The next day, the group discussed initially how they should proceed, whether they should immediately inform Tadase or not. Of course, only about the fact that she was pregnant, not about their suspicions that it was Ikuto's. Ultimately, everyone agreed that it would be best to inform him as early as possible, as he would then at least no longer have to visit her every night.
When the Crown Prince heard this information from Amu's mouth, a weight was lifted off his shoulders, and he breathed a sigh of relief. His parents were putting more and more pressure on him, and he doubted himself or Amu more every day, because it was uncertain whose fault it was.
Naturally, he expressed his hope that it would also be a boy, otherwise all this would be in vain, and they would have to keep trying, to which Amu just looked downcast and sighed. She really wasn't in the mood for that. He also agreed that it didn't have to be every day anymore, but still explained that he would occasionally seek her closeness, because after all, that was normal for a couple. Even though the pink-haired girl wasn't thrilled about it, it was still a big step forward from their previous situation, and she was relieved that it wouldn't happen daily anymore.
Weeks passed, and Amu listened quietly cuddled up in Nagihiko's arms listening to one of his stories, when a loud bang rang out, making both of them jump. Nagi got up and looked out the window, swallowing hard at the sight before him. Several black wyverns circled the castle and repeatedly shot fireballs at the protective shield, each time resulting in another loud bang. Amu followed the lilac-haired man to the window and also saw what was happening right in front of them. "Ikuto.." she murmured softly, as she knew no other reason why they would suddenly be attacked by wyverns.
"That won't be enough.." Yoru muttered, joining them now as well.
"So it's Ikuto?" Amu's eyes briefly lit up. It had already been four months since she had last seen Ikuto.
"He's not there. I guess he's testing the strength of the shield. If he showed up now, they would capture and execute him immediately." the black cat sighed at the sight, as there were already higher-ranking wyverns that still couldn't do any damage.
Another bang, which also illuminated the room in orange tones, made Amu flinch again and caused her to cling to Nagi. Just as the castle guards were ready to counter, a deep voice echoed like an eerie whisper through the sky. "Xaldrun krixeth" as these words rang out, the wyverns immediately withdrew, allowing them to leave the scene unharmed, as the soldiers' projectiles missed them.
"What..?" Amu shivered at the sound of that voice.
"That was Ikuto. He recalled them. He doesn't want to risk injuries." Yoru explained, eyeing Amu, who looked very intimidated at the moment. "That's his demon voice, he has to use it if he wants to lead them in battle."
"But...he's only drawn attention to himself now...They'll take action now, won't they..?" Nagi murmured as he looked out the window at the wyverns.
"That's happened occasionally before, but they never counterattacked him. I suspect most of them would just get lost in the woods. Plus, they don't know what they're getting into and would only sacrifice soldiers senselessly, in the worst case. At least, I think that's their reasons for not acting." Yoru explained his past experiences. However, these attacks were never initiated by Ikuto. He accepted his lonely fate back then and made no attempt to reclaim his birthright. The attacks were carried out independently by corrupt demons, but of course, it fit perfectly to make Ikuto look even worse publicly, as the evil demon lord attacked the castle with his dirty demons. The fact that the attacks were stopped by him every time was naturally unknown. They always saw it as a cowardly retreat.
"But...they couldn't achieve anything.." Amu murmured disappointedly. "How will he ever manage to break through..?" Amu breathed out disappointedly and sat back on her bed. Her hand glided over her belly, which was still flat. "I hope the baby is okay.." she added with concern. "It's only been four months, it'll be fine, little one.," Nagi gently stroked her head. Tadase's family made sure she was examined often enough, and there were never any abnormalities.
"You underestimate Ikuto. He wasn't even there himself; he's far above the demons and wyverns," Yoru replied to the girl's disappointed statement.
"You differentiate between the two?"
"Wyverns aren't demons. They're more akin to magical beings, yet they also only listen to him when he speaks demonically. We were never quite sure why. Perhaps because they are often on par with the demons and thus far above other magical creatures." Yoru sighed softly. While Ikuto was incredibly strong before, it was uncertain whether he would ever regain that strength and whether he would really manage to break the shield and defeat the soldiers.
"If necessary, I can still help him," Nagi winked confidently at Amu and grinned self-assuredly. Internally, however, he sighed. For this liberation, he would certainly have to exert a lot of power, which in turn would cost him a lot of life force. He had found out relatively early on that his fire magic was stronger than most, and he even possessed a special ability that only he had, but none of this came without a price.
