Chapter 21: Emotions Laid Bare
"Damn, you look like hell," Garet commented, stopping in his tracks and looking Mia up and down as she emerged from her room at the same time the Mars adept was walking past.
Mia's appearance was as bad as he'd ever seen it. Hair that was usually neatly tucked into a ponytail appeared loose and disheveled, the bags under her eyes gave her face a zombie-like appearance, and her posture had a defeated look to it that was far from the norm.
"What happened to you?" Garet inquired, growing more concerned about his friend the longer he observed.
Mia looked up and gave him her best impression of a smile. "Couldn't sleep," she mumbled out in an exhausted tone, supporting herself with one hand on the doorknob.
Garet took a step towards the tired Mercury adept and held up his hands in front of him. "Woah, woah, you don't seem to be in any shape to go anywhere right now," he cautioned.
"I need to get some breakfast," Mia insisted, trying to continue forward until she was gently stopped by Garet's arm.
"Not in this state you don't," the redhead said. "Go lay back down, I'll bring you something," Garet told her.
Mia thought it over for a second or two before agreeing. She knew it would take more energy than she could spare to try to argue with Garet's stubbornness, so she gave in. "All right," she answered, turning back towards her room and disappearing inside while leaving the door slightly ajar.
Garet frowned. There was something seriously wrong with Mia, and she was in a state he had never seen before. As he headed for the kitchen, Garet mulled over what could have possibly put the Mercury adept into such a condition, but could only come to one conclusion. "I wonder if something happened with Isaac…" he muttered to himself before heading into the kitchen.
As Garet entered he saw Isaac making some tea before heading out to help with the navigation of the ship. "Morning," Garet called out to his friend as he walked over to grab a clean plate out of a cupboard.
"Hey Garet," Isaac replied, sounding a bit tired himself, but nowhere near the same degree as Mia.
"You mind making a second cup?" Garet asked as he picked out a couple of pancakes left over from breakfast and called on his fire psynergy to warm them up a bit on the plate.
"Here, take this one," Isaac said, handing it over to the Mars adept before filling up another cup of tea for himself.
"Thanks," Garet commented, accepting the cup and finishing what he was doing with the plate. He added some pieces of fruit to the plate as well and picked it up along with the tea.
Garet wasn't sure if he should mention anything or not, but paused before walking out of the kitchen. "By the way…I ran into Mia this morning and she seems a bit down," he downplayed, not wanting to concern Isaac too much before he had to go work on navigating the ship. "You should probably see how she's doing later," he said.
Isaac turned around from where he was making his tea and looked over at Garet. "Is she okay?" he asked, concerned. "I can go now if she needs some support," he added.
Garet shook his head slightly. "There's no need for that. I'm sure she'll be fine, but I was just wondering if something happened between you two or something," he inquired.
Isaac thought for a second and an image of the recent night on the ship together with Mia popped into his mind, causing him mild embarrassment that he did his best to hide. "...Not really anything that I can think of," he shrugged, wondering if there was somehow any connection there.
Garet shrugged. "All right, well go cheer her up later once you're done for the day," he told Isaac.
"You sure I shouldn't right now?" the blonde boy asked again.
"No," Garet replied. "It might not even be related to you," he explained. "I was just taking a guess, but either way you should try to talk to her later," he added.
"Okay. I will," Isaac promised before Garet nodded and left the kitchen behind, leaving the blonde boy to wonder how he could have possibly upset the Mercury adept.
Garet walked back to Mia's room with tea, pancakes, and fruit in hand, nudging open the door with his foot. Mia was sitting on her bed in her robes with her eyes closed, resting lightly. The Mars adept walked in and put everything down on the bedside table, the soft sound of the plate and cup being set down prompting Mia to open her eyes again.
"I brought you some food," Garet indicated with a wave of his hand before walking back over and shutting the door for more privacy.
"Thanks," Mia replied as Garet went to grab a chair and pull it over closer to the bed so he could better converse with the cerulean haired girl. She started eyeing the pancakes as Garet sat down.
"So, do you want to talk about it?" Garet asked.
"About what?" Mia replied, stopping the arm she was just about to reach out to the pancakes with.
"Come on Mia," Garet answered, indicating Mia's appearance. "I know you well enough to know this isn't normal. Something had to have happened right?" he questioned.
Mia turned her head away for a moment to hide the emotion in her expression, but that action in itself was enough of an admittance to the Mars adept.
"Well…you don't have to talk if you don't want to," Garet told Mia after a few moments of silence. "Here, have some tea," he offered, changing tactics and holding the warm cup out for Mia to take.
Mia turned back towards him and accepted it silently, holding it in both hands. She blew on it twice then took a sip. "Ah…that's good," she commented, bringing it back up to her lips again.
"Well Isaac made it for you," Garet threw out, stretching the truth a little bit to see if his hunch was on target.
Mia almost spit up the tea as she choked on it.
"So it is something to do with Isaac then," Garet tried to confirm with an amused grin.
Mia finished her coughing fit and took another sip of tea to soothe her throat before setting the cup down with a sigh. She gave Garet a weary look as if to ask if he had planned that sequence of events out. Garet understood the meaning, and held his hands up innocently before Mia spoke.
"First Ivan and now you. I must be really bad at hiding my feelings huh?" she asked in response, though it was an admittance that her present state was related to the Venus adept somehow.
