A/N
This chapter may seem a bit shorter, but I just thought I'd give you a bit of a break before the juicier final moments. Don't worry though, it's gonna be worth it in the end ;).
♡♡♡
When she woke up, she felt warmth.
It was a feeling far from her thin blanket or Kai's old hoodie. It was all that and a pillow, all in one package. She felt as if she had been sleeping on wool; it was like a cloud of warm contentment, one that she didn't want to move from.
That was until the cloud itself moved.
She forced her eyes to open, her head feeling light from sleep. She sunk her cheek deeper into her pillow, trying to return to her nice dream.
Her and Jay on a date, flowers in her hair, falling asleep under the stars... It was too good to be true, that was for sure.
She sat up at last, her eyes still shut as she rubbed them gently. Surprisingly enough, the ground beneath her felt rough, not at all soft unlike her pillow.
But that was the reality of having an old mattress like hers sometimes; it would either be a rock or a cloud, and there was no telling of the outcome each night.
She yawned, rubbing her arm as a cold breeze blew past.
When her vision cleared, she saw the rising sun and a... lake.
The lake.
She felt a squeeze on her wrist.
She gasped.
Yet, she didn't pull away. She let the sleeping boy hug her arm in peace, not daring to interrupt his slumber.
So... the previous night hadn't been a dream. That was good to know.
She hoped that he didn't notice her caressing him just a few moments ago... But he did make for a good pillow. Especially his chest; so soft yet sturdy, it was better than any pillow she could buy.
Perhaps she was becoming invasive. She quickly brushed off the thought and looked away.
She heard something moving in the bushes. By the time she looked, it was gone.
Perhaps Kai was right, they were moving too fast and shouldn't.
But then why did she feel so...
... Happy?
"Nya?"
His voice actually sounded quite cute all groggy and low, just gave her one more thing to admire. Was she really that desperate, though?
"Good morning," she said as casually as she could.
"Morning," he rubbed his eyes and yawned. When he came to his senses, he looked around and frowned. "We didn't even get to enjoy our date..."
Date... That word still gave her chills, but in a surprisingly good way. She liked it.
"Well, what time are you leaving?"
"I think we'll leave at night... Maybe late afternoon."
She mustered up the courage to grab his hand. "We have plenty of time then, right?"
He smiled. "I appreciate the positivity."
"I learned from the best."
He took the metal bird in his hands, studying it carefully.
"You can take it with you if you want to," she told him, but he shook his head.
"It was yours to begin with," he said and put it in her backpack. "Besides, I trust you more with it. I tend to blow up stuff..."
She chuckled at his blush. "Blow up stuff?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. "Let's just say that my inventions tend to just... blow up sometimes."
"I still think you're skilled," she said. "I would have never gotten the bird to move without you."
He appreciated her words far more than he should have. The fact that he'd have to leave her... He didn't want to think about it.
Kai was bound to come around, right?
Right... After a month of them being there... He wasn't that sure anymore.
He stood up and offered her his hand. "How about we grab some breakfast as a start?"
She nodded, letting their fingers intertwine as they walked along the hidden path.
♡♡♡
"Man, muffins are the best," he said, enjoying another bite. Instead of cleaning up, he simply wiped the crumbs off his shirt and onto the dirt below.
Sitting behind the motel wasn't ideal, but it was a lot better than any restaurant or café. At least they had their privacy there.
Nya had only gotten an orange juice, but she didn't seem to mind her choice. She was sat down on the back porch, the dusty wood covered by his jacket, which he graciously spread for her to sit. Watching him pace around and blabber, she couldn't help but smile.
"You know, if you ever visit the Monastery, I could teach you how to do these things," he said as he finished eating, gesturing at the wooden swords.
Now that had caught her attention. "Really?"
"Yes, really! We have all these cool weapons and training equipment in the Monastery. I built the latter myself."
"I'm curious to see now," she said with a smirk.
That seemed to fluster him for some reason. "Really?"
"Really."
Yet another gentle breeze blew past, reminding them that warmth hadn't settled in so early in the day.
While he tried to hide his shiver, he didn't hesitate to comment on it.
"Didn't expect it to be that chilly in this place..." he said, rubbing his arm quickly. "You should have seen us fighting over blankets in the motel on our first night here."
