Author's Note: Here's the finale—I made it fluffy while trying to stay true to the two character's personalities and temperaments. And again a very large and heartfelt thanks to all who have read and reviewed—you all have shown such kindness and are the primary reason that this story was written so quickly and I hope it met all of your expectations.
EPILOGUE-THE SWEET DANCE OF A ROSE
The day was buoyant, sparkling, and sunny with fat puffy cumulous clouds rolling lazily across its golden face like tumbleweed. The private beach at Professor Kezumi's was again the stage as 003 slipped her red sandals daintily off and limbered up to prepare to dance. As usual, she warmed up with stretches, lifting her arms high as she stretched her lissome figure and as usual, she had an audience. . .
009 took a seat on the steps of the deck and pushing his shaggy mahogany mane back filled his vision and his thoughts with the recital about to unfold on the sand before him. His mind drifted back to the night before when they had finally all got back to the beach house, exhausted but elated at having 003 safe and back. He recalled arriving at the Dolphin and carrying 003 back to the infirmary/laboratory and remaining by her side until they got to the cave that served as a dock next to the dwelling. He stayed there just watching her as she slept and silently mouthing prayers of thanksgiving as he rhythmically stroked her forehead, overwhelmed with the fact that they, no he almost lost her. Then practicality reared its ugly but sensible head and he thought about the circumstances. Neither one of them were fully human so how could they explore the territory of true love? He found himself asking that question once again, as he often did when he pondered about his feelings. Today, she had studied him in an ambivalent manner, stealing furtive glances at him while they all dined. The reality that they both were cyborgs, still human in many ways but also machines was the fact that made both of them hesitate in affirming their feelings. He was pondering if it had been a mistake telling her of his feelings even if it did snap her out of the emotional prison Black Ghost had her in. Was love an impossibility, a dream that could never be realized? How could he love Francoise as a man when he was implanted with circuitry and not a real man. He so yearned to love her like a real man. And on top of that—she had not repeated those same words and appeared uncomfortable around him, a fact that ate at 009.
Joe was so lost in his reverie that he did not notice the slender shadow cast over him by the subject of his thoughts. Francoise gazed at the handsome young cyborg and she gently tapped his shoulder.
"Anybody there?" she teased as he looked up with a dreamy expression.
He became nonplussed, blushing profusely. "Huh? Uh, I was just thinking about the last couple of days and what happened. And what almost happened," he added, reaching to run the back of his right hand down her soft cheek.
Francoise blushed as well as she slowly pulled back and Joe felt a twinge of disappointment at her breaking contact. "Are you sitting here to watch me dance?"
"Uh, yeah. That is if it's okay," Joe murmured, his head down.
Francoise answered, "Of course it's okay, silly. As a matter of fact, I need your assistance if you don't mind."
"My assistance?" 009 was incredulous. "Francoise, you know I can't dance very well," he said as he feebly tried to beg off but she was undaunted.
"Trust me, what I want you to do will be easy. Please?" 003 beseeched him prettily, her eyes wide aqua pools.
Joe sighed. How could he refuse her anything when she looked at him like that? "S-sure, I'll do what I can." He got up as she took his hand and led him to the beach.
On the deck, 007 and 006 were observing as the duo made their way across the sand. 006 sighed happily as he watched. "Kawaii, I so enjoy watching young love displayed so openly."
GB nodded as he commented. "009's back to being himself. He was in pretty bad shape when she was missing, it was like someone had ripped his heart in two." The two cyborgs watched intently as the two figures on the beach appeared to converge.
On the beach, Francoise was limbering up by going through the positions and stretching her legs. Joe stood there awkwardly, not knowing what he was needed for. She finished warming up and smiled at him.
"Now, Joe, I'd like you to help me with some steps."
He blinked at her. "Steps? You want me to help with some ballet steps?"
"Uh-huh. It'll be like I'm dancing an adagio. Dancing with a partner, pas de deux. And you, as my partner supports me."
"You mean you actually want me to help you dance? How?" he asked dumbly, a bit flustered and at a loss. He had never been one prone to dance and especially not as a difficult dance as ballet.
Francoise nodded. "Don't worry, I'll tell you how." She took his hands and placed them on her waist. He was amazed by how tiny it was, he could span its width with his hands. "You hold me by my waist as I perform an arabesque, then go into an attitude," she spoke with the proper French accent on the word.