"Incredibly bad," Garet confirmed, wanting to try to lighten the mood a bit.
Mia picked back up the cup of tea and took a long sip as if it was alcohol that could give her the courage to speak. Garet stayed quiet as she looked down at the half empty cup in her hands, pancakes all but forgotten.
"I…have feelings for Isaac…you know?" Mia finally said, making eye contact with Garet to emphasize the point. He nodded, but again waited for her to continue. "I fell in love with him," she admitted. "I fell in love, but I never realized just how strong these feelings have gotten," Mia continued to say, looking at Garet with a face that was pleading for him to understand.
Mia fell silent and it was up to Garet to push her forward again. "That's…" Garet started to say, trying to come up with an appropriate response on the spot. "Isn't that something you should be telling Isaac?" he asked after a second's hesitation, confused as to what the problem could be.
Mia shook her head quickly as the events of the night before played back in her mind. "I…I can't," she said, feeling a singular teardrop start to well up in her eye. The memories made her want to cry, but she had no more teardrops left to shed. She quickly wiped away the only one that had formed, but Garet had already seen it.
"...Can't?" Garet wondered more to himself than as a reply to the cerulean haired girl. "Mia…" he trailed off, realizing that whatever it was that had caused this was much more serious than he had initially anticipated. He couldn't afford to be as delicate about the situation as he wanted to if he was actually going to actually help. "Why can't you tell Isaac that?" Garet asked directly, a frown forming on his face.
Mia shook her head slowly with a sorrowful expression. "I…I don't want to get in his way…" she said hesitantly.
"Get in his way?" Garet questioned.
"With Jenna," Mia answered. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, bringing a hand up to her chest and holding it over her heart. "She's from Vale too…and Isaac's known her for so much longer…How can I hope to compete against that?" Mia voiced. "Of course Isaac would like Jenna more. It's only natural…"
Garet looked confused. "Where did you get that from?" he asked. "I mean…I know Jenna has feelings for Isaac, but Isaac doesn't see her that way I didn't think," the Mars adept stated.
"I…actually asked Isaac about this once," Mia replied, trying to answer the question. "He told me that he thought Jenna loved him like family…as a replacement for the brother that she lost," the cerulean haired girl said. "...But he never said how he feels about her," she emphasized, looking over at Garet for confirmation.
"What if he found out that Jenna does love him though?" Mia brought up rhetorically. "If Jenna loves him not as family, but as a woman, does that change things?" she asked, trying to help her friend understand. Mia had to stop to compose herself again as her hand holding the cup began to tremble slightly, sending ripples across the surface of the remaining tea. "If all that was stopping him was not knowing how Jenna felt…"
Garet could see the implication Mia was talking about and frowned. "It's not like that though…" he trailed off, not as certain as he had been before.
Mia managed to calm her arm and set the teacup back down on the bedside table before interlocking her hands together in front of herself. "I saw it myself though," Mia told Garet. "I saw them just last night…kissing…in an embrace…and…and…" she couldn't bear to say the last part. The cerulean haired girl seemed to be unraveling further with every word she spoke. She looked down at her hands and back to Garet before forcing it out. "Jenna took Isaac's hand like this…and…she…" Mia pantomimed what the redhead girl did with Isaac's hand by holding it up to her breast. She paused to take a breath with her hand still in place. "...Then they both went into Jenna's room…" she choked out, trailing off. Mia dropped her hand again and helplessly and turned to Garet with a despondent look in her eyes that he had never seen before. "Garet…I…I heard…"
"That's enough," Garet interrupted sternly, placing both his hands on Mia's shoulders to get her attention and steady her. "That's enough…" he repeated more softly as Mia's gaze started to return to normal. How quickly she had fallen into a downward spiral of despair from recounting events made it clear to Garet that what happened had utterly broken Mia. The Mercury adept sat still, trying to calm down as Garet removed his hands. "Whatever happened…You don't have to say any more about it," he told the heartbroken adept.
Mia sighed. "I just feel lost," She admitted with a defeated look. "I don't know what to think anymore. I don't know what to feel…" she said, looking down at where she was sitting on the bed.
"It's okay," Garet replied. "I know exactly how you feel. I once felt exactly like this too," he explained. Mia looked up when she heard the Mars adept say that, and could see the pained smile plastered on his face.
"I love Jenna after all," Garet admitted.
Mia was caught off guard by how readily Garet was able to admit his feelings despite never having said anything about them before. As she took in the redhead's statement and the series of events she just told, Mia finally realized something. "Oh no…Garet, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, noticing how she just completely ripped open a wound for Garet as well by telling him everything that Jenna had just done.
"It's fine Mia," he replied. "I've had a long time to come to terms with how Jenna feels," Garet explained.
Mia was upset with herself though. "I can't believe I just did that to you though. It has to still be painful right…?"
"Seriously, it's okay," Garet said with a hint of an actual smile this time, amused at how conscious Mia was of his feelings despite her own being a complete train wreck. "It still hurts to hear about Jenna doing something as dramatic as that, but it's more of a dull ache for me now after all this time," he explained. "I'm actually much more worried about you since you seem to be in such a dark place right now,"
Mia did her best to give Garet a reassuring smile, not wanting him to worry, but it was very easy to see through. Mia sighed as she realized Garet wasn't buying it, and decided to use her words instead. "When I saw them together…I was jealous," Mia admitted. "This morning…I was thinking about things. What right do I have to interfere?" she asked, looking to Garet once again for understanding. "If Jenna is who makes him happy...If I claim to love him as much as I do…"
"Well...then I'm supposed to accept that…and be happy for him right?" Mia asked even though it broke her heart again to voice out loud.
