Sillage

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Hi guys. Sorry this chapter took a while. Believe it or not, I had to rewrite this 3x 😆 Anyway, I hope you enjoy this bittersweet chapter. Don't forget to vote and leave a comment so I'd know which parts you loved (or hated 😋)

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In the silence, only three things were perceptible to Youngie - the tears in SIG's eyes that reflected what was left of the already fading sunset, his grip around her hands, and her own heartbeats ringing in her ears.

"Your expensive perfume... is it... me?" She asked, faltering but resolute to hear the truth.

"Yes, Youngie. It's you," SIG began to sob then hauled her into his arms. "There's only ever been you."

Hearing SIG choke up on those words while his hands trembled around her back, Youngie allowed herself to console him by wrapping her arms around him, too

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Hearing SIG choke up on those words while his hands trembled around her back, Youngie allowed herself to console him by wrapping her arms around him, too. And the moment her hands skimmed the back of his coat, SIG just fell apart and started bawling like a child.

She quietly wept against SIG's chest, realizing that right in her arms she was cradling the very manifestation of her fear of hurting other people due to her condition. Too many questions ran in her head and more than the how's, she questioned herself why she disrupted this stranger's probably peaceful life before he knew her. Knowing that the guilt she could feel now would only last for as long as her condition allowed made her tighten her arms around SIG even more.

But every subdued sniff distracted her every time she caught a whiff of that faint mix of rose and citrus scents on the lapels of SIG's coat. She didn't notice it when he first hugged her as soon as he opened the door to let her in from the snow, for the same reason that she found winter a nuisance when creating new scents -the cold weather always weakened her sense of smell. But under the shelter of this dome garden, her keen sense of smell seemed to function as normal.

With gentle caresses on Youngie's hair and tearful kisses on the top of her head, SIG relished every moment that he held Youngie in an embrace more desperate than every other time he held her close. At last, she wasn't just a figment of his imagination nor was this a dream. She was here, as real as the love that he felt for her.

They held each other like that for a while until the sobs had abated -until the stillness made some room for them to just listen to each other's breathing in synchrony, while the surrounding lampposts lit up one by one, illuminating the greenhouse before it could drown in the creeping darkness after the sun had fully set.

When both of them had calmed down, they settled on a bench at the end of the flowerbed that was facing the side of the garden where small potted plants were gathered.

Taking advantage of the support the backrest could give, Youngie slacked herself against it to hold herself up after such an overwhelming revelation. SIG had both elbows propped on his knees, hands tightly clasped together as he stared at the ground, worried by Youngie's silence. How could she be this quiet after everything he just revealed?

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