Haphazard Musings
Prompt: Desperation
A/N: Okay, this was a little alternative to the scene where Kagetora stormed out of the house after Beni and Renkaku kissed. 'Nuff said.
He knocked three times in the past four hours. Though it did not really say that he tried his best, he still waited outside her door nonetheless. He waited, even when his timepiece—the sun—had disappeared from the window's view sometime ago.
It did not occur to him how much his actions had hurt Beni. Nor did he have any right to demand an explanation from her. She simply locked herself in her room, out of his sight, without further elaboration other than a pained look in her eyes before closing the door in his face.
So as Kagetora is Kagetora, he did not intrude into her privacy—very well knowing that he could find twenty-three different ways to break into her room.
He was a man of patience, and so he simply stood there with his hand lightly brushing the wooden outline of Beni's door without further complaint.
Two hours passed.
Three.
Four.
Standing like a completely still statue, he did not move an inch except for his quiet breathing.
And then, he heard a rustle of fabric from deep within the room. His eyes shot open, and the sound was followed by footsteps making their way towards the door.
"Beni…sama?" he managed to whisper, so softly that he was afraid she would break down knowing he was here all along.
A muffled reply, "Sorry…"
Kagetora rested his cheek to the door with his ear pressed lightly to feel like he was closer to her. "No, I'm sorry Beni-sama. I was not thinking correctly. I had no right to raise my voice in your presence."
Silence, then a soft sigh.
"Are you still angry with me?" he asked hesitantly.
"No…"
His brows wrinkled up in longing. "May I see you, Beni-sama?"
There was a very long pause. It was not awkward, but it was deliberate and pensive. Until Beni felt that it was time, she twisted the door knob and slowly creaked the door open.
She was looking down at the floor, her teeth gnawing on her lower lip. She did not want to meet his eyes.
But this was a wave of relief for Kagetora. And he could not stop himself from encircling his long arms around her fragile body and press her closer to his chest.
He buried his face in her hair. "I am sorry…"
Beni returned his embrace, though delicate and vulnerable. She smiled slightly, also in relief to be with him.
I was doing that to protect him…To protect him, she reminded herself before she broke into a spasm of sobs.
Kagetora rubbed circles around her back, quieting her down. "I am not angry with you," he whispered, as if answering an unspoken question. "Though…"
He took her face in his hand and rested his fingers on her chin to get a better look. "…I do not want to feel that cling of desperation, knowing I could not do anything when he—he…" His face crumpled, revealing an enormous emotion that he could not meet her eyes any longer.
Beni watched as Kagetora began to suppress his thoughts of that afternoon. It was distorted in many ways, in many faces of grief and pain. She reached out and placed her hand on his cheek, and almost instantly, his face calmed.
Before he could continue to explain, she arched her head up to plant a kiss on his mouth.
It was like molding two molten rocks together—like slow moving fire that sealed a whirlwind of emotions. All that has been said, all that has been seen meant nothing more than a memory like a leaf being engulfed in flames.
He bent down deeper, slowly, and took her in her arms—pressing her, as though forever.