Disclaimer: All rights et all belong to JKR. I claim no ownership of the characters or universe therein used and detailed.
A/N: VIVAASA came from the Potter's Place 'Exile Challenge Prompt.' Thank you all for your patience and support while following this. It's ever appreciated. And now, for the last chapter:
VIVAASA
by: carpetfibers
One year, Day 364
The job was easily discarded, as was the small flat. He left the tree, preserved by charm and incantation, with his father who found a place for it in his roses. He had no good-byes or farewells, and the shop owner accepted his brief thanks with a mute understanding. And that morning, when he awoke, he was unable to deny the emotion that flooded him when he withdrew his suitcase from so many months before. He is bitter and stubborn and unyielding; his selfishness is all encompassing; and yet, still, he is hopeful.
He is hopeful, and so he leaves.
He has no umbrella and his shoes are soaked by an unrelenting drizzle. The city rain never torrents, it never pours; the rain is misery and sullenness, and he enters the park with his heart racing and his suitcase heavy. His feet slow despite himself, and when he nears the fountain, he stops entirely, his eyes caught in the mirage of memory and hopefulness. The bench is unchanged, its paint chipped and peeling. He sits, relishing the strength of its duration and warmth of the wood against his soaked back. The humidity is choking, and yet he breathes with an ease and carelessness that speaks of something momentous.
It is she who sees him first, her clothes charmed against the rain and her wand tucked up her sleeve.
She sees him across the fountain, through the twin haze of cascade and drizzle. His shirt is wrinkled with damp and travel, and his hair lies flat across his forehead. He is smiling in his half-hearted way, the lips barely curved, and his eyes, a perfection of entitlement and neediness, meet hers with a vulnerable directness that forces her forward. He looks up at her nearing and a suitcase sits at his feet. She recognizes its worn leather and desperately, she searches his face for a confirmation. She wants to tell him everything, to say it all and admit to it all. I miss you and I need you and I love you- yet, when she opens her mouth, it is a reminder of an earlier time.
"Are you hungry?" she asks.
He notes it all, the unkempt hair and the familiar indentation in her sleeve. Revelation overwhelms him, and the surge of feeling in his breast is potent and heady. He nods once and stands, his hands already lifting to cup her face and touch her skin.
"Are you cold?" He nods again, and she pulls him tenderly to her breast. "Come home with me, then. You can stay with me."
Always, her touch tells him. Always and always and forever and ever, her caress repeats, and the dulled hum of the rain cloaks his fervent answer.
"Yes."
End day 364
End VIVAASA
Feb09-May09