The sun was high up in the skies, shining down on the world. The usual mornings were not very interesting as Aeon's routine mostly consisted of exercising and cooking breakfast, unless Andrata decided that she wanted to spar with him today.
His body was only slightly drenched in sweat, but he still needed a nice warm bath. He placed his shoes on the shoe rack and looked over to where Andrata's sword would be at. Yet, he could not find any trace of it in the living room. He began to panic and stumbled around the dining room, his heart beated faster and faster.
There was a ball with mist inside of it on the dining table. He noticed it before he moved to check on the kitchen, the odd sensation caught his attention immediately. He cautiously walked closer to it and reached his hand out to it. It surrounded his hand when he got too close to it. He stayed still and stared at it, halted when the mist covered hands entirely, making him not able to see it. It was not pulling him in which meant that the creator did not have any malicious intent.
He took another step closer to it, it was then everything in his view turned to white.
Aeon immediately panicked at it as he had nothing to grab or cling onto. However, he understood that his concern was unfounded as his instinct of danger was not acting up at all, not even a little malice was in the air. He calmed down significantly but he could not dismiss the feeling of unknown which caused him to worry. He took in a deep breath as his view changed from a blinding mist to a forest.
He stood still, completely confused at the sight in front of him. He looked around before taking another step, making sure that this forest was safe. He began to walk towards something as he felt a sense of life in that direction. The mist hindered his senses which led him to guess whether the person was someone he knew, or someone else.
The trees became less and less, until the furthest view his eyes could see was a plain grass field. While his mind was going through multiple different reasons and theories, when suddenly the ground he stood on began to shake violently. He immediately ran towards the grass field and noticed a large ice wall spread across the field. Even so, he felt a sense of familiarity once he saw the wall. It did not last very long however, it crumbled down only after a moment. He ran towards it and looked over to where he felt the sense of life came from.
"Andrata!" He shouted with a relieved smile.
Andrata's eyes were squinched, concentrating on the magic. Her eyes snapped open once she heard his voice, letting out a breath and a small smile appeared. Though she noticed the worry gaze in his eyes, her smile turned to a more awkward expression. She scratched her scalp and laughed awkwardly as well.
Her sword did not look like the one near the doorway. There were two thick blades on the ground, leaving only the hilt and the middle part of the blade. The three varying size signal-like lights were on, indicating that something had been released. The blade has carvings on it, it looked the same as the ones on Aeon's weapon. It now looked more like a regular sword than the usual great sword that was as tall as she was.
"Ah… I didn't tell you that I'm training right now…" She muttered under her breath as she looked away.
He let out a sigh of relief, "Thank mother. Please tell me next time…"
His voice trailed off as his eyes wandered to her abdomen, bandages were still wrapped tightly around it. His eyes tried to meet with hers but she decided to dodge his eyes. He understood why she did not tell him that she was going to train in a separate space today. She wore a sports bra and short sports pants, which let her move around easily yet also showed all of her wounds.
"You…" He opened and closed his mouth, words stuck in his throat.
She entangled her fingers and placed them near her chest, her fingers fumbling while she spoke, "I want to become stronger."
He stared at her for a while, he understood her point of view but for some reason he could not convince himself fully to support her. He looked away, thinking over and about what she just said. This was the first time she had told him upfront that she wanted to be stronger, so it took him a bit to answer her.
Still, he was not sure what he could say.
She spoke up again, "I… understand your concern. I know that you're thinking hard about it…"
She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, her hands trembling slightly while gathering up her courage. It was not supposed to be this hard, but to the one who never spoke up much and went with the flow, this was much harder than it would have been. She opened her eyes again and looked at Aeon, even if his eyes still would not meet hers.
"I want to protect you too. After you have done so much for me." She paused and took in another deep breath.
Her lips began to tremble, "Let me… protect you too."
His eyes finally met hers once she said that, widened up in surprise and shock. It took him a moment to adjust his thought, he felt like he got hit on the head by a baseball bat. They remained silent, Andrata's body began to tremble with fear. This was what she wanted and she hoped that he would gladly accept it.
