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“Bamboo Blade…?”
“Yes, Xitang?”
His voice boomed with the confidence and exuberance that made her heart swell every single time.
“Hehe… from the moment I met you, something in my heart… felt that I could trust you… You wouldn't… hurt my feelings… on purpose, even if… I mistook you… for someone else, someone precious… to me. Everything about you… how you are with people, it's all so… reassuring… I feared evil, but happiness… made me blind… Was it wrong… to be happy?... To not doubt? I never thought of myself as… particularly strong, but I thought… I thought I was… strong enough, strong enough… to protect him... All the people… who were robbed of a future, whose suffering… changed nothing, shook me… to my very core… So many who didn't get justice… They never… deserved it. More… could've happened… I could've been… forgotten, but… you came... You, and no one else... I know… you didn't want… to let me down, every choice you made… was weighed carefully… and look… look what happened! You… brought justice… for all of us!... You hold firm… to your principles… You can be… so relaxed, so kind… and then suddenly.. so silly! I don't… get bored… when I listen… to you, not even if… the story… is something as ordinary… as what drink… you had… at the tavern… last week. I steal… glances, no, I gaze… at you… like someone would.. a sunrise… How your hair… moves in the wind, how… I'd love… to braid it someday… tuck flowers… into it…! The lines… around your mouth… from smiling… so much… are so… beautiful… and when you train… It's mesmerizing. You move… so fast… I can't even… follow, you look… like… Like you trust… your movements! That's how it works… I think, that's where passion comes from… understanding yourself, your weaknesses… as well as your strengths. Maybe, then, I can be… stronger, too… A blade was just… metal once… cold… and inert, but now… it's sharp… verdant… precise… in its strikes… and purpose, even more precise… in what it desires… for itself. You should… talk more… about it!... You're more experienced… I'm just blabbering… Hehe, sorry… There is just… so much… to say… about you!...”
He didn't expect it- at all. Heat surged up his neck and exploded across his cheeks, painting them crimson, her fingers tracing the X on his chest. Touching him so gently, while looking into his eyes. His breath hitched, his heart hammered as if trying to escape its own cage.
“I hope… it didn't hurt… too much… or any other scars… you've gotten... I'm happy… when you're happy...”
He puffed his cheeks out - bwaha! - a short, breathy laugh burst from him. His tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth once, twice - that was all he could manage. He wanted to say so much more, but the sincerity with which she loved was too much, even for him. Her love, her heart, so warm and pure. Everything one valued about life, all contained in one sweet woman standing right before him. The sight of her made his mind race with more thoughts than he could keep up with. He couldn't help himself, then, not for the life of him; he lifted her hand from his chest, and brought it slowly to his warm lips, the deepest kiss landing in the center of her palm. His eyes fluttered shut, as if granting himself a moment's rest from her grace, iridescent and lifelike. This was it, the reason he'd fight tooth and nail to keep her happy. He had seen her the other way, and it has been nothing short of painful. She gave with all she had, pouring her feelings out in waterfalls. Yes, she was right to trust him (although it made him a little cocky), she was in the right hands. His hands. There was no universe where he wouldn't match it drop for drop, if not repay her a hundredfold. His breath, heavy yet comforting, “Xitang…” before he reluctantly parted ways. Well, not entirely, his thumb moving back and forth against her palm.
“... Dearest!? Bamboo… Blade!?..”
Foolishly, she giggled, knowing exactly what her face looked like… cheeks pink, eyes bright with joy. She couldn't keep many secrets, let alone her feelings, and didn't mind being the most smitten person in the world. What she couldn't fathom was that this was actually happening.
“I have many people and places I care about, and I've sworn to protect them all, but your love has always struck me. I almost envied it. A love that profound can compel a person to surpass every limit they thought they had, to do things unimagined in quieter times. When threats press from all sides and there is no room for error, I find myself wondering - what does it feel like? To love someone the way you do? What could I possibly do? How long should I meditate, how much should I train... what, exactly, am I searching for, again? Loss after loss, just another responsibility weighing me down. Perhaps I have already found the answer. Perhaps it is what I have been doing all along; I have the flexibility to be shaken, but the fortitude to never be broken. It is not uncommon to remind yourself of the reason behind every step you take. The more I have you by my side, the more I simply think of you, the more hopeful I become, so when I say that a single drop of your boundless love renews me to my very core - please, believe that I mean it. This is why you've endured for so long, isn't it? In the end, I do not think our philosophies are the same, nor do they need to be, yet I have found something meaningful in yours. It has broadened my own. For that, I am grateful. Haha!... My gratitude… is greater than these inadequate words could ever hope to convey.”
His lips stayed slightly parted as he moved the blade of grass between his teeth, chewing it absentmindedly. Everything about him drew her attention, the faint crease near his eyes from smiling, their palms damp after minutes of contact, fingers intertwined, thumbs rubbing, skin sticky. She didn't pull away; neither did he. Her eyes widened, her lower lip trembling. Something flickered across her face. Was it melancholy? Nostalgia? Longing? Fear? This peace was fragile, and every perfect second made her wonder if it might end cruelly.
“I'm so… happy…! I really, really am…”
She wasn't shy at all! On her tiptoes, she leaned in until her nose brushed against his, tucking back any loose strands, his face exposed. Adorable, she thought. He looked so disarmingly handsome like this! The blade of grass dropped to the ground, and then, it happened. It wasn't deep or passionate, just one kiss. A tiny one. Barely there! And still, the effect it had on him. It electrified him so much that he didn't hesitate, kissing her back properly. Peace he has sworn to protect.
A heart he has sworn to protect.