Disney Storybits 42

PLEASE READ THE DESCRIPTION BEFORE READING THIS STORYBIT!

Normally by now, Mickey would have cracked some joke about the entire situation. Perhaps something like 'He should have kept his eye on me' or 'Now that's what I call a crash landing'. The fact he hadn't made a single witty retort about what had happened was among the things that were scaring Minnie half to death. Of course, all of his battle wounds were helping her fears just as much. He wasn't joking; he was bleeding, broken, laying there on the beach like trash tossed aside. Even breathing looked like a struggle for him.

She was angry – and knew logically she had no right to be. But she was, and she couldn't stop it, and so she angrily pounded her hands on the sand, at his side, hot tears rolling down her face. "N-N-Nnnn… No one a-asked you to save me!" She managed to hiccup, voice shrill, looming over him. "I didn't ask you to! No one asked you to, no one told you to!" Technically, there was no fault there, as indeed no one had asked Mickey to rescue Minnie when Pete had kidnapped her. But it was if she was in two places at once as she yelled at his injuries, watching herself rant to him.

No one asks to be rescued! She snapped at herself. No one waits for an invitation to help someone else!

"Wh-who do you think you are!"She collapsed on top of his chest, sobbing with each accusation. "G-going in and… r-risking your life! H-How stupid are you… w-when Pete is bigger, and stronger, and…"

Mickey would never just let me get hurt! She growled at herself, without mercy. What was he supposed to do, just leave me there?

"Yes, you should have just left me there!" She was almost screaming in her sorrow, angry at him, angry at Pete, angry at the world, angry at whatever force would just allow Mickey to get hurt so badly. But, mostly, truly, deepest and with the utmost hatred, she was angry at herself, because despite what anyone else would have told her, she was entirely convinced the reason the man she loved more than the ocean was battered to pieces was because of her. Who was she to have him hurt so badly? She wasn't worth it. "Y-You… big… stupid…"

"Hey." To her great surprise, she heard that singular word leave his mouth, and she jerked her head up, staring hard at his face. His eyes were still closed, but his mouth was definitely moving, though his voice was weak. "… Go through alla that trouble… and ya gotta call me stupid?"

Mickey being able to crack a joke was somewhat of a good sign, but her high emotions weren't settled any. She swallowed hard, cupping his warm cheeks in her hands, trying to be coherent in some sort of fashion. "Y-You are stupid! Why didn't you just leave me there with him?" Even as she asked, she already knew. He was Mickey, and that's why. That was just who he was.

His eyes slowly opened, and he smiled at her. He had the audacity to smile! How she hated him, how she loved him, how could he smile at this? "Don't I at least… get a victory kiss?"

"This is no time for kidding." She raised one of her arms in an attempt to brush away her tears from her face.

"Who's kiddin'?" He began to shift under her, arms trying to move, shakily moving upwards, in a clear attempt to hold her, but she was not going to have any of that while he was in this state.

She grabbed him by the wrists and pinned him down, almost in hysterics. "Don't you move another inch! You'll make your wounds even worse! If you want a kiss, I'll kiss you! I'll kiss you a thousand times, just… just… just don't…" Her resolve and anger broke, and another sob escaped her, eyes burning as tears dropped onto his face. "Just… don't… leave me…" Her body shook with the sadness of such a consequence, and she pressed her forehead to his, pleading with him. "Please… d-don't… leave me…" As if he had some control over the matter.

He brushed his nose to her wet cheek, breath beginning to slow down. "Course not… I aint goin'… anywhere… thousands kisses… sounds pretty good…"

So this was how their first kiss was to be? Looking back, she threw more loathing upon herself, looking back at all the missed opportunities she had to confess her real feelings for him. They had both been stubborn about it, due to the obvious – he was an angel, she was a mermaid. He was of the air, she of the ocean, how could such a union ever be formed? Yet their own hearts had gone passed such limits, and she loved him truly, deeply, passionately, with every fiber of her being. Had she known this was to be their fate, she felt she would have kissed him so many times in so many pasts.

She let go of his wrists, and but held one of his hands, pressing it close to her cheek. How she had longed to be held in these hands, to be in his comforting embrace, only to now be given it as a struggle on his end. She took a deep breath, pulling her face back only slightly, and using her other hand to tenderly stroke his handsome face. Having by now gained some sense of sane control over her words, she whispered fondly to him, hoping he could hear. "A thousand kisses… it's a promise… so… so you have to stay with me, for each one…" And so, she closed her eyes, and pressed her mouth upon his, firmly and deeply, perhaps trying to keep his soul from escaping.

The power of true love's first kiss may sound like something that only exists in fairy tales, but in this great and wide land of angels, mermaids, and mystical creatures that were ensnared by love just as easily as any normal mortal being, fairy tales were just about as real as their own flesh and blood. This was no ordinary kiss, after all, even with the magic removed. This was a rare kind of kiss, a kiss that conveys the entire love one had for another, with sorrow, anger, happiness, with every emotion gathered inside of it to say all the words needed to be felt. This was the kiss that the poets dream of, that little girls hope for, the kiss that is felt inside and out, that is never forgotten and held within hearts for all eternity. This kiss saved the angel because of the strength of love, pure love, unabashed and overwhelming love, the mermaid had for him.

Though the magic helped some.

For the greatest magic a mermaid has is her siren song, but it does not need to be heard to have the power shown. Their songs come from deep within, stemmed from the heart, and the stronger the emotion in the heart, the stronger the song that comes within. A song left Minnie's heart and traveled through her body, through her throat, through her lips and into and onto Mickey. This song had no lyrics, no words; it existed out of love and love alone. It vibrated throughout his body, closing his wounds, surging his blood, mending his wings. It was never heard, only felt.

She hadn't even known her songs were capable of such a thing, nor had she realized a song had been born out of this love for him. Her body had just reacted by instinct, so when she pulled back with great reluctance, there was greater surprise to see fresh color returning to his lifeless cheeks. As she stared down at him in wonder, his eyes opened, filled with energy. Was he was surprised as she was, just to be alive?

Judging by the absolutely ridiculous smile he was giving her, the fact he was mended hadn't occurred to him at all. To him, there was something far more important to think about. "Nine hundred and ninety nine more to go!"