Polaris

When she was still a child, she had absolutely no sense of direction. That was probably due to the reason that wherever she went, she had her own chauffer to drive her, and if she needed to go anywhere, all she ever had to do was to get in the car. The first time she tried reading a map was when she was sixteen, when she decided she would go on a camp with her friends. And luckily for her, she found out that she did have enough talent with her map to keep herself and her friends from getting lost in the woods.

Since then she had always believed that she was capable of not losing her way, whether it be in her daily life, or in her way of life. Her objectives were clear; she would dedicate her life to the military, just as her father and her elder brother did. She had always admired them both, and she wanted to be like them; she saw them as her guide lights.

Before she officially joined the military, her father had shared with her his most important words of wisdom: "the rules are important; but experience is even more so." She then figured that since she did not really have much experience at that point of her career, she should therefore follow the rules; it was just like reading a map, was it not? If she followed her route on the map, then she could never get herself lost, could she?

But her logic turned out to be wrong. Her map almost brought her to her own demise, because the writers of the map themselves were wrong in the first place.

And just like that, she lost her way for the first time.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Right now she could not figure out whether it was because they were walking along the sea side, listening to the waves lapping onto the sand and feeling the gentle summer breezes that made her feel so relaxed, or was it just simply because he was walking alongside with her. But he was like the ocean, in some way; calm, quiet, gentle, and soothing. And she simply loved this ambiance that surrounded her right now.

"I'm so happy for them," she softly said, slightly strengthening her grasp onto his hand as they slowly walked under the starlit sky.

He returned her grip by pulling her closer. "When would it be our turn then?" he asked half-heartedly with a teasing grin across his face. Even in the darkness of the night with their path brightened up only by the pale moon, he could still see her face redden.

"I…I don't know…" she anxiously looked away from him. She was glad for her two former superiors that they were finally getting married ever since they shared the news with her, and she even had to admit that she was a bit envious of them, but it was actually being at their engagement party tonight that she starting giving her relationship with the man she loved, now right beside her, a serious thought. Were they even on the right path?

"Natarle…" he whined playfully, slightly tugging her hand while enjoying the nervous look on her face.

Her mind started to cloud with hesitation, and she slowed down her pace, gradually coming to a halt, pulling him to a stop as well. "Arnold, why me?"

"Huh?" He cocked his head, genuinely oblivious to where her question was pointing towards.

"Why did you choose me? What do you love about me?" She looked up at him, the twinkling stars reflected in her moistening amethyst eyes. He was perfect; a handsome young man with polite manners, always understanding, patient and helpful; he was also a very clever person, and always knew not only how to solve his own problems, but often hers as well; and most importantly, he had always loved her, and he constantly made certain that she knew of his deepest feelings for her, not only through his words, but also in his actions. But what she could not comprehend most, out of all questions she needed answered, was a simple 'why'.

'Why does he even love me?'

She knew very well she was not quite the perfect lover; she was stubborn, careless, impatient, naïve, and quick-tempered. If she was honest to herself enough, she could easily point out more flaws of herself than this measly mental list she had here; she simply could not understand what he saw in her. And maybe, one day when he realizes that he cannot understand what she does not either, he will be gone before she even has the chance to ask. She needed the answer now.

"I…I'm always stubborn; I never listen, and I never admit that I'm wrong, even when it's so obvious already…Sometimes when I'm angry, I let it all out on you…I…I always rely on you…I can't cook, I don't know how to do the chores…I can't even load a dishwasher properly!"

He had to stifle a laugh when he heard her last line. It was quite the truth; he had always appreciated how helpful that machine back at home was, until she tried using it for the first time; it most likely complicated things for her rather than helped her out, as the machine was intended for.

He looked deeply into her eyes, and as always, he was unable to look away from her again. What she had said was partly true; he was even a bit surprised that she acknowledged these facts. But what she did not know, was how these little flaws made him love her even more than his heart can bear.

He loved seeing her pout whenever she was too stubborn to admit her own fault, even though it was all too apparent to both of them the mistake she had made. He loved it when she would come to him, and him only, with unreasonable requests, and the look on her face so adorable when she tried to make sense of her misshapen logic. He loved how she would look deep into his eyes when she was worried about him, like he was the only thing in the world she could see. He loved the way she smiled, always with a hint of redness on her cheeks, and it was simply the most beautiful picture he had ever laid his eyes on. He loved the fact that he was the only one who ever got to see through her façade, to share her worries, to know of her gentleness, to feel the warmth she brought.

He leaned in closer, narrowing the distance between them again, and softly whispered to her, "But it's your flaws that make you an even more beautiful person than you already are, Natarle, and I'm glad that I'm the only person you let to see the real you. This is the very reason that makes me love you even more than I can already handle." He took a small pause, making sure she took in every single word he said, then continued with a grin, "So if I die young because of a weak heart, it's entirely your fault."

His little tease in the end caught her off guard, and she even stammered when she yelled out his name in protest.

And as simple as that, he eased her doubts again, bringing her rumbling heart back to a state of peacefulness, calm as the ocean.

It was like she was for a while lost again in the woods of uncertainness, trying to find an exit, an answer to where her life was leading towards after losing her map somewhere during her journey; and then here he was again, leading her out of the maze. She cannot remember since when he started taking this journey with her, but every time and without fail, he would be able to bring her back onto her path once more, and showing her a destination she had never before considered reaching, but now wanted nowhere else to be anymore.

And she does not care what lies ahead of them anymore, nor will she look back to the paths they had came from, because all she needed to know was that he was walking alongside her, and he will lead the way.

A/N: I really like this one-shot, probably my favorite one-shot one-shot (meaning not including the one-shot collections) so far. I also kind of like the title I gave for this story; I actually even think it's the best I've ever came up with (because I'm just bad with titles). In case you didn't get it, 'Polaris' refers to Arnold, since with him Natarle would never get lost again, and it shines brighter than her guide lights – her father and her elder brother. I actually did sort of want to save this for the 25th title for Their Stories, but I kind of have something else in mind it, so I decided I'd just put it up as a one-shot on its own. (I think the main reason I want it up as a one-shot by itself is probably because I love the title too much… :P)

I really really really want reviewssssssssssss…Please? I beg of you???