Long Forgotten Pasts (OHSHC Story) DISCONT'D

Chapter Twelve

He held her close, her hands and head against his chest. She listened to his heartbeat while he laid his cheek on her head, wishing that moment-that goodbye-into oblivion.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too, Rene," she mumbled back, a single tear trailing down her ivory cheek.

He pulled away until he was at arm's length, his hands placed on her bare shoulders. Her billowy, sleeveless sundress fluttered against their knees. His look once again reminded her how serious and stubborn he could truly be. "I promise this is not the end of us." His indigo eyes fueled her with hope. "We will meet again someday; I'll make sure of it." She nodded solemnly, lifting a hand to wipe a tear from her eye.

Something clicked; she could see it in his eyes. Pulling his hands away, he plunged a hand into his pocket, pulling it back out along with a small box. "Here," he said, holding it out to her. "A last parting gift."

She took it in one hand, opening it with her other. The gift inside brought her to tears. A small, silver tiara studded with diamonds. She looked back up, the sad tears now becoming bittersweet.

"Forever thy princess who needeth be saved," he whispered, brushing her hair back with trembling fingers.

"Forever thy knight to whisk me away to our Autumn." They moved in for one final kiss.

Suddenly, though, a hand tugged he away. "You're ten. And it's time to go."

Tears fell one after the other as she watched Rene kneel down to take the box into his visibly shaking hands, head ducked as she saw a hint of tears streaming his cheeks.

"Forever," she murmured, hoping he had heard.

She woke crying, lifting a porcelain hand to wipe a tickling tear from her cheek. Her lips twisted and her face contorted in an attempt to keep her sobs in, turning them to whimpers. She kept her gaze on her black sheets, her comforter kicked away in a fit. After a moment, she remembered Kyoya, and she dizzily got up from her bed, tying her eyepatch on quickly and holding one of the arms of her stuffy, Eri-chan (her kitten stuffed animal; will be called Eri-chan from now on).

When she slid the door open a crack, hushed whispers reached her ears. Too tired to process this, though, she continued, sliding the door open just enough to slip out

"Kyo?" she whimpered pitifully. The whispers stopped, although she didn't look up as she rubbed at tears.

Moments later, he was kneeling in front of her. "What is it?" he asked.

"I-I had a b-bad dream." Sobs broke her words. "M-My b-best friend was h-hugging me... and P-Papa dragged-dragged me awa-ay and..."

He lifted her head a bit, wiping her face of tears before hugging her close. She immediately clung to him, Eri-chan thrown over his shoulder as she held tightly to his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "It's alright. It was probably just the fever," he comforted, and she didn't know how to tell him otherwise.