Joe was blushing profusely as he released her and stammered, "A-and do I have to dance as well?" He was beginning to feel like the proverbial bull in the china shop.
Francoise bestowed a sunny smile of reassurance on the nervous cyborg. "No, just be my support. Like you always do," she added demurely, a blush giving her ivory complexion a rosy quality, accentuating her delicate beauty.
Joe smiled shyly as he responded to her sweet plea. "I'm always glad to help you, Francoise." Koishii, I'd do anything for you he said ardently to himself as he took her waist in his hands.
Over on the deck of the beach house, the other cyborgs had gathered to watch the seashore ballet about to commence. They all watched as the duo, infused by the bright sunlight, performed a graceful pas de deux, their movements synchronized, in perfect rhythm.
Francoise separated from Joe as she glided on the sand, performing perfect jetes and then stopping before him her slender arms forming lilting port de bras. As she plied and delicately moved her arms about, the soft scent of roses engulfed him, sending his senses reeling and his blood humming through his body. She was truly weaving a spell over him as she seemed to encircle him with her arms, pirouetting before him as he again took her waist in his hands. She then stretched her shapely leg, extending it back in a textbook arabesque as her right arm was gracefully draped over his right shoulder.
Joe sighed softly, silently as he became oblivious to everything but Francoise as she entered another dimension, the dance truly helping her to take flight. She again slipped away, to twirl in a fouette, her eyes closed as she heard the music of years before when she danced because that was what she was meant to do, before Black Ghost destroyed her life. That thought came to her, as it often did and she threw herself almost savagely into more movements to bury herself in her art as it became her escape.
Joe noticed the change in her movement and became immediately concerned, rushing forward as she turned and twirled, her ocean eyes closed as if she were dreaming. He tried to take hold of her to stop her and snap her out of her reverie.
"Francoise, Francoise, are you all right? Francoise, relax, you're moving too fast for me to keep up," he said desperately, his mind returning to Christmas Eve when she had nearly pirouetted into a black hole. He was frantic then and he was reaching that level of fear for her now as he tried once again to break through to her. He grasped her arms firmly but she tried to break away shaking her head vigorously.
"No, no, let me go! Let me dance, I must dance!" she cried insistently as she struggled against him.
"Francoise, you are spacing out, like you're in a trance," Joe said urgently, shaking her gently, worry furrowing his brow. He saw her eyes open and focus and she gazed up into his inquiringly as she shook her head to clear it.
"S-spacing out? I couldn't have, last I knew you were helping me with my adagio. Weren't you there with me?" she asked, honestly confused her eyes filling with tears.
He hastened to soothe her. "Shhh, yes, yes. But you asked me to help you but you were just going off alone, without me. It really scared me, like when you were dancing on the terrace in Paris."
Francoise moved out of his arms and stared off at the waves crashing on the rocks near the shore clutching her arms. "When Black Ghost had me, he I felt violated, like my heart was broken into. He also infiltrated my memories and my emotions, shutting them off. But I do recall thinking about how much I loved dancing and how sorry I was to never realize my dream, to be a ballerina. I guess just now, dancing I began to live out my imagination." She looked at Joe regretfully and asked, "And I pushed you away?"
"Hai. At first I figured you wanted to dance alone for a few steps then I saw that you became oblivious to everything and I got frightened for you," Joe replied as he stepped to her and placed his hands on her shoulder.
Francoise moved apart from him as she tried to grasp the information spinning about in her head. She appeared confused and frightened, her back to Joe.
He moved to her, grasping her shoulders and murmuring in her ear, "Don't, koishii, don't shut me away. You invited me to share your world so don't shut me out."
"J-Joe?" Francoise said tremulously as she turned slowly in his arms. His cinnamon eyes sparkled as they gazed into hers. With a sob, she threw herself in to his warm, broad chest, burying her face in his shoulder. He cradled her head with one hand as his other arm encircled her waist his body like a cocoon, protecting her from the demons that threatened her subconscious.
On the deck, Chang and GB watched the frenzied movements of 003 and 009's attempt to bring her back from the daze she was in. Chang became alarmed.
"007, something's wrong with 003, let's go help her!" he exclaimed but GB laid a restraining arm on his excitable Chinese friend.
"Take it easy. It's probably just some residual effect from her ordeal. 009 has the situation well in hand." He gestured with a finger pointing at the two on the beach. "See, he'll make sure she's all right, if anybody could, he can."
006 nodded in agreement. "For once, 007, I agree completely with you." They continued to watch.
