Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Twisted Fates ❯ True Colours ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 5 ~ True Colours



The sun's golden arrows of light shot through the window, and rested on Van's sleeping face. The wet cloth on his forehead had long fallen off, and most of the blankets he was covered with had fallen on the floor. He stirred, not wanting to open his eyes. He never wanted the healing slumber to finish, because he never wanted to forget that soft voice. It kept on playing over and over in his head. It was the last thing he fell asleep to. At long last, Van opened his eyes, not able to maintain the illusion any longer. He sat up in his bed, still feeling weak. He looked around the room, and what he saw brought a wolfish smile to his lips. Hitomi was curled in a chair, beside his bed. She must have stayed and watched over him all night. Although her would have preferred her to be in bed with him, holding him in that same protective embrace, it was enough for him that she stayed with him through the night. It meant she cared. Van blushed remembering the way her fingers ran through his drenched hair. She looked so peaceful sleeping in that chair.
"What are you doing up?" he suddenly heard Hitomi's voice.
"Hmm? You're up already?" he asked surprised.
"Yeah, I felt you stir. How are you feeling today?" she asked him sleepily.
"Better. Thank you for taking care of me." Van said softly.
"Hey, what are friends for. Anyhow, I did the easy part. You're the one that pulled through." Hitomi told him getting up from her chair and feeling his forehead. It was still a little warm, but considering what it had been, it was an improvement.
Van frowned a little. Friends, she had said friends. He had enough friends, and didn't want her to be one of them. He wanted her to become more. Van wanted to take her in his arms right then and there and place passionate kisses on her lips, but he knew he couldn't do it. He didn't want her to get frightened and run away. Van knew he wouldn't be able to stand rejection. Not from her.
Hitomi blushed when she saw Van looking at her with that dark look. She couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about. Nevertheless, he wasn't out a danger. Hitomi came out of her dreaming and became practical.
"Where do you keep your clothes?" she asked Van.
"Huh? Umm.. in the closet." He responded.
"Good. Stay here, I'll get you something to wear. You're still weak." Hitomi told him, and headed for the closet. "Um... Van... what do you want to wear?" she asked opening the closet, and staring at the mound of clothes she found there.
"Umm... anything will do." Van said blushing furiously. He was never taken care of this way. It was embarrassing, yet he enjoyed it also.
As if reading his mind, Hitomi turned around and said:
"Don't you be getting used to this Van Fanel. I'm only doing this 'cuz you're sick ok?" she told him defiantly.
"From you? I would never expect that." Van said watching her every move.
Hitomi laughed, and hit him with the clothes. Van caught them in time, before they hit him a second time.
"Don't you know you're supposed to treat your patients with care and not hurt them?" he asked humorously.
"You, a patient? I could never guess. You're the king of Fanelia. The one that never gives up." Hitomi stabbed playfully.
"Sorry I acted like such a jerk." Van said quietly.
"It's ok, but next time maybe you should listen to me. I was only telling you that out of concern. Since you didn't listen, look at where you are now." Hitomi said turning around to allow him the privacy of changing, and also to hide her blush from seeing his naked top.
A few minutes later, Van emerged from his bed fully dressed.
"Come on, let's go get you breakfast." Hitomi said coming to his side, and supporting him.
Van was capable of walking on his own, although he felt a little dizzy. However, he leaned on Hitomi. Her sweet smell was intoxicating. He could never get enough of it. God, he loved her so much. How could he let her go back to the Phantom Moon? He wanted her to stay there with him forever. An eternity with her could not be enough. Yet Van knew he would never stand in her way to happiness. If she wanted to go back, he would let her go. Her happiness was all that mattered to him.
"Lord Van! Are you feeling better?" Merle appeared in front of him.
"Yeah. I'm still feeling a little dizzy, but I'm ok, thanks to Hitomi." Van said smiling.
"It was no problem. Whenever someone got sick on our track team, I was the one that took care of them. Hopefully next time you'll listen to me." Hitomi said gently, yet giving him a stern look.
"Ok, I admit, you were right this time, but that doesn't make you right all the time." Van laughed pretending to roll his eyes.
Merle grinned. You could see the love in their eyes. What was taking them so long? "Ughh, must I do everything myself? Those two would never get it going at this rate. Foolish children!" The thought surprised Merle very much, since she was younger than both of them. But unlike those two, she knew how to take love's signals. Well, she had a plan. Hopefully, they would agree.
"Hey Hitomi, can Lord Van travel?" Merle asked.
