Done

I'm standing in front of my canvas. I'm teaching almost 30 kids today; with seven as the youngest, and ten as the oldest. The younger kids aren't here because they have a different activity facilitated by another volunteer.

The first lesson I did is colors. I demonstrated how the mixing goes; yellow and blue produces green; red and yellow becomes orange, and; mixing blue and red will give them violet.

In front of us is their subject – the fruits; mango, watermelon, grapes, and orange are sitting comfortably in the table. I used flowers as their subject last year and for this workshop, I thought that using flowers would be a great idea.

"You can play with colors especially with the fruit's backgrounds," I said while doing my own painting.

This workshop is still covered by the media, but unlike the event, just few journalists were here to document and take pictures without bothering my lectures.

I straightened my back. The children are quiet and serious with their work. I know almost all of them are already skilled since we've been doing this for the past three years now.

I stood up and looked at each of their paintings. A nine-year-old child's potential in copying the details of the fruits shined brightly.

"You're good!" I smiled at her who was shocked by what I've said.

She looked up to me and grinned.

"Miss Lucy, is it okay to use basket instead of the table?" she asked.

"Of course!"

"You can create anything. You can draw anything you want for the fruits. If you want to exclude the table and replace it with something different, that's perfectly fine. It's all up to you. In painting and arts, there's no right or wrong. All of these were done to illustrate what we truly feel inside," I said.

I saw a younger kid with a different painting. He didn't paint the fruits. He painted something strange… almost abstract. The colors representing the fruits are there but not the shapes.

"What you painting?" I said in a gentle voice.

"Fruits, Miss Lucy…" he didn't look at me.

I smiled, "I like it." So much. I couldn't tear my eyes off his canvas. It looks like paint spilled on his work, resembling the colors of the fruits on the table.

He continued what he's doing. I left him to observe the work of other kids. Some of them used black background and some used lively colors.

I glanced at the door. Natsu was standing right there watching all of us. I swallowed. Unlike his usual formal suits, he's wearing a dark blue v-neck shirt and black maong pants today. The material of his shirt hugged every muscle of his upper body. I realized that he's not only handsome in formal suits, even wearing casual clothing, he can still take anyone's breath away.

I swallowed a lump as I started to walk towards him. I saw how his eyes roamed to the kids I'm teaching.

"You okay? Want to go home?" I asked, teasing him.

I'm pretty sure he's bored now. Well, who insisted on coming with me? I don't think Natsu likes these things. How he managed to stay here for more than an hour, that's a mystery for me.

"I didn't know you can handle children very well…" he said, not bothering with my teasing.

I glanced at the kids who are serious with what they're doing. They're not talking to each other; eyes are on their own canvas.

"I've been doing this for the past three years. And… I have younger siblings. I'm familiar with kids…"

"You should paint more, finish what you're doing in your canvas."

I turned to him, "And I'll leave you here? If you have an appointment, it's fine, Natsu. I'm sure there are more important things you can do instead of watching the children."

Before he can reply, a loud cry was heard in the room. I quickly went to console the kid who's crying, she's one of the youngest.

"What happened?" I said while fixing her hair which is now splattered on her face because of her tears and sweat.

She's just crying and not saying a word.

I looked at her materials. I saw how the paint spilled on her work. The thought that it's the reason for her frustration immediately crossed my mind.

"Hush, stop crying. We'll replace your canvas," I said.

She's just crying and not saying a thing. She started to hiccup so I soothed her by running my hands along her back.

"Here… I'll replace it. You can draw again!" I gently said while trying to console her.

"I'll start from scratch again!" her cries echoed inside the room again.

Some kids are looking at us now. One kid went to us and tried to comfort her but she just pushed her away.

"Shh… Baby, Miss Lucy will help you. I got you," I said looking at the kid who went to us, she nodded and went back to her seat.

"I won't finish! I won't finish!" she cried more.

"You would. We will all wait for you to finish. We'll help you finish…" I said, voice soft while gently combing her hair with my palm.

She sobbed but said nothing. I dried her tears using my fingers. I smiled at her. The only thing she did is stare at me.

A loud sound was heard and another kid is crying again. This time, it's a boy. I turned to his direction.

I saw how the paint spilled on the floor. The kid beside him stood up and quickly gathered the papers near it to save it from the spilled paint.

I saw how the facilitator from the foundation went to the crying boy but he just shouted more.

"I have no paint anymore!" the boy shouted to the paint on the floor.

I was about to go to him while the facilitator is cleaning the mess on the floor but the girl beside me tugged my clothes.

"Miss Lucy, help me…" she said, tears still in her eyes.

I bit my lip and gave my attention to me.

"Of course, go get your paintbrush.:"

The boy's loud cries echoed. I turned to his direction again. I want to go to him but how? When the girl beside me would cry if I did? He's now hitting the facilitator; he doesn't want her to get near him.

"How, Miss?" the girl asked.

I watched how Natsu walked towards the foundation crew.

"S-Sir! We're sorry. He's just really like this when upset…"

The kid cried and stared at Natsu. His air is still the same… authoritative and absolute. He looked at the kid and I thought I saw how a foreign emotion crossed his eyes but concluded that it's just my imagination since it was gone as soon as I saw it.

"I still have many paints. Do you want more?" Natsu asked.

