Dear fellow readers, I am sincerely sorry for the lack of updates for this story. At least an update is better than none, right? Things were just too hectic for the last two years, but I just got motivated to write again thanks to recent reviews I have received. Knowing that you guys read and write (encouraging) reviews gave me the jump start to write again. You guys are the reason for this motivation. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I've been on a roll, so let's hope that this rush will last a while! Enjoy!

Only For Her

Chapter 5: When I'm Big...

By Broken Pencil

Breakfast started out a bit shaky. The food was cooked to perfection, but neither of them knew how to start a conversation without offending the other. Aram couldn't treat Airi normally because she had practically forgotten about being married to him, and Airi acted as if she just met him for the first time in her life.

One week. So little time for Aram, but so long for Airi. What was he to do?

Airi decided to start with something she recalled when he was a child. "Would you like to accompany me to the market today? I'll make hamburger steak for dinner tonight."

Eager to do anything with her, Aram nodded and chewed quickly. The sooner they get started, the sooner he could make some progress with her. He didn't know what to anticipate by the end of the day, but doing something with her was better than having her spend time with someone else.

"Oh my… is he a model?"

"Well if he isn't, he should be!"

"Should I ask for his number?"

"If you don't, I will!"

"Be quiet you two! I saw him first so I reserve the right to speak to him first."

Airi sighed. This was definitely like old times when Aram was a child. Every single girl wanted him. If not, they would simply just stalk him around the premises just to get a picture of him on their phone.

Was that a twinge of jealousy she just felt?

Airi shook the idea out of her head and proceeded, trying to not pay attention to the obvious girls approaching Aram from behind.

Her heart beat rapidly as they got physically closer to Aram. Why was she feeling so anxious? They are just infatuated, shallow high school girls. It's not like the grown up Aram would accept their feelings… right?

She noticed that it was the tallest and skinniest of the pack to approach him first.

"Hello!" the girl greeted in an overly sweet voice. Aram gave her a brief glance and resumed to searching the ingredients for the hamburger steak Airi was going to make that evening.

Airi noted the girl's confident stance and flirty smile began to wane slightly, but her eyes expressed that she wouldn't be deterred.

"How are you?"

His reply was reflexive and indifferent. "Fine."

"Um… um… I was wondering…" she mumbled softly, almost in a shy manner.

Airi grinned. Ah… so the girl switched tactics since he was not giving her his full attention. It was an obvious flirting method, which Aram was clearly not falling for.

An impatient expression shortly appeared on Aram's face as he tried to continue maintaining his calm, patient façade. "Speak louder, please."

"Will you go out with me tonight?" she asked as nervously as possible. "It's the food festival today…"

It seemed like it was enough to catch his attention as Aram fully lifted his head, his eyes lit with excitement. "It's today?"

"Yes!" the girl answered just as enthusiastically, "Want to go together!"

"No," Aram replied nonchalantly and once more returned to his scavenger hunt for the ingredients.

She stopped grinning ear to ear and her expression took a sharp turn. Even her friends nearby openly gaped with surprise.

"Why not!" she demanded, her voice now devoid of any sort of sweetness.

Aram shrugged, clearly not caring about the anger in her voice, and replied thoughtfully, "I was thinking about someone else."

Airi blushed at the possibility that he was suggesting her.

The girl snorted. "Oh give me a break, "I don't usually offer this chance to any mere boy!"

Aram sighed. This girl was quite hard to deter compared to the others he encountered before. "I apologize, but I am currently occupied with…"

Unexpectedly, the girl launched herself at him and began to clutch desperately onto his arm. "Please! I really want to stroll down the festival with me on your arm!" she cried. A surprised Aram couldn't even respond to her action.

An offended Airi finally decided to interfere by stomping her way up to the pair while ignoring the rest of the other posse.

"I believe this guy just declined your offer, and in a kindly manner in fact!"

The girl glared at the unwelcome intruder. "What are you, his mom?" she snapped. "What if I'm his true love?"

Airi gaped at the girl's ridiculous question. "E-excuse me?"

"Why should I be listening to an old fashion hag like you?" the girl replied, still attached to Aram's arm. "Besides I am so much prettier than you."

Immediately following the offensive comment, Aram tore his arm from the girl's iron clutch and gave her a death glare. "You will absolutely not talk to Airi that way!" Luckily, Aram noted, the word 'peasant' did not escape from his mouth. "Airi is the only one I desire!"

