Forgive and Forget: but what about Now? (suntan fic :))

Memories of Her, Preserved

So for context u need to read my other heromari oneshot in another book i wrote some time ago (like i said, its canon in this universe)

this whole chapter would be a little confusing if not lmao

enjoy
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Two days since Sunny and Kel had talked on the phone.

Two days since Kel had turned back into his happier self.

Two days since Hero had been questioning everything he knew.

As he walked across the empty path, which once had been so full of life here and there, now lay desolate and withered.

The bushes and flowers littered around once so long ago seemed to have all perished, now looking devoid of any life.

If the path looked like this, Hero didn't want to know what had happened to where he was headed for now.

Though it had been four years since he'd set foot there, he knew the place like the back of his hand.

Or rather, Mari's hand, seeing as how he always used to hold hers.

He could almost feel her hands wrapped around his own right now, her dainty fingers and all...

Right, right. He shouldn't get sidetracked. He came here to try and clear his mind.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to get rid of the thought, though he should expect more of them, since he was going to their own place.

The place meant only for the two of them.

As he emerged between the two bushes guarding their sanctuary, he was met with an awful sight.

The whole place had been sucked of its life. You couldn't even tell it had been beautiful once upon a time. The flowers which had covered its surface were now withered and dead, and the grass felt crackly and dry. Even the willow tree had shriveled a bit, with a branch fallen.

The stream had almost dried up and upon closer inspection, it looked more muddy and wasn't as clear as it was back then.

All this felt like a stab to Hero's gut. A pang of guilt washed through him.

As he sat by the stream, running his hand through what was left of it, and it made him feel like he was missing his half. Memories of them enjoying their time here suddenly crashed into his brain.

They must've hung out here, what-five or six times? It was that very year that Mari had died.

He remembered one time, to get back at him for flustering her so bad, she chased him around the meadow and splashed water on him, trying to steal kisses and using cheesy pick-up lines.

Especially the pickup lines. They were so bad it made Hero's insides shrivel and melt in a good way.

Mari was always so hard to fluster. She always appeared so calm, unmoving, as if she could take anything life threw at her without missing a beat.

But Hero knew. He'd known the other side of her, who always stressed and worried about everything.

It was also near impossible to see her get emotional, let alone cry. She'd only cried twice in his presence, once when they were kids, and once in this very spot.

Though Mari loved perfectionism, and strived to be like that, Hero loved the little flaws of her that made her only human. She didn't know how her ears turned red when she got annoyed, or how her fingertips always seemed bruised from practicing the piano for hours on end, or how she looked more stressed every time the teacher set up another deadline for an assignment.