"I'm not exactly 'well-liked.' I have many enemies." She raised her eyebrows at him.
"I can handle it."
He gave her an exasperated look, but she wouldn't have any of it.
"Look, all your attempts to scare me away aren't going to work, Bog."
"I'm not trying to scare you away!" He said indignantly. She crossed her arms over her chest.
"That's exactly what you're doing! You've thrown excuse after excuse at me all day to try and make me regret being here!"
"That's not-!"
"I don't understand why you're doing this anyway!"
"I'm just-!"
"If you didn't want me here, you should have just said so!"
He gave a ferocious growl that cut her off in surprise and he reached, gripping her shoulders so tightly she almost winced.
"I can't lose you!" Her eyes widened as his chest heaved with his heavy breathing. His grip slackened and he looked away. "I can't… not you…"
He released her and took a step away.
"Bog…" He looked up just in time as she leapt at him, throwing her arms around his neck. He caught her swiftly, holding her eye-level. She huffed out a breath then closed the distance, crushing her mouth to his.
He grunted in surprise, but quickly reciprocated, tightening his arms around her thin body. It was a long time before they pulled away and she kept her forehead pressed to his as their breathing and hearts slowly returned to back normal pace.
"I love you," she told him softly and he blushed. "And I want to always be with you. I know it won't be easy, I know it's dangerous. But as long as we're together, we can face anything."
He stared at her in amazement and she smiled at him.
"Pushing me away is losing me, dummy."
He nodded, pulling her to him in a warm embrace. He buried his face in her hair and she turned, placing a kiss on his neck.
"I love you, Marianne, so much."
She laughed softly, pulling back slightly to press another warm kiss to his lips.
"Good."