As leaves swept the floors, Jingliu found herself alone. Things were naturally quiet in her life, the people she was once close to were different now, and she respected that. She didn't want to burden others with her presence, so she remained alone. She found herself admiring nature from a bench. The maple leaves drifting towards her, winds blowing them away. Things may have been quiet in life, but she wasn't particularly unhappy or anything. Simply lonely. Smiles came only rarely.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the shadow of a figure looming over her, and as she raised her head to see who it was, she was met with a set of amber eyes.

"Are you okay?"

The boy would ask, raising a brow as he held a genuinely concerned expression on his face.

"..."

Jingliu remained silent for a moment, her gaze remaining on his face.

"I noticed you looked lost in thought, want to talk about it?"

He'd say, taking a seat beside her. A soft smile formed on his face.

"Oh, and I'm Caelus, by the way. You?"

The boy would introduce himself before Jingliu could reply to his earlier question.

Her mouth would open briefly before she shut her lips and tried to speak again.

"Jingliu."

She replied boringly, though she was intrigued by the boy, now Caelus. He didn't question her appearance or her blindfold. He seemed to be fixated on her mood.

"So, about my question. Are you okay?"

Caelus would repeat himself, his smile mixing with a face of concern.

"I'm fine. Though..."

Jingliu trailed off, blood-red eyes underneath her blindfold boring into Caelus's.

She wondered if she could trust him, and though he displayed nothing but kindness towards her so far, she was afraid of being rejected. It was something she had a hard time admitting, that she wanted friends, but was deathly afraid of losing them, so she preferred to not try in the first place. Her early life scarred her.

As Caelus tilted his head, Jingliu sighed, she decided to entrust him.

"Though I feel lonely at times. It's embarrassing to admit."

Jingliu would finally speak up about her feelings, something she hadn't done in centuries.

Caelus would remain silent for a moment, his gaze drifting off of her before returning to her blindfolded eyes.

"It's okay to feel alone sometimes. I'm sure you have people in your life that'll be there for you, right?"

Caelus would say, unaware of her situation as he smiled at her.

Jingliu remained silent, giving Caelus his answer.

"Oh..."

He'd trail off, before giving her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, if you have no one then..."

Caelus's smile brightened.

"I can be your friend. If you're okay with that, that is."

Jingliu's eyes widened, her mouth hanging agape slightly as she felt the strings of her heart be tugged. It was such a simple gesture, a simple offer, but it struck Jingliu's heart like an arrow.

"Friend...?"

Jingliu questioned, her voice quiet, barely audible.

Caelus recognized her vulnerability and his expression softened.

"Of course, in fact, do you wish to accompany me to an event?"

Caelus would offer, his expression hopeful that she would accept.

Jingliu remained silent. She hadn't attended an event in so long. She knew that festivals often took place on the Luofu, but she was unsure.

"You can trust me, I'll try my best to make you feel better."

Caelus would reassure her, noticing her uneasiness.

Jingliu nodded, though her lips remained unmoving.

Caelus smiled, reaching out a hand for her own, but hesitating, he knew it wouldn't do any good. It would probably push her away in his eyes, the two weren't that close. Not yet.

Jingliu saw this and extended her hand, but Caelus had already retracted his and turned away, motioning for her to follow him.

"Come on!"

He called out, and she looked down at her outstretched hand and felt her lips quiver. She nodded before walking beside him.

...

The two walked in silence, Caelus wanted to talk to Jingliu, to try and get closer to her, but he was unsure of what to talk about.

Luckily for him, Jingliu spoke up first.

"I haven't been to a festival in so long."

She said, her voice something Caelus wished to hear more. Soothing to the ears and relaxing to his mind.

Caelus chuckled, looking at Jingliu with an excited expression.

"It'll be fun, hopefully, it can help you."

Caelus secretly hoped he would be the one to comfort her, more than the festival.

Jingliu nodded, turning her head towards Caelus.

As the two reached the Exalting Sanctum, the two saw the streets lined with lanterns. The sound of vendors advertising their merchandise and the sounds of people filled their ears, and with the sheer amount of people their, bodies brushing up against them occasionally, Jingliu felt uncomfortable, clinging to herself as she looked around, seemingly uneasy.

Caelus recognized this and reached a hand out for her, and when Jingliu saw this her body relaxed a little, she looked between Caelus's face and his outstretched hand.

Jingliu then took her hand in his, his fingers intertwining with her own. Caelus's grip overpowered her own, it was comforting, reassuring.

Jingliu felt herself relax, her shoulder brushing up against Caelus's as the two walked beside one another. Jingliu felt safer now, more firm.

The two would walk around for a while before coming across a stand, or more a game.

The person running the stand would take notice of them, calling out to Caelus.

"Wanna try and win a prize for your girlfriend? All you've got to do is knock down all the Starskiffs!"

The two came to a half, and as Caelus approached the stand, his hand still firmly holding Jingliu's

"Sure, why not."