His reaction was one she did not anticipate.
Another voice came out of nowhere, disrupting their thoughts and knocking them back from the clouds and into reality. Claps accompanied along with their footsteps, though Andrata and Aeon knew immediately who it was from the way and demeanor they spoke in.
"Finally, the youngling is leaving the nest."
Amelia slid her hands into her beige wool jacket, her grey eyes held a mocking but satisfied gaze. She had her usual cocky smirk on her lips with her head tilted slightly, leaning forward but still holding a distance between the two of them. Aeon looked confused, especially at her expression and her words.
"Good morning to the both of you. This morning is quite lively, hmm?"
She let out a deep chuckle and continued, "Don't tell me you didn't realise that you were viewing her the way you did when she first asked you for help?"
He replied in a confused tone, "What are you---"
She cut him off, "You are overprotective, Aeon. And she never got to grow at all because of that."
"That…" He stopped talking.
She understood why he stopped and he finally recognised something that he had been overlooking. She walked until she stood behind Andrata, who she was taller than. She placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly, giving her the affirmation that Amelia stood by her words.
His eyes looked away, clearly ashamed of himself. Amelia shook her head but her smirk remained. She placed her free hand on Andrata's entangled fingers and pushed it down. Her presence alone was giving Andrata some confidence.
"Well, convenient timing for you isn't it?" She stared at Aeon who was still looking away.
She tilted her head, "I could help you out of course. But I won't go easy on you."
He suddenly looked at her, though when she tried to look at his eyes, he dodged hers again. Her smirk widened up until it showed some of her teeth, staring at him with some unsure intent. Andrata was worried about the way she stared at him, nonetheless she could not tell what Amelia's mind was going through.
"I would not mind. Please, teach me!" Andrata shouted with a level of enthusiasm that was a first for him.
Amelia let go of Andrata's hands and her hand off of her shoulder. She took off her jacket and threw it to Aeon who naturally took it without thinking much. He looked surprised that he just took her jacket but he still folded it up and placed it on the ground. She began stretching her arms and doing some warm-up, even materialising a rubber band on her palm and tied up her hair into a ponytail.
He chose to sit on the ground, knowing that he could not do anything as he remained in a conflicted state. He stared at them, mainly on Andrata as he wondered what Amelia would do with her today. Though Andrata was not going well advancing her magic, yet. Amelia must have known that as well since she did not place her guard up much.
"I'm… trying to understand how magic works." Andrata looked down while speaking.
She continued, "I understand the basics as she would tell me what I needed to know. But… I can't put them into practice…"
She looked ashamed of herself but Amelia let out a loud laugh, "Ah, remind me a lot when I first learnt magic. Don't worry, we can get there pretty fast."
"Though…" Amelia looked around the grass field and forest before continuing, "You're not half bad at it, since you can make a space within a space."
Andrata chuckled slightly by her compliment, nevertheless Amelia did not seem to care.
She stretched her arms, "I will keep it simplified. There are three levels, four technically, of magic. Beginner, Advanced, Master, then the fourth one which is God. Since you skip through everything else to get to God-level so naturally you will miss a lot of things."
"The reason why your magic was not stabilised it's because you were off every time you're casting magic. Off on timing, temperature and your own emotional stability as well."
She sighed and shook her head, "If someone saw the way you're casting magic, they would have assumed you were just barely learning and not a Goddess."
Andrata's cheek turned slightly red but she understood that Amelia was correct on what she just said. Even when Amelia told all of it in a neutral tone which made her feeling less self-deprecating, she was still willing to learn with Amelia despite Aeon might have been a better choice.
"You do at least know how to cast it, so I won't say much about that." She walked towards Andrata and grabbed her left wrist.
She stared at Amelia, confused about it. She continued to hold her smirk and said, "Before you ask, it's necessary."
