Chrono Crusade Fan Fiction ❯ Hell Hath No Fury ❯ Chpt 3: Afternoon Picnic ( Chapter 4 )

Sunlight poured through the window of the car to splash on Chrono's lap. It was a beautiful cloudless day, and he could feel the warmth even from inside the car. Chrono had loved the sunlight ever since two pairs of young hands had led him back out into it. To him, it was his new beginning, his new chance. Chrono stole a sidelong glance at Rosette, who was driving them down a long, scenic stretch of road. He hoped that there would be a new beginning for Rosette, a renewal.

 

This was the same road that had traveled down with Azmaria. When the two of them had decided to teach her a lesson about being in touch with her feelings, and herself. Chrono hoped that he would be able to remind Rosette of her own lesson. It would've been much easier to remind her of if Azmaria were still here. Rosette looked upon the girl as would any guardian or loving parent. If Azmaria were still around, Chrono very much doubted that Rosette would still be so downtrodden.

 

Joshua's death had changed her, and there would never be any taking that back, but he left a void of what she felt was responsibility. If he could have just persuaded Sister Kate and Remington to let Azmaria stay, Rosette would have had a new responsibility to focus on. Not that she would replace Joshua. No one would ever replace the beloved brother, but Rosette loved Azmaria too. Chrono knew that would have helped her heal.

 

But that had not been the case, and no matter how many times Chrono pleaded, he could not convince them to let the child stay. The most plausible theory they had to work with was that Aion had not planned on losing Joshua. Up until that point, all of Aion's plans had remained hidden from them. The very fact that they knew about Joshua (though credited to highly competent reconnaissance) made them doubt that Aion had prepared for this.

 

Always one to play games on the safe side of the tracks, Sister Kate had relocated Azmaria. With the death of what was presumably a needed factor, The Order feared that Aion would redouble his efforts to capture Azmaria as a replacement. So they had moved the apostle child, and only Kate and Remington knew exactly where. The reasoning had been sound, Chrono could not deny. Just doing their jobs showed the exorcist pair to demons on a daily basis. Had Azmaria stayed, she would constantly have been around danger. The fewer beings that saw her, the better. The better for Azmaria at least.

 

But they hadn't seen their angelic friend for many months now, and looking again at Rosette, Chrono thought with a sad heart, It certainly wasn't better for everyone.

 

Rosette wasn't alone by any means. Chrono was still by her side, and would always be there. But it wasn't the same. This was a grief that divided them. Driving her slowly back into herself, into a place Chrono didn't dare try and retrieve her. At least he hadn't dared in the past. The events of the night before had brought more sharply to his attention that it was time he do something. It had been long enough.

 

Chrono remembered the destruction that they had had to explain to the policeman after they exited the house. The poor, terrified man had been huddled behind his police car, gun drawn and pointed at the front door. Rosette had simply told him that the spirit was particularly violent, that she was sorry about the mess, and to call the Order if there were any further complications. The man had stood up and nodded, relieved, at her. He had been expecting any number of horrible things to fly out and eat him, so when he realized that it ended up with only a hole-filled abandoned house, rather than simply a dingy, dirty, abandoned one, it was quite a relief.

 

Rosette's calm had startled and worried Chrono. After the wordless drive home that night, and in the dingy confines of Elder's hut, he decided that he had waited long enough. He had kept his distance for a long time. He had given her as much time as he could to grieve. And remembering the scattered bullet holes that riddled a house in a populated neighborhood, Chrono had reached the decision that she had taken it too far. She was endangering too many other people, including herself.

 

It was time to remind her who she was.

 

 

The car stopped, and spread out before the two of them was the lake, glittering blue in the day's full sunlight. Chrono grabbed the picnic basket that he had prepared himself and climbed out. He could not ask for better weather, or a place that brought back better memories for what he needed them for. Soon the pair were seated, lakeside under the shade of friendly tree.

 

“You've gotten better, Chrono.” Rosette said, the first to speak. Chrono looked up at her, happily surprised.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I remember when you couldn't find two pieces of matching bread for a sandwich.” She laughed softly to herself. “Your picnic making skills are much improved.”

 

Chrono laid back on the blanket, his hands tucked behind his head. “I owe it all to being named king of all things hearth and home-y.”

 

Rosette chuckled and gave him a sly look. “My highest compliments to Your Majesty.”

 

Chrono closed his eyes and nodded solemnly at Rosette. “Your allegiance will be counted when choosing who will be privy to the best fabric softener.”

 

Rosette coughed and choked on the bit of sandwich she was still eating. Smiling, she replied “Your Highness is too kind.”

 

Chrono looked up at her and stared. It was a real smile. Small, albeit, and a little sad, but it was there, and it wasn't forced or strained. He hadn't seen a smile on her like that in what felt like ages, and his heart gave a painful lurch when she met his eyes.

 

Rosette moved the picnic basket off the blanket and laid down next to Chrono. “Thank you for the picnic. It's nice to finally spend a little time outside.”

 

“It's nice to finally get to spend a little time with you.” Chrono said softly, looking up into the blue.

 

“Hmm?” Rosette turned her head and looked at him quizzically. “We've been together almost every day for months.”

 

Chrono let out a small sigh. “We've been together, but we haven't spent any real time with each other. You've hardly spent time with anyone, Rosette. You're always so distant. Today is the first time I've heard you laugh in God knows how long.”

 

Rosette rolled her eyes back up to the sky. “I just don't feel like laughing much anymore.”

