Hello! Wow. It's been a long time since I've written anything. It feels so good to write something since forever!

Anywho! I wrote this in response to sup-poki's art on tumblr, which you can find here. I loved it so much I wrote about it, and got the artist's permission. Hope they like it, and also I hope I did these characters justice!

Also the biggest thank you to the wonderful blenderfullasarcasm for beta-ing this!

Link to art on tumblr, the fifth one: sup-poki. tumblr post / 623977348873732096 / im-losing-track-of-what-ive-posted-before-or

(just remove the spaces!)

Kaito is so focused on his first aid treatment that he almost doesn't notice someone come into his room right behind him. But the movement on the reflection of his side mirror catches his eye, and he immediately whips around, only to see Aoko standing just inside the door, and her expression is one of horror as she focuses on him. Or rather, a scratch on his right cheek that is almost deep and reddish with rashes, and also on the blood trailing from the corner of his mouth.

"Kaito? What…?" Her voice trails off, wanting to know but afraid of the answer. He doesn't know why she is afraid, but he quickly tries to distract her.

"Ahoko!" he calls out loudly, voice annoyed, "Haven't you ever heard of a thing called 'knocking'?!" No reaction. A beat. "Ahoko! Are you listening? I'm not even readily dressed yet, so get out of my room and wait downstairs!"

Almost as if a switch had been flipped, her expression then does a complete 180. Sporting an angry expression that turns her colour to crimson, hands clenched in a fist at her sides, she then stomps over to him － and he could feel the ground beneath him shaking a little in response, like the aftershocks after the first (and the most powerful) earthquake, and in the back of his mind, he briefly wonders how quickly an egg could be fried if he were to (accidentally of course, who on earth wouldn't appreciate a little bit of magic on a most dazzling morning such as this) dump it onto the top of her head, and he also wonders whether it might be edible (probably not, with the hair and all). Or instead, would it immediately burn to ashes, considering just how crimson her face has turned? A world record, to be sure.

Hmm… is it even possible to have a record like that at all? If not, then he would find a way to create such competition, make Aoko join it (against her will) and win the trophy! It would be soooo interesting! － then, before he could do anything, she grabs him by the front of the black shirt he wears beneath the school uniform, bringing him close to her face.

A bit too close for his liking.

He yelps. "H-hey, Ahoko! What are you doing?!"

But she doesn't react to his shouts because she is focusing intently on the wound, as if she's trying to see what caused it and by whom.

"What happened, Bakaito?"

Despite her angry expression, her voice is calm. She does not raise or lower her voice. It's terrifyingly even, as if she knows that no matter what answer he might give, it will not be the one she wants.

The calm before the storm.

Inwardly, he panics a little. He does not need or want to experience that temper, not after what happened the night before. He only has so much energy left to use to avoid her temper. He is glad that he had a little foresight to dress himself and the wound before letting Aoko into his house this morning. Aoko does not need to know about the other, even deeper, injury on his left arm.

After the heist last night, KID had been surrounded by Snake and his lackeys up on the roof as usual. However, this time had been a little different, as they had brought along a sniper and so, while Snake distracted him by way of threatening his life, the sniper had shot at KID from the top of a building across the street. However, a glint from somewhere below had caught his attention and he had instinctively glanced at that building, spotting the sniper on the roof along the way. He had dodged immediately, darting behind a generator for cover and using his smoke bombs as a distraction before they could do worse, but two bullets had already cut him. Thankfully, the injuries had not been that serious, so nothing had been too damaged. With good first aid and a few days' rest, the injuries would be healed in no time.

But, in order for that to happen, Kaito has to first appease Aoko so he could prevent her from finding out about it and freaking out.

"Nothing happened, Ahoko. It was just an accident." He shrugs like it's an afterthought.

Apparently, that is the wrong answer.

She lowers her head, her hair shadowing her eyes as she grits her teeth a little. A beat. Then two beats. Then three. Only then does her hand on his undervest clench even further, and she steps slightly backwards before swiftly pulling him towards her. Before he can even utter a single syllable, Aoko quickly moves her head towards him, and－

WHACK!

"OUCH!"

Kaito immediately crumples to the floor, hands on his head in pain. "Ow, ow, owwwww!"

A few seconds pass while he rubs his forehead, soothing the pain, before he shoots up to his standing position and whirls on her angrily, his free hand gesturing wildly.

