Zhane expected Karone to be sleeping still when he woke up, and felt saddened when she wasn't there. He sat up and saw her laying down on their bed. He got up, and saw that she was asleep again. He bit down the urge to lay down next to her, and instead pulled gently on the sheets, and brought them around her sleeping form. Zhane placed his lips softly on Karone's, and pulled away looking at her. "I miss you," he whispered, brushing her hair from her face with his palm. Her eyes opened up, and he stopped stroking her face. "Sorry..." he mumbled, starting to pull away.
"I'm sorry," she murmured, and he stilled his movements. She sat up, and gently patted the empty space next to her. He looked at her then the bed, and slowly sat down next to her. Her arms wrapped around him, and he immediately did the same.
"Its ok," he murmured, not completely bringing her in his arms. He didn't want Karone to push him away if he held her like he wanted to. She looked up at his face, and let out a soft sigh. She wished she could get over her fear; she knew that Zhane wouldn't ever hurt her. She tried to keep her fear down as she leaned in closer to Zhane. He seemed really surprised when she made this much contact with him. He tightened his arms around her, leaning his chin on the top of her head. "You doing ok?" he questioned, not wanting to take this gesture the wrong way.
"I wish I could stop hurting you," she murmured.
"Its ok Karone..." he breathed, "I understand...I know it was horrible for you there..."
"But it was really bad for you too," she reminded him.
"Thinking about holding you in my arms like this kept me sane," he whispered.
"It...it did?" she questioned. He nodded his head, "I wish that I could have had that luxury..." he tightened his arms around her.
"I wish I could make this pain go away Karone," he whispered. "You are the most important thing here in my life..."
"You too," she breathed. They stayed in comfortable silence for a what seemed like forever.
"Do you remember what I said to you when we were little?" he asked suddenly. She pulled away slightly to look up at him questioningly. "It was a few weeks after Andros and your parents got kidnapped...you had hurt your knee while you were chasing after the telekinesis ball," She bit her lip, and slowly started to remember the day.
He waited a few moments, and realization dawned on her face, "You said you would always be there for me..."
"And that one day I would marry you so that you getting hurt wouldn't be possible," he murmured. She felt a real smile come on to her face as she remembered the warm memory.
"I can't believe I almost forgot about that," she murmured guiltily, her smile dampening. "So...did you really mean that when you said that?" she questioned curiously.
"I really did mean it Karone," he answered without any hesitation. "Still do," he breathed quietly. He wasn't even sure that she heard him.
"Wha-, what?" she stammered.
"Never mind..." he murmured, starting to pull away. Stupid stupid stupid he kept thinking to himself. This wasn't something Karone wanted to hear right now was it? She stopped him once again, "Karone..." he murmured.
"Zhane...was that a proposal?" she asked after a moment.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I guess it was more warming you up to the idea..." he didn't think that she would say anything right at this moment, so he hoped that changing the subject would clear the matter. "Its ok...we don't have to worry about it now...what do you want to do?" he asked.
"I kinda just like laying here with you," she murmured.
"Ok," he murmured, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. He leaned back slowly, and with her secure in his arms.
"Zhane..." she murmured.
"What's wrong babe?" he asked in a soft voice. She just leaned her head on his shoulder. "It'll be ok Karone...I'm not going to let anyone hurt you ever again," he promised. She smiled against his shoulder, and felt her eyes closing.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"For what?" he asked.
"I am being selfish..." she said in a quiet tone.
"For not being able to talk about anything...Karone, that is not something to apologize about. You are acting normal about this," he said in a hushed voice, still holding her close. She stiffened slightly, and he loosened his arms around her. "Sorry..."
"I know you wouldn't hurt me Zhane," she stated, "I don't mean to be like this," Zhane made a shushing noise, and kissed her temple.
"It is ok Karone," he murmured. "I love you," she smiled, and her body relaxed against him.
"You too," she murmured. His hand trailed up to her hair and he ran his hand through it a couple times.
"Do you want to get some breakfast?" Zhane questioned, giving her a slight squeeze. She lifted her head up from his chest and looked at him. She wasn't so sure if she wanted to go out there and risk running into the rest of the team.
"Um...I don't know," she whispered. She knew that she could talk to Zhane she elaborated more, "I am not sure how I would react if I ran into one of the other guys..." He frowned lightly, but was glad that at least she was opening up to him a little more. He pressed his lips against her forehead, and held her for a little while. He came up with another idea, and squeezed her gently again.
"How about I go grab us something to eat, and we can just stay here..." he offered her, hoping that she wouldn't push him away again. She smiled lightly, but it was the first real smile he had seen on her in a while.
"That sounds good," she admitted. His face bloomed into a grin, and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
"Ok, I'll be right back," he said, gently unwrapping his arms from around her.
"Zhane?" she questioned before he left the room. He turned around, and smiled lightly at her.
"Yeah Karone?" he questioned.
"Thanks for being so patient with me," she murmured.
"It will get better soon Karone...I promise," he said, giving her small smile. She nodded her head, and watched as Zhane left their room. He was so good to her, and she was glad that he was being so being understanding.
Zhane walked towards the Mess Hall, and saw Andros was there. "Hey Zhane," Andros called out.
"Hey," he said to his friend, grabbing two plates.
"How is Karone doing?" he asked.
"She is still really distant..." Zhane admitted with a sigh, "But she is slowly opening up to me again," he said with a small smile.
"Thats great," he said. "Has...has she mentioned anything about me acting like Demios?" he questioned softly.
"Why would she think that?" Zhane inquired.
"I wanted to get everyone out of there as fast as possible...and I wanted to make sure that I was able to destroy that place," he frowned.
"No...she didn't mention anything like that at all..." Zhane assured him. "Karone will come around eventually...you don't have to worry about it,"
"I...I know," Andros ran a hand through his hair. "Karone meeting you here for breakfast?" he questioned. Zhane shook his head, and saw Andros trying to hide a frown.
"She is still afraid...she barely tolerates me as it is," he said scratching his head lightly.
"Oh," Andros said. "Well...let her know I am here if she wants to talk," Andros murmured, before turning his gaze back to his food.
"Will do..." Zhane frowned as he left; feeling bad for his friend. He telekinetically opened up the door to his and Karone's room. "Karone...you in here?" he called out, not seeing her on the bed. She walked out of the bathroom, and was clad in a bathrobe.
"Yeah...was just taking a shower," she said to him. She looked at his face, "What's wrong?" she questioned.
"Ran into Andros..." Zhane said to her. "He seemed to think that you were scared of him again..." Karone frowned.
"I'm not afraid of him..." she murmured.
"You should talk to him..." Zhane advised.
"I...I will...in a while..." She stammered. He set the plates down on the bed, and walked over to her. He offered to pull her into a hug, and she fell into his embrace.
"I know...just do it soon ok?" he murmured into her hair.