“H-Hey Arylos, can we talk?” Iris whispered softly as her cheeks ran red.

Arylos looked towards Iris and examined her carefully before closing his book and setting it on the table nearby. “Sure, what’s on your mind?” he asked intently.

Iris let out a sigh as she tried to keep her mind straight. “Well, it’s just that, this is very personal to me, but…” Iris trailed off as she looked into Arylos’s red eyes and found herself struggling with the words once more. “N-Nevermind, you’ll probably think it’s stupid.”

“No, I won’t,” Arylos said in a soft and comforting voice. “This is obviously something you feel very strongly about, and you know I’ll always listen to what you have to say.”

Iris felt her heartbeat peak as she tried to calm herself. She took a deep breath as she sat down next to Arylos. “I just–...I don’t know, this is difficult for me to say.”

Arylos raised an eyebrow as he tried to comprehend Iris. “If it’s not something you’re comfortable saying, then–”

“No, I need to get it off my chest,” Iris insisted, trying to push herself forward.

Come on, just say it; it’s not that hard, Iris told herself, trying to work up the courage. She looked at Arylos and remembered Bellona’s words; that she needs to get this out and in the open. That Arylos is the only person she can talk to about this.

“I…l-like you,” Iris confessed softly as her face went red.

Arylos tilted his head as he smiled softly. “I would hope so; we’ve been friends for almost two years. It would be a little strange if you didn’t like me.”

“N-No, nononononono,” Iris corrected while waving her arms. “It’s not like that, it’s…different, you know?”

“No, I really don’t,” Arylos said with heavy confusion. “Are you sure you’re alright? This isn’t like you and I’m a little concerned.”

Iris calmed herself down and took a deep breath. I love you, she told herself, trying to form the words. She felt all of her anxieties swim through her like a maelstrom, drowning her in her fears of Arylos leaving her. She hated saying this, and now she has to say it to him. I love you, she repeated to herself, trying to make the words sound more natural.

“I–...” Iris began, feeling her throat lock up. Her head spun as she tried to push back against the brick wall. She felt her anger with herself well up in her, letting it push back against the wall and threaten to break it down or destroy her in the process.

“I-I love you, you big idiot!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, letting her emotions take over her. The pressure was too much for her as she closed her eyes and whimpered under her breath, preparing for Arylos to say something that would hurt. She prepared herself for anything he could say that would hurt, expecting him to turn her down, to say it’s stupid. She clenched her robe tight as she felt tears start to well up.

All the while Arylos looked at Iris with a straight face before he tilted his head, confused about her once more. “Why do you look like you’re bracing for impact?” he asked.

“Eh? Seriously?!” Iris squealed while waving her arms. “I open my heart and confess to you and that’s all you have to say?”

“I’m just very confused, that’s all,” Arylos said in a concerned voice. “You look like I’m about to hit you, and I don’t understand it.”

Iris pouted and looked down while twiddling her fingers. “It’s just that…this is something I feel very strongly about. I’ve felt this way for a while and I’ve always been trying to understand it. This is the warmest thing I’ve felt and I’m just worried that…it’s all one sided. That you don’t feel the same for me.”

Arylos sighed softly and lifted Iris’s face by her chin to look at him. “There’s nothing wrong with selfless love, Iris,” he said softly while brushing a tear from her cheek. “To be able to love someone completely and expect nothing in return, that is the purest form of love there is in my opinion. That you’ll always have my back no matter what happens. That makes me happy and feel safe and comfortable around you.”

Iris sniffled and rubbed her nose as she processed Arylos’s words. “So you’re saying it’s true; that all of this is one sided. That I shouldn’t expect anything in return.”

“I never said anything like that,” Arylos responded with a smile.

Iris thought for a moment as she tried to understand what Arylos was saying. “Eh?” she said under her breath as she slowly turned towards the smiling Titan as her face went bright red and her ears burned. She ran his words through her head once more, trying to process what he was saying. A selfless love that expects nothing in return. That she would always have his back no matter what happens. That her selfless love makes him happy and comfortable.

She slowly began to realise that he wasn’t talking about her. The past year and a half passed before Iris’s eyes as she realised that Arylos was always there for her when she needed. That he always made sure she was happy and safe. That he always cared for her, even when they had fought.

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“..eh??” Iris whimpered under her breath as she began to realise the truth. “W-Wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” she said while full on panicking.

“What do you think I’m saying?” Arylos asked while laughing softly.

“No nono, this can’t be happening,” Iris said while shaking her head. “You’re supposed to say something like ‘sorry, you’re a mortal; it won’t work’. Or something like ‘you would have to be an idiot to love me’. Or that you’re too old to love. Or that–”

Iris was cut short as Arylos grabbed her by her cheeks and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead. Iris’s breath shuddered as her mind was emptied of everything and she began to wonder if this was a dream. Arylos let go of her and gently brushed her scalp and looked her right in her eyes, his glowing red eyes drawing her in. “Feel better?” he asked softly with a smile, keeping her eyes locked on his.

Iris’s emptied mind could only form one question. “For how long?” she asked in disbelief.

