Brothers In Arms (UNDER EDIT)

Chapter 12 - Eliza

(I think I lost a few brain cells writing this. And I most definitely will keep editing it lol *sweats*)

    Not even the ocean could calm Eliza today.
Her insides were a whirling mess as she stared out into the sea, watching the waves go about their business, fingers tapping against the Fogrese sea barrier.
    Sure, she looked fine on the outside, but these past few weeks, lovely as they were, had been a stormy wreck for her mind and heart.
    But why was she like this? She'd been hanging out with Captain Sunny, the one and currently only friend she had. Except... They were probably dating.
    Okay, it was a bit far-fetched to say they were, and it wasn't like Sunny had taken her out to fancy restaurants or places, but they'd just hung out here by the coast, gotten food at the nearest café, and talked. Talked and talked and talked until there was nothing else to say and they ended up staring at each other. And then Eliza got this urge to kiss him and it went downhill from there. Not with their relationship, she managed to keep it cool in front of him and they were close friends, but she would be mentally freaking out.
    But she could tell Sunny might very well share what she felt. She occasionally spotted his cheeks turning a shade of darker blue whenever they stared at each other, and his hand would often accidentally (or maybe purposefully, she wasn't sure) brush against hers when they went for walks through parks with colorful foliage.
    She'd been busy this day with helping out at the Dormiscale Library (and Sunny had been sleeping in and resting, like she'd told him too), so when she got out the sun was setting, which made the water look far more beautiful than it ever did. But then it reminded her of Sunny, and brought her right back to worrying about him again.
    He'd told her everything about his mission. And then he'd told her that he wasn't supposed to tell her and they could both get into trouble if someone found out. She was pretty sure that 'someone' was Ross, as Sunny kept complaining about him breathing down his neck and criticizing everything he did with Racer that wasn't 'shooting him in the head'. In her opinion, Ross sounded very controlling. He sounded like he was making Sunny do what he wanted to do by threatening Sunny's position as Captain of the team, and she loathed civilians who were like that. She should probably tell him what she thought.
    But of course she had to be lost in her thoughts to not notice Sunny approaching her. She was surprised he even let her stay in her thoughts for a while before he spoke.
    "Hello." He greeted, snapping her out and making her jump. He looked a lot better than when she first saw him after he'd returned from the Wastes, but Eliza could see faint marks where burns had been. Sunny winced when he startled her, and looked apologetic. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump." He said, pulling that cute expression again like he always did when he was sorry.
    "Don't be sorry! You seriously need to stop apologizing so much!" Eliza said, playfully nudging him. "I'm sorry for not focusing when you arrived. I should've heard you, but I was caught up in my thoughts."
    "You shouldn't be sorry either." Sunny teased, nudging her back. She laughed, moving to gently push him, but he caught both her wrists before she could move - and Eliza then realized how close they were. She could see the individual spots on his arms, a trait all Nepolians had. Each pattern was unique, like fingerprints, and so far nobody had seen two Nepolians with identical spots.
    The breath caught in her throat, and Sunny froze, his face inches away from hers.
    Eliza tried to move, but she couldn't. She felt glued to the floor, unable to take her eyes off of Sunny, who didn't move either. He only kept staring at her.
    "Did I tell you that you are very beautiful?" He asked, his breath brushing against her forehead. "Because you are. Very beautiful, I mean. The most beautiful Nepolian I've ever met, and I've only met five in my lifetime, including you."
    "Are you going to keep rambling on about how beautiful I am, or are you just going to kiss me?" The words tumbled out of Eliza's mouth without her even thinking about it. She was just about to spill an apology on how she shouldn't have said that, but Sunny beat her to it and started talking before her.
    The Nepolian Captain laughed. "I guess I should, shouldn't I? I mean- nevermind. I'm just going to kiss you." And he closed the gap between them and did what he said he would.
    And Eliza turned into an ocean. The world faded away around her. She was an ocean on a stormy night, whirling and tossing and spinning, and Sunny was the only thing keeping her together.
    He still gripped her wrists, and she felt his pulse jumping, almost beating identical to hers. She was aware of everything about him, as if he was the only thing worth caring about; the only thing that mattered to her.
    But all good things had to end at some point, unfortunately. And this was something she never wanted to end.
    "As much as I want to keep kissing you, I have to go." Sunny said, breaking the kiss. He lifted his hands away from her wrists to caress her cheeks, her own hands subconsciously wound their away around his neck, as if they didn't want him to go.
"Do you have to go?" She asked, fighting the urge to kiss him back. "Has it really been a month already?"
    "Indeed it has, and you know what that means. I'll be going to planet Tylum, to face Racer once again." Sunny sighed, closing his eyes as if he didn't want to think about it. Eliza, partly unable to help herself and seeing how sad he look, leaned forward to give him a quick kiss. Whether it was because she couldn't help it or because she felt sorry for him, she didn't know, but his hands, which had slid to the back of her neck (all the while making herself feel like she was jelly), stiffened and prevented her from pulling away.
    "C'mon, you have to go, you said so yourself." Eliza said, eventually managing to pull away from the kiss, but rested her head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat echoing inside. "I hope you come back."
    "I'll try to come back. I'll always come back for you." Sunny murmured, gently running his fingers through her hair.
    Eliza smiled, letting go and stepped away, mockingly saluting Sunny, who chuckled.
    "Good luck. I hope the worst doesn't happen." She said. "And... don't listen to Ross. He sounds very controlling. Don't let him get to you."
    "Heh. Thanks." Sunny said, grinning back at her. "And... thanks for not telling me to get lost. Again."
    "I'd never tell you that. I love you too much." Eliza said with a laugh.
    But Sunny had left without hearing what she'd said.