He had never wished for this and still didn't understand why it had to happen to him.
As a child, the fire spirit Ifrit once appeared to him in a dream and explained his magic to him. Apparently, he had pity on the unsuspecting child who joyfully used his flames and thus unknowingly shortened his life. Since then, he had hardly used his magic at all, which is why many thought he didn't have any at all. Those without magic belonged to the lowest class, so at least to prove the opposite, he had to show some magic from time to time, but he limited himself to weak forms that hardly consumed any of his life force.
He also found out through an accident that his magic went out of control with too much emotional anger and had been calm and relaxed ever since, as he is known today. His mother was dissatisfied with his weak magic and scolded him repeatedly, comparing him to other children. One day, it was too much for him, because those words hurt, and he let his pain and anger run free. The house burned down, Nagi was unconscious for a few days, and his mother suffered severe burns. Since then, he had never seen her again; she was afraid of him.
"Hey Nagi..? Everything okay..?" Amu spoke with a soft and concerned voice, gently tugging at his arm. The lilac-haired one didn't notice that he had momentarily stepped into the past and shook his head. "I'm just a little tired today, not quite myself. I'm sorry," he smiled and ruffled her hair, reassuring her that everything was fine.
"What's your magic, by the way? You've never shown it to me," Amu rarely dealt with magic; she didn't value it as much as everyone else, so she had only just become aware of it now.
Nagi smiled gently and conjured a spark from his finger, which began to dance as if on its own and left a trail behind it, which lingered briefly. So, a heart of fire formed in front of her. "Fire," he finally added literally, even though his deed spoke for itself.
The fiery heart throbbed; he matched it to his own heartbeat and then took her hand, causing his heart and thus the fiery heart to beat faster. Amu watched the whole thing with sparkling eyes, in which the burning heart was reflected, and smiled gently with slightly flushed cheeks. She let her hand glide over his chest and paused above his heart, before she got lost in his eyes for a moment. Nagi smiled gently at her and caressed her lips with his own, while pulling her closer with one arm.
Amu could feel his heart beating faster and also noticed the quicker flickering of the flaming heart out of the corner of her eye.
Eventually, Miki cleared her throat behind them, and the two let go of each other. Amu was red as a tomato, Nagi, on the other hand, amused and giggling. Even the flame heart gradually disappeared.
"Find a more suitable time for that..with privacy.." the blue-haired one muttered awkwardly.
"We wouldn't have done anything at all.." the pink-haired one defended herself, arms crossed, still red.
"No? Aww," Nagi continued to grin and put an arm around her.
"Idiot.." she muttered as she often did in his presence and sighed.
"Maybe you should take him seriously for once," Ran chimed in with an eye roll and an annoyed sigh. "This leading on."
Nagi waved his arms and shook his head. "I'm just kidding, okay?"
Of course, he wasn't opposed to it, but he had already given up any hope of it; after all, things were between Ikuto and her started on her actions, but she seemed to show no interest, and he wouldn't push himself onto her.
Amu sighed softly as she looked out the window. Leading on? Was she leading Nagi on? "Well then, if it's just a joke," she finally said, grinning. Nagi didn't know how to react to that and just looked at her silently, which in turn made Amu feel awkward. He noticed that her mood had lowered and gently pulled her into his arms. "I love you, Amu." he smiled gently and kissed her on the head. He rarely said it aloud because he was afraid of awkward silence or rejection, but he hoped to be able to cheer her up a bit. She wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest. "I love you too, Nagi.."
She hadn't thought about her feelings for a long time; it had become normal everyday life for her that Nagi was here, with her, every day. That she laid in his arms, they teased and kissed each other. She sighed softly. Was Ikuto being pushed into the background? She had promised him that that wouldn't happen. When they let go of each other again, her hand once again wandered to her belly. She shook her head barely perceptibly. She still hadn't felt any comparable desire as on that evening, and those images still didn't leave her mind, even though she still didn't want to believe that it was her perspective. She was still convinced that it must have been someone else.
