Our Destined Story.

An attempt at a restart. (Pt. 2)

'Okay, I just have to do what Asta advised... Just come clean..'  I take control of my breathing as I calm myself down. I slowly walk away from the door and over to my desk, glancing over my unfinished project. I take a deep breath before I turn around, looking up at Arlan as I try to come up with literally anything to say to him.

"Oh, yeah -the device.. Yeah about that, I've gotta talk to you about something, Arlan." I told him as I fidgeted with my hands, avoiding his gaze as I looked to the side. After a few moments of silence I decide to glance over at Arlan. His expression confused, raising an eyebrow at me.

"You need to talk to me?.." He confirmed with me, my only response being me nodding my head to his question. "I see, well let me go ahead and grab the device first, then we can talk." He agreed, motioning his hand to my desk behind me. "Is it on your desk?"

I shake my head nervously. "No, it's not.. The device isn't even finished.." I muttered with a bit of shame.

I look at him as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "The device isn't finished?.. So, you lied to me, Y/n?.." He pointed out, making me sink further in my shame. I nod my head in response, looking down at the ground. "Why? Y/n, why would you lie to me about this? ..I already told the guards in advance that it was ready; that they could rest a bit easier since it would be installed soon." He grumbled, leaning onto a nearby table.

My eyes widen at his final sentence. 'He already told the guards?! Why do I do such idiotic things?.. I just caused so many issues for everyone else..'  I regretfully think to myself, wanting to slap my own face for the things I've done. I look back up at Arlan, watching him stare down at the ground.

"Yeah.. I'm sorry. I really am. It's just, you kept avoiding me; it's the only way I could think of to get you to see me." I explained to him, each word leaving my lips filling me deeper with regret. "Please, just let me talk to you, I wanna clear the air between us two." I begged as I stepped closer towards him.

I carefully stood closely in front of him, waiting for the okay to continue speaking to him.

"..You're right, I've been avoiding you as best as possible. I just wasn't sure what to do; ..after I just blew up on you." He admitted with a sigh. A small smile snuck onto my face as he turned his gaze towards me. "I'll hear you out." He agreed, giving me his full attention.

I nod my head, getting straight to the point. "I want to apologize for the things I said during our first encounter. Those words really should've never left my mouth, you didn't deserve everything I said to you. I understand what you were trying to say, I really do." I apologized to him, my tone filled with regret and shame.

"Can we just.. restart? I want things to be somewhat normal between us." I expressed my feelings, proposing my idea. I watched his expressions change, making me feel more anxious for his reply.

He shakes his head, his eyes filled with what seemed like regret. "No, it's fine. I should be the one apologizing.. I was the one who blew up on you." He said, taking a pause before speaking once again. "I'm really sorry for that, Y/n. You didn't do anything for me to say such horrible things to you. I was stressed, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry, and I hope you'll be able to forgive me." He apologized honestly, looking at me with pure sincerity in his eyes.

I smile at him, laughing a bit shortly after. "Of course I forgive you. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have said that I wanted things to be normal between the two of us." I reassured him as I contained the rest of my laughter.

After those words left my lips, I saw something I've never seen from Arlan before; a smile. A real and genuine smile.

As if his smile was contagious, I felt a smile appear on my face as well. 'This wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be..'

"..We're restarting, right? Doesn't that mean we should properly introduce ourselves?" He asked me, interrupting my train of thought.

I nod my head in reply. "Yeah, the first time wasn't exactly the friendliest.." I awkwardly laugh thinking back on it. "Well as you know, my name is Y/n. I'm an experienced researcher, proof of that being all of my past achievements and creations." I reintroduce myself to him, this time with no tension between the two of us.

"Of course you already know my name, Arlan. And I'm the head of the Security department. Technically making me your boss." He reintroduced himself to me, giving me another smile as he spoke.

Taking a deep breath, I sigh in relief. "This feels much better.. It was honestly both stressful and awkward knowing I had to talk to you with that tension between the two of us." I smile as I sit down in a nearby chair, finally beginning to relax a bit.

Arlan raises an eyebrow at me before letting out a small laugh. "You don't think you're getting off that easily do you? You still lied to me, right after I told a bunch of the guards that they could rest easy since you finished another one of the devices." He reminds me, his tone changing into a bit more serious one.

I feel myself sink in my chair as he reminds me of what I did. "I forgot about that.. What's my punishment exactly..?" I groan as I run my fingers through my hair out of frustration. 'Ahh jeez.. just when I thought I cleared everything between the two of us..'

"Your punishment is that you're going to be the one to tell them the bad news, and you're going to give them an estimate on when the device is really going to be finished and done with." He announced my punishment almost proudly. "I'd say that's fair, wouldn't you?" He asked me for confirmation, causing me to sink even lower in my chair.

'That's a mean trick question.. He knows I really can't refuse either way..'  I curse him for that question mentally before even thinking about responding to him. "Yeah, that sounds fair.. Man, they're going to HATE me." I whine and complain to him as I somehow sink lower into my chair due to this punishment.

As I'm moping, I hear Arlan just laughing at both me and my reactions. "Oh yeah, they're gonna be disappointed and take it out on you. You are the one still lied about the device in the end though." He pointed out, making me turn to glare at him.

"Yeah, yeah.. Enjoy my misery.." I complained as I slowly and reluctantly sat up in my chair correctly. "Is there a certain time or day I have to tell them all of this?" I questioned him, moping at the thought of it.

He looks up at the ceiling, stuck in thought for a minute before he turns back towards me. "I would prefer for you to let them know today while there's still time left in the day. You wouldn't want them to keep that false hope for another day, would you?" He asked me with a smirk on his face.

'This guy.. I thought my annoyance towards him was gone, but nope, a bit of it is still here.'  I glare at him for his snarky remark. "No, I wouldn't want them clinging onto that.. I'll just do a group text with everyone working in whatever area you planned on installing it in." I replied plainly as I rummage through my pockets, trying to find my phone.

I sigh as I pull out my phone, opening my direct messaging app. "Could you give me the number of all of the guards? I'll just add them all to a group chat, ..and then just hope they don't end up hating me too much." I asked him, my eyes still glaring up at him.

He just silently nods as he pulls out his phone, sending me a list of the phone numbers I need. I skim through the list, my eyes widening at how many numbers there are.

"..Arlan, exactly how many people is this?" I question him, my eyes growing wider as I continue scrolling through the list.

I hear him snicker as I question him. "Oh, it's not that many people. Just about thirty-two." He spits out the numbers as if it was nothing.

My eyes widen at the large number he gives me. "Thirty-two?! ..I'm going to have thirty-two people absolutely upset and annoyed with me?!" I stammer in complete shock, praying that he's just messing with me.

He just nods his head as he continues to laugh like a child at my situation. "That's right." He confirms, standing up from the table he's been leaning on. "Well, I'll be on my way now. I know you've got your hands full with an explanation for all of those guards, I'll see you later when you've actually finished the device." He adds as he walks off towards the door, leaving the room. Leaving me to message the guards and fix my mistake.

"That jerk.." I mumble as I rack my brain for an explanation I could give to all of those guards. 'This is gonna be hell, isn't it?..'