Chapter 7: A new day (3) (Edited)

Ruby's pov

A stygian windowless solitary prison cell. That used to be my heart after that tragic day when I found Gorou Amamiya's body in that forest. Oh, the extreme pain I felt back then, all the hope sucked out of me forcefully, it felt like a tragedy had stuck its clawed fingers into my chest and ripped out my heart. 

But now, now that I am here with Sensei. And we are dating. I no longer am locked in that cell. Instead, I have refurbished the place to have a nice window with a heart in the middle, through which light pours throughout the day, illuminating the whole place and filling my heart with warmth and joy. 

I used to spend my days at the hospital dreaming about what my life as a married couple with Sensei would be like. I can still vividly remember my fond dreams of us cuddling while watching the sun rise over the horizon. Me donning an apron cooking for him, while he sat there admiring me and praising me by saying the food smelled good. He kissing me passionately beneath the calm blue glow of the moon. But now, as that dream slowly turned into reality, there was a foreign and newfound feeling that occupied my heart. A joy that I cannot describe.

But, as the proverb goes "All good things must come to an end", but I never want this feeling to stop. I want to love Sensei and be with Sensei my whole life. 

I don't want for that small window to break. He was my world now, no one else occupied my heart like he did, the loving doctor who is always there for me. I want him to always be my world, forevermore. So why does he want to leave my side and put himself in danger by going outside to work? Work is so boring, does he not enjoy our time together? Does he not love me too? All these fears started to dominate my heart until he told me to place my trust in him for one day, give him one day to quell my fears in exchange for another day with him. 

'If not him then who after all? I'm just worried that he will leave me or that someone will take him away from me. But one day is fine, right?' 

Thus, I agreed to his offer, he would be allowed to go outside if he could prove to me that he is able to take care of himself and wouldn't leave me. 

'If this is a one-sided love ... like my parents ...' As my mind started to take a deep dive into the abyss of unknowns, his calm and sweet voice pulled me back to the present. 

"So is there anything you want to watch now?" He asked, breaking the awkward silence between us both. 

'You dummy! Why do you think I enjoy watching things? The most important thing here is you, you dumb idiot!' 

With a pout on my face, I escaped from his embrace, planting myself in the space between his legs once again. 

"Hold me Sensei," I urged, prompting him to wrap his arms around me once again. 

Closing my eyes, I zoned out all the background distractors to truly enjoy the moment. 

Mmm, his arms, they're so soft and warm, but firm too. I can't believe he's my boyfriend. 

Unable to contain my excitement and joy at being held, soft moans started to escape my mouth, as my mind wandered off into his loving embrace.

And it was in that loving and precious moment, that he decided to do the most stupid thing ever, show the only part of him that I slightly disliked, his inability to read the room. 

"I'm gonna choose okay?" He asked as he released one of his hands to pick up the remote. 

'This stupid characteristic of his. It's cute at times but most of the time it's just plain annoying. Does he not enjoy this moment like I do? But so many people online keep commenting and saying that they want to hug me forever. Why doesn't he like embracing me?' 

At that thought and in the face of his utter stupidity, I started pouting again, wrapping his remaining left arm with both my arms like a pillow as comfort and payback.

"Cute ..." he whispered, unaware that I could hear him, "it's so soft."

But I did, and it caused me to blush in embarrassment and release his arm. 

'Maybe I should do this more often,' I thought to myself, eager to receive more of his praise and love. 

'Does he like my chest? It's a little small but if he likes it ... maybe I should let him feel it more ... once we're married maybe ... Argh ... I might die from embarrassment thinking about it ... but maybe if it's sensei' 

As I considered the possibility of allowing Sensei to touch me more intimately, I could feel the blood rush up to my face, turning my cheeks crimson red. 

"umm ... it feels a little bit uncomfortable," Aqua said, as he attempted to pull his hand away from me. 

'Liar.'

Obeying his wishes, I let go of his hand right before I quickly claught both hands, bringing them into my embrace, forming a "v" shape across my chest. 

Glancing behind me, I witnessed a defeated and pleasantly surprised look on Aqua's face. 

'He reacts just like a child who had fallen for one of his parents' playful tricks for the umpteenth time... Cute ...' 

"pfft," I chuckled at the image of Sensei as a kid popped up in my mind.

'Even as a kid, Aqua has always been so mature, which is to be expected given that we're both regressors. However, there must have been a time when he was immature and a cute innocent child.' I thought.

'How would he be like?' I wondered as many images drifted into my mind. 

Gorou Amamiya as a child. With that prompt, my brain generated many images of a small kid with short black hair, donning a small red cap while laughing as he stared at the river. 

'Cute' 

While I was in my blissful daze, I suddenly felt the warmth between my arms disappear as Aqua slid his arms away like a snake, the brushing of his arms against my shirt making a sort of slithering sound on the way out. 

Sensei ... What are you doing?

"Sensei ..." I whined as I stretched out my arms to reach his, only for him to wrap his palms around my eyes gently, obstructing my vision. 

"Ruby, please stop doing that, it's making me uncomfortable," Aqua requested in a gentle and loving tone. 

Why? Does he not like it?

"It's not that I don't like it ... it just feels wrong," Aqua answered. 

It turns out that I accidentally said that thought aloud. 

"Ok sensei," I reluctantly complied, resigning to his wishes. 

'It's ok, we can always do more of it when we get married,' I comforted myself as Aqua released his palms from my eyes and planted them on my stomach. 

