ii. Bonfire

Mary didn't expect to have a good time, and yet with everyone being nice to her and welcoming her to join them, she couldn't help but be happy.

The students were gathered in a bonfire and some beer is actually being passed around now that the teachers have all gone to bed.

Someone passed her a can of beer which she looked down on, she was about to drink from it before it was suddenly snatched away from her.

She looked at the strong pair of hands that took the liquor from her. "Dominus! That drink was mine!" she protested at his action.

He downed the can of beer and looked into her eyes before making the declaration, "I'll be the one to drink for her."

She pouted, really unhappy about this, "That's not fair! I also want to try."

"You'll just get sick if you get drunk. So shut up and let me do my duty," he scowled.

"What duty? You are being weird again!" she pinched his arm and pouted.

"My duty as a knight, of course. My duty is to take care of my queen and keep her safe. What kind of a knight do you think I am to be remiss of my duty. It is the most important thing in my life," he declared and kissed her in front of the others, unashamed of the way he marked her as his.

She would have laughed at how cute she now finds him every time he does that. Knowing she is invincible made the scene cute for her.

She would not have believed it- but it appears that she indeed has him wrapped around her fingers. She could hardly feel anything else except the fast beating of her heart from knowing that he is hers.

The unthinkable happened. The school prince actually fell in love with her as well. The one who had bullied her since day one confessed that he has loved her since. What can be crazier than that?!

"Be serious. What duty? You owe me nothing, I am not a queen but a mediocre student trying to survive high school," she continued.

"The duty to protect you. If you have forgotten, I am your boyfriend now. And no, honey. You are and always be my queenie," he whispered, loving the way her cheeks turned red. From the light coming from the bonfire, she does look like her cheeks were ablaze.

"When did I agree to that? Did you say I am your girlfriend! Did you even ask me to be one? You never even proposed," she added, her voice softer now.

Girlfriend, really? Was he making a joke out of her? Or did she not hear him clearly?

"If that's necessary then," he stood up, making people look up to him as he stood there casting a shadow over those sitting parallel to him.

He kneeled in front of her, "Mary, I promise to keep you safe and adore you in every way. I promise to be more patient when you are slow. I promise to love you with all my heart. In exchange for all these, I want you to be my girlfriend. Do you have an objection to it?"

She blushed profusely and pinched his arm, "Are you mad? What are you doing? Everyone's eyes are fixed on us! Stand up this instant!"

"Answer me first. You wanted a proposal, right?" he asked, his voice serious and there was no hint that he was just joking about this.

"But that sounded more like a threat than a proposal," she pouted.

"If you do not accept any of these terms I will have to kiss you senseless until you admit your real feelings. God knows you are more honest when I kiss you like that," he looked at her seriously she nearly fainted at the thought of being kissed in front of these people.

"I- I accept. I have no objections," she stuttered and hurriedly said it, just to make him go back to his seat.

"Say it clearly. Does that mean you are my girlfriend now?" he clarified, refusing to move until she say the words.

"Yes. I- I am your girlfriend now, Dominus," she blushed as she hurriedly pulled on his arm, begging him to go back to his seat.

He returned to his seat, as if nothing embarrassing had just happened. He urged everyone to start with the festivities again.

She pouted, "Don't do something as embarrassing as that in the future."

He sighed, "I'll never win against you. You just reminded me I have not proposed yet. I followed and proposed accordingly. I feel like no matter what I do you'll always be dissatisfied."

Seeing him so serious and sad, she moved a bit closer to him and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, it's just... I'm not used to being in the limelight like that. Before I met you, I have always been just invisible. Just an ordinary girl not worth a second glance. I am not comfortable having eyes on me," she whispered softly.

What she said melted his heart as he pulled her close to him. He sat her on his lap and nuzzled on her neck.

"You will never be invisible to me, Mary. You have to keep this in mind, you will never be nothing to me. The truth is, you are the only one who ever mattered. There is no one I care for more than you. No smile is more precious to me than yours, no voice is more calming, and no eyes I would rather get lost in than those pretty orbs," he hugged her and squeezed her small body against his muscles.

"That's a long-ass speech from the drama club," she teased him, poking his side.

"Baka, I was trying to be sweet," it was his turn to blush. This girl is so childish it is rubbing off on him a bit.

"Don't worry, it is sweet. I don't even have the words to match it. That is why I chose to tease you. How can I ever match those beautiful words you just said," she kissed his cheek to assure him.

"Well, if you don't have the words to properly respond, how about letting your body respond to me later," he grinned.

His teasing earned him a bite on his arm, to which he just laughed. To him, she is cute this way. Everything about her is perfect, even the way her childishness rubs at him.

Having her bite him is cute too, it makes others aware he is hers. Like marking her territory. He likes the idea of that very much.

"I just bit you, and here you are laughing! At least pretend to get hurt," she pouted, feeling dissatisfied at his odd reaction.

"I couldn't help it. I love everything about you, queenie. Even your bite marks remind me of how crazy you are for me," of course the opposite is true.

He is the one crazy obsessed with her. Even he is well aware of the depths of his feelings. But she doesn't have to know that, does she? This way he can tease her without being vulnerable.

"You really are a baka, you know," she laid her head on his chest as he made her sit on his lap.

"Dominus! What do you think you are doing, there are people around us," she complained.

"Shhhh... shut up or others will notice it more, just sit perfectly still and let me have this moment. I miss you when you sit so far away," he kissed her nape as he shushed her.

"Fine, but only if you behave! No unnecessary touches," she giggled at how foolish the two of them must look from their classmates' perspectives. There was nothing that matches about them.

From how small she was to how massive everything about him is. From the way her world is so still- like to the way his whole world seems to revolve around him.

She wasn't meant to be with someone like him. She knows it, and she fears it. But this moment right now just made her believe that maybe... maybe they can try fitting in together, like the odd pair that they are.

"Odd that you will mention that. You know all my touches are perfectly acceptable and needed. I do it as a means of survival. You are the air that I breathe Mary, and touching you reminds me that you are here with me. I need to be reminded my life source is staying so close to me," she blushed hearing his words but kept silent, loving the warmth his body gave off as she stayed so close to him.

She wondered if it is possible indeed for two odd pairs to survive what others may just brush off as complete madness. Is someone like her susceptible of surviving in his world?

She dozed off with these thoughts in her mind as the one who caused them pulled her even closer to himself, sniffing her scent as he breathed in his air.

It was all odd indeed, how what sounded like a joke or exaggeration is the very truth about the way he feels.

She is his air, the reason for his existence. He needed to keep her close to him not just for comfort, no it was a deeper need that gnawed at him.

He needs her. The queen he always loved, he needs to keep her safe. He feels like he will lose his mind if he ever loses her. She is everything to him really, and more importantly, she is his.