"What's going on in your little confused head again? What are you worried about?" the others had left the room in the meantime, as there were currently no tasks or anything to discuss, and they found it uncomfortable to stand next to their lovey-dovey. Yoru also left the room from time to time because being cooped up there all the time was too boring for him, and as long as he didn't leave the castle, that wasn't a problem. The more sorry he felt for Amu, who had only been in the room for months.
"Nothing, everything's fine," Amu waved her arms lightly. She didn't necessarily want to talk about it with Nagi.
"You can talk to me about anything, even about him, you should know that by now, dummy," he gently flicked her forehead.
"I was just momentarily unsure about my feelings... I haven't seen him in so long..." as she said it out loud, tears welled up in her eyes, and she sniffled.
"There's your answer," he gently nudged her and wiped away her tears.
"I don't know if that's enough of an answer..." she murmured uncertainly, sighing.
"Well, you obviously miss him a lot. You often hold onto your stomach and smile. And as far as I can tell, you only have such a strong connection with him, to the point where you practically force it." At the end of his statement, he stuck his tongue out at her and grinned.
"Don't always throw that in my face..." she blushed and shrunk down in embarrassment, pouting.
"Amu, you'll most likely end up choosing him in the end. If I know that, shouldn't you be more certain yourself, hm?" his voice became a bit softer and more subdued. "But you don't know that for sure..." the girl countered, and their eyes met. "It's okay, let's just enjoy the time," he played down his feelings and began to tickle her a bit. "It's best enjoyed with laughter," he grinned as she wriggled under him, trying to escape the tickle attack.
More days passed, during which Amu hardly had time to mope, because Nagi noticed every time her mood changed and immediately acted against it. However, he slowly had to admit to himself that he was reaching his limits. During the day, he did everything imaginable for Amu, and in the evenings, he still had to work at the inn. He barely had time to relax and unwind. Also, the fact that he always ignored and downplayed his own worries was starting to get to him, because he had no one to talk to about them. Of course, Amu noticed this, but no matter how much she insisted that he should talk to her or take a rest, he ignored it.
Amu and Nagi were sitting on the bed, chatting with the others and joking around a bit, until they were interrupted by a knock on the door. The mood of everyone instantly plummeted. When Tadase entered the room, he sensed the low energy that hung in the air and sighed softly. His gaze shifted to the maids. "May I have a moment alone with Amu?"
He had been coming by more often in recent weeks, bringing her gifts, occasionally taking her to the castle garden, and bringing specialties to her room. Eventually, three out of four sighed and left the room with a silent nod, followed by Yoru.
Tadase's gaze now rested expectantly on Nadeshiko, as she too was a maid, and he wanted privacy with Amu.
"I want her to stay..." Amu murmured uncertainly, meeting Tadase's gaze instead of Nadeshiko's.
"I... I just want to talk, okay?" the blonde sighed, fearing that she had other thoughts and that might be the problem.
"I just feel more comfortable when she's there..." she sat in front of Nadeshiko and reached back to take her hands, Nagi briefly took the hands of the pink-haired girl, but only briefly, as he wrapped his arms around her waist while resting his head on her shoulder, much to Tadase's displeasure. Amu placed her hands on Nagi's hands and held them a little.
"You two seem unusually close..." he muttered, casting skeptical glances at Nadeshiko.
"Oh, that's normal between best friends. Be glad we don't have to practice kissing, she's already had experience with you." Nadeshiko giggled innocently and held Tadase's gaze.
"Fine by me..." of course, he didn't like this situation, but he tried very hard to get Amu to give him another chance, so he also accepted his fiancée cuddling closely with another woman in front of him. They didn't look like best friends at all, but rather like a couple.
"Amu... I know things haven't been good between us. I know I made mistakes, but I didn't have a choice..." his voice sounded sincere, and his gaze radiated sincerity too. "But I've been trying to improve myself all this time. Can't you give me another chance? I love you... and I want us to be a happy family..." he reached out his hand towards her stomach for a moment, but then stopped and lowered his arm again.
Amu twitched slightly and sighed softly. Despite everything, it hurt her to see him like this. Nagi held her closer, trying to give her some security. She loved this care and warmth Nagi gave her. Eventually, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tadase... but I can't reciprocate your feelings anymore. I was blind for too long. I've learned what it feels like to be loved sincerely and unconditionally, and I won't give that up... My love for him will never end..." Nagi knew she could only talk about one person in front of Tadase, but she squeezed his hand a little tighter, indicating that he was also meant, especially for now.
