He watches her from the corner of his eye and wonders. He's not really a dreamer, frankly, and so this is odd for him. But he wonders about her, and though it is such an indulgence, he can't bring himself to stop. He wonders what the curve of her neck feels like. He imagines it is smooth and soft and tastes faintly of strawberries.

She is content to be wondered at; most of life can go around her and she's content to be a rock in a stream, but his eyes never escape her notice. She's been watching them for so long, trying to learn their language, and their slow, steady movement from polite eye contact to a nearly painful observance of her waist and her mouth does not escape her attention. She wonders what it means, the way his eyes change their focus. She wonders if he thinks of her when he's alone, thinks of how her fingertips must taste, as she thinks of him.

All at once, one of their standard mutual wonderings slips from her tongue like a handkerchief from her pocket. "I wonder if you love me," she half-gasps, afraid to look at him.

And then his fingertips are on her neck, soft, hesitant, warm, curling around the bend between her shoulders and spine. "I wonder," he murmurs, "if anyone has ever loved like I love you."

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Good loooooord, it's been forever. O.O Sorry, folks, but as a college freshman, my free time has been rather…limited. But I'm home for Christmas break and dusting off this old project for the duration! As always, reviews and comments are deeply, wholeheartedly appreciated. Can you guess this pair of sweethearts? Why, it's Jin and Anissa from Tree of Tranquility and Animal Parade. I just love these two; they're both so sweet!