Rivia: Ajayib, Town of Central Rivia, Elianna's Residence
• Elianna •
"He's not back?" Elianna panicked, knowing that night has fallen and Arell had yet to return home.
"He must be on his way," Jana attempted to comfort but the worry in her voice was apparent.
"Arell never breaks his promises." Elianna felt weak on her limbs as fear crawled from within. Her hands clutched weakly on Jana's hand as she felt on the verge of tears, "I have to find him, something must've happened to him."
"Stay home," Thunder said from behind her. "I'll go look for him."
"I can't stay home—" Elianna cried, raising her shaking hands to bury her face into them. "What if something really happened? How could I be here when he could be feeling scared somewhere else?"
"There's no way you can look for him like this," Thunder persuaded. "Please stay home, Eli. I'll go look for him."
"I—" she wept. "Please find him, Thunder. Please find my boy..."
"Wait for me." Thunder gave a light squeeze on her shoulder and she heard his fading steps as he ran. Those fading steps soon halted to a stop and Jana gasped from beside her. Everything went into a pause when Arell shouted, "Mother!"
All the anxiousness faded instantly and she opened her arms widely as relief washed over her. She felt a pair of arms handing her son over to her and she wrapped her hands tightly around his small body. When she wanted to express her gratitude, a familiar yet foreign voice sounded in her ears, causing her breath to hitch.
"Eli."
She didn't move, couldn't move. The sound of her name in that voice carried too much weight and the faint scent of mint and sandalwood had already given away the identity of the person right in front of her.
He was the one who had been running circles in her mind and the beat that had been pounding in harmony in her heart. He was the one she's been missing, missing and missing all over again in the countless of times, over the countless of nights.
At this moment, she realised that words hadn't failed her. She still remembered every single word she wanted to say, but she didn't know where to begin because none of them seemed to aptly describe what she had been feeling. Even the tears that pooled at the corner of her eyes couldn't fully express the enormity of her emotions. So, she stood there, unmoving and hoping that every moment of this was real. Five years was too long and another second without him would shatter everything of her.
"Eli," he called her again and it hadn't failed to cause her heart to tremble.
He found them. She was wholeheartedly relieved that she didn't need to run any longer. Reaching her hand out to hold onto his hand, she slipped her fingers through the spaces in between his and interlocking them.
"Rowan," she said quietly, her voice marred by a surfacing cry. "You're finally here. We've been waiting for you."
He disentangled his fingers from hers and pulled her together with Arell into his embrace. His body quivered and his hand raked into the long strands of her soft hair. No time passed would allow her to forget the feel of his embrace. Because regardless of how far one travelled or strayed, it is impossible to forget the warmth of home. He is her home. Always has been.
He murmured into her hair with so much desperation in his tone, "You're a cruel woman, Elianna. Immensely cruel."
※
Elianna sat in the bath with teary eyes that she knew must've been very red from the swell she felt. Thinking back, they had spent a good moment at the front of her residence crying while holding onto one another without any intentions of letting go. If it wasn't for Thunder who gave a purposeful awkward cough, they would've probably stayed there till daylight.
Rowan had decided to stay the night and Thunder had unwillingly prepared a set of clothing that would probably fit him. Arell, on the other hand, was throwing a rather silly tantrum when Rowan had released him from his hold. That child had smacked his hand away and stomped his way back to his quarter, locking the door after him. It was the first time she had ever seen her son behaving as such as she thought funnily that he was perhaps feeling awkward and unsure of how to face Rowan yet. Deep down, she had blamed herself that it was because of her that her son had lost all his chances to grow up with a fatherly figure. As they moved into the residence, Kiran and Jana had also retreated back to their quarters to turn in for the night.
And here Elianna is, sitting alone in the bath because she could only use this reason to hideaway from Rowan for a little while. It was frightening how much she couldn't stay anywhere near him without her heart racing in heat.
Hunching forward, she ruffled her hair into a ball of mess as she vexed. Goddess, I am already a mother and I behave like a young maiden in love. She wanted to scream loudly at herself but that would probably wake the entire household unnecessarily.
Just when she was almost drowned in all her own infuriating emotions, the bathroom door creaked opened, startling her. Had I forgotten to lock the door? Her hands immediately wrapped around herself as she crouched lower to cover herself under water. What made her even more nervous was the click on the door as the person locked the door after entering.
"Who's there?" she panicked.
"Eli."
"Rowan?" she gasped.
At this moment, she felt awfully small in her darkness as she wondered what sort of expression he wore as he looked towards her right now. Since they reunited, she realised that his voice sounded so different. It was much deeper and richer than she could recall. Instead of the light tone he would always breathe her name in, he had now exhaled her name in sighs.
"Can I go near you?" he asked, very careful.
Heat crept their way to her face when she realised that she's still bare. It definitely wasn't the first time she had been naked in front of him, but such a long time had passed and she was nothing like her younger self. After bearing a child, her body had definitely changed. Stretched marks and all, it was all etched into the pale of her skin.
"R-Rowan, I'll meet you when I'm done with the bath." She tried to keep him away from her and her hands wrapped tighter around her body, trying to hide all the imperfections.
"Do you not want me close to you?" he asked, in a voice that was filled with pain.
"It's not that," she tried to explain herself. "I-I'm simply feeling embarrassed..."
"There's nothing to feel shy about, love," he said. "I'm going to go closer to you, okay?"
"Okay," she responded.
She felt him approaching as he stepped into the water and got close to her. He inched in till she could feel the heat radiating off his skin — the exact same warmth that she remembered. His hands reached to hold onto the back of her arms firmly and she knew that he's now facing her. He spoke in a hushed tone, "Why are you still hiding?"
"I have scars on my body," she blushed furiously, horribly flustered.
"Please show them to me," he requested, trying to coax her hands away from herself.
"Why?" She couldn't seem to hold herself any tighter. "They're unpleasant to look at."
"You'd always be the most beautiful to me, scars or not," he whispered softly, running his hand down from the top of her head and through the strands of her hair. Then, his voice dropped in volume as he pained, "I had also wanted to know how many times you needed me and I wasn't there for you."
Her heart ached, listening to the amount of self-blame he carried in those words. For a large man, he felt brittle like glass now. She finally unwrapped her arms around herself and held them forward. She wanted to touch him, to remember all the features that perhaps had blurred with her memory and to pull him into her arms, wishing her would halt blaming himself because none of these was his fault.
"Can I touch you?" she asked, her hands paused in mid-air.
"Yes, you can," he replied firmly and caught her hands immediately, causing her to jump from the suddenness. He took her hands, resting her palms on each side of his face. When he let go the back of her hands, her fingers wandered as she traced his features carefully. His jaw was more angular than she remembered. His long eyelash tickled the pad of her fingertips, his nose bridge still high and his lips still soft and full. She took her time to memorise every line and curve on his face as her chest swelled, feeling all the emotions that she had suppressed all along.
"I missed you, Rowan," her voice cracked with overflowing emotions. "I missed you so much."
"If you're done, love, it's my turn to show you how much I missed you," he whispered, demanding in his tone.
"R-Rowan?" She was surprised when he suddenly pulled on her arm and brought her close to him.
Feeling his breath on her lips, he asked, "Can I touch you?"
"Yes, you can," she replied firmly
She had no idea what she was agreeing to, but she felt secure with him. Even after five years, there was nothing she wouldn't give to him because all that he had shown her was his sincerity and his unconditional love.
※
*brb, crying a river*
a/n: can i drop the next chapter tomorrow? (warning, hot content)
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