Tanabata - Star Festival [In the original, Hikoboshi was a cow-herder, but here, Keigo is a falconer! Also, I used hawks instead of magpies]!
Vega/Orihime: (Y/n)
Altair/Hikoboshi: Keigo
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The stars danced overhead, flickering in and out like a near-extinguished candle, painting the sky with shimmers of silver.
What could it have been, if not a testament to an incandescent romance? With the moon as their witness, the lovers embraced, spilling sweet, heartfelt nothings to atone for their months of separation - in which they awaited, perpetually, the very next July. The anguish and longing faded for merely a day.
The children, with robes tightly wound, turned their attention heavenward. Expressions of joy overtook them, for although the lovers were woefully star-crossed, their love transcended every boundary, no matter human or divine. It was because they loved in earnest, that they would survive, bear children, and thrive among the stars. A weaver and a falconer - a tale of instant love, of sorrowful beginnings and bittersweet endings. For the lovers, 'goodbye' held no great meaning past 'I shall cross this bridge again, my dearest'. There happened a throbbing pain, which waxed and waned throughout the year, but tore neither of them apart completely. Their story of love and loss was a cycle, destined to repeat until the universe ceased to exist.
For this one night, peace and serenity would come upon all the creatures, and all the gods. But the herald of morn was approaching with haste, and time was of the essence.
"Is there something on your mind, dove?"
Oftentimes, your reveries consisted of scenarios you couldn't bear to imagine, or the many years (when consecutively, your heart slipped into a deep mourning) in which the rainfall had seemed to forbid your meeting. You were trapped on opposing sides of the galaxy. It was your punishment, for once, love clouded your vision such that you had neglected everything, except one another. It was a powerful fire, that yielded to nothing. It could never be reduced to embers, nor quenched. You and he together embodied home, warmth, security. There were never doubts, nor arguments. You had not been endowed with the luxury of time.
"Do you remember when my father first brought us together?" You asked, fingers gliding delicately across his skin.
He chuckled. "How could I not? I fell in love with a single glance."
"As did I." His aura soothed your very soul. "Then, how about our first meeting, after the exile?"
"I remember it vividly, angel. I was in awe - you looked as beautiful as ever, and you felt as soft...like feathers." His blonde locks tickled your nape.
You giggled. "I remember my sorrow, and how I cried."
"Because there was no bridge, and the hawks, who heard your cries, came to assist?" He guessed, peppering your neck with kisses.
This subject carried a heavy emotional burden, and yet...addressing it seemed almost imperative.
"Indeed, my love. I was despaired of ever marrying, finding someone to treasure...so when father threatened to part us forever, I pleaded with him so desperately. I would never allow you to be taken, and I in turn, would never stray from your love. And if you were to pass, my heart would leap from my chest, to join you."
"I wish to echo your sentiments. You have long been my everything, and my heart, my lips, my soul...each part of me belongs to you. I vow to always hold your hand, even in death. My loyalties will never waver."
For this one night, embosomed by the arms of your prince, your saviour and your hero...you could break from all obligations, melt into him, feel his cold breath upon your skin. "I hope the rain is staved off again, come next year. I am lonely in your absence, my darling."
"Not too lonely, I hope? I miss you terribly each year, but when Summer dawns, the prospect of meeting you warms my heart. I long for this day. It is my favourite, above all others." He nuzzled you, relishing in the small, contented sighs escaping your lips.
Those gorgeous, plump lips.
You gazed at him, affection twinkling in your eyes. "Lonely beyond compare. I yearn to hold you close, to ask you questions - oh, I have so many, but...time is not something we have an excess of."
"If it were, I would still spend every second with you. You could ask your questions, I could ask mine...I would hold you closer, I would kiss you more." There existed a mischief in his voice, but you wouldn't ever trade it - strip away that roguish spark and replace it with innocence.
There would be no fun, no thrill.