Close to the pounding waves, 009 and 003 sought comfort in each other as they both nestled in their arms.
"Feeling better?" Joe asked softly as he brushed the bangs back from Francoise's forehead. She nodded. Her eyes took on a faraway look as she became wistful.
"Will we ever experience a normal life where we can pursue our hopes and dreams?" she asked miserably as she gazed into warm golden brown orbs.
Joe regarded her with a mixture of affection and sympathy. "We can always hope that this time has been the last of Black Ghost. But like a bad penny, he always seems to turn up."
She buried her head in his chest again. "Joe, I'm so tired of this. I just want a life like anyone else. I have no family any more but I want a chance to live a life where I can love and be loved."
Joe sighed as he responded, "I know. I do too." He gently pushed her back so he could study her carefully. "I was just thinking the same thing before."
Francoise shook her head and remarked bitterly. "I wonder if I can have what I want or if it's just pointless to yearn for something that's out of reach. How could I hope to love and be loved when I'm not even whole." She extricated herself from his arms and turned her back, clutching her shoulders.
Joe went forward and grasped her shoulders. "Francoise, you are whole. You are an incredible girl that feels for others like nobody I've ever seen. You're selfless, compassionate, sensitive and beautiful.
She seemed unaffected as she asked, "Then why have you been avoiding me?"
He was taken aback by her bluntness as she hit a raw nerve. "A-avoiding you?"
She turned to confront him. "Since last night you seem uncomfortable around me. After what you said to me as you rescued me, I have to wonder if you meant what you said or if you just said it to get through to me."
Joe took a deep breath as he searched for the words to express the turmoil within. "Actually, Francoise I've been thinking the same thing you were thinking, that how could I love and expect to be loved when I'm more machine than human. Can I love anyone, let alone you when I am not a human being, just a shell with a scrap of my humanity left in me. That's why I'm hesitating, what have I to offer you?"
Francoise reached and pushed the unruly shock of mahogany hair that covered one eye so she could look fully into the caramel colored orbs. "Joe, there's more humanity in you than any fully human man I have ever known. You're kind and gentle with a strong sense of right and wrong, and you've always protected me, no matter what. I feel so safe when I'm with you."
He nodded, "I feel the same. Like nothing in my life is right except when I look at you. Sometimes I'm so consumed with wanting to destroy Black Ghost that I actually feel what little I have of my humanity slipping away. Until I see you and then I know that I am still a man."
Francoise gazed into his eyes and murmured, "You are very much a man, Joe Shimamura. A very special man, a man whose compassion and kindness far surpasses his cybernetic abilities in depth and scope."
Joe cupped her face in his hands. "I think we just dispelled all doubts. The fact is we're both not completely human but the best part of us, our hearts and souls, are still very much human. We need to hold on to that and not be afraid." He said that more for himself than anything.
She nodded as their lips found each other and her arms snaked under his arms around his ribcage as the kiss deepened and became passionate. Her mouth opened invitingly and he allowed his tongue to probe the soft warm orifice, tasting and savoring her. The sweet scent of roses enveloped him as his senses became overwhelmed with the combination of the soft pliant feel of her, the honey sweet taste of her mouth, and the vision of beauty that was her.
At the same time, she was enthralled by his gentleness and warmth. For a man who had such a difficult life before Black Ghost came and tried to re-create him into a super weapon, he had his true strength in the way he felt and cared for others. Like herself, he was always trying to see the good in others instead of condemning them, a fact that drew the ire of a few of their teammates. However, that same characteristic endeared him to her. She decided to let him know in words what she was telling him in actions.
They finally drew apart and Francoise took Joe's face in her hands. "Joe, I want you to know something.
He waited holding his breath, his heart filled with hope. She took a deep breath and continued.
"Joe, when you had reached into my heart to snap me back from the spell Black Ghost had me under, you showed me that no matter what he tried to do to destroy us that we would triumph as long as we were together. So I want to say the words to you in my own language. J'teme, mon amour," she whispered as she pressed her cheek to his.
Joe sighed as he heard the words he had so yearned for. He felt his heart pound, her softly spoken words kindling a fire in his body that was making him almost dizzy with desire. He wrapped his arms tightly around her so his lips were just above her ear.
"Aishiteru, koishii," he murmured in return as the sea breeze surrounded them and the sun's rays sent its warm caress, miraculously making the rest of the world disappear.
END