"I hate seeing you like this." He sighed.
Conan had just returned home, his hair a bit disheveled, strands of beautiful orange hair over his forehead. He had slipped into a t-shirt and taken off his pants before entering his bedroom and realizing his loved one was sad, suffering. He had been gone for a while and didn't know what was happening.
She was crying.
She shook her head, wiped the tears away and proceeded to say it was nothing. She didn't want him to worry, and she hadn't noticed him coming. She was a mess of tears and flushed face and she expected to control herself before he came home. Conan knew her enough to know she was hiding her feelings once again. This bothered him a lot. She was lying on the bed and sat as he entered, offering an excuse.
"Just forget about this..." she said, her voice fading away at the end of the sentence.
He came and lay on the bed beside her, facing her. She was avoiding his gaze until he took her hand in his fingers. He appeared to be in deep thought for a while and she observed his eyes, now staring at her hand, but somehow lost in other dimension.
"I remember when I met you." He began. "You were on a park bench, talking to someone else, and I came and sat next to you and your friend..."
"I was totally distracted by my phone... until I heard the sound of your laughter. Possibly something she told you. And I liked the sound of it so much." He smiled.
He was playing with her fingers at this point. "So I looked at you for a while, you noticed and I had to think of something really clever to say and to justify my staring."
She was still really sad, but she managed to smirk.
"I asked what time it was. If you had paid attention, you would have noticed that it was weird for me to ask, because I had my phone in my hands. I think you were into me as much as I was into you."
She nodded. His soft hands were now caressing the back of her hand. "You answered me and recognized me, and you and your friend talked to me and I had a great time. I was telling jokes to both of you and I was telling you a particular one..." he paused.
"And as I made the set up you started to laugh. You laughed so hard, and it was such a beautiful sound and sight that I lost the punchline and ruined the end of the joke."
She stared at him silently. He was reliving the moment like it was there in front of them. "You didn't seem to mind and I went on." He paused once more. "I remember thinking 'wow, that's a beautiful sound. I really want to hear this again.'"
"After a while, your friend had to leave... and it was just you and me. We had a pleasant conversation but I had to leave as well, eventually."
He swallowed. "I gathered all the courage that I had... and it wasn't much, really... to ask you out."
He looked at her tenderly. "You could've said no, because it was really weird. But you ended up saying yes. It was the second most important 'yes' of my life."
Her hand went to his cheek, caressing it slowly. His hand met hers. Her other free hand was on his chest.
"I had the pleasure to hear that laugh and see that smile for two years, until you gave me your 'yes' once more and I was definitely sure I would experience this forever."
She was still staring at his eyes, when they suddenly changed. "But I learned that even if I tried my best, you wouldn't be smiling all the time. It doesn't work like that."
He sighed and looked down. "I know it sounds weird but I had the impression that I would never see you sad. I started to think it was my fault."
She sighed as well. He looked at her swollen face, rosy nose and cheeks, red eyes. "You started hiding this from me; I still remember that you did because you didn't want me to worry while I was doing the show..."
"Yeah..." she whispered.
"I hated that. And I still hate it." He continued. "I love my job, my career is going great and I could never ask for a better life..."
He paused as he noticed she started crying again. "But nothing is more important than you." He wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked helpless at that moment, and it broke his heart.
"I swore that I would support you and be with you in every moment of your life." He said. "Is it difficult? Yes. But I'll do it."
She leaned her head on his chest and smelled him. His sweet smell was comforting.
"I'll try my best to keep you smiling. But if I can't, at least tell me what is happening."
She nodded in response. His hand went to her hair. "I'll never stop loving you. You can be sure of it."
She looked at him, his beautiful face, blue eyes like heaven. She couldn't ask for a better person.
"Thanks, Coco." She said playfully.
He looked at her, confused and feeling a bit offended. "That's your best response? That was a beautiful speech!"
She laughed out loud.
He smiled at her. "There it is."
