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A sudden gust of wind came up and tore the white bucket hat off the red top, carrying it far into the air. Shirayuki immediately reached for it, but the wind carried it further and further away so she had to run after it to a large tree. Finally catching the thing that had flown away, Shirayuki was able to breathe a sigh of relief and get her breath back in order. She put the bucket hat on and looked around her look: a white shirt with the first buttons undone, it has a small pattern in the heart area in the shape of a pink bunny; light denim shorts with a white strap, white favorite trainers, and a small bag containing the necessary things like a wallet, flat keys, phone charger and more. She wouldn't get dirty, had she thought so hard about her outfit today for nothing? The sun was less scorching today than on previous days and it was a great opportunity to take a walk in her favorite park near the hospital. The park was quite large and spacious, and also crowded: there were always a lot of people gathering there, especially in the evenings. Shirayuki adjusted her white bucket hat, enjoying the shade under the dense green leaves when she immediately felt hands around her shoulders.
“Hello, Shirayuki.” a calm man's voice sounded near her ear, scorching her with hot breath. She turned around in surprise but knew full well who it was, and yet when she saw the bottomless blue eyes, her lips stretched into a wide smile and her eyes sparkled.
“Zen!” she immediately threw herself into his arms, snuggling against him and wrapping her arms around his neck. Zen wrapped his arms around her waist, smiling, nestling into her shoulder.
“You must have been waiting for me, sorry.” Zen didn't take his hands off her waist, pulling away from her slightly so he could see her face. Shirayuki ran her hands down his chest, smoothing his dark blue shirt. He looked as perfect as ever today - the dark blue shirt was loose on him, the first buttons were undone, the white trousers unobstructed his movements, and a gold wristwatch flaunting on his wrist.
“I just got here myself, so you're just in time.” she smiled charmingly, gazing into his eyes. They hadn't seen each other for a fortnight, and she missed him a lot, but studying didn't allow them to see each other as often as they would have liked.
“I missed you very much.” he smiled softly, drawing her closer, their foreheads touching, the distance between them shrinking and Shirayuki could feel his breath. “I thought I was going crazy without you, and also from these assignments and projects: the economics professor is squeezing all the energy out of me, it's so awful.”
“Oh my! So, I have to do something about it, otherwise, by the end of the year you'll be completely exhausted.” Shirayuki chuckled; this wasn't the first time Zen had complained about this professor and she really had to think about his health, Kiki was also exhausted after her economics lectures, which meant this professor wasn't that simple.
“You can take poor and miserable me in your warm embrace, preferably with kisses, because I really missed my girlfriend.” with those words, Zen smirked and pulled Shirayuki to him, pulling her into a kiss. The air rushed out of her lungs, Shirayuki pressed herself harder against him, letting out all the emotions that had filled her in all these two weeks. She needed to prepare for a project and write a couple of essays, but being the best and favorite student of the professors made her life a little easier.
Zen really was insatiable: Shirayuki squeezed his shirt, she could catch her breath between small breaks, but it wasn't enough. He pulled her against him, not letting her out of his arms, kissing her hard, not missing an inch. His scent made her head spin, driving her crazy. Her own pheromones mingled with his, she wanted to leave as much of that scent behind as possible, wanting just as badly to smell him as well. Disappointedly pulling away from the guy, Shirayuki smiled, finally catching her breath: her cheeks flushed, her eyes sparkling with the rush of excitement. Taking a step back, she took his hands in hers, smiling softly.
“There's a new coffee shop around the corner, and Yuzuri said the cheesecakes there are really good. Shall we go there?” she suggested, looking him in the eye. She wanted more of his touch, of course, but they were outside, and also in the park, and had agreed to go for a walk today.
“Sure, why not?” he smiled at her, holding her hands. Shirayuki smiled back charmingly and pulled him towards that coffee shop.
The weather was indeed wonderful, even though summer was usually hot: it was simply impossible to go outside without a fan or a cold drink, but this time the slightly cool breeze felt nice on her skin. Shirayuki had a plan made for the day, so she was eager and eager to tell Zen much of what she had recently discovered. After snacking on the sweetest and most delicious cheesecake Shirayuki had ever had, they left the coffee shop satisfied and full of energy. Shirayuki pulled him in the direction of the mall, straight to the new bookstore, telling him with delight in her eyes about the new find she was so eager to find. Zen only listened to her with a smile and followed her, watching fondly.
