We smiled at each other as he pulled me around, my feet off the ground, my legs paddling through the water. I was sure he could feel my heart beating right below the skin of my fingers.
Then, I tried to get onto my back, and he guided me gently.
Slowly, I felt myself begin to float, the cool water swaying against my skin, my body weightless in his support. His hands were firm yet tender, gliding along my sides, letting me drift while keeping me grounded in his presence.
I tilted my head back, letting the ripples cradle me, my eyes catching the first stars appearing in the night sky.
As I floated, V leaned closer, his long fingers brushing wet strands of hair from my face. He pressed a delicate kiss to my temple, just above my eyebrow, and a shiver ran through me. Every nerve tingled. I had never felt such closeness, such intimacy with anyone before.
I trusted him completely, knowing I could ask him to let me go, and yet, I wanted to stay in his embrace.
Every one of our exhales, every move of my feet, felt magnified, as if the world existed only for us in this suspended, perfect moment.
When I opened my eyes again, V wasn't looking at me. His hands held me close, yet his gaze was fixed on a point in the distance.
Following his eyes, I realized he was staring at the same high dune he had described to me the first time we visited the oasis.
The one he said had an abandoned loop station behind, leading to the West.
"What are you thinking of?" I murmured, wishing I could read his mind in this instant.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment.
When he opened them again, his stare was glazed over by whatever thoughts were weighing on him right now.
"Nothing," he said in a reassuring tone, his cold fingers brushing imaginary strands of hair from my face, a soft smile still for me.
I set my feet back on the ground, wanting to face him.
"Are you still thinking that I could escape?" I asked, my voice as low as his.
His sad eyes didn't waver at my sudden question.
He kept that gentle, soft smile fixed on me.
"I don't think you want to escape," he spoke out every word, slowly.
The soft water lapped around us as I waited.
He swallowed with difficulty, his eyebrows coming together with worry, as he spoke his next words with difficulty.
"But I want you to," he admitted.
"Why?" I asked already.
He looked at the water lapping between us, struggling to hide the pain on his face.
"Because..." he began in that same hoarse voice, "Because it would mean you'd be free."
He drew in a slow, deep breath, finally meeting my eyes.
We held each other's gaze for what felt like a long, suspended minute before he spoke again.
"For as long as I'm your owner... I'll always wonder if you stay with me because you have to."
There it was.
The very reason why I didn't want a machina to replace me.
My chest tightened. I found his hands and intertwined my fingers with his.
"Are you scared you won't find the funds? To renew my contract?"
I realized I wanted to prepare him for the eventuality that there will not be another Sade tomorrow.
"That won't happen," he said immediately.
The steadiness in his voice left no room for doubt.
It was as if he had already turned this problem over in his mind a hundred times.
"But maybe we should at least consider—" I started, but he cut me off.
"It won't happen."
"But what if—"
"Sade. No," he interrupted again, this time with a small chuckle.
He smiled and shook his head, dismissing my worries entirely.
It was clear he had already made a decision, certain of every possible outcome.
What did he know that I didn't?
"I won't let it happen," he said, his voice calm and convinced, his fingers squeezing around mine in the water. "Don't worry. We'll stay together. I'll make sure of it."
I chose not to press the subject further as he seemed so determined.
Growing tired from paddling, we moved toward some rocks nearby, similar to the ones where I had shared a conversation with his brother Vincent.
V guided me to sit on a submerged rock while he stayed close, his long legs swaying gracefully in the water beside me.
Above us, the night sky stretched deep and vast, dotted with countless stars.
"Maybe..."
I drew my feet up onto the rock, wrapping my arms around my knees as they broke the water's surface.
"Maybe you could find a real woman."
I didn't dare to look at him as the words left my mouth, but I could still see him in my peripheral vision.
He remained silent while his shape moved closer to me through the dark water.
Slowly, he floated in front of me, his hands finding the edge of my rock beneath the surface. His fingers brushed against my hips, hesitant at first, then firmer.
His cheek grazed my knee before he pressed a small kiss against my kneecap. Shivers ran up my whole body, my skin prickling where his lips had touched... and where I wanted them to touch me.
As his lips moved against my knee, our hungry stares locked with each other.
"You do feel like a real woman to me," he murmured, his voice rough, vibrating against my heated skin.
He closed his eyes and his fingers dug into the flesh of my hips, pulling me just slightly closer to him. I could have moaned if my breath weren't already caught in my chest.
His breathing was shaky as his open lips lingered on my knee. He remained there, his eyes hooded, as if silently offering me to respond, to open myself to him.
Every nerve in me screamed.
Even though I was supposed to be the one on higher ground, perched on a rock, I felt so vulnerable. Like a fragile, precious thing snuggled in the palm of his hand.
He drew in another long, deep breath, his hooded eyes lifting to meet mine. His long fingers released my hips and trailed down the length of my legs, gliding over my thighs and calves.
