Through The Forest Of Flames

Chap 44- Come With Me

You don't know how long you laid there on the cold grass, surrounded by your white lilies when your cries finally died down into pitiful whimpers. In your zoned out state, you didn't hear the crunching of dirt as someone approached you.

"Don't tell me I have to fry that brat's ass for making you cry, do I?" Touya questioned as he crouched down next to your patch of lilies. You slowly shook your head, your arms tightening around yourself.

"It was equal parts from both of us making me cry.." you said quietly, your voice hoarse. "And now talking to you is going to make it worse.."

"I'll just fuck off then, damn."

"No don't," you said, quickly sitting up to meet his smug grin. He grabbed your cheeks gently with one hand, turning your head side to side as he examined your face.

Small blades of grass were tangled in your hair, dirt stuck and smudging on your cheek from your tears. The bags under your eyes reminded him that you haven't been sleeping well the past few days, your mind always on high alert. A red ring lined the rim of your eyes from crying, your eyelids puffy as your e/c eyes shined from the excess wetness. Your cheeks were rosy under the speckles of dirt, but he wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from you crying.

"You look like hell, doll," he commented, squishing your cheeks as he made you meet his eyes again. His other hand worked on plucking the blades of grass out of your hair, wiping off the dirt from your red cheeks as you sniffled.

"And hwere I thought you wuved me," you said, his finger and thumb squishing your face enough to make it hard for you to speak.

He gently let go of your face as he finally sat down, criss-crossing his long legs; "I do love you, idiot." He held his palm open towards you expectantly, a single brow raised as his icy stare stayed on your face.

You hesitantly put your hand into his, earning a light scoff from him; "I wanted a smoke, dork." He teased, pulling your hand towards him, making you fall into him. As you rolled onto your back to rest your head on his lap, he dug through his jacket pockets to find his pack. You watched, almost entranced, as he lit his cigarette, the glow from his blue flame making his staples shine faintly as your necklace responded to his heat.

As he blew out the smoke and leaned back on one of his hands, you slowly reached up and caressed his scarred cheek. He looked down at you with a ghost of a smile, goosebumps riddling your body as you relished in his warmth.

"How much do you love me?" You whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear.

He took another hit off his cigarette, blowing the smoke away from your face before answering; "why do you always feel the need to ask me that?"

"Because your answer this time around will determine how this conversation goes.." you answered, your voice cracking to barely a whisper.

You weren't even sure he heard you as he took another drag of his cigarette, his head tilting back as he blew the smoke into the air. Your hand slowly fell to your side as your gaze stayed on Touya, who remained staring up at the night sky. The longer the silence dragged on, the more your chest ached.

"You don't think I know what this is about?" He finally spoke, not breaking his gaze from the sky.

A sigh left you as you screwed your eyes shut, the anxiety refilling your body. "How-"

"I'm not dense, Y/N." He bit, cutting you off as you sat up. "I know you better than anyone else in this group, you didn't keep it hidden from me very well."

You turned around to meet his icy stare, the glow from your necklace giving his eyes an extra depth of color. "Touya, I don't want to argue about this. I just think-"