 

“I know Rosette, I know. But don't you think it's been long enough? How long would Joshua really want you to hurt for him?”

 

Rosette said nothing, a single tear sliding down her face.

 

Chrono didn't miss it, and turned his face to look at her. “He would never want to know that his sister hurt like this.”

 

Rosette didn't move, save for her chest that rose and fell in deep ragged breaths. Her jaw was clenched shut and her eyes locked above her.

 

A memory floated through Chrono's mind of another time they had been here. All of them. When Rosette was determined, strong, happy. He rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow, looking at her, smiling gently as he tried to remind her too.

 

“Smile when you're having fun. Get angry when you're angry. And cry as much as you want to, when you want to.”

 

Rosette closed her eyes and sat up, staring out over the lake. Chrono joined her, and put his arm around her shoulders. “You feel so refreshed after crying, you know?”

 

The dam that had been building up inside Rosette Christopher over the past year had broken. Flinging her arms around Chrono, she cried. Chrono simply held on to the poor girls body as it was racked with sobs. And if she hadn't been so overtaken by her own grief, she would have seen that not all of the tears that were shed belonged to her.

 

Seconds, minutes, all ticked by, until neither one of the two really knew how long they had been there. It didn't matter. This was why they had come. As her crying began to subside, Chrono released his firm hold around her shoulders, and brought one hand up to stroke her hair. Soon, she was quiet as Chrono's fingers continued to slip through her hair. He stopped just long enough to tilt her face up towards his, and he silently pulled the strands away from her tear stained face.

 

Rosette could do nothing but look at that face as he smiled softly at her. Those deep eyes pleading with her to be happy again. She couldn't remember the last time she felt something so perfect as his fingers in her hair. They seemed to be asking her to relax, be calm, sleep. Every time he touched her skin, her face, the burden that had locked itself so tightly over her heart relinquished, ever so slightly, its iron grip.

 

With a heavy sigh, she slumped against his chest, her head on his shoulder. The devil's tiny human form didn't even slouch under the weight of her. This made Rosette smile. How easy it was to forget that this ageless boy beside her was so terrifyingly strong. But, she reminded herself as he continued to pet her, so unbelievably gentle. Who ever would have guessed she would have felt so at home in such a small pair of arms.

 

“I'm sorry, Chrono,” she whispered.

 

Chrono smiled, “Eh, don't worry about the shirt. I have to do half of your laundry anyway.”

 

“About last night.”

 

Chrono kept his silence. This was her story to tell. And not one that he had been expecting her to relate at all. If she wanted to tell him she would take her own time to do so.

 

“I hardly remember what happened. First it was only the spirit, and then Joshua, and Aion.... I didn't think. I just... fired.” She sighed again and remained quiet.

 

Chrono had known of shape-shifters taking the forms of people a subject felt very strongly about. If someone hated or loved a particular individual strongly enough, the shifter could pick up on that, and use it to their advantage. Chrono had never heard of one taking on two separate and opposing forms, but most people were not Rosette Christopher. If the shifter had used Aion's guise to try and frighten her away, it had certainly gotten more than it bargained for.

 

The only fact about the day that still gnawed on Chrono's mind was that even after, well, could one call it death, really? After the spirit was defeated it retained Aion's shape. Shape-shifters, as far as Chrono could remember, supposedly changed back into their amorphous state upon death.

 

No matter at least. It was dead. There was no mistaking that fact.

 

“You know, you're right Chrono.” Rosette interrupted his thoughts again. Far from being put out, Chrono had never been so happy to hear her voice.

 

“About what?”

 

“I do still have things to take care of. Things to do. We still have a job. Aion's still out there, and he still wants Azmaria. As long as he's alive, no matter where she is, she isn't safe. Joshua may be gone but this isn't over. No.... Aion has destroyed too many people's lives, including my own, to be left alone.” The fist that clutched Chrono's jacket tensed and then relaxed. “I suppose I'm not much good in a fight like this,” Rosette sighed sadly.

 

“I don't know about that,” Chrono smiled at her. “I think that the shape-shifter who is laying in pieces all over the room of an abandoned house would have something to say to the contrary.”

 

She heard his laugh start before it ever came out of his mouth, deep down in his chest, before it burst out his lips. Rosette began to laugh too. A good laugh. A real laugh. She coughed and sniffed and laughed, then wrapped Chrono in a hug so tightly that the gold pocket watch dug uncomfortably into them both.

 

“Thanks, Chrono.” She pulled back and looked him square in the eyes, smiling again. It was something he had wished for for so long, that Chrono could have himself cried at the sight. Smiling, he wrapped her in a hug of his own, ignoring the pain of the watch.

 

 

A few hours later, the two of them were walking back to where Rosette had parked the car. Both were soaked from head to toe, and laughing. Perhaps their decision to take an impromptu swim in the lake fully clothed had been a bad idea, but no matter. Rosette hadn't damaged a car in so long that Sister Kate would hardly begrudge her a little water damage. Giggling and sloshing their way up the hill, Rosette searched her waterlogged pockets for the keys. But after she found them, their familiar jingle was joined by a less familiar noise.

 

“Rosette Christopher, I presume?”

 

The pair looked up to find a man leaning against their car, foot propped up on the tire. Tall, slender, and dashing, there was a mischievous glint in his eyes of a kind that made Rosette nervous. It only made Chrono suspicious. Something here was not right. Taking his left hand out of his pocket, and pulling the cigarette from his mouth with his right, he took a step forward to stand in front of them.

 

“A pleasure to finally meet you.”