7. Gaze

Arnold was surprised to see that his superior, Ensign Natarle Badgiruel was the only person in the observation deck when he entered the area. In fact, he was even more surprised to see her – out of all people – here; the first time ever. Whenever he caught sight of her she was either on a shift or walking around with a pile of documents in her hands. Even during her free time she stayed in her own room, busying herself with work. 'Finally she finds some time to rest,' Arnold softly sighed in relief.

He quietly landed himself next to Natarle and gave his greetings. Natarle was slightly astonished to see her subordinate here, but she welcomed him to join her all the same time. "Just got off shift?"

Arnold responded with a nod, and then he let out a light chuckle, "I'm a bit surprised to find you here."

Natarle sighed softly. "I just wanted to take a rest here while watching the stars."

"Please do relax a bit more often; you're working yourself too much."

Natarle was a bit stunned to hear this; she never knew Arnold paid so much attention to her, and she turned to him with an appreciative smile.

Arnold was immediately captured by her amethyst gaze. Ever since the first time they met, every time he looked into those beautiful eyes of hers he would find himself lost within them, as if by simply looking into them this woman had enslaved his heart. He did remind himself it was impolite to stare, but at the same time he found it rather difficult to take his eyes off her, even when she had already looked away from him to the scene outside the window. "…So beautiful," these words softly slipped out of his mouth before he realized it.

Natarle looked to him again when she heard his whisper, this time with a rare but genuine smile, "It is, isn't it. Such a pity we're fighting a war in this beautiful place."

Arnold gave a slightly uneasy smile at Natarle's reply. "I wasn't talking about the scene outside. I was talking about you."

"Huh?" As if Arnold was speaking in riddles, Natarle returned to him a questioning look, urging him to explain his words. Arnold slowly raised his hand to reach for Natarle, and gently caressed her cheek, looking deep into her amethyst eyes, "I love you. I've always loved you, ever since the days in the academy."

It was almost impossible for Natarle to comprehend to Arnold's words, so unexpected to her, and she simply looked back at him, astounded. Then slowly, she lowered her head uneasily and hid her face away from his intense eyes.

Arnold patiently waited for an answer, but all he got back was silence; such an awkward silence that it tore his heart into pieces. And he knew that this was the answer.

He smiled pitifully, half because of regretting that he had placed Natarle in this situation now, the other half for his pathetic self. "I'm sorry. I should have known. We're in war right now, there's no room for this. Please just forget what I've just said."

Natarle slightly shuddered when she heard his apology, but all the while she never looked up at him. Arnold knew his confession must have troubled her deeply; she was someone who put her duties above everything else, no one would have understood this more clearly than him – the one person who knew her since their days in the military academy. He sensed that it was better for him to leave now; it was not really an option anyway, because he already realized that there was no other way out of this situation.

He took one last look at Natarle, and slowly turned around to walk away, but then he felt a small tug on his uniform jacket and that stopped him in his tracks. Puzzled, he turned around to look at Natarle, and he was taken aback by the picture he saw – Natarle had taken a step forward from where she was originally standing to reach out and keep him in his place; her cheeks were all flushed up, and her eyes were slightly brimmed with tears, looking back at him pleadingly like a little lost kitten. "D-don't go…"

"…Ensign?"

"…I…I-I don't…I didn't…think…Y-you…" Unsurprisingly, Natarle was lost for words; Arnold had always known that she was the type who found it difficult to express her true emotions. The more she stuttered, the redder her face became; but her eyes were sincere, and Arnold saw his hope within them. "Yes, Ensign?"

"…I-I really…really like you as well…"

Arnold could not believe his own ears, and for a second he even thought for sure that he was imagining things, but his eyes were telling him a different story; her amethyst gaze assured him that this moment was a dream come true.

Arnold hesitantly reached out and gently palmed her face with his hand like she was a fragile china doll, like this dream was so easily breakable if he made even the tiniest mistake. It was when Natarle shyly smiled back at him, Arnold finally found the courage to wrap his arms tightly around her, and slowly he dipped down, laying a kiss on her lips.


A/N: For those who are totally new to this collection of fics and decided to randomly read this update, you might find it easier to understand if you read Chapter 4: 01 Awkward Love as well.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that my writing style for this chapter is a bit weird? I dunno…maybe it's because I've sort of rushed through it so it makes me feel like something is wrong…

So…yeah. Not much else to say. Except for…Reviews please!!! XD