Heavenward
By SMYGO4EVA

The sky was overcast, gray clouds moving slowly, and Richard breathed deeply. Inhaling the scent of fresh grass, newly uncovered dirt, and blooming flowers, he sat down on the base of the oak tree, the looming branches over him.

A shadow cast before him, and his hands wrung together.

The weight in his chest, it was familiar, like an old friend. He chose his path, he knew his place, but he wanted the crown. He was an aberration; he had the features of a woman and a man. He had been told all his life that he was a demon, unclean, broken, and a blight against God. Those who lent out their hand to him, who soothed him, who did not think of him as a monster, they never stayed.

Such kindness was fleeting, and it was never to last.

A familiar hand touched his shoulder, and Richard looked up to meet the blonde-haired man who knelt before him.

Henry.

The shepherd, no, who he thought was his enemy, King Henry VI of Lancaster.

They met what felt like both yesterday and an eternity ago, and there he was, his eyes soft and kind.

Richard didn't know how to feel.

After everything, after everything Richard had done, after the pain he once caused, it was something out of a dream. A reverie, a fantasy, but the touch of Henry's hand was a reminder that it was truly him, the heat of bare skin is a reminder of the warmth of the man's forgiveness.

He had his second chance, and Richard was not going to waste it.

Henry's hand took both of Richard's, holding them close to his face, and he pressed a kiss to the dark-haired man's fingers, a touch so sweet.

The anger, the burning betrayal, the deceit, and the tears between them was gone now, replaced by love. Henry kissed him, not because he was a King, but because he saw Richard as an equal, no longer enemies, and as an affection that could never be broken, throughout all the lands.

It was unheard, unforeseeable, and wading past treacherous words, the abuse of power, and ruling through fear.

Their love, the love between two men, once blood-soaked enemies, it seemed impossible, that they could have this.

But Richard looked upon Henry, their eyes meeting, and he smiled, the weight in his heart dissolving, heavenward, up to the stars.

(A/N: This was my first time writing for Requiem of the Rose King, so forgive me if there are some character inconsistencies.)