POV Rio
"I love you!" Lucy says with a heavy blush.
"What?" I say with slight confusion, as this was not what I was expecting.
"I love you, do you love me?!" Lucy says with a nervous tone.
I froze for a moment. It wasn't that I didn't know she felt this way, as I had long suspected she felt this way, but I just had no interest in asking her out. She's attractive, sure, but I just didn't feel like being the first to make the first step. If she were interested, she could make the first step. I may be a male, but that doesn't mean I should be the one to do the initiating. No, I was confused why she was saying this now of all times. I was being held tightly by her Vectors, while being fairly exhausted, and she had just dragged me to her bedroom.
"Rio?" Lucy asks with teary eyes.
"Uh, sorry, it's just really sudden, so I'm processing it. But I have to ask, why do you like me?" I asked to try to understand why she was interested in me.
If she were interested in me for the wrong reason, I would turn her down, as I didn't want her to only be interested in me because I was her only real friend or because I was the one who gave her a home to sleep in.
"I fell in love with you when we first met all those years ago. You were the first to treat me like a normal person, even after you knew I was different. You were the one to give me hope of a new, brighter world. I know those few days weren't that special to you, but they were to me. Even after being a captive for decades, I never once gave up wanting to see you again. Even when you knew what I've done, you didn't judge me. You're funny and make me feel happy. I love when the sun hits your skin, and I feel like I'm looking at an angel. Your hair is so soft that I love just letting it fall through my hands. And your eyes. They make me feel like you can see right through my soul, and yet I still feel a profound kindness from them. Everytime I see you, I feel my heart flutter, and I feel like I'm walking on clouds," Lucy says with a loving tone.
She brings me over to her bed and sets me down.
"I loved it when you took care of me when I was weak from using so much power. The way you doted on me and the look of genuine care and affection you had. I love how you try to protect me even when you know I don't need it. Or when you try to take on the dirty work to make it so I don't have to experience it. Or how you act when you sneak out of the house to volunteer at the orphanage in Hell's Kitchen. That look of pure happiness as you play with the kids and read them stories. I love the way you add little faces to the pancakes in the morning or hum a little song to yourself while doing chores or making food. Or how you like to sing when you think nobody is around; your voice is so smooth that I find myself losing myself to it. But most of all... I love how you make me feel loved and cared for in a world that rejected me from the very beginning. Now... I have to know... Do you feel the same?" Lucy asks with a vulnerable voice.
I was truly stunned by her words. So much so that I even blushed a bit, especially when she mentioned the singing. But most of all, I was beyond flattered she would think so highly of me.
"I... Yes, I do love you too. I may not love you as much as you love me, but I can try," I say softly while placing my hand on her cheek.
She leans into it and smiles lovingly at me. It was a look I had never seen on her before. Then I do something I would normally never do. I lean in for a kiss.
As our lips touched, I felt a little spark, and everything suddenly felt just right. We didn't do much beyond kissing and cuddling for the rest of the day.
POV Shift Mal0
I watch them as they start to get all lovey-dovey, and I choose to let them be. I'm not that boorish.
'Sigh. Great, now what do I do?'
Rio was the only person who could see me, and without him, there wasn't much I could do. I still didn't really get why I could touch him, or why I became physical when I touch him.
'Maybe I should try being a little less annoying, and maybe he'll talk with me more.'
I wasn't trying to be annoying, or at least that annoying. I was just lonely. In the long @ss time I've been around, I've had no physical contact with anyone. Others could occasionally see me, but usually only after being my host for a few months, and most would be killed or kill themselves soon after, and they would never be able to hear me.
'I guess I have been a bit... Much as of late.'
Can anyone really blame me? Physically interacting with someone and speaking with them is so amazing. And Rio has a chance to really stick around for a long time. And it helps that he smells really good.
I wipe my mouth as I start to drool.
'Would he get mad if I tried to get a taste?'
I've never eaten anything before, but I've heard enough stories and seen enough people eating things that I can't help but be really interested in it.
