Part two of three. Yoh/Anna and Hao/Anna. AU, kinda. Written for the 52flavours theme comm on lj. Spoilers for Funbari no Uta.

part two: recalling things that other people have desired (#35)

02. the cruellest month

An American poet had once written, "April is the cruellest month." I don't agree with him. His words (pretty, English and everything that poets wish they could write) cannot even begin to encapsulate April: we have not fully lived until we are reborn. I had lost my mind last winter but found April in Yoh.

28. beneath these hands

Their first winter was encapsulated by death. Matamune's sacrifice left an emptiness in her that she'd never fill again. She sagged into the snow, too tired to move.

"I'm sorry," said Yoh, offering her a hand up, which she ignored. The snow felt warm against her mittenless hands.

"What for?" she snapped.

He looked away. "Nothing. Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It was the only thing I could think of." He looked awkward and every inch of his ten years. "Why don't you get up? You look cold."

She opened her mouth to tell him that she wasn't, but he took off his mittens and gave them to her. "Come on," he said, offering her his wind-chafed hand. "Let's go home."

34. the imperious life

On their first White Day, he forgot to send her a gift. She wrote him a short, clipped note, and within the week, she received a package. Inside was a CD and a short post-it.

"Sorry about forgetting! I hope you like it! I don't think Ringo-san is scary anymore; she has a very nice voice. Happy White Day!"

08. the blind leading the blind

"This rosary has a thousand and eighty beads and an infinite number of ways to use it," Kino told her. "You can use it to bind, to release, to bring someone from the depths of despair or cast them into hell. It is an itako's tool and very powerful. With this rosary, you can be invincible."

Anna looped the rosary around her neck, feeling its weight. In time, she wouldn't even notice it anymore. "Thank you. I will do my best."

"Try not to abuse Yoh with it too much," cautioned Kino. "We still need him whole for the Shaman Fight."

"I'll try my best," she murmured.

06. and yes, the way you look at me

"You," her words and tone were sharp, "are an idiot."

He tilted his head to look at her. "Oh, you mean Tokageroh," he said, edging away from her. "I'm sorry, but I had to make him understand. Besides, I saved Ryu."

She raised an eloquent eyebrow. "You dared to risk your life and my chances for becoming First Lady for the sake of a low-level spirit?"

"Aww, Anna, it all worked out anyway."

"You made me look like a fool."

"I'm sorry." He turned the full force of his apologetic smile against her now that he knew she wasn't going to hit him.

05. the effect of impact on stationary objects

She closed her eyes and turned the moment over and over in her mind: sweaty palms against her cheeks, hair tickling her forehead and his warm, dry lips pressed against hers, sweet with amateurishness.

41. every act of love is separateness

She propped her elbows on the kitchen table, tapping her finger against her cheek. She watched his tan and calloused hands separate the yolk and whites from one another.

"I think you might like what I'm making," he told her as he discarded the shells.

"What is it?"

"It's a meringue." He picked up the whisk. "At least I think it is."

"What does it taste like?"

He shrugged. "Why don't we find out?"

The meringue came out fluffy and sweet. "Not bad," she murmured, scraping her bowl.

He smiled and picked up the knife so he could cut her another slice.

33. the opposite of faith

Yoh lived by Anna's impetuous nature; it was the thing that had defined their relationship all these years. One day she would want to go skiing just so she could sit in the lodge, sip her hot cocoa and watch him shake the snow and cold off himself after he had just taken a tumble down the treacherous hills. Another time she had him take her to a French restaurant, snapping at the waiter when she found out that they didn't serve green tea, only water, wine and soda. This time she wanted to attend a Christian mass, 'just to see what the big fuss was about.'

The Liturgy had been boring, and she had refused to shake hands with other people, but the Eucharist...somehow, Yoh hadn't been surprised when she made him go up and receive the unleavened bread. "What does it taste like?" she murmured when he returned.

He shrugged and opened his mouth so she could see the white spot on his tongue, rough and sickly looking. "Nothing."

She considered this for a long moment. "What a waste," she said before leading him out of the church.

17. a dark heart, beating

"Can I sleep with you?" Her voice had a quality that he never associated with Anna: fragile, tired and young.

"Yeah," he said, sitting up so he could shift the covers. She slid in the bedroll beside him, curling into such a tight ball that her knees were level with his ribs. "Are you comfortable?"

She made an affirmative noise as he adjusted the pillow so they could share it. Her eyes were much darker as she stared at the brief outline of his face. Eyes, nose, lips, cheekbones; they hadn't changed much in the last two years. His breath stirred her hair and she could feel its moistness, returning and receding.

52. to the last syllable of recorded time

Their silences were never awkward; they had grown out of that phase when they ceased to be children, on a train ride that still lingered in their reluctant memory.

50. as near as now

"Anna, why are you still awake?"

She glanced at him, huddling closer to the fire. "Couldn't sleep."

"Wait a moment." Yoh disappeared and returned a moment later with his blanket, draping it around her. It had a strange smell to it; the earth, stars and something headier. Familiar. "There," he said, sitting next to her.

They watched the fire in silence. She could feel the crackles splitting against the wood, feel Yoh shivering beside her. She shrugged off the blanket. "I'm not cold anymore."

He scooted closer to her and traced a finger up her arm experimentally. "Yes, you are. You have goosebumps." He draped the fabric over both of them. It was just big enough to cover them snugly.

She closed her eyes and rested her chin on her knees. "It's warm," she murmured.

11. your pretty blue eyes are just stained glass

"I met Hao today."

Yoh's expression was very unlike him: careful, neutral and closed. "I know."

Anna looked away and he took the moment to examine her profile. Honey-gold hair, brown eyes, pointed nose and lips that were too used to being pressed thin. She should smile more. "You have to defeat him."

"Mm." He wasn't enthusiastic about the idea.

"He said that he would be Shaman King and that I would be his wife," continued Anna. She could feel Yoh's body stiffen beside her, and she stared at him. He returned the gaze. She was the first one to look away.

"I see." He paused to lean back, digging his palms into the ground and stretching his legs out.

"You will be Shaman King."

"Do you still want me to?"

His question took Anna by surprise; she was not used to an insecure Yoh. "Of course." Her voice took on a softer quality. "Hao should have died a thousand years ago. He no longer has the right to be Shaman King."

"He's got just as much right as I have, Anna," Yoh chastised, reaching out to take her hand. He turned it so that her palm faced upwards and ran a finger across her hand. "You've got a fate line. And your life line divides into two here." He pressed the junction lightly. "You might have to choose between us one day."

"I refuse to marry him, Yoh."

Yoh shrugged. "I know. But things can change. Besides," and his gaze grew distant, "I wasn't supposed to be born. You can say that I haven't the right to be Shaman King either."

"You will be Shaman King, and I will be your wife," she told him, lacing her fingers through his.