~~Perfect Moment~~
Hitomi leaned forward and rested her arms against the railing of the balcony. After a rather awkward reunion, Van had flown them both back to the castle, where Hitomi and Van had been talking on the balcony of his study.
They talked about eveything; how each of them had been doing, what was happening with Merle and the gang, and just about everything else they could think of. They talked for a long time, however, neither one of them really said anything that they really wanted to say. After a while they fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying the night air, each lost within their own mind.
"Van…" she said rather uncertainly.
"Hmm?" he responded, looking off into the night.
"About—about what you said before…" her voice trailed off.
Van inwardly winced. He knew what she was referring to. A few years after she had left Gaea, he was able to go to the Mystic Moon and searched for Hitomi. When he finally found her, however, he did not have good news to give her. He had said things to her then that now made him cringe to think about. The harsh words that brought such a pained expression to her lovely features that day where etched into his brain forever.
**flashback**
"It just isn't right," a soon-to-be seventeen year-old Van said to the young girl standing before him.
"It wasn't ever right, but I know we can make it work," a confused Hitomi responded.
"I don't want to," Van said a little more harshly than he intended to, "It just wasn't meant to be, Hitomi, can't you see that? We are too different, from places that are literally worlds apart. I just don't want to do this anymore."
"Is it too difficult for you?" Hitomi questioned, clasping her hands to her chest, hoping to drown out the roaring sound of her heart falling to pieces.
"It's just not worth the trouble," Van said flatyl, avoiding her gaze, fearing to lose his train of thought.
"Our relationship isn't worth the trouble?" Hitomi repeated, incredulous.
"No, it's not. And I think it's best if we just end everything here before it goes any further. We should just each go our separate ways and move on."
The expression on Hitomi's face was indescribable.
**end flashback**
"Hitomi…" he was unsure about how to respond.
"Just let me know one thing, Van," Hitomi interjected, looking out into the night, afraid to look at him in case he could read her eyes, "Do you still think what you said was true?"
Van hesitated.
Of course you don't, his inner voice said, You didn't mean it then. You don't believe it now. You were so stupid to let others convince you that you could never have what your heart told you that you should have.
"Because, well," Hitomi interrupted his inner conversation, "I just…"
She sighed and she hugged herself.
"It just really hurt me, that's all," she said in a small voice.
Van wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her pain away. He wanted to tell her that everything was all right and that they would never have to apart again.
As it was, though, all he could do was stand there and stare at her.
"You know," she said with a piteous chuckle, "I cried for a week straight after you left. The only reason I stopped was because I didn't think I had any tears left to shed."
Van bit his lip, restraining himself, knowing that if he did what he wanted to do, nothing but more pain would arise.
"But then, you what? I stopped to think about what you had said," she continued, "And I tried to see things another way. I found that a lot of what you had said made sense. We were different, from different worlds, with different futures ahead of us."
Flashbacks of the time were hitting Van hard. Each word he had been abominable and he wanted to forget it.
"Hitomi…please," he pleaded.
"So, Van," she interrupted, determined to finish expressing what had been trapped inside her for years, "I did my best to move on with my life and I am happy to say that, after much time, I was successful."
Van stared at her in disbelief. She had moved on?
"Well, isn't that what you wanted?"
Shut up.
Hitomi turned her emerald eyes to face him.
"But something always bothered me," she said, taking a step towards him. "I had figured that the only reason you would say such things is because you yourself had moved on and were trying to let me go so that I could move on too. But in my heart, I couldn't believe it. I pushed it away, but little details of that night would always nag me. Like the way you refused to look at my eyes and how you avoided coming near me. It was almost as if you were afraid that I would perceive that you were lying if I got too close. There was also the fact that you didn't return my pendant and that you are still wearing it now."
She reached over a fingered the delicate chain that hung around his neck, the small but concrete attestation of her argument. Van was unsure what to say in response to her amazingly accurate statement.
"So, I ask you Van…do you still mean it?"
she was close now, close enough for her to look into his eyes, emerald orbs searching ruby ones to find an answer or at least a hint of doubt.
He leaned forward and enveloped her in his arms, his head swimming due to her proximity. He was acutely aware of her being: her scent, her soft skin, her slender body against his. He didn't want to release her, knowing that once he did, she would never return to him.
She finally pulled away from him, quickly wiping tears away from her eyes.
"Well, that was silly of me," she said, trying to make light of the moment.
"I'm sorry," was all he could manage to say. "I wish…"
"Van, don't" she cut him off, "We both know it's better this way."
Van stood before her, his heart falling to pieces. He knew he had brought this upon himself when he had told her they needed to move on from each other. Know she had come to believe what he had said too.
He sighed, finally resigned to the facts of the matter. They could never be together. She knew, he knew it.
She had moved on.
"Before I leave," she said, "Could you grant me one more favor?"
Van smiled sadly at her, "Sure, anything you want."
"Will you dance with me?" she requested.
Van's eyebrows shot up. "What?" he asked, bewildered.
Hitomi giggled, her voice already sounding like a faraway dream to him.
"Dance. You can do it can't you?" she said with a teasing smile.
"Of course I can dance," Van responded, pretending to be offended, "But here? There's no music."
Hitomi smiled. "It's all right. I can sing a little, if you don't mind."
He took her in his arms and held her close.
"Cue the music," he whispered to her.
She began to hum a light slow song and they swayed lightly to it.
"Sometimes I wonder if
I would be the same without you
It' difficult to forget you
And in an instant I can see
That you're just like a dream
Unforgettable to me
It sees like a story that
Time took along with it
You'll never leave me
Don't ever leave me
And the more I yearn for you
The deeper in me I find you
Don't ever leave me
Find out now
I'll never forget you
I hear your voice and your joy
They're with me, they are still
Close to my heart.
I see you but you're not there
I reach for you but you won't come
On my lips I can still feel your last kiss
You always will be mine
The most I've had, the most I have
You'll never leave me
Don't ever leave me
And the more that I see you,
I fall deeper in love with you
You'll never leave me
Don't ever leave me
Don't ever leave
I look at the sky
I feel you will be
Unforgettable to me
You'll never leave me
Don't ever leave me
Unforgettable, that's all
Nothing less will you be
You'll never leave me
Don't ever leave me
Don't ever leave me
Don't ever leave
I'm alone here without you
Now and always you will be
In my eyes,
Unforgettable…
When she was done, he still wanted to hold her, just a little longer. He wanted to stay in this moment forever.
But she pulled away from his embrace and smiled at him.
"Thank you, Van," Hitomi told him, "Thank you for everything."
She lightly kissed his cheek and stepped away from him, turning to look up at her home in the sky…