Hitomi looked at her surprised. "What do you mean? He still has a little fever, but for a short distance, I suppose he can." Hitomi said giving Merle a warning look. "What is she up to?" Hitomi wondered.
"Merle?" Van asked warningly. Whenever Merle got an idea, it meant trouble.
"Well, I was thinking that maybe you would like to go on a picnic or something. I'm sure Lord Van wouldn't abstain from working today, and since he is weak, spending some time in nature might help him." Merle smiled innocently at both of them.
Van groaned inwardly. He saw where this was going, and it was more than his health that was concerned.
"That's a great idea! A picnic and a day in nature would be great! And it will certainly help Van get better faster! I'm game!" Hitomi exclaimed excitedly.
"What do you say Lord Van?" Merle asked happy that Hitomi took the bait.
"Do I have a choice?" Van asked raising an eyebrow.
"Nope, you don't." Hitomi laughed at him with sparkling eyes.
"Well, then I guess I'm game too." Van said, sighing inside. Whatever Merle had planned better be good. He didn't want to mess it up.
"Great! I'll go pack our food!" Merle said and got up from the table.
"Pack soft things also!" Hitomi yelled after her. She then turned around and felt Van's forehead. "You're getting better. This might truly help you." She told him.
"I hope so," Van said.
"Don't worry. You said you wanted to show me Gaea. Well, this is a good start." Hitomi encouraged him.
"Yeah, it'll be fine. Sometimes Merle's impulsiveness scares me. Who knows what she has in mind." Van smirked.
"I'm sure she just wants to make you feel better." Hitomi smiled.
"Ha, if it were only that simple!" Van thought. Instead, he just smiled at Hitomi. His head hurt a little, and he found the perfect excuse to rest it on her shoulder.
"Are you tired?" Hitomi asked quietly.
"A little, my head hurts a bit." Van said honestly.
"It's probably from the high fever you had. Don't worry, it'll get better." Hitomi said softly. Then, she did something she would have thought about a million times before doing. She gave him a soft kiss on the forehead.
Van smiled inwardly. He was very surprised about the kiss. However, he closed his eyes, not letting the sheer surprise and happiness reflect in them. He continued to keep his head on her shoulder.
Hitomi's head was spinning. What did she just do? She just KISSED him. Well, it wasn't a kiss, because it wasn't on the lips, but it was a kiss. "Aahh, I'm going crazy. Oh well," she thought "it doesn't matter. Friends sometimes do that. He must have just took it as it was, since his head is still resting on my shoulder." Hitomi looked at Van. Well, all she saw were his rebellious locks of hair. Hitomi smiled, and smoothed some of them into place. They were tickling her neck. She was tempted to play with his hair some more, but decided against it. She already had a slip today, and didn't want to cut her visit short. Whatever will be will be. Hitomi sighed.
"Hmm... don't stop, I liked you playing in my hair." Van said sleepily.
"Hey, maybe you should go to sleep. You seem tired." Hitomi observed, thankful he couldn't see her crimson face.
"I can't help it," Van thought blushing.
"You two are like a married couple! Come on, there's no time to waste." Van and Hitomi head Merle's annoyed voice behind them. They both looked up in surprise, their faces turning red.
Merle turned around smiling. So easily embarrassed. They were just so cute together, yet they needed a lot of help. She ran up ahead of them, before they could respond.
"Merle, where's the picnic basket?" Hitomi asked in lack of conversation.
"It's waiting outside on the steps. I got tired of waiting for you two." The cat-girl yelled from up ahead.
"Van, are you ok?" Hitomi asked seeing his flushed cheeks.
"Yeah, I'm ok." Van told her. It wasn't the fever that was causing his cheeks to turn a nice shade of red.
"Let me feel your forehead. I don't want you getting sicker than you already are." Hitomi said concerned.
"I'm fine," Van growled, but confined to her wishes. "Looks like you're catching a little of it too." He said observing the roses in her cheeks.
Hitomi blushed even more. "No, it's just the air here." She stammered.
Van gave her a thoughtful glance. He could see that it wasn't the air. For whatever reason, Hitomi was blushing like mad. He found that he rather liked her in this state of confusion. Winning her heart proved to be an interesting game, he liked to play. Maybe there was more to what Hitomi was showing. "Stop it!" Van ordered his imagination. "I refuse to let you run away with me again. She only considers me a friend. I don't want to rush her in any way."
~~~~
A half an hour later, Merle, Van and Hitomi arrived at the picnic place. Hitomi picked a place in the shade, since Van was still a little sick. They all sat down, and munched on the sandwiches the cook made for them.
