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The wind breeze felt so nice today.
Nah, scratch that. The wind felt so nice every day; it's just that today the wind was a bit stronger, but for Caelus, it was the perfect temperature. Time stopped at Aedes Elysiae for far too long; Caelus had lost count of how many days he had stayed since then.
"Brrrr..."
Ah yes, since he laid eyes on a girl named Cyrene.
The said girl was sleeping next to him, their bodies touching, and shivering with cold. Guess she didn't like this breeze, huh...
Caelus took off his coat and placed it over her, serving as a blanket, so that at least she could warm up a bit.
But then... he heard her soft giggles.
"Hehe... Your smell is just so strong. It's comforting, though." Cyrene opened her eyes and smiled at him.
"Were you awake this whole time?" Caelus frowned while smiling back at her.
"Not quite," she said. "I really was trying to sleep."
"Where have you been anyway? You weren't by the swings earlier when I was looking at you."
"Piso and Livia had an argument again, so I had to mediate between them. And might as well sing them a lullaby to put them to sleep."
"Always taking care of others, aren't you?" Caelus now turned his body sideways, facing her.
"That's just like you too, you know. What I did was trivial." Cyrene dismissed it. "Now that we both can't find it to sleep, do you want to do something with me instead?"
"Sure, but before that..."
"...?"
Caelus took out a white flower from his pocket and then clamped the stem between her hair with the petals out.
"There you go. Darn, you look beautiful~"
Cyrene put on a mock pout. "Does that mean I wasn't beautiful before?"
"What? Of course not! It's—"
"Hehehe, just kidding~ It looks pretty indeed. Thank you, Cae. Where did you get it?"
"From the flower garden we planted together a couple days ago—"
Cyrene gasped, "Did you pick it up on purpose? Why? It'll ruin the garden even if you pluck just one flower! I told you already, a flower is as frail as a girl's heart, so you should've—"
"Cyrene, I haven't finished." Hearing that, Cyrene cut herself off. "I picked it up on the nearby ground, that's all. Even I know not to pick up a blooming flower, don't you worry. I still have a sense of beauty, courtesy of a certain cosmic knight~." He said proudly, slightly lifting his chin up.
"Good to know, then~" The girl snickered, her hand reaching to pat his head. "Now then, back to my original question: What should we do today?"
"Hmm..." Caelus then had an idea: "You're not bored with grilled fish for dinner again, are you?"
_____
Cyrene, instead of fishing, was humming at her own reflection in the clear seawater, leaving Caelus to fish alone. Though, after a long wait and multiple failed attempts to catch a big one, he eventually put down the fishing rod and scooted next to her.
"We're supposed to be doing this together, you know..."
"Sorry, sorry~ But I can't help just looking at the water; it's so clear I can see myself all day."
Caelus then scooted closer, their bodies touching, and saw his face also reflecting on the water.
"Oh my, we've got another charming one here~."
"I'm charming, eh?"
"And handsome~"
Cyrene squished her cheeks against his, and the man enjoyed the sweet, loving affection from her. Until she spoke, "Hey, Caelus?"
"Yeah?"
"You know the two seals we found that day? They got themselves fresh newborn babies when I checked them earlier..."
"Wait, that fast?"
"Yep! Can you believe that? Life truly finds a way if you ask me..." While Cyrene was explaining further, Caelus couldn't help but keep staring at how cheerful she was and her cyan eyes, which always mesmerized him no matter how many times he looked at them.
"Hey."
Caelus shook his head, coming back to reality.
"Don't tell me you're thinking about doing the same thing, are you?" Cyrene teased with a huge grin plastered on her face.
"Wha-!?"
Caelus's face went red in an instant, which caused Cyrene to laugh out loud. Then, he turned away and pouted. "It's too early to play house right now."
"Ooo, someone's acting so mature~ Already thinking about both of our futures, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I have... But only a bigger picture... And maybe if what comes next isn't as fucked up as we imagine it to be, I'd definitely give it more thought..." Caelus sighed, half joking and half serious with his expression and his statement.
"Language, mister..." Cyrene pinched him on his cheek. "But you're right; after this, once we head back out there, it's going to be a real one."
The two of them let silence take over for a short while. "I'm sorry, Cyrene, I didn't mean to sour the mood..."
Cyrene didn't answer right away. She gave him a tender, loving hug from behind his back. Her lips were then pressed on the back of his head, then the neck, and lastly, she nuzzled her face on his shoulder. "I understand, sweety. But I want you to know that, whatever's going to happen, you're not alone in this. We're in this together, just like we always do~."