"What the hell was that for, Ahoko?!"

"That," Aoko, again, grabs his undervest as she moves her head close to his, an angry expression still on her face, "was for being a liar, and an idiot," she hisses, anger dripping off her words. She doesn't seem bothered by the pain that is surely present on her forehead, but she seems to have prepared herself for it beforehand, so it doesn't appear to hurt as much.

Kaito is a little more prepared this time, so her anger and grip on his clothes doesn't catch him off guard. He replies with just as much annoyance. "Me, a liar?!" he demands.

"Yeah, you!" she shoots back. "Have you forgotten that we've known each other for a long time?! Aoko knows things don't just happen because of a little accident! Not with you!"

That last part catches him off guard. He goes silent.

Taking that chance, she continues, annoyed but with fear laced in her low voice, "Don't take Aoko for a fool, Bakaito. She knows you, always has. Now tell her, and tell her honestly. What. Happened."

Kaito hesitates for a long minute. He is surprised at her determination to seek the truth, but he thinks he knows why. Due to the amount of time they've been together, she's gained an uncanny ability to know and understand Kaito just for who he is. Even if they've unknowingly distanced themselves a little due to his new job as KID, Aoko still hasn't lost that ability.

He wants to tell her. By kami, he's wanted to tell her for a long time. But he can't. This was his father's responsibility, and now he's passed it on his son. It is his responsibility, his mess. Kaito can't bring Aoko into his mess. No way, no how.

"I can't－" his voice goes dry. He clears his throat a little and tries again. "It was just an experiment that had gone wrong. Magic experiment. That's all."

A moment goes by while Aoko examines his face. Then, she lets go of his undervest and turns to leave the room. Before he can discern what has just happened, he hears something clatter somewhere nearby, and not too long she comes back. She is carrying a box of some kind. Before he can examine it, she points to his bed.

"Sit."

Kaito just raises his eyebrow at her. She stubbornly keeps holding up her arm in that direction. Then he just sighs and walks to sit on his bed.

Aoko kneels on the bed by his right side, putting the box down. He recognises it as his first aid that had just been under the sink in the bathroom. Aoko really does know her way around his house.

There is a tense silence in the room as she tends to the wound on Kaito's cheek, and she even wipes away the blood that trailed from the corner of his mouth. She doesn't ask how the blood came about, and he doesn't say that it came from having gritted his teeth so much from the agonised pain of tending to the wound on his shoulder that his lips split from being bitten on.

Having finished with her task, she puts aside the first aid kit and then sits on the bed by his left side. She seems to be thinking about something, and he doesn't dare disrupt her. Then, she looks him in the eyes and asks, "Are you going to keep doing that?"

He is confused. "Doing what?"

"Lying."

"What do you mean by lying? I just told you what happened!"

"That's a lie."

"No, it's not a lie!"

"It is."

Kaito then falls silent at her resolution. Why would she refuse to fall for one of his usual lies? Why would she not waver from this? Does that mean that she might know who he is…?

No.

That's impossible. He mustn't make such absurd assumptions before confirming all facts.

Then, what would make her think that he was lying?

"Why would you think I am lying, Ahoko?" he asks, annoyed.

"Because Aoko knows you," she replies matter of factly.

No, you don't. If you did, you wouldn't be here with me, like this. You would've just beat me up and never talk to me again.

I don't want to lose you. I can't.

He tries to derail the topic before she could focus on that particular conversation.

"Oh, is that because you're worrying about me?" he raises his eyebrows suggestively.

Aoko then adopts an unimpressed expression, face twitching a little. She stares impassively at him, saying nothing.

"Thanks for worrying, but I'll be fine, Ahoko! It's like I said, it was just a little accident! This little scratch is nothing! See!" Kaito reassures her, even going so far as grinning and prodding the patch on his cheek hard, like the injury was no big deal, while hiding his grimace at the pain. Poker face! Remember the poker face!

Aoko still stares at him firmly, and he just closes his eyes and his grin widens even further, still ignoring the sting, "Really, Ahoko! It's not a big deal, you don't need to wor－!"

A soft touch on his healthy cheek stops him in his tracks. He immediately opens his eyes, and upon seeing the expression on the face of his childhood friend, his breath catches in his throat and his eyes widened in shock.

