Roads And Maps - Aru Shah

Graduation

3rd Person

Aru liked to watch Aiden sleep. Now, that may sound creepy, but she didn't mean it like that. In the years after all the battles, he'd never fully recovered. But when he slept, the furrow in his brow melted away, and his face became serene and peaceful. In his slumber, Aiden still looked like the boy with the camera.

Aru shifted closer, tracing his profile with her fingertips, brushing her knuckles down his jaw.

"What are you doing?" Aiden asked softly, opening his eyes just a little, glancing at her before turning to kiss her hand.

"Nothing in particular. Just watching you sleep."

"Creepy much?" Aiden teased.

Aru's face dropped, and she rolled over onto her other side, facing away from Aiden. "I thought it was rather sweet," she pouted.

"Oh, come on, Shah. I was joking." Aiden wrapped his arms around her, and he placed his head on her shoulder. "I know you can't stay mad at me."

Aru rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. Mochi jumped up onto Aru's bed and pawed at Aiden's ear.

"Hi, Moe," Aru laughed.

"Get your cat to stop biting my ear."

"She doesn't bite anyone, Aiden."

Aiden let his arms loosen around her, and she rolled over to look at him again. Sure enough, Mochi was nipping his ear like it was a mouse. "Moe, quit it," Aru said firmly.

The cat stopped and licked her paw as if nothing had happened.

"Today's graduation," Aiden said.

Aru looked down at the googly-eye ring that Aiden had given her as an early promise ring. He said that on graduation day, he would get her an actual promise ring.

The doorbell rang and snapped Aru out of her daze.

"Uh, Aru? Can you come down here?" Kara's voice called.

"What do you think she wants?" Aiden asked.

"No idea," Aru shrugged. She climbed off of her bed and went downstairs. Kara was standing in front of the open door like she was frozen in place. Aru couldn't see who was outside because of the angle the door was to the stairs. "Kara, you ok?"

"Uh-huh, j-just come here," Kara stumbled with her words. Aru walked around to her sister, and there was their 'father' as Suyodhana.

"Arundhati," he smiled. "You look so grown up."

"You don't get to say that to me. I thought I killed you," Aru said. She was nervous, but she wasn't going to let him know that. Boo always told them, 'never let your enemy know your weaknesses.'

"You killed me as the Sleeper. I know this may be a lot to take in. I didn't know that this would happen, girls. If I did, I would've let you kill me years ago. Anyway, a few days ago, I just woke up like this, and I came to find you."

Aru didn't trust him. How could she? It had been three years since she used anything related to the shadow magic she got from the Sleeper.

A black vine wrapped around Suyodhana, and he squirmed to try to get out. "What is the point of this?"

"Why aren't you fighting back? Why didn't the vine shrivel away?!" she demanded to know.

"Because I can't!" his voice boomed. "Don't you realize I'm powerless?! I'm here to try to reconcile us and maybe be a family, Arundhati!"