He met her when he thought she was a he. He thought he could be the one to change "him" into something proper, something the world would be empty without. He wanted to be the mastermind behind the world's greatest treasure or the artist behind this masterpiece of a person. After discovering that one crucial detail, his world was turned upside down.
His want to perfect her grew stronger as did his care for her. As a man, it was his duty to protect the women, but she refused to be a damsel in distress. She had become her own knight in shining armor. She wanted to be strong for she could not show weakness to anyone.
Her beautiful smile that could captivate anyone did not hide secrets, but it hid the scars life embedded into her. The others knew not what she endured before they entered her life. She looked like she had everything - a loving home, dependable friends, a future laid out right in front of her. This was not the case, however.
"The past is in the past."
"It's not important."
"It's not relevant to the current situation."
She always had some type of excuse when it came to herself. She wasn't rude or secretive with her past, though. With all the things that happened, one might think she cried to sleep at night or did unspeakable things to escape reality.
She was overwhelmingly different.
Her tough face wasn't an act. She didn't dwell on the past every second of the day. She wasn't cruel to others as a form of revenge to the world. She wasn't antisocial or rebelling against society.
She was the complete opposite. She fully accepted her past and everything that ever happened. She chose to move on and not let the past bring her down. She was an incredibly strong and capable person.
Because of this, he felt the need to protect her.
"She's been through so much. Someone as beautiful as her shouldn't suffer any longer," he would think.
He knew his protectiveness was smothering her, but he couldn't help himself. She was so precious to him like she were the last piece of gold in the world. Her small frame reminded him of a porcelain doll that was so fragile, she'd break with one touch. The material was strong enough to view, but with enough force, she could shatter.
She would always tell him his worrying wasn't necessary and he knew that fully. He just wanted her to feel the love she deserved. She now had people to lean on and people to help her with her issues, no matter how big or how small. She knew she could rely on them, but her self-reliant nature may or may not allow her to do so.
Either way, she knew she finally had people she could trust.
If she were to meet her past self now, she wouldn't tell her what would happen on what day to make the future better. No, instead she'd tell her about the amazing and crazy bunch of friends she made. She'd tell her about their insane antics and how they failed to do the most tedious tasks.
Her past self might think those people would belong behind bars or in an asylum of sorts.
With a caring smile on her face, she'd tell her how much they cared about her. All the times they misinterpreted something she said and worked hard to fix a problem that wasn't even there. All the times they comforted her when she was upset or stood up for her when she was in trouble.
She'd tell her how much they loved her and how she loved them.
The last thing she'd say to her past self is there is so much this world has to offer and if it doesn't seem like it now, it will someday.
That thinking led her to the love of her life, after all.