"So you came in here because you missed me?"
Aries clicked her tongue and looked away from Abel. His head was resting on her lap, lazying on their usual spot in the Rose Palace's garden.
"Don't look away from me, darling. I really thought you were dead." She gazed down, parading the ugly frown plastered on her face while he raised his hand to pinch the tip of her ear. "Did you really miss me?"
"I didn't hear you for days," came out a weak protest, sighing at the dark bags under his eyes. Aries caressed it with her thumb gently. "You look tired."
"That is because I was flying like a butterfly for days, darling."
"Sir Conan also said you flew away."
"That's because I did?"
Her frown grew worse, thinking Abel was trolling her. But she couldn't get angry and could only sigh in defeat. She cupped his naturally contoured cheek and squeezed his handsome face mildly. It was unfair how he still looked good.
"Why don't you take a rest first?" she suggested softly. "I've never seen you look this exhausted. You should take care of your health, Abel."
"I am the healthiest person you'll ever meet in your life, darling."
"Sleep." She closed his eyes with her palm, resting it there. There was no point in telling him what he should do. Aries figured she needed to use force if she wanted him to listen.
"Darling, why is your palm trembling?" he inquired, linking his hand over his abdomen.
"I... don't know?" she whispered, staring at his lips with her palm while still covering his eyes. "Maybe it's a post-reaction."
"For?"
"Fear." Aries pursed her lips and took a deep breath, raising her eyes to look at the warm view of the garden. "How can I go to the Maganti Empire if I'm going crazy with just a few days away from you?"
Her eyes softened in bitterness, conflicted with her own feelings. She wanted their demise, but at the same time, it was hard to get separated from him. She was being childish, she thought, but then again, she knew that deep in her heart; she feared losing Abel.
Aries lost too many people already. Losing another one would be her last straw.
"Go on." Her brows rose when he replied lazily. "Let your heart speak. I want to hear it."
"You don't find it annoying?"
"Why... would I?" the side of his lips curled up, imagining her expression in his head. "I like it."
He liked how she craved his presence, just as how much he craved for hers. It was giving him butterflies in his stomach and it made him feel he was needed, longed for, and valued. No one sought him just because they wanted to be with him. There was always a reason a person would seek him.
But she sought him solely because she wanted to spend some time and was worried when he didn't hear from him. He liked it so freaking much and yet... only those three words, "I like it" were what left his mouth.
Three words with hundreds... thousands of meanings.
"I don't know what to say anymore. I already complained too much." She pouted, thinking that she had been complaining to him like a brat for some time now. She studied his closed lips and pondered about what to share. "Oh, do you want me to tell you a story?"
"About a charming boy and a steaming hot potato?"
"Forget about it." She clicked her tongue, fighting herself from flicking his forehead. "I've started my training under Lord Darkmore."
"Mhm...?"
"Did you know he nearly killed me? I really think he wants to slash me in half. If my brother didn't intervene, I will be really dead!" Her words naturally flowed out of her mouth the more she told him the story of the days they weren't together. More like a recap just so he wouldn't miss a day.
"Wait... is that the reason you were thinking I was dead?" her eyes slowly dilated as her jaw fell.
"Haha. No." He chuckled, crossing his arms with his eyes still closed.
"Really?" she narrowed her eyes suspiciously but didn't dwell on it as her eyes lit up. "Earlier today, His Grace abducted Sir Conan and carried him on his shoulder like a sack! I was angry at Sir Conan at first because he was avoiding me, but after seeing him in that state, I didn't have the heart anymore..."
As usual, Aries soon immersed herself in telling him what happened while he listened in silence. It didn't matter if it was about her learnings from Isaiah's training or her lessons about poison. She shared even the most menial things and complained of how her muscle aches and how she waited for Morro the other night.
Big or small, Abel listened and imagined everything as if he was there. By this, he didn't miss a day without her. A subtle and relaxed smile appeared on his face, listening to her voice until it slowly faded.
Amidst her nonstop babbling, Aries suddenly stopped and gazed down. Her eyes instantly softened, seeing his clear and peaceful face fast asleep. Abel looked tired earlier, but now he was smiling subtly.
'This is the first time he looked sincerely kind,' she thought because he would usually look like a beast that shouldn't be disturbed even when he was sleeping. Not that there were many chances Aries had watched him sleep before.
Since he was asleep already, Aries stroked his hair gently, humming a lovely tune. Her soft hums drifted along with the breeze as if the wind was dancing along with it.
'It's amazing how we can be so content with something so simple,' she thought, thinking that she was truly influenced by Abel. 'Hmm... definitely his influence since he... ironically, is quite content over simple things like this.'
"Abel," she called and waited for him to respond, but he didn't. So Aries pressed her lips and smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"I missed you."
Little did she know, Abel, who was sleeping with his one eye open, heard the words he kept asking her to say. So when she confessed, it went straight to his polluted heart, purifying another small portion of it.
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