The Silverstar drifted through the cosmic abyss, its sleek silver body cutting effortlessly through the void. Outside the reinforced windows, the vastness of space stretched endlessly, illuminated only by distant stars and faint nebulas. The hum of the ship's engines was the only constant sound, a rhythmic vibration that blended into the silence of deep space travel.
Inside the living quarters, Jasper sat on the edge of the curved sofa, absentmindedly twirling the small Dragonis-shaped locket that Sienna had gifted him. The metal was cool against his fingertips, but his mind was far from the present moment.
Across from him, Sienna sat with her legs tucked under her, watching him with quiet curiosity. Serena, though seemingly disinterested, observed them from the opposite end of the room, her thoughts tangled in a storm of emotions about Blaze.
For the first time in a long while, Jasper wasn't joking.
For once, he wasn't the loud, overconfident flirt or the cocky blader who laughed at every challenge.
Instead, he was just… Jasper.
He exhaled, staring down at the locket in his palm before finally speaking.
"Why have I never felt love?" His voice was unusually soft, almost foreign even to himself.
Sienna tilted her head, sensing the weight in his words. "Jasper…"
He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, his eyes fixed on a single spot on the floor. "I think… it's because I've always been alone."
His fingers tightened around the locket, and he let out a bitter chuckle.
"No family. No father. No mother. No sister. No brother. Just… all alone. When I opened my eyes to the world, I was already in an orphanage. I was five."
Sienna's expression softened, but she didn't interrupt.
"I made friends there. Good ones. But we were all the same. None of us really understood what loss was, because we had nothing to lose. We just existed."
Serena, who had been silently listening, felt a strange pang of familiarity. She had never heard Jasper speak like this before.
He ran a hand through his messy green hair, eyes darkening slightly. "And then… I grew up on a planet where sword fighting was a sport. It was just a game. No deeper meaning. No real pain behind it. Just a way to entertain people and survive."
He exhaled sharply, his voice laced with frustration.
"I trained. I fought. I made a name for myself. I forged my blade, Dragonis, thinking maybe one day I'd become something great. But even then… I never felt anything real."
His green byeyes flickered to Sienna's, holding them for a long moment.
"That's why I say things like 'sexy women,' 'big boobs,' or 'stay one night.'" He let out a dry laugh. "It's all just a joke. A way to get attention. Because… that's all I know how to do. Get people to notice me."
Sienna's hands clenched into fists in her lap, her chest tightening at the pain hidden behind his words.
"And the real truth?" Jasper continued, leaning back, his voice dropping lower.
"Every time a girl actually asks me to stay with them, when they openly offer, when they actually show interest—" He swallowed hard, shaking his head.
"I reject them."
Sienna's lips parted slightly, surprised. "Why?"
Jasper gave her a tired smile. "Because I never took anything seriously. I just wanted attention. But love? Love is something I never really thought about. Because… I never believed it was meant for me."
For the first time, he let the truth sit between them.
No playful smirk. No sarcastic remark. Just pure honesty.
Sienna didn't speak right away.
Instead, she reached out slowly, her fingertips grazing the edge of his hand before she hesitated. She wanted to say something, to break the silence, to tell him that she understood—that she saw more in him than the overconfident flirt he pretended to be.
But she didn't want to force it.
Instead, she simply smiled, a quiet, gentle smile filled with understanding rather than pity.
"Then maybe… it's time you start taking something seriously."
Her words weren't an accusation. They weren't a demand.
They were just a possibility.
Jasper blinked, taken aback by her calmness, by the way her words felt less like advice and more like an invitation.
For the first time, he thought about love not as a joke… but as something real.
And the strangest part?
He wasn't afraid of the idea.
Across the room, Serena remained silent, though her fingers tightened around her arms, gripping herself as if holding back emotions she didn't want to acknowledge.
Jasper was realizing what love was. He was slowly figuring it out.
But she already knew what it felt like.
She had felt it with Blaze.
And now… she was left with nothing but questions.
"Why did he leave?"
"Why did he abandon me after everything?"
"Did I mean so little to him?"
No matter how many times she asked herself, no answer came.
She had spent hours crying in her room before this, wiping her tears away before coming back here, putting on the mask of the strong, confident warrior.
But inside?
Inside, she was still shattered.
Jasper might have never known love, but at least he was beginning to discover it.
Serena, on the other hand?
She had already lost it.
As the Silverstar continued its voyage through the endless expanse of space, three hearts sat in different places—one beginning to understand love, one questioning if love was ever real, and one desperately trying to find the love she lost.
For Jasper, the idea of Sienna's feelings was no longer just another confession to brush off.
For the first time, he was starting to wonder—
"What if… love is something I actually want?"
And for the first time, he wasn't rejecting the idea.
He was considering it.
Even if it scared him.
Even if he had no idea where it would lead.