Bitter disapointment

To her astonishment, she noticed him lying on the ground in an awkward position, breathing heavily. It dawned on her that he had been working out, much closer than she had presumed.

The realization caught her off guard, leaving her surprised by his dedication.

Anna watched him changing push-ups with plank several times with rising interest. She loved how his muscles moved, completely captivated by his vigorous body, she only now realized he braided his hair on his own. It glistened with chunks of gold and other jewels, precisely placed in its places.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. You are so handsome." She smiled when he finished and twitched as he noticed she was looking at him.

"You came back, Anna!" Bugak stood up and looked at her with relief written all over his face.

"We have only four hours; I must leave again by dawn. We should probably get going, I rested plenty already." Anna smiled nervously. She still wasn't sure how to talk to him. 

He is her lover, that was clear like a day. And he is also her guardian. But he is still nothing more than a well-written code, an NPC some employee was creating for well too long. 

He should be able to obey her wishes and orders without complaints.

"Do you have to go back?" his voice barely audible above a whisper, revealing his hesitance.

"What?" It surprised her, as she didn't expect him to question her plans at all.

"Back to your world." He said louder, obviously angry "I don't care what kind of a man is waiting for you. Stay with me."

Anna stared at him for a moment before she burst out laughing.

"Stay!" He growled again, unable to tell why she was laughing at him, but it made him even angrier.

"No -" Anna barely held her amusement.

"Fuck! Why?" He whined as he massaged his forehead to calm down a bit.

"I'm worried about my career. No man is waiting for me, I already said I'm all alone in my world, I just can't afford to lose my job." Anna replied and watched his whole body releasing the accumulated frustration.

"I just have to go to work, but I'll come back, that's a promise," Anna repeated slowly, trying to ease his mind. She still wasn't able to wrap her head around the fact that he assumed she had another man. Is he blind?

"But - There is nothing we can do in four hours!" He murmured, rubbing the base of his nose, as it was directed more to him than for her, "Why can't you just stay here?" he was nagging with his mind being busy canceling all those positions he intended to put her in as soon as she woke up.

She didn't even bother to greet him and it concerned him more than he was willing to admit. How could she do that again? Exactly as the first morning, he felt like she was a completely different woman. Bugak wanted that fierce and passionate one back.

"I just can't, this is just a game. I don't have time for arguing like this," Anna wanted to stay with him, but that wasn't possible. Filled with frustration, she sighed angrily and tried to appear bigger by straightening her posture, but it only made him chuckle. She was still barely reaching to his upper chest. Maybe shoulders, if she stood up on her tiptoes.

"You know what - if we truly have only four hours, we should hurry before the sun sets, let's get going, Anna." He was moody and disappointed, still hoping she would choose to stay with him instead of rushing back.

She gave him a short nod and reached out to grab their things, but he already lifted the empty backpack from the ground and held his battle axe in the other hand.

"I'm broke, would you mind if we focused on collecting plants today? To earn some gold?" Anna passed him, reaching for the key.

"Whatever," He said quietly and followed her, carefully stepping down the stairs, following her with a frown.