Caelus grasped her hand firmly. "I'm glad you're by my side."
"That's supposed to be my line, partner~" Cyrene giggled. "While there will be many unknowns on the other side of the ocean, you and I are going to kick some ass!" She raised her voice and her hand high.
"Heh, quite the spirit, aren't you?" Caelus chuckled. "Also, language."
"Ah, darn it! See, hanging around with you seems to give me lots of bad influence, you~."
"I refused to take the blame—" He stopped midway when he saw his fishing rod suddenly move further and further to the edge of the port. Both Caelus and Cyrene saw a huge fish floating not far from them with the bait in its mouth.
Caelus quickly reached for the rod and tried his hardest to reel the fish in, but the fish was too strong, even for him. Cyrene tried to help him by pulling his body, but just as they thought they got it, the line broke, and the fish swam free, still with the bait in its mouth. Cyrene caught him with her body, serving him as a cushion when he fell.
"Hmm, it feels soft."
"Enjoying yourself?"
"Very."
She pinched him in the cheek again. "Alright, get off me now. You're heavy."
Caelus and Cyrene watched as the fish swam away and away, enjoying the meal while at it.
"Welp, there goes our dinner."
"Fufu~ don't be too sad. We still can have some bread and fruits as usual."
"Yeah, you're right. Just thought you might be bored with the usual, uh, vegetarian diet."
Cyrene just chuckled nervously. "Huh? Who says I'm a vegetarian? Lol~"
_____
Cyrene leaned comfortably on his shoulder as both of them were chewing fresh bread. Their eyes were set on the beautiful scenery as they were enjoying their meal on the top balcony.
"This kind of view never bores you, huh?" Cyrene asked.
"Nope, never. It just puts you at peace, and I can't even explain how." Caelus said, while gulping a loaf of bread in one go.
"Slow down, there! It's not like I'm going to steal your food!" Cyrene grabbed a glass of water for him, but he declined.
"Relax, I'm just a bit hungrier than usual. But Cyrene, I notice that you usually don't eat much..."
"Or you're being a glutton, Caelus. I don't have a big stomach like yours anyway."
"But you have to eat more, though. Otherwise you'll keep being short forever—ouch!"
Cyrene now pinched him in his abs and twisted his skin, intensifying the pain. The girl still took the fact that her being short was personal, even if it was Caelus's teasing. "Keep calling me short, and there's more to come, mister."
"Soooorry~" She let him go and continued her meal with a pissed-off face. But Caelus being Caelus, he wasn't going to repent that fast.
"Heh. Shorty~"
Cyrene went to pinch him again, but he dodged it. She figured that he needed to learn his lesson, so she wasn't going to let him off easy, but Caelus managed to escape from her. Cyrene chased him with all her might; her diminutive stature made her super light to run after him. What was initially a cat-and-mouse game eventually turned into a hide-and-seek, as she lost sight of him and assumed that he was hiding somewhere.
True enough, there was a good spot to hide. No, not in a bin, but in some bushes near the secret labyrinth that was home to the Mems.
"Ah, I'm beat..." He murmured as he lay down. The grass he laid on was comfy, however. So comfy that he decided to rest his eyes for a bit. He blinked his eyes multiple times to prepare himself for slumber; those eye-blinking were done repeatedly when one of the blinks had a Cyrene on it.
"Cyrene!?"
"Got you~"
He tried to run again, but Cyrene used her power gained from Oronyx to return him back in slow motion, all while snickering. Once she got her hands on him, she straddled his legs, took off his shoes, and began tickling the poor Trailblazer.
"AHAHAHAHA Please let me goooo!!!" Caelus yelled, begging for mercy.
"Nope~" Cyrene ignored his plea. "This is what you get for messing around with a pretty girl like me~ Also, think of it as payback for all of the time you tickled me when I was still a Mem."
While Caelus was being playfully tortured until he couldn't take it anymore, Cyrene just loved his laugh and would treasure it until the end.
_____
All the moments and the time they shared with each other had to come to an end, however. The time to resume their journey of the Flamechasers and rescue Amphoreus would be coming soon.
Caelus and Cyrene were on the bed, snuggling and feeling each other's warmth.
"Caelus, I want you to know."
"Hmm?"
"If someday our memories fade, don't be sad. You and I, we can traverse all distance in the past. So rather than worrying about that, let's make a new page together! It'll be a romantic one, I'm sure of it!"
Caelus giggled. "Yeah. Let's take a new step forward, together."
Cyrene hummed, and they shared a chaste kiss on the lips.