She chuckled, standing up herself and dusting off the blue garment. "Do you want your jacket back?" she said, but he pushed her hand back.
"You can have it."
Somehow, he didn't realise how straightforward he was sounding. Perhaps he was moving too fast?
"If you want to, of course. I... imagined it sounding less creepy in my head."
She smiled. "Don't worry about it," she said, putting it on and enjoying its warmth. "And thanks. I'll give it back by tonight."
"You don't have to," he said. "Although... it's kinda big on you."
"I'm not that short."
"I mean... it's the first time I'm meeting someone shorter than me, even by a little."
She punched his arm playfully, rolling her eyes. "Watch it."
He pretended to act surprised, trying to shoot his shot. "Woah, I didn't know miss delivery girl had a tough side."
Just the look she gave him made butterflies fill his stomach. It was a wonder he hadn't fainted from nervousness like Cole said he would, but he swore to never trust his 'dating talk' anyway.
"Well, this delivery girl has grown up with swords."
"And I've grown up with scrap metals and nunchucks."
He mentally facepalmed. Had she heard the scrap part? Would she question it? Would she find out about him being from... you know...
"So you are from a junkyard," she thought out loud, then realised her mistake. "Sorry, I just heard Lei gossiping about it with his friends once..."
He tried to play it cool. "No worries."
"I mean, that jerk is no stranger to making up lies for gossip. He's done it before..."
"He's not lying..." he said, almost in a mumble. Nya heard him, however.
He looked away, but before he knew it, her hand was on his shoulder.
"In that case, I think it's really cool," she said. "Explains the inventions part... I'm sure you get all the materials from there."
His heart fluttered yet again, he couldn't control it. "Yeah... Oh, and the view there is really nice. It's in the middle of a desert so the stars are always really bright."
"We should stargaze there sometime then."
Perhaps her meeting with his parents would have to wait... But he didn't brush off the idea completely.
"Yeah."
She walked over to the wooden swords and picked two up, backing away towards the small wheat field and stopping just before it.
"How about you show me some of your ninja moves before you go?" she said, tossing him a sword.
He looked at it unsure, holding it hesitantly at first. "You sure? I mean, not that I doubt you or anything, but you know..."
"I'll be fine," she said, holding up the sword awkwardly. Her overall stance was a bit funny, but he didn't bother to correct her.
"If you say so..."
While he was hesitant to strike, she didn't wait a moment before swinging her sword at his own. Despite her awkward posture, her grip and swings were surprisingly decent. He was even caught off guard once.
Eventually though, he managed to twist her sword with his own, sending it in the air before it pierced the ground with an audible thud.
"I win," he said with a teasing smile. "Guess you have a lot to learn from the master."
"Well, the student still has one more trick up their sleeve..."
As she walked closer to him, her steps slow and her gaze darted on his, he couldn't help but drop his sword, even out of sheer curiosity.
She walked closer, and closer, and closer, her arms extending as if to pull him close.
Her hands brushed across his waist, sending chills down his spine. Then...
"What—no! That's—that's not fair!" he said between laughs, hugging his torso and chuckling even after she stopped.
"You never said that tickling was off-limits in ninja training," she said, her hands behind her back as she put on an innocent smile.
Once he was calm enough to regain his senses, he approached her discreetly.
"In that case..."
"I'm not ticklish."
He put on the same innocent smile. "Then you wouldn't mind testing it..."
She started laughing before he even touched her.
When he did, her knees buckled almost immediately from laughter, making him hold her close.
Perhaps it was anxiety, bliss, or a combination of the two. Maybe his laugh was just that contagious and she couldn't help but laugh along.
But even then, he already knew that her laugh was the best sound he had heard in a long time. And, quite frankly, he didn't want it to stop.
He ended up holding her from behind, even lifting her up just a little at times to make her laugh even more. He tried to contain his own but failed, his cheek resting on the crook of her neck as he tried not to crack up again.
They knew they were getting too close, and they knew they shouldn't.
The adults always went on and on about teenagers and their impatience.
But, quite frankly, they didn't care. They had less than a full day left, but they didn't care about that either.
They paid no mind, since, to them, all that existed was their blissful dream.
And that was all that mattered.
"Nya?"