I'm bored, and I'm tired. I need rest... thus it's probably choppy. Especially at the end.
Music inspiration
*~*~*
Cresselia couldn't get them off her mind, yet each time she turned her thoughts to them, her heart ached. She had that feeling she could still walk in and (politely) interrupt. Still, she didn't want to stop them from doing what they wanted. It seemed normal for them to express intimacy before they set off. It had to be instinctive to long and remember the touch of a significant other, to be open to one another for a last chance at forgiveness. The two had yet to truly experience such feelings of closeness.
The swan shook her head free of such images, a blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. “I'm pathetic if I have to imagine a friend's lovemaking,” she muttered to herself, leaning against the door.
“Oh, Darkrai, is this what you have been doing the whole time? Why must you worry me so?”
“For the sake of giving you the best quality, Cress. Why else?”
Her eyelids drooped. She had almost forgotten. He always went the extra mile when it came to her, giving her 110-percent, spending long hours hunting down rare gifts or making his own—he did so much. And always he never expecting anything in return except for her happiness. If she had grown selfish from such acts, he never showed displeasure about it, let alone brought it up.
“You're spoiling me, which is probably not a good idea.”
“If it was a bad idea, you wouldn't be happy right now.”
Cresselia raised a hand to her mouth, a lump rising in her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the threat of tears.
“Then... I suppose I'm free to ask this of you.”
“I'm listening.”
She caught herself deeply inhaling as though to speak. She lifted her head to face the dark window, barely able to see the woods. Before her, the image of her beloved was clear as day, her eyes twinkling as he eagerly waited for her response.
“I-I... I would like to have...”
“Go on.”
No... don't say it, please...
“...I want a b—”
“But your happiness! It's going to end!”
Cresselia gasped and clamped her beak shut, shakily glancing behind as though to expect someone to run inside. Trembling, she refused to wait and clumsily exited the room, speeding down the hall to the front of the house. The girls sitting in a circle paused in their chatting to look over at her, some raising their brows.
“Is something wrong?” Shaymin asked in concern, getting to her feet.
“Did one of the guys scare you?” Moltres guessed. “Or... did you see something you weren't supposed to see?” She straightened her neck to peek down the hallway, noticing the door to Mew and Mewtwo's room was closed. Her eyes slightly widened, raising a wing to her beak. “Ohh-h-h...” Her sister caught on judging by the sudden bristling of her feathers.
Cresselia shook her head, trying to catch her breath. “No... not that.” She silently prayed
that had nothing to do with it.
Mesprit came up to wrap her arms around her neck. “You okay, Cress? You don't look well.”
“I... I need to get some air.” She forced herself to give a convincing smile. “I need to clear my mind, since tomorrow's going to be big.”
The females nodded in understanding, a few hanging their heads in sorrow. “We were about to head to bed here, actually,” the hedgehog sighed, hiding a shiver. “Wanted to get everything out of our system.”
“Kind of a shame we don't have men of our own,” the phoenix expressed in disappointed, much to the astonishment of everyone in the room. “Of course, they're all either perverts, siblings, too big, missing, do
uchebags—”
“We get it, Moltres, none of them are attractive,” Suicune huffed, cracking a smirk. “Now knock it off, you're ruining Latias' innocence.”
“Sh-She's not!” she squeaked out, a heavy blush on her face. “I know what she's talking about!”
With the shake of a head, the swan pushed her way to the door. “I'll try not to stay out long. You girls go on ahead. `Night.”
“Good night, Cresselia,” they chanted at different intervals, nodding or waving in her direction.
She shot them another smile as she exited, then let out a breath and slumped against the door. Her gaze then swerved toward the males whom all suddenly spun around to speak loudly to one another. Rolling her eyes, she spotted Darkrai not too far off, his back facing her. She approached him and gently touched his shoulder.
He jumped a little and cricked his neck turning to look at her. “Oh, Cresselia. Did you want something?”
