Dancing on Mirrors

Sidewalks became a mirror for the overcast skies above. The air became heavy with the dewy petrichor from trees evergreen and laden with raindrops. Distant views of the city became clouded up with a silvery mist that fogged up the vision of anything not held close.

The world cloaked in a rainy veil, was once an environment that Yumemi thrived in. A facade of normality in a world where her reality was slower than everyone else's.

It was also an environment, Yumemi discovered, that Munto was an utter foreigner in.

The first clue was rather obvious; Munto yelping in surprise when the first droplets fell upon his face. The man had faced countless war machines and skies of ash, but rainwater had him surprised?

"Yumemi." He growled with a face as red as his hair. "Will you grant me respite from humiliation and please cease your laughter?"

"I-I'm sorry!" She said between chuckles, pursing her lips in a failed effort to stop. "B-But the way you ducked and-" Her breaths became loud with her laughter again.

The speckles of rain became pellets, and Yumemi's laughter faded in the footsteps smacking against the wet sidewalk to take shelter underneath a large tree.

Yumemi pressed a gloved hand against the bark and gazed up at the sky. "It's coming down more than it usually does . . .."

Catseye gold caught wind of her musing and locked onto her jade eyes. "You like the rain?"

A small smile crossed her lips. "It was all I ever wanted to see a few years ago."

He craned his head upward. He's taking in all the detail, she guessed. It's like a soldier, really. It's how he gets used to a new environment.

"The clouds cover up the islands."

His voice brought her away from her musings. "Pardon?"

"The clouds." He repeated. "They cover up my homeland. Is that why you wanted it to rain all the time?"

"Mm. In a sense, I guess you could say." Yumemi sighed as she took out the band of her tied-up hair, and allowed the copper-tinted locks loose in waves. "You saw fragments of my past that time we connected. Whenever it rained . . . it was the only time I saw the same sky as everyone else. It was silly, but I used to pray everyday for it to rain." She smiled up at him. "It's kind of stupid to admit to, isn't it? Wishing for something I knew would never come true."

When he let go of her hand, she tensed, only to be pleasantly surprised when he knelt down to her height to put his hand on her cheek. "Wishing for something to stop causing you pain is never foolish." It was warm when he pressed his forehead against hers. "I can only hope now you don't have that same hurt now, when you look up at them."

"Y-You're being over-dramatic again." Her laughter cracked as her bottom lip trembled.

"Perhaps I am." He wrapped his arms around her tightly. "But I would rather be the court jester to both of our worlds, than know you were still hurting from grievances long past."

She couldn't help the small whimper that past her lips. "M-Munto. Thank-you." Somehow, she returned the hug. "But you don't need to worry about that, not really. I'm not hurting anymore. I'm not closing my heart from those who care about me, not any longer."

"Good." He whispered. "But I want you to know that even if you did, love, I would brave any enemy in order to pry those walls open again." A brief peck to the lips painted blue by the cold. "That is on my honour as a King, and as the one who will always protect you."

Yumemi wasn't sure how much time had passed between them, or how the sound of her heart beating and the warm breaths from Munto's lips had made the rainfall all but vanish. Time itself lost all meaning when she buried her head in his shoulder, seeking the warmth that always radiated from him. Be it Akuto, magic, or being born from a land of floating isles, but there was a fire in him she sought. Like a flower to the sun, she thrived when he was close. Even moreso when he encouraged her.

Blue patches of the sky began to poke through from the sunlight. Yumemi gently pulled away from him and gazes around at her. Puddles reflecting those beautiful floating isles spread as far as her eyes could soak in, painting a smile on her face as she took a step closer toward them.

She took one look at Munto, before she ripped off her shoes and socks and ran out in the middle of the water-covered paths.

"Yumemi?" Munto gaped at her, folding his arms. "What are you-?"

"Ah, it's so cold!" She danced around in the water, soaking the bottom of her dress and sending droplets flying. She giggled every time her barefeet made contact with the ground. "I haven't done this since I was a little kid!"

A hand was held out for him. "Munto, come on! The water isn't that bad!"

One of his brows rose. "Are you being serious?"

"Of course I am! I just thought you might like to join me." A sly grin came to her lips. "Unless the great King is afraid of getting his feet wet."

He tensed up immediately. "I am the King of the Magical Kingdom, and the leader of the citizens there. I have faced and defeated enemies that would make night terrors tremble in fear." His voice lowered in a way that sent a different shiver up her spine. "I am not afraid of anything."

Off came his shoes as he ran to join her with a wolfish grin on his face. Icy breezes past them by as the skies above began to rid itself of the wispy clouds, leaving nothing but the vast expanse of blue. She lead him around the reflective mirror of water by her hands joined in his, and they laughed and complained to their heart's content about the cold.

They danced on mirrors crafted from the skies until the sky darkened and the streetlamps became their guides.

a/n: Yeah . . . uh, I just wanted an excuse for them to be dorks and dance in puddles. I'm headcanoning that they don't have rain up there. Even if they do . . . well, Munto can fly. I'm allowed to defy canon. (They pretty much did in the finale, to be honest.) Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this piece! (I am chucking these out so quickly, to be honest. Need to rest my creative flair before it all burns out too fast!)