In all the times they have spent time together, from childhood to teenagers, they have seen each other at their best and worst moments. Even if they'd only been expressed once, he could never forget them. He wouldn't. He hadn't thought there was anything more he had ever seen from her, but this? This is different.

How come she's wearing that expression? Why show it to him now?

"Aoko…?"

Her eyebrows curved a little upwards, bringing attention to her blue eyes as they shone brightly. A single, inaudible tear had escaped its cage and went down her cheek, leaving tracks in its wake. When her name, almost a gentle query uttered in a whisper, reaches her ears, her face and body tenses up as she bits her lower lip, seemingly trying to hold back the stream that is threatening to follow.

He can usually read his best friend like an open book most of the time, but this? Kaito doesn't understand. What has he done to make her cry like this?

After having succeeded in holding most of her tears back so that she can speak a little more clearly, she simply gives him an answer in the form of another question.

"You won't stop, will you?"

Her soft voice wavers, as if she is afraid that Kaito would disappear if she speaks even an ounce louder.

"Huh?"

"This," she gestures to the scratch on his cheek, "is not an accident, Aoko knows that. But, not why this happened."

'Why', not 'how' or 'what', he notes in the back of his mind.

He blinks dumbly. "Aoko, what…? I-I don't understand… Why are you－?"

"Kaito…" Her tears burst free from their cage and slid down her cheeks again, with more following their trails. She leans forward and puts her head on his right shoulder, wetting the uniform in the process, "Whatever it is you're doing that got you hurt… You won't stop, will you?" she repeats softly.

And then, almost as if in confirmation, she leisurely raises her left hand from her side and gently places it onto his right side, hesitates briefly, then slowly and reluctantly curls her fingers inwards, lightly clutching the cloth. Over his scar.

The one that was caused by a broken glass while protecting her. As KID.

Oh…

… oh.

Shit.

He does not show any more shock or expressions than he already does. However, inwardly, he is panicking. His heart beats a little faster as each second ticks forward. All that goes through his head, little screws beating around each other, is one word.

How?

He doesn't know what to think.

"Aoko, I…" he tries, but bites his lips. What can he say? He can't tell her anything. He can't. What should he say?

Kaito doesn't want her to cry anymore, but how can he stop it?

Subconsciously, he raises his hands to lightly hold onto her; right hand on her head as fingers thread through her hair, and left hand placed on her hip.

"Aoko, please don't cry…"

She just cries a little harder in response. He murmurs unintelligible but reassuring words to her.

They stay in that position for what feels like a long time.

"Kaito, Aoko is…" He doesn't stop his murmurs of reassurances. "Don't go…"

He hums. "I'm not going anywhere. Where would I go, Ahoko?"

"The dark…"

He just closes his eyes. "The dark?"

"Last night. You weren't there… were you?"

"Where?"

"On the roof."

He pauses, opening his eyes to look at the mop of brown hair. "The roof?"

"KID."

His breath hitches in his throat a little. He tries, "What about KID?"

She doesn't reply, but just lets the hand on his cheek fall lower, onto his shoulder, then a bit lower to the upper arm. It is brushing his wound as she lightly clutches at the flesh; he tries not to flinch.

Then she says, "Aoko is scared," Kaito just hums in query, "You're leaving me behind. Aoko is just so scared…"

"Ah…!"

Apparently it is a little too much for his tender arm; he flinches so much that Aoko instinctively jumps off of him in response, her face shocked and confused even as tears keep trickling down her cheeks.

She looks at Kaito, then glances to his left shoulder that he is clutching at, then to Kaito, then back again. He just looks back at her calmly, little sweat dripping down his skin.

"Kaito…? Are you－?"

He just bites his lips in response.

A few moments pass by while they stare at each other. Then, she hesitantly raises her arm towards him. "Kaito, can I…?"

He just closes his eyes in response. There is a lull in the air as she waits. Then Kaito blinks his eyes open and looks back at her, raising his healthy arm away from his shoulder towards her cheek, wiping away her tears. She seems to have stopped crying for the moment. That is good.

Then, he just gives a slight bob of his head.

She tenderly touches his left shoulder, clutching the hem of his school uniform, hesitates briefly, and moves to take it off. Before she could put the edge past his shoulder, Kaito's hand shoots up to her wrist, stopping its advance.

He seems to have changed his mind for just a second.

