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17| Florist's

"What?"

"Leave," he said, his hands turned into fists, the veins on his arms bulging. "Go. Go find her. Go find your family."

I gasped lightly, looking up at him in slight disbelief.

"I may be gone for weeks," I whispered.

"I know."

"I don't even know if I will come back."

"I know, Ales. I know"

"I'll miss you."

At this point, I realised that I couldn't go without him.

"Me too."

He looked up at me, his sparkling blues met mine.

"I know, Ales. I know. That's why I asked for you to wait for me, so that we can go together," he said. "I know it's dangerous out there. I know you might be gone for a long time. I know you might never come back to me. I know I will be worrying about you every second of my life. I know."

He took a step forward. A hand placed on my cheek so lovingly. I sniffed, leaning onto his warm, large palm as I held it in my hands.

"But I know you're my strong girl. You have been through so much. You saved Slugterra, without me. Maybe if I come with you I'd be a burden. Though it would be amazing to have you by my side, who am I to tell you what you can or can't do, right?"

He pulled me in for a hug. A tight hug.

"If you have to go, then leave. I'll be happy for you."

I hugged him back, tighter than I had ever hugged him before, feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable with my emotions and thoughts pilling up in my head.

"Baby?" I called out to him.

"Yeah?"

"Can you stand living without me while I'm gone?" I asked, slowly glancing up at him, awaiting his response.

"I won't even last a day, but for you I will," he said, smiling through his teary eyes.

"Then I'm not leaving without you." I shook my head. "I want to find my mother, but I can't do this alone. I need you to come with me. I need you."

My heart jumped a beat when the corners of his lips curved more upwards and he smiled with his eyes.

"You have no idea how much I love you, doll."

Blush rose to my cheeks, and I let out a small chuckle.

He blinked frequently, the corners of his lips descended for just the slightest.

"Do you trust me?"

Surprised, I frowned at his question.

"Of course I do."

"Then why did you fire that shot?"

"What are you talking about?"

"This morning, at Futuria," he said, looking at me sternly. "Why did you fire Chopper even after you saw us holding fire?"

"I-" I stammered, trying to recall the events from that morning. "I wasn't thinking. I was thinking about the vision and I came home to finding out I missed a distress call. I was worrying. I was panicking. I wasn't on my right mind. It's not that I don't trust you, Eli. I promise you it's not like that."

He stayed silent. His thumb that was stroking my cheek froze, resting on my face. The incident this morning replayed in my head, the fires that engulfed and the cries of the disheartened, guilt crept up in me.