Lire

Sorry it's a bit late. I almost forgot about posting a chapter to SH. I only remembered just as I was about to go to bed! lol

"Fuck..." Zayne furiously wiped his forehead. "I shouldn't have let you pull me into this..."

"Oh god. You sweat like a pig." Luna remarked as she dabbed at Zayne's neck with her handkerchief.

"And whose fault is that?" He resentfully glared at his girlfriend. "Can we just go home now?"

"C'mon, we're almost there." She pointed towards a bench under the shadow of a tree. "We can also just take a break first if that's what you want?"

"I'm not sweating because I'm tired. I'm sweating because it's so damn hot!" Zayne retorted. He was always proud of the amount of stamina he had, despite being somewhat of a shut-in.

It was likely due to living with a sex-crazed maniac for years, though.

He sent a look towards the bench, finding the tree's shade extremely appealing. "Whatever. Let's sit down first. I need to wipe the sweat in my pits."

"Pff. Sure sure." Luna giggled as she checked something on her phone. She showed it to Zayne. "Look, it's thirty degrees. It's not that hot. Perfect weather. Why are you like this."

"Shut up. You're the weirdo for liking hot days like this." Zayne scoffed as he walked faster towards the bench, leaving Luna behind.

"Isn't it stranger to like the cold?" Luna countered as she jogged to catch up.

Zayne sighed as he collapsed on the bench. After settling into a comfortable position, he began to use the neck of his shirt to soak up the sweat on his face. "If it's cold, you just bundle up or wear thicker clothes. What's the counter-play for heat though? Do you peel off your skin?"

"Ugh... your examples are so disgusting. As expected of a Dark Fantasy writer." Luna shrugged as she sat down beside him. She took her decently soaked handkerchief and used it to wipe the sweat that clung to Zayne's back under his shirt.

"There wasn't any skin peeling in my nov—" Zayne stopped, recalling a passage in his novel where a noble had an entire village flayed before they were skewered with pikes. "Never mind..."

"So, now that it's done, can I finally read it?" Luna asked. They were fifteen when Zayne started writing "Grant's Merry Adventures in Garottia", and he'd forbidden Luna from reading it until it was finished. Even though he was perfectly fine with her reading his other published works.

'Geez, why'd he have to give it such a misleading title? Isn't the title a lie? How'd he get away with that? It's false advertising!'

"Sure, knock yourself out... just don't read it in my vicinity." Zayne scratched his cheek wryly.

Luna was the only person who knew he was writing, so he didn't want her to read his work. He was strangely embarrassed by the idea. There was also the fact that he'd based GMAG's main heroine on her, and he knew there'd be no end to the teasing if she found out about it.

Now that it was done though, he was somewhat fine with it. Though, he'd prefer not to see her fresh reactions. He'd also stockpiled barrels of patience to withstand her inevitable jeering.

A young couple walked hand in hand as they passed by in front of Zayne and Luna.

Zayne couldn't help but watch them flirting with each other as they left.

Luna saw this and pinched Zayne in the waist, making him yelp in pain.

"The fuck was that for?" Zayne looked at Luna with an aggrieved expression as he massaged the part she'd nipped.

"Stop checking other girls out." Luna's eyebrows furrowed.

"I wasn't!" He raised his hand in front of him while shaking his head.  "I was looking at both of them!"

"..." Luna frowned as she looked at Zayne strangely. "That's even worse."

'I didn't mean that in a sexual manner!' Zayne inwardly retorted. He was too exhausted to argue, so he just pointed at the far-off couple and explained.

"I was just reminiscing about how we were like that too. You know, holding hands whenever we could."

"Oh~ okay." Luna's eyes widened as she nodded in understanding. She raised an eyebrow and held her hand out. "Wanna hold hands then?"

"I wasn't going for that..." Zayne shook his head wryly but still grabbed her hand. "But sure."

"..."

"..."

A few moments passed in silence as their hands were held in each other's. Because of the weather, sweat started to form on Zayne's palms, but none of them were bothered by it.

What bugged them was something else entirely.

"Mm." Luna squeezed once or twice as she gazed down at their interlocked fingers. Then she looked upwards, meeting Zayne's eyes. "This feels weird now."

"Yeah, I was just gonna say that too." Zayne chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.

