Category: Romantic Fluff
Characters: Kida, Milo
Milo barely registered the burning of his calves and thighs as he squatted beside the large, lily-covered pond stretching out before him. Throughout his stay in Atlantis, Milo's physique had considerably improved thanks to frequent hiking, swimming, and climbing. Still, even the stoutest muscles would complain after being stretched for thirty minutes without rest. The dull ache was far from Milo's mind, for he was far too captivated by the beautiful fish gliding just below the still surface of the pond. His pencil sailed over the notebook pages. He continuously sketched the gorgeous creatures and recorded the aspects of their behavior, not wishing to miss a single detail in his rapt scientific study.
The creatures much resembled the koi fish of the surface world, but they'd evolved a little differently due to the unique mesocosm of the rich waters of the Atlantean pond. Rather than the gold, black, orange, and white variations of patterning expressed by their overworld counterparts, the fish's scales were dynamic arrangements of sapphire blue, cerulean, white, lavender, black, and violet. Nothing in the surface world came close to the elegant beauty of the gorgeous fish serenely circling the pond. Milo wondered if the surrounding underwater vegetation contributed to the adaptation. The seaweed rooted in the muddy bottom of the bond wasn't any shade of green, but hued with deep purples and blues. That's only speculation, of course… I'll have to carefully observe their behavior to see if they utilize the seaweed for camouflage, he thought as he tapped the end of his pencil against his lips.
As his mind trailed off following the thought, Milo finally became aware of his thigh muscles' screaming agony. Groaning, the academic slowly eased himself down on his rump, ultimately alleviating the pressure on his lower extremities. He could swear he heard the cells audibly sigh in relief, and the pain eased back into a dull, pounding ache. He set his notebook down to massage the distressed meat of his legs while casting a glance at the surrounding area. Milo had spotted the glittering fish first, so he'd neglected to drink in the environment around their secluded little pool.
The pond was fed by freshwater from the mountains trickling through the crevices of the smooth, rounded rocks piled on the north end of the area. Multiple streams dribbled through the tightly-packed stones to feed into the large pond, filling the air with the pleasant babbling of the water. The stone face extended out on either side of the fishpond, where thin, twisted, gnarly trees clung to the wet surfaces with a labyrinthine network of roots that bored into the rock face. Spongy, light green moss coated every inch of the rock where the tree roots didn't permeate. White-gray lichens draped from the spindly tree branches like curtains; they ruffled in the breeze, making the trees resemble ghostly wisterias leaning over the pond.
Milo took a few minutes to scrawl the habitat across two pages of his notebook, just in case he needed it for future reference. The forest echoed with rustles and snaps and trilling bird calls, as all forests rich with life do. Gradually, a series of small susurrations and snapping twigs peeled Milo's attention from his observations, making him glance over his shoulder into the underbrush to see who- or what- was approaching. A bright smile alit his face as Kida's graceful form slipped out from underneath some elephant-ear plants to pad into the clearing.
"Oh. Here you are, Milo," she smiled pleasantly. "I see you've found something new today." Milo nodded and eagerly gestured for Kida to approach so he could regale her with his scientific observations. The white-haired woman strolled across the clearing to sink onto her knees beside him, leaning over his shoulder so she could have a clear view of the graphite-covered pages.
"Look, look! So, this lily system-" he gestated wildly at the collection of green lily pads floated serenely across the pond surface, blooming with lavender-colored flowers. "-is an effective filtration and aeration system for the pond, which only gets limited oxygenation by the addition of the small trickles of water from the streams…" Kida listened attentively as he lectured on all his discoveries and assumptions, her bright eyes scanning the words and diagrams while considering his speech. Kida wasn't nearly as passionate about science as Milo, but she never berated or ignored him, and often posed some theories or considerations. It was just another small thing in a great list of many that made him hopelessly in love with the Atlantean queen.
"And, that's as far as I've gotten," he finished with a huff, snapping the book shut and smiling expectantly at her.