Kaito's heart pounds so frantically and loudly he is sure Aoko can hear or even feel his quickening heartbeats. He tries to keep his breath even, but that is becoming more difficult the longer Aoko's hand clenched onto his uniform. She does not react to his hand on her wrist, even as he unconsciously tightens his hold.

What if just by seeing that wound, she finds out who I truly am? What if she hates me? What if she never wants to see me again? What if, what if, what ifwhatifwha－

"Kaito."

As if cutting through the darkness, Aoko's voice reaches his ears, and his breath hitches in his throat. He blinks open his eyes － he didn't realise that his eyes had closed on their own account.

"Look at Aoko."

Blinking once again, he raises his head to face hers. Her expression is mild, sapphire eyes radiating nothing but calmness as they meet Kaito's own. He does not see any other emotions in her eyes, not even those that he had expected, and that scares him.

"Please, Kaito. Let Aoko do this."

Why?

He hesitates, then reluctantly lets go of her wrist, letting his hand dangle at his side. He bows his head a little, closing his eyes. He does not want to see this.

In doing so, his other senses become a little sensitive to her every action, every sound and every touch.

Having gotten his permission, she peels the uniform off of him, revealing the bandage underneath. He hears her breath hitch a little, and he knows she can see the blood that is seeping through the bandages, signalling how bad the injury is. She tenderly touches the gauze on top of the injury, seeming to be assessing it. The sound of scissors snipping at the bandages reaches his ears as it is removed from his flesh, only taking in a short breath when the gauze brushes and is peeled off of the injury. A soft gasp (a sob, again?) escapes her lips, and he knows it's gotten a bit worse than the last time he treated it earlier in the morning. He certainly feels it. The bed dips as she moves to kneel on it, then shifts towards the first aid kit, then he feels her get closer. He detects the scent of some kind of alcohol.

"This is going to hurt." Aoko warns. Kaito just nods, gritting his teeth a little.

His injury emits a stinging pain, hurt shooting through his veins and up towards his shoulder, and he bits his lips so as not to cry out. He tries his best not to flinch away from her touch so much. Is it hot? Or is it cold? No, it's both. It's so burning cold, so agonising. It's like being stabbed with too many nails all at once. It hurts. Just because he has sustained injuries from being shot at who knows how many times, does not mean that he is immune from all kinds of pain. Even if he has improved pain tolerance, it still hurts. He tries to not let any kind of sound out of his mouth.

He does not know how long it has passed. Has it been a minute? An hour? It feels longer.

Suddenly he feels something cold touch his cheeks, but it's not freezing. It feels refreshing, like the wind blowing against the skin after a hot summer. He then feels more than hears something whisper near his ear.

"Relax, Kaito. It's all better now."

He lets go of the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding, panting slightly.

"Are you okay?" Aoko asks. He gives a small nod. "Then, I will bandage it now."

That refreshing touch leaves his cheeks, and then he feels a long cotton strap wrap his shoulder, going around the wound then around his body towards the other side, under the undervest (she doesn't ask him to take it off, and so he doesn't), then to the wounded side again. After a few moments, he feels the bandage tighten a little, then hears the snap of scissors cutting away the remaining strap.

"Aoko's done."

Kaito just opens his eyes again, and glances at her handiwork. "Thanks, Aoko."

"Anytime."

She gets off the bed to get rid of the stained bandages, into the bin nearby, then goes back to the bed to put away the first aid kit. While she does so, Kaito just stares at her.

Without thinking, he blurts out, "Don't you hate Kaitou KID?" As soon as the final word slipped his mouth, he immediately regrets having asked this question. He inwardly uses a string of curse words that would have made Nakamori-keibu proud, for having lost control of himself. But Kaito can't take it back now; it's too late.

Poker face! Poker face!

He briefly notes the fact that she does not look even a bit surprised at the sudden change of subject, but she still pauses briefly, then looks down in thought. After a moment, she replies, "No. Hate is too strong of a word. Aoko doesn't hate him at all, but she can't say that she likes him either." Blinking as she raises her head as she shifts her body to face him, connecting her eyes with his again, she adds, "Aoko just wants her father back. That's all."

A brief pain takes over his soul for a second, and he knows that she sees it, but she says nothing. However, he understands what Aoko means. Oh, he does.

But it doesn't mean that he hates it less everytime Aoko let off her energy towards KID. He knows what Aoko thinks of KID, but he can't tell her.

Kaito can't let it go. He doesn't want to let Aoko go.

