What if?

Untitled Part 5

Later that evening Juggler walked into the forest and looked up at the sky. He needed something to clear his head and this was all he could think of. He looked up at all the stars then closing his eyes he took a deep breath as he breathed in the night's air. This soothed him for a moment, until he could sense someone was near. He placed a hand readily over his sword as he turned around.

"Whose there-", he stopped when he saw it was Micott. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her, but he quickly put on his usual aloof expression to mask any other emotions he had. In a way he was actually pleased to see her, but at the same time he wasn't. Getting close to anyone, especially someone who you fight alongside with will bring about nothing but trouble.

"You shouldn't be walking around. What are you doing here?" he asked coldly trying not to let on that he actually cared what she did.

"I wanted to see you," she said with a sense of gentleness that even he almost couldn't refuse to acknowledge. But he still tried.

"What for? There isn't any more trouble yet is there?" he could already feel is heart beginning to pound in his chest, due to her presence.

"No, I just...I just wanted to know why you acted that way...you know, back at the treating center," she spoke softly.

"Acted what way?" of course he already what she was referring to but he couldn't let his guard down.

"I mean..why did behave that way?" her voice almost sounded hurt, "like you didn't want me to know you cared."

That instantly got a reaction from Juggler as he couldn't help but gulp as he tried to again avert his gaze from hers. In the name of trying to save face he forced a slight chuckle as he responded with a smirk, "Why would you think that? You know I don't worry about things that aren't my problem."

But Micott wasn't buying the act this time as she stepped closer, too close for Juggler's liking since having her near seemed to have a serious affect on him. She forced him look her right in the eye as she continued.

"You don't have to pretend anymore," she spoke right up, causing him to give her a stunned look.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you don't have to pretend to be this callous and heartless person that you try to fool people into thinking you are," pausing a moment in order to choose her next words carefully, she looked deep into his eyes with a sense of longing that juggler himself couldn't help but feel too. She then went on, "I know you want to be impenetrable to anything and don't want anyone to think that you're vulnerable. I know you have issues with trusting those around you, ...but could you try letting people in who really care about you?"

"And who would that be?" Juggler said dark and depressingly. As long as he could remember there wasn't anyone who ever truly cared about him and he was okay with that. Or was it that he was just used to it?

"Well, there's Gai, he certainly treats you as a friend and..."She hesitated a moment while looking down at the ground shyly, "There's me."

Juggler didn't know how to respond. He knew she had been fond of him pretty much from the start, but he never considered that it was anything serious.

"You mean as a friend," he said in more of a cynical statement than a question.

"No, I mean..." She spoke in almost a whisper, "I like you."

Juggler was caught off gaurd by this and for the first time was speechless. Here she was confessing her feelings for him and he couldn't think of a single thing to say. Juggler just stared at her with an unreadable expression, which didn't do much to assure Micott that he felt the same.