A/N: I love you so much my reviewers!! Twinkies for you all!! I'm also flattered that I am inspiring some of you to the point of you cursing me:D This fic was inspired by a fanart. I'll put the link up in my profile if you want to go take a look at it. As always, enjoy!
075. Shade
Pausing in the knee-high grass, Hitomi squints in the sunlight, looking for the raven haired king who has once again slipped away from his advisors, shirking his royal duties. Exasperated, they turned to her for help in locating him. She has been on a shopping trip with Millerna and Merle, and though she doesn't know where Van exactly might be, she has a fairly good guess. That is why she is out here in the sunlite fields, the wind blowing through her shoulder length honey colored hair and the scent of summer flooding her senses. If there is anyplace that Van loves best, it is the wild of the world, the unpopulated areas where nature remains unspoiled.
A flash of red catches her green eyes and she turns toward it, her lips curving in a smile. There- beneath the enormous, old oak tree. She walks as quietly as she possibly can, not wanting to disturb him, knowing how rare his chances to truly relax are. Van is laying on his back, his arms folded beneath his head, dark lashed lids closed. He doesn't stirr, and she kneels soundlessly to lay beside him, her chin resting in her palm, head propped up on her elbow so she can observe him.
'Beautiful.' It may be silly to think of a male as being beautiful, but she does. Her bright eyes scan his still form, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest, wondering what he's dreaming or thinking, as she does often. Van's mind is a mystery she would love to unravel, and she waits patiently as he reveals himself piece by piece to her. The shade from the tree moves as the leafy branches are tossled by the wind, a dim blanket spotted with holes of sunlight, and Van opens his eyes, smiling slightly at her. Hitomi returns the smile, knowing he has been aware of her presence the whole time.
"Been sent to fetch me?" he asks. When she nods in answer, he inquires, "Well, what were you waiting for?"
She shrugs. "Who said I wanted to listen to them anyway?"
He chuckles and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her down with him so they can stare up at the sky through the dense branches that guard over them.