Caelus would reply, looking at Jingliu with a soft smile before slowly letting go of her hand. Their fingertips brushed as he moved his hands towards his pockets and handed the girl running the stand credits.

The girl would give Caelus a few plastic balls to try and knock over the paper Starskiffs that were spread out on the display in front of them.

While Caelus would attempt to knock them over, Jingliu was lost in thought. Her blindfolded eyes focused on Caelus's determined expression.

Her mind was fixated on the face that he hadn't even denied the fact that Jingliu was his girlfriend. Though it probably was him overlooking it, she felt the strings in her heart be tugged at again. This boy she just met had already affected her in ways that no other had ever before.

As Caelus knocked over the last Starskiff, he raised his hands in the air before turning to face Jingliu, his bright smile infectious as he grabbed her hands and took them into his own, their fingers intertwining as he jumped up and down in excitement.

"I did it!"

He would say, or more yell as his gleaming smile would spread to her own. She smiled back and squeezed his hands.

"You did it."

She repeated, and as he let go of her hands to accept the reward, she remained smiling.

Such joy she hadn't felt in ages. She was sure she would never feel such emotion again, but here she was. a beaming smile smeared onto her face because of some boy.

As Caelus turned around, he held out a small Diting plush to her. Jingliu would take the plush into her hands and look at it, it was small, but it was a token of Caelus's affection. She held it close to her as she held Caelus's hand in the other, the two grew accustomed to each other's touch as the night went on, playing games and exploring the festival together.

As the two grabbed something to eat, they sat down at a table, sitting across from one another with food placed in front of them.

The overflowing amount of plushies Caelus won for Jingliu would lay next to her as she ate with a smile on her face.

Caelus would eat too, admiring Jingliu.

"You look a lot better when you're smiling."

He'd comment, chuckling as he looked at Jingliu with a small smile.

Jingliu would find herself blushing, pausing as she stopped eating for a moment.

"Thank you."

She replied, and though her response was plain, Caelus knew she appreciated the comment.

As the two ate in silence, the festival had died down, people began leaving as the streets weren't as packed as before.

Once the two finished they decided to take a walk, admiring the scenery around them.

"I've always had a thing for nature. What about you?"

Caelus would suddenly speak up, looking at Jingliu beside him as the two walked hand in hand.

"I like it. It's pretty."

Jingliu replied, her blindfolded eyes meeting Caelus's amber ones.

Caelus would suddenly stop walking, his smile mixing with confusion.

"No one's around, why do you insist on holding my hand?"

He would question, noticing that Jingliu's grip around his hand would tighten as the night went on, she seemed to be getting more comfortable with him.

"Because I like it. I like the feeling of your hand in mine."

She would respond, her grip around his hand remaining firm.

"Are you uncomfortable with it? If that is the case, I can stop-"

Jingliu's grip began to loosen, but to her shock Caelus's grip tightened as he took her other hand in his own, holding them close as he looked at their intertwined fingers and then at her face.

"Don't. You're comfortable with it. If that's so, I will continue to hold you."

Caelus would declare, and Jinglu's expression faltered.

"But I don't want you doing this because you feel guilty-"

Caelus would bring his face closer to Jingliu's his breath brushing up against her face, and her breath brushing up against his.

"I mean it."

The two would remain in this position for a while, both blushing, the world around them irrelevant.

"Jingliu, I know we've only known each other for a little. But I like being around you. It's weird..."

Caelus would speak up first, and Jingliu's lips would open to speak, but she was silenced by his next words.

"Can we do this more often? Be together more often?"

She nodded, her expression softening.

"I'd love to."

Silence would fall over the two again, their bodies unmoving as they continued to remain close to one another.

Jingliu couldn't describe how much she wanted to know this boy. She wanted to understand him, his goals, his beliefs. She wanted to fulfill his desires, his wants, his needs. And she wanted him to do the same for her. It might've been her lack of interaction, but she felt so comfortable around him. She felt safe around him, even in the harshest of conditions she was sure she would still feel the same if he were to accompany her.

...

Caelus wanted to hold her like this forever, hand in hand. Though he has met plenty of people over his journey across the galaxy, he had never been this close to someone. While the two hardly knew the other, both expressed the desire to know more about the other. In their minds, at least.

Jingliu felt her body slowly move towards Caelus, their lips brushing up against one another and as the two plunged towards one another with nothing but desire, their lips met in a passionate kiss. It was something neither of them had ever experienced. Feelings rushed throughout both of them as both of their eyes widened.

The two would pull away from each other, both blushing intensely as they panted. Caelus didn't expect his simple act of kindness to branch off like this, but he was happy it did. He was happy he was with her.

"Can we do that again?"

Jingliu asked in a daze, her mouth hanging open.

Caelus smiled softly, deciding to ignore his wandering thoughts and instead focus on the girl in front of him.

"Of course."