Limitations ~ Scaraether

13.5

"No, but seriously, what is all this about?" Aether asked the puppet, leaning against his arm tired. They almost spent an entire day answering questions and asking them— heck, they forgot Paimon existed until she came to complain about her starving stomach.

"..."

"Kuni, you can tell me; I'm not one to judge... sometimes." Aether smiled reassuringly at the indigo male.
The puppet stared at him with longing. He wanted to let his guard down— he tried to force his guard down, but it wouldn't budge— No matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't go away.
The blonde put his hand on the puppet's, caressing it so softly and carefully that it made him want to cry. But he didn't. He couldn't. He didn't want to seem weak in front of his ex-enemy. He couldn't. So he didn't.

The blond cocked his head, a frown on his face, "You don't have to tell me if it makes you that uncomfortable then. But know that you can, and I'll never judge you— unless necessary."

"And what qualifies as "necessary?" Hm, Aether?" The puppet asked, a grin on his face.

"Like an embarrassing memory. Like one time when I was younger, I got stu—" the blonde stopped, forgetting how to say the word "stuck."

"Stuck?"

"Yeah, I got my head stuck under a gate, and Lumine had to get help to get me out."

"How did you even get under the gate?"

"I don't know— Lumine said I was sleep-walking, but I don't believe her." Aether could feel the judgment radiating from Kuni's eyes, "see? You're judging me for getting my head stuck. Now, unless what you have to tell me is as or more ridiculous as that, I won't judge."

"Fine..." the puppet tried to find the words to say. How do you even tell someone you love them? It sounds so simple, but it's so awkward.

"Why not write it out? I do that when I find something too awkward to say." Aether quickly got up in search of a pencil and paper. Once he found some, he handed them to Kuni, sitting back down, "I won't bother you until you're 100% confident in what you want to tell me."
Kuni's empty chest fluttered as he turned away from the blonde, blocking any way he could see what he was writing. Though, that proved pointless since Aether wasn't prying. He meant what he said, and he wanted the puppet to trust him completely.
Hours passed, and the sun was starting to set. Aether, assuming this would take until tomorrow, got up to pull back the covers.

Flinching as Kuni shoved paper harshly into his chest, the puppet turned away, cheeks flustered. Aether grabbed it and lifted it to his head. His eyes carefully read each word on the paper to not miss anything.

'I don't like writing letters much, but that doesn't mean I don't know how to, so I'll write this to the best of my abilities because you deserve that.

Aether, I didn't like you when I first met you, and that was for various reasons. The main one is your "hero complex," but now, I think that's just the person you are, and I have no right to judge anyone with a better start in life.
Though I still don't understand certain emotions, how to control them, or what they mean, you and Nahida have helped me understand things I would deem useless in the past, so I have many thanks for that.

There are still things I can't speak (or write) about because of their sensitive natures, but when the time comes, you'll be the first I'll tell. I promise.

Okay, what I'm trying to tell you is that I'm sorry about everything I've done in the past and all the hurt I've caused, such as Teppei. I was ignorant in the past, not that it excuses anything, but I'm sorry.

And the purpose of this letter is to tell you that—'

The following words were hard to divulge due to being erased repeatedly. Aether didn't know if it was on purpose, but the letter ended there. Curiosity enveloped him as he looked at the other.

"What does the end of your letter say? It's hard to read."

"Or maybe you're eyesight is bad."

"No, it's hard to read. Did you do that on purpose?"

"..."

"Kuni, please tell me." the puppet sighed harshly, grabbing the paper again, turning it around, and finishing his sentence. Handing it back to the blonde, he got up to leave, but Aether stopped him.

"You don't have to leave. I won't judge whatever is on this paper." looking back down at the paper, Aether's eyes widened as his cheeks flushed bright red.

'I love you.' was written in bold letters. Despite writing it very quickly, it was still neat, and it impressed the blonde a bit. Looking back up, Kuni had an embarrassed look on his face. Aether reached his hand out, stopping him from pulling his hat down.

"Don't do that; it's not embarrassing. Please, look at me." Kuni sheepishly looked at the blonde, not making eye contact.

"Look in my eyes, please?" the puppet listened. Indigo eyes met yellow-gold eyes, and they stared at each other in comfortable silence.

"I love you, too, Kuni."