Gift For You - An ElsAi fic

The first thing the purple haired mage noticed when she got to the designated meeting spot was the lack of people in the area. In fact, the person she was supposed to be meeting was nowhere to be seen as well! She huffed, stomping her feet in frustration. "What's with him?! First he asks me to show up here, and he's not even waiting for me!" Aisha frowned. It was freezing cold, and she wanted to go back home.

Aisha was hardly dressed for the cold either, now that she thought about it. Dressed in her usual violet shirt and skirt, she added leggings underneath and threw on her largest brown peacoat and brown boots. Her legs were freezing, and it hadn t even begun to snow yet. She sighed, taking a seat on the bench after mumbling a spell to warm herself. She pulled a book out of her jacket pocket and flipped to the page she had left off on.

Elsword, however, couldn t help himself. He was nervous, which was rather uncharacteristic for the Rune Slayer. He was usually so confident and upbeat. The first one to inspire others to simply do the best they could and not sweat the small stuff if they couldn t. But now, he definitely didn t know what to say to psyche himself up for what he was about to do.

He waited a few minutes, gift in hand and breathing regulated. Hiding his arms behind his back, he approached Aisha as quietly as possible, until at last, he was standing behind her, bent down to see what she was reading. What cha readin this time? He asked, suddenly, after reading a few paragraphs.

What happened next, Elsword imagined he would never forget for the rest of his life. Aisha, quite literally, flew out of her spot, yelping in fright, and clung to her staff in the air, like a cat clinging to the ceiling. He struggled not to laugh, but found it hard to do. He covered his mouth to hide a smirk, while Aisha growled and marched over to him. She slapped him as hard as she could (which was pretty hard, Elsword noted), and scowled. You big jerk! First you make me wait, and then you scare me half to death! She scrambled to pick up her book and jam it back into her pocket. And the title is none of your business! Now what do you want? I m freezing!

Now came the hard part, Elsword grumbled to himself, biting his lip. He knew that he shouldn t take too long, but gods, it was so hard! He never knew giving a gift to someone you liked would be so hard. Then again, Aisha was the first person he had ever had feelings for, and he didn t care to read romance novels and the like, so he never really had any real idea to go about it. He toyed with the gift box behind his back as he tried to think up the words to say.

With a heavy sigh and even heavier blush, Elsword decided to simply thrust the gift box into her hands. "Here! I know I'm the last person you would want a gift from, but..." He trailed off, jamming his hands into his coat pocket.

Aisha stared at the poorly wrapped jewelry box with a dazed expression. She had no idea why she wouldn't have wanted a git from Elsword. It wasn't like she hated the boy or anything. He was infuriating, sure, but she didn t really harbor any ill feelings towards him other than irritation. Th-thanks...what is it? Aisha asked, curious.

W-well...I saw you staring at that necklace a few months back. The one Luichel said would help you gain mana faster because of the el shard embedded into it. And since I had the extra money after shopping Elsword shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. Aisha ripped open the wrapping paper and opened up the jewelry box. Sure enough, the gold and silver necklace was sitting neatly in its holder, the turquoise gemstone gleaming in the sun s light.

E-elsword...are you serious? This was expensive! How could you afford it? Aisha asked, incredulous. Elsword shrugged, turning his gaze away. He didn t want to admit that he had borrowed some money from his sister, or that he had been doing odd jobs for a while. It was supposed to be a nice gift, and making Aisha worry that he had worked himself too hard (and he had to admit that he kinda did), was not really something he needed on his conscience. But...thank you. It s a lovely gift. And very thoughtful! Which says a lot, since it s you giving me something.

You re welcome, you brat. Elsword grumbled, rolling his eyes. Despite himself, he couldn t help but smile. At least she had liked his gift. That by itself was more than enough. And...well, there s more. Want me to help you put that on?

More..? Aisha asked. Without waiting for his answer, she unconsciously handed him the necklace, and Elsword made his way behind her, fastening the clips in place. Aisha glanced back at him with a smile and moved so that he could see how it looked on her. S-so-

I-well Elsword interrupted, but faltered, his face suddenly as red as his hair. Aisha wondered if it was because of the cold, but Elsword s thoughts raced a mile a minute, words to say and images of them flashing by so fast that he almost reeled. He was nervous again, and anxiety kept him tongue-tied. He stammered for the words to say, and sighed after a while. This is hard

What is? Just tell me what s on your mind. Aisha spoke kindly, something that threw Elsword for a loop. She had always been so harsh with him, so seeing her smiling softly at him, and reaching to grasp his hand with hers was...well, it was nice. He liked it. And he always wanted her to be this...tender with him.

I had...this whole scenario planned out in my head, you know? That we d be standing here, in the snow. I give you a gift you really wanted and I worked hard for...and then I d ask you out, you know? And I m hoping...really hoping you d say-

Sure. Aisha cut him off now, her face igniting in a blush. She grasped his hand tighter and Elsword smiled. And for the first time in his entire life, he was happier than a bird in spring. Just don t expect me to jump into your arms just because you did something nice for me.

No...but it was a nice thought. Elsword admitted, earning a smack from Aisha, who huffed and stormed ahead. He chased after her, and they laughed.