Disclaimer -- Nope, I don't own these characters either. They belong to Squaresoft.



Behind The Eyes



I've done a foolish thing…I've fallen in love…I know this love will never be returned, we are to different and yet I can not help but wish that I was standing beside him, his arm about my waist as we stared up at the stars together. It is hard to conceive how I feel in love with this stone- faced, grief-filled, human. His face is like marble, showing no feelings, but his eyes betray his feelings and they, those eyes the color of rubies, of roses, of blood, hold a grief so deep beneath them that when staring into them I feel like I'm drowning.

Fate brought us together but it was an understanding that forged our friendship. We both know, like no other, what it is like to be alone, to go through everyday with nothing to look forward too...The kind of lonely that turns you cold from the inside out, that makes you feel like you're surrounded by a black ice that could pierce your heart at any moment. We both are alone in this world, no matter how many 'friends' we surround ourselves with. They don't understand us but we understand each other. I am the last of my kind, a being with the intelligence that rivals that of humans but trapped in the body of a beast and he, a human who believes himself a monster.

I stare across at him, the light of the ghostly moon make him look delicate and his skin seems as pale the marble his face imitates. His hands are resting on the stonewall of the balcony, and his head is tilted slightly upwards exposing the elegant curve of his throat. The wind blows gently now, causing a single strand of his long black hair to gently brush down the arc of his jawbone. His eyes, which are so often filled with sorrow, now contain a look of wonderment and maybe even peace as he gazes up at the stars that shine so brightly in the darkness of night. The stars, I think, are a lot like him. Deep within him, past the cold face and the hard eyes, lays a light, the humanity he is so sure he has lost…The feelings he doesn't express for fear of getting swallowed by darkness, of making the same mistakes and getting hurt or even worse, hurting others.

No matter what he says, how he acts, or what wrongs he has committed I find him perfect. I can't even begin to describe how much I love him. He's the other half of my soul, the reason my heart continues to beat no matter how much the terrible wickedness that is the world beats down upon me. He makes the world beautiful, my candle that chases away the darkness with a mere look in my direction. Thinking about him makes me feel like I'm weightless and smile (if I could that is) but then I catch a glance of my reflection…And see the strange features stare back at me. I would say I'm more feline in appearance than anything...but not feminine as one would think of when looking at a cat. No, I look male, as I should. My fur and mane are the color of fire and my eyes glint with intelligence but would still send a child running in fear. One eye is marred by a cut that travels over it; this does not impair my vision though this eye is green instead of the same odd reddish-orange that is my other eye. A few tattoos cover my fur; the most recognizable is the one that gave me the nickname my friends call me by. When I look at myself I am struck with a pain of regret, it must be impossible for him to even see me as human…as more than a friend.

I stand up; I don't think he knows I've been watching him. He usually gets so involved in watching the stars he shuts the whole world out. I quietly pad over and sit down beside him.

"Good evening, Vincent," I say, as I sit and look up at him.

"Oh, hello, Nanaki," he replies, he is the only one who calls me by my real name.

He looks down at me and I can see, behind his eyes, the faint glimmer of a smile before he looks back up at the sky.

It is times like this that I wish more than anything that I were human so that I may take his hand and stare up at the endless starry sky with him. And maybe even, one day bring that smile out from behind his eyes and make those ever-straight lips curve into a grin. Oh and yes, so I can tell him that I love him.