"I see…" he just says. Aoko stares at him. "Tell me, Aoko. What are you scared of? Why did you cry?"

She looks down at her hands fidgeting against each other on her lap for a long moment, then just closes her eyes and leans on his good shoulder.

"Last night," she begins, "Aoko went to the heist. Only this time, she had a bad feeling, so she went to a different place than usual, just to watch the heist. KID flies, so she went to the building across from that place. She brought binoculars with her. She wanted to see what was happening after KID had stolen the jewel. However, she saw something she'd never seen, nor even thought of before…" she grabs the undervest at his side again, though it was done unconsciously. She shifts to a more comfortable position and continues, a few hitches in her voice here and there, "It was dark, so she couldn't see well. But, she could see KID, so bright in contrast, the moonlight shining upon him. He was surrounded by some men in black. The moonlight helped, so she could see the light reflecting off of whatever the men were holding in their hand. They were guns. Real guns."

She pauses for a moment as she takes a few deep breaths. "Then it happened in a split second, so fast Aoko would've missed it if she wasn't paying attention. KID had taken a glance towards the building she was at, and she could have sworn that he had seen her, but he was actually looking at something above her. Then, he moved so fast, like the speed of light, and there was a bright flash. It was so bright, but luckily she had closed her eyes at that second, she was confused, so it hadn't affected her that much. Then, she saw several sparkles away from KID. He then flew away from that building, but she saw him holding onto his shoulder. She saw blood, so much blood."

So, that glint Kaito had seen at the building across the street, that was Aoko? Then he owes her his life. If it were not for that glint of light, he wouldn't have seen the sniper, and he probably wouldn't have been here right now, beside her, like this. So she had made the connection so quickly. She is a very smart girl, indeed. But still, he won't tell her, nor confirm anything.

There is a whine in her voice. "This had never happened before. Aoko was so scared that she ran away from there. She had a nightmare last night."

He just holds her head, caressing it, and hums, "Nightmare?"

Her hands on his clothes tightens. "She dreamed of Kaito. You were…" she trails off. Kaito just hums and waits patiently, gently supporting her. "Aoko saw Kaito surrounded by black figures of some kind. They resembled animals more than humans. And then, Kaito, they shot at you, then flames and playing cards altogether surrounded you. She saw the moonlight breaking into little pieces. Even then, Kaito, you just looked at Aoko and said, 'Not yet, I won't stop'. She didn't understand what you meant by that…" She just breaks into sobs.

So that's why she's like this. She's scared for me, he thinks. He pulls Aoko further into his arms in a hug, shifting so she sits on his lap, while humming a gentle lullaby to calm her down. She cries even harder in response. He feels her tears on his bare shoulder, but he doesn't mind it.

A few moments pass by while they stay in that position, just holding onto each other like they are a lifeline. Aoko takes the time to calm down, and Kaito doesn't move even an inch away from her.

Kaito just glances at the clock and grimaces a little. "We're late…" he murmurs.

Aoko hears it, and also glances at the time. A second goes by while she stares, then she just returns her head onto his shoulder and says tiredly, "Aoko doesn't care, she's too tired for that, and you need to heal. Let her just stay like this. Please."

He just rests his chin on her head. "Okay. We'll just apologise to Sensei tomorrow. I'll have Mom call the school about our absence, she won't mind." Aoko just burrows further into his shoulder, near his neck.

With a little magic, his mobile phone poofs into appearance in his hand. He turns it on and sends his mother a text about his and Aoko's absence. She replies immediately with an 'OK', but asking what he did with Aoko that they had to be too tired to go to school, adding a wink emoticon at the end. He just rolls his eyes, replies to say that he will explain later, then turns the phone off. He places his pillow between himself and the wall and, with Aoko in his arms, leans backwards and closes his eyes.

~T~

Kaito opens his eyes to the sight of Aoko sleeping close to him, on her left side, with her arms wrapped around him, and his around her. At some point, they must have switched from sitting up to lying down on his bed. He just smiles sadly at her. Even wrapped in his smell, she smells so refreshing, like home. He likes it, though he won't admit it to her. He raises his left hand and caresses her cheek. She's so soft…

She twitches a little and opens her eyes, sleepily blinking her eyes and stares at him with narrowed eyes. He just smiles at her.

"Hi, Aoko." he says softly.