They stared at each other for a moment longer before anything happened. Aeon decided to sit on the ground and look over their training, making sure that Amelia would not be too harsh on Andrata. He grabbed the wool jacket and placed it on his legs, sitting far away enough to not be affected by the magic.
Andrata took a deep breath and felt her hands getting cold, she closed her eyes and concentrated fully on casting it. An ice wall formed in front of both of them, a large and thick ice wall. Though it again did not last long as it crumbled down fast. She reopened her eyes, holding a disappointed look in her eyes.
Amelia let go of her wrist and stared at the blade standing upright on the ground. She walked towards it and tilted her head slightly, staring at the carvings on the blade. She mumbled something under her breath before walking back to Andrata, her smirk disappeared completely and her tone shifted from a general mocking to serious.
"I did feel something before I came here, so that was what it is." She pointed at the blade.
Andrata knew what the signals were as she reinforced it to Amelia, "I know this sword… is letting me use magic freely without having to master it first--"
"Which is exactly the problem." Amelia cut her off with her arms crossed.
Andrata seemed perplexed, "Huh?"
"Because you don't know how a magic circle works, you won't exactly know what is wrong with the way you were casting it. It's rather safe to say that though you have enough base, you don't know if you have done the right thing."
After Amelia's explanation, it made sense to Andrata. She chuckled out loud again as she grabbed her blade, the signals turning off and the blades had reattached back into it. Andrata kept staring at her, wondering what exactly she was going to do. Even so, she believed in Amelia fully.
She tilted her head, "Have you seen a magic circle before?"
"In my head, not physically."
She groaned, Andrata could only reply by scratching her head with a small smile.
"Watch it carefully," She commanded as she extended her hand.
A magic circle appeared on the ground near where she was, symbols surrounded it with a faint image of a snowflake in the middle. It was repeated a few times as ice appeared from the ground, then building up swiftly to the top. Unlike Andrata's, the ice wall did not crumble some minutes after it was created.
"Besides that your body temperature isn't low enough, you seem to have thought that making an ice wall means summoning an entire one in a single go."
Andrata's face was written the same thing as the shape of her mouth, a 'oh' realisation. Amelia shook her head again as she stared back at the great sword, she went ahead and grabbed it in her hands. The weight of it when it was fully intact is much heavier than even a regular greatsword as it was made up of more compartments.
The sword suddenly disappeared in her hands, "Now, let's train you without using this."
'She still lacks both the understanding and physical capacity to be able to do high level magic. Those can be worked on, so long as she's willing to go through the grueling training of refining your muscles and mind.'
"I will… try my best." Andrata replied hesitantly.
She continued to lack confidence in her own skill, even so, she knew that Amelia wanted to see her do the same thing she had just demonstrated. She took in a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down, though she could still feel Amelia stepping further away from her. She was about to cast it when she heard a voice in her hand.
"Concretrate, relax."
They felt like they were echoing in her hand as her body language changed from strained to relaxed. She extended her hand out, feeling the temperature of her body dropping swiftly. She breathed in and out through her mouth, brief frosted air could be seen coming out of it. She closed her eyes, a magic circle forming near them.
Even if she could not see it, she could feel the surge of mana getting out of her body. An average sized ice wall that was not that tall surfaced from the circle, yet before it could be formed fully, another one was placed on the tallest point of it. That same cycle was repeated again and again until a pretty large sized ice wall was formed.
She opened her eyes slowly, noticing that it had not gone away. Perhaps only a few minutes had passed, nonetheless it felt like such an achievement for her. It eventually crumbled in one piece after another few minutes. Amelia nodded while staring at it, noting everything that Andrata had done in her mind.
"Some things still need to be worked on, but at least this is still a pretty good result."
Andrata stood still for another moment before she suddenly lunged at Amelia. She tilted her head whilst her arms were still crossed, she was not upset about it. Though when Andrata got closer to her, she suddenly knew what Andrata wanted to do. She opened her arms but she seemed to freeze on the spot. Andrata wrapped her arms around Amelia and engulfed her in a tight hug. Yet, Amelia's arms remained awkwardly still in the air.