Perfection was impossible to improve upon, regardless. "If that is your wish, then perhaps we do not need infinity?"
"Perhaps not, but I would still pray for it. It pains me that I cannot sleep beside you - my destiny. That, come the morning, I will be without you, once more..."
"Oh, Keigo...I will find my way back into your embrace. Always." Your devotion was genuine, unbridled - a thousand eternities could pass you by, and you might never notice.
His strong arms were no prison, no gilded cage; you felt the freedom coursing through your veins. It was freedom of choice, of love...but you would always return to him. The perennial years caused no disillusion, like perhaps your father had hoped. And your wistful words only strengthened the bond, as you recalled every fleeting moment together, whilst mapping out your future - the future that you would decide upon, as husband and wife.
Vega and Altair, (Y/n) and Keigo, lovers quick to matrimony, adored by the stars. "You will be welcome. Always."
This state of bliss was something you had only dreamed of, all those moons ago. "Keigo...I was losing myself, until you found me. Our hearts share a rhythm."
"(Y/n)...my life was void of colour, and happiness, until we met. Without you, I would succumb to that dark, sorrowful abyss of my past." The truth in his words was almost tangible.
You giggled, disturbing the motion of his hand on your stomach. "Why do you suppose they are hawks? I had envisioned a bridge of magpies - would they not better suit my character?"
"A hawk is a good omen, to see your dreams and goals through to completion. Perhaps they sensed your desperation...your lament? Ah, they are also messengers of the Spirit World."
"The Spirit World...? Then...were we perhaps mentioned? By the spirits of the flowers and the trees?" There was beauty in such starry-eyed curiosity.
A wave of grief crashed down, as he considered yet another year bereft of your seraphic voice, and feather-light touches. "It could be."
"Maybe they are watching over us. Oh, does that not sound divine?"
"Your voice sounds divine. I could listen for aeons, and never tire. I find myself longing to hear it, all too often." He confessed, with a sigh.
Such a doleful response should have been stifled - your conversation was never supposed to sour so. "Can you hear them? The children? They are hanging more tanzaku, by the shrine."
"Do you wish for children? Is it possible for us?"
"Nothing is impossible, my love. But I fear that time is not on our side, this year. So...perhaps the next?" Intimacy, in all its forms, was glorious.
Faint heartbeats and breaths amplified in this closeness. "Hmm...dove, if I could grant a single wish, for what would you ask?"
"I would ask for you." There was a pause - it was typical of him to be so sentimental, but this question carried a melancholic undertone. "To be yours, even as everything fades."
His stubble scratched against your skin. "In the reversed roles, I would ask the same."
You knew this, and you loved it. "I often wonder whether Okuninushi proposed our match."
"Haha, I wonder that as well." His laugh was spellbinding. "Had you rejected my courtship, I might have relinquished life to heartbreak, before your eyes."
"I would sooner perish myself, than cause you such misery."
"I would never allow that. I have an obligation to love, and to protect - as both husband and soulmate. My happiness is trivial, in comparison to yours." He swept aside your hair, cold fingers sending waves of pleasant feeling straight to your heart.
He tilted your head, as the weight of your eyelids became too great.
"You are my happiness, my home. If there was no spark of joy in your life, how could there be one in mine?"
The illumination below, from lanterns and torches that clung to trees and children's hands, was beautiful but brief. Some tanzaku glided with the wind, while the others were determined to remain on their branches. You sensed each and every wish, as if they were whispered into your ears. And perhaps this was true. Your faces were reflected in all the lovers, from young to old. Gratitude and hope, you directed toward them. Gratitude, for their wishes of well. Hope, for the flourishing of their love. Romantic love, self-love, and anything in-between. You hoped for them to find it, to show it in a fashion both pure and prudent.
For this one night, peace and serenity would come upon all the creatures, and all the gods.
Keigo and (Y/n) were finally reunited.
[Word Count: 1535]