"But you don't want to accept that do you?" Garet asked, prodding Mia towards that answer that she herself had already decided on.
"...No," Mia replied. "I don't want to accept it," she stated clearly. "Does that make me a bad person?" the cerulean haired girl asked.
Garet smiled. "Not at all," he answered. "I felt much the same way about Jenna when I first discovered her feelings for Isaac," the Mars adept elaborated. "I know I can never be what Isaac is to Jenna, but even now after years and years, I still haven't fully accepted it." Garet shrugged. "We can't help our feelings," he stated, pausing for a brief moment.
"Mia, you really, truly love Isaac…don't you?" Garet asked.
"Yes. I do," Mia answered without a hint of hesitation or embarrassment. "It took me a long time to recognize it, but the way he makes me feel is…I don't even know how to describe it properly," she explained. The Mercury adept may not have been able to voice it, but the way her mood noticeably picked up just from thinking about her feelings for Isaac was not lost on Garet.
Garet slowly shook his head, slightly amused by the reaction. "Isaac doesn't realize how lucky he is to have someone that cares for him the way you do," he told Mia.
"If he favors Jenna then does it even matter though?" Mia asked dejectedly, despite Garet's kind words.
"It does!" the redhead exclaimed. "For one, I'm not putting all my stock in what you experienced being the full story," he commented. "If you told me this same thing a year ago, I might have believed it was a possibility, but now? I'm not so sure."
"What do you mean?" Mia asked confused.
"To be clear, I'm not doubting anything you've said," Garet replied. "But I also think there must be more to what happened than what you saw," he stated. "I think if you were in my position you'd agree. I've been Isaac's friend for a long time and I know him better than just about anyone," Garet added. The Mars adept sighed before continuing. "I really shouldn't be telling you this, but after seeing what you're going through, I can't just leave things as is," he said.
"Look, what it comes down to is that there is no chance in hell that Isaac doesn't have feelings for you," Garet told Mia. "You were the best thing to ever happen to him and it shows. I can see it in the way he acts around you and I hear it in the way he talks about you," Garet explained. "You make his day just by being near him!"
Mia was flattered by Garet's words and her heart fluttered from hearing about signs that point to Isaac having feelings for her, but there was still a long way to go to escape the pit of negative emotion she had dug herself into.
"Anyone else who spends enough time with Isaac can probably notice the same thing. I have a very hard time imagining him suddenly turning towards Jenna after all of that…" Garet trailed off. "Isaac can be kind to a fault sometimes. You know he has that part of his personality where he tries not to hurt people if he can help it right?" the redhead asked.
Mia hesitated for a moment but had to agree that Isaac was a gentle soul at heart. "Yeah, that's true…" she admitted.
"Who was it that was trying to escalate things?" Garet asked. "By my estimation based on your story, it sounds like Jenna," he pointed out. "Wouldn't a person like Isaac feel uncomfortable shutting someone he cares about down so abruptly, regardless of his own feelings…especially in a situation where he hasn't really seen her in over a year?" Garet questioned.
Mia frowned, thinking back to the scene from last night once more. Jenna had confessed to Isaac, Jenna was the one to kiss Isaac, Jenna escalated a hug into something beyond that, and Jenna was the one to take Isaac's hand and pull him into her room. She had to admit Garet had a point.
"That…actually makes a lot of sense," Mia cautiously responded.
"Basically what I'm trying to say is to have more confidence! Have more confidence in Isaac, and have more confidence in yourself. Go ask Isaac about what happened directly and see what he says. Tell him how you really feel about him, and ask him directly how he really feels about you!" Garet urged.
Mia let out a bit of a smile. "You make it sound so convincing when you say it like that," she replied, finally feeling a little positivity again for the first time.
Garet laughed. "Well I have been paying pretty close attention and cheering on both of you from the sidelines, so I'm pretty confident in my analysis," he replied. "After all I have a vested interest in how your relationship with Isaac turns out too," he added.
Mia looked puzzled. "I'm not sure I understand," she said, confused.
Garet just shook his head. "You know how you were asking me if your feelings made you a bad person?" he reminded her. "Well, let's just say if anyone is the bad guy in this scenario it's me. As much as I'd honestly like to say I'm just happy to see you and Isaac get along so well because I'm your friend, I'm not actually that pure of heart," he explained.
Garet grimaced at himself before continuing. "Look, I've never told a single soul about this before, so please keep it to yourself." He paused to take a breath. "As a friend of both you and Isaac I am honestly thrilled to see you both happy, but when I think about the possibility of Isaac having feelings for you…well…a little part of me can't help but to be excited about how that would leave Jenna available," he explained.
"Oh!" Mia realized as she understood what the Mars adept was getting at.
"Yeah…" Garet admitted. "I'm extremely disappointed in myself for thinking that way but…"
"We can't help how we feel, huh?" Mia finished for him, borrowing Garet's words from earlier.
"Pretty much," Garet shrugged sheepishly. "It still makes me a scumbag though," he stated.
Mia sighed. "Well I'm in no position to judge you for that given my thoughts on the matter," she answered with a smile.
