Incandescence

Enemy's Territory

As humans, we are constantly exposed to situations that may be defined as challenging, life itself is an endless spiral of problems, and Emilio Martinez was no exception to this non-spoken rule of nature. One thing after another, Emilio was put to the test to grow both wiser and stronger, but there is one specific thing about any person that no imperium could escape. The need of something known as catharsis.

Catharsis is the one state of mind where you free yourself from the tension that all these different adversities may hold on you, this specific process can happen with simple stuff, such as feeling the wind brush on your face or laying down for a minute, it is what takes us back to the present time and keeps us grounded somewhat giving us a motivation or hope for the better that's yet to come.

In the Spaniard's case his moment of catharsis was now, as he had his arm tenderly grabbed around Athena's waist and the girl laid her head on his shoulder, both enjoying the view of such marvelous sunset right before their eyes, admiring the explosion of colors, the faint scent of her perfume tingling his nose. Everything about this experience was an absolute bliss.

Gradually, the sun went down, and darkness started to settle, the sky was no longer a perfect mixture between yellow and orange but rather an infinite dark blue setting, Athena let out a sigh and Emilio turned to her, staring into her almond-shaped eyes that looked back at him gently.

"I wish I didn't have to go home" she said

"But you do, and I don't wanna give your parents a reason to hate your boyfriend" he said playfully getting off the hood of the car and helping the girl as well

"They could never hate you" she spoke with confidence grabbing her arms around Emilio's neck and looking into his perfect blue eyes, the boy grinned softly

"Thank god, I don't think I can stop seeing the girl I love" there was a flash of shock and amusement from Athena as he finished the sentence, did this mean what she thought it did?

"The girl you love?" she wondered holding him a little closer, when she repeated that specific part of his sentence Emilio realized his honest mistake, his cheeks were tinted with a bright shade of pink without him being able to avoid it and suddenly the floor seemed rather interesting to his eyes, he had told Athena he loved her for the first time like this? Obviously, he didn't explicitly say it but his intention in between lines was more than clear.

"Well... uh- I don't know I-I mean I do but uh..." the redhead girl lifted his chin so he would face her again, she placed a soft peck on the boy's lush lips and smiled widely at him.

"I love you too E" she giggled, his eyes glowed as she spoke, the poor teenager was undoubtedly smitten by this girl, with her laugh, her tenderness, every little piece of her made him fall a little more in love. He chuckled not knowing how to deal with his excitement, now he had another reason to not wanting to let her go, but both had things to get back to.

"Alright, I do have to get you home" and so, they finally headed back to the Dumuzi household, throughout the ride, Athena did not experience the well-known anxiety nor discomfort for coming back home, because she was with Emilio. He was the type of person that conveys this overwhelming sense of calm, and he did not have to say or do anything at all, his mere presence somehow exuded that sentiment. The car was finally parked in front of her house, she said goodbye to her boyfriend with a kiss on the cheek and he whispered sweet and reassuring things in her ear. Being fully aware of the discomfort she felt whenever she was at home. Balthazar was closely inspecting the scene through the blinds, just a few weeks ago had Athena told their parents she was seeing someone named Emilio and for those past weeks he had been trying to swallow his disapproval, , for what she said he could sense that they had been going out far back before she actually said anything to them. Which meant there was something Athena knew there was something about her boyfriend that would not be of her father's liking. His daughter was the most important thing in the world to him and as an overprotective father he would obviously think no one is good enough for her precious Athena and only child of his.