It wasn't like they never held hands nowadays. It was just the kind of thing they did automatically depending on the mood. Deliberately doing it for skinship was something they grew out of a few years ago.

He couldn't help but heave a lonely sigh. "That's kinda sad though..."

Luna giggled as she leaned on him. A suggestive look crossed her eyes as she whispered, "We have skinship in other ways, though. So holding hands might've just felt lacking after a while."

Zayne gave the perma-horny woman a pinch on the nose.

After wrenching herself from his not-so-vice-like grip, she offered another theory. "Or maybe we just got old."

 "Old...?" Zayne's brows furrowed, finding the notion incredibly strange. "We're twenty-four."

"Depending on the person, we're pretty old."

"Yeah. To a fetus, we're ancient." Zayne rolled his eyes.

As the couple exchanged banter, a small figure walked up to them and called out in a high-pitched voice. "Hello!"

"Huh...?" Zayne turned away from his girlfriend and looked at the source of the voice. A cute little girl with adorable dimples on her cheeks was staring at the two of them curiously. "Eh? A little girl...?"

"Oh my gosh, she's so cute!" Luna squealed. She stood up and then knelt in front of the girl. "Hello, my name's Luna. Can you tell me yours?"

"I'm Sasha!" The girl replied with a lovable smile.

"Sasha, huh? Well, Sasha, what're you doing here? Where're your parents?" Luna smiled warmly as she couldn't resist giving the lovable girl a pat on the head.

Zayne just watched in silence, letting her do her stuff. He knew she liked kids and was generally good at interacting with them. As such, it'd be best to just leave it up to her.

Especially since he was horrible at dealing with them.

"They're over there!" Sasha turned around and pointed to the distance, where a middle-aged couple was frantically running towards them.

"Oh..." Luna smiled wryly. "Well, why don't you stay here with us while we wait for you mommy and daddy, okay?"

"Okay!" The little girl nodded obediently before she looked toward Zayne. "Uhm! Can I ask you something...? Oh, uhm, please!"

"Uh, me?" Zayne subconsciously raised an eyebrow as he pointed at himself, a bit taken aback at suddenly being talked to. Despite this, he tried to suppress his awkwardness and put on his best smile as he replied. "S-sure thing. As long as I can answer it..."

"Are you two married~?" Sasha curiously asked, drawing out her words.

"Oh. Uh." Zayne was momentarily shocked. The question came out of the left field, but he still responded after a few seconds. "Not yet. But soon."

"Hey hey. Look at this." His fiancee piped up from the side, holding out her hand — where a silver ring's diamond reflected the afternoon sun's light. "He gave this to me!"

"Wow! It's so pretty!" Sasha's eyes shined as she looked at the ring. "It's just like what mommy wears!"

"Yeah!" Lune beamed while clapping her hands cheerfully. "Someday, maybe a special boy will give you one too."

"Mm!" The little girl nodded excitedly.

Finally, her parents arrived to come to get her. The woman picked her up as she thanked Zayne and Luna for watching out for her daughter.

Sasha looked up from her mother's chest, then waved enthusiastically. "Byebye! Lady and Uncle."

"Pfft!" Luna brought her hand up to cover her wide grin. She playfully nudged her lover with her elbow. "Zayne, Zayne. She just called you an 'uncle'. Loool!"

"Sasha! That's rude! He's obviously a young man." The woman scolded her daughter before smiling apologetically toward Zayne. "I'm sorry. It might be because we haven't taught her enough words..."

"Oh no, it's fine." Zayne also smiled as he waved his hands in dismissal. "I've been told that I often look older than I am. It might be because of that."

"I-I see...?" The woman didn't seem to know how to respond, so she thanked them one last time before turning around to leave. "Well, we'll get going now."

"Thank you for the help." The father tipped his fedora at them as he left to follow after his wife and daughter.

"Byebye Sasha~!" Luna called out after them. Luna's lips curled into a warm smile as she watched the little girl wave back at them. "What a nice family..."

"Yeah..."

The young couple just stood there for a while, watching the family's backs grow smaller and smaller as the afternoon sun blessed the park with its light. A gentle breeze blew by, bringing with it the smell of nature while also blowing away some of the warm air.

Suddenly, Zayne hung his head low and apologized. "Sorry..."

