*Shadow's POV* (a night… one month later)
Just about all of the snow had given up its cold, icy reign over the world and withered away, freeing the underlying grass from its terror. Shadow could just about feel the ground's sheet of dew drops touch his leg as he sat.
He sat on a dampened park bench, watching the moon rise with a new tint of pearl white… when before, such a thing had gone unnoticed. It felt heavenly to be where he was, even despite the chill remaining in the air. A smile could clearly be seen on his rosy face, when in all of time before, such a thing seemed scientifically unconceivable.
It was all because he had the head of a certain special someone resting on his shoulder. He sat here, watching the moonrise, with Rachel. His one true love.
Unlike insipid nights before, every waking moment of this one stuck out to his mind's eye. Every moment he had her hand within his own. Every glimpse he caught of her wonder-dazzled eyes of a sea blue. Every word she spoke was like a soft symphony to him.
Everything was divine. A certain, unknown array of stars was in a perfect line. He knew that this was the night. Nothing drastic would be taking place to the average passerby… but to him, it'd mean worlds and worlds of wonder. This was his night to make a tiny move… a clean one, mind you, yet romantic all the same.
*Rachel's POV*
Rachel had completely drifted off into a waking flurry of dreams as she stared off into the distant space, resting against Shadow. He was so warm… arguably the most comfortable tangible thing in the universe. Not only did the chill in the air not bother to harass her. She could feel warmth in her heart. It swirled about, unwavering and perpetual.
He was all she could think about now… well, in the sense that he made an appearance in every one of her thoughts. His crimson eyes and his bold personality… his deep, handsome voice… that warming, beguiling smile…
He still wasn't a social type. He had only changed slightly since they had confessed their love for each other, which Rachel now knew was irrefutably true… possibly even truer than her thoughts at the time made it out to be.
Silver occasionally made a cameo role in her slideshow of moving, intriguing thoughts… as the bad guy who tried to manipulate her and ruin everything. The Silver of reality… poor guy… had no idea. No clue… just how much damage he had done to her outlook during the period where her courage flat out abandoned her.
And now, he was dear to her… but merely that. Dear.
Shadow was dear… along with charming, life-saving, and her everything. Falling for him, she knew, was what falling in love was supposed to feel like. She felt warm and fuzzy, not utterly captivated and obsessed.
She felt herself snapping back to reality, realizing that her eyes had been staring into the soul of the moon overhead.
She then looked behind her, managing to catch another mesmerizing look into his eyes. His cheerful, yet chilled look made her begin to feel her cheeks become warmer.
At that moment, Shadow turned and looked at her, with the same expression, aside from a growing smile and a rosy complexion of his own.
"The moon, I've seen just about every night since I was created," he told her. "I grew to become accustomed to its light. I never acknowledged its presence after the first layer of my world started to come crashing down around me, except for the fact that I'd take it over the bitterness of sunlight any day. And I still would. Tonight, I realize just how bright it is… and how much I feel that my crumbling heart has been mended. It didn't heal with time, like everyone said it would. It completely got itself back together… when I met you. You know… you give me hope for the future. Mine, at the very least. I had never even imagined that someone so serene, sweet, and beautiful had ever existed… let alone would ever come into my life. You're everything I'd ever unknowingly hoped to find."
Rachel just about melted. Nobody had ever said something like that to her before. Nobody had dared to be so sweet to her… ever.
"I love you, Shadow," she tried to counter. "Love was simply a theory to me before… in all honesty, before I met you. I had no clue what love was all about, or what it'd do to me. I know now, and I'll have that knowledge, along with the feeling, for the rest of my life thanks to you. I could only make futile assumptions until you came along."
At that, she noticed that Shadow's rosy face had leaned a little closer to hers. Closer than usual, in fact.
She had almost no idea…
In a whispery murmur, he smiled "I love you, too."
At that moment, it was almost like a new gravity had been created. They found their eyes slowly shutting. They found their heads slowly drawing nearer and nearer to each other. Until at last, they found themselves within a kiss. There wasn't much else to think about but the moment they were submerged in. This had been Rachel's first kiss at the least. It was divine. An experience never thought to be possible before.
Momentary, yet one of the moments they'd always remember… whether they wanted to or not…
When they broke apart, their smiles merely grew bigger before they looked to the pearly moon again… not only close to each other, but practically holding each other.
May I make a correction to a statement I made in the reachable past? Alright. On this colorful and vibrant world known as Mobius, the life of Rachel the Fox began, flourished… then crumbled… then broke away from crippling apocalypse and shone a light through any darkness that tried to infiltrate it. Her first experience with what she perceived as "love" ended up making her heart start to crumble, just about to the very core. Within a fleeting moment, true love stepped in, informing her of what was true and what was false, gathering up every little piece of her heart and getting it, along with her hopes, back together with a seemingly unbreakable adhesive.
Her crumbling heart was mended until further notice. That was all that mattered. That was all anyone could hope for.
Author's note: Thoughts? PLEASE review and tell me what you think! How was Crumbling of the Heart for you? Oh, and may I urge you once more to check out RCTSG? He's a great friend of mine now… POWERFUL words the dude writes. PLEASE also do me a favor and check out his work!