"You… want a hug…?" She was confused by it.
Andrata nodded, "It calms me down."
Amelia looked away and sighed, slowly wrapping her arms around Andrata as well and returning her hug. Andrata buried her face on Amelia's shoulder and closed her eyes, a soft smile creeped onto her lips. Amelia remained frozen on the spot, still being unease about the sudden hug. She did slowly ease into it eventually.
"To be honest, I'm not sure if I like you being this forward." Amelia muttered under her breath.
Andrata let her go and giggled lightly, "I hope you'd like it."
"Well, let's get on to it then." She shrugged.
She shifted back to being serious, "I will continue to train you on elemental magic since everything else was built on those foundations."
She grabbed Andrata's hand and placed it on her palm, her free palm extended forward. The way she casted it, without using a magic circle, was faster and much colder than Andrata's. A few large icicles landed in front of them, even freezing the grass where it landed. It maintained for a little before it broke apart into small pieces and disintegrated immediately.
"It should be something like that instead." She looked at Andrata, who stared at her with her mouth slightly agape.
Amelia chuckled deeply, "Why are you so impressed? It's only basic ice magic."
"Wait really?"
She laughed, "Nope. I'm simply joking. This is between advanced and masters level of magic. If this was beginner's, you only need to form large icicles and maintain it."
"Well, let's start off small." Amelia held her wrist and extended her free hand.
"Now, show me the potential you do have."
Aeon was still seated on the grass, staring at Andrata while remembering Amelia's advice and taking it to heart. Casting small magic instead of large magic, only making icicles or dozens of snowflakes. Amelia's reaction did not change, remained serious but slightly gentle on teaching and refining her magic. Though it might be a long process as the icicles or snowflakes still crumble too quickly once she felt nervous.
"Ah~ What a cute day~" Asura placed his head on top of Aeon's.
"'Sura? What are you doing here?" He looked up at Asura who had to stare back at him.
Asura was in his human form and his maniac smile plastered all across his face, his tone was still high-pitched and mocking as he continued to speak, "Aeon~ Good morning to you~"
He sat down beside him and they continued their conversation, "Amelia is in quite the good mood today. She's willingly teaching people and letting Andrata hug her."
Aeon's small smile remained, "Yep. It's nice seeing her in a good mood."
A huge gust of wind blew through the entire space, almost blowing Amelia's wool jacket away if Aeon had not gripped on it. Amelia and Andrata had started to cast magic on each other, yet it was obvious that Amelia was much stronger than Andrata. Even so, she was holding her ground and not letting Amelia's magic strike her.
"Why… did they start fighting?" He blinked while observing their actions.
Asura let out a loud and high-pitched laugh, "Amelia likes to do practical the best. Because Andrata's divinity let her control the formula of magic, it would not be that hard for her to learn that way. Probably way faster too!"
He tilted his head and placed his hand on top of the other, "It is a bit sudden. But well, she can be quite spontaneous on days."
"Oh yeah, why are you here all of the sudden?" Aeon did not take his eyes off of them.
"I just wanted to tell you something."
His words took Aeon's attention away from the fight, "What is it?"
"I kissed Amelia."
Asura's smile remained on his lips as he said it, his head was still titled and he leaned forward. Aeon's eyes widened up as he heard what Asura just said, his mind processing the words. Even if the words were to be taken only literally, his mind could not comprehend that possibility. Asura laughed again and shook his head, looking ahead at the fight.
The sound of lightning striking and ice stabbed through it, Amelia dodged a millisecond before it got to hit her. She continued to barrage Andrata with lightning, Andrata was a little slow but she managed to block it. She was forced to use the magic circle, although her speed and accuracy at casting it had improved more.
Amelia flicked her fingers as more lightning struck around her, causing the grass to burn. The strike's affected area was small, though that should not be sidelined by how dangerous it was. She intentionally placed targets on Andrata's body, forcing her to react fast and cast magic near herself. If Andrata had accidentally casted it too close to herself, she would definitely hurt her body.
