Together

"Hey, Doon, you don't mind if we could explore and play games to pass the time, at least until more people from Ember arrive?" Lina suggested.

"No, Lina, not at all. That way, we won't get to be so bored while we wait for them to come. What do you have in mind?" Doon asked.

"I was thinking that we could just lay down on the grass and stare up at the blue sky for a while. Wouldn't that be fun?" Lina questioned.

"Yes, and we should probably rest our backs on a flat surface of the ground to make it more comfortable for us." Doon answered.

"Doon, that's a great idea!" Lina replied, just before coming over to her friend and giving him a hug, which surprised Doon, but he still returned the affection, by quickly stroking his hands across the top of her back.

"Well, I'm glad that you like it," Doon responded, as he pointed to a close area of the green field. "How about we go over there, since it looks like a pretty good spot for us."

Lina nodded, and while carrying the metal box under her right arm, and holding Poppy's hand, Lina and her sister followed Doon to the place that he picked out for them. She carefully put down the metal box, and slowly laid herself on the cool, and soft grass, while Poppy did the same on Lina's left side, and with Doon being on the right side of her.

"Wow, the sky is just like I've always imagined it would be. It's so beautiful, isn't it?" Lina asked, but what she didn't know was that Doon already had his mind on something else, or more like someone else.

"Yes, it is...just like you." Doon answered, while whispering those last three words, since he was sure that things would definately be awkward between him and Lina if he complimented her in that way, but Doon could at least admit to himself that Lina was beautiful.

She was really a lot more than that: caring, headstrong, inquisitive, loyal, and that's why Doon was quite lucky the two of them had become friends again, but somehow, he couldn't help but start to have new and slightly embarrassing about his friendship with Lina. Just to see how she would react, Doon decided to slightly brush his hand against Lina's arm, which caused her to draw away from her thoughts about the sky, turn her face to look at him, and she gave a bright smile that suddenly sent Doon's heart racing. It was like a feeling of sparks from electricity which had flowed through him, and Doon really enjoyed it, so he was wondering about whether or not to tell Lina that he liked her a lot more in a way that wasn't based on being best friends, but he was still worried that if he said something, it would ruin their friendship.

Why did he even feel this way? Was it because they had been through so much in the past few, or was it completely normal for best friends to have these kind of feelings for each other, and was that what being a best guy friend to a girl meant? This whole adventure was a bit ironic to Doon. When he and Lina had been hiding in the secret room inside the greenhouse and found the contraption his father had built, she had made a comment about how their fathers had been trying to get out of Ember together, and now it was him and Lina who had managed to escape Ember together. Doon was starting to believe that it must have been some kind of sign, that maybe the two of them were meant to be more than just friends, but Doon wasn't sure that Lina felt the same way as he did, and it probably wouldn't feel right to tell her, but then again, he thought that it was important for Lina to know.

"Hey, Lina, I'm sorry to bother you, and I don't mean to, but there's something that I'd like to tell you, but even though it won't be easy saying this, I'll go ahead with it anyway." Doon said, as he got up from the grass, and lent out his hand to pull Lina up from the grassy field.

"Doon, is there something wrong? I mean, if you want to do something else other than stare at the sky, you can just tell me, and I'll be more than happy to be doing it with you, because you're my best friend." Lina replied, while coming close enough for Doon to gaze at her face.

For a moment which seemed like forever, but had lasted only about for a few slow seconds, Doon's eyes lingered on Lina's soft, subtle features, from her mahogany hair, thin eyebrows, long nose, and finally, her curvy lips.

"C'mon, Doon, please talk to me! Are you feeling okay, because you're really starting to worry me now, since you don't usually look at me that way." Lina reminded, and after Doon didn't give an answer, Lina decided to snap him out of it by shaking him a little.

Unfortunately, it was Doon who had managed to surprise her when he moved both of his hands around the lower area of Lina's back, and pulled her towards him, closing the distance between their bodies, before he gently pressed his lips against Lina's, which caused her to pull away. Even though Lina still kept her eyes to Doon's, she stayed quite silent for only about a few seconds, but he already had started to believe that kissing her was an awful mistake, and was going to apologize when he felt Lina slowly wrap her arms around his neck, and nod her head.

Doon smiled back, relieved to know that not only had Lina given permission for him to continue, but she was also okay with it, as he tenderly put his hands back on her waist, and pressed his mouth to hers once again, and the kiss deepened with Lina kissing him back. They eventually pulled away from each other, since both of them needed to take a deep breath of air, and they received flushed cheeks when they looked back at one another, and Doon was the first to speak up, especially because he had a question on his mind.

"Lina, I thought you said earlier that I was your best friend? I didn't really want to say or do anything because I was afraid of destroying our friendship, so what changed your mind?" Doon asked.

"After everything that we've been through, I've been thinking about you in a different way, but even after giving you a hug and a smile, I still wasn't sure that you wanted anything more, and so it wasn't until you kissed me that I realized you were feeling the same." Lina answered.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that, and Lina, you should be very proud of yourself, because if it wasn't for you, then we never would have found a way for us and everyone else to get out of Ember." Doon responded, and kissed her again, but on the forehead this time.

"It wasn't just me, it was both of us that worked together as a team, and I think that we make a pretty good one, don't you think so?" Lina asked.

"Of course, and that's why whatever problems and challenges come in the future, it's probably best for us to face them together, because it's better than facing them alone, right?" Doon replied.

"Yes, I agree, and although it seem silly to ask you at this point, especially after we kissed just a few minutes ago, but Doon, would you like to become my boyfriend?" Lina asked.

"I would love to, even though I'm kind of sure that the kissing would have been a good answer to that question, and Lina, would you like to become my girlfriend?" Doon asked.

"Definitely, and how about me, you, and Poppy take a walk around to explore this new world, because from what I've seen so far, it does have a lot of things to offer." Lina answered.

Doon smiled and nodded his head in agreement before both of them turned and walked back to where Lina's sister had been resting on the grass, and Lina decided to be quiet with waking her up. "Hey, Poppy, you wanna go for a walk?"

Poppy nodded her head, while opening her eyes, and stood up, and before taking her hand, Lina approached the metal box from the grass and was about to pick it up but was surprised to see Doon grab it first, and put it under his right arm.

"You've been carrying the box for a long time now, and I just thought as your boyfriend that I should look after it for a while, if that's okay with you." Doon explained.

"No, I don't mind at all, and thank you very much, Doon, that's such a sweet thing to do." Lina responded, giving him a quick kiss, while intertwining one of her hands with Poppy's, the other hand with Doon's.

As the three of them set off on their walk, they looked around in awe from seeing the nigh mountains, tall green trees, lush countryside, and the huge river, in which the water from it was shimmering in the sun. Back in the underground city of Ember, Doon and Lina were just friends, and that's all anyone ever saw, but eventually they had feelings for each other, and are now in love, which is what both of them had wanted for a long time, and what makes it better is a new life they could share their time in this whole new world...together.

Fin