Made For Each Other
~*~
The next morning dawned cool and sunny, and Luka stumbled down the steps of Hiryuu's house, rubbing his sleep-filled eyes. After seeing how chill the night had become and how dark it was out here away from the bright lights of the city, he had decided to take Hiryuu's parents up on their offer and had stayed the night at their house.
He had not seen Hiryuu since their meeting at the river yesterday.
"Good morning," Hiryuu's mother said pleasantly as Luka entered the kitchen.
"Ur…morning," he replied, not used to such politeness. His tall form was headed towards the front door, when her voice rose up behind him once more.
"Would you like some breakfast?"
"No thank you," he called over his shoulder and ducked out the door into the fresh morning air. Wisps of fog still clung to the low-lying parts of the sprawling fields that surrounded the village, but the sun burned strong overhead and the air was heating rapidly. Not too many people were out yet at this hour, and Luka found the street enjoyably empty as he left the house.
Not knowing quite what to do with himself, he stretched and took a deep breath, deciding to head back to the river where he had been yesterday and try to figure out what the hell was going on.
As he tramped across the fields, and the glitter of water shone in his eyes, he found himself relaxing, just a little. Some of the tension that he always felt eased away from his body and he felt lighter then air. "So this is what it's like…to live your life…when no one's watching you…"
He approached the stream and headed towards a cluster of willow trees at its edge, planning on reclining beneath their dropping branches and maybe getting a few more hours sleep. But when he pushed aside the feathery strands, he saw Hiryuu already lying there.
Eyes widening, he froze and waited to see if she would notice him. But after several minutes, she still remained motionless and Luka crept forward on silent feet. Looking down upon the sprawled figure of the blonde girl, he saw that her eyes were closed and that she was, in fact, asleep. Snorting, he sat himself down in the little space left by the river's edge and tried to ignore her slumbering form almost touching his leg.
Closing his own eyes, he breathed deeply in and out, trying to drink in as many of the natural smells around him as he could. That had always been the one thing he had missed most about the forest where he trained with Master Cromeheart, the smells of the life around him. Most people, when they thought of nature's aromas, would have thought of flowers and fields of meadow grass, but when Luka thought of his time with Cromeheart, the scents of damp earth, and soaring trees tickled his mind. Scents of the musky pine trees and aged oaks, the smells of clusters of mushrooms and faint traces of skunks and deer.
Now, as smells similar to these assuaged his nose, his shoulders grew lighter, and a little more of the weight of his life as the world's greatest wizard disappeared.
Opening golden orbs once more, he glanced down at Hiryuu's sleeping form and twisted his mouth into a wry grimace. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not bring his magic to his fingertips, could not bring himself to hate her as he had before.
His mind traveled back over all of the memories engraved in his head, expecting hate and anger to rush through him with each passing recollection. But, even as he relived Hiryuu stealing his spell book, stealing his spells, trashing his cigarettes, smirking at him, grinning at him, and invading his house, no rush of ire flowed in his veins, and his brain felt nothing but a sense of loss; a sense of…longing even.
Luka's eyes remained on Hiryuu's peaceful face, and now the feeling of her hand in his struck him like lightening. The memory of his sickness and her care flashed through his head, then drew one last remembrance forth. The female wizard had gotten sick once…and he had…he had…
The mage's eyes widened as he remembered how close they had been, how his hand had brushed her forehead and her own eyes had widened much like his were now. Even now, the hand twitched as if it wanted to reach out again and touch the slumbering girl before him.
"How can I-? How can she-? I don't know…" His mind morphed into a jumbled mass of emotions and desires all tangled into one, and he found himself wincing slightly as what seemed like a million voices rang in his ears. Putting his hands over his ears, he closed the golden orbs that were his eyes and remained that way for many long moments, breath coming hard and fast through his parted lips.
Minutes passed as he waited for the tide to pass, and when it did, his hands fell and his eyes opened, immediately drawn to the Golden Dragon once more. Golden hair fanned out around her like a visible reading of her aura, and Luka saw that once more, it was hanging in her face.
Without knowing quite why he did it, the 21st century's greatest wizard reached out slid the silky strands off her face with the tips of his long fingers, loving the feel of her smooth skin beneath them. He ran his fingers down one soft cheek and marveled at the tone of her skin, at the perfection of the color.
Suddenly, he pulled the renegade hand back, astounded at his own actions. But what was even worse then that, was the fact that the sleeping girl was now stirring. Her eyelids fluttered and a sinking sense of horror settled in the male mages gut. He was in for it now.
A little groan escaped the lips of the Dragon as she sat up, hair rippling over her slender body. Yawning, she turned those lively violet eyes on Luka and was met with a confused pair of tawny ones. Frowning, she sniffed and started to get up, ignoring the other magic user.
