Dark Chocolate, White Diamonds
By Dixxy
Chapter Thirteen: A Beautiful Morning
(Keisha)
I yawned sleepily, waking up. The sun was shining in right on me, making anymore sleep next to impossible. I smiled, resting my head back on the pillow. The sun felt nice. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sunshine. I stretched, my muscles tight after being dormant during my hours of sleep. I started to get up out of bed, only to be greeted by cold. I dove back under the sheets, cuddling up to the warmest thing I could find.
Kento.
Unlike me, Kento hadn't woken up yet. He was still asleep, looking peaceful as he quietly slept. He shifted slightly, mumbled something, and wrapped an arm around me. I chuckled lightly as I was pulled closer, nuzzling his shoulder. The sudden sense of belonging I'd felt the previous night was incredible. This was where I belonged. This was where I wanted to stay.
The previous night had started out horrible, what with the attack and the blizzard, but ended wonderfully. I was back with Kento. And we were even closer than we'd been before- we'd made love. And he hadn't treated me like some sort of a material object. Nuh uh. Not my Kento. He'd treated me very well, making sure that I knew just how much he valued me and our time together.
It was probably one of the happiest nights in my life. For the first time since my parents died, I laughed. I giggled. I smiled. I was happy again. The initial shock and sadness was fading. I was still going to slaughter whoever had taken their lives, but I was getting ready to go on with my life. My parents wouldn't like it if I spent the rest of my life mourning over them. They'd brought my brother and me into the world so we could live. That was the least Evan and I could do for them. Live. Just like the Ancient One had told me- I had to live.
I had been a little scared- it was my first time and I was understandably nervous. It had been beaten into my head ever since I had begun to learn about such things that my virginity was a precious gift and that I should think carefully before I decided who my first lover would be. Was it someone I loved? Someone who wouldn't leave me after the fact? Someone who I would seriously consider spending the rest of my life with? Those were all things I had been told to consider.
I loved Kento (and I knew he was absolutely crazy about me in return).
I knew he wouldn't leave me.
I could seriously see myself spending the rest of my life with him.
I noticed Kento was starting to get up, his body shifting slightly. His eyes slowly opened, a smile crossing his face as he saw me. "G'morning," he mumbled, kissing me. I sighed contentedly, looking into his eyes as I gently placed a hand on the side of his cheek. His grin grew wider as he kissed my forehead.
"Good morning," I said. "Sleep well?"
"All right," he said, yawning and stretching afterwards. His eyes still looked very sleepy and his hair was an absolute mess. I almost laughed, but realized I probably didn't look much better. He laid back down, looking at me lovingly as he took my hand into his. "And you?"
I nodded, stretching as much as I could. "That was the best sleep I've had in a long time."
"Really?" he said, raising one eyebrow seductively. "How so?"
I grinned, giggling. "Because I had a nice, big teddy bear to snuggle up to and keep me company," I said, raising my hand to his face. He gently purred as I lightly scratched his cheek. I sighed happily, just enjoying his company. He looked so content, so happy, and so utterly blissful that it was rubbing off on me.
I looked outside the sliding door, seeing that the snowstorm had stopped some hours ago. A blanket of white lay on the ground and sat in clumps in the trees. Without a doubt the children of the city were taking advantage the snowstorm and were already out and about making snowmen, forts, and snowballs. A perfect winter day.
Kento nuzzled my neck, holding me tightly. "I can't believe I'm waking up next to you." I looked into his eyes, letting them tell him I felt the same way and I didn't blame him. After my grandmother had forced us to separate, it had been like dying and going to heaven to be with him again.
I started to look for something I could grab that would count as a source of warmth on the floor, keeping the blankets wrapped around me as much as I could without taking them all from Kento. I found a shirt that he'd discarded the night before and slipped it on. I stood up, still a little cold. I shivered slightly, wrapping my arms around myself as I sat back down.
"Cold?" he asked. I nodded. He stood up, walking over to his closet. Kento stopped to yawn and stretch, shaking his head afterwards. I watched as he began to dig through his somewhat messy closet, eventually producing a warm looking bathrobe. He tossed it over to me, a kind smile on his face. "There you go, babe."
"How can you walk around NAKED in this ice box?" I asked.
"You get used to it after a while," he said. He shivered slightly, hugging himself as he did. Kento shrugged, looking somewhat thoughtful. "Hmm. I guess I see what you mean by 'ice box' now. It's a little cooler than usual. I guess I didn't fix the heater as well as I thought I had."
I laughed. Sometimes he said the funniest things without even knowing it. Kento looked at me, a look of confusion plastered onto his face. Slipping the bathrobe on, I walked up to him, kissed him, and flicked his nose. He crossed his eyes, trying to get a look at the said facial feature. "Got a brush I can borrow?"
"Sure," he said. "There should be one around here somewhere." Kento started to dig around on his dresser, scratching his head. I found a brush he had overlooked, grabbed it, and rapped him lightly over the head with it. He looked at it, laughed lightly, and started to put an outfit together.
"I'm going to go get dressed," I said, kissing him. I stepped out of the room and headed to the room that held our emergency outfits. I dug through the bags, trying to find mine. I finally found it, dressed, and looked at myself in the mirror as I brushed out my hair. I smiled, making sure I looked neat and clean.
I found Kento wasn't in his room when I returned. As I tried to figure out where he went, I heard noises downstairs. Curious, I went down the stairs and found that he was dressed, making waffles (well, the frozen kind you stick in the toaster) and searching the cabinets. "You like syrup with your waffles, right?" he asked.
