The Equation of Hearts

√𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟼𝟺ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩ

So; heels were an absolute no for the field. Not that she minded the fact that she complained and Kato responded by picking her up and carrying her to the warm glow and empty space of grass surrounded by taller shrubbery and flowers. She saw the lanterns and the quaint picnic mat, the range of foods he got for her. She found it cute, it felt very on par for Kato to do that, to not take her to a restaurant, but to look up at the sky she never got to appreciate. There were more stars than usual. Not entirely a beautiful celestial body, but more stars to sway over the sky than usual.

"I'm sorry," he apologised.

"If you apologise anymore today I'll be due another one of these nights out," she warned, "what even is there to be sorry about?" She looked at the food and went to him,

"You'd have preferred a restaurant, I'm aware... but bear with me." He excused, she ran a hand under his blazer and over the waistcoat.

"Whatever. How do I look?" She looked up at his blindfold with anticipation. He leaned closer and held her hand by the wrist, where his thumb pressed into her palm.

"Breathtaking," he whispered - she expected a "beautiful" or "stunning", she felt her cheeks burn with humility, "like royalty, I should have gotten you a tiara," he ran a hand over her head, she closed her eyes, "someone anyone could admire, like a sunset... in a way. You're absolutely... empyrean." He smothered and she folded under the compliments, the butterflies in her stomach had her buckling and she genuinely loved this thrill. She could stay here forever, hearing his hushed tone give her the words of her dreams and more. She had heard it from other men, but he used words that made her feel special. That night, she fell in love with the sunset.

"I might fall," she warned, only feeling Kato's other hand at her back, pressing against her,

"I'll make sure you don't," he promised and honestly, what more of a man could she want? "You should eat," he then decided, sitting her down and sitting across from her. She looked at all of the food and saw so much. Spicy dishes, seafood, sweet and savoury mixed. He seemed to get everything. She didn't know where to begin. So he offered her a forkful of some, she took the fork and tried it, of course, to no surprise, the food was great.

How had their night only just started and Athena already found it to be perfect? Even when the shudder of cold made itself known, he dropped his blazer on her. She could smell him, and he looked wonderful without the blazer.

"I haven't seen you eat before," she claimed as he had the food.

"It's a personal preference." He mumbled,

"What, so we think you run on fuel or solar energy?" She joked. But that was actually a reason, yes.

"Would it entertain you if I said yes?" He looked up at her,

"It would be cute," she doted, "but also, stop that. Even the best actors out there aren't the characters they play. So you can't expect yourself to show this robotic side and expect us to not see the human behind it." She chortled, he nodded silently, she just watched him for a moment before he looked up to her,

"Let the next person take you where you wanted to go," he said, she tilted her head, "instead of having them give you one big, self-centred gift." He motioned to the foods and the area,'"go to the places you wanted to go," he encouraged her quietly.

"Hm~ you're right. I actually would have rathered a restaurant to this place," she looked around the dark scenery. She couldn't see much, and she was telling the truth, but as Kato slid over a slice of pie, she decided it wasn't so bad. Where she picked up the plate and made her way to sit by him, where she leaned against him and he hummed, "who made these? You?" She asked as she ate, offering a forkful of the sweet and smoky filling to him. He actually had it, readjusting his legs and caging her into an embrace as she ate. He nodded and she closed her eyes, "you should have just bought it. Why'd you waste your time?" She wondered, and he let her finish her food. She was satisfied with how she ate, and how he was hugging her into him,

"I want to tell you some things," he changed the subject, he rested his head on her shoulder and so she could feel him right there.

"Like what?" She turned her head to face him. He tilted his head and stared at her. She was expecting him to pull away, but he was only inches away and she had to stay focused,

"Can you promise me something?" He whispered. She nodded blindly, before feeling Kato stand up and carry her with him, where she was set down and she turned to face him entirely, she reached for his hands and he held them in his hands gently. He'd never been so physical.

"Tell me then!" She insisted, and he squeezed her hands.

"You and your sister," he inhaled calmly for her ears to twitch to, "are two... incredibly sweet and beautiful girls. And though that means people love you, you might not want their love, and that's okay. But... it doesn't comfort me to think of what can happen without me there, so please, for the pair of you," her slender figure was pulled into his own, built one and she looked up at him. He rested his forehead on hers and sighed, "please be careful. Please don't... get into any danger. It's a large request to ask of someone who doesn't know half of the dangers she faces as a beautiful girl; I'm aware. But it would truly comfort me to know you don't blindly trust people as quickly as you do," he ran a hand through her hair affectionately and failed to see the cherry red of her face, "even me, I'd rather you didn't trust me as you do. I'm still a man, I'm still as curious as any human. So please comfort me," he was only whispering by the end of it. And she could have happily left it at that - where she nodded but didn't listen. But something stopped her, it was like a child behind her pulling on her dress and begging her to actually think about it.

"What have you done..." She mumbled and he rested his chin on her head.

"I'm..." he was going to apologise, "I've shed blood to keep you and your sister safe," he confessed,

"I know, we saw,"

"No, more than you think. The lengths I would go for you and your sister are as limitless as my lengths for my own family. So could you just... Please, don't leave yourself or her alone with men you can't trust." He held her hands together and brought them to his face, she nodded slowly,

"I'll... I'll try." She whispered, realising he was begging her to do this. He rested the backs of her fingers to his lips and she felt him smile. Her whole body tensed and she stared in awe at the fact he was smiling. "You're..." she reached over and her thumb brushed over his lip. He was smiling at her.