"Ouch!"
Elena quickly pulled her hand back, examining her bleeding finger with a wince.
"That's what I get for trying to weed the garden without gloves…" Her reddish-brown eyes gazed over her little garden. Hopefully Mavda could find a nice pair of gardening gloves— she'd have to ask her next time she comes around.
Having been worried about the health of the flowers, the Elysian girl had attempted to get rid of the weeds quickly— but now here she was, with a bleeding finger.
"I'd better clean this up before it gets infected." With a sigh, the young woman stood up and dusted off her dress. Inside, Aeron had just woken up— sitting up in bed, pulling his boots on. He glances up and smiles just a bit when he sees Elena enter.
"Aeron, you're awake! Good morning." She smiled sweetly at him, heading over to the little trunk that held various things, such as medical supplies.
His smile fades when he sees the blood trickling from her finger. "You're hurt."
"Oh, this?" The Elysian chuckles lightly, waving her hand dismissively. "It's nothing! Barely hurts. I was doing some gardening, and I made a mistake. Those pesky weeds have been coming in strong, and…"
Before she can finish, Aeron moves close to her and very gently takes her wrist in his hand. He carefully examines the thin cut, a look of concern on the Athosian's face. If it were up to him, Elena would never get hurt. He never imagined her getting injured in the saftey of their little haven, so seeing her bleed is more upsetting to him than he wished it was.
"Aeron, don't look so upset. It's nothing, really."
"… I'll clean it up for you." Before she can refuse, he locks his eyes onto hers. "You do the same for me."
Whenever he returns from the towers injured, she tends to his wounds. Even back then, she had taken care of him— when they'd first met. Elena had always taken care of him. And now, even though it was just a minor cut, he wanted to do the same.
Elena nods and takes a seat on her bed. Aeron leaves her for just a moment to gather the necesarry medical supplies and returns quickly. The young woman extends her hand to him, and her holds her wrist gently with one hand, while preparing a cotton ball with alcohol on it to clean the wound with his other
"… This'll hurt."
"It's okay." Elena's sweet smile causes him to blush fiercely, but silently, he nods. He carefully dabs up the blood with a clean cloth, before appying the medicine-soaked cotton to the cut. Elena winces slightly, but it's just a minor discomfort to her. It's over in a second, and he's already wrapping the thin cloth bandage around her finger.
Elena watches him, admiring him as he focuses on fixing her up. An almost dreamy smile spreads over her face, and she can't help, despite their circumstances, to feel incredibly lucky. The lingering curse made life difficult for them, that was no doubt. But every day, she was thankful that she had Aeron to help her through it.
Simply thinking about it makes her want to cry. The fact that this man cares for her enough to go out and fight to cure her, every single day. Her heart pounds in her chest, and she watches him tend to her small injury with admiration
Just as he's about to finish taping up the wound, Elena speaks up.
"Aeron?"
He looks up at the Elysian with a gentle expression.
"Thank you. For being here for me."
The ex-soldier smiles shyly, before leaning down. Silently, he places a kiss on the tip of her injured finger, and Elena feels a rush of butterflies in her stomach, and knows that without a doubt, she is the luckiest girl in the world.