Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. The authors claim no ownership of the characters within, nor received any compensation for this work.
The sky was bruise-purple dark when Aya and Cye walked hand in hand down to the beach. It was morning, technically, for the still-hidden sun had started to stain the horizon in shades of pink and golden, but the heavy sky hung overhead still dark enough that Aya felt like it was night. They so rarely ventured out of the house at night that this adventure seemed strange, though exciting. Aya was secretly curious to see what it was that kept Cye out in the water for hours at a time, and just how it was that he kept breathing.
Only one source of uncertainty remained, one that he had tried to contend with Cye on, and lost. He had gotten fully dressed when they woke up, putting on the black silk shirt that he knew Cye loved. Over breakfast he had said something about swimsuits but had been quite firmly vetoed. Of course, Cye would insist that the diving had to be done in the nude. Aya privately thought it was a sham to get his clothes off, but he could not convince Cye to let him bring a pair of trunks down to the beach.
They were on the sand now, fine grains squishing soft and wet under his bare feet. He had refused to get undressed until they were ready to go underwater, but now it was time to strip as Cye was starting to do. Aya took a step away, still self-conscious about being nude outdoors. Still, after all this time, he was afraid someone might see.
But as the first rays of sun started to filter over the distant sea-horizon, the warmth kissed his face and his arms, inviting the touch of more all over his skin. The thought of being fully embraced by the coming sunlight and the power of the sea was invigorating, exciting, thrilling. Suddenly it was an adventure, one that he and Cye would have just for themselves. He turned to the boy waiting just behind him, offering his hand, and offering something that he knew Cye cherished more than the sight of him in the black silk shirt: a tiny smile for the only person he felt like smiling for.
Cye's face was heartbreaking in its tenderness as he accepted that hand, helping Aya unbutton his shirt and his jeans and abandon them all on the soft sand. "Come on," he whispered, guiding Aya toward the water as the warming sunlight scattered over his pale skin. "I want to show you."
He trusted Cye, of course, but that didn't stop his heart from thudding a little harder as they walked out into the surf. Ankle deep, knee deep, covering his waist, his chest... when the level of the warm, gently waving water reached his chin, Cye slipped both arms around Aya, and together they sank beneath the waves.
At first he held his breath, unable to fight the instinct that told him that breathing water would be his death. Together they sank deeper, and Aya watched Cye's eyes as they filled with dreamlike serenity. He saw the boy's chest rising and falling, breathing as naturally as he would in the open air. Cye nodded to him, encouraging, his auburn hair floating softly around his round face. Aya clung tightly to him, trusting that if this didn't work, Cye would pull him to the surface. Slowly, experimentally, he let out the breath he was holding and started to draw another one.
Oh, it was strange the way the water filled his nose but went no further, the way the air he was breathing was really there and not choking him! Perhaps it was thicker, heavier, like the humid air of a hot summer day, but it was clean and pure. Pure oxygen, Aya realized, a part of what the water surrounding them was composed of. He could breathe it, somehow, wrapped like this in Cye's arms. He didn't let go for a moment, hugging tightly to Cye as they drifted further, deeper, far out into the water until the slope that led to the shore could no longer be seen.
Arms around each other, they floated slowly until Aya became used to the weightlessness and the effortlessness of underwater breathing. Cye touched him gently, petting his skin, showing him how a small kick might change their direction or keep them up a bit higher than the endless blue depths below. He looked down, once, and the bottomless sea lurked beneath, making him cling to Cye in fear of its vastness.
Together they rolled and drifted, hearing nothing but the soft rush of waves above and the strange sounds of liquid against eardrums. Just a few feet below the surface, Cye brought them to an almost still float, and they looked up at the glistening, rippling crystal water above.
Sunlight burst over the water, blindingly bright and filling the sky above with hues of gold, rose and lavender. From under the surface, every color was waved and rippled, constantly changing when seen through a liquid lens. Aya lay in Cye's arms, against his chest, watching the majesty of the sunrise from the deep comforting silence of underwater.
So quiet... it went on forever, beneath him, all around him. When his heart was troubled and the wicked voiced inside prickled at him, this was the kind of quiet that Aya sought. He never imagined that Cye could appreciate such a thing, with his constant happy chatter that sometimes drove Aya to distraction. Yet, here was Cye's element encasing him, and everything was blissfully, blessedly quiet. He felt Cye's arms around him and heard only the shift of the water when one of them moved. Even the slightest movement sent tiny ripples outward, making faint blips and gurgles that were echoed by the vastness of the sea.
If Cye were everything and everywhere, and Aya was encased in him, it would feel like this. It would feel like warm, sweet acceptance and approval that surrounded him and buoyed him up. It would feel like an eternity of rest and peace that enveloped his skin, slipped under his arms and behind his head, into his hair and between his legs, keeping him afloat and alive.
Cye touched his shoulder after a time, and he turned to look at the boy gesturing downward and mouthing: 'deeper.' Aya must have looked nervous or afraid, because Cye gave him a reassuring smile and took Aya in his arms again. With both arms around Cye's neck, he was safe, even though the deep blue darkness became thicker and thicker the further down they sank.
