nhu pov
some days passed, i was constantly been followed by fans. every move i made, i was being captured by them or if not by media. apparently i was being paired to our ceo as an imaginary couple.
arius and i agreed to neither deny nor confirm our relationship to the public. he was out of the medias immediate grasp for interviews but here i am taking all the brunt of the situation. i can take it. im fine. more or less this is a daily occurence to me everytime im paired to someone in my series. the only difference this time is... its real. arius and i are dating in real life but do we really need to announce it to the public? our relationship is between us and theyve got nothing to do with it.
im in the lounge waiting for my next schedule when my phone suddenly rang.
"hello?"
"hi, love. where are you?"
"here in the lounge."
"wait for me there. were going somewhere."
then he hung up on me. im kinda used to his habit now. whenever he decided on something, theres no way he can be talked away from it. ive learned my lesson last night and im sure im not going to repeat it anytime soon. my ears are still ringing from his whispers and i know my body when im... um... being enticed like that. and im not ready for that... yet. geez!
well he said he wont do anything that im not comfortable with. he promised. im holding it to him... as long as i could... maybe.
a few moments later, he entered the lounge looking immaculate as per usual.
he rushed towards my direction and mind you were not alone in the lounge area. there are a couple of groups behind me and an idol group on my left.
i was mesmerized by his gait that i didnt noticed that hes already in front of me and kissed my head. i gasped together with the audience and automatically grabbed arius arm.
"what to do you think youre doing?" i whispered when i pulled him down to hear me. i swear my face is on fire.
"greeting my boyfriend. whats wrong with that?" he said oh so casually. i guess he doesnt intend to be discreet and secretive. well, its not covered in what we had agreed on so might as well be comfortable with it. im not one for being dishonest with myself anymore now so... bold it is.
"n-nothing. i was startled is all. i thought we will hide this but... well.. thank you." thank you for not keeping us a secret although not announcing it is not a big matter to me, his affection towards me is proof enough that he loves me for me and not my fame nor even for gain.
he caressed my head and smiled at me. hes so handsome it felt like im dreaming that hes mine.
"lets go. well be late."
"b-but where are we going?" i pulled my bag to me as he helped me to stand up. my seat was somewhat low. "ive got work."
"no you dont. i cleared your schedule today and tomorrow."
"huh? why?" were now at the lobby with him pulling me by the hand. the stares, though. its peircing. its... uncomfortable.
"whats wrong?" he looked down at me and stopped. were still inside but rather near at the entrance. i grabbed his arm with my other hand. i guess he understood when he went silent and added, "dont mind them. just look at me, okay?" he patted my head. the sensation that he left on my head, ive been longing for that. its so nostalgic, i feel like im floating.
"get in." i was startled when he pulled me out of my thoughts. we were already at his car.
"where are we going?"
"to meet my family. well be having lunch with them at my uncles penthouse. everybodys there already including rin, remember him?"
"b-b-but... yes, he... um... w-what do i do? why in heavens are you doing telling me this bomb just now?!" i couldnt believe i shouted.... i shouted... geez! im freaking out right now. im just in my jeans and a rugged sweater. i was supposed to change before my scheduled event but now this is more than just an event. im meeting his family in these rugs.
he turned to me and let go of the steering wheel while we were moving on the road, "calm down, love."
"ARIUS, HAND ON THE STEERING WHEEL! what do you think youre doing!" yeah, im full blast freaking out right now and im hyperventilating.
"calm down, love. my cars got A.I.. it could drive on its own. come on, nhu. breathe." i looked at him with tears lingering in my eyes. im so shocked right now, i will not be surprised if he started laughing at my face. "nice... just breath like that."
"why didnt you gave a heads up?" i said wiping my face off. luckily i didnt put any make up on otherwise im a clown now.
"im sorry." he kissed my head and caressed me.
"please, tell me beforehand."
"okay, i will. im sorry."
weve arrived at the building and into the parking lot underneath. now, im a bundle of nerves. "arius, i cant feel my legs." i really dont. im so nervous, it beats the time when i debuted on stage with a song so high anybody could have their voice crack at every note.
"would you like me to carry you up to the penthouse?" he looked at me smiling as if amused at my situation.
"why are you smiling like that? are you making fun of me, sir?"
"stop it. you know i dont like it when you call me like that."
"then stop teasing me, arius kirigun." i said squeezing my thighs and legs. he cleared his throat beside me and went out of the car.
moments later he opened mine from the outside and offered a hand. "lets go and dont be afraid to whatever you might see there, okay? theyre my family. rambunctious, yes but theyre reasonable."
"okay." i took up his hand and we went directly to the elevators connected to the upper floors.
first impression they said is lasting and im sorry to say, im not really fond of meeting people in my personal circle. the first time i entered, it was already rowdy. not because of kids but due to some adults who are playing rough. 2 prestine and elegant people sipping on their tea on a corner got my attention. their light hair and eyes are so captivating they could pass up as ethereal elves. which maybe they are?
i looked up at arius when he cleared his throat to get the attention of everyone and they did.
