Remembrance
The receding waves lapped at a pair of bare feet. A salt-tinged breeze ruffled through the dark hair. Eyes were set on the watery horizon as the sun slowly sank behind it. It sent its last rays of color along the rolling ocean waves. He felt a presence come up from behind him. A slim hand encircled his waist. A smile briefly flitted over his lips. "Jean." Even without turning, he knew it was the redheaded telekinetic.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Came the soft reply. He nodded in agreement as he wrapped his arms around her. Her lips gently brushed against his neck.
With a sudden pang, he remembered another pair of lips that just hovered, but never touched. Warm breath that was so sweet to his skin. Lance let out an involuntary sigh.
Jean drew back. Her sharp eyes searched his. He turned away, but she caught the remembering look in his eyes. Her eyes slightly narrowed as she sucked in her breath. "You still think of her?"
"No." But there was no hiding his thoughts from a mind reader. She gave him a slightly accusing look as his mind wandered to the tragic night.
A night that had held hope for a new future. He had carried a diamond ring in his pocket that night. It was now on Jean's finger. But it had been meant for a different hand. A hand that was now eternally cold...an overwhelming wave of detached sadness threatened to overtake him. For once, he didn't try to fight it. It was so long ago, yet it seemed so close.
Four young lives on the brink of a new beginning. Then the tragedy had occurred. Only half of their numbers had escaped the wrath of its dark clutches. Two had been left in the ashes of its wake. Rogue and Scott. Lance felt his eyes suddenly turn wet. Salty tears that dripped into the source of human sadness below him. The water of life and death. "You must still think of him sometimes," he said.
"Not anymore," was the short reply.
Lance studied the beautiful woman who he held in his arms. He didn't blame her for what she had done. Love could make people do terrible things in its name. She'd recovered much faster than he had over what they'd done. After the funeral, she'd never looked back. She had convinced him to do the same. "I did it because I loved you. I don't regret it, and neither should you." But he did. He was sorry for what he had done. Rogue had trusted him, and he had loved her. Or so he thought. It was a hidden sorrow that ate away at him over the years. Sadness he would forever harbor. Did Jean?
Jean turned and looked up at him. She had a face like an angel. The incoming dark cast surreal shadows on her face. Her eyes shimmered in the twilight as they burned into his. She wiped away his tears of guilt and regret. "What's happened is in the past," she whispered. "I buried my old love with it." She smiled at him. "I have you now."
He nodded. "I know. And I love you."
"You shouldn't look back. It'll just make you crazy. It was an accident, you know?"
"You're right."
"Good." She hugged him close and sought his lips with hers. Her eyes closed as she took in his love. Time and space disappeared. Everything disappeared except for Lance and their love. He finally released her and just held her close. He burrowed his face into the silky hair, bright as a phoenix in full plumage.
"What happened was sad," he whispered in her ear. Memories swam through his mind. The love, the pain, the guilt, and final inevitability.
"Yes, it was," she answered. "It was." But a slight smile played on her lips as Lance, time, and the ocean closed in around her. She was safe in the present. The past was another lifetime. This time, there were no regrets. With a sudden laugh, she broke away from her startled lover.
"Come on." Grabbing his hand, she ran along the ocean shore as Lance stumbled, then caught up with her quick strides. Their footprints left wet prints in the sand. A remembrance of their trail and past. Then the waves slowly washed over them, dissolving the sandy memories. When it finally drew back, the sand lay smooth and untouched.