𝐂𝐎𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐂 || 18+ 𝚢𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚜 𝚡 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝙵𝙼𝙲

┉┈◈†𐌷𐍊𐍂†𐌴𐌴𐍀◈┈┉

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It became apparent, after a while, that Tük'hala was not heading back to the palace. In fact, they were going in the opposite direction.

Charlie opened her mouth to speak, but the words caught in her throat when she saw the burning intensity in his eyes as he kept walking, not looking at her. She could feel his avoidance of her gaze was intentional and it made her stomach twist.

Her jaw clenched shut and she instead turned her attention to the direction he was taking her. The buildings around them slowly dwindled to fewer and fewer with a lot of space between them. They were practically alone on the outskirts of Irotak.

Eventually they hadn't passed by a building in a while, but he kept going. Another glance ahead of them revealed they were approaching a building that seemed to be carved into the wall of the cavern. Her jaw dropped. It was beautiful.

The swirling star designs she had seen occasionally in the city were all over this structure, almost like it tried to replicate all the stars in a galaxy. It was two stories high and quite big, definitely above average for a Daki house. A large pile of dirt and rocks sat beside it not too far away. It looked recently placed there.

Tük'hala took her past the threshold and into a large open room lit by a few glowing crystals jutting down from the ceiling. It was so empty, but very beautiful. There were designs carved into every wall and the other doorways she saw were arched with elegant pillars framing them.

Charlie felt his gaze on her and she turned her head up to meet his eyes. He stopped breathing for a moment when their eyes locked. Then he looked away and set her down.

She stood there, waiting expectantly for an explanation, or maybe even a harsh reprimand for earlier. But he just stood there silently, avoiding her eyes while his fingers twitched occasionally as if holding himself back from touching her.

Before the awkward silence could continue any longer, she decided to break it. "So... Why did you bring me here? What is this place?"

She gave another glance around the large room and caught a glimpse through one doorway only to see the room beyond was just as empty. When she turned her attention back to the reptilian male, she was surprised to see he was kneeling with his head bowed.

"Please," he rasped, his voice heavy with shame and regret, "forgive me. I should not have been away for ssso long. You should not have been left to sssuffer alone. I was not thinking and I am deeply ashamed. It is my responsibility to take care of you and I failed."

Charlie blinked at him, not knowing what to do. She cleared her throat and asked, "Why were you gone for so long?"

His head lifted, but he could only meet her eyes for a second before returning his focus to the ground. He gestured loosely around them. "I was making thisss for you. You were upset with me and I wanted to surprise you with the gift of a home... Sssince you did not have one anymore."

Charlie couldn't speak for a moment, staring at him in disbelief. When she took in the room again, it was in a new light. This is mine?

It was a magical space, though glaringly hollow without any furniture or decorations to liven it up. But she did always have a passion for interior design. Her heart started beating faster in excitement at the thought of having a space to call her own where she could decorate however she wanted. There had to be a catch.

She threw him a suspicious glance. "Are you going to be staying here, too?"

"Of course," he replied without hesitance. "I cannot leave you alone ever again."