Title: Promise Me Anyway
Rating: PG (there's gonna be some violence later on)
Disclaimer: Escaflowne is NOT my property. I wish I could come up with something this cool! Nay, it is not mine at all….
Summary: Future fic, multi-part WIP. Hitomi is a student of international politics, determined to bring peace to Earth too, and already making a difference. Van is king of a happy, prosperous, peaceful rebuilt Gaea. They're still in love and still in touch. So what's the problem?
Dedication: (re-dedication?) To Sarah, who is at times more into this story than I am. Also to Kyle, who years ago cried while watching the parts about the tragic Fanel family. Hehe.
A/N: There wasn't much to say in chapter two, so it's short. There's still very little action but I promise you, daring stunts and swordplay are coming soon. And so is Allen. Until then, enjoy the flangst.
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Chapter Two
Van was surprised to realize how quickly the sensation of jealousy had faded. The moment she'd announced that he was no longer the lone center of her universe, Van had been somewhat hurt. He had been afraid for just a moment that he'd lost his best friend to someone else, but the thought had quickly dissipated in the face of reality. Although he might be a little lonely without the exclusive and constant attention of the cat-girl, Van was happy for Merle.
Pushing the rich velvet coverlet to the bottom of his bed and climbing in, Van's thoughts turned from the events of the day to indulge in memories he never touched in daylight. Images of a girl with short brown hair and long legs filled his mind, and as he drifted off to sleep he felt the familiar brush of her consciousness joining his own.
Hitomi had been staring at her ceiling for hours. Van had not yet made his presence known. Something was nagging at the fringes of her consciousness, something unpleasant. The conversation with Yukari earlier that day… her best friend's words had been truer than Yukari had imagined. Hitomi was living in a fantasy that could never be fulfilled.
It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to Van.
They'd been sitting silently together for a while when Hitomi finally spoke.
"Van." He turned to face her. "Yeah?"
"How long are we going to keep doing this? Visiting each others' dreams?"
Van fell silent, flicking at a blade of grass and avoiding her gaze.
"Isn't it strange, Hitomi?" he asked after a long moment. "We both still look the same here as we did then. It's so strange."
"It is," she agreed. "I guess because we're living in a memory."
"That's what this is? A memory? But it's happening now…"
"Maybe," Hitomi said. "Or maybe… we're just walking in the past."
The sadness in her voice stung him. "No, Hitomi… it's not…"
"Van…" she looked up at him with liquid eyes. "I can't keep doing this, Van!"
He lunged toward her and grabbed both her hands, his brows knitted together in fear. "Hitomi?"
"It hurts me every morning, Van. It- my friends don't understand, how could they? Van… I'll always be with you, but-"
" 'But'? Hitomi!"
The expression of pure shock on his face, the devastation in his eyes quickly concealed by the turning of his head, stabbed Hitomi's heart with an answering pain. Tears paused at the brink of her eyelashes and then plummeted down her cheeks.
"Van- I'm sorry," she whispered.
With that Hitomi's image faded, and Van found his hands full of empty air.
A split second later, he realized she was gone.