The Fox and The Wren

24

"Will you be my girlfriend, Genie?"

Wait, did he just... "I-" Genie stares at the boy in front of her in shock, trying to take in the words he muttered to her. She blinks a few times, not quite believing what she heard. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch what you said. Can you maybe... repeat it?"

Damien gently squeezes her hands and intertwines their fingers, letting out another held breath. "Will you be..." he looks up into her eyes, a small grin appearing on his face. "...my girlfriend, Genevieve?"

So, I did hear him right. Genie's eyes start to get glossy from tears. She picks up one of her hands, still holding Damien's in the process, and brings the back of her hand up to his cheek to caress it before answering.

"Yes, Damien. I will." she smiles a bit, the tears in her eyes starting to flow freely now. She takes her hands from his grasp and puts one behind his head, the other on his chest, as she closes her eyes and crashes her lips onto his.

Damien's eyes flutter closed, one of his arms wrapping around Genie's waist and gently pulling her closer. She's like air. His other hand goes to her face, his fingertips tracing her jawline. Oxygen. He feels her fingers start to tangle into his hair, causing him to sigh. I feel like I need her just to be able to breath, to live.

I'm head over heels for this girl, and I never want to be upright again.

_______________

Miku, Shinji, and Jacob are at the nearby cafe, talking about what happened before they left.

"So, yeah. One minute he was smirking, talking about how it was his first time playing the game. The next he was freaking out, like someone was dying or something." Shinji starts to pout, tears streaming from his dark eyes. I know why, but it still caught me off guard. I hope he's alright.

"He looked so scared, terrified... I really hope he's okay..." the raven-haired boy sniffles, wiping one of his hoodie paws under his nose. He was wearing one of Jay's hoodies, simply because he couldn't find one of his own that morning.

Jacob looks over at his boyfriend, his chestnut brown eyes glinting with sadness. "I hope so, too, Shin." he brings one of his hands up and starts to rub Shinji's back, calming the younger down.

He then looks across the table at Miku. Her face showing mostly sorrow, but he sees something else. A small glint of something more than just sadness. She's hiding something... but what?

_______________

I know why he freaked. I know, because...

It's Azalea's and his mother's death anniversary. Miku tries to keep her cool, closing her eyes and doing her best to steady her breathing, her heart aching for her lost love.

I miss them too. Especially A.Z.

How I wish I could have met Azalea in real-life, and not just seen her or spoke to her through a screen. Miku's composure slowly starts to crumble as she puts her face into her hands. I wish I could have held her hand. Hugged her close to me, never letting go.

Tears leak from her eyes and trickle down her face, leaving a trail down her cheeks before falling to the table. I wish she was here, sitting next to me. Living the life that was torn away from her too soon.

_______________

"Miku?" Shinji looks over at his sister, his bubbly, rarely seen without a smile on her face, twin. He sees something that he hasn't seen since roughly a year ago. She's crying... wait a minute, it's been a year since...

He gets up and sits down next to her, pulling her into a tight hug and muttering the same words over and over to her. "It's okay, Mimi... daijoubu desu (大丈夫です)."

Shinji feels her start to calm down at his repeated words, speaking it in their mother language making the relaxing effect even greater. "You miss her, don't you?" he feels her arms squeeze him more, knowing her answer before she even moves.

_______________

Miku nods her head as she grips her brother tighter, tears still streaming like a coursing river. "I just wish... Azalea was here right now, or at the very least... still alive. I wish I could talk to her again... hear her voice, her laughter." Miku pulls away from the hug, looking over at Jacob and then back at Shinji.

"I completely forgot for a second that she had a twin brother, too." she smiles a little, remembering how they had bonded over the fact that they both had a twin brother. We would joke about how annoying it was sometimes. But would also talk about how sweet our siblings were.

"Azalea and her twin, Damien, were really close. A lot like Shinji and I." Shinji gives a small smile and ruffles her hair, which causes Miku to let out a giggle.

"Wait, wait... that's why he was like that?" Miku nods, causing Jake's eyes to sadden more. "Oh, my god... I can't even imagine losing a sibling if I had one. Wow..." A few tears escape from Jacob's eyes before he swiftly wipes them away.

He stands up and looks at the twins. "Should we head back?" the two nod and get up, Miku speaking softly as she grabs her bag.

"I hope Genie was able to help calm him down." her mind wanders and memories of the Valentine's dance start flashing through it. We had so much fun there. Her smile widens as another thought comes to mind. I wonder if Azalea would have liked going...

_______________

They were dancing for hours, with no breaks. Their faces turned towards each other and never looking away for even a second. Their silhouettes moving in the fluorescent lights, streams of pink and red painted over their features with each passing beam that fell over them.

"You look so beautiful, my love." Damien scans Genie's face, watching as it slowly turns pink from the compliment. She looks down and says a small thank you, then looks back up at him, her eyes shining brightly under the moving lights above them.

He commits to memory everything that he can. The small scar on one of her cheeks. Her gorgeous, light green eyes, like peridot gems, staring back into his icy blue ones. Her beautiful smile that hasn't left since they started dancing.

She's perfect, and I'll spend the rest of my life showing her just how much she means to me.