"What?"
"You're a Guardian! Are you going to arrest me?" Ivory asked frantically. She let go of the hand that was still gripped by the man. "Geez, what a fool of me."
Cakara smiled slightly at the panicked tone of the girl in front of him. "If I was going to arrest you, I would have brought you five minutes ago."
He turned to throw away his empty ramen bowl and a sausage skewer whose contents had been eaten. He glanced at Ivory for a moment and smirked.
"What kind of ramen do you want?"
"Eung?"
"Ramen," he repeated as he picked up a seafood flavored ramen and pointed it right at the younger's face. "You said you wanted to eat ramen. What do you want? Say it quickly and just eat at my place."
"Your house?" Ivory asked, almost screaming before being rewarded with a glare from Cakara.
"Don't say out loud, or other people can hear."
"I don't want to go to your house! Are you crazy?"
"Not my house, but my place. Didn't you hear my explanation just now? Eating here is like putting your life on the line." He took several types of ramen of various sizes. "Spicy?"
"Extra spicy," Ivory replied.
Still confused by what happened, she followed Cakara to the sausage and sweet crab rack.
"Do you like sausage? Crab? Extra cheese? Ham?"
"Just sausage, please." Ivory tugged at the arm of Cakara, who was carrying a lot of luggage, before bowing apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mr. Guardian, but I don't want to enter the tiger's den. Never. Thank you."
Ignoring Ivory's comment, Cakara walked over to the cashier and held out his card. The half-asleep cashier jolted awake to discover that the customer was a respected Guardian leader.
"W… Wha… What else, Sir?"
"This is all," answered Cakara briefly. The young man took the card from the cashier's hand, shaking violently; Cakara nodded briefly and left the mini market, followed by Ivory, who stumbled.
"How did he just know that you'd been eating inside all this time? Shouldn't he have recognized you from the moment you walked in?"
Cakara handed over a bag full of food that Ivory craved. He looked around, wary, before replying to the sweet girl's question.
"I came in wearing a mask. I forgot to put it back on earlier." He took the hat pinned between the slits of his belt and put it on hastily. "Eat these ramens at your home if you don't want to come to my place and make sure—"
"You, Urla, and Harry check around blocks one through eight. Bring 6 replacement Guardians and activate…."
Cakara heard the sound through the speaker attached to his right ear.
"Shit," said Cakara. "They're not far from here."
"Are you serious?" Ivory asked, surprised. She turned her head back and saw a person's silhouette walking toward her at a fast pace. Panic and scared, she looked at Cakara.
Unlike her, the young man suddenly grabbed Ivory's wrist and forced her to run after the Guardian leader's feet.
"Where are we going?" Ivory asked breathlessly while the man's running speed increased. Ivory automatically ran faster. Ignoring the pain in her femininity and the crazy racing heart.
"To my hiding place. You hid there first."
***
Aaron took a deep breath and gently touched his lover's hair sleeping on his thigh.
Joy rested her head on Aaron's thighs and hummed unfamiliar songs that the man didn't know. She asked him to gently stroke her hair while she almost fell asleep on that starless night.
It's snowing tonight. Not too thick, but it still brings a bone-chilling chill. That's why the couple had preferred to curl up in front of the woman's fireplace since two hours ago. Sharing warmth with touch and hugs, even if one of them feels a little uneasy.
Aaron repeatedly glanced at the door of his lover's room. Every now and then, his amber eyes would clash with the beautiful blue sapphire eyes that never stopped sparkling. Joy was happy, but Aaron was a little sad. Somehow spending hours with the girl did not get rid of the bad feeling in his heart. He has a bad feeling, and what is worse is his lover kept him from coming home until the next day.
Aaron stops the touch on Joy's hair. He looked up at the window, which was showing the snowflakes. In the next second, he sighed.
"Joy, I think I should go home."
The girl she was talking to stopped humming her favorite song. She got up from her sleep and looked at her lover's face, which looked uncomfortable. Suddenly she became angry.
"You promised to stay the night," she whined. The girl then grabbed her lover's arm and clung to him. "I miss you, Hon."
Aaron Magnifico laughed awkwardly and slightly let go of Joy's hand. "I umm … actually didn't promise to stay tonight. I'm just following your wish to spend a few hours together. I guess that's enough, right?"
The pretty girl got up from her seat. She bent her pretty face and put her hands on her hips. It's an extraordinary gesture whenever she gets angry or sulking at her lover. "Just say you can't leave your partner. You're worried about her, aren't you? Or do you miss her? Or do you not love me anymore?" she accused. Her expression had changed 180 degrees from before. "You prefer that strange girl over me?"
The lover immediately woke up when his lover said that. He pulled the hand of the girl who was still lodged in his life and tried to retake her heart.
"Joy, that's not what I meant," he said awkwardly. "How could I don't love you. Don't be ridiculous. It's just … I'm still in the Copulation event. I was worried that something bad might happened and I wasn't home. They might think bad things about me."
"But I don't want you to come home." Joy grasped the warm fingers of the man with the last name Magnifico and gave him a pleading look. Hoping that her method successfully melted the heart of Aaron Magnifico as usual. "At least stay tonight. I rarely see you."
Aaron sighed. He raised his hands in resignation and smiled wryly at her. Once again lost to the magical charm of the girl he was dating. "Okay, I give up. I'll be home early tomorrow morning."
"Yeah! You're the best, Honey!" Wrapping her arms around her man's neck, Joy squealed with joy. "In that case..."
"Hmm?"
Smiling slyly but triumphantly, she brought her face closer and kissed Aaron on the lips. Joy smirked again and whispered right against those thin lips.
"Let's make love," she said.
Would a young man like Aaron reject her?