Queen of Asgard (NaNoWriMo2018, Completed!)

54: Reunion

I was laying on something, something hard and the rich smell of soil was filling my nose. Frowning, I sat upright, shocked to see bright, soft green grass under my hands and all around me. Overhead, a willow tree and it's canopy of leaves wafted in the warm breeze. I grunted as I sat up, my limbs stiff and looked around. The familiar porch and yellow siding greeted me and I knew exactly where I was.

Home. My backyard to be exact. How had I gotten here?

"Suzume?"

I turned at that voice, not daring to believe what I was hearing. It couldn't be. But even as I spun around, waiting for my doubts to be confirmed, they were dashed. Yuki was walking towards me.

Her red-streaked hair flashed in the sun, as did the neon yellow of leather of her jacket. Her black dress was untouched and undamaged. Not a speck of blood to be seen. Her dark brown eyes were fixated on me but rather than a smile, she scowled at me.

"Yuki?" I said blankly, scarcely able to believe my eyes. "What-ow!"

Her first collided with my upper arm and I stumbled back, both from her use of force and surprise. "You moron!" She spat as I rubbed my arm, taking the pain as confirmation that she was real. In my dreams, I could never touch other people. I couldn't feel them but I'd felt that. She was here, she was real.

"Yuki-," I tried to find the words to say but the shock and awe of seeing her before me, unharmed and alive had short-circuited my brain.

"Don't 'Yuki' me!" She yelled, a red flush filling up her round face. "What the hell were you thinking? You're supposed to be the smart one Suzume!"

"What'd I do?" I managed finally, taken aback by her rage. It was so unusual for her.

"Going to another world to hunt giant monsters is what you did!" Yuki fumed, flopping down under the tree and crossing her arms to tightly I feared she might get stuck like that. "Seriously, what the fuck?"

Oh that. I sat down next to her and leaned against the tree trunk. "How could I live with myself knowing that thing was still out there? That it could hurt other people again?"

"Oh don't give me that noble bullshit!" Yuki growled barely meeting my eyes. "It makes it hard to be mad at you." She grumbled the last bit and I smiled. Despite what she pretended, she wasn't angry anymore. Or at least not angry enough to keep yelling.

"And it might have been the reason I went, but it wasn't why I wanted to stay." I sighed, glancing down at the ring Thor had given me just a half hour before. The diamond and two sapphires flanking it sparkled brilliantly in the sunshine. "I fell in love."

Yuki smiled for real now. "I saw that too. He's hot."

I laughed at her bluntness. "Yeah, he is."

"And he makes you happy, that's pretty great."

"He does," I replied but my smile stopped short as I realized my incorrect use of tense. If Yuki was next to me, that only meant one thing. "Or he did when I was alive."

"Oh you're not dead." Yuki said, smiling at me. "I just came to wait with you before you went back."

"Back?" I repeated as a bluejay flitted overhead.

"Well you can't stay here and you can't come with me. I won't let you." Yuki said the last part with a bit of a bite and it was then that I understood.

"I wish you could come with me," I said, my voice soft. "I'd give anything if you could come back with me." My hands tightened into fists that began to shake as tears spilled from my eyes.

"Hey," Yuki's tiny arms wrapped around me and I fell into her. She even smelled the same. Acrylic paint and perfume. "Don't cry."

"It's not fair," I choked.

"No," she agreed, "it's not." Yuki stroked my hair a bit as she let me cry and finally, I re-gained control of myself and wiped my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be crying, I just..." I trailed off, more sobs coming up my throat.

"I miss you too," Yuki said, leaning back against the tree as well and looking up at the bright blue sky. She was silent for a moment and then sighed. "You did everything you could for me that night, you know that right?"

"I do," I replied weakly.

"I don't blame you for what happened and I don't blame Sif either. I'm at peace with it, most days anyway." She shrugged. "Not always easy but my only other option is to be angry and forever is a long time to live like that." She gave me a meaningful look.

"Are you actually trying to suggest I not go after that monster?" I asked.

"No," Yuki sighed. "It wouldn't stop you. I'm just asking you not to lead with your anger. I don't want you to come back here and if you run in like an angry bull, you will be."

"I'll be careful," I promised as the sun began to sink in the sky and the blue intermixed with gold and pink.  It'd be dusk soon. "Is there anything I can do for you while I'm here?"

"A few things. Call home more, Dad and Aunt Rebecca love you and you need to stick together. And go out more and the gym doesn't count. Please invest in a wardrobe that is more than jeans and t-shirts. Other fabrics exist besides cotton and denim. When you go after those monsters, be smart. Don't take stupid risks and work as a team. You can't do everything alone and you don't have to. And make time for the things and people you love; you don't have to work every minute of the day."

"Done," I promised, my eyes thick with tears. "Anything else?"

"I still have dibs on being your Maid of Honor," she said with tears in her eyes. "So leave that spot open for me, I'll be right by you the whole time."

I was about to promise her that as well but I stopped short as I heard a stick break and my eyes went towards the sound. All at once, my heart broke and expanded with joy.

"Dad!" I scrambled up and threw myself into his arms, tears running anew as I felt him hold me. I buried my face in his shoulder, inhaling the smell of tobacco smoke and landry soap. The scent brought back a thousand memories which came to a halt as I came to the last one. The hug he'd given me before he'd left for work eleven years ago. The last one we'd ever shared.

"Hi sweetie," he whispered as he drew away, his face covered with tears of his own. "You get out of here," he told me sternly. "Run and don't look back."

"Dad-."

 "I'm so proud of you," he whispered as he held me again for a second and let go far too soon. "Now go."

"Go," Yuki echoed as the sun sunk lower and lower over the horizon. "Go," she hugged me as well, her grip cracking my ribs. "Get out of here."

I bit back a sob but when she let go, I did as I was told. I turned away and ran across the rapidly darkening yard. Wind started to howl but I didn't turn back to look and see if a storm was coming. I ran up the stairs on the deck. I ran through the open sliding door and through the house towards the front door which was also laid wide open and waiting.

I skidded over the threshold and I didn't stop running as I came out to the driveway. Down the sidewalk, past the familiar streetlights and trees that had been landmarks of my childhood. I kept going, running away from the family I'd lost and towards the one I'd found on another world.

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If anyone needs tissues  I've got extra right here. Just line up. We can cry together.

Write on! :)