Second Chances, KKM, Hube/Nicola
Title: Second Chances
Author: Ellie Biel
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Characters/pairing: Geigen Huber/Nicola
Warnings: spoilers through episode 26
Notes: Written for stagesoflove, first stage - sight (because I am a masochist)
There weren't many second chances in life.
He should have died when Konrad raised his sword to him, but he'd been brought back from the brink of death. He should have been skewered on Gwendal's sword after attacking the new maou, but Nicola had thrown herself on him, risking her life and the life of their child, and he'd been spared again.
He should have been grateful, but it had made him angry, furious that she'd put his life above theirs. He'd been shocked as well, so when she pulled his hand and dragged him with her he'd not given it a second thought, using the sword he'd stolen as a cane as she led him away from the others.
It had only delayed the inevitable, and despite his quest for death by another's hand, he felt a twinge of sorrow when he faced Gwendal again. He was annoyed that Gwendal stated he'd fight him left handed, but he almost wished he'd had a better chance of winning, if only to let Nicola know she wasn't alone.
He did the next best thing and asked his cousin to take care of her, and then he raised his sword.
As he fell from the parapet, his life flashed before him, and he was surprised to discover that instead of endless images of death, gore, and grief, all he could see was Nicola. The way she'd looked the first night they'd made love, head thrown back, mouth open, and breasts heaving. The way she'd looked the first time she'd ever smiled at him, ready to befriend a journeyman she knew nothing about other than the roughness of his hands as she clasped them in greeting.
He could see her sitting with their child, a little girl who looked just like Nicola, and if he'd thought his life was full of regrets before, he realized none could compare to the cold bitter truth that he'd never get to see her grow up.
Most men didn't get a second chance, but he'd been given not a third, but a fourth. When he held Eru for the first time and looked down into his daughter's face, he swore to her that he'd never let there come a reason when he'd need a fifth.
Stage 2: In the Middle of the Night