She stretched after she had stood, and Luka watched in fascination as muted sunlight flowed like water over creamy skin and toned muscle. For while Hiryuu was slender, she was by no means weak, and could have held her own in a battle of strength for quite some time.
Seeming to sense the other's eyes on her, the golden haired girl shrugged, rolling her shoulders, and stalked off in the direction of the village.
But it seemed Luka's mouth had other plans. "Wait!" he called after her, not realizing he had spoken until the words were past his lips.
Half-turning, Hiryuu glared at him over her shoulder. "What do you want?" Her voice was chill and Luka thought he could almost feel the ice from where he was sitting.
"…Don't go…" he said awkwardly, still not knowing why he was doing this.
Rolling her eyes, Hiryuu turned all the way back around and crossed her arms, eyes boring into him. "Why? So I can take more orders from the great Luka Guillaume Reinhardt?" One foot tapped impatiently and Luka suddenly felt an urge to explain himself.
But no words would come.
"Well, um…" And for the very first time in his life, the wizard found himself at a loss for words. Usually his snappy wit and sharp tongue could get him into and out of any situation, but not today, and not now. Right now he was too busy watching the irate beauty in front of him as his brain frantically searched for something to say.
Hiryuu heaved an exasperated sigh. "If you don't have anything to say…"
"No!" Luka exclaimed, jerking out of his seeming stupor. "It's just…well…I guess…"
Hiryuu growled under her breath and gave Luka a look that reminded him of a hurried mother waiting for her child to tie his shoe.
"It's just, I don't know why, but…for some reason, it hurts when you leave." Instantly, he felt stupid, felt as if he was standing naked in front of the entire Magic User's Convention.
The Golden Dragon continued to stare at him, but her gaze seemed to have changed; maybe even softened a little. But not much. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally said, "It hurts?"
Nodding, Luka answered, "I don't know what it is and I can't really say why but…"
He trailed off, at a loss again. The wizard turned away from the girl in front of him, too ashamed now to meet her intense look.
He was surprised to feel her hands on his face, cupping his cheeks and turning him to face her. Her eyes were soft now, and gentle, with a depthless look to them that Luka had never seen before. "Do you really mean that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Awkwardly, Luka shifted to face her fully and rubbed the back of his neck with one long fingered hand, his cheeks still held in her palms. "Yes…I do…and…" Here he paused and took a deep breath.
"Do I really want to do this?"
"And…I…I really don't know…don't know how to…love, but I…" He stopped again, frustrated and was glad for Hiryuu's patient silence as she waited for him to finish. "I want you to teach me."
During this little confession, his eyes had wandered from her face, but now he brought them back to stare directly into her eyes. "Please, let me try again." This was said with no hesitation and no thought at all; it seemed as if his wit had returned to him.
Another long silence stretched between them, and now it was Hiryuu's turn to look away. To Luka, her every pore seemed to radiate hesitation and indecision. Her hand toyed with a dropping branch of the willow tree and stared at it, before finally deciding to remember him and look at him once more.
Her smile crinkling the corners of her eyes, Hiryuu threw her arms around the wizard's neck, laughing softly. Startled, Luka froze, as he didn't know quite what to do. "You amaze me at times, Luka Guillaume Reinhardt," she said, her voice a caress next to his ear. "You really do."
Struggling a little with his mixed-up feelings, Luka placed his hands gingerly on her waist and jumped a little as she kissed his cheek. She pulled back. "Why the sudden change of heart?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.
He shrugged. "I don't know."
"You don't seem to know much of anything," Hiryuu told him, her voice lightly teasing.
"What?!" Luka's voice rose, and her felt the old anger rising again. But this time it was different, this time it had an almost loving quality to it, a calmer less murderous sense of being. He paused for a moment, pondering this, then smirked at her, deciding maybe this wasn't a bad thing after all. "Well, I may not know much about any of this, but I do know more about magic."
Eyes widening, Hiryuu's mouth dropped open and Luka took advantage of the opportunity to press his mouth to hers, as he had often see Luel do to Nell and vice versa. Both of their bodies trembled with surprise, but neither pulled back.
Opening her eyes, Hiryuu found herself gazing directly into Luka's. Smiling, she pulled away from their lip-lock and leaned her forehead against his. "You never cease to astonish me, Luka. And that's the truth."
Shaking his head, Luka stood and waited for Hiryuu to join him. Together, the two walked back towards the village and the start of a new life.
~*~
No, this is not the end; not just yet. ^.^ I still have one (two POSSIBLY) chapter(s) that I'm going to post. Reviews would be great, and if anyone has been reading this from the beginning and has noticed my all-too-frequent mistakes with spelling and grammar and would like to help me out by betaing this story, let me know! I would appreciate it very much! ^_~
~SanoGirl
