Disclaimer: Not mine, not ever.
And please bear with me; English is not my mother language …
Indian Summer
His footsteps echoed in the empty corridors of the hospital and faded away, so it seemed, far away in the distance. Not many patients and few visitors were here at this time of the day, and he himself was there just because of a call he had received on his cell phone some 15 minutes ago, dragging him out of a meeting. He had been afraid of this moment since he had known about it. Now the beginning of the end had come.
He passed a room where tow nurses were sitting. Following a feeling he could not quite place, he gave a small nod and sped up his pace. He did not notice the concern and sympathy on the faces of the two women, sending looks of worry after the young man with the sad ocean blue eyes.
He went straight to a special door, a door he had opened so many times last summer, every time with new, never dying hope. But this time, it was different. Today, he was afraid. Afraid of the things that were waiting for him in this very room.
Raising his hand, he knocked on the thin wood carefully, and then entered the room without waiting for a permission to do so.
He immediately saw the pale and thin figure lying lonely on the bed near the window. Pain crept in his heart when the young woman slowly turned her head and looked at him. She looked at him with eyes that held so much more than pain and desperation. They were full of life, much more life than he had ever experienced. But the most amazing thing was the total absence of fear in her eyes. In her sky-blue orbs were only peace and trust, shimmering with an intensity that caused his throat to become tight.
Because of that it was the young woman who spoke first.
"I'm glad that you came, Seto," Téa said with a voice that was not more than a whisper, but still with the attempt of a smile.
Seto answered with a smile of his own, full of a confidence he did not possess. The longer he stayed in this room, the more he was in danger of breaking. He already was on the verge of tears.
"I would do anything for you, little one," he said softly while reaching for her hand that lay beside her body on the white sheet. It should sound jokingly, as at the time when he used to tease her about being so much shorter in height than he was. But he did not succeed. The meant-to-be annoyance soon turned into a pet name which was now reminding him of a time that he, after living every moment of it, could only describe as happy. And this was a thought that caused a painful throbbing in his chest.
Téa did not seem to be aware of this, because her smile deepened.
"I know," she whispered. The pressure of her fingers on his hand grew stronger, but only hardly noticable. "May I ask you something?" she then asked.
"Sure," Seto said gently.
The young woman slowly turned her head. She looked out of the window, up to the neverending blue of the sky. For a long time she remained silent, just staring outside.
"Can you bring me out there?"
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Seto knew that this was not a good idea in the moment he agreed. But who was he to deny a terminally ill young woman a wish?
He sat on a bench in the hospital's park. Téa had laid her head in his lap, and both of them were staring out on the river, on which the setting sun painted a glittering trace while just touching the tips of the trees on the other riverbank. Everything, the colorful leaves, the gurgling water, every single clowd in the sky, was covered by the warm golden light of autumn.
But Seto did not even once look at these things. His eyes were captivated by the young woman lying on the bench, pale and powerless, and memorising her surroundings with a certainty, as if today was the last day that she got the chance to see everything like this. His hand wandered to the place on her head where not so long ago beautiful brown hair had been, its baldness now covered by a red bandanna. Slowly, he stroked her head, as suddenly the doctor's words came back to him. Today was her last time to see the world like this.
A tear slipped out of his eye before he could stop himself. It ran down his cheek and fell on the young woman's temple.
She did not seem to expect such a thing, surprise was evident on her face, or so he interpreted her look. A faint smile appeared on her lips as she reached out for his face and dried the salty wetness the tear had left behind.
"Why are you crying?" she asked quietly, her hand still lying on his cheek.
Seto was fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. He should be the one to cheer her up, like he had done last summer. He should be the stronger one, as he had been his whole damn life, not the other way round. Why was it so hard not to lose his composure in her presence? Why was she so different?
"I don't want to lose you," he answered his own question in a way he had never thought was possible. At least not for him. His own, big hand covered her small one and pressed it against his face, desperatly seeking closeness. I don't want to lose you …
Téa could not hide her surprise. "Why should you lose me?" she questioned him.
Seto stared at her unbelievingly. This couldn't be … "The doctor didn't tell you?"
The young woman just shook her head, to weak to even speak.
With great difficulty, Seto managed to hold back the tears. "The doctor," he said softly, "he called me earlier on. He told me that you …" His voice broke. Why did they leave it to him? Why him? How should he tell a young woman, particularly this one, that she won't survive the night?
Téa watched him intently. She followed another tear on its way, just to let her gaze travel back to his ocean blue orbs and to read in them as if they were an open book. And to find the answer.
"I'm going to die," she whispered.
Seto nodded before pressing a kiss on her forehead. "Tonight," he breathed with his lips still against her skin.
"Tonight," Téa repeated in a low voice. "Tonight …"
Slowly, Seto raised his head and gazed at her, feeling an affection he never thought himself capable of. But he was much more surprised by the look on her face. In her, there glowed a strength and determination that had the power to exist in a world beyond death.
Something broke in him in this moment, and another tear glided across his cheek.
"Don't cry," she said, a smile on her lips, her eyes gleaming. "We'll meet again. In another world."
"I know," Seto answered softly, before their attention once again was on the sun, which was at the moment disappearing at the embers colored sky behind the treetops that were red as well. Long minutes passed by, both of them lost in their thoughts.
"Seto?" Téa whispered suddenly.
"Yes, little one?" he responded, his gaze still fixed on the place where the sun had said goodbye to the world for today.
"Could you fulfill me one last wish?"
Seto looked down to her, and even before he could make up his mind, his mouth had formed and said the answer: "Anything."
"Would you … would you kiss me?" she asked. Seeing his surprised expression she went on. "I just want to know once in my life what it's like to be loved."
Her thoughts surfaced on her face, the absurdity of asking him, Seto Kaiba, out of all people for a kiss. Téa was about to turn her head to the side again, as Seto covered her cheek gently with his hand and held her gaze with his own.
As ridiculous as it might seem, Seto was not able to refuse this wish, even if he had wanted to. Slowly, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers with an incredible tenderness. He could feel her warmth, her nearness, and it was all he needed to be washed over by a happiness he had never known before. Her mouth opened as he carefully licked the seam of her lips, and their tongues danced in a rhythm as old as time itself.
After one last, cautious kiss on her mouth he moved away and looked at her. He stroked with one finger over her temple, past her eyes that were still closed, and down her cheek.
"I love you," he whispered with a sad smile.
Once again he stared at the river, watching the dark blue velvet that promised a starry night cover the sky from the east, a dusk only autumn could create.
After a while Seto refocused on the young woman lying calmly in his lap. And as he saw her still closed eyelids, he suddenly knew that Téa would never open them again.
With a painful smile he brushed a lock out of his face and moved his hand to touch her closed eyes softly. Never again he would be able to gaze into these sky-blue orbs that were like magic for him. A quiet sigh escaped his lips as he looked back at the river.
The moon, full and gleaming with a silvery light that seemed to be not from this world, appeared behind a cloud and was reflected on the dark water of the river. In it, Seto found a hope that he nearly had given up at that point of time. His eyes filled with tears, but he closed them quickly, and not a single one escaped.
He wanted to keep the last promise he had given to Téa, whatever the price would be. He would not cry …
Because he was sure that she was going to keep her last promise, too …
We'll meet again …