"It's really no big deal. I just wanted to show something I liked to someone I liked." Aria said
John blushed slightly and looked at the ground.
He scratched his cheek a bit.
"Am I really someone you like?" John asked
Aria liking him would be quite a bizarre thing. After all, John was ugly, too big, and the two times Aria had seen him, he'd smelled bad and vomited. So she had absolutely no reason to like him.
Aria nodded.
"I see how you take care of your dragons. You could lord yourself over everyone if you wanted. With your strength and size, you could make anyone do anything for you, and they wouldn't be able to refuse. But you don't. And that's commendable. You are someone who is kind even when you are given every opportunity not to be." Aria said
John looked at Aria. There was a deep look of confusion in his eyes.
~That's not true. I'm not kind. And I don't take good care of my dragons one of them died because of me. And I'm not kind. I'm aloof and self obsessed.~
"You crazy." John said
For a moment, Aria just looked at John.
Then she started to laugh.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
She laughed hysterically. John just looked at her awkwardly as she laughed.
After a few minutes, she calmed down.
"You know. All my friends say I have bad taste in men. And for a man to literally confirm it. Damn, my life's fucking crazy."
For a moment, John just looked at Aria awkwardly.
"Wait....."
Aria put her finger to her lips.
"Whoops. Pretend I didn't say that." She said with a wink.
John just continued to look awkwardly at her.
What?
John turned and walked towards the pit. He sat down at the edge of it and swung his legs over the side.
Aria followed and sat down next to him.
John didn't know why. But the chant was silent.
"So. What's your family like?" Aria asked
John looked down at the pit. Then he looked up at Aria.
"My mothers dead. And my father is someone that I wish was dead." John said
"Ohhh. Do you have any siblings?" Aria asked
John paused. He watched the rainbows coming from the tree flicker.
Siblings.
John stared down the chasm of the pit for a solid five minutes.
"Never mind." Said Aria
"What...… What's your family like?" John asked
"Oh. My dad owns an engineering firm. A pretty successful one at that. That's how he paid for my pilot's license. My mom does real estate. She's pretty good at it. But my dad is the breadwinner. Both my parents come from the Sunshine Republic. I don't have any siblings, though. I'm an only child." Said Aria
John nodded.
"What did you do before this massive war?" John asked
"I was a regular pilot. It was only after that that I found some opportunities to make some real money. What did you do before this war?" Aria asked
"I was an accountant. Cr and Dr and all that." John said
Aria tilted her head to the side.
"To go from an accountant to a warrior. You've had an interesting life." Aria said
John smiled.
"You don't even know the half of it." John said
Aria leaned forward and put her hands on her chin.
"Tell me."
And John opened his mouth. And he started to speak.
He opened up about what high school was like for him, how he had moved from the dark lands and could barely speak the language. How he was bullied for being tall and incredibly skinny.
He spoke of when he joined the fight club. And how he was good at it.
He spoke of people he met at work. And how everyone he knew seemed to be so unquie.
And Aria spoke to. She spoke of how she spent high school in constant Drama. How she quit engaging in becoming a pilot. How she went skydiving and almost died.
It wasn't their life story. But it was close.
And soon, the moon had passed through the sky. And the sun shone.
John looked at Aria. She looked beautiful. The way her eyes sparkled in the light of the moon. The way her breasts pressed against her sundress.The way her short legs dangled over the pit.
In that moment, she was the definition of beauty to John.
Aria's eyes closed. Her lips pursed, and she leaned forward.
John didn't think. He was overwhelmed. Overcome.
John's bent down. She was much shorter than him.
And they kissed. His lips touched hers. Their tounges intermingled.
They stayed like that for a few minutes. Then Aria pulled back.
John looked at her. Her hair was frazzled, and she was breathing heavily. John was, too.
"We...…. We should probably get going." Aria said
For a moment, John just froze. His eyes darted between Aria's eyes and her lips.
Did I kiss her, or did she kiss me?
"Yes. We should." John said
They sat up from the pit and walked the hike back to the car. Halfway through the hike, Aria intertwined her hand with his.
John was so much taller than Aria that she had to raise her hand to her waist to hold his. It looked slightly awkward. But John enjoyed her warmth.
John sat down in the back of the truck. And Aria took shotgun. She drove the car to the airport.
They dropped off the rental, and then Aria took the plane out from the hangar. They chatted as Aria flew John home. Then Aria dropped John off.
And there he was. At the airport. Alone….
John walked out of the airport and summoned a self-driving car. As the car drove, he couldn't help but think back to what had happened.
We kissed. We kissed.
How long had it been since John kissed a girl? Four years? Five years?
John's heart fluttered.
Maybe that person wouldn't be his last love. Maybe there was more.
Just maybe.