Her Eyes

Six

He scrolled through the several articles of different names with the leaf woman, failing to understand that although she understood words, she struggled to comprehend what they meant. For the most part, she understood basic English and could respond brokenly; reading the long and short words on the bright blue screen was out of her league.

When Nikolaos read out a name, she would shake her head, not liking the way it sounded on his tongue. She wanted to have a name that she liked to hear coming from him, the meaning and whatnot didn't matter to her in the slightest.

Her legs were bent on the rolling chair, tugging the large sweater over her knees. She was barely paying attention for the most part, feeling her fingers and wiggling her toes, giggling at the weird way they looked. Her hair blocked her vision constantly and she whined until Nikolaos tied it back with a hair tie.

"How about Talia?" She shook her head.

He sighed, rocking back and forth on his heels as he stood bent over the chair, scrolling the mouse wheel down each website and typing on the keyboard when they ran out of names. She was quite stubborn and picky, but he didn't complain. It was supposed to be a permanent name for her after all.

Besides, Nikolaos couldn't get mad at her no matter how many times she played with the objects on his desk and pulled on his fingers, wanting to play with the rings on them. He found her inquisitiveness cute and liked the feeling of her warm, soft fingers tracing over the veins on his hands and interlocking with his. He fell deeper each time she did it and fought the urge to plant a kiss on her head.

"You don't like Lily-Mae, Scarlett, Hallie, Maia, or Anastasia," he murmured, checking off the names she shook her head to. She especially disliked Anastasia, saying there were too many letters. She couldn't even pronounce it herself.

He hummed, checking the time on his desktop. It was almost time for lunch. "Esmae," he whispered to himself. The woman heard him and looked up, bending her head back to look at him. "Yes!" she exclaimed, pointing at the monitor.

He raised a brow at her elation. "Esmae? Do you like that name?" he asked, turning the chair around, and lowering his frame to her eye level. The woman nodded furiously; a large smile planted on her face. She was always smiling with no idea of what the real world was like. Her innocence stumped Nikolaos at first, and he wondered if she would ever be able to function in society, but after deciding to keep her with him, he dismissed the worry.

"Es ... mae! Say it!" she demanded, reaching forward and squeezing his cheeks in the palm of her hands. She giggled at the way his face morphed and his lips jutted out. Nikolaos' eyes widened from her sudden touch, and he brought his hands to her wrists, holding them gently. "Hello, Esmae," he greeted, his voice dripping with sweet honey.

"Hello Nikolaos," she replied, hugging him happily. The upset feeling she had before when he first picked her up in the forest was long gone, replaced with adoration. She wanted him to be happy and healthy every day, and she would make it happen now that she was a human like him.

Nikolaos hugged her back, raising himself from the ground and carrying Esmae at the same time. She squealed, wrapping her legs around his torso. When Nikolaos' hand went to support her butt, he froze. She wasn't wearing any underwear. He couldn't possibly give her his to wear, but as far as he knew, her nether region was bare and pressing against his stomach.

The thought made heat travel to his private area, and he went to the closet in his bedroom, choosing a small pair of boxers he had from a year or two ago, and released the hug with Esmae, sitting her on the bed. She grunted, disapprovingly, but let go and took the boxers he hastily handed to her.

They would need to buy clothes immediately along with some other necessities. "Would you like to go outside to the city? I need to buy some things for you," he explained when she tilted her head, scrunching her brows ever so slightly. She didn't pay much attention to the shopping part but was happy with the notion of going outside and nodded immediately.