Arylos laughed and let go of Iris. “Trust me, you’re going to laugh if I tell you.”

“Y-You didn’t laugh at me, so tell me,” Iris said while coming closer to Arylos.

Arylos laughed as he stroked his beard. “Torasu,” he answered.

“Wait? Really? That was like a week after we met,” Iris exclaimed, not believing the Titan.

Arylos chuckled nervously as his cheeks started to turn red. “Y-Yeah, I know. But when you went unconscious, I felt something pull at me. I was lost, Iris; I thought I had failed, that I had lost you. I was panicking and broken and all I could think of was ‘not her, not now’. I wrote it off at the time, thinking it was the promise I made to your father.”

“But it wasn’t?” Iris asked softly.

“I convinced myself it was just my promise, but when we fought Oldalthur, something changed,” Arylos explained while twiddling his fingers. “When Oldalthur took you from me, I was afraid, I was angry, I was lost. I wanted nothing more than to burn every single hybrid on that mountain, and nothing could stop me. I felt like a piece of myself had been cut from me and when I got you back, I felt whole again.”

Iris took in his words while slowly shaking her head; piecing together the events and realising that they made sense. She realised since then, his actions toward her had changed and that he had been softer and more open with her.

She realised that he couldn’t be lying.

“So, you had feelings for me this whole time,” Iris said, summarising her realisation aloud. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I had a lot to process and wasn’t ready to say anything for a while,” Arylos confessed with a laugh. “Eventually, when I made up my mind, I tried telling you, but you were always caught up in your own head or panicking. When I tried to tell you without saying it, it only made things worse. Pretty much anything I did would make you freak out so I figured it would be best to just not say anything. I was determined to selflessly love you as I had been doing before, and that was all I needed.”

“All so you could live this waking dream of yours,” Iris said while trying to come to terms with all of this. “You were going to let me live my life, love someone else, get married, have kids, and die all the while you love me without expecting anything in return. You were just going to be there and not expect me to love you?”

Arylos cupped Iris’s face in his hands and stared into her brown eyes. “The first love I ever had was a star and how freely it gave out its light without caring for me. Could I ask that star to love me? No. Nothing could come close to that, except for you. You are no different; always giving out your kindness and love without a care nor expecting anything in return. And I could never ask you to love a monster like me.”

Iris rested her hand on Arylos’s and gently pulled his hands away and held his hands gently. “You’re not a monster,” she whispered softly.

“Then what am I?” Arylos asked with a laugh.

“You’re a big idiot,” Iris said without hesitation. “An idiot that I can’t stand, an idiot that I hate, an idiot that annoys me. But an idiot that I love; maybe that makes both of us idiots.”

Arylos laughed as he held Iris’s hands tight, unwilling to let her go. “You know, ‘Arylos’ in my people’s language means ‘guardian.’ However something tells me that you’ll tell the generations to come after that it actually means ‘idiot’.”

Iris laughed nervously before a sad thought came to her. “Arylos, I will die before you do. Are you sure you want to be with me?”

Arylos scoffed as if he was told a bad joke. “Have you not been listening to me? Yes, it will hurt when you die, but that pain means that I cared for you. That pain will remind me of the love I had, and I have come to terms with that. I just want to enjoy as much time with you as I can.”

“Even when I’m old and crotchety?” Iris asked while laughing.

“You’re already crotchety, but yes; even when you’re old,” Arylos said while maintaining his smile.

Iris chuckled as she gripped Arylos’s hands tight. “Not going to lie, I didn’t think I’d get this far,” she said with a laugh while rubbing her nose with her arm. “Does that mean it’s official then? That we’re…together?”

“Have we not already been together?” Arylos asked with a goofy smile.

“N-No, I mean as a couple; as in the two of us,” Iris corrected nervously.

“It’s always been the two of us, hasn’t it? As far as I’m concerned, we have already been a couple,” Arylos said while continuing to smile.

“No, I mean like…I don’t know, calling an Elder Titan my boyfriend is weird,” Iris said while chuckling nervously.

Arylos pulled her close and brought her forehead against his so she would look into his red eyes. “I’ll be everything you want me to be,” he said in a soft and hypnotic growl.

Iris sighed as she rubbed his cheek. As she touched him, he leaned into her hand and growled softly as she stroked his cheek, purring like a big cat. Iris held his face and reached in, gently giving the Titan a warm kiss. As their lips touched, Iris felt an urge spanning over a year come over her as she held him close, making each subsequent kiss warmer as she felt a heat well up inside her. Once she finally separated from him, she felt her breath shudder and lips quiver, quietly wanting more.

Yet she only wanted one thing. She felt tears come to her as she buried her face in Arylos’s chest as the Titan held her close while rubbing her back. She wanted this tight and warm embrace of the Titan more than anything else; to be held firm like he could hold her in a hurricane.

“Thank you,” she whispered softly while feeling herself drift to sleep in his arms.

“No, thank you,” Arylos responded while gently kissing Iris’s scalp as she fell asleep, feeling as though she was now safe and whole.