Pairing: Kiryu/Misty

Rating: T

Summary: The night before their final stand, Kiryu tracked Misty down to request a dance.

Last Waltz

The night before their final stand, Kiryu tracked Misty down to request a dance. It was cheesy and embarrassing, but there was such a large part of him that was actually worried one of them might not make it that he was determined to give her something she wanted before that happened.

Thank the gods Carly was already asleep, or it might have been impossible to pry Misty away from her side. She was reluctant enough as it was. And Carly probably would have teased him relentlessly, which he didn't really feel like listening to right now.

But it the end, Carly remained asleep, and Misty took his hand and allowed him to guide her out of the room.

Misty hesitated ever so slightly as they entered the room Kiryu had prepared for this, but then the moment was over and she was at his side again, shaking her head with a faint smile on her lips.

"When did you have the time to do this?" she asked quietly, looking around.

It wasn't much-just a bit of artfully draped fabric here and there and some cracked glass lights hanging among it all, just enough to change the atmosphere of the room-but it had taken a bit of time to find the fabric and the lights and make sure they were nice enough and then fix the wiring in this room so the lights would actually work. He had actually been working on this project for a few weeks now, ever since Rudger had been making noise like they would finally begin moving soon. It might have been finished sooner, but he could only sneak out so often before Rudger started getting suspicious.

He shrugged casually, trying not to show how proud he was that she'd noticed and appreciated the effort, and walked over to the music player he'd managed to salvage. "I found time here and there." He kicked a button with his toe and quiet music began working it's way through the room. It had been a bit of a challenge to find that too, but he'd done his best so the illusion could be complete.

He walked back over and held out a hand, unable to keep a grin off his face even as he tried to stay serious, because wasn't that what old fashioned gentlemen did when they asked a lady to dance? "May I have this dance?"

Misty covered her mouth with her hand to hide a laugh and took his hand with the other one-lightly, so it didn't seem like she was too excited about this. "Well, I suppose we can't let your hard work go to waste, can we?"

It was obvious as soon as they began moving that Kiryu had no idea what he was doing. He tripped over his feet before they'd been moving for even half a minute, and he nearly stepped on Misty's feet more than once. He'd always had a good sense of rhythm, so at least he was able to step in time with the music, but that was about all he had going for him.

They didn't exactly have things like ballroom dancing classes growing up in Satellite, certainly not in the parts he'd grown up in.

But Misty only laughed and swiftly took over the role of leader herself, carefully guiding him through the steps and movements that took them around the room. It wasn't long before Kiryu could confidently look at her rather than at his feet, and it seemed she had decided the same, because when he did look up, her eyes were closed.

"What you thinking about?" he asked after a moment.

Misty smiled and looked up at him slowly, her blue eyes almost glowing in the low light. It was a surprisingly content expression, and Kiryu found himself smiling a bit in return.

"After tomorrow, we'll finally be able to rest in peace," she said quietly.

Kiryu looked away, swallowing his unease and fury at the thought of tomorrow. Right now, there was only Misty and their dance.

"Live in peace, you mean," he said, and he couldn't quite keep the fury out of his voice after all. "I didn't only want revenge. I don't want to die. I'm not going to die. I mean, any more than I already did."

Misty sighed and her smile turned a bit bitter too. "You might be able to live peacefully," she murmured, though she sounded doubtful. "I wouldn't be able to. My wish isn't something that could be granted so easily."

"Maybe you should get a new wish," Kiryu muttered.

Misty's smile turned sad and she shook her head while her hand suddenly gripped his a bit too tightly. "I already have one. It won't be granted either."

Kiryu fell quiet for a minute. They had almost revolved halfway around the room before he said quietly, "I think you could be happy if you lived."

Misty didn't answer until they had reached the other side of the room again, and when she didn't, she was looking at something over his shoulder that he couldn't see. "Maybe I could, if I wasn't alone. I've grown tired of that."

Kiryu laughed and spun her around. "What do you think friends are for?"

The rest of the dance was spent in silence, a comfortable silence, as it should have been. Kiryu was busy trying not to think to hard about the events of the next day, or to turn those thoughts to how it would feel when Yuusei finally got what he deserved. He would rather have pleasant thoughts tonight, and he would especially rather just enjoy this simple action of dancing with Misty when he'd had so very little to be happy about for such a long time. And it seemed Misty had the same idea, if her closed eyes and faint smile were any indication.

Tomorrow he would lead Yuusei in a completely different dance as an enemy. Tonight he could allow himself to be lead in a more peaceful one by a friend.