"Who doesn't?" I asked. He squatted down, grabbing what must've been the syrup from a cabinet below the counter. Kento stood up triumphantly, twirled the syrup around in his hand, and placed it on the counter proudly. I giggled and eyed the toaster. "Mmm. . . waffles. . ."
"Second question. Hungry?" he asked.
"Starving," I said, patting my stomach. "That's so sweet of you to make breakfast."
"Might as well," he said. "It's morning, you eat breakfast in the morning, and we're both here. Why not?" More waffles came out of the toaster. He placed them on a plate with some already done waffles. We sat down to eat in the kitchen, eating and talking. Kento told me about what was going on with the other Senshi, what had happened in school, and everything else I'd missed while I was cooped up at home. I nodded, my boyfriend doing most of the talking, though I did propose the rather obvious idea of keeping the previous night a secret, which he fully agreed with.
Once the last waffle was gone, we talked for a little more, trying to savor every moment we had with each other. Like it or not, I had to go- Grams and Evan were probably worried about me at that point. After all, we weren't sure when the next time we were going to see each other was going to be. Might as well make that moment count.
Realizing that we were really stretching it for time, Kento walked me to the door. "It was great seeing you," he said. He rested his hands on my shoulders, leaning forward into me so our noses touched. "I don't want to see you go." He kissed my nose and pulled away frowning. "I didn't realize how much I loved you until I lost you. And I don't want to loose you again."
"I don't want to go, either, because I know exactly how you feel," I said. I smiled and sighed happily. "But at least Grams is starting to get some sort of a reality check. Maybe I can talk her into letting us see each other again, and don't you dare think I'm letting a catch like you go so easily."
Kento chuckled. "Are you sure you don't want a ride home?"
"I'm sure," I said. "She'd flip if she saw you driving me home. Then
she'd get ideas and maybe even figure out what we did last night. Then
I think she and the others would skin us alive. But what they don't
know can't hurt us, right?" He nodded and I stepped out into the cold.
I walked backwards for a little while, still smiling and waving. Then,
before I got the urge to run back to the house and never leave, I
turned on my heels and started to run through the snow out of the yard.
As I headed down towards the main streets, I smiled. Things were beginning to turn around for the better after nearly a month of hell. I was going to be able to start seeing my friends again. I was back with Kento, and the two of us, I felt, were even closer than ever.
Now I had only one problem. Yes, Grams would be happy I was safe, but how would I explain where I was the previous night? I was in a different change of clothing, I was dry, and I'd been fed. I could try and say I was at one of the other Senshi's houses, but how could I convince them to convince my grandmother I'd spent the night at whichever house it was without explaining where I HAD been to whichever friend lived there? They all knew how Kento and I felt about each other, and they'd insist we'd done what we did. Kento might've gotten upset if he knew I was telling the girls about our late night escapades when we'd agreed to keep it a secret.
I also couldn't tell Grams I had been at Kento's house, either. She isn't a stupid old lady- she'd put two and two together, then throw a hissy fit. Seeing my grandmother throwing a hissy fit is NEVER a pretty picture- she gets down right UGLY whenever she throws one of those monsters. It's one thing if you snitch a cookie or whatever- what I had done, though?
I walked on, still trying to conjure up a story. My mind kept drawing a blank, refusing to lend me an idea, and I was coming up apon my house quickly. I gulped. If she figured out where I'd been and what I'd done. . . I'd be dead meat. Hell, I'd be worse than that. She didn't approve of my relationship with Kento in the first place! If she knew we'd gotten intimate she'd kill me.
She'll be too happy to see you're alive to ask questions, I thought. Satisfied with that answer, I walked up the front path. I noticed the windows were eerily dark. Maybe if Grams and Evan were asleep I could just sneak into my room and pretend I'd come home in the middle of the night. That would work.
I opened the door to see the downstairs, was, indeed, dark. So then they probably are still asleep. But Grams doesn't sleep in that often, I thought. Well, maybe she was up late worrying about me. I frowned- I would never intentionally want to worry her, but I didn't have much control over the situation with the creepy guys in black. I sighed. What was done was done. I stepped in and closed the door behind me.
"GET HER!"
"Hey!" I screamed, kicking out at my assailants. From all the black cloth I saw, I realized I was in the hands of the people who had attacked me during the snowstorm. I cried out in realization, calling out for my grandmother and brother. Were they all right? Had these crazy people gone after them, too? "What's going on! Grams! Evan!"
I heard a deep chuckle from somewhere in the room. "Your brother can't help you now, little girl- he's a bit tied up right now," said a deep voice. I looked up to see a man in a dark hood was walking up to me, a big wooden staff in his hand. The man looked me over, nodding in some sort of approval. "Yes, the Death Lord will thoroughly enjoy your company, my dear."
"Death Lord?" I said. Those words didn't sound so good. "Let me go!"
"We must leave quickly before she gets away again," he said. "Elder, you know what to do."
I didn't want the Elder to react. I reached out for my lover in desperation- I needed his help before those crazy people did something that I wasn't sure I wanted to think about. Nah, scratch that, I was SURE I didn't want to think about it. Kento! Help me! I mentally cried out.
KEISHA! Kento heard me. Good.
Kento, it's- I felt a sharp stroke of pain zip through my head. I nearly screamed, feeling dark magic in the air. I continued to try and struggle, but my attackers held fast. I couldn't get away. The dark magic was preventing me from getting through to my partner in arms.
That was when I heard the Elder's response to the man in the dark cloak. "Yes, my High Priest," said the Elder. My blood froze, recognizing that voice immediately. I looked up to the source of the voice and gasped in shock, my eyes widening in fear. No, it. . . it can't be!
"Grams, NO!"
