Connor's walk back to camp was... hectic. His mental state was in disarray, so much so it was a struggle to even walk properly, and on more than one occasion, he would randomly trip on nothing.

This was, quite obviously, because of Mariya. He had spoken out of turn, going so far as to insult her when all she wanted to do was help...

'W-What if Malkov's wrong, a-and she's only trying to be nice and—' Thoughts like these weren't uncommon as he timidly trudged back to their camp, taking smaller and smaller steps until...

"No! I can't think like that!! I-I just need to trust Malkov... trust him and keep going till the end!" Still, he'd eventually convince himself to keep walking— to keep walking until he found another reason to stop.

'Oi! Stop bein' such a pussy and walk!' Out of the blue, the unruly, slang-infested speech of The Book of Fate rang out in his brain, causing him to jump in surprise.

'W-What're you doing here?! Shouldn't you be... y'know... doing whatever things you magical artefacts do?'

It scoffed, 'Bah! I got tired o' doing nothin' and decided to pay my owner a visit, and surprise surprise: he's changed from a psychopath looking for revenge to a lovestruck fool in need of some assurance!' Connor blushed when he put it like that, and couldn't help but try to refute it.

'Oh shut up! You didn't need to be so mean about it!'

'Kekekeke... I can do whatever I want, brat! And don't you forget it!' It paused, and when it continued, it took on a more serious tone, '...That aside, if you need it, I'm here to lend an ear whenever you want..."

'Can I... really?'

'Talk away, kid! If there's one thing I'm good for, it's listenin','

Connor's heart warmed at how accommodating the book was, and after a moment's hesitation, laid his heart bare:

"I'm just really nervous, y'know? Like, what if we're both not ready, and because of that, we end up destroying what we had before... I'm scared of losing her, especially when she's done so much without so much as revealing her true feelings,"

He sighed, looking wistfully up at the night sky, "And then there's the thing about Wissen: I didn't intend to lose control and scream at her, I-I just hope she'd see it the same way, but now I'm not so sure... I mean, I saw how hurt she looked when she heard what I said. And then there's Malkov: he seems so much more cool-headed and better at handling both me and Mariya! He cheered her up almost instantly, and they're really close too while I was pushing everyone away cause I was too focused on revenge, then there's the fact that I haven't even said sorry for not thinking she's a friend and... and... I think she's better off not knowing me..."

Just like it'd promised, The Book of Fate didn't say anything. It listened.

The walk didn't last much longer, as he could see the dim flames of the campfire up ahead.

'Hoo... let's do this!' With one final self-encouraging boost, he readied himself to apologize to her... to find the place empty of said person.

"You looking for the lady?" The only person there was Sima, sitting quietly by the campfire while smoking a cigarette.

"Do you know where she went?" He stood there awkwardly, trying not to eye the half-empty pack of smokes too conspicuously. It was useless, however, since Sima easily picked up his not-so uninterested gaze at his cigs.

"I gave her a pack to finish; you can ask her for some... She went that way," He pointed at a relatively large dune, "She's gonna smoke the whole thing if you don't go fast enough,"

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

He nodded gratefully before hurriedly leaving, not hearing Sima's last remark: "You better hurry man; she was sobbin' and everything,"

***

Connor rushed up the dune, mind racing about all the things he was going to say, all the things he wanted to say, and all the things he could never say... when he saw her back... Lonely, he thought, as he stared at her back, noticing how she clearly heard him from how her ears pricked up, but made no effort to even move a muscle...

He was... mute; unable to take the step forward and hold the reins, nor run away and allow her to, once and for all, fall out of his grasp. He was... stuck in indecision and uncertainty, and she knew it.

"..." So she didn't react. No, like a trained hunter, she waited, waited for him to make the first move while preparing her own pieces to checkmate him...

...

...

He took a step... backwards, the shingles of sand lightly shifting to adapt to his weight.

'IcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcant—'

Another step...

'Please forgive me Malkov, Mariya, but I can't do it!!'

Tears were pouring out of his eyes as he went to take another step back...

'IcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcantIcant—'

Before he felt a hand placed on his shoulder, stopping him from moving back any further.

It was Sima, and he didn't look happy.

"Not cool, man. Don't be a pussy and be there for her,"

He wanted to refute, wanted to deny, wanted to just say anything to stop the growing shame in his system...

But before he could.

-Push!-

"Ah—!?" The last thing he saw before rolling down into the sands was Sima's outstretched hand, his wrist decorated with bangles and bands and other fine pieces of jewellery. However, the most beautiful thing he saw wasn't the diamonds, nor was it the golden bracelet. No, it was...

A thumbs up.

"Mmph?!" Before eating a mouth full of sand.

He rolled down the dune, trying in vain to stop himself from colliding with the still unmoving Mariya...

"Ah!!"

Welp... too late for that.

They both flew down, arms automatically grasping the other to stop from separating.

Finally, they skidded to a halt at the foot of the dune, with Mariya on top, while Connor was on the bottom.

"..." Connor stared at Mariya. And Mariya stared back.

The two shared an agreeable bit of silence, too preoccupied in the other's eyes to really care about anything else. It was a strange sight, her eyes. Despite being a shade of black, he'd never seen anything more bright.

"Your eyes... they're beautiful," He unconsciously let out, not realizing what he'd just said until he saw her frown.

"Did you come here to compliment me?" She whispered, getting off of him before walking up the dune.

"I-I... oh fuck... I'm sorry," He followed after her, grasping her hand.

"Let go," She wanted to pull her hand back, but his hand was like a vice grip.

"I-I'm sorry, look, can't you—"

"Let go," She turned around, directing a hash glare at him, her tone similarly apathetically cold.

Connor actually considered letting her go, and yet...

'Don't be a pussy and be there for her,'

He remembered Sima's words, and he realized what letting her go would actually mean...

"No, I won't," He declared earnestly, tightening his grip on her hand even more.

For once, she looked shocked.

He walked one step closer...

'I need to do this,' He reaffirmed himself, 'I can't keep her waiting any longer,'

And another step closer...

'What is he doing?' Mariya tensed up when she his face, 'H-He's never been like this... not even when we were at the oasis—'

Taking one final step... Connor stood right in front of her, so close they heard each other's breathing, so close their lips were almost touching, so close...

That he hugged her.

One arm wrapped around her waist, the other still entwined within her fingers.

"Please," He pleaded, voice cracking from the pure amounts of sorrow he felt.

"I have too many things to say sorry about... so please... please stay and listen,"

Connor breathed a silent sigh of relief.

He'd done it. He'd asked. Now, all he can do is hope to Fate she'd listen... all he could do is hope...

"I will..."

She'll listen...

"I will listen,"