Garet smiled back. "No, I suppose you're not," he laughed. "Keep in mind what I told you though, and have a little faith. Personally, I believe in Isaac. All those days of him randomly grinning like an idiot on our journey were definitely one hundred percent your fault after all," he teased.
"Oh come on Garet…" Mia complained half heartedly, though she was glad for the attempt at humor.
He just laughed again and stood up, moving the chair he was sitting in back to the corner as he got ready to leave. "Well I'm glad to see you looking a bit better even though I'm not really the person you actually wanted to see," he said with a wink.
Mia sighed. "This is what I get for opening up to you?" she asked in an exasperated tone.
"Pretty much!" Garet replied, heading for the door. "Make sure you take a nap and catch up on some sleep. I'll cover for you today," he said.
"Thanks," Mia answered, taking him up on the offer because she was definitely in need of it.
Garet gave her a wave. "I'll make sure Isaac stops by later," he promised before ducking out the door and shutting it behind himself.
Mia just smiled and shook her head before sliding herself back down into the covers. She thought it was strange, but somehow her conversation with Garet had made her feel somewhat better. Maybe it was Garet's own experience with heartbreak, or it was something to do with the Mars adept's unwavering confidence in his friend, but whatever did the trick actually worked.
She could sort everything out with Isaac later, and whatever ended up being the truth, Mia would just have to do her best to accept it, but for now it was time to get some much needed rest.
...
–| Later In The Day |-
Mia opened her eyes, blinking a few times to clear her vision as she woke up. She had no idea what time it was after going back to sleep and catching up on the rest she missed last night. As she shifted in bed, Mia was able to glance around the room and see everything was in place with the notable exception of a blonde boy sitting in a chair over in the corner.
As she moved, Isaac looked up from the book he was reading and noticed that Mia was awake. "Hey," he said awkwardly, placing a bookmark in the book and setting it down.
"Hey?" Mia replied, a bit confused as Isaac stood up and pulled the chair closer to the bed so he could talk to her.
As Mia's brain started turning back on, she realized it was a kind of unusual situation to be in when they both had their own rooms, and clutched the sheets of her bed to make sure they were covering her despite still wearing the heavy robes from the night before.
"Isn't it a bit weird to come watch me sleep?" Mia asked, looking over at Isaac as he sat down again next to the bed.
Isaac shrugged. "Well that's what I said, but Garet mentioned something about me being an idiot, and I quote: 'If you care about Mia at all you better be there for her when she wakes up.' So…here I am," he explained helplessly.
Mia turned on her side and faced the wall away from Isaac, a bit embarrassed. "Damn it Garet…" she mumbled, thinking back to how the Mars adept said he would make Isaac talk to her later. Mia wasn't really prepared for that conversation right after waking up, but now that it was effectively in front of her, there was no reason to delay.
She sighed and turned back to face Isaac. "Did Garet say anything else?" Mia asked, wanting to know where she was starting out at.
Isaac shook his head. "Not really," he answered. "He did say something about you feeling a bit down earlier in the morning, but nothing specific," the blonde boy added.
"I see…" Mia trailed off, trying to decide how to broach the topic. Isaac stayed quiet assuming there was some reason for Mia's question and Garet's insistence that he be here. Mia waited a few moments before trying to softly dive in.
"I was kind of surprised last night," she finally said, wanting to see if Isaac knew what she was talking about or not.
He didn't. Isaac just looked at her quizzically and titled his head slightly. "Surprised?" he asked, confused.
Mia took a breath and forced out a fake smile for the blonde boy. "Well, Jenna confessed to you again didn't she?" the Mercury adept asked, catching Isaac a bit off guard.
"Wait. What? That?" Isaac answered, a bit embarrassed. "I mean she did but…" he trailed off.
"It looked like it was for real this time though," Mia commented, watching to see how Isaac would react.
"Ah…well…yeah," he admitted, before it finally clicked. "Wait, You're saying you saw that didn't you?" Isaac asked, putting two and two together, bringing a hand up to his head with a wince.
Mia didn't even need to nod. The look on her face was all the confirmation Isaac needed. His cheeks turned red as he rubbed his temple in thought. Mia waited to give him a chance to explain if he wanted to.
Isaac looked back up at Mia with an embarrassed smile. "Well it turns out you were right about her after all," he said with a shrug. "I could have sworn she only saw me as family but…" he shook his head quickly as if trying to rid himself of an unwelcome memory.
Mia looked away for a moment, doing her best to remain composed as flashes of what occurred kept popping up in her mind. "She was pretty aggressive about it huh?" Mia prodded before looking back at Isaac.
Isaac nodded fervently. "Yeah…that caught me by surprise," he answered. "I was so confused. At first I was trying to figure out if this was just because she hadn't had a chance to see me in so long, but well…if you were there, you probably saw what happened," he explained, glancing down at his hand and turning it over a few times as if inspecting it.
Mia caught Isaac's gaze as he fixated on his hand. She nodded. "Yeah, I saw that," she confirmed with a sad smile.
"Ah…this is so embarrassing," Isaac commented, his face still red. "I sort of got in a fight with Jenna after I recovered from the shock of that though," he told the Mercury adept in front of him.
Mia looked a bit surprised at that revelation. "A fight?" she asked.
