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Mind stares at the sky looming overhead – it is dark, the kind that seems to swallow you whole – and yet he is not drowning in the emptiness within. No, for the first time, he almost feels…content?
He leans back against the bench, hearing it creak against the weight. There is a crowd nearby; the chatter is distant yet insistent, like an animal begging for attention in the shadows. He turns to face Heart, who stares back with his scarred eyes. Oddly enough, Mind does not feel the disgust creeping up his throat, instead smiling at this creature he has somehow fallen for.
The creature smiles back, all teeth and sincerity, somehow managing to be beastly yet kind.
“(Penny for your thoughts?)” Heart asks, as if he can’t read Mind with a glance.
“[I love you.]” Mind whispers the phrase so simple yet carries so much significance. He knows, deep down, that he has crept into a web, though whether he is a fly or spider, Mind does not know.
Maybe he does not want to know.
Heart’s eyes widen slightly at the quiet admission, the smile melting into something warmer, and more human, perhaps? Certainly less teeth.
He honestly cannot tell, but he knows that the Moon is more human than any of them here. Maybe Heart was more human than Harmonia herself, with the emotions he is burdened with.
“(I love you too, my Sun,)” he replies, looking at him with such adoration Mind can feel himself melt at those eyes, forever scarred, eternally ethereal. Heart watches him silently, scrutinizing every inch of his face. Those sharp eyes.
Perhaps it is dangerous to love someone who could kill you in a heartbeat. Yet Heart is guilty of it too. Their bodies are a reminder of what exactly the other is capable of. Mind with his hands replaced with cold, smooth steel; Heart with his vision stolen from him.
And despite all this, all their arguments, their differences, here they are, sitting beneath the moonlight together.
Silently, Mind is envious of Heart’s humanity. The warmth of his body, the smiles so real and alive. He has what the autonomon lacks – understanding of others.
Heart, however, is jealous of the very thing Mind does not have, the emotion he has too much of.
Each completes the other, and each destroys the other. After all, aren’t they sides of the same coin?
They weren’t truly different.
Yet Mind knows his thought process is biased, ignoring the flaws of having emotional intelligence and experiencing emotion as a whole. He prides himself in being the opposite of what Heart was, at nature, this beast with predatory grins and sharp teeth. He was composed, gallant and nothing like this creature staring into his eyes.
“(You’re judging me.)” Heart accuses with a huff, lips turning downward into a slight scowl.
“[I am not,]” Mind casually denies, and the Moon laughs at that, attempting derision and failing horribly.
He allows himself a slight smile. “[You do know that laugh sounds awfully childish, right?]”
“(I know.)” Heart grins, all teeth once more. “(You do know I know you’re lying, right?)”
“[I know you know I’m lying.]”
Heart frowns. “(You’re not fun.)”
“[Indeed.]”
The silence coats them once more. The crowd is cheering now, for some reason Mind feels no need to discern.
Perhaps what they share, what they have, was not perfect. Far from healthy. But beggars can’t be choosers. And any companion is better than silence.
“[You still love me.]”
Heart sighs with the knowledge of the truth. He smiles again, softer now.
“(I still do.)”
Mind stares at the sky, finding lights, flashing bright colours, painting the sky in a brilliant scene before covering it in smoke.
Fireworks.
Right.
He says quietly, “[Happy New Year.]”
The fireworks go off in the distance. Mind is sure Heart can hear them.
He does.
“(Happy New Year.]”