"Hey!"
You turn your head to find four young men, probably the same age as you, coming over to you.
"What?" you ask.
"You alone, beautiful?" one of them asks. You assume he's the leader. But, all of them have smirks on their faces, no doubt that they want and are trouble.
"Yes, I am," you state as you turn forward and continue walking, though a little more quickly than before. Tonight was very chilly. There was a gush of wind that came with a howl. You wrapped your arms around yourself to keep from shivering.
"Hey, are you cold? I could warm you up if you like~." The men snicker. You roll your eyes.
"Sorry, but I'm almost home."
Suddenly, the leader runs up and blocks your path.
"How about you come to our place? We'd really like to get to know you~"
"No thanks! Now if you'd excuse me," you say, pushing the man away. Suddenly, he grabs your wrist.
"Ah, come on, I know you'll like it," he says with a hint of impatience.
"No, I wouldn't! And my boyfriend wouldn't like it either!"
"Yeah? Well sorry honey, but he ain't here," he says as he pulls you towards him.
"Well, I'm here now."
The men look up and back away cautiously. The leader also looks up, immediately lets go of you, and almost jumps back, with a scared expression on his face. You turn only to face a well-toned chest, an X-shaped necklace, and a pack of fully developed stomach muscles barely an inch's width from you.
You gulped. Looking up, you saw the face of your lover, Gladiolus. He wrapped an arm around your waist and proceeded towards the men. Gladiolus was at least an entire foot taller than all of them, if not more.
"I suggest you punks go home before you get into trouble," Gladiolus says with a playful, yet stern voice. The men then run away without a word. After they're a good distance away, Gladiolus turns you around to face him. Your head has to go all the way up in order to do that.
"As for you young lady..." he says before picking you up and throwing you over his shoulder, "You need to come with me."
"AMICITIA, PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!" you shout as you kick and punch his back and stomach. He, of course isn't affected by this and continues walking.
Once you're inside his room, he flops you down on the couch and crosses his arms.
"Have I not told you never to go out at night?" he asks. You can hear the light tapping of his foot.
"I could've handled it myself," you say stubbornly, crossing your arms also, putting on a pout. Gladiolus's stone look changes into an amused one, a small smirk on his face.
"I know, I know," he whispers as he goes down and nuzzles the crook of your neck. "But you could just rely on me."
His breath hits your sweet spot, causing you to flinch and shiver. He rubs your waist with his large hands. They're big enough to go all around it. You've never realized it until now.
"Don't be so overprotective," you say weakly as you feel his lips touch your neck.
"Am I really being overprotective or are you just being the stubborn person you always are?" he asks.
You remain silent. You know he's right. You turn your head to face him, getting drawn into his shinning eyes.
"Oh, shut up," you say as you grab the back of his head and kiss him. Once you break, he gets up and walks towards the hall.
"Where are you going?" you ask.
"Running you a bath. You're hands almost froze my head," he teases.
For some reason, you blush.
"Stop being such a Mr. Know-It-All," you scold.
You hear him chuckle in the distance.
"I'm the Know-It-All?" Gladiolus asks as the running of water starts to reach your ears.
You grunt and flop back down on the couch. But after running all he said into your head, you smile. Then you remembered what you forgot to do today.
"I love you," you call.
"Love you too, Princess," he calls back.
END