"Yeah, it was right after…" Isaac trailed off as he realized something else. "OH. OH NO. No, no, no, no, no," he let out as his face turned beet red. "You didn't see that part since it was in Jenna's room which means you probably thought that Jenna and I…" Both hands came up to rest on his forehead as he held his drooping head up by his fingertips with an agonized look on his face. Isaac was flustered. "Ahh…this is so awkward. I just want to jump off the ship right now," he commented, overwhelmed by the misunderstanding.
"When I was in my room I heard some sounds so I thought…" Mia trailed off as she blushed just thinking about it.
"Oh Venus, no," Isaac answered, denying the implication wholeheartedly. "Not a chance. I can't see her that way," he explained. "I tried to tell her as much after I got over my surprise, and that's how we got into an argument," he said.
Mia felt the gloomy haze that had been present for so long starting to lift as she realized Garet seemed to be right. It really did look like she had interpreted everything completely wrong based on the half baked information she had. A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she was starting to feel some of the tension in her body fading away.
Isaac didn't really notice the change through his own awkwardness from recounting events though. "Did you not hear anything we said?" he asked, picking up on the fact she mentioned hearing 'sounds.'
Mia shook her head. "When I did hear your voices they were too muddled to make out from my room. I kind of just heard things getting knocked over or bumped against the wall…and the bed," she explained.
"Ah, well I did knock over a chair by accident trying to back away from Jenna a bit," Isaac laughed nervously. "As for the bed uh…" Isaac scratched his cheek with his index finger while looking away. "She…I think when Jenna realized I was serious about not seeing her like that she tried to make me see her that way…" he explained.
"She uh…laid on the bed and tried to tempt me to…well…you know," Isaac said. "Unbuttoning her shirt and stuff…" he elaborated slightly.
"Oh…" was all Mia could get out as her face changed in color to match Isaac's.
"I didn't do anything though! I didn't do anything," Isaac repeated twice, waving a hand in front of himself in denial of a question Mia hadn't even asked. "I had to stop her until she calmed down, but that's it," Isaac added.
The blonde boy laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, that's all way too much detail," he said, realizing he probably elaborated more than needed to just tell the story of what happened.
Mia shook her head slowly. "No, it's fine…It all makes a lot of sense now," she replied. "No wonder you were so flustered when I brought it up."
Isaac smiled at Mia, grateful for her understanding. "Yeah…even now just recounting that last bit makes me feel weird," he explained. "It was uncomfortable to see Jenna trying to act that way in front of me, but the scariest part is that it actually kind of worked," he lamented.
"Kind of worked?" Mia repeated, her voice catching in her throat slightly in surprise since it was sort of an opposite statement to what he was just saying.
"Well…" Isaac hesitated, wondering if he could really voice what he was about to say. "...I am a guy," he shrugged sheepishly.
"So you were interested in it?" Mia asked with an eyebrow raised.
"No, no, not with Jenna," Isaac tried to clarify, already regretting mentioning anything. "I most certainly did not want that image in my head," he said.
Mia didn't make a conscious effort to follow up on that statement, but her mouth was moving before she even had a chance to think. "So what you're saying is that if it was someone other than Jenna…" the Mercury adept voiced, before cutting herself off in horror.
She rolled back over to look away from Isaac and hide her expression, resisting the urge to pull the covers over her head and disappear. Mia could only imagine the thoughts going through Isaac's mind after that comment. Isaac somehow looked more embarrassed than before if that was even possible, and he stared at the back of Mia's head, lost for words.
"Please don't tease me like that Mia," he stated after several seconds of silence in as even a tone as he could muster.
"Sorry," came Mia's reply once she felt she had recovered enough that her face wouldn't betray her own thoughts on who the alternative to Jenna in that situation should be. It took her a few more moments before she was brave enough to turn back around and look over at Isaac again.
The blonde boy shrugged at her with an embarrassed smile. "I guess all this was to say that it's been a very strange night and day," he said, trying to sum things up neatly and take his mind off of Mia's last comment. He only partially succeeded though.
Several seconds passed in silence until Isaac spoke up again.
"Hey Mia?" he said to get her attention.
"Hmm?" came her response.
"You remember that night on the ship before Contigo right…?" Isaac asked, changing topics a little bit.
"...Yes," Mia answered hesitantly, not sure what to expect.
"If you want…how about we do that again tonight?" Isaac proposed, nervously fidgeting with his hands as he forced himself to keep his gaze on Mia.
The sense of elation that surged from her heart upon hearing those words hit the cerulean haired girl like a powerful wave. She could hear her own heartbeat as it loudly thumped away inside her chest, betraying the excitement she felt just from thinking about it.
"That…sounds nice," Mia replied, her voice wavering a bit despite her best efforts to keep it seeming calm and collected.
"Ah…okay then," Isaac agreed with a smile, also doing his best not to let on to the swirling emotions he felt rippling just under the surface from her acceptance.
Last time the pair ended up spending the night together things had just sort of fallen into place to make it happen, but now they had actually planned ahead to do so. It was natural that both adept's nerves were through the roof. Neither one of them could find their voice after that and an awkward silence descended for a full half a minute as both Isaac and Mia suddenly became interested in the patterns on the wooden walls and anything else their eyes could find as a distraction from each other.
Isaac eventually broke the silence though. "I uh…should probably go help with dinner?" he said more as a question than anything else, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb toward the door.
"Oh…that uh…makes sense," Mia agreed. "I should probably help too…" she added, looking around her room and thinking about getting up to do so.