"I can improve... I even accept that your friend remains in an important conversation with you and clings to you... If it's important to you and it helps, it's okay..." he muttered, distressed. "I also can give you all of that..."
"No, you can never love me unconditionally as long as you're under your parents' thumb. You'll always do as they command, no matter how it affects me," her voice was serious, yet gentle. "Would you be willing to hand me over to another man just because it would make me happy, even if it destroys you?" She grinned bitterly. "The question is redundant, because if that were the case, I wouldn't be here."
Tadase looked down at the ground, silent for a moment. "Even if so, I can't make that decision," he paused briefly, unable to believe what he was about to say. "Then just bring him here.." the crown prince clenched his fist, swallowing his pain.
"Why? So you can lock him up or do worse?" she didn't trust him an inch in this matter.
"No.." He kept his gaze lowered to the ground. He didn't even know why he said that. What would change anyway? Even if he were willing, she would ultimately end up with this guy, not him. "If I were to allow that... who knows what my parents would be willing to do.." even though he didn't care about his own life at this moment, he was the only thing standing between his parents' cruel decisions and Amu. He had often argued for them to give her more time before discarding her as useless. "I don't care what happens to me.. but if I'm gone, nothing stands in their way anymore.."
"What?" Amu looked at him inquisitively. She had never really known much about what was going on, except that he had sexually imposed himself on her due to pressure from his parents.
"Do you really think they would have tolerated it taking so long to finally work out?.. In their eyes, you've been useless and unworthy for a long time.. Accidents have been talked about often enough.." he finally admitted part of his parents' machinations. "If you leave here, you're fair game to them. They definitely won't take such an insult to their pride lightly. Their son being left because of another. They'll accuse you of betrayal and sentence you to death."
The pink-haired girl swallowed at this realization and remained silent for a moment before looking back into the blonde's eyes. "I'm very sure nothing would happen to me." Once again, she felt a firmer grip around her waist, probably Nagi's agreement that he would do anything to keep her safe.
"Do you really not love me anymore..?" his gaze gradually became empty, filled with more and more sadness. She swallowed again at this sight. "Not not at all.. but I know that my feelings for you will never be the same as my feelings for him again.."
"You haven't seen him for four months.. how can you still love him so much? Eventually it has to diminish.." he murmured a little desperately. He didn't know what to do. Of course, he could act selflessly, but that would only drive her away faster.
She turned her gaze away uncertainly and remained silent for a moment in the quiet. She could confidently say that she loved Nagi, who was so close to her right now, more than Tadase, but she was still unsure about Ikuto, even though Nagi could undoubtedly see her love for him and tried to make it clear to her that she still loved him just as much as four months ago. Tadase, however, noticed her uncertainty and harbored a glimmer of hope.
"You're doubtful.." he came a little closer to her, looking into her eyes.
"N-no.." of course, she didn't sound convinced, after all, she wasn't. Finally, she decided to simply change the affected person in this topic, because Tadase only knew about one. "No. I love him just as much as four months ago, no, even more." her grip around Nagi's hand tightened again, and the purple-haired boy felt his heart beating faster and his cheeks turning a little red.
"Amu.. what else are you hiding from me..?" the crown prince asked with a dejected voice and a deep sigh. He found her behavior very strange. It was as if she was talking about two people, uncertain at first and then not a spark of doubt in her voice and eyes. "Are there two? Do you love two other men more than me?.. Amu.. you can't love multiple people, you have to decide.." he took a deep breath and held the bridge of his nose.
"Nonsense. It's just one," she lied, but convincingly this time.
"Then one man and one woman?" he looked at Nadeshiko. Of course, he hadn't missed how they had been pressing closer to each other throughout the conversation.
"No..." Amu looked at him incredulously. "Do you really think I would love a woman?" Although unlike most others in the Middle Ages, she didn't care who loved whom, she definitely couldn't develop feelings for a woman.
"I'd really like to inspect this 'woman' closer..." his gaze remained fixed on Nadeshiko. It had always seemed strange to him anyway that the two had been so familiar with each other from the start.
"Are you implying now that Nadeshiko isn't a woman? Tadase, you're making a fool of yourself," Amu raised her eyebrows, expressing disbelief once again.
The blonde gave Amu a skeptical and slightly annoyed look before pushing her aside and grabbing Nadeshiko's chest. He didn't care about his behavior at this moment, and he wanted to finally have certainty.