"Not bad for forty-five minutes," Kida chuckled appreciatively. With a contented sigh, she leaned back on her hands and stretched her tanned legs out to soak up the relaxed atmosphere of the secluded little ecosystem. Her blue eyes beheld the assortment of lilies floating languidly across the pond surface with untroubled tranquility. Milo drew his knees up to his chest and leaned his cheek against his forearm with an endeared smile, watching Kida survey the area. After several minutes of comfortable silence, her sky-blue eyes flickered to her peripheries, and she grinned playfully.
"Want to go for a swim?"
An electric pulse of excitement propagated across every nerve junction of his body. There were no insinuations or innuendos contained within Kida's simple question; it just reminded him of one of their first times alone, when they'd dived into the lake to swim down into the hidden cavern. Who knew that such a small event would trigger such chaos and drama? Milo reminisced silently in his head, drifting off into space as he so often did. Kida chuckled amiably and snapped her fingers in front of his face to yank him back to reality. "Earth to Milo."
"Oh! Yes! Swimming," he rambled as he climbed quickly to his feet. He shed his clothes between quipped phrases. Sometimes he dressed in Atlantean attire; sometimes, he wore the clothes he'd brought with him from the submarine voyage just for nostalgia. Today was a case of the latter. "In water." He pulled his cream-colored tank top over his head. "The two of us." He kicked off his sandals. "Together." He shimmied out of his cargo pants and likewise flung them carelessly aside. "Great plan."
"Milo," Kida laughed, daintily covering her mouth with her hand as she rose from her position, "You act as if we aren't engaged." A pink blush painted Milo's cheeks, and he flashed Kida a bashful smile while rubbing at the back of his neck. Giggling, she leaned in to pat him cutely on the cheek before unwinding the shawl that covered her upper thighs. They'd been engaged for some time now, so Milo really ought to be used to Kida's jaw-dropping gorgeousness, but his jaw refused to get the memo. As the soft blue fabric slipped from her shapely tanned legs, his mouth fell open, and his head craned back a little so his eyes could traverse the smooth curves of her body. A polite cough brought his eyes heavenward, finding Kida's sparkling with amusement while one of her white eyebrows quirked.
"Uhm, I, uhh… Pretty, you're very pretty," Milo stammered dumbly. Kida threw back her head in another bout of delighted laughter, making Milo smile sheepishly and play with the scraggly brown hairs at the base of his neck again. Kida's arms lunged forward to grab him by the wrists, guiding his body to guide him into the pool.
"Thank you, Milo," she chuckled as her ankles dipped into the cold water. The lilies bumped against her calves as she waded back into the pool, coursing across the ripples with much more speed than their previous lazy gaits. The koi scattered as Kida's feet tracked across the deep brown mud, throwing up clouds of it in the otherwise clear liquid. When Milo's bare feet kissed the edge of the pool, his spine tingled at the cold sensation that bloomed in his toes. The feeling spread up his legs as he slipped into the pool with his fiancé to feel him with a refreshing chill.
The deepest region of the pool only reached the height of Kida's waist, so that is where she dropped his arms to begin running her fingers over the surface of the water, creating dozens of ripples. As her arms moved in slow, gentle arcs, something about the movement of her body made Milo's heart thump in his chest. He must've gotten a strange look on his face because she snickered, "What?"
"You're just the most gorgeous woman that I've ever met." A flush deepened her cheeks' skin tone, making the electric-blue tattoo decorating the area under her eye seem to glow. A shy grin spread over her pretty plump lips; he could visibly see the glee bubbling up inside of her. The water sloshed as Milo closed some distance between them to grip her arms by the elbows lightly. With a playfully considerate look, Kida watched him as he slowly raised them, hand sliding down the length of her forearm to leave dewdrops of water clinging to her gorgeous tawny skin, until he brought her hands to his face. With his eyes locked on hers, Milo kissed each of the tops of her hands and then smiled salaciously. "Definitely the most gorgeous woman that I've ever met," he confirmed with an appreciative nod. Kida snorted, but he could see how flustered she was by his smooth words by the red flush creeping down her neck from her face.