"So Hitomi, how long will you be staying with us?" Merle asked.
Hitomi gulped. "Umm... I don't know. How long will you have me?" she asked.
"Well, not long..." Merle was about to say something more, when Van interrupted.
"As long as you want to stay Hitomi." He said rather fast.
Hitomi was surprised at his reaction, but didn't show it. The fact was that she didn't want to leave. However, since her status here was that of a visitor, she would have to learn more about this world to be able to live in it. There was one thing she knew for sure. She didn't want to return to Earth; to the endless silence, and the dark loneliness. She was happy here on Gaea. Maybe she could live in the village, or something. For the moment, Hitomi didn't want to ruin this day. It was absolutely perfect.
"Well, won't your family wonder where you are?" Merle asked, not knowing when to give up.
Van looked at Hitomi concerned. Luckily, he saw a gentle shadow cross her face; nothing more.
"My family died one year ago. I don't have anyone there anymore." Hitomi told her gently.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but now you can stay with Lord Van forever!" Merle jumped excitedly.
Hitomi blushed, and was silent. She didn't know how to respond to that. Luckily, Van jumped to her defence.
"Merle, why don't you mind your own business?" he asked sternly.
"I wish I'd have brought my diskman." Hitomi sighed. She felt like she needed some music.
"You mean this?" Merle asked getting out something similar.
"Does it play music?" Hitomi asked.
"Yeah, there's a spinning thing inside, and it came with these." Merle said bring out some small speakers.
"Where did you find this?" Hitomi asked. It looked like a diskman.
"In the market." Merle told her.
Hitomi pressed play, and beautiful music surrounded the picnic place.
"I'm gonna go pick some berries." Merle told them, running into the forest.
"Bring back some for us." Van told her.
Hitomi was overwhelmed by the beautiful music. She got up, and just spun around, letting the wonderful melody sink into her heart.
"Do you want to dance?" Van asked coming up to her.
"I would love to. It's such a beautiful song." Hitomi told him dreamily.
"Yes! Success!" Merle whispered from the bushes.
Hitomi felt like she was flying. The song, and Van's arms around her were all she could feel. Her head was spinning in circles. He was so close to her, it would have been so easy to steal a kiss. Yet Hitomi didn't know how he might take it. It was all so confusing. Why couldn't she just tell him? Now would be a good time. But what if he didn't say it back? She would have to leave Gaea, and never come back. Her life would be solitary confinement, and she didn't want that. Her conscience and feelings were screaming "I love you", yet no sound escaped her lips. Little did she know, that someone close by was thinking the same thing.
The song was almost finished, and Van drew Hitomi closer, as the last notes were being played. Afterwards, Hitomi left his arms, and spun around happily. She grew dizzy, and fell on the ground laughing.
"Are you ok?" Van asked concerned coming up to her.
"Yeah, just fine." Hitomi said still laughing.
"What's so funny?" Van asked.
"This is," Hitomi said and started tickling him.
"Oh, so this is how you want to play eh?" Van asked and started to tickle her back.
They both fell to the ground, each trying to tickle the other more. In their war, they rolled over the grass. None of them noticed the surprised bystander.
"Aww, no fair, you're stronger than I am!" Hitomi shrieked when Van had her pinned to the ground and was tickling her viciously. Then, Hitomi got an idea. "Ouch, ouch, aww, you're hurting me," she cried.
Immediately, Van's face became serious. "Are you ok Hitomi?" he asked loosening his grip on her hands.
"Yeah, but you aren't!" she said escaping his grip and forcing all her weight on him, pinning him to the ground. She started tickling him with a vicious grin.
"Darn, woman's tricks. I can't believe I feel for that one!" Van laughed as he tried to get Hitomi off of him. He then realised that in their fight, they had neared a wild rose bush. He extended his hand, and ripped one of the flowers.
"Time out." He called. "Here you go Hitomi," Van said giving her the beautiful red rose.
Hitomi looked at it surprise written all over her face. "T..Thank you Van." She said when she regained her voice.
"No, thank you for taking care of me when I was sick, and for just being there." Van said slowly. He hugged her tightly, never wanting to let her go.
"Um... now that you're done? Can we pack?" Merle asked making her presence known.
"Sure, just a second." Van called to her. "Thank you again Hitomi. Just for being you." He said and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. He then got up and went to help Merle.
Hitomi was crimson red, and speechless. Like in a dream, she got up and stumbled towards the picnic blanket. Her head was spinning, and her stomach was doing flip-flops.