That could not distract Aeon's mind from Asura's words however.
"What." Aeon spoke after a moment.
He placed a hand on Asura's shoulder, yet he squeezed it really tightly. Asura was not bothered by it at all, staring back at him with his unchanged smile. Aeon's eyes were closed, his face had visibly strained muscles and his jaw closed up tightly.
"You're jealous?"
Those words seemed to echo in his head, his voice taunting him to do something about it. His hand remained there yet its grip tightened up to the point that he might be breaking Asura's shoulder. It still did not unnerve Asura at all, in fact his smile felt more unhinged than the one before. He looked satisfied with the reaction that Aeon was giving him.
"Please don't do that, ever again." Aeon's eyes remained closed as he warned Asura.
"Just admit that you're slow on it, okay~?" He laughed.
The shaking ground took Aeon's attention away from Asura, even so he seemed to give up and stopped gripping on his shoulder. Asura let out a whistle when he noticed Andrata collapsing onto the ground. Since there was some smoke that covered up the scene, no one was sure what had happened.
"Andrata!" Aeon shouted in a panic, running towards her.
Asura smiled as he stared at them, grabbing the jacket that Aeon was holding onto, "I gave you a little hand, Amelia. So don't say I didn't help you, alright?"
Aeon placed his fingers close to her nostrils, feeling the air coming in and out of it. He looked down at the bandages, there was only a little blood on it, nothing too substantial. He let out a sigh of relief and looked over to Amelia who landed gracefully on the ground, she had avoided most of the dust coming her way.
"I do want to see this relationship flourish, though it might take a long time for them to actually be together." He muttered.
Smoke began to engulf his body as he continued to speak, "But, we did underestimate how much he loves you."
He smiled as he disappeared into the smoke, his sharp pupils stared at Amelia, "Then again, you're the one who dislikes all forms of affection. How would you have known how much he, or everyone else, truly cares about you."
"What a cruel, cold kitten."
Aeon shook his head, "Did you have to push her that far?"
Amelia placed her hand on the side of her head, "Maybe. She seemed to be improving already, so I don't think it's a bad thing."
Her jacket reappeared draping over her shoulder. She looked at it and was confused for a moment, she figured out quickly what happened and only sighed in response. He stared at it for longer, his eyes subconsciously lingering on it while his mind again echoed Asura's words. He could feel his tone and the feel of his smile.
'I kissed Amelia.'
His heart began to beat rapidly, his eyes remained on it. She snapped her fingers in front of him, gaining his attention back. The space around them began to disintegrate as Andrata completely fainted from exhaustion. She grabbed him and Andrata, who was asleep in his arms, and sprinted out before they got trapped.
Everyone reappeared back in Aeon's apartment, standing before the dining table.
The mist ball disappeared, turning back into the space it was before. She draped her jacket over the dining chair while he gently placed Andrata down on the couch. She walked to get the first-aid kit before he asked, lending him some time to himself. He sat down beside Andrata, his eyes staring at the wound whilst his mind wandered.
'He could have been lying. Amelia highly dislikes being touched after all, though she will tolerate the ones she liked. Yet…'
In a way, he was trying to calm himself down. Although it was obvious that it did not avail the feeling of jealousy, he only made it much worse. He let out a loud sigh and shook his head, his heartbeat still rapid, much more than before. He did not seem to be very troubled by the feeling of jealousy.
He was much more concerned about the intensity of it.
"Aeon?" She tilted her head at him, seemingly daydreaming.
His thought train was interrupted by her smacking him on the head with the first-aid kit after he did not react to her calling his name. The impact was not that painful, though it still left quite a sting. He placed a hand on it, making him look into her eyes. Whether he had done it subconsciously or not, he was unsure.
His eyes widened up when he noticed the subtle worry look in her gaze.
"Was her passing out that bad?" She questioned as she sat down beside him, handing over the kit.