Isaac stood up to put the chair back where it belonged and walked back over toward Mia before she could get out of bed. "I just realized I forgot to ask after you woke up, but are you feeling better?" he inquired.
Mia couldn't help herself. She laughed. "I'm definitely feeling much better now," she answered.
"That's good," the blonde boy followed up with. He leaned down and gave Mia a quick kiss on her forehead.
"See you tonight then," Isaac said with a smile before turning to leave the room.
...
–| Later At Night |-
Dinner had been an awkward affair with a palpable sense of tension lingering over the group of adepts. Usually everyone would make an effort to eat together and try to relax and unwind, but today that had not been the case.
It was impossible for anyone to not notice the weird atmosphere. There was too much silence for anyone to be comfortable, and groups of people inevitably split off to have their own conversations. The only benefit to that arrangement was that Mia was able to privately thank Garet for his encouragement and fill the Mars adept in on what she had learned from talking to Isaac, omitting some of the details he wouldn't want to hear about Jenna as well as her own plans for later in the night.
As everyone went their separate ways after eating, Mia found herself back in her room. She was eager to go spend time with Isaac, but after catching a glimpse of her appearance in the mirror, she decided to put some effort into fixing her hair properly first. Mia knew Isaac probably wouldn't have minded either way, but she had felt like it would be fun to try to surprise him a bit.
The ponytail she usually wore was quick and effective for the purposes of traveling and everyday life in general, but tonight she took the time to let her hair down and properly comb it out so it would look good. As she finished styling it, Mia turned in front of the mirror to ensure it was fine from all angles. "I wonder if this is what Garet meant by being confident," she mused, satisfied with her work.
Walking towards the clothes closet and opening the door, Mia reached out to grab a fresh pair of robes as well as her nightgown, but hesitated before pulling them out. Something else she had not worn in a long time caught her attention. Hanging in the far corner of the closet was the cocktail dress Isaac had won for her back in Tolbi.
Mia blushed slightly as she remembered Isaac's initial reaction to seeing her in it all those months ago. The blonde boy's transfixed gaze of surprise was embarrassing for her at the time, though was certainly not unwelcome. She imagined herself wearing it again now, this time with her hair down, and realized it would probably look really good.
"It can't hurt to try it on right?" she asked herself, trying to convince herself to do something a bit different and treat the night as a special occasion. As she pulled it out of the closet and slipped it on, Mia turned back to the mirror to see how she looked. It was just how she remembered it. The dress was very feminine looking in contrast to her usual robes, and it still fit her well even after not wearing it for a long time. What actually convinced Mia it was the right choice though was that it looked really good with her hair down.
She blushed at her own appearance, knowing that putting all this effort in just for some time alone with Isaac was effectively a declaration of her feelings for the Venus adept. Recent events had made her realize it was time for her to be bold though. Isaac hadn't noticed the way Jenna truly felt until she essentially forced him to recognize that fact after all. Whether or not the extent of Mia's feelings would get through to the blonde boy via her appearance alone might be in question, but Mia realized there was one surefire way to make sure he understood. As that option played out in her mind, Mia could feel herself blush scarlet and shook her head to dispel the thoughts.
"I'll go like this," she said out loud, both to convince herself and build up her confidence. Mia left the robes and nightgown hanging in the closet and shut the door, walking over to the main door of her cabin before she could second guess herself and change her mind.
Mia opened the door a crack and took a peek outside to see if the coast was clear. There was no way she wanted to be caught dead sneaking off to Isaac's room at night dressed like she was. Looking both ways revealed nobody in the vicinity, and Mia quickly stepped outside, closing the door to her room very quietly behind her.
She listened for half a second longer to make sure there were no footsteps before making her way over to Isaac's room on the other side of the corridor. Reaching his door, Mia knocked gently to let Isaac know she was there but only waited a few seconds before opening his door out of the fear of getting caught by someone outside.
As Mia slipped inside and shut the door behind her, she turned to greet Isaac, who was standing next to his mirror and playing with his unkempt hair, trying to get it to somewhat obey him.
"Hey," Mia called out softly, even though she already had his attention from the knocking.
"Hey…" Isaac replied as he stopped messing with his hair and took in Mia's altered appearance. The blonde boy blinked a couple of times and then gave up on his own hair, setting down the comb he had been trying to use with a pink tinge starting to show in his cheeks.
"You're wearing it," Isaac pointed out, gesturing at Mia's dress.
She laughed at the obvious statement being his first reaction. "Yes, I am," she answered with a smile.
"What's the occasion?" Isaac teased, getting Mia back for the laugh.
"What? Can't a girl just decide to dress up a little bit sometimes?" Mia replied, acting hurt.
The pair of adepts shared a laugh at the exchange as Mia walked further into the room and sat down on the edge of Isaac's bed.
Isaac didn't even attempt to hide the fact he was admiring her as she walked past. He shook his head to himself with his eyebrows raised. "Well, it looks good on you," he commented. "...Your hair as well," Isaac added a second later.
"Thanks," Mia accepted the compliment with a smile as Isaac sat down next to her.
Though Isaac had been fiddling with his hair when she entered the room, Mia wasn't able to notice anything different than how it normally was. She knew that he was being completely serious with his comment about her appearance, but she couldn't help teasing him anyway.
"Your hair is looking stylish tonight too," Mia commented with a sly grin, bringing her hands up to rearrange a few pieces of his hair for good measure.
