InsaneJournal

[ D. Gray-man ] Dreaming [ 24xmas ]
EIGHT of TWENTY-FIVE for 24xmas 

+ Title: Dreaming

+ Prompt: Parties

+ Fandom: D. Gray-man

+ Characters: The Noah Family

+ Rating: OT

+ Word Count: 619



Tiki was sitting on the ground once more, a huge cross behind his back supporting him. It was made of smooth black wood, like the surface of a piano, a completely seamless construction of ominous intention. He ran a palm over the wood with vague curiosity, appraising it momentarily before using it to pull himself to his feet. There was some strange feeling here, though he couldn’t quite place what it was. He had been here before, he was almost certain. It seemed he would be able to distinguish exactly how and when he knew this place when he heard the softest of sounds. Tiki turned slightly, several gentle curls falling over his brow as he stopped midway with an expression of disbelief.

Her wings were downy white protrusions from between her tiny shoulders, carrying her lightly over the oddly misty ground with slight, graceful motions. Her dress was white as well, a black ribbon tied about the waist to set off her dark hair, and her feet were bare as could be, barely covered by the mist she stepped upon. Ice was in her eyes, the purest color Tiki had ever seen in this world. The nearer she drew, the cleared they became, until finally she was a few yards away and they seemed ready to swallow him with their chill emotion. He stepped back with a startled air as she moved to come closer, stumbling over something and falling toward the cross clumsily.

Rhode stopped his descent, somehow, suddenly keeping him upright with sheer willpower. He simply stared at her, wondering how, what, why, tempted to touch those wings and every part of her simply to see if she were real.

“Don’t go to it yet, Tiki. We’ll get there together.”

She smiled sweetly, holding out a hand as she always did when she wanted his attention. Tiki reached out cautiously after a long moment’s pause, fingers closing around that tiny cold hand and pulling the girl close for an embrace. The wings felt like flannel, downy flannel things that would pull them both straight to heaven… She jerked against him, drawing him from his fixation with the feathers in a flash.

“Rhode?” Another jerk, a soft whine. A hand grabbed the front of his shirt, and he moved to kneel down, to see what was wrong. The blood was covering her hands, and there were holes there, blood seeping through the crisp white of his shirt in impossible amounts. “Rhode! Rhode!”


He started into consciousness with a gasp as the small form in the bed beside him let out a soft wail, pressing into his back as though she were being killed. Tiki turned over carefully, gulping the cool air of the room and waiting for the pounding of his heart to subside.

A nightmare.

It had only been a dream, and Rhode had come in at some point during the night as well. The only time she crawled between his sheets was when a bad memory plagued her sleep… He wrapped his arms about her thin frame with a soft sigh, holding her tightly as the whining subsided to silent yet sharp intakes of breath, tiny hands clutching the front of his pajamas fearfully even as she fell asleep.

“Go to what, querida?” He closed his eyes as he whispered the words, letting his head sink into the pillow as he felt sleep creeping upon him again. “Where are we going to end up together?”

Her breathing slowly evened out, and a squeaky sort of snore escaped as she nuzzled against her protector’s chest.

Tiki was asleep by the time she finally murmured an answer, but nobody heard her. The walls kept their secrets well.