Okay, here's that second chapter I promised. I hope you like it and again, I'm sorry for the incredible lateness.

WARNING: See chapter 1.

WARNING 2: For all you fans of Chrono/Rosette steaminess out there, this chapter is for you. It gets pretty steamy after all the angst. (winks)

Disclaimer: See chapter 1, chapter 5, or chapter 16.

Return to Times of Yore
By GundamWingFanatic90
Submitted: 25 December 2005

Past, Eden, Rosette

When I finally came to, I opened my heavy eyes, only to see a blur of violet and crimson hovering over me.

"Rosette! You're awake!" It was Chrono. I blinked a couple of times before moving to sit up, only to feel two strong hands on my shoulders pushing me back down.

"Chrono, let me up!" I exclaimed. "Of course I'm awake, you sap!" He frowned at me, and I allowed myself to be pushed back down with a huff of indignation.

"Rosette, you fainted." he said, looking away when I looked up at him. "Before that, you said something about your life… I'm sorry, Rosette." I blinked. Why did he seem so guilty?

'I haven't told him, yet…' I realized with a small laugh. His gaze was drawn by my mirth, and when I had stopped giggling, I pulled him down into a tight hug, my arms around his neck and my cheek touching his own. When I felt his arms encircle me hesitantly a second later, I turned my head and kissed his cheek before turning back.

"I didn't get to finish." I whispered in his ear, gently stroking the pointed tip of it in reassurance. "I'm going to be alright. My life… is being restored." He gasped a little, pulling out of the embrace to look me in the eyes. I could tell he was searching them for falsehood, but I had nothing to hide- I was telling the truth. After a few seconds, he pulled me back to him, and I barely caught a glimpse of sparkling tears in his eyes before he buried his face in my neck.

"Thank God… Thank God…" he said, repeating it over and over again, like a mantra. "Rosette… you're going to live…" I found myself smiling.

"Yes, Chrono… I'm going to live." I breathed. Something hot and wet dripped onto my bare shoulder, where my night shirt had slipped down, and I felt his shoulders shaking for a few moments while he cried tears of joy. I felt my own tears forming, and as I looked out at the empty room- Aidan and Adrian must have been with Mary and Shader or someone else- I couldn't help but be thankful for everything that had happened. I heard the Watch crackling again from where it rested on the bedside table, and in a second, I also heard the sound of it snapping open, accompanied by a rush of energy that made me gasp. I felt my lover's form changing under my hands and arms, his clothes changing from the Indian style cloak, vest, and pants, to his battle dress. I felt his wings come out of his back, and, moving a hand to the back of his head, I felt his ears elongating and his horns appearing. When I pulled away a little to look into his golden eyes, I found them to be bloodshot and tear-filled. I vaguely gestured to his new form with my eyes, raising one eyebrow in mild amusement.

"What's with the transformation?" I asked. He smiled gently.

"I guess that… I couldn't contain my emotions in my other form." he replied, and I smiled before kissing him deeply, passionately. He froze for a second, and I pulled away just enough to murmur against his lips,

"Chrono, could you lock the door?" before pulling him down again. I felt his smile. He lifted an arm towards the door, and I heard the telltale click of the lock closing before his hands came down to glue themselves to my sides. A few moments passed, and I pulled away from his mouth to plant a trail of wet kisses down along his jaw line.

"Rosette…" he moaned softly into my ear, spurring me on. "Rosette… Should we really… be doing this…? You just woke up… after all…" I huffed quietly into his tufted ear, nipping gently on the lobe in mild punishment for the statement.

"I'm not an invalid, Chrono." I breathed to him, slipping his jacket off of his shoulders and raising my left knee to rest against his side. "We haven't made love since before you left to find Pandaemonium's head. This is the first time we've been alone together since I had the kids and you got back." I pulled back to look into his eyes, the haze of passion beginning to cloud them. "I say we use it to our advantage, ne?" He grinned, just before he dove down for another kiss, slipping my night shirt down off of me around my shoulders, leaving me in nothing but my birthday suit. In a matter of seconds, he was dressed in the same way- meaning he wasn't dressed at all- and, just before the mist of ardor, love, and pleasure dissolved my vision, I glimpsed another tear sliding down his cheek to fall onto my shoulder. Then all I knew was me, and him, and the love that we had surrounding each other.

Hmm, a bit steamy in that one. Well, there's your Christmas present, everyone! I hope you enjoyed it. (grins) Okay, I hafta go to bed, now, so goodnight! And please be kind enough to read and review?

-Fanatic

P.S. Again I ask, does anyone reading this story know about and/or like Naruto? If so, I need some help deciding on something. I'm writing a story, but I can't decide whether the pairings should be SasuSaku, NaruSaku, NaruOC, or SasuOC. I don't do yaoi or yuri, but I can't decide between two of those pairings. I think it's going to be SasuSaku and NaruOC, or NaruSaku and SasuOC. There's definitely going to be some KakaOC, though, so just let me know what y'all think if you like Naruto, mmkay?