The girl was seemingly stunned by his sudden outburst and had nothing else to say except to stare back in pure shock. The rest of her pack scattered when he directed his glare at them.

A blushing Airi was crushed possessively into Aram's arm as he led her out the market. "We are leaving, Airi."

She struggled slightly in his arm. "But Aram, what about the groceries!" she inquired.

"It's fine, we'll just go to the food festival instead…" he answered shortly, "Besides, this establishment reeks of bad eggs."

His handsome grin that followed his words completely silenced her as they quietly exited the sliding doors.

Airi somehow found her voice when they got back home.

"Um Aram?" she asked, setting down her bag on the coffee table before sitting down on the couch in the the living room.

"Yes?" he replied, following her to the room but consciously sat on the couch adjacent to her.

"You did not have to do that for me back there," Airi clarified nervously.

He arched his brow. "Why not?" he raised.

"Because it's not the first time it's happened," she confessed.

"What!" he bellowed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were too young!" she sighed. "And girls shouldn't be harassing a kid like you…"

He was offended by her reasoning. "But I am no longer a child!" he protested.

Airi shook her head. "But you will always be in my memory."

Aram refused to be discouraged. "Airi… look at me!" he commanded softly. "Can you honestly say that I am a child now?"

He held her hands and placed them against his face, hoping that she would examine him herself. Airi didn't bother to reject his silent suggestion. She took charge and felt his strong jawbone all the way down to his collarbone. When were there so many muscles underneath his skin? She suddenly felt a certain familiarity when her sights fell upon his broad shoulder.

Immediately, Airi inhaled sharply and clenched her teeth. Her hands pulled away from Aram's chest and flew to the sides of her head. Strange images were making its way in her cloudy mind at full force…

She was embarrassed, realizing the lack of shoes she was not wearing. Not to mention, the whole kingdom was watching them as she was being carried up the grand staircase.

She couldn't see the figure of who was carrying her for her head was against his strong shoulders and tucked firmly under his jawbone. She noted how solid his body was compared to her own, but she felt safe and secure.

At that moment, she felt so hated by the world, yet she felt so loved by the world. Her world.

When the stream of images ceased, Airi collapsed right into Aram's open arms. He carefully picked up her body and properly laid her down on the sofa, grabbing a folded blanket nearby to cover her.

Aram was still calm, but the event left him shaken nonetheless. He knew what she just went through. Her expression said it all. However, it worried him that anything related to him might trigger a painful reaction in Airi. He tried his best to deny the painful conclusion he made.

But the truth was glaring at him: it was too dangerous for him to get close to her.

When she finally woke up, she realized that it was roughly dinnertime. Airi rubbed her temple firmly and tried to recall what happened earlier.

She remembered a flood of visual images hitting her. Then she recalled how she was touching Aram before that. Could it be that Aram was a link to her missing memories? How was it possible that Aram had that big of an effect on her? To her dismay, her flashback didn't solve anything. To make it even worse, it only made things even more confusing.

Airi groaned and then noticed the hoarseness in her voice, which eventually led her to hunt for water in the kitchen. When she got there, she saw Aram peering deeply into the fridge.

"Hi Aram…"

He slammed the fridge shut and backed himself onto the sink, obviously surprised by her voice. "Airi, you're awake?"

She nodded.

"How are you feeling?" Aram asked worriedly.

She made her way to the sink and grabbed a cup nearby. Aram moved out of the way as if she were a piece of porcelain doll that would break at any moment. He even gestured to fill up the cup for her when Airi shook her head in response.

"I am fine," she replied, irritated by his unnecessary cautious actions. "What were you doing just now?"

"I was thinking about preparing dinner, but I just recalled that we didn't buy any groceries today," he sighed.

Airi smiled. "Are we still going to the festival?"

Aram shook his head. "Not likely, it's dark right now."

"I don't see what's wrong with that."

"Don't you want to walk around with an older guy, like that peasant we met at the market today?"

She laughed at his poor choice of words. "I miss the child-like side of you more. It makes me… comfortable."

He hesitated at the idea but went with it anyway. "As long as you feel fine, Airi, I suppose we can explore the festival." After all, he'd do anything to keep that smile on her face.

Aram walked over to the light switch in the kitchen and turned off the lights. He turned it on once more only to greet Airi in his younger self. "Here I am!" he announced wearily.

She giggled. "It's fine, Aram… let's go."