He stuttered while changing the bandages, "Not… really…"
She raised her eyebrow but did not question further, "It's nothing major. Though she did overwork herself. She should've stopped when her adrenaline was high, too high."
"She… had fun?" He glanced over.
"Feels like it. She did seem to enjoy it, somewhat."
She shook her head, "I rather she not indulge in that feeling too much. We already have one fighting maniac."
"Speaking of which," She said as she remembered, "Where is April?"
The mention of the person's name gained some reaction from Aeon, "I would like to know… But I did agree to let her come and go as she likes so…"
They remained silent as he changed her bandages. She only did her regular stare, yet it felt like she was burying holes in him. His hands trembled as he wrapped it around her abdomen, trying to not do a sloppy job with it. He knew that she was simply observing him, even with that acknowledgement it did not make him feel comforted.
It reminded him why he was trying to stay away from this woman at all cost, when they first met.
Her eyes turned its attention to the clock, "Ah, I'm going to be hella late today."
'Thank you…' He thought internally when she decided to take her attention away from him.
He placed the remaining bandages back into the kit, looking over at the clock when she mentioned it. It's currently 11:50 a.m. and will turn 12:00 a.m. soon. Aeon came back at around 10:00 a.m. which means they had been going at it for almost two hours. Time had been going much swifter than he thought.
"I'm going to take a shower here." She said without thinking much.
Something clicked in his mind as he carried Andrata, walking to place her down on her own bed. He quickly placed her down, still reminding himself to be gentle so he would not hurt or wake her up. The reason for his sudden movement was because his mind came up with something, it was simply a strong urge.
He had to do it, now.
He walked out of her room and ran to his, grabbing her wrist when she walked to the bathroom. She turned around slightly and stared at him, her eyebrows raised and her eyes squinting at him, full of confusion and curiosity in her mind. She tried to read his face for any clues, yet all she got was even more questions.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
He took a deep breath before saying, "Please take a bath with me."
The air grew uncomfortable immediately, she stared at him with widened eyes. Her face was tinted with pink, even the tip of her ears. Her lips agap as she tried to say something, but it was so sudden that it threw her in a loop. His cheeks were tinted with pink as well, it was clear that he was not as embarrassed about it as she was however.
"I… well… I…" He lost the ability to speak his mind once he saw her reaction.
He screamed internally, 'She's so fucking cute but this is so damn awkward. Ah...'
If he could, he wanted to dig himself a hole and stay there. Even when technically he had made a hole for himself.
She still had not said a word, although it seemed that her mind had at least come back after the initial shock went away. Her face remained pink as she looked away, placing her free hand on his and turned around completely. This was the first time she had to deal with a situation like this, combined with her general disdain for physical affection in any sense…
She would have gotten the reward for the cutest Goddess ever.
She spoke meekly, "Did you just want to see me naked…"
He was still screaming internally, 'AAAHHHH. SHE'S SO CUTE. HOLY, SHE'S SO CUTE LIKE THIS.'
As a man, it was tempting to see her naked. He would not deny the physical attraction he had, even if she noticed he spared her a few unnecessary glances and might have dug his eyes out because of it. Or worse, stab him with her sword. There was something attractive about the way clothes hug her body if they were a little tight.
But he found out today, that the usually all mighty Amelia being shy was incredibly irresistible.
He had to control himself, like all the other times he got jealous of other people, especially Asura. He had seen instances where he got impossibly close to her that their foreheads touched, or when he carried her bridal style for fun, or when he buried her face in his chest with a massive grin.
Asura knew that Amelia would hit him somewhere afterwards and he still did it. He always did it to annoy her, seeing her reaction was fun to him as he always laughed it off when she smacked with her weapon or whatever that was hard. Yet, there were a handful of times where she would lean into his touch.
Aeon hated it, but there was nothing he could do.
"I mean… I wouldn't mind--. Wait, that's not what I meant!"
He continued to fumble with his words, "I want to bathe with you because… I…"
She sighed, "Just… don't stare at me too much."
"Huh?" He blinked.
