Anemia
(part five)
A Tenshi Ni Narumon Fanfic, by Cat Who
Standard disclaimers apply: Tenshi ni Narumon belongs to Studio
Pierrot and the Heaven Project, not me. I'm not making any money,
please don't sue me.
Author's note: This final section was written while I listened to "Living Daylights" by Two Mix. That song kicks ass, especially the Baroque Best remix. I just wanted to say that ^_______^ (Cat Who is a Two Mix fan.)
***
Sunday afternoon
***
Gabriel acted on instinct, rolling over on top of Miruru and grabbing his cape with one arm. He threw the cape over them and held the arm over the back of his neck. Demons were supposedly immortal but there was no need to test the theory by being stupid.
But the anticipated crush didn't come. A little dust fell, and a few rocks landed around them, but the ancient wooden poles had manged to hold up the worst of the crumbling cave ceiling.
Miruru's face was inches from Gabriel's, and her eyes were large with the dim light.
"You all right?" he asked in a low voice, not wanting to risk ruining their good luck by triggering another cave in.
"Mm," she said cautiously, glancing around. "I shouldn't have screamed so loudly, I guess . . ."
"Let's go home," he said, and stood up. He dusted himself off, then he held out his hand, and she gratefully accepted it.
And promptly collapsed again.
"Not again! I didn't do anything this time!" Gabriel tried not to panic. Miruru shouldn't have run so much after . . . after their indiscredtion the week before.
"I think I ran too much," Miruru said sheepishly, mirroring his thoughts, trying once more to stand on her worn out legs. They wouldn't cooperate, though she struggled mightily. She looked like a newborn colt, unable to gain a purchase on the cave floor.
"I'll carry you then." Gabriel picked her up and swung her onto a comfortable position in his arms. Miruru was so surprised that she had absolutely nothing to say. She simply stared at him, her heart bursting with love. He looked deternined and tender at the same time. She felt that if he had to, he could carry her to the ends of the earth.
Gabriel stopped, however, when they were outside the cave.
"What's wrong, Gabe?" Miruru said, curiously. A blank expression had replaced the determination on his face.
"I don't remember how to get home."
Miruru blinked.
"Neither do I."
The two looked at each other, sighed, and simply held onto each other. On top of everything else, they were lost, too.
* * *
"Noelle-chan, Yuusuke-kun, have you seen Miruru? She was supposed to have the shopping done by now." Mama stood outside their door, a worried look on her face.
Natsumi started guiltily. "I think I was the last one to see her. She overheard Gabriel accidentally say . . . something to me." She glanced to Yuusuke's window. "She ran away. Gabriel-san followed her."
"Oh dear. I can't start dinner without the groceries."
"She dropped them, actually, before she ran. By the back door."
Mama smiled obliviously. "That's good then! Thank you Natsumi-chan!" Mama left in a rustle of blue skirts.
Yuusuke, however, was not so satisfied. "She ran away? Just what did Gabriel say to you?"
Natsumi blushed beet red. She knew that she had not been the intended target for Gabriel's passionate outburst, but there's something about an attractive guy screaming his emotions from the depths of his soul that tore at a girl's heart.
"Never mind, I think I know," Yuusuke said with sigh. He, too, looked out of his window. Noelle followed suit, her normally genki expression gone serious. "I wonder where she went, though . . ."
* * *
"I think I can walk by myself, Gabe-chan," Miruru said. She had gone to her usual glomp position, piggyback with her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Gabriel plodded along in what he hoped was the right direction. Getting lost in Tokyo was not how he had wanted to spend the afternoon.
"If we can find a train station, I can ask for directions," Gabriel said, ignoring her request to be let down. She was actually a very tiny person, although her generous bosom belied it. He could carry her like this for quite a while without getting tired.
* * *
Sunday Evening
* * *
Natsumi said her goodbyes and left, and the family settled down for dinner.
"Where is Gabriel?" Papa asked conversationally.
"He went to find Miruru-chan," Mama replied sweetly.
"And where is Miruru-chan?"
"She ran away."
For the first time, it seemed to sink into Mama that something wasn't quite right about that fact.
"Do you think we should look for them? It's going to get dark soon." Yuusuke was the only one who seemed worried. The others knew that the dark was actually the most comfortable environment for both the vampire and the cat.
"How long ago was this?" Baba said sharply, ignoring Yuusuke.
"Before I started cooking dinner."
Baba frowned, but a sudden thought struck her. "Let them be. They'll be back."
"But --" Yuusuke began. Baba shook her head.
