The city was close. So close. Silver Spoon yearned to see Candle again after hearing of her recovery. Only one thing bothered him. 

'Would she forgive me?' 

His heart was racing. He was excited, nervous... scared. 

'She would, right? Candle of all people would forgive me...' 

And yet... 

And yet. 

The city was so close. Silver sighed. No time for anxiety right now. He could imagine her there, at the dock, soft smile as bright as a small sun, her fringe slowly and carelessly falling in her eye, the- No. NO. What had gotten into him? He wasn't... He didn't... He wasn't COMMON enough to fall in love... especially with a witch! But Candle, she wasn't really a witch. In fact, she was selfless enough to let him take the immunity so that she was eliminated, eventually leading to his victory. He was eternally grateful. 

'It should have been me.' his mind echoed. 'It should have.' 

The boat stopped. He was there. He didn't bother to check if it was even safe, he just jumped out and wandered the streets in hopes of finding Candle. His silvery hair was messy and unkempt, but he didn't care any more. A girl walked down the opposite side of the road. She looked about his age, quite short, purple hair, dark skin... Candle. He had to play it safe and meet her "by accident." As casually as he could, he crossed and followed her as far as a small alleyway before speeding up and "accidentally" bumping into her. 

"Oh, sorry dear!" 

Her head whipped around to see who had carelessly stumbled into her and her eyes widened in recognition. 

"Silver Spoon." 

"I... Candle? Is that you, dear?" 

He knew. But he had to stage it like a complete accident. 

"Um... Yes. It's been a while." 

Silver exhaled through his nose. "I'm sorry. About the finale. I should've listened to you, not my Flame, I should've -" 

"Silver. It's okay." she turned around properly, resting her hand on his. "We all make mistakes. What's important is that we learn from them." 

"B-but are you alright? I mean... You could have died!" 

"Calm down. I'm okay. I was weakened, but I'm fine now. Stop worrying so much."

Silver suddenly became aware of how empty the city was. 

"Alright. I just wanted to make sure, and-" 

"Ssh. It's okay. It's all okay." 

Her soothing voice eased his breathing. All he'd wanted was to hear it again. Candle gently held his hands and looked him in the eye, her wavy hair floating around her face in the light breeze. Her gaze was focused and tender at the same time. Silver's mind began wandering. Was he in love with her? She was so perfect and beautiful, smart and funny... 

"Silver?" She asked softly, cutting across his thoughts. 

"I... I love you," he blurted before he could stop himself. 

She giggled. That calm, sweet giggle. "I was waiting for that." 

Still holding his hands, she reached up and kissed his cheek. 

"I'll see you soon, darling." 

Silver's eyes widened a fraction, and he smiled. "Until next time, dear." 

518 Words pretty good!! 

I love Silvercandle sm 💖