***
The sun set below the horizon, the blue sky turned pink, and fluffy white clouds floated over the city like soft candy floss. Shirayuki sighed and stretched lightly, sitting on the green grass in the park. She snuggled up against Zen, leaning relaxed against his chest. They'd had a pretty good day: Shirayuki had dragged Zen to various bling shops, and they'd also spent two hours exactly in a bookstore, discussing a fantasy book. She was quite tired, the guy's warm embrace lulling her, her eyes were already closing as suddenly Zen moved slightly.
“Shirayuki, are you tired?” he asked, looking up at her. The girl shook her head.
“Not much at all, it's just the first time in a long time that the day has gone like this, you know what I mean.” she smiled, kissing him on the nose. Zen smiled and left a kiss on the tip of her nose as well.
“So, shall we have dinner then? What would you like to eat?” he stroked her hair, running the red strands through his fingers. Zen smiled, remembering their first meeting: Shirayuki's red hair was short, but now it was long enough to make some sort of hairstyle out of it.
“I don't even know…” the girl hesitated, looking up at the pink sky above them.
“Let's go to my place then, shall we? We'll order something, and we'll watch a movie. Would you like to spend the night at my place?” Zen looked into her emerald eyes, pulling her face to his chin, a smirk had aped on his face as he saw his lover's slightly flushed cheeks.
“I don't mind, but I have a lecture tomorrow morning, I'd hate to miss it.” Shirayuki tucked a loose red strand behind her ear, blushing slightly. She'd love to stay with him, but sleepovers like this usually ended up with shaky legs the next day and she didn't want to walk like a leaf through the university afterward. Knowing Zen, not only would her legs be constantly shaky, his pheromones would envelop her so badly that she would feel uncomfortable sitting in front of her professors, and she always sits in the front row.
“Lecture in the morning? Is that the only thing stopping you?” Zen smirked, drawing her closer, their lips almost touching, but the girl turned away from him, lowering her gaze. “Shirayuki? Is everything alright?”
Zen tried to look into her eyes with a concerned look, but the girl ended up ducking into his chest, hiding her face. Zen was surprised, but then smiled and stroked her head.
“Then what about the cafe near the amusement park? I heard they've opened up a rooftop terrace there, they say it's really nice.” Shirayuki sighed slightly and then nodded, still hiding her face. Zen smiled, his girlfriend was too cute at times. He wanted to squeeze her in his arms, except she wasn't likely to be happy about her messed up hair, and they were outside.
***
Night enveloped the city, bright advertising signs illuminated the streets, and there were quite a few people, despite the late hour. Zen and Shirayuki stood outside his car in the car park: Shirayuki held his hands, smiling softly.
“When will you be free?” she asked, looking into his eyes. A light breeze blew in, which mussed his red hair, causing Shirayuki to then fix it, tucking it behind his ear. The white bucket hat was in her bag, the sun had long since gone below the horizon, so it was no longer needed.
“Next week I have a project to hand in, an essay to write, and quizzes to study for. I'll be free in a week.” Zen put his hand on the top of her head, stroking her lightly. Shirayuki was still smiling, but her eyes didn't sparkle with joy, they were filled with sadness. Noticing this, Zen ran his hand down her cheek and then pulled her to him. The girl nestled into his shoulder, her shoulders relaxed. “Are you sure that you don't want to come to my place? I'm not likely to see you in the next few days.”
“I can't keep you from your studies. Besides, your brother won't be happy if you suddenly fail the quiz.” Shirayuki's voice was a little low because she was huddled up against him and fully snuggled into his shoulder. Zen had one arm around her waist, the other stroking her head.
“It won't be a big deal, Izana can only scold me, but I can make up for it.” Zen smiled slightly, imagining the image of his disgruntled brother when he saw his grades. Zen pulled Shirayuki away from him slightly so he could look directly into her eyes. “Grades aren't as important as you are. I'd like to be a little selfish and spend as much time with you as I want; take you into a world where it's just the two of us.”
