No doubt you all thought I'd died or something similar as I have been inactive for so long; well, you're close. My muse curled up and died, and in writing these oneshots for Yullen Week of winter 2010, I'm sort of hoping that I might be able to revive it. Or something.

Okay, before I get started, I should probably warn you that most of these are quite weird, even by my normal standards, so have fun with that. They'll probably go AU, canon, AU, canon and so on. Therefore, this oneshot is in an AU setting.

Day one, prompt one: Yearn

Before the story begins, it should be made known that Ailen Cerddwr(1), son of Neah Cerddwr, first in line to the throne of Fourteenth Fey Court, was not stalking the human Kanda Yuu.

He couldn't help it, after all, if the human happened to come to his meadow in order to meditate. Nor was it truly his fault if the human was not gifted with the Sight – Ailen could study him in as much detail for as long as he pleased, and the human was none the wiser. And, well, if the human Kanda Yuu happened to be exceptionally beautiful, by both mortal and faerie standards, then Ailen wasn't to blame, after all.

Timcanpy, a young fire sprite, alighted on the palm of Ailen's hand, chirping angrily at him. His golden body was light and insubstantial, like smoke. Timcanpy's tail wrapped around Ailen's little finger, and he shook his tiny fist in Ailen's direction. The fey prince rolled his eyes, brushing strands of long, silver hair behind his ear. Liquid mercury eyes followed Kanda Yuu's progress as he spun in dizzying circles, his sword slicing the air. Ailen sighed slightly, watching the beads of sweat as they trailed down Kanda's flawless skin. Tim sighed and tutted in exasperation, fluttering away.

Lunge. Attack. Block. Counter. The pattern was as familiar to Ailen as the tattoos that traced over his own pale skin, as the melodies the Fourteenth Court so enjoyed dancing to, as the songs of the nixies and the beautiful creations of the dwarves. A small, delicate smile graced the prince's face as he watched the mortal, his gloriously human features set with concentration.

Kanda was completely unaware of Ailen's presence, continuing with his daily routine just as he had always done. For the thousandth time, Ailen considered revealing himself, or luring the human into Fourteenth territory.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Ailen matched the rhythm of his breaths to Kanda's, the sound of their melodies so perfectly in tune the most soothing lullaby Ailen could possibly imagine.

Ailen wasn't quite sure when he had fallen in love with Kanda, but he decided that it hardly mattered. He had happily spent hours, days even, watching his human go about his mortal life – the thought of that ageing, fading, dying, filled Ailen with an emptiness he hadn't realised that he was capable of. It made him feel startlingly fragile – terrifyingly mortal. He was only sixteen; still a child by human and faerie standards alike. As long as he was not murdered by some other fey creature, Ailen still had thousands of years ahead of him. Kanda was eighteen – he had about another seventy years, at best.

Ailen perched in the branches of an old rowan tree, resting his chin in his palm with a wistful sigh. Kanda still had no idea that he even existed, and he could not reveal himself without putting them both in danger. Today, Kanda was meditating after he finished his physical training – he sat cross legged on the floor with his palms resting on his knees and his sword sat beside him. Ailen took the opportunity to drift closer, his passing barely marked by the movement of flowers and grasses beneath his feet.

Up close, Kanda's hair looked even softer, smoother and Ailen longed to braid it with flowers and pearls, even onyx. It was long, as long as Ailen's own and he wore it down today. Ailen reached behind his own head to pull the ribbon loose so that his silver hair fell about his shoulders in mimicry of Kanda's. He wanted to lie down with Kanda and spread their hair around them, to see the contrast of colours in the afternoon sunshine. Ailen sighed once more, his gentle breath disturbing Kanda's hair slightly.

Deep blue eyes flickered open, clouded by confusion as Kanda stared around for someone who – in his mind at least – didn't exist. Ailen remained perfectly still as Kanda's perfect, clear eyes stared right through him, only daring to breathe again once those eyes were hidden by pale eyelids once more. He held out his arm against Kanda's, so close that they were almost touching, that he could feel the warmth that radiated from the human's body, staring at the difference in skin tone. Kanda was pale by Japanese standards, but compared to him, Ailen looked almost wraithlike. His skin was near-transparent, the deep blue veins all-too visible. It made him feel almost sick, and he wondered if that was because he was suddenly seeing himself from a mortal perspective. Would he feel this way had he never seen Kanda? Would he still think himself a freak, a monster?

Ailen wasn't sure anymore.

In the times Kanda had come to this meadow, Ailen had taken great pains to memorise everything about him. From the strong curve of his jaw – so unlike Ailen's own rounded, somehow angular face – to the exact shade of midnight blue of his eyes when they caught the light – so very different to Ailen's startlingly silver gaze.

A sudden, shrill noise made Ailen leap backwards, his entire body tensing as though for a fight. The segments of his armour slid smoothly over one another, reminding him for a moment that he was supposed to be checking the eastern border for any signs of the solitary fey he'd been warned were in the area – pitiful level twos that he could destroy with his bare hands.

Kanda scoffed angrily, reaching into one of his pockets – ingenious little things that Ahlen had never been able to get over – and pulling out a little handheld phone. It was strange, Ailen reflected, how the shortened lives of mortals made them so incredibly inventive – they had little time on the Earth, so they found (or made) ways to make everything go faster, to allow them to do as much as possible in their miniscule life-spans.

"Heya, Yuu-chan!" Cried a voice down the phone, and Ailen recognised it as belonging to Kanda's red-haired friend. Kanda scowled; Ailen couldn't help but think that the expression was beautiful on Kanda's stern features.

"Tch. What do you want, Lavi?" Kanda asked, and Ailen sighed wistfully, imagining for a moment that that smooth, rich voice would speak his name – Ailen didn't even care what sort of emotion would be behind the words. He just wanted Kanda to acknowledge his existence, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant that acknowledgment may be.

"Is there someone there with you, Yuu-chan?" Lavi asked suddenly, and Ailen froze. Had the red-haired human Lavi heard him? It was impossible surely – but then, Ailen had heard rumours that humans with red hair were more likely to develop the Sight, and while Lavi had not seen him the one time Ailen had encountered him, that didn't mean that he hadn't grown into the Sight over time. Stranger things had been known to happen.

"Of course not, baka usagi. Now what did you want?" Kanda snapped, shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. What a strange habit, Ailen mused. Must be a human thing.

"My car broke down again, d'you think you could come get me?" He asked, and Ailen's heart ached at the easy familiarity in Lavi's voice. He would never be able to speak to Kanda like that, and he knew it.

"Tch, whatever," Kanda said dismissively, closing the phone with a snap, but nonetheless, he stood up and headed towards the edge of the clearing, sword in hand. Ailen walked beside him until they reached the trees, and a delighted smile spread across his face as Kanda paused and turned around slowly, seeming to look for something. Ailen hoped that it was him.

Perhaps he was imagining it, but he thought he saw the same longing, the same yearning in Kanda's eyes as was always present in his own.

"Whatever."

(1) - What can I say? I wanted something that sounded a bit more fey. Ailen is an alternative spelling of Allen, and Cerddwr is (according to Google Translate) Welsh for Walker.

See you tomorrow for prompt number two!