A Life Without Meaning

𝔼𝕡𝕚𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕦𝕖 (𝕀𝕀)

The bright sunlight streamed in through the small hotel windows as it rose the following morning. Ellia blinked slowly, her eyes taking long to filter out its blinding nature.

She felt well rested, for the first time in a long while. And as she tilted her head over her shoulder, she was reminded why exactly that was.

For someone who was so serious and foreboding all the time, Din looked impossibly peaceful in his sleep. Almost alarmingly so. His lips were parted ever so slightly, but he made no sound. His eyelids weren't wrinkled at all, they simply rested over his eyes like the very sheets that covered their limbs. The golden beams of sun cascaded over the top half of his face, giving his skin a stunning glow.

She remained lying there for a while, simply staring at him, taking in the sight with complete and utter awe.

Eventually, seeing as though she wasn't going to be falling back asleep any time soon, she opted to go and use the refresher. Moving carefully, as to not wake Din, she slipped out from under the covers, padding lightly across the floor of the hotel room.

She finished up quickly, splashing some cool water over her face for good measure before patting it dry with a towel. Pushing open the door, she made her way back into the main room, but found herself pausing in the middle of the threshold, blinking in surprise at what she saw.

Din was awake. Sitting straight up at the edge of the bed. The blankets strewed half-over his legs as if he had gotten up with a start. His head was swiveling around the room quickly, but when it landed on where her form was standing a few meters away, he let out an audible sigh of relief.

Ellia furrowed her eyebrows slightly.

"Are you alright?" she asked, crossing the room to stand directly in front of him.

He was looking down at his lap bashfully, his hands curling into the sheets by his side.

"I just...I just woke up-" he started, his voice low and hoarse in the morning air. "-and you were gone. I thought-" he abruptly cut himself off, shaking his head.

Ellia's face fell.

"Did you...did you think I left?" she asked in a whisper.

His shoulders appeared to shake slightly as he took a deep breath instead of answering her question.

Ellia's mind was in a thousand places at once. She hadn't even thought about that at all, how it would've felt for him, to have shown someone his face, only to have them disappear immediately after.

And for the second time.

Pressing her lips together tightly, she reached out a hand to rest on the side of his warm cheek,

"I'm sorry" she whispered.

Din shook his head, as if to tell her it was ok, his hands coming up to bunch in the fabric by her hips.

He then leaned forward, resting his head against her stomach.

"Just...stay with me...for a little while longer." he requested.

Ellia ran her fingers through his hair soothingly,

"Of course."

Climbing back into the small bed, Ellia tucked her arms under the side of her head, eyes staring forward at the form inches away. Din's eyes hadn't left her since the moment they had laid back down, looking almost afraid that if he so much as blinked, she would disappear.

At one point, his hand had reached out, almost as if he wanted to touch her. But he hesitated at the last second, moving to retreat back over to his side.