No matter how far they swam, though, the water never got cold. Whether it was the water itself, enchanted somehow by the strange place they were in, or whether it was Cye's power and Cye's body that kept him warm, Aya did not know. And, no matter how far they slid into the sea, Aya could always see Cye's face and body clearly. He almost seemed to glow a little bit, soft blue-green like the sweet eyes that kept looking into his own, like the gentle smile that hung there just for him.
How many days had it been now, that Aya had wanted to say the words that meant so much to Cye? He had known it forever, it seemed, since that rainy day in the garden that seemed so far away. Just because it was true didn't mean that he could say it. Just because he wanted to didn't mean he thought he deserved to.
Now, in Cye's arms, gazing at that sweet face framed by the pretty tendrils of hair that made him look more naturally like a mercreature than a man, the words weighed heavy on Aya's heart. Only now when he could not speak did he want to say those words. He opened his mouth as if he could, and Cye gave him an inquisitive look, but no sound came forth. Instead, he pressed forward, closing his lips over Cye's. So rarely did he initiate a kiss that his lover was too surprised to respond for a moment, and for that moment, everything about Cye was his and his alone.
I do, Aya thought to himself, hearing the words in his mind as they would be spoken in his own voice. I do, so much... you opened my heart and showed me that love still lived there. You faced everything that I am and made me a better man because I wanted to make you happy. You would not let me go until you had seen it all. You showed me what love means and I do... Cye, I do.
How prophetic that tiny red thread had been, in that bar all that time ago. It had only joined their fingers for a moment, but now Aya knew that a longer, more sturdy thread had joined them for a much longer time. It had pulled on both of them, bringing them together in the bar, in the alley, and now here in this place. Their place. Their own place and time just for them.
Aya thought he could almost see the thread in his mind, as Cye's tongue wound slowly against his and they caressed each other. Bright red, as red and deep as blood, and it was as long as time and space. It would never break, it could never be cut. It would pull his heart out along with it, if it were ever torn away, and he would be empty.
Now the single scarlet thread became two, then ten, a dozen, a hundred dozen, slowly multiplying and wrapping around each and every part of him. Because all of him was Cye's, not just the little finger that bore the red thread of destiny in the old legend. He was connected through every part of his body, everywhere that Cye had touched and brought to life again. And when he thought he saw himself wrapped completely in those threads, they reached out, seeking the man they connected him to.
The answering reach came with a rush of blue-green that tangled between the crimson strands, winding and binding tightly, inextricably. Scarlet became aquamarine became scarlet again, and Aya whispered wordlessly to the strands that meant CyeÕs soul: Yes, I do. Come for me... I love you.
Cye and Aya broke their kiss suddenly to stare at each other.
They each felt the connection open at the same moment. Aya knew Cye felt it because he could feel the surprise radiating down those threads that had rooted now in heart. He looked into Cye's eyes and felt his soul behind them, full of kindness and warmth and love, boundless and trusting as the sea. He saw himself there for a moment, reflected in Cye's vision, beautiful and bright and wanted, needed and cherished and appreciated for everything that he was.
A question seemed to tremble down the entwined strands, deep red and light blue clinging to one another. No words were quite able to form, the connection was faint but it was enough to allow a kind of communication that Aya had never thought possible. He actually felt Cye against his heart, against his spirit, brushing up to his mind, and his lover was curious, surprised, delighted, relieved, loving, wanting, ecstatic... so many things! So much in Cye's heart all at once that Aya had never even imagined. Now Cye was asking, unsure... asking what?
Realization struck Aya a moment later. Cye had heard the thoughts he had spoken only to himself, somehow, and now he wasnÕt sure that he had heard correctly. But Aya didn't know how he had done it, how he could reach out to Cye and communicate back the way Cye was doing for him. Was it in his mind, or in that colored connection? Was it because of the kiss, or the way they had touched? How could he tell Cye what burned in his heart, as bright and consuming as fire though surrounded by water? It was love, it was, and he wanted to say it so badly but didnÕt know how to form the words...
Cye heard. Cye's eyes opened wide and he pulled Aya close to him, their hearts thudding at almost the same beat. After a moment of confused joy over the newly established bond, Aya felt the answering wave of confirmation. Yes. Yes. They were of one heart. Tightly they clung together, adrift in the sea, doing nothing but feeling the heart of the other calling and answering in gentle waves.
~*~*~*~
Heaven... it was utter heaven, Cye thought as he and Aya tumbled aimlessly through the currents. And his thought was answered quietly by the redhead wound tight in his arms. If they could never go back, Cye knew that he could be happy now. He still ached for his friends and always would but the amazing gift Aya had given him, that pure touch of his heart, could fill his life forever. He'd long since lost track of where they'd drifted, not really caring about anything besides the quiet communion he was sharing with his love.
He didn't understand how it happened or why. Didn't understand how the blood crimson thread, burning with all the passion that was his Ran, had touched him. There was no mistake, no chance of confusing it with the cherry blaze, the leaping flames that were Ryo. No, it was blood and fire, heartbreak and hope, braided together so completely that it could only wear one name.
