"Lia, you have some on your face," Aesop said, trying to say where the gravy was by pointing at his mouth.
Lia placed down the spoon she was holding, in a vacant small plate beside her. "Where?" she asked as she wiped the wrong part of her cheeks.
"Not on the cheeks, it's there..." he kept on pointing at her face.
The two of them had a hard time communicating with each other lately because it seemed like there was an invisible barrier. It was an invisible wall, where they restrict their feelings, and they were afraid to cross the line. Besides, both of them weren't sure if they felt the same for each other. One of them must make a move to shatter that barrier. But Aesop was a mutant, and Lia wasn't; they knew that it was their greatest obstacle.
Aesop was bothered by their long attempt to remove the gravy on the side of Lia's mouth. In his mind were two options, to remove it using his hands, or remove it using his mouth by licking the gravy! "What am I even thinking of!" Aesop thought. He's not in his right mind whenever he gets too close to Lia. "Oh well… Here goes…" He placed his right hand at the side of Lia's face. Using his thumb, he gently wiped the gravy off the side of her mouth.
Lia just stared at him, stoned, and couldn't believe it was happening. The person she likes was touching her face! "Uhm… Ae…" she murmured while panicking inside her mind.
What made Lia panic more was that Aesop didn't take off his hands. She noticed that his thumb was moving from left to right, panning through her moist lips. As a result, the gravy had spread in her bottom lips!
"Let me taste your gravy…" Aesop said, leaning in closer to Lia. His lips suddenly took over Lia's lower lip. He gently nibbled it, sucking it with little force, until all that's left on her mouth wasn't the gravy, but his saliva.
It was the best gravy he ever tasted. Too bad, the kissing scene was just his imagination!
"Uhm, Ae?" Lia called when she noticed Aesop staring into space. His hand was still on her face after spreading the gravy around Lia's lower lip.
Aesop's face flushed with embarrassment, making him take away his hand immediately. "I must be sleepy…" He told her because he couldn't think of a better reason.
"You should take a nap, while I prepare our food," Lia said. She was blushing as she remembered how his mutant's thumb panned over her lip. To snap out of it, she went to the sink and washed her face thoroughly.
While Lia was on the sink, Aesop took the chance to grab a spoonful of gravy and finally taste it. "I think this is okay…" he said, although he imagined it to be more flavorful over Lia's lip.
It seemed like a sunny, peaceful, and wonderful Valentine's day, but not for everyone. Somewhere in the basement, a man was chained in a dirty and dim confinement room like a prisoner. His clothes, which he wore a couple of weeks ago, had streaks of blood as a result of being slashed with whips and wounded with knives. Interrogator Paul Azirean did not get any information from him in all those times that had passed.
Dr. Ryzer Brown couldn't believe that instead of climbing up the scientific ladder, he would be dragged down to hell like this. Since he was young, his priority was his education, and worked hard on it; he had a bachelor's degree in Biology, a master's degree in Evolutionary Biology, and a doctor's degree in Genetics. He couldn't accept that a time like this would come, wherein his time, money, and effort in his studies would all just go to waste. In his years with D.M. Cadre, he thought that it was unfair, why everyone believed Sanya Mayheart even though she was just hired a year ago. He's innocent, but nobody believed him.
Paul entered the confinement room like he did every day, to check whether Dr. Brown had decided to confess. Holding a sharp butterfly knife, he approached him and looked straight into his eyes. "Aren't you going to confess?"
"I already told you… I'm innocent… It's not me…" Dr. Brown tried to explain. He couldn't louden his voice as he felt weaker and weaker every passing day.
"Then why was the signal detected in the condo you were living in?" Paul said, showing him the knife to threaten him. "Don't tell me, it was a coincidence?"
"It might be, or the computer program was wrong-"
Paul slapped his face hard. "The computer program couldn't be wrong! It was developed by a notable and famous cybersecurity company abroad!" he shouted on his face. He knew the capabilities of his sister Gwyn, and she couldn't afford to make a mistake when it comes to programming. "If it's not you, who? Tell me!"
"I told you, it's… Mayheart…" Dr. Brown said, and it was always like that these past few days. "I always tell you… it must be her… I'm not the mastermind…"
Paul sighed, and frowned in disbelief. How many days has it been? He still wouldn't admit it, and he always pointed out to Sanya. He's getting tired of this cycle of interrogation with him. He took away his butterfly knife and left the room.
Back to Lia and Aesop…
After a while, Lia arranged the center counter table. She placed two sets of plates and utensils adjacent to each other. She took the plate of fried chicken in the middle, as well as the bowl of gravy. Aside from these, she also placed a plate of fried, bacon rice, and a bowl of garden salad.
Aesop was sitting on the sofa when Lia called him to eat. He quickly ran over to the kitchen and sat on the counter stool.
"Is it your birthday?" Aesop asked her, as he smelled the delicious aroma of the food in front of him.
"Nope, but today is… Valentine's day…" Lia replied while playing with the tips of her hair.
"Oh, is it?" Aesop remembered how his father would pick some fresh flowers outside their home to give it to his mother. "I'm sorry, I lost track of time."
"It's okay… I'm here because I didn't want to be miserable and see a lot of couples holding hands while walking!" Lia laughed. She remembered how she spent her Valentine's day last year. She was at her part-time job at the bar and saw a lot of people flirting with each other. It was not a pleasant experience for a single woman like her, who had no time for love because of her circumstances. "By the way, before we eat, I'd like to give you something."
She went to her bag in the living room and took a small box. When she returned to him, she handed over the box. "Here!"
"What's this for?" Aesop asked. He opened the box and saw two steampunk style, round necklaces. The other one had a silver gear wheel larger than the other necklace. Behind the silver gear wheel were smaller, gold, and brass gear wheels. These were tightly bonded together in flat, stainless steel and enclosed in a convex glass on the other side.
"It's a… friendship necklace," Lia took the necklace with a smaller silver gear wheel. "This one is mine."
"Friendship necklace?" Aesop chuckled. He wasn't the type to wear something like that, but if it was from Lia, he would want to wear it. He took the other one and wore it to himself. "I thought it was Valentine's day, not Friendship Day."
Lia laughed at his words, and then wore the other necklace. She would like him to wear it to her as her boyfriend, but she thought that perhaps Aesop didn't have romantic feelings for her and only looked at her as his closest friend whom he trusts. Even though she planned to confess that day, she didn't have the courage to do so.
Aesop was the same, he would like Lia to be his. But his identity as a mutant was stopping him from confessing, as it was too much of a hurdle in their relationship.
What would happen if they started a relationship, and eventually plan to get married? Would Lia be allowed to move in with him, or would Aesop be allowed to live outside the research facility?
As he contemplated these things within himself, he touched his necklace, thinking, "It's impossible for us…"