Zen smiled softly at her, stroking her cheek. A red blush scorched the girl's cheeks, emerald eyes sparkling and widening slightly. Shirayuki was always lost when he was so frank with her: her mind instantly emptied, and she didn't know how to react, didn't know what to say. Shirayuki could only blush and look away from the intense blue eyes that looked at her with great love. Zen was sincere, and she had no doubt; he was always honest and Shirayuki sometimes wanted to let selfishness take over. She wanted the world around them to be just for them, she wanted the outside factors to have no effect but unfortunately, that wasn't possible.
Zen reached for her lips, kissing her gently, softly, drawing her closer. Zen took his time, he wanted to delay this moment as much as he could. He missed her touch terribly; at times he actually thought about going away with her to a faraway land; somewhere where no one would bother them. He wanted to see her face every day, to see her smile and hear her laugh, to see her sparkling emerald eyes and hold her hand. Messages were not enough for him, video calls before bed could not replace their meeting in person, but Zen knew; knew that Shirayuki cared about the world around her, that she couldn't help but be anxious about the people around her, especially given his high position in society.
Their kiss was filled with other feelings, deeper; Zen kissed her and kissed her, and Shirayuki could only clutch at his shirt and keep up with him, breathing air directly into his mouth. Her cheeks burned, Zen was more insistent, and clearly didn't want to let her go, but Shirayuki understood him: she didn't want to let him go and wanted to feel his lips forever, to kiss him forever and just be there for him.
Breaking the kiss, Shirayuki breathed heavily: her eyes clouded over, her head spinning, she squeezed his shirt and reached for him, pulling him into another kiss. Zen pulled her closer to him, kissing her more passionately. His hands roamed down her back, squeezing her sides lightly. Shirayuki clung to him, standing on her toes; Zen pulled her to him so hard that she leaned back slightly. He held her, kissing her and kissing her, holding her tightly.
Pulling away from her lips, Zen dabbed at her neck, leaving wet trails. Shirayuki squeezed his shoulders, closing her eyes. Not yet marked on her, Zen didn't want to take any risks and was careful, especially during heats or mating cycles. He left hickeys and wet kisses; the girl could only sigh softly. He was always careful with her, gentle, and soft, even if he was losing his mind and wanted more, but he could not afford to be rude to her. It would be disgusting of him and he never wanted to make her uncomfortable.
Finally releasing her from his arms, Zen looked into her eyes, taking her hands in his. His blue eyes grew darker, looking at the girl with obvious desire, but Zen shook his head, bringing his thoughts to order. Shirayuki stood all flushed, breathing heavily; her lips were puckered, and a scarlet mark was visible on her neck. Zen swallowed heavily, letting out a breath.
“I'll write to you later.” he stroked her head, smiling softly at her. Shirayuki nodded at him, still blushing. Zen laughed lightly, seeing the state she was in.
“Then... See you later.” Shirayuki practically muttered as she looked into his eyes. She didn't want to say goodbye, knowing full well that she wouldn't see him for another week or so.
“Yes, see you again.” he smiled at her and hugged her goodbye. Shirayuki inhaled the pheromones that enveloped her. She felt at ease in his embrace: his arms warmed and protected her from the outside world, but soon the coldness enveloped her again as Zen pulled away from her.
They waved to each other and Shirayuki headed towards the building, occasionally turning around. Zen stood by his car and smiled at her. Already in her room, Shirayuki looked out the window, hoping that Zen would still be there, but his trail was already gone. She sighed and then closed the curtains, heading to her wardrobe to change.
A little later, as Zen had said, he texted her. Shirayuki waited for his message and her heart fluttered as she heard the familiar tune, a tune that sounded only from his messages. She wanted to be close to him, to stay with him, but she couldn't afford to be selfish. Maybe in the future, when they graduated from university and were free from their studies, she would allow herself to be a little selfish, but not now, certainly not now. She was glad to see him, glad to see his shining eyes that were like two oceans sparkling under the light; glad to see him smile, hear him laugh, and feel his touch.
She would have liked to be with him forever, but that won't happen, at least not now. Surely, they would stay together, and in the future, they could spend as much time with each other as possible. Forever's not even enough.