"My mine is spilled! My mine is spilled!" he shouted.

"Romeo, stop it!" the foundation crew said.

"I have this… I have more of it. Do you want some?" Natsu asked and showed the acrylic paints we bought yesterday.

"It's not mine! I want mine!"

I grimaced. I think this is too much for Natsu. I was about to stand and leave the girl beside me for a moment when I saw him took a seat beside the boy.

"This is yours now. I'm giving it to you," he said.

The boy stared at the paints that Natsu gave. I pouted as I watch him grab a brush.

"I'll help you. Let's use these paints…" he said as he gave the brush to the boy.

Natsu held the boy's hand and dipped it in the new set of paint. I smiled. I feel like something tugged my heart. I feel like something held a deep part of my heart that I haven't explored yet. I couldn't look away from them.

Natsu guided the boy as the brush met the canvas. His way of teaching kept me entertained.

I turned to the girl's work and smiled at her waiting eyes, setting aside the emotion that I don't want to feel.

"Let's try?" I asked.

She nodded. There are still tears in the corner of her eyes. I smiled and wiped it.

The workshop ended well. I helped in cleaning the venue. Natsu helped with the stands too.

The old woman smiled. She's wearing a pink polo shirt. There are many of them from the foundation but I don't know all of them yet.

"We're really sorry for earlier, Sir…" I saw the old woman talking to him.

"Romeo's just easily upset. He's really a handful when mad."

"It's not a problem. I'm grateful to be of help," Natsu replied.

I pouted again. Natsu caught me staring at them. I didn't know he has a heart. Didn't know monsters were capable of caring…

"He really has the instinct to hurt someone when upset. Maybe because from his parents. He's new here, too. His father just died and it's been three months when the foundation took him in."

I walked towards them. I saw how Natsu's expression changed. I can even see anger in his eyes. But that's only for a while. A blink was all it took to hide all those that I saw. His face became blank.

"What happened to Romeo's parents?" I curiously asked.

"His parents always fight – physically, there are times that he was hurt by his mother too. It's been three months since his mother killed his father. His first month here is just the worse, he was hitting other kids," the old woman shook her head, "It's great the he learned to cope up even just a little. Now, he just cries it all."

"He still hurt others physically?" I asked.

I looked at Natsu who's seriously listening. His jaw was tensed and I couldn't help but stare at him.

"Sometimes. Earlier. Whenever he's scared or angry. But when he feels fine, not really…"

I nodded, "Oh, it's all thanks to your patience towards the kids."

The old woman was shocked, she laughed, "It's my work. And… these kids are all goodhearted. It's just unfortunate that they've been through hell at a very young age."

I nodded, "That's true. That's why it's amazing that you didn't give up on them… no matter how hard it is to handle them, you still stayed," I smiled, "Thank you for that!"

"Oh this sweet young woman! You flatter me so much! In fact, I should be the one thanking you…" her eyes shifted from me to Natsu, "Thank you, Miss Lucy and Sir Natsu! 'Till next time, I hope?"

I smiled at her and nodded, "Let me help you clean, Ma'am."

"Oh! Thank you! There are janitors here but it's embarrassing to just leave the mess that the kids made…"

She talked while she's sweeping the venue. I'm just smiling the entire time we're cleaning. I turned to Natsu who still has his serious expression. When he saw me looking at him, his face slightly brightened.

"How can I help?" he asked.

I saw that his shirt got stained. I straightened my back. I also saw the red paint on his wrists.

He got shocked when he saw me march towards him. He almost backed away which made me laugh.

"What?" he sounded scared.

"You got something on your wrist, and shirt too. Do you have an extra shirt?"

"I have one in my car," he said.

I grabbed his hands. I took a couple of wet wipes at the table beside us and started to remove the paint on his wrist.

His hands are big. His fingers are long. His palm is not smooth and soft. It's hard which made me wonder what he's doing? Probably gym? Weightlifting? Basketball? Or work?

"You got paint on your face too…" he said.

"Huh? Why didn't you say so earlier?" I looked up to him.

He also grabbed a couple of wet wipes at touched the side of my nose.

"I'll remove it," he said.

Our eyes met. The way he removes the paint is similar as to how a person could touch a butterfly's wings, soft and gentle. His eyes are serious while staring intently at my nose.

"I thought you'll remove the paint on my hands?" he said when he became aware of my gaze.

"You're still using your hands. How can I remove the paint?"

His eyes went down to my lips. I didn't notice that I'm having a hard time breathing especially with this close proximity. I need to open my mouth a little just to breathe properly.

Damn, he's taking my breath away!

He placed his finger to my chin and pushed it up. He bowed a little to get closer to me. I closed my eyes when I saw him closed his for a kiss.

I've discovered many different emotions ever since I learned how to kiss but this is the first time that I've felt an entirely different kind of longing. I feel like my heart is clenching because of too much happiness. I never thought that it's possible to feel this way.

"Done," he said after breaking the kiss.

He smiled. I'm not even sure if it's a playful and lustful smile or something very foreign to me.

He presented his hand to me. I looked at it. His clean hand went to play with the strands of hair cascading down my waist.

I nodded and turned to his wrist. My heart raced. I can't even catch up to it. My own heart is leaving me behind and getting ahead of me.