Out in the Countryside

Honesty

Arturia groaned as she felt the warmth of the sun heating her. She shuffled on her bed and covered her face with the pillow. She was still half asleep; the soft and toasty cotton sheets held her hostage—not that she minded. She snuggled deeper into the covers and fell asleep again, ignoring the urging of the sunlight. Her dreams were a million times better than reality anyway. The morning could wait; she was happy to put it aside.

It wasn't until she'd heard shuffling so loud and evident that she growled and gave a loud sigh. She kicked the covers off from herself, and she threw the pillow off from her face. "Can you be any louder?" She snapped.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

Arturia's eyes shot open, and she immediately sat up. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to snap!" She scrambled from her bed and rubbed her face. "Sorry!"

Diarmuid was already up and ready. He'd probably been awake for more than an hour or so. Arturia recalled hearing shuffling in her dream or probably when she awoke to cover her face with the pillow; she couldn't recall.

"No, it's okay. I should've been more careful." He apologized. There was a soft smile on his lips, and Arturia had to take a second to admire it.

Her cheeks burned as she remembered the gentle kiss they'd shared the previous night. "I should—I should probably go get ready. Pretty sure Scatty wants us back home as soon as possible."

"Just called her a few minutes ago," Diarmuid spoke, "she said we should take our time." He rolled his eyes. "I don't think Scatty had ever been so enthusiastic about me being out with Grainne like this. The only reason I can think of is that Scatty really likes you. You didn't bribe her or something, did you?"

Arturia shrugged. "It's not like I promised her forty pounds worth of chips."

"You did not."

"I did." She sharply breathed and then left out a laugh.

Diarmuid shook his head. "Sneaky."

Arturia couldn't describe how she felt at that moment. The glittering look in Diarmuid's eyes, the sweet loving smile on his face, how the sun peaked through the window and warmed her back. It wasn't the fact that he was handsome or anything that didn't matter one bit. What mattered was how delicate and kind he was to her and how those little details meant so much. Her heart was as light as a feather, her mind was blank, and the fluttering and swelling of her heart were what kept her grounded.

Diarmuid's amber eyes reminded her of a flickering fire that lit her heart with warmth and fervour. Arturia took a step towards him, and another, and another, just until she was standing inches from him.

"Artie?" He furrowed his brows but smiled as he said her name.

Arturia closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his waist, catching him off-guard and eliciting a gasp from him. She rested her head against his strong chest, and she could hear his thumping heart against her ear (it made a smile curl her lips). Was his heart beating that fast because of her?

Arturia recalled something her cousin had said to her once upon a time; people could feel like home. She had never understood that, how could someone feel like they could ground her? She had never experienced someone as home with any of the people she had met and left behind, no matter how many times she moved. Not even her parents felt like home to her. However, she finally understood what her cousin had said. It didn't matter if she was in some random inn in a random town in the middle of nowhere. When Diarmuid smiled at her, everything faded into white noise, and all she could feel was the sweet warmth of being around him.