were lonely too
I would be happy just to hold the
hands I love
On this winter's night with you
The fire is dying
The lamp is growing dim
The shades of night are lifting
The morning steals across the
windowpane
Where whims of snow are drifting
If I could only have you near
To breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy just to hold the
hands I love
On this winter's night with you
And to be once again with you…//
Noin
looked longingly out her window, wondering where he was.
"Zechs,
where are you?" she asked the infernal silence. Not being able to take it anymore, she jabbed the radio, turning
it to some pop rock station.
"Here's
98 Degrees," the DJ announced as the classic Christmas jingles came over the
speakers…
//The snow is falling the city is
white
Your eyes are shinin' like
diamonds tonight
And we're all alone
There's no one home
You're finally in my arms again
The night is silent and Christmas
is here
I couldn't ask for more than
having you near
Cuz I love you, girl, I always
will
And now I know the moment is right
The moment is right
I've been waiting to give
This gift
Tonight
I'm down on my knees there's no
better time
It's something to last for as long
as you live
Tonight I'm gonna give you
All my heart can give
I thought I'd give you something
shiny and new
I tried to find something worthy
of you
But I realized when I looked
inside
There're some things that money
can't buy
I feel the magic
Whenever you're near
I feel it even though this time of
the year
Cuz I love you, girl, I always
will
And now I know the moment is right
The moment is right
Cuz I've been waiting to give
This gift
Tonight
I'm down on my knees there's no
better time
It's something to last for as long
as you live
Tonight I'm gonna give you all my
heart can give
You know I'll always be true to
you
And you know I'm the one you can
turn to
Anytime or anyplace or anywhere
You know that I'll always be there
I've been waiting to give
This gift
Tonight
I'm down on my knees there's no
better time
It's something to last for as long
as you live
Tonight I'm gonna give you all my
heart can give
Waiting to give this gift tonight
I'm down on my knees there's no
better time
It's something to last for as long
as you live
Tonight I'm gonna give you all my
heart can give//
Zechs,
do you feel this way, too? She thought as
the last chords left the speakers.
Zechs quickly threw a few things into his car and sped off to the
airport for a last minute Christmas flight to Ireland.
Noin sat down, finally done with unpacking what few things she
brought. She surveyed her new home,
content with the layout: the floral couch and coffee table, simple kitchen and
two sparsely furnished bedrooms.
Finding an old book on the newly stocked shelf, Noin sat down on her
sofa, next to the cozy fireplace. She
didn't get far in the book; she fell asleep soon after she began.
Zechs waited in line, there was hardly anyone going somewhere
tonight. He figured everyone was
already where they wanted to be. He
yawned and he heard his flight being called.
Quickly boarding, he sat and waited for the long-distanced flight to
begin.
Noin awoke with a start. The
nightmare she was having was more painful than anything.
"Oh, Zechs," she whispered to the dying fire. The horrible images still fresh in her mind, she started to cry.
Her painful reverie was shattered by an almost inaudible knock at the
door. Wiping away her tears, she
quickly opened the door.
"Merry Christmas," Zechs greeted, a crooked smile laced over his
delicate face.
Lucrezia stood in slight shock for a moment, and then leaped into his
arms.
"Zechs! I missed you!" she
sobbed.
Zechs, still holding her high above the ground, muttered, "Shh. I missed you, too." Upon hearing his tender words, Lucrezia
burst into tears.
Zechs stood in her doorway for a minute muttering reassurances into her
ear. He took her back inside, gently closing
the door with his foot, and set her down in a chair.
"Shh. It's okay," he murmured
as she seemed to calm herself down.
"I missed you so much," Noin sobbed.
Zechs sat down next to her, "I missed you, too. So much…"
Noin leaned against his arm as he told her his story of how he came
back, and how much he missed her. How
his mental balance slipped a few times simply because he hadn't seen her in so
long; how every time he looked at the stars, or felt his heartbeat, he thought
of her.
"If you knew where I was, why didn't you come back sooner?" she asked,
looking at him.
"I was afraid," he replied. "I
was afraid that you were angry at me and never wanted to see me again, so I
left you alone."
Lucrezia looked horrified, "Zechs, I could never be mad at you. Never leave me alone again. I'm so glad you came back home."
Zechs smiled and put his arm around her, "Didn't I tell you that I'll
be home for Christmas?"
"I love you, Zechs," Noin sighed.
"I've loved you for so long…" she trailed off, not really expecting any
reply.
"I love you, too."
Lucrezia's head snapped around to look at Zechs' face. He smiled back at her.
She smiled back, her tears starting to resurface, "I'm glad you finally
came home for Christmas."
That night, when the pair woke up, there were no presents
under the Christmas tree, no stockings filled with candy, they just received
the total love from one another, which was enough to last them a lifetime. But before the morning was over, Zechs had a
surprise for Noin.
"Lucrezia?" Zechs asked.
She looked up at him in response.
He kissed her, took her hand and slipped on a dazzling diamond.
"Will you marry me?"
Noin was shocked speechless after hearing the four words she
longed for and dared to dream of for so long.
She looked into Zechs' hopeful blue eyes. They were so tender and sincere. She nodded dazedly and he scooped her up in
his arms for yet another Christmas kiss…
/I'll be home fore Christmas
You can plan on me
Won't you please
Please have some
Mistletoe
And presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams…/
~*MERRY CHRISTMAS!!*~
// "A Song For A Winter's Night" by Sarah
McLachlan //
// "This Gift" by 98 Degrees//
/ "I'll Be Home For Christmas" the 98
Degrees version / (Yeah, I know, I
sound like a 98 Degrees freak don't I?
Honestly, I'm not that big of a fan of them…)
Please, review me, baby! YEAH!!! HYPER TODAY!!
6x9 FOREVER! ^_^
