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7. Tomorrow We Will Erase It All (M)

"It's your turn." She stared into his eyes. "Tell me everything."

He hesitated. "I don't want to. Then that look in your eyes will change. You will regret it."

"I think it's too late for that. If you ask me to forget, then I will tell you that I forget, but don't leave without me being able to decide for myself."

He slowly pulled his hand back from her face and sat up. He reached for one bottle among a sea of empty ones and poured himself another drink. He tossed it back and set it back on the table. He gathered courage to tell her about his ugly life. She was right, but even more, she should know he is dangerous. He was resolved to make her aware so that he could stay away.

"I've never had parents." He began. "My brothers found me and raised me. Not out of love, but to perfectly shape and mold me for the family business." He paused. His demeanor turned steely and business like. "Drugs and weapons. I'm a runner with a fancy title. A glorified, cold and violent delivery man. I make exchanges and I solve problems. The other night was a problem that I couldn't solve and now boss is demanding to see me. He wants me to fix it or he wants my head, I'm sure." She sat quietly listening to him without any expression.

"I can't wait any longer to leave because they are waiting. Soon they will come looking for me and when they find me, they will find you. I don't want you to be involved any more than you already are." He anxiously ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't want you to get hurt."

The look on his face resonated in heavy beats in her chest. Shame and despair. An unwilling participant in an unchangeable fate.

She slowly considered his words. "Is it weird that all of that makes me want to hug you for various reasons?"

"Yes."

"Is it weird that I don't really care about any of that?"

"Definitely. It's not only weird, it's stupid."

"Is it weird that I want you to stay? And that I feel like you want to stay too?"

His eyes dropped to his hands in his lap to hide the guilt on his face.

"Your life is much different than mine. Easy. Free. Safe. It's true that it has tempted me like nothing else ever has, but it's not a luxury that could be given to me. If I was a normal guy these feelings that you are pulling out of me might mean something. We could be something and maybe we would fall in love and be happy...but that's something I could never have. I'm not a normal guy and there is too much poison surrounding me to ever get free from it. Even if you want me to stay...even if I want to stay, I can't. You would always be in danger and your life would get poisoned too.

She stayed quiet, watching him hang his head, his expression shrouded in anxiousness and regret. She wished she could tell him that everything would be ok.

"Then tonight we can pretend that you are a normal guy. Then tomorrow when you leave, we will erase it all and only remember it as a fleeting dream." She said softly.

She stood and held out her hand. He looked back and forth between her eyes and the tips of her fingers that reached out to him. Today he could be selfish and give all the hidden pieces of himself he had to offer. Tomorrow he could wake up from this dream and deal with the rest.

He reached back and held on to the the hand that waited for him, then stood and let her lead him into her room. They quietly faced eachother without conversation.

"Yuna." He whispered. Unsure if he should be doing this.

She looked up at him with a reassuring smile. Her hand slipped into his and brought it up to her cheek, asking for him to touch her without words. She closed her eyes and nuzzled into the warmth of his hand. He took a step forward, their bodies nearly touching, and brought his other hand to her face, holding it between his palms. His eyes flicked between hers questioningly, silently asking if she really wanted this. Her gaze never wavered and her certainty was clear.