Hello! -waves- I decided to try my hand at an Escaflowne fic. This is the outcome. The pairing is Van/Hitomi and takes place seven years after the end of the series. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne, sadly, nor do I own the song 'If You Still Believe.'

-
I had a dream that I could fly
I can feel each moment as time goes by
We never be too far away
You would always be here I heard you say
-

Leaves crunched under Hitomi's feet as she walked slowly down the pathway of concrete. Leaves swirled in the air in a miniture storm, causing a bird to leave its perch. As it flew hurriedly away, a single feather fell from its wings, landing right at Hitomi's feet. She slowly bent down and picked it up. A single tear fell down her cheek. The feather reminded her so much of Van, who she had not seen in seven years. She had begun to think that Gaea was only a dream, just as everyone else was fond of believing. But Van...Van could not have been a dream. He had been too alive, too real. She could still remember the sensation of sitting in his arms as he flew through the sky. His scent, that of the fields, was something no mere dream could create. But over the years, she had begun to wonder if that's all it was. A dream. Nothing more.

Van had told her that all they had to do to see each other was picture each other in their minds. His image was still sharp and fresh in her mind, but it wasn't enough. She loved Van, dream or no, and still regretted that she had not realized it almost until she went home. Still, she had always believed, hoped, that Van would swoop down from the sky in a pillar of light, wings outstretched. She'd always hoped he'd come back for her. But he hadn't.

Maybe it had all been a dream after all...?

-
I never thought
Thought that it would be our last good bye
I still can dream
That one day love will fall out from the sky
-

Hitomi slowly shook her head. No, if she kept thinking like that, it would become reality. This tiny fragment of hope kept her going strong all these years. She couldn't stop believing now.
She pictured Van in her mind, and whispered to herself, Van, do you still remember me? Will...Can I ever see you again? She sighed, Van, I'm still waiting. I still believe. I still love you. Do you still love me?

-
Do you still remember, all the time that has gone by
Do you still believe that, love can fall out from the sky
If from where your standing, you can see the sky above
I'll be waiting for you, if you still believe in love
-

Hitomi dropped the feather on the myriad of crunched leaves and continued her walk. She passed several houses, each one torturing her with the happiness of young and old couples alike. They had what she didn't, what had been denied her. In a small part of her mind, she knew this wasn't fair. She had helped save Gaea, a whole other world, only to be...punished by it. She hadn't seen Van in seven years. A million questions popped into her mind, questions she knew she might never learn the answer to. What did he look like now? Did he still act the same? Was he...married?

Suddenly, Hitomi wished she could go back in time to that day, the day she had returned home. Ever since her departure, she had felt hollow, empty. An emptiness that could not be filled by friends and family alone. She knew now what choice she would have made on that day. She would have stayed with Van. She would have stayed; and this horrible, aching hole in her heart would have never developed.

Even now, if she could go back, she would. No, no ifs'. Hitomi scolded herself. There was a way. She just had to find it. And when she did, she would stay with Van. Her family and friends would surely understand. They had seen her miserable since that day, and frankly, some of them had said they couldn't stand it. Not to her face, mind you. No, she was too fragile' for that talk. Fragile?' Ha! How many people can say they helped save another world?
She was alone on Earth. No one believed her. Even her own best friend treated Gaea like a joke. Her parents had even gone so far as to send her to a psychiatrist.

Yes, if...no, when, she found a way, she would definently stay, despite any complications.

After all, couldn't love conquer all? Or was that just a cruel joke meant to play with people's minds and give them false hope?

-
Find a way,
To bring back yesterday
Find a way to love
I hope we stay
When tomorrow becomes today
Love will find a way
-

The sun slowly sank beneath the rim of the sky, its bright rays dying with the day. Birds sang their final song before they, too, slept until morning. Out of the corner of her eye, Hitomi glanced at the sunset. For a moment, she stopped in her tracks. V-van...?! But she continued breathing a moment later. It had only been a fragment of her imagination. Sighing in disappointment, she walked on down the path, finally coming to stop at a small house. She unlocked it with a heavy heart and stepped into the house.
She dumped the duffel bag she had been carrying onto the small couch in her living room. Hitomi still ran track. It was one of the only things that she truly liked. When she flew down the track of concrete at what she considered a breakneak speed, her cares and troubles seemed to stay behind. For those few precious seconds, it was only her, the track, and the finish line.
Now, however, things were much more complicated.

With a sigh, Hitomi kicked off her shoes and headed toward the quiet solace of her room. It was stark, unadorned, unpretentious, and several other fancy words that meant the same thing. Plain. Hitomi really didn't care. After all it was just a room, wasn't it?