"You're in an awfully good mood," she commented. Milo's flirtatiousness instantly dissolved as his fragile thread of consciousness snapped. For a second, he wondered if Kida wasn't in the mood, but that thought evaporated as she slipped forward to press her torso against his. As the soft fabric binding her bust pressed against his pectorals, Milo reflexively began to stammer; Kida silenced them with a seductive "shhhh." Her hands detached from his to slide over his shoulders, and he shuddered as the cold water kissed his skin. Kida's arms wound loosely around his neck so that her fingers could play with the curly hairs resting against the nape of his neck.
"Uhhh," Milo blinked, compulsively pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You're in a pretty good mood, too." Kida laughed airily; thankfully, his dumb comments always seemed to amuse rather than aggravate her, so he was grateful for that.
"Well, I am with the love of my life. That will put anyone in a good mood." Milo's face blazed crimson, and he began to sputter nonsensically. Kida snickered, gazing in his eyes for a few moments, before her eyes dropped down to the beautiful water around them. Instinctively, he glanced down as well.
The koi-like fish had acclimated to the lovers' presence, as they were now freely and undauntedly gliding through the seaweed waving around Milo and Kida's legs. Occasionally, one of the foot-long fish would bump against one of their calves; the creature would wriggle as if apologizing before swiftly swimming around. Their scales glittered like gems in the crystal-clear water- pearl, amethyst, sapphire, sugilite, onyx, and zircon glinting beneath the peaceful surface. Suddenly gripped by the urge to be even closer to the fish, Milo relaxed his legs, allowing gravity to tip him backward onto his rump. Kida cried out in alarm as her body followed suit, slumping into him on their downward slant. Milo laughed animatedly as the water splashed up around them, slicking them from head to toe.
"That wasn't funny," she pouted as she pushed the water-soaked strands of white hair from her face. Milo tutted apologetically and helped her tuck the large chunks of damp hair behind her ears. The fish were momentarily startled by their sudden movement, but soon grew curious; they swam forward to nip experimentally at the fabric of their clothes and their soft skin. Milo and Kida both laughed at the ticklish sensations. Milo hummed happily and drew Kida in, spreading his legs around her frame to settle her close. Kida reclined against his chest, nestling her head against the crook of his shoulder and began to trace the star-patterned tattoo adorning the other. "Milo?"
"Hmm?" he grunted. His eyes had resumed tracing the graceful swimming patterns of the koi fish.
"Do you regret not leaving with your friends?" They'd only been gone for a short time, almost as short as Kida and Milo's engagement. But what did that have to do with anything? Milo looked at Kida incredulously, unsure of where the spontaneous question had come from. Kida's face was drawn into a sad frown, and her downcast eyes bored into the groove of his neck. She continued to trace the jagged lines of his tattoos, but the motions even seemed despondent. "I just cannot help but wonder," she admitted morosely. Milo took a moment to shove his gut reactions aside. He wanted to carefully consider Kida's feelings to find the best words to say. After a moment of deliberating, he answered.
"My entire life goal was finding Atlantis," he said quietly. He craned his head back to the heavens, where he could just barely see the ever-present stone-carved effigies of the former royals floating in the sky and brimming with spiritual energy. "Coming here was the fulfillment of my life purpose. But, more than that," he smiled and looked down at Kida. He cupped her face, drawing his thumb over her cheekbone in a purely adoring gesture, "I found my new life purpose. You, Kida. I could never, ever regret leaving all that behind, because none of it compares to what I've gained with you."
Kida's eyes crinkled up at the corners as she smiled broadly. Her hold around him tightened desperately as she snuggled against him, ensuring every inch of them was touching. Milo inhaled happily, wrapped his arms around her in a similarly bracing embrace, and leaned down to kiss her softly.
The fish continued to circle them, around and around, as the two young lovers cuddled one another in the crisp, cold water. Peaceful, tranquil, unbothered by the tragedies and atrocities of the surface thousands of miles above the bedrock dome… Why would Milo ever trade blessed days like this, and the beautiful woman in his arms, for anything else? Nothing else compared.
Nothing else compared.