"Hi, Kaito…" she mumbles back, tiredly closing her eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired… Can't open my eyes… But it feels like something has been lifted, though I'm not sure what."

He hums in thought. "I think that would be you finally letting something off your chest. Though from what I can see, it's already small." he adds cheekily.

She hums back. A beat, then immediately opens her eyes and glares at him, "Bakaito! Don't say things like that!" she then hits his side in retaliation.

"Ow, that hurts, Ahoko!"

"It doesn't hurt, and you know it!"

Kaito fake cries, and Aoko just rolls her eyes.

They then just stay like that for another moment in peace, making tentative eye contact. And then Aoko asks, "What time is it, anyway? How long have we been sleeping?"

Kaito raises himself a little to glance at the clock off her shoulder, "Hmm… I think we've been sleeping for a little over two hours. It's 11:23AM now."

Aoko just hums, rolling herself onto her back and swings her arm over her face, hiding her eyes.

They do not move off of the bed for another few minutes. Then, "Kaito. Can you please answer a few things for Aoko? Truthfully?"

"... Okay. What is it?"

"Whatever it is you're doing… Will you stop it, or will you not?"

Kaito doesn't answer immediately, thinking over his words carefully. "If I tell you, you won't cry, will you?"

"That would depend on your answer."

Kaito just groans as he moves to raise himself to sitting on the bed, leaning on the wall. Seconds go by while he just sits there. "No. I will not stop," he replies softly.

Aoko just bites her lips, a tear already sliding over her cheek into her hair. A deep breath. "Is it dangerous?"

"... Yes."

"Can Aoko help you in any way?"

Kaito stares at her. She wants to help? Without truly knowing what danger is in store for me, and for her if she gets involved in some way? Is that possible?

He already knows the answer without having to think too much of it. "No, you can't. If you do, you'll be－" he bites his lips, not saying anymore.

"... Are you leaving Aoko behind, then?"

"..."

Kaito wants to say 'no'. He really does. But, with his job being dangerous already, anything could happen. He can't promise anything. He doesn't want to break her heart anymore than he already has. He doesn't care about himself that much, but Aoko? She who is his home, his angel, his magician? She who already holds his heart in her hands but all she does is just hold it gently, shielding it with her wings of beauty and innocence? She who always smiles at him everytime he looks at her? He can't live without her. It might be stupid, but it is the truth.

A few more tears trickle down her cheeks again at the lack of reply, and she rises herself to sit on the bed, hair shadowing her eyes.

"Are you going to try…?"

"Hm?"

"Here. Will you try to come back?" she clarifies.

"... Yes, but－"

He is cut off by Aoko grabbing at his undervest again, as her eyes hold close contact with him, and she says firmly, "Then do it."

He is speechless again. He tries to let some kind of sound escape his lips, but in vain. He looks like a fish which, to him, is a horrible thought. He tries to hold back his shivers at the thought. She doesn't notice.

Her eyes then soften, and her focus on his eyes intensifies. She lets go of the cloth and raises both of her hands to hold his cheeks. "Those eyes."

He blinks several times in confusion.

"You know the saying, right? 'The eyes are the window to the soul'?" he just nods dumbly, and she continues, still staring at those tanzanite eyes, "Those eyes that hold your soul. Whether they hide behind some kind of glasses or disguises or anything, they may fool most people. But they can't fool Aoko. The soul behind the window in those eyes, Aoko knows him. Whether that soul be a student, a magician, or a thief, they are all him."

Kaito's eyes widened in realisation. Does she mean…?

"Kaito." she says again, and stops for a moment as she takes her hand off his cheek to wipe away her tears, then returning to his cheek.

"Aoko…?"

"Those eyes," she tenderly touches the corners of his eyes, "are hers. Aoko knows those eyes, so they are hers. That's why," she adds, gently bumping her forehead to his, eyes still connected, "You must come back to me. Do you understand?"

This is sort of a confession, and yet, it is not quite one. It is merely a fact. Like the colour of the sky is blue and the grass is green, and the air is fresh and the birds fly freely. Just a fact. But, he understands now. With a grateful sigh, he holds his palms over hers and replies by pressing their foreheads together and－

"Always."

No matter whatever happens, I will always return. To where you are. Through hell fire or freezing storms.

This, he swears.

And that's it! Hope you've enjoyed it! And if you did, please tell me what you thought of it!

Stay safe and strong!