'Now that I think of it, since he promised to marry me when we turn 25, then doesn't that mean he's technically already my fiancée? Doesn't that mean I can technically call him my husband?' 

The more I thought about us getting married, the more sunshine flooded into the room that lay in my heart. 

'hubby ...' 

Calling him that would be ... perfect ... a dream come true. 

"Hubby~" I called lovingly. 

Yet there was no response. 

'Perhaps he didn't hear me the first time,' I mused. 

"Hubby~" I cried out lovingly once again, louder this time. 

This time, he picked up the remote control and paused the show, causing the silence of the room to settle in among us, emphasizing the fact that it was just the two of us in the room. 

"Ruby, who are you calling out to?" Aqua asked, a slight scratch of irritation in his voice as his viewing of the show was once again interrupted.

'dummy' 

Why is he so utterly oblivious to everything? 

Turning my head around, I frowned at my soon-to-be husband, annoyed at how he didn't realize who I was calling out to. 

'I mean, I told him so many times that I love him and that he is the only one I will ever marry. So who else could I possibly mean when I say hubby? How stupid can you be?' I thought angrily. 

However, as I stared into his lovely blue eyes, I was drawn to a secluded island surrounded by the pristine blue waters, where he held me like he was doing right now and we just enjoyed each other's presence quietly. The thought of that scene was like a calming wave of love that doused the burning fire in my heart. 

'We should go to the beach sometime.'

'It's nothing," I replied, pettily leaving him to figure me out. 

To my utter horror, he immediately picked up the remote and resumed the show. 

'idiot' 

His almost comical incomprehension and apparent philistinism started to make my heart tremble again, but this time not with the flames of rage but the tremours of worry. 

'Did he forget about our promise already? Does he plan to break it? Is that why he doesn't think of himself as my husband? Am I not a good wife? Come to think of it, I haven't cooked for him, and in this life and the one before this, I didn't display much of my abilities to him. Am I even suitable as a wife for such a brilliant man like him? What if I don't satisfy him? Will he leave me then? But ... I spent so many years in this life learning so many skills so I could take care of all his needs in the house, both during the day and at night (wink). Is it still not enough?' 

The possibility of being unsuitable crept up on me, pushing me down a spiral of stairs that led to the endless pit of my insecurities and worries.

'Should I leave him? Am I fine just watching him from a distance? Never being able to experience the joys I see? He deserves so much better than this mess of a girl I am, with his kindness and looks, I am sure he won't settle for such a waste like me.' 

At the thought of Sensei being with someone else rather than me, small little lakes started to form at the bottom of my eyes, before forming streams of river that flowed down my face, flowing and dropping off my chin into a pit of oblivion and sunkeness. 

Although his eyes remained intensely fixated on the screen the last I saw him, Aqua tightened his embrace on me and planted a soft little kiss on the top of my head, as if he could feel my misery. 

"I love you, Ruby," he declared suddenly with a solemn determination in his voice, as if sure that his words would never change even throughout the unpredictable course of time. 

Hearing those words come out of his mouth is like hearing the sound of water flowing in a desert. It is like an oasis for me to dive into where I can finally smile and say that I am happy. 

'How can such a great man be mine? Thank you whoever is out there.'

As if able to hear my thoughts and emotions, Aqua gently turned my head to the right so that I could see him. 

He had a gentle smile on his face that glowed along with the radiant orange glow of the setting 4 pm sun, but the warmth that radiated from his sile warmed my heart rather than my body. 

"Are you okay? Why are you crying?" He asked, his expression morphing into one of worry as he paused the show once again. 

Here, the streams of tears were still flowing down my face but this time they were not of sadness or heartache but instead of overflowing joy and gratitude.

"I just can't believe that you are my husband," I told him, wiping the tears off my face.

"But I'm not your husband." (Aqua can't get social cues, just like me)

"Huh?" I asked, confusion spreading all over my face and my heart, obscuring the sun and blocking all its warmth.

"Umm ... Well I said that I will marry you when we turn 25, and we're only 17 ... so ... we're technically not husband and wife yet. Plus, I intend to propose to you when we're 25, so we are right now just dating I guess?" He clarified. 

"No! You said you're going to marry me, so you are my husband and therefore my hubby!" I rebutted with a childlike voice.

"Well ... I mean we also technically aren't dating because we haven't gone on a date yet," He continued. 

"What?!" I shouted in surprise, "But aren't we on a date right now?"

"No ... I'm just here to spend the day with you as a couple," He replied.

"But this ... this is definitely a date, we ate together and all ..."

'We must be dating right?! I mean this pretty much constitutes a date.'

"Well, I guess I am still a little confused in regards to all the dating terms. To me, a date only counts as a date when both parties go out of the house and do something different together with each other. And a couple is only dating once they have gone out on one date. So technically ... we aren't exactly boyfriend and girlfriend yet. Much less husband and wife."

"No! You are my future husband and thus my hubby!" I declared. 

"But that technically isn't correct though."

'You baka!'

"Hubby!" I announced once and for all, putting an end to the argument and making clear my unchanging stance on the matter.

"But ..." Aqua tried to argue. 

"Husband!" I repeated while repositioning my body to bury my head in his chest. 

Hearing that, Aqua gave a long sigh and simply continued the show while wrapping his arms around me again.

'This stupid cute idiot!' I thought with a smile while burying my head in his chest. 

"But he's my cute idiot," I whispered while beaming from ear to ear. 

And that is pretty much how we spent the whole afternoon. 

TBC