The intensity in his dark eyes was overwhelming, as if every ounce of him was holding back, fighting to maintain control. My body shivered under the heat of his touch, and when he let go, the space between us suddenly felt unbearably wide.
I pressed my hands onto the rock beneath me and let myself slide back, sinking into the cool embrace of the water.
V didn't move an inch, his gaze following every part of me as I descended, trailing from my navel, across the curve of my breasts, up to my neck, until my shoulders disappeared beneath the surface.
When our eyes met again, I got my hands around his face, letting our bodies drift together, guided by the hold of the rocks.
"What if..." I whispered, "What if you pretended I was a real woman, just for tonight?"
V searched my eyes, a small furrow forming between his brows.
"Imagine I'm human, like you," I continued, hoping my voice didn't sound too pleading. "Close your eyes."
And he did, though the faint scowl remained on his forehead, worried as to where I was going with this.
"Imagine..." I caressed a few strands of his dark hair behind his ear. "Imagine I were really an expert in botany... And I really would come from the West."
I began to draft the story that could have been ours. A story that circumstances would never allow. A story I had fantasized about us.
"We could have met at the cafeteria, at work... I would have met Chandra somehow, because... Well, she knows everyone," I chuckled, and V laughed, his eyes still closed, his face relaxing finally. "We would have been introduced... And you would have thought I was very pretty," I added quietly, smiling to myself.
He pinched a smile on his lips, his hands resting on my waist below the water.
"I would have thought you were very handsome too, of course," I said, tracing every feature I loved on his face: his lips, his nose, the folds of his cheeks when he smiled... And his sad, searching eyes.
Eyes still closed, he let me touch him, the smile on his face softening, relaxing into the moment.
"I would have thought you were a little weird too, that's for sure," I teased, and though he frowned slightly, his smile got wider.
I pecked a gentle kiss on his lips, and he returned it, a split second later, immersed in the scene I had drafted for us.
"We would have kept meeting like that for some time... Until I'd finally asked you out."
His face really scowled now.
"No. I would have asked you out first," he protested.
"Not a chance..." I laughed sincerely, my fingers tangling in his hair.
He grinned, dropping the argument already, probably realizing I was right.
"Our first date would have been awkward, but cute," I continued, remembering our movie night, and the growing comfort between us. "Until we finally kissed."
"I'd kiss you first," he murmured, his face relaxed, as if entranced by my story.
This time, I didn't contradict him. I knew he was right.
"And then one day..." I continued in a whisper, my fingers still caressing lovingly his face. "After many dates... When it would finally feel right for both of us... We would say I love you."
His breath shook, his nostrils flared.
His eyelids trembled, and I could see tears forming in his eyes.
"I love you, V."
I felt his face shudder between my palms, as if he was melting away.
He fully opened his eyes, and a single tear dropped on his cheek.
"I love you too, Sade," he spoke in a shaky voice.
I sniffed and smiled, brushing away the tears rolling down his face.
"Why are you crying?" I asked with a chuckle, feeling my own lips and limbs trembling.
"You're crying too, Sade."
I hadn't realized until then.
He smiled through his tears, his thumbs brushing softly against my cheeks to wipe the warm trails away.
I pressed my face into his neck, my voice breaking.
"I don't want to lose you," I spoke the only truth I could say in this moment.
He wrapped his arms tightly around my trembling body.
"You won't," he said, his voice shaking too. "I'll find a way, Sade. You can trust me."
He pulled back to look at me, his gaze dark and determined.
"I'll do everything in my power to keep you with me," he said, his grip firm, almost desperate.
I buried myself against his neck again.
"Sade, I hope you know... I wouldn't change our story for the world."
I lifted my head, searching his eyes.
"Is that why you told me to imagine that?" he asked softly. "Would you prefer to be human?"
I stayed silent, the words hovering on my lips.
I am human.
I just can't tell you.
"I don't care, Sade," he murmured, his thumb tracing along my jaw. "You could be anything you want... I would love you no matter what."
He leaned in to kiss me, but I stopped him.
"Do you know that I feel the same about you?" I said already.
He frowned slightly, his lashes fluttering.
"You could be a clone, a monster, a human... Whatever you think you are," I spoke. "I would love you no matter what."
His gaze met mine, tender and sad, as if begging to believe it.
"But the truth is," I whispered, "you are human. The most wonderful one I've ever known. The one I love the most. Do you believe me?"
His lips parted, tears glinting in his eyes.
"I do," he said, nodding.
Only then could I breathe again.
I pulled him into my arms, letting the tears freely overflow.
My mission here was complete.
V had always known how to love and be loved.
He just never knew how to love himself.
And now, somehow, I felt he had finally found that belief within him.
Tomorrow, the one thing that made him feel incomplete would be gone.
And at last, he would be free from these thoughts.
I tightened my arms around him, hoping to imprint the memory of his body against mine.
In the distance, my eyes found the tallest dune, the moon shining brightly above it.
Tomorrow, we will both be free.
🗓️ Next chapters: this Monday, October 13th 🗓️
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