'Would he taste as good as he smells?'
Grrr
I snap myself out as I hear myself start to growl in anticipation, especially since I was making a mess.
'I'd better go handle this.'
I take a quick peek to make sure Rio was busy with his new girlfriend and then leave to find a secluded place to handle my business.
POV Shift John Cena
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POV Shift Gaia Everfree
"Finally! I thought that idiot would never seal the deal!" I complain as I stop watching the two lovebirds.
"What did Rio finally confess?" Helen asks while sipping some tea.
"No, it was Lucy that finally did it," I say with a shake of my head.
"Aww, kids these days," Helen says with a distant smile.
"Speaking of kids, when are you expecting?" I ask curiously.
"Oh, not anytime soon. John and I are waiting for his enemies to be gone before we are certain we want to try for kids," Helen says calmly.
"Hmm, I won't say I fully understand your reasoning, as this is easily the safest place in the universe to raise a kid. I mean, I raised Rio here, and he turned out... Fine," I say with slight uncertainty towards the end there.
"I know you raised him, but are you his birth mother?" Helen asks.
"No, to be honest, I'm not even certain if Rio was born at all," I say with some thought.
"What do you mean?" Helen asks with confusion.
"Well, Rio just sort of appeared one day. There was a nasty storm hitting the forest at that time, and I was sleeping, but when the weather cleared the next day, Rio was there in my sanctuary, sitting in a wooden crib... I admit I had been wanting a child for many years before that, but as a Nature Spirit, I couldn't conceive, at least not without a partner of roughly equal power to my own, but those that were around my power were not my type, as you humans would call it," I reply while reminiscing.
"So... You don't even know where Rio came from?" Helen asks.
"No idea. My best guess was that he was sent here by some greater outside force. Or perhaps my will forced him into existence. Or maybe some higher being felt pity and bestowed upon me such a gift," I say with uncertainty.
Helen refills her cup.
"But I guess it doesn't matter where he came from; Rio is my son, and that is all that matters," I say with a warm smile.
Helen looks on with awe as the plants in my mane bloom and sparkle as I think about the years I raised Rio.
"I was so clueless about how to take care of Rio when he first arrived. I knew babies needed milk, so I kidnapped a cow from a nearby farm and tried to feed it with its raw udder. But Veronica saw me doing that; she screamed in fear and told me to put the cow away," I say with a smile.
"Veronica? As in Veronica Pines?" Helen asked with interest.
"Yes, we used to have little get-togethers just like what we're doing now. She scolded me for risking Rio's life, imagine that! Scolding me! Now, I admit I understand what I was doing was dangerous, but I didn't know any better. When she realised I was just trying to take care of Rio, she taught me how to take care of him. I'll tell you what, Rio was a real rascal when he was a child. Elves don't age like humans; it takes them a century to mature, so I had to deal with the troublemaker for quite a while. I lost count of the pranks he played on me. Or the times he would sneak off into the city when he thought I wasn't paying attention," I recount with a smile.
"Were you paying attention?" Helen asks knowingly.
"Ehem. Well, Rio can be very sneaky when he wants to. The number of times I nearly went into the city myself in panic when I couldn't find him, only for him to show up shortly before I could panic too much. Or I would find that he was on my head and I just didn't notice. I swear that kid could sleep through a hurricane," I say mirthlessly.
"Hehehe, he sounds like a real joy," Helen jokes.
"Haaah. I guess it was fun being a mother for a while. But, eventually, all chicks must leave the nest. Now look at him, he's going off on dangerous adventures and has a girlfriend. Next thing you know, I might have Grandchildren... Wait..." I realise the most amazing idea I had ever had.
Helen looks at me with confusion.
"Grandchildren, that's what I need. Grandchildren, then I can dote on them as well. Say, how do I get Rio to make babies?" I ask Helen seriously.
"What?" Helen asks with a slight blush.
Somewhere in the distance, a certain elf shudders.