Although Nadeshiko tried to dodge, she couldn't. "But that's not appropriate behavior for a prince!" she blushed and looked ashamedly to the side. Of course, he was wearing something that at least visually imitated breasts, so Amu had immediately undressed him in front of the maids back then, but whether it would withstand a physical test, Nagi doubted.
"Is he the one now, or is he just one of two?" Tadase let go of Nadeshiko and sighed sadly.
"Well... you know... just because my breasts aren't so big and perfect, you don't have to treat me like a man right away! I'm already insecure about that, and it's hurtful," Nadeshiko sobbed ashamedly, trying to salvage the situation somehow.
"Amu?" Tadase didn't believe a word from the lilac-haired girl, after all, he had often had the opportunity to touch breasts and knew how they felt.
"One of two... nothing happened between us..." she didn't want to risk that Nagi would now bear Ikuto's punishment.
"I see..." Tadase was struggling hard to process that for months she had almost been living with one of the two she obviously loved, right under his nose. "Respect to you..." he turned to Nagihiko with a little hatred and condescension.
"I'm supposed to be as noble as you and give up my own happiness," he laughed bitterly and spoke these words mockingly as he looked at Nagihiko. "Do as you please, but I still won't give you up." he looked determinedly at Amu, making his stance clear. He would continue to tolerate Nagihiko near her to prove that he was serious about changing and to prove that his love for her was so great that he put his own desires aside.
"That... you don't mean that seriously..." she looked at him skeptically and already painfully imagined Nagi's disappearance.
"You won't accept me any other way… You have the twisted view that you can have anyone, and only those who accept it truly love you," he scoffed at this distorted perspective. "So I'll accept it, but I'll still spend time with you, because even if you don't want to hear it, I love you and won't give up on you..." his voice broke with each word. "Still, I hope the child isn't his. At some point, I'll draw boundaries, even if he doesn't, and it starts with the child."
"We haven't..."
"Keep your lies to yourself." even though Amu was telling the truth, she was hitting a wall with Tadase. The two were constantly together; it was impossible in his eyes that nothing had happened. "I'm not lying... it was with the other one..." she murmured, sighing.
"Well, then it's only a matter of time... I can't do anything about it anyway..." he clenched his fist and frustratedly struck the wall next to the bed, which startled Amu and made her flinch.
"You could..." she muttered unconsciously to herself.
"And then? You would just hate me even more.. What good is that supposed to do me?" he looked at his throbbing fist and sighed. He had overdone it and had beaten his knuckles bloody. "If I send him away, you'll be unhappy. I'm supposed to prioritize your happiness over my own because otherwise my love for you isn't real or too weak. So I have to live with it." Amu took the prince's hand, sighing, and gently stroked a cloth over the wounds. "Nothing will change anymore, Tadase... I can't love three people... I already feel bad with two..."
"Nevertheless, it's the last thing I can do. I don't want to just give up on you and our relationship..." he finally turned to Nadeshiko.
"I won't address you further as Nadeshiko, so if I may?"
"Nagihiko..." murmured the lilac-haired person in his masculine voice.
"How do you manage that? You're sharing her with someone else? Someone who has already been intimate with her while you've been with her constantly for four months and nothing has happened? How do you cope with that?" he found the pain he felt in this situation unbearable and couldn't for the life of him understand why someone would willingly subject themselves to it, and yet he was about to do the same.
"I'm already happy just being able to see her sparkling eyes, to see her beam with joy. If I can just hold her hand or hug her like this now, I'm grateful for every second by her side. I'm aware that she loves the other one more, but I'm still thankful for every moment with her," he was careful not to mention any names, as accepting him was definitely easier than accepting Ikuto, the kingdom's enemy. Amu listened attentively to Nagi and smiled gently as her eyes gleamed at him.
Tadase noticed this and sighed. "I understand." He had rarely seen that gleam in her eyes before.
"How could you stand by and do nothing?"
"What should I have done? If I had stopped you, I wouldn't have been able to be there for her anymore, to be by her side anymore. That would have ultimately hurt her more than enduring your actions." Amu and he had never discussed it, yet he knew her so well that he had hit the nail on the head.