"Hey! Come on now," Isaac complained. "I don't have hair that obeys me like yours does. If you're going to make fun of me, then I'll mess your hair up to match," he threatened, holding his hands up and waving his fingers around as he slowly moved them in Mia's direction.
Mia brushed them away while laughing. "No…I spent a lot of time on it tonight, don't mess it up," she pleaded as Isaac rolled his eyes and let himself fall back onto the bed in defeat.
"I tried to make it do something, but it just doesn't want to," Isaac shrugged, twisting his head diagonally in order to look over and up at where Mia was sitting.
"I actually like your hair perfectly fine as it is though," the Mercury adept said more seriously as she turned herself a bit to better face the boy that was lying down in front of her. Mia brought one hand back over and began to stroke his blonde hair. Isaac just accepted it this time and closed his eyes as he laid there, letting Mia have her fun with it.
This time it was Mia's turn to admire the resting face of the boy she had fallen in love with. She couldn't help noticing how handsome he was every time she was up close. As Mia kept running her hand gently through his hair, she had to resist the urge to take a finger and trace it down Isaac's jawline. She blushed as her eyes shifted up slightly and fell upon the blonde boy's lips, causing her heart to beat faster in her chest. The desire to lean over and taste them with her own rapidly grew beyond the point of her self control.
Mia found herself brushing her hair back behind her ear with her free hand as she leaned down towards Isaac, her gaze fixated on her target. Closer and closer she leaned in until her bangs caressed Isaac's face and her breath was warm against his cheek.
Mia exhaled as she broke out of her trance and felt her face go red. She quickly shifted herself slightly on the bed and planted her lips onto Isaac's forehead instead, letting them linger for a second before backing away with an expression of embarrassment.
Isaac opened one of his eyes to take a look at Mia quizzically. He knew exactly how close she had been to kissing him just then.
"T-That was for earlier…" Mia stuttered in her nervousness, referencing the goodbye kiss Isaac had given her in bed.
Isaac opened his other eye and drank in the bashful look on the Mercury adept's face. If adorableness could kill, he would have certainly died then and there. Isaac gave Mia an amused smile and reached up with his hands, pulling her down onto the bed with him. Mia gave a small yelp of surprise as he did so before Isaac rolled over with her so that he was on top of her while Mia was looking up at him.
Mia's cerulean hair was splayed out on the sheets beneath her as she stared up and found herself lost herself in Isaac's deep blue eyes. She was only semi-conscious of her leg brushing against Isaac's as the blonde boy straddled it, looking down at her with an intense expression of desire. She could hear each thump of her heartbeat as Isaac's captivating eyes came nearer and nearer, threatening to drown her in their depths.
Just as she thought they could get no closer, his eyelids closed and Mia felt the gentle whisper of Isaac's lips meeting her own. She surrendered herself to bliss as a pleasant tingling sensation radiated from where they touched. The feeling rapidly spread across her body as her lips moved to respond, kissing the blonde boy right back.
She felt hyper sensitive to Isaac's touch as the hand he had used to push her bangs out of the way traveled slowly down past her ear and across her neck, causing her head to arch back slightly as his fingertips ignited a pleasurable sensation wherever they traveled.
They drew away just as they dipped below Mia's collarbone, though the Mercury adept found herself yearning for more. Her legs quivered slightly as they tightly hugged Isaac's well muscled thigh between them. At some point, Mia's hands had made their way to Isaac's back, grasping for purchase as she pulled him back in for another kiss. The fireworks on her lips exploded all over again, and Mia found herself unable to breathe, even after Isaac's lips parted from hers once again.
The world was a blur as the cerulean haired girl began to slowly regain some semblance of consciousness, as if waking up from a long dream. Mia was vaguely aware of the heavy breathing coming from her open mouth as her lungs desperately tried to capture more oxygen to keep up with her elevated heart rate. Her flushed face perfectly matched the color in Isaac's cheeks as the blonde boy stared down at her once more.
"Mia…I…uh…wow," was all he could say as he attempted to recover his own breath as well.
Mia let her hands slide off Isaac's back, placing one over her rapidly rising and falling chest and the other at her side. She smiled up at the boy above her, before he rolled over to lie on his back and better catch his breath as well.
"That was…" Isaac trailed off, lost for words.
Mia let out a laugh that sounded more like an extra puff of air as she exhaled, and turned her head toward where Isaac was lying next to her. "You have no idea…how long I've wanted to do that for," she got out between breaths.
Isaac turned toward her and locked eyes before he replied. "I had no idea what I was missing out on by not making my feelings clear sooner," he answered with a smile on his face.
As both adepts continued to recover, Isaac turned on his side, pointing himself towards Mia. "That said, I am curious what you mean by 'how long you've wanted to do that for'" he quoted.
Mia laughed, though she was happy that Isaac was taking an interest in it. "Fine, I'll tell you," she conceded. "...But you're going to need to do something for me too," the cerulean haired girl added.
Isaac smiled. "Okay," he agreed. "Whatever you want."
Mia shifted her body so she was facing him and scooted herself a little bit closer. Isaac laughed and reached out to wrap the Mercury adept up in a hug as she placed her head just over his shoulder, against his cheek.
Satisfied in Isaac's embrace, Mia let out a content sigh. "You can't laugh at me okay?" Mia warned before she started into her story. Isaac just responded by bringing one of his hands up to the back of her head and giving her a few gentle pats of reassurance.
