The sky's bluer than I expected Earth skies to be. A few clouds mar its expanse, but they don't take away from its overall beauty. I take a deep breath and tear my eyes away from it, looking at Niiue. He hasn't let go of me since our fall. He hasn't looked away from me since our conversation started. He hasn't given me a chance to escape. Maybe he thinks I'll fade away the second I'm out of his sight and he'll never see me again. Maybe he's justified in thinking that. But, maybe I've changed my mind since the fall.

Here, under the warm blue sky, sitting in Niiue's lap, I feel safe for the first time in years. I'm not worried about centipedes or getting hurt. Niiue healed me and Niiue will keep me safe. I'm not worried about beating my fate. I've already lost that war. It's hard to worry when the worst has happened. If there's one thing I'm anxious about. Why does he care so much about me? He shouldn't want to see me. I've been nothing but cruel to him. I've said nothing but harsh words. I've told him to leave and said I hated him. He saved the world. Why is he sitting here with me, protecting me? I can't figure it out.

I rub my eyes and sniff. They're leaking again, just like last night. I know he came back for his hat. He can't have known I was here. If he had, would he still have come back to this cliff? Would he have found me and made sure I couldn't leave him? If he would have, why? He's not stupid. He knows better people than me. He doesn't have to waste his time taking care of broken little me. He smiles at me, his eyes shining. Why is he so happy? Why does he want to see me?

I squeak when I breathe now, water dripping down the sides of my face. Niiue holds me tighter. "I missed you," he says, his voice soft.

My vision is so blurred now I can hardly see him. "Wh-why did you miss me?" I hardly get the words out of my mouth. Talking is challenging right now. I'm shaking. I reach up and rub my eyes, but, as soon as my hand is gone, they cloud up again.

"Because you're very important to me, and I love you." Niiue goes quiet, holding me close as my eyes soak his shirt. "And…and, I'm so, so happy you're okay."

"Y-you shouldn't love me!" I clutch at his shirt, "I don't know why you do."

He's quiet for a few minutes and I continue sniffing. Now that's he's said he loves me and that I'm important to him, I need to know the reason why. If he doesn't give me a good reason, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to live with myself.

"Because," he starts, "because you're worth it. You've always been worth it to me." I open my mouth to argue, but he cuts me off. "No matter how much you think otherwise, that's not gunna change."

I tighten my grip on his shirt. He's not making any sense. He should hate me. I cut him away from myself. I tried to get rid of him, so why does he care right now? Why? I look up at Niiue and see, much to my astonishment that he's crying. I don't think I've ever seen Niiue cry. "Why don't you hate me?" My voice is soft. My ears are flat against my head.

"I never hated you to begin with. I'm not gunna start just because…" He pauses and shuts his eyes for a second. "Just because things went south."

I scrunch my face up, wiping my face as dry as I can manage. He's not making any sense. He should have hated me from the start. I assumed he did. I never listened. Why didn't I listen? That's just one more reason why he shouldn't want me around anymore. I've never listened to him. I've gone out of my way to ignore him.

"You're so confusing, Niiue," I say, my voice still soft.

Niiue grins at me, still crying. "Yeah, I have that effect on people." His smile looks almost desperate. "Will you stay?"

"I-I don't want to stay…" I'm staring at my hands now. I can't look at him. If I look at him, I'll need to say why I can't stay. Why I'm not good enough. I'll need to go into details and I can't find the right words now. I'm lying, but only because I don't know how to tell him the truth. "I want to go."

My eyes dart up to see how he's reacting. His smile's frozen on his face. It looks out of place and strange. I wish I could explain why I can't say yes, but I don't understand it well enough. I look back at my hands. I'm sorry, Niiue. I'm no good at explaining and I'm not good enough to be part of your life, I think, wringing my hands.

"Please?" The desperation on his face is in his voice now. I pull myself into a small ball on his lap and shake my head. I can't go with him right now. "Giegue, please?"

"I..I can't stay yet!" I look up at him, my eyes leaking again.

"Th-then, I'm not letting you go. Ever." He hugs me tighter and I yelp. I wasn't expecting that. Why won't he let me go? Why won't he let me do what I want? Why won't he-

Because he never has, I answer myself. He's never given up on you. He's said this much and you know he's never lied to you. I'm not getting away from him. He won't let me. "I'm not good enough yet," I say, my voice cracking and faint. I've gone limp in his arms.

He holds me close, his tears falling onto the top of my head. "You're good enough for me," he says, "You always have been."