They walked out down the street together until they reached the brightest area of the town. It was a nice warm, summer night. There were plenty of games and food booths filled with a variety of toys and gifts.

But Aram couldn't help but notice majority of attendees were couples. Oh how he yearned to share this experience of earth culture with Airi in his real form, and not this childish one.

"Hey Aram?"

"Yes?" he answered, snapping out of his thoughts to direct his attention on her.

"Stay right here, I will go and buy some food for us okay?"

He nodded silently and followed her back until she disappeared in the crowd.

A couple of younger girls giggled as they passed him. Aram snorted. His real form was not even remotely close to how old these pre-teens were. How did Airi deal with all those girls closer to her age approaching him?

A new thought then occurred to him. Airi must have gone though many of these situations in order to no longer be surprised by it. He was in the stage where he didn't care about the attention on him because he always had it; he could instantly make friends, admirers, and enemies once they lay their eyes on him. But Airi must have been heavily impact by the sudden attention she got, the vast enemies she made immediately when he touched her, the loss she faced at the moment he took her away from this secluded, peaceful world. Guilt seeped into every pore of his body and into his heart. How immature and selfish he was to claim her so quickly.

"Aram!" Airi approached him with a bag filled with boxes of food. "The takoyaki is fresh and hot! We also have okonomiyaki and taiyaki."

Aram forced himself to smile. "Want to sit by the stage and see the fireworks?" he suggested.

Airi lifted her finger and shook it. "I know a better place," she said excitedly. "Follow me!"

They walked down the grassy hills below the bridge, entered a scenic park, and settled on a park bench located in the center of the area surrounded by trees.

"Why did you pick this place?" Aram wondered aloud.

Airi stared at the food in her lap. "It's kind of away from the crowd and it is close to home," she answered timidly.

"Oh…" he answered absentmindedly while chewing on the takoyaki.

"What's wrong, Aram?" Airi asked anxiously noticing that the boy wasn't being talkative, "Are you not hungry? Is it not good?"

He stared at the box of food sitting in between them. "I just wonder if you'd rather be doing this with Nakaoji instead," he replied, saddened by the idea. The romantic atmosphere simply wasn't helping him tonight.

Airi gasped in shock. "Aram," she flushed, "I don't care, really…"

"But wouldn't you rather be doing this with someone you like?"

That kind of thought never occurred to her. Why must Aram bring up Nakaoji all the sudden? Airi shrugged. "Being here with you is okay, too."

Aram was slightly encouraged by those words. Maybe now was the chance for him to tell Airi her real self, their marriage, and the curse.

"Airi…" he began.

"Oh look, Aram! The sky is covered with fireworks!" Airi declared in awe, standing up excitedly. "They're so pretty!"

Aram slumped down and sighed. Why was he in such a rush? After all, there were still a couple more days left. Seeing his happy bride was more than enough for tonight.

"Taiyaki?" Airi handed him a fish-shaped cake filled with custard inside.

"Thanks."

The night finally ended, despite his prayers for the night to last longer. At least they progressed better than he expected. Airi did not seem to dislike him as badly as he had originally perceived. Tomorrow was another day.

He was tired and he just wanted more time to plan his next move. Thinking that they were retiring for the night, Aram began to head to his room.

"Aram?" She was standing beside him. "Would you like to go to the amusement part tomorrow? I remember you used to love going there. I also found a two for one coupon at the food fair tonight."

His heart was beating fast. She was almost the same Airi before the curse took place… at least she was sensitive enough to remember that he was no longer a child.

"Sounds good to me," he responded, slightly thrilled that she took the initiative to ask him out tomorrow. That was one less thing for him to worry about in his next plan of action. "Good night, Airi. I will see you tomorrow."

"Wait…" she requested softly and beckoned him to her side, looking down nervously.

"Yes, Airi?" He looked up at her curiously. What in the world was on her mind?

She bent over and pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks for a nice night at the festival."

A wide-eyed Aram was suddenly engulfed in a ball of light. Airi backed into the wall in response.

Aram's silhouette grew into his real self, and based on Airi's reaction, he could instantly tell that she probably had forgotten about the curse Jeile casted on him. The realization that came after hurt him more. It meant that the whole night she was merely looking at him like a child, and not a man. He looked away in humiliation… it was typical of Airi to be surprised so easily.

"It's different how you treat me when I'm big," he whispered before walking away.

Airi paused in her train of thoughts. Why were those words so familiar?

To be Continued….