Fall: Love Warms The Cold; Heart PT. 1/4

I woke up doing the usual thing, and walked outside to see Pandora waiting for me, her gaze down towards the ground, a rare sight for her.

I tapped her on the arm, and she looked up, alarmed before sighing. "Oh, it's just you."

"Um, are you okay?"

She frowned, sighing again. "I'm trying to get to know you better, so I'm trying to act like you."

"Hey, I don't act like that."

She nodded. "Mhm, sure you don't." She gave me a sly grin before pulling on my arm. "Hey, let's take our time today, yeah? It's pretty rare of you to leave on time, so let's enjoy it!"

She's acting even stranger than usual, I thought as we started our normal walk to school together, albeit a slower paced one.

"Hey, are you sure you're alright?" I asked, and she started to poke me in the side.

"Aw, are you worried about me?"

I scowled at her playfulness. "Why wouldn't I be? I did say to rely on me, didn't I?"

Her regal purple eyes grew wide at my statement, and she quickly turned away, her hair covering her face.

"Hmm, I guess you did." She grew quiet as we continued to walk, and then she spoke again.

"I haven't told you much about myself, right?"

I frowned. Where was this coming from? "Yeah, you haven't, but I decided not worry about it. I just assumed you would tell me whenever you wanted."

She pushed her hair back, and I could see a smile on her face. "Oh, how brazen of you to assume I would tell you."

I didn't respond, and she pursed her lips. "No jokes?"

"If you don't wanna tell me now, that's okay too," I said simply, and she looked back at me, another shocked look on her face.

"You're amazing, you know that?"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

She started to laugh, nodding to herself. "Yeah, if it's you, then maybe it really can work…"

I rolled my eyes again. "If it's you, nothing will go as planned."

She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Since when have you learned to joke around? I'm the jokester in this relationship!"

"And what relationship would that be?"

"Master and Servant!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her quick response. "Who's who in this situation?"

She shrugged. "I'll let you decide that one Mr. King!"

That reminds me of my training with Erebus a couple weeks back. I stared at the yellowing and reddening leaves starting to take over the trees nearby. It's been a little over two months since school started, and it was October now. Erebus continued to train by himself around school and would occasionally try to get me involved again. Luckily for me, Necessitas was always nearby, keeping an eye on him, although I think that's just cuz she wants an excuse to speak to him.

I sighed, bringing myself back to reality. "Can't we both be equals?"

She pursed her lips, crossing her arms in disappointment. "That's a cop out answer."

"An answer nonetheless," I responded, readjusting my backpack. I watched a leaf flutter down onto Pandora's head as she continued to walk next to me.

"Hey, you've got a leaf," I said, taking it off her head gently. I showed it to her, and a small smile appeared.

"I guess it's Fall now, isn't it?" She plucked the leaf from my hand and put it on my shoulder. "There we go, you have a new friend now!"

I blew the leaf off, and she gave me a light punch. "You can't just brush your friends off like that!"

(Coldhearted.)

I took a shaky breath as the all too familiar voice rang through me, and I could feel my heart hammering faster.

"Whabam!"

"Ouch!"

Pandora flicked me on the forehead, and just like that, the feeling was gone, as if it had never happened.

"You don't get to zone out with me around. Devote your attention to me!"

Her regal purple eyes were glaring at me, and I could only raise my hands up in apology. "Sorry, please forgive me."

"Nah, it's fine. I was just playing around, no need to get so serious." She continued, and I was left watching her hair, blazing orange in the sunlight, sway back and forth.

It was strange, but I felt mesmerized by her in that moment, and a strange feeling overcame me, one that I couldn't explain even if I tried…

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"My dear Deppy, that's love~!"

Once again, I was in an unusual situation, this time with Eros. Long story short, he grabbed me as I was walking to the roof with Hiro during lunchtime, and took me to a balcony, where we were now eating lunch together. I didn't even know we had a balcony to be honest, but it was a nice place, overlooking a courtyard.

I was eating a salad covered in honey mustard with a bottle of water to drink while Eros was having cake along with a teacup filled to the brim with coffee to drink. I don't know where he got either, but I decided to ignore it for now.

"I highly doubt that. Who would fall in love with someone like me?" I stabbed some lettuce and meat with my fork and stuffed it in my mouth.

"Are you saying you are incapable of being loved?" Eros stirred his coffee with a stirrer, his warm caramel eyes trying to read my emotions. "Or you yourself are unable to love another, my dear Deppy~?"

I scowled, quickly swallowing my food. "Neither, I just think that it's foolhardy to fall for someone like me."

He let out a soft smile, sipping his coffee before letting out a satisfying sigh. "Oh, emotions don't work like that silly goose. Even if you know rationally that it isn't for the best, your emotions can lead you to do things you would never think to do."

I rolled my eyes, drinking a little of my water before sighing. "I thought you were a sexual deviant. Since when are you adept with love?"

He laughed, sparkles flying around. I still haven't figured out how he does that yet. "I'm surprised you remember. Yes, I am a sexual deviant in most circles, but I am also known as the Love Master in others."

I ate another forkful of salad, looking down at the courtyard below. There was only one person down below, and he looked rather nervous as he stood below a tree.

"I highly doubt it's love Eros."

He took a small bite out of his cake, looking down at the courtyard with me. "What makes you so certain? After all, do you truly know what love is?"

Do I know what love is? I clenched my hand tightly as remnants of last year tried to resurface.

(Of course you don't know what it is. In regards to being loved, well, we know how that worked out, and as for loving another, I can't say you know what it's like to love another.)

"My mother…"

(If that were true, then you wouldn't be all alone, would you?)

"No, that isn't…"

(If you were truly capable of understanding love, do you really think that you would be in this situation? Coldhearted Bastard.)

"Well, would you look at that," Eros purred, resting his head on his hand as we watched a girl approach the lone boy beneath the tree. The boy looked up, nervous, and walked to meet the girl in the middle of the courtyard.

"What are they…" I mumbled out, unable to complete my question.

"Ah, this seems to be a confession. You don't see this too often."

I watched in earnest, surprising myself as I waited with abated breath to see the outcome. The boy was shaking slightly, and although we couldn't hear them from up here, it was pretty obvious what he was doing. The boy lowered his head after finishing what he had to say, and the girl covered her mouth in shock.

A moment passed in which it felt like an eternity, and I started to unconsciously tense up as Eros and I waited for her answer. And with a single nod of her head, she gave the boy her honest reply.

"What do you think Deppy? Is love really so far out of your reach?"

The same feeling that overcame me this morning, as I watched Pandora's hair sway back and forth, took me once more as I watched the two embrace each other tightly, tears of happiness falling from both their faces,

Could I really love someone, and they the same?

(And what makes you think you're deserving of love?)

"Do I, really deserve such a thing as that?" I asked meekly, my eyes stuck upon their warm embrace.

"Love offers itself to all my dear Deppy, so long as they accept it's warm embrace." I looked back into Eros' eyes, and it felt as if his eyes were starting to give off a warmth that I had long forgotten. "It doesn't care if you believe you're not worthy or ready. It finds it's way to us all, and although it may hurt sometimes, it gives back on that, no matter what you may believe."

Eros extended his arms, an unknown source of warmth starting to emanate from him. "All you need to do is give back."

I looked back down at the two below, both of them walking back inside the school, hand in hand with one another.

"Then," I started, swallowing nervously as I once more put in the effort for true change, "please, help me, Love Master Eros."

He winked at me, a single sparkle erupting into existence. "If it is what you desire, then I shall do my best, my dear Deppy~!"