Give Unto Me

Disclaimer: I do not own either 07-Ghost or the song "Give Unto Me". 07-Ghost is owned by Yuki Amemiya and Yukino Ichihara. "Give Unto Me" belongs to Evanescence. I am not making any money off of this, this is solely for my own entertainment and to get the muses to stop bothering me so I can sleep.

AN: These are Mikage's thoughts on Teito, and it is set in between the time he dies and he is reborn. Think about it like he's watching from above before he is reborn as the dragon.

Also, I have put bits and pieces from both the manga and anime in the memories he has. Since there is a year to mess around with, I figured that it was viable. Please let me know what you think!

Finally, I wrote this as a Mikage/Teito pairing, but you could look at it as close friendship if you like.

I've been watching you from a distance
The distance sees through your disguise
All I want from you is your hurting
I want to heal you
I want to save you

The first time I met him, I wasn't quite sure what to think of him. He looked so stern and defensive, so serious that I thought I had to lighten the mood; he was to be my new roommate after all. I found out quickly that he seemed to want to be left alone and had one hell of a temper, so I watched him from a distance for a while.

Watching, I could see the darkness in him, the yearning for companionship behind the cool mask of indifference. I couldn't resist, I had to help him, and not just because I could see no one else would.

Give unto me your troubles
I'll endure your suffering
Place onto me your burden
I'll drink your deadly poison

At first he resisted everything, he refused to talk to me or even really acknowledge me. It made the first little while as roommates very awkward, let me tell you. It all changed after we got into a fistfight with some of the older students. I couldn't just walk away when I heard the way they were talking to him, so I defended him. He finally opened up to me afterwards. Though it wasn't much, it meant a lot to just hear him say his name.

I knew then that maybe, just maybe, he would let me help him carry his burdens.

Why should I care if they hurt you
Somehow it matters more to me
That if I were hurting myself
Save you (save you)
I'll save you

Even after that, he tried to resist...though less forcefully. Constantly reminding me that others would alienate me as they did him if I continued to stay friends with him. I never listened. The thought of him alone and lonely hurt me much more than anything any of the other students could say or do. I'd reached my hand out to him and he'd taken it. I refused to withdraw it now.

When he tried to defend me from others as they attempted to insult me meant so much, but I held him back. They weren't worth his trouble, and their words meant nothing to me, especially in the face of his righteous anger on my behalf.

Give unto me your troubles
I'll endure your suffering
Place onto me your burden
I'll drink your deadly poison

When I followed him up onto the roof one day for lunch, I was shocked at what he ate, or rather what he didn't. He survived on pills and milk, having no appetite at all, and I could tell that it was because of the suffering he went through when he was away from classes. I may not know exactly what was happening, but I heard rumors, and I heard his nightmares when he was asleep. I, of course, couldn't just leave him alone, so I dragged him to the cafeteria for some real food. It may not have been much, but he ate it. Then he did something that shocked me greatly...he cried. I played it off at the time, but I knew what it meant to him. I knew I was finally getting through the walls, bleeding out the poison bit by bit.

Fear not the flame of my love's candle
Let it be the sun in your world of darkness
Give unto me all that frightens you
I'll have your nightmare for you
If you sleep soundly

He never told me much about his past, but I knew he had been alone. He had no memories of when he was a child, and most of his memories after that blank were of battling, training, and killing. He was never allowed to be a child, never allowed the carefree happiness and warmth, so I tried to heap it on him. I tried to show him that people can care for others, and that the caring is not something to be feared, but something to welcome and, eventually, reciprocate. It brought me to tears when he told me that being friends with me was what he thought it must be like to have a family. From him, it meant more than shouted declarations to the whole world from others.

Give unto me your troubles
I'll endure your suffering
Place onto me your burden
I'll drink your deadly poison

When I saw him again after helping him escape, he looked different. Not physically, but the air around him seemed different. It looked like me was able to relax more in the church than he had been able to at the academy, he just seemed to belong there. He looked almost carefree as he argued with the other bishops, especially the one named Frau, and I was glad. My time was short at that point, so I didn't know what I'd do if he was just as distant from others at the church as he was to those at the academy.

Fear not the flame of my love's candle
Let it be the sun in your world of darkness
Give unto me all that frightens you
I'll have your nightmares for you
If you sleep soundly

I wish to be reborn in any form that allows me to be with him and protect him always. I'm glad I was allowed to meet him, and I'm even happier that he opened up to me. I want to make sure that, now that I'm gone, he won't close himself off again. He has others around him that care for him, and his heart is too big and kind to be allowed to be locked away to wither and die. I'll take any form I can so that I can be one of his lights again, so that I can stay beside him and, if need be, die for him again. He is the one who means the most to me, and I'll take on all of his nightmares, all his of horrors, so that he can live happily.

Teito, I hope you find someone else whom you can also share your light with, and I will always love you.

Fear not the flame of my love's candle
Let it be the sun in your world of darkness

AN: So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Terrific? Terrible? Please let me know.