Ignoring a painful twang, she took him by the hand. “Can I talk to you in private?” she whispered, barely glimpsing at the others surrounding them.
The phantom's shoulders loosened, worry transitioning into his eyes. With a nod and apologetic glance at the group, she led him away to the forest. From behind, a few teasing hoots sounded, though she chose not to let them bother her. Her paw tightened in anxiety the further along they strolled, the fire light slowly being swallowed up by the trees and darkness. There was the sliver of a crescent moon, but it was enough to make her wings gleam and give off a soft light of their own.
Darkrai abruptly paused into place, releasing her hand. “This far is enough,” he said, then sighed. “Now, what did you want, Cress?”
She kept her back turned as she stared at the ground. Her paws started to fiddle, her heart quickened in pace, the tears threatened to return... it was blatantly obvious she was nervous. Cresselia had to take deep breaths before she would respond. “Are you scared?”
She heard him shift in place. “Scared of what?”
“You know...”
There was the quiet release of breath almost like another sigh. She quickly steadied herself so she wouldn't give herself away. “I am... though I'm more worried than scared.”
Cresselia lifted her head slightly. “Care to explain?”
She immediately felt his stare. “I fear we'll lose everything tomorrow, but I worry about the survivors.”
“Please don't say that,” she gasped out. “How dare you use that word.”
“But it's true. Tomorrow is going to dictate who lives and who dies.”
“No!” She spun around to look him in the eye. She shuddered in a near-rage at how calm he appeared to be. “No, I refuse to believe it! I don't want anyone to die, Darkrai! W-We can't afford to!”
He bobbed his head. “We don't, so we'll have to be careful.”
“Why do we have to do this? I mean... h-how did we get here? What did we do wrong, exactly? What, just because we fail to do our duties means we are sentenced to death?”
Darkrai ducked his head so his bangs covered his eyes. “Not exactly...”
“Then
what?! For God's sake, Darkrai, what are we to do?!”
His figure slumped, and with it, the ruffling of his cloak and hair ceased. It made her blink in surprise, and for a moment, she remembered a similar scene, only his appearance was more pitiful than normal, and he refused to look at her. He was so sickly, her already-broken heart had shattered even more. As it took a lot of years and care to put back together, the longer she stared at him, the more it threatened to collapse and cause her to start over again.
Cautiously, she inched closer, timidly reaching out a hand. “Darkrai? You okay?”
There came no answer, not even when she waited for one.
Her stomach clenched when she laid it on his collar. “...honey?”
Cresselia nearly let out a gasp of fright when he grabbed her and pulled her into a tight hug. His face buried into her neck, almost in a smothering gesture. His claws gently skimmed her down, daring to crawl for the base of her wings. She had to bit back a whimper at how cool his skin felt, and at the atmosphere falling about them.
“Cress,” she heard him murmur gruffly—no, he was struggling to speak past his sobs. “I never stopped... believe me!”
“Stopped at what?” She laid her hands on his arms to avoid returning the embrace.
“I miss you every day,” he continued to choke out, leading her to think he was lost in a memory. “I've been meaning to come back... honest...”
“Darkrai, wait. What are you saying—”
“I like being friends, but I was happiest when it was just the two of us holding hands as we star-gazed. We were so in love at the time, it was about time it happened.”
She swore her world froze when the sensation of a bundle in her arms fell into place. Her mental eyes looked down for a look, watching as she brushed away loose strands of hair from a pudgy face, relaxed in a snooze. She felt herself plant a kiss to the forehead, giggling as she passed the baby along to her mate, the father...
“...Adam... I remember...”
Darkrai squeezed tighter, yet he remained intact. Cresselia found herself relaxing, her head resting alongside his own as her eyes closed. A single teardrop slid its way down her cheek. “I remember... I was happiest then.” Her wings twitched. “No, not just I... both of us were.”
He only nodded.