"Whether you believe it or not, Miruru and Gabriel are both adults. This is something they need to work out on their own." Baba's word was, as always, final, so the family continued eating, and Yuusuke was the only one really worried . Even Ruka and Sara believed that the two were off somewhere apologizing privately.
So nobody thought about them as they did their usual evening routines.
* * *
"I . . . can't walk anymore." Gabriel sighed and let Miruru slide off his back. They had stopped in front of a bench on an unfamiliar city street, and the rays of the setting sun filtered over them, casting an orange tint on everything. Miruru let her feet touch the ground, but she slid her hands around Gabriels' waist, leaning against him for a few moments, drawing on his strength. He rested his hands on her own, noting how her perfectly manicured claws mirrored his own.
"We might as well give up. We'll never make it home at this rate." Miruru's voice was resigned, but calm. She didn't care where she was anymore, as long as she was with Gabriel. Gabriel, who had finally said that he loved her.
"Well, we can take a rest, anyway." He gently unclasped her hand, and sat down on the bench, pulling her down next to him. It felt natural to have his arms around her shoulders, so he left them there, and she snuggled into his chest. It was getting chilly now that the sun had set.
"So we're lost in the middle of nowhere, and we have no way of getting home." Gabriel shrugged, staring out at the street. "It could be worse."
"It could?" Miruru joined him in staring out at the street. Her tail flicked lightly from where she had laid it on the bench. Gabriel's eyes drifted over to it, and he watched it, enchanted.
"Yeah. It could. I might not have found you. I was about to give up, and then you were in the cave."
"Oh." Miruru sighed. They were silent for a long time, watching the stars come out above their heads.
"Only --" Gabriel said all of a sudden, and looked down directly at Miruru. "I don't think I would have given up. When you ran away, I felt that I had just lost the most precious thing in my life. I'm glad I found you, Miruru." He smiled gently down on her, and Miruru's heart suddenly beat faster.
It was another moment, crystal, frozen in time as they saw each other's soul's in their eyes. Eventually, they might have felt the urge to kiss, but for now, they were content merely to be there, to exist, to love and to know that they were loved in return. Overhead a shooting star passed by.
A soft squealing noise drew their attention to the road, destroying the moment. One second all was quiet, and the next, a familiar police car had pulled up.
"Cerberus!" they both shouted in unison. Gabriel pulled her even closer, in case the police officer had plans of taking her back to the demon world after all. The officer emerged from his car, strutting, his brush moustache twitching as he took in the situation. Two demons snuggling on a park bench. After dark.
"You're out a little late," Cerberus said, a little too casually. He glanced at his magic police dossier clipboard.
"We got lost," Gabriel answered, a little too defensively. Miruru tried unsuccessfully to hide behind his arm.
"Lost, eh? A likely story. I think that . . . hey, wait a minute." He frowned at the files he had just called up. "I remember you. You're the illegal alien, aren't you?" he asked, pointing to Miruru.
"I-," she began, but Gabriel cut her off.
"She's my fiancé, remember? We're working on the papers."
Cerberus frowned at them. The girl was staring at the boy with huge eyes, but he had the sappiest expression on his face as he returned the look. The cop, who had been in the business for twenty six demon years, saw an echo of his own feelings for the mother of his child. Love between demons was so rare, so beautiful, that he didn't have the heart to ruin it for them.
"Well, if you say so. But in the meantime . . . would you like a ride home?"
* * *
Cerberus dropped them off in front of the house, and Gabriel carried her up the stairs to the front door. The porch light hadn't even been turned on, despite the fact that it was full night outside.
"I guess they weren't too worried about us . . . "
"Naw, I think they knew we'd come home safely."
Miruru grabbed the door handle, since Gabriel's hands were full, and she turned it. Or tried to, anyway. Frowning, she turned it again, and again.
"They really weren't worried about us . . . "
"We're locked out?" Gabriel could hardly believe it. Then again, this was the Family, after all . . .
Miruru began laughing, and she couldn't stop. This just capped off everything. First overhearing Gabriel wrong, then running away, then nearly getting crushed in a cave-in, then getting lost, and now, getting locked out. The absurdity struck her, and it infected Gabriel as well, so that they were both laughing so hard they could hardly breathe.
"Ne, Gabriel," Miruru said, gasping between spasms of laughter, "wanna sleep on the roof again?"
Still chuckling as well, Gabriel said, "Why the hell not? It'll bring things full circle."
And the laughing couple climbed onto the roof, only this time, their romantic antics were of a more conventional kind.
* * *
The end! ^_^ Look forward to some shorter fics in the future, bringing together some non-canon couples. (Don't worry, I'm not breaking anyone up, I wouldn't dare do that . . . )