And he didn't care. Didn't care if it was his armor being kind, didn't care if it was some hidden potential the redhead had. It didn't matter. Only this, now, here. Only this.
~*~*~*~
The peace was broken eventually, minutes, hours, days maybe after his Ran's confession. A strange feeling had settled in the Ronin's chest, heavy, almost as if it were harder to breathe. Slowly, so as not to alarm Aya, he started kicking towards the surface. If his armor power was running out, odd though that would be, he had to get Aya to where it was safe. A glance at the redhead's face showed no distress, he was nestled as snugly against Cye as he'd been for some time and seemed unaffected by whatever was creeping in on his auburn haired lover. Cye kicked harder, feeling that strange heaviness worsening. It was starting to feel like reports he'd heard of drowning, but that just couldn't be possible, not for him.
He looked up, seeing the sun shining through the glassine water. They were so close, only a few hundred feet to go. The sky was dimming though and Cye didn't relish the idea of trying to navigate back to the beach in the dark. He looked at Aya again and there was still no distress, his chest was rising as it should though his grip was loosening a little. Was he falling asleep? Cye had done that a few times himself, maybe he was just that exhausted.
One hundred and fifty. The pressure's change was a welcome feel, telling him that his goal was close. The strange sensation was getting worse and he was starting to feel a little clumsy as he swam. So close... His arms ached from carrying Aya with him. It all felt so heavy...
Looking down again, wishing violet eyes would open. He was sleeping, Cye knew, and he looked so peaceful, so pain free and innocent that the idea of waking him made Cye's heart ache. Let him have his moment of peace, Cye could bring them both home.
One hundred. The Ronin was getting a little worried. His chest burned with the effort and he found himself gasping. Aya's weight drug on his arms still, heavier and heavier. The light was getting dimmer, was the sun really going down?
Fifty. His lungs were on fire, his breath stilted and thick. Aya hung limply now, only Cye kept them moving. Was the swordsman still breathing? As Cye looked up again he finally noticed, the darkness wasn't the sun setting, it was filming over his own eyes...
Twenty. Pain. Crippling pain that he'd have screamed out if he'd had the breath to spare. The sun was spotty now, no brighter than it had been so far below. Almost there, he thought, almost and we'll be home and safe and warm and forever....
One. He reached, feeling the kiss of air on one hand as it broke through and felt nothing else as the blackness closed in.
~*~*~*~
Fractured red and black, bursting over closed eyelids. Pain so harsh he couldn't breathe, clutching, clawing daggered nails across his lungs. Pain fogged, struggling to breathe, feeling coming back to a lead-heavy body an agonizing fraction at a time.
Air.
They were free of the water. Hard underneath him, not sand... where...? Feeling returning to fingers, closing, clutching at nothing.
Ran?!
Wherewashewherewashe?
Panic driving his eyes open, squinting and unfocused. Violet eyes and blond hair...
Blond?
Sage! Sage was there... he was home! He...
Blinking through tears, Sage in green metal, looking down. Halo? What was Sage doing in full armor? Why was he holding him? Why... why were his eyes red? And where was Ran?
"Sage," he croaked. Why did he sound so awful? Why did it feel like someone was hammering a spike through his chest? "Where...?"
"Cye! Oh thank god you're awake. We thought..."
Crying? Sage was crying? What...? "Aya," he croaked again, whatever was wrong could wait, he had to find Ran.
"Who? Cye, you need to be still. We need to get you home," He looked away, looking at someone distant. "He's awake. We have to leave. Now."
Sirens... he could hear sirens in the distance... it was cold again, winter was coming, no more eternal summer... Faces clustering around him, his friends, his brothers, his dear boys... so worried... They'd been gone but they were home now, right? Ran! Where was Ran? He reached desperately, trying to find that one new thread, new born strand of blood crimson...
He struggled upright, too frantic to notice how badly the move hurt. He had to find him, had too... The alley... they were in that alley from all those months ago. How? Had the Ronins kept coming here? Coming to where they'd vanished so long ago? His boys... No, have to find Aya, focus dammit, everything else can wait.
It was so dark, almost past twilight... there, movement, moving away.... The lanky blond, Cye remembered him, though he thought the marking on the trench he wore was white... The other two, hovering, clearing the way, leaving.... He fought to look, to see, something in the blond's arms, a long oddly draped shape.
Leather spilling over his arms, long legs, the gleam of a streetlight on skin chalk pale...
"Ra...!" He tried to scream the name, make them bring him back, bring his love back.... when his chest seized. Drawing breath to scream through the thickness, the convulsive clench that felt so deeply wrong. He watched, detatched, as his body spasmed, listened numbly as his friends shouted and swore, watched the spasms that wracked him as he coughed great lungfuls of blood out onto the street. So much.... arterial red, jewel red, staining the pavement, spreading in a wider pool as he shook.
Red... blood crimson... his red rose...
Swallowed into the blackness again.
~*~*~*~