She closed her eyes, her face still pink as she dragged him along her to the bathroom. His mind was still trying to apprehend what she said, nevertheless he seemed to have thought through why this idea popped up in his head. She let out another sigh, her eyes still would not meet his and she tried to yank her hand out of his hold.
"Do you plan on holding onto my wrist forever?" She stared at his hand.
He let go immediately once he realised, "Ah, I'm sorry."
She began to take her clothes off, starting with her turtleneck shirt. She mustered her best glare, despite it feeling less intimidating than usual. He turned around and took his own clothes off. He only wore a baggy T-shirt and pants for exercise, so it got off of him pretty quickly. She placed her clothes neatly on the counter, beside the sink. She did place her undergarments behind her pile of clothes, so he would not really see it.
He placed his clothes in the laundry basket, which only had his pajamas and clothes from the previous day.
The bathroom was big enough for three people to be in it simultaneously. There were blue floor tiles and white wall tiles. There was both a shower and a bathtub, though the bathtub was big enough to fit another person, it would be cramped. Mostly due to how tall Aeon was compared to the bathtub.
He turned around once he heard her turning on the shower, though he could not help himself but to look up and down. She walked over to turn on the tap, pouring warm water to fill up the bathtub. She leaned down to turn it on while pouring water down her. He would have to admit that he was staring a bit too long and intensely.
"Aeon…" She glared at him once she turned around.
He quickly met her eyes, "I'm really sorry…"
She was blushing more than before, as her face and tip of her ears got visibly redder. She turned off the shower head and glared at him again, though this time he quickly submerged himself in the bathtub. They remained silent as she washed her body. He tried to avoid looking, but the temptation was too great for him to resist.
"At least tell me why you decided you want to bathe with me while you're staring." She looked away.
His cheeks got redder and stared at the ceiling, his feet were hanging off of the bathtub since he was too tall for it. He placed his arms on the top of the bathtub. Now he at least had a way to not look at her, still part of him was very convinced to do so.
"I… do actually want to see you naked." He admitted it.
She retorted, "You freaking pervert."
He took a deep breath and asked, "Did Asura kiss you?"
She did not reply to him, though her face gave it off. She grew more embarrassed and lowered her head slightly, the sound of water filling the quiet air and washing off the body wash. He stared at her face and sighed, his heart beating rapidly again as the feeling of jealousy resurfaced within him.
'Ah. He did.' He thought to himself.
She looked over, noticing him lowering himself more in the water and continued staring at something. His eyes closed and breathing in and out slowly, trying to ignore the feeling altogether. It took her a moment to realise what he was feeling, but she could not shake away the shyness.
"For the record, he kissed my forehead. He did not kiss my lips." She said as she rubbed the shampoo on her hair.
That seemed to calm him down, somewhat. He still remained submerged in the water with a slight frown on his lips. She could tell that he was jealous, yet was not sure what to do about it. This was not the first time she saw him getting jealous, but just like every other time, she had not done anything about it.
She changed back to another topic, "You still haven't answered my question."
It took him a good moment to answer, though his answer was one she clearly was not expecting.
"I… just wanted to see you vulnerable."
She was stunned, so shocked that she froze on the spot. The water poured down on her with her head lowered, washing away the shampoo. The blush disappeared entirely from her face, her eyes slowly widened up. She opted to stare at the ground, watching the water flow to the drain.
He looked over to her, "Be honest, what happened yesterday."
She finally met his eyes, her gaze still filled with surprise, "How…"
"Your eyes. They did seem energised, which meant you slept. That is good and all, but you seem to be in a distressed state." He answered.
He explained before she had any chance to retort, "I know, they always looked tired and bland. But there is something different about being over-exhausted and showing signs of distress… I can see them, you know?"
Amelia was still frozen on the spot, the water continued to pour down on her. He got up from the bathtub and walked towards her, closing the shower head in the meantime. He dragged her with him, somehow managing to wiggle enough room out of the bathtub to fit her in without them touching too much.