"Huh? For what..?" Luna blinked her eyes in confusion, but then her brows furrowed in realization. "Wait, did you cheat on me...?"

"What the hell? No!" Zayne massaged his temples. Why was her mind always going in that direction? He pointed toward where the family was now a tiny dot in the distance. "I'm saying that I'm sorry because I can't give you that. Y'know... a family."

"Oh..." Luna frowned. She then took a step towards Zayne — whose shoulders had drooped — and embraced him tightly from the front. "You don't have to feel bad about that. I want your baby, not a baby. If I can't have one with you, then I don't really want one at all."

He looked down to lock eyes with her. "But you like kids, right?"

"Well, yeah. But I don't wanna raise one. Unless it's ours." She beamed at him, her white teeth peeking out from behind her pink lips. "I'm perfectly happy even if it's just the two of us. Forever."

"Luna..." Zayne's heart warmed, hearing what she just said. He wrapped his arms around her as a smile crossed his face.  "Yeah. Me too."

"That's better. You're more handsome like that."

"I'm always handsome."

"Don't push your luck. Objectively, you're a six out of ten at best." She rolled her and grimaced before her radiant smile returned. "But you're a hundred out of ten to me!"

"Oh, shut up..." Zayne looked away as his cheeks twitched from trying to suppress a smile.

Luna giggled as she rested her chin on his chest. "How many points do I get for that line?"

He frowned in thought before answering. "Seven."

"So stingy! That was definitely a nine!" She complained playfully.

"Don't push your luck." Zayne sneered, using her own lines against her.

Luna pouted in feigned irritation before grinning. "But it's enough for a kiss, right? Mmmm..."

Seeing his fiancée close her eyes and pucker her lips, Zayne felt quite troubled. He didn't really like public displays of affection. Or anything public, really.

"C'mon. Hurry up." She needled impatiently. "I earned it."

'Well... that's true.'

Zayne craned his neck and kissed her soft lips. It lasted for a good five seconds before he pulled back.

Luna's brows furrowed in annoyance. "Hey! It was just getting good..."

"Don't use tongue when we're in public, moron," He retorted.

"What's wrong with making out with my future husband?"

"Nothing. Just do it in private!"

Luna's frown deepened but she knew Zayne got easily embarrassed by PDA, so she gave up. On the french kissing that is.

"Fine, but I want hugs."

He sighed in surrender. "Sure..."

Zayne's arms wrapped around her tightly. His lover's pleasant fragrance invaded his nostrils, causing his mind to relax even more. It was a smell he was used to, but would never get tired of.

Despite Zayne's sweaty odor, Luna didn't really mind. She actually kind of liked it. Luna couldn't help but press her face into Zayne's chest; subtly — but furiously — inhaling his scent.

The couple was lost in a world of their own making, basking in each other's warmth. At least, until Zayne remembered where they were. He immediately let go.

"This probably isn't the best place to have a moment." Zayne looked around and found that a few people were looking at them with warm expressions. "Hey, let go."

"Fine..." Luna reluctantly released Zayne, but not before taking one last long sniff. She beamed and said, "Let's go home."

"Oh, so now, you feel like going home." He shook his head in exasperation. But he quickly seized the opportunity to leave before his fickle girlfriend changed her mind. "Fine. I wanna take a shower, eat some dinner, and sleep. For a few days at least."

"Oh, I thought you'd wanna sleep as soon as you got home?"

"Not anymore. Some of my sleepiness wore off from this walk," Zayne irritably said as he checked the time on his phone. "It's five o'clock, anyways. Might as well get some dinner before I pass out. And wash off all this sweat. I can't sleep comfortably if I'm this sticky."

"Okay." Luna smiled as she watched Zayne grimace at the feeling of dried sweat all over his skin, then held her hand out. "Let's go."

"...Yeah."

Zayne wrapped her hand with his. Together, they walked back to the car with interlocked fingers.

Lire

It seems that this novel's doing okay on the first day of launch. That's great. There will be some more tomorrow.

Also, just a heads up. Since there're essentially two main characters, I don't plan to truck them off until I give them some character development. As well as cement their relationship dynamic. There are other things as well...

Anyway, the actual trucking will occur by chapter 8. I won't say the exact number. It's before 8. That's all I'll say(write).