"Mhm..." the blonde remained silent for a moment, still trying to process the whole situation. Would he really be able to cope with it, or would he one day lose against his emotions and, above all, his pain and anger, and remove Nagihiko from here?
"The other one knows about you? And he has no problem with you possibly taking the next steps?"
"I wouldn't call it no problem, but we agreed a long time ago that as long as the little one couldn't decide, we would be ready to have a relationship with her simultaneously." Nagihiko felt a little uncomfortable being interrogated like this, especially about such private matters, but he was afraid that Tadase would kick him out if he didn't cooperate. Amu, on the other hand, was visibly annoyed that they were talking about her as if she wasn't even present.
Tadase's gaze finally wandered back to Amu, expressing a lack of understanding and disappointment. "I really didn't think you'd be someone like that...someone who lets two people go at once and stalls..." he sighed and shook his head. "But what hurts me even more is that I can't even find a place in this absurd equation..."
"It was our idea... she's just susceptible to her feelings. She doesn't want to hurt anyone... even now, she still feels bad about you," Nagi defended his girl and pulled her closer again. "You never had a place in our agreement from the start because you mistreated her. This triangle thing was decided over her head." he shrugged, and Amu finally felt validated because she had felt all along that she had no say, even though that wasn't true.
"But even if we were to accept you, if she wanted it that way, it would be pointless. Ultimately, she'll end up with him. Not with you, not with me, with him."
"Stop asserting that so convincingly!" she slapped Nagi and looked at him with tears in her eyes. Her feelings for him were so strong, and it hurt to hear over and over again that she would push him aside at the next opportunity. The lilac-haired one held his cheek perplexedly and looked at Amu. His gaze clouded as he saw her tears. "Amu... I'm sorry..." he murmured softly, looking away.
Tadase took a deep breath and tried to ignore the chaos. "Why him?"
"Because they were reborn from another life in this world. They are destined for each other." he briefly explained the most important points for understanding, yet leaving out all the points that would expose Ikuto.
The Crown Prince raised his eyebrows and expressed clear disbelief. It sounded like too much fantasy to him, what he was hearing right now, yet some of the evidence that the lilac-haired mentioned seemed credible and hard to ignore. He sighed. "I hate all of this..." he uttered and held his nose bridge.
"Amu, I know forcing you would only make it worse, so please, give me another chance. I really don't know how else to prove my love to you other than to continue accepting him here, knowing that he's much closer to you than I am and can touch you as often and as much as he wants... While I have to be unsure even about simple hand touches, fearing that it was a mistake and only pushes you further away from me..."
The pink-haired one swallowed uncertainly and looked at Nagihiko. Would Tadase kick him out if she refused? She wouldn't be able to bear it without Nagi and nodded silently. "But don't get your hopes up too much... I've told you my stance..." she sighed softly and held one of his hands in hers for a moment. She wondered how her life would be now if some things had gone differently, but in the end, it was just wasted thoughts because it was what it was.
Tadase tried to smile a little when she took his hand, but he managed only with great effort, as the whole situation was still too much for him and very painful. Eventually, he stood up and made his way to leave the room. "He sleeps here too, right?"
"Sometimes, when he doesn't have to work," Amu replied. "But like I said, nothing happened, and he has slept here a few time already."
"And even if it did, then so be it," he sighed and ultimately left the room. Outside, he leaned against the wall for a moment, hiding his tears under his arm, which he had laid over his eyes, before finally retreating to his own room. His parents definitely couldn't find out about this, that was for sure.
"Yeah, so... that all went very unexpectedly... who would have thought that he would suddenly suspect and grope me..." Nagi sighed loudly and was relieved that the tension had at least somewhat dissipated with his departure.
"This is all not good at all... it will never go down as he claims..." all alarm bells were ringing for Amu, and she looked at Nagi desperately. "I can't handle this without you..." her voice sounded panicked and desperate.
"Hey, little one, calm down. Honestly, I believe him... I don't think he'll kick me out anytime soon," he brushed a few strands of hair from her face and looked at her with calm and confident eyes.
"I hope so..." she sobbed and now clung tightly to his clothing. The lilac-haired one sighed worriedly and tried to comfort her. "Don't think about it for now," he lifted her chin and slowly approached her face. She looked into his eyes and waited until his lips met hers. She reciprocated his kisses for several minutes. She was just glad that he was here, and it helped her calm down and distract herself. Her hands rested on his neck.