She headed over to her working desk, one of the few pieces of furniture in her room, and picked up a small, wooden box. She carefully opened it and withdrew what she considered the most precious item she owned. It was a single, pearly white feather. One of Van's feathers, to be more precise. Hitomi lightly ran her finger down the silky feather and found herself nearly bursting into tears. It was amazing how even a reminder of him could make her this sad. She turned her teary face towards the last dying rays of the sun coming through her window while clutching the feather carefully in both hands. Van...'

-
I'll be waiting for you
In my heart you are the one
If I cannot find you
I will look up to the sun
-

Van de Fanel, King of Fanelia, looked out his window, all the beauty and grandeur of his restored kingdom lost to his distant eyes. Of course, he didn't let his people see him like this. No, every day he put on the same, happy mask and prayed it would fool people. After all, who wanted a sad king following so much grief and misery?

Depressed. That single adjective described his mood on a day-to-day basis. Well, maybe not just depressed. Throw heart-broken' and guilty' into the mix as well. Heart-broken because of obvious reasons. Hitomi, the one woman he had ever felt like that before, was on another planet. Guilty because he had promised her something he knew now could probably never happen. He'd told her he'd visit her, only to find out after she'd left that the feat was virtually impossible. He'd only been able to travel between Gaea and the Mystic Moon before because the two worlds had been relatively close together. Now, however, the two worlds had spread farther and farther apart. The Mysitc Moon was only slightly larger than the other stars in the sky now. To risk a journey there would mean risking leaving his people without a king. To do so after all they'd been through would be absolutely cruel. No matter how much he wanted to, Van couldn't make the journey, nor could he risk anyone else to do so. He couldn't be selfish.

With a sigh, Van absentmindedly rubbed Hitomi's pendant between his fingers. He missed her so much that it often hurt. Love could truly be a painful and cruel thing. But that didn't matter. More to himself than anything, he whispered, Hitomi, even if I never see you again in this life, even if by then you don't love me any more; I'll still love you. I'll still wait for you.

-
If from where you're standing
You can see the sky above
I'll be waiting for you
If you still believe in love
-

-

Two souls that forever longed for eachother. Two worlds that were doubtful to ever cross paths again. And two people who never stopped believing that one day they would see each other once more. Two people whose hope and love was so great, that it was able to cross the boundaries of reality and reason.

Although neither of them noticed it, at that moment both Van's feather and Hitomi's pendant glowed a faint blue color.

-

Suddenly, Hitomi felt a strange sensation surround her. It almost felt like...Hitomi gasped. It was! A pillar of light had picked her up! She traveled upwards towards the stars until the scenery before her abruptly changed and she began descending. She recognized this place! This was Gaea!
Euphoria spread through her body as her feet lightly touched Fanelia's castle grounds. Van!' She ran through the stone structure quickly, her mind subconsciously knowing where to put her feet. Somehow, she knew Van was here, where he would be. She flew up a flight of stone stairs and down a hallway. Suddenly, she skidded to a halt and pushed open a pair of double doors.

-

Van looked up, startled, as his doors were flung open. There, standing in his doorway, was the girl of his dreams. He asked, daring to believe this was reality and not a dream.
The young woman laughed and ran over to him, engulfing him in a tight embrace. came her muffled voice, I've missed you so much!
Van returned the embrace and warmly said, He smiled and breathed in the scent of her hair, which had grown much longer, not believing his luck. After all these years, his greatest wish had come true.

-

Hitomi smiled as warm tears of joy ran down her face, soaking Van's shirt in the process. He pulled back slightly and looked at her, startled, What's this? Tears? He said with concern, gently wiping them away with his thumb.
Hitomi just grinned and said, Tears of joy, Van, I assure you.

He grinned back and, on impulse, lifted her face to meet his. Her emerald green eyes met with his firey red ones and for a moment all time seemed to stand still. Then, he slowly sealed her mouth with his.

Hitomi felt electricity run through her veins at his touch. With that one action, he had managed to convey to her all the emotions he had kept bottled up behind his mask all these years. She willingly returned the favor.

Soon, however, oxygen was needed and they were forced to seperate. Although no words were needed, Van still felt the need to say, Hitomi, you know I love you, don't you?

The young woman smiled and kissed him on the lips softly. She then whispered into his ear, Of course I do, Van. The feeling's mutual.

Van grinned and held her close to him, content just to have her in his arms for now. Hitomi felt the horrible, aching void in her heart begin to close as she lay in Van's embrace. This was how things should be, she was sure of it.

Maybe love wasn't such a cruel thing after all...

-
Do you still remember, all the time that has gone by
Do you still believe that love can fall out from the sky
If from where you're standing, you can see the sky above
I'll be waiting for you, if you still belive in love
-

How did you like it? Please review and tell me my flaws so I can improve! Thank you. : )