"nhu! youre here!" rin shouted at the center of the living area where zain was sprawled over playing with his toys.
"h-hi." i said behind arius.
"family, meet nhu and nhu meet the family. were all a mix here. you know theres us vampires, those are wolves, theyre elves and a human, thats uncle muren over there." he pointed at an elder around 40s maybe by the dining table. "hes uncle alexanders mate."
"b-but im human, too." i said cause i am.
"you didnt tell him yet?" a girl with a very fine face and elegant walk said to arius. i saw arius shake his head. tell me what?
i looked up at arius and he just smiled at me. "later." he said curtly.
"okay."
"come in, dear. welcome to the family. we finally got to meet you. uncle arius has been so secretive of you, dont you know that?" one of the elves said as she ushered me in. "im menelya by the way, everybody calls me minnie so please do so as well. im the youngest girl in this bunch with zain as the youngest for the males. my moms there named liam and my father is kealoha beside him. we live here since fathers taking care of the empires business side. i hope well be good friends, uncle nhu."
"just nhu is fine." im not sure how old she is but shes quite young but maybe not too far from my age. im uncomfortable if she keeps on calling me that.
"no, its uncle nhu since uncle arius is my uncle. just accept it."
"she likes to be the youngest so she treats everyone as her elder. just let her be." arius said beside me rubbing my back in consolation since he saw the disgust in my face everytime she mentioned uncle to my face.
we were in the middle of our lunch and everyone are talking to one another. i never felt i was left out since i was the butt of the conversation as well. i tried to chip in into the conversation and arius was so animated, i cant picture him like that at the company. i learned so much about them but what startled us the most was when rin stood up and said, "granny said welcome nhu. and arius, granpa warns you to man up and be responsible since nhu is already with you. theyll be watching, they said."
"loud and clear." arius said jokingly. who is rin talking about? i looked at arius wondering if he could explain to me but all i ever got was a smirk and a pat on my head.
"you really got a lengthy explaination to tell me once we got home, arius kirigun." i whispered at him making him nod in reply.
----------------->>>>>
arius pov
were on our way back to our penthouse, and its so damn silent. nhu refused to talk to me unless im ready to divulge everything about my family. its going to be a lengthy one but nevertheless its better that itll come from me than other people.
waiting for the elevator, i saw nhu shaking. its not that cold right now, so why?
"nhu? whats wrong?" i said too concerned to even make a passing joke.
"ad-adrenalines leaving."
i draped my arm at his torso to support him hes really small in comparison to my own.
the moment we stepped in our house. i laid nhu at the sofa and draped his legs on mine.
"that feels good." he said sprawled over the seat. "arius?"
"hm?"
i saw him trying to sit up and evidently clamped his hands on my arm in an earnest attempt to persuade me into telling.
"i know that look, nhu. you dont have to be so earnest about it. if it comes to you, im all yours. what do you want to know?" i looked at him droop back to where he was laying.
"everything. especially about you... please." he said pulling on his legs to curl up into a ball and stared at me.
"fine.."
by the time i let up my story. its already 3 in the morning. i dont know where nhu got his resilience and endurance to last all throughout my story telling. what can i do? we got a long narrative given the fact that we run almost everything you see here in the capital and more than 70% around the world. be it in economics, finance, political or even the mere media, we have a hand or even just a finger on them all. this and our family history. this moment was more like a show and tell lecture.
"still following me nhu?" i caressed his face since he was already leaning on my shoulder as if he was drowsy.
"yeah. you got quite a family background. i wont be surprise now, will i?"
"which part?"
"about your family and their nature..."
"well, i cant say that you wont be surprised anymore. if ayberk permits it, ill take you to our ancestral castle. the place is currently ayberks turf so there are lots of wolves there but theyre friendly. friendly enough not to take a swing at us since were part of the family but you couldnt take it away from the others to have innert hatred for our kind. history runs deep apparently for some."
i hugged him close to me again and abruptly stood up. i have all the very intention to make him sleep with me tonight. just sleep though. you know, work and all. i cant have him limp and have everyone to witness that.
"where are we going?" he said on my arms.
"to my room. were going to sleep even though itll be just a couple of hours. you need some boost if you want to tend to your work tomorrow."
"just sleep?"
"yep, sleep." i looked at him and he looked too adorable, my senses started to blurr. "why? do you want to do something other than sleep? im all for it if it wasnt for the fact that you have a guesting and a shooting tomorrow."
"oh okay. t-thank you arius."
"for?"
"for telling me and accepting me in your family."
"youre part of our circle now, nhu. anybody who dares to harm you will be their doom." he started to giggle at that notion but he doesnt know how serious i am on this context. ive been witnessing my kins struggle to keep their mates safe only to fail at some point. i dont want that. "i mean it, though."
"sure." he snuggled in on my chest, tingles ran the entirety of my body.
argh!
this is so hard.