"I know you remember the cave in Suhalla" Mia stated, leaving room for the blonde boy to answer her, despite having just mentioned it the other day.
"Of course," Isaac replied, thinking back to the night they spent huddled under a blanket together when they were separated from Garet and Ivan.
"Well…I almost kissed you back then," Mia admitted.
Isaac glanced down towards Mia's head. "I can't say I'm too surprised by that in hindsight I guess," he commented. "We were pretty cozy together that night after all."
Mia pulled back from the embrace slightly so she could look Isaac in the eye. "No, I don't mean then," she elaborated. "I mean that I came really close to kissing you," she emphasized. Mia paused for a moment before continuing. "It was in the morning when we were waking up. I got up before you remember?" she asked.
Isaac nodded in response to confirm, interested to see where she was going with the story.
"Well, I saw you still asleep and something came over me…" Mia stated. "The next thing I know, I'm this far from your face," she whispered, acting it out for the blonde boy by leaving only a tiny gap between her lips and Isaac's. "I really wanted to just…do…this…" she said, pressing forward slightly and kissing Isaac once again before backing off with a smile. "I didn't end up doing it though," Mia added. "I didn't want my first kiss with you to be while you were asleep after all," she explained. "...Plus, this…was so much better."
Isaac had an amused expression on his face and was doing his best to respect Mia's request and not to laugh. It was a hard ask though. "I had absolutely no idea that happened," he confirmed.
Isaac gave Mia another peck on the lips. "That is to make up for the missed opportunity," he explained, getting a laugh out of the Mercury adept as she shook her head in amusement.
"Hmmm…" Isaac thought to himself. "Since you gave me such a good story, how about I give you one too?" he offered.
"Sure," Mia agreed with a smile.
"It's kind of short, but it's funny and I like it," Isaac commented. "Basically it's like this. Remember that night in Tolbi when you pretended to be my wife to come see me at night?" the blonde boy asked.
"No, no, don't remind me of that!" Mia interrupted. She shifted herself and turned away from Isaac in embarrassment, but the Venus adept still held her close around the waist so she couldn't get away.
Isaac laughed and Mia gave up. "That…was kind of hot," Isaac admitted, thinking about how out of the blue it was.
"Why does your story also have to be at my expense?" Mia complained, even as she leaned back against Isaac's body behind her to get closer to the blonde boy again.
Isaac squeezed her affectionately. "Because it was so cute at the time," he said. "When I remember it now, it kind of makes me think that it wouldn't actually be a bad idea," he added.
Mia tried to turn her head to look back at Isaac while he was holding her in order to see his expression, but couldn't quite do it. "You can't joke about these things to girls," she admonished, taking a guess that he was playing with her again.
Isaac leaned down and gently kissed Mia's neck, causing a shiver to run down her spine. He then brought his head in closer and whispered into her ear, "...And what if it's not a joke?"
Mia went still for a moment, lost for words. "Well…then I…" she tried to get out in an attempt to answer the hypothetical. She gave up after several seconds though. "Isaac, just hold me," she requested in a more bashful tone than before.
Isaac smiled and obliged, gently running his hand across Mia's shoulder and arm in a soothing way as they lay together. Silence fell between the pair, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Mia's mind was too busy trying to remove the thought of what marriage would be like for her to pay much attention to anything else, and Isaac was more than content to simply enjoy the moment together.
Isaac found his hand beginning to wander further down to Mia's waist and leg the longer they cuddled together, just as it had been before back on their own ship. This time Mia was in her dress and not a nightgown however, leaving her skin more exposed. Isaac took full advantage of that fact and slowly began sneaking in gentle kisses directly on Mia's shoulders and back.
Not only did Mia not seem to mind, she embraced Isaac's playfulness, sucking in her breath sharply with each new place he kissed. The pair naturally fell back into a state of releasing their long pent up emotions, with Mia reaching behind herself to feel Isaac's leg while the blonde boy's hand explored her own.
Isaac couldn't help making a comment in the middle of things though. "I swear this dress is the best investment I've ever made," he suddenly said out of the blue.
Mia almost snorted as the statement caught her by surprise, knocking her out of the lovey dovey haze they had been in. She rolled her eyes even though she was facing away from the blonde boy and he couldn't see her. "That's so cheesy," she laughed.
Isaac let out a chuckle of his own, pleased with getting a reaction out of the Mercury adept. "It did make you laugh though," he pointed out. "I'll count that as a win," he claimed.
Mia let out another laugh and shifted herself back around so she could face Isaac again. "You got me there," she admitted, giving him a kiss as his reward.
Isaac smiled, but he suddenly thought about something puzzling after the roundabout compliment on her dress. "Hey, I just realized, but you didn't bring your nightgown or anything did you?" he asked. "At least I didn't see you bring it that I know of…"
Mia shook her head to confirm she hadn't.
Isaac frowned. "You weren't planning on wearing your dress to bed were you?" he asked. "Won't you be kind of uncomfortable if you wear it to sleep?"
He paused, wondering if she just hadn't planned that far ahead.
"Well…I was kind of hoping that I wouldn't have to…" Mia insinuated with a coy smile.
After everything that had happened, there was no way Isaac was going to miss that not so subtle hint. The blonde boy suddenly felt a mischievous grin appear on his face as he replied.
"Oh...well in that case…I think that can be arranged."