"Are you not going to answer me?" His voice pleaded.
She did not answer him, nor did she look him in the eyes. She looked down, staring at his abdomen instead of his face. She opened her mouth, though she quickly closed them. She was trying to think of something. He knew that he might be asking too much from her, but he just wanted to know.
"I'm worried that he's trying to torture you, for the sake of it." He grabbed her arms.
She did not answer. Even if she did not answer, her actions gave him everything he needed to know. He was familiar with the way she dodged questions that would make someone get close to her, too close for her comfort. Even so, he tried anyway. It clearly showed to him that he still could not make her speak.
"Asura knows everything." She spoke.
His heart still beat rapidly, "But I don't want to ask him. I want to hear it from you."
She was still looking away, avoiding him altogether. She would have got out if she could muster the courage to. He knew at this point he would not get anything out of her. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, slowly and gently bringing her close. She could push him away if that was what she wanted, still she let him do as he pleased.
He brought her to his chest as he spoke, "I'm jealous."
She nodded but he continued, "I know I shouldn't be jealous of Asura, but I am. He knows everything about you, ones you won't tell any of us."
"I want to be the only one here for you. I want you to be comfortable around me. I want to hug you so badly, like this in my arms and want you to share things with me. I want you all to myself, and that you be mine only."
He placed his lips on her forehead, planting a lingering kiss. She was not sure how long his lips lingered there, but she did not mind it. It was warm and gentle, a feeling that was almost foreign to her. He moved away and she continued to stare at him, the surprise look never leaving her expressions.
He smiled gently, "I love you, Amelia."
She stared at him, face tinted with red again til the tip of her ears. She remained shy about the whole ordeal, and some part of her still weirded out by it all. She still did not give him a concrete answer, leaving it up in the air. He sighed and placed his head on top of hers, silence lingered in the air.
"Can you give me an answer, some day?" He muttered loud enough for her to hear.
She was smiling slightly, though he could not see it, "Some day."
"It's a promise." He giggled.
They stayed like that for another ten minutes, being embraced and relishing in each other's presence in silence. He hummed lightly, a tune that she never heard of despite how often he hummed. But, his voice soothes her, calm and gentle yet carefree. She was close enough to hear his heartbeat, the rhythm helped her to relax in his arms even more.
"I kinda forgot how buff you were, under all those baggy clothes that clearly don't fit properly." She mentioned out of the blue.
She was trying to soothe the atmosphere, so he gladly went along.
He laughed, "They are comfortable, so I don't mind it. Besides…"
He tilted his head slightly, "Only you get to see it, isn't it nice?"
She pinched his cheek, yet he continued to laugh. Her cheeks still tinted in pink as she eventually let it go, a small grin remained while they just soak in the water. Her chest slightly squeezed onto his, though he did stare at it for too long a few times, which she reprimanded him by covering his eyes.
Although, she could not stay here with him for very long.
"I have to work. We do have an important meeting today." She said as she softly got out of his hold.
He unwrapped his arms and got off of the bathtub once she got out of the bathroom. She wiped herself with one of the towels hanging off the iron bar. She extended one of her hands, gathering water particles from her hair and formed it into a small ball. The sound of water filled the room as Aeon washed himself, stretching his arms while the warm droplets poured down his body. His slight aching lessened by the warm bath.
She quickly wore her outfit, though she spoke before she left his room. "I'll see you later, Aeon."
He smiled, "Give me an answer, alright?"
She closed the door without replying to him, but it was only a reminder of what she had promised.
She opened the door to her office, closing it with a gentle 'thud'. She sighed loudly and leaned on the door, thinking about what he just asked. Blush creeped onto her cheeks as she thought about what happened, covering her face with her hands. Her eyes closed and suddenly was wondering about his slightly built body.
"Goddamnit." She cursed.
She took a breath and placed on her stoic and cold mask, the blush disappeared immediately. Fully knowing once she stepped foot in here, she needed to be another person. She stood in the centre of her office and slid her hands in her pockets.
"Time for business."