"That girl really is something," Cancer noted. They were gathered around a large viewing pool in the Viewing Room whose waters flow from the Fountain of Sight in the Council Building's gardens and can show you the past and present.

It was really helpful when it came to managing Eden and looking after the other planets such as Earth. Currently, the gods were observing Gemini as she and Aries interacted before her first trial.

"Sassy, I like it," Leo commented.

"I bet you my beautiful new dagger that Aries and Gemini will get together," Libra said.

Pisces looked at him and teased, "Are you sure you're not the God of Love?"

"I think the real question is whether you really want to bet your new dagger," Scorpio countered slyly with a dark glint in his eyes.

Libra frowned as Pisces slapped his arm. "Okay, maybe not my dagger and I'm not the God of Love."

"Are you sure about that?" Cancer challenged. "I'm willing to bet. After all, you've done a lot of shipping over the centuries"

"Perhaps, but have you seen the chemistry between Aries and Gemini?"

"All I see is hate and annoyance," Capricorn muttered, making Virgo giggle.

Libra rolled his eyes as Taurus pointed out, "That's what you said about Aries and Ophiuchus, me and Sagittarius, Aquarius and-"

"Well, you and Sagittarius are together now," Libra argued.

"What about Cancer and Aries?" Leo added.

Soon, almost everyone was throwing in ships that Libra had shipped previously and betted on. Although he had lost half of the bets...

Libra opened his mouth to defend himself when Capricorn suddenly shouted, "All of you just shut up! You're giving me a headache."

Virgo was quick to console her husband. "You okay?" she asked softly, gently rubbing his shoulders.

"I already have to deal with complaints from thousands of plants and now I have to deal with a bunch of idiots arguing over a stupid matter," he said angrily. He sighed and leaned into his wife's touch. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"You don't have to be sorry," Virgo soothed. "It's normal to feel stressed. Why don't you go back to our room and rest, hm?" Capricorn nodded as Virgo addressed everyone. "Sorry," she apologised. "He's been rather stressed lately, dealing with all the complaints from plants across the universe. You have no idea how unhappy plants are in the cities, especially down on Earth where there is a lot of pollution."

"Who knew plants could even be unhappy in the first place?" Aquarius commented, but quickly shut up when Capricorn glared at her.

"It's perfectly fine," Pisces cut in before things could escalate. Virgo looked at her gratefully before leading Capricorn out of the Viewing Room.

"Back to Gemini?" Scorpio asked, bored of everyone targeting Libra. It was funny at first, but now it was getting boring.

Everyone turned back to the circular pool. Leo discretely moved closer to Aquarius and tangled his fingers through hers. Aquarius looked up at him but his eyes never strayed from the pool. Instead, he gently squeezed her hand before slipping a note into it.

His hand slipped from hers and he moved to talk to Libra. Aquarius strayed to the back of the room before she unfolded the note.

The gardens. Midnight.

Aquarius' heart fluttered at Leo's handwriting. Looking around, her gaze landed on Pisces who winked at her. That made Aquarius blush.

Almost no one knew about her and Leo...except for Pisces and maybe Scorpio. After all, she tells him almost everything. If anything, Pisces should be the Goddess of Love with the amount of people she had secretly brought together so it was no surprise that she knew about her and Leo's next meeting.

Have fun, Pisces mouthed before turning to talk to Cancer. Aquarius looked at Scorpio who only sent her an amused smirk. Don't have too much fun, he mouthed, making Aquarius blush even harder.

"Hey, Aqua, are you alright?" Virgo asked her, concerned. When did Virgo return? "Your face is very red. Are you feeling hot? Do you want to sit down? Do you need me to get you some water?"

Aquarius smiled at Virgo and gently told her she was fine. Sweet Virgo...always caring about others' well-being. Oh god, Aquarius really couldn't wait for midnight.

・‥...━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━...‥・

"Leo?" Aquarius whispered as she slowly pushed open the ornate gate that leads into the garden.

The garden at the Council Building was one of the most beautiful places in all of Eden and was open to the public at all times except when booked for private events. Plants of all species flourished and bloomed there. In season, it truly was an exquisite site to see with all the flowers in full bloom and many picture perfect spots. Thus it was common for celebrations and parties to be held there, including Gemini's coronation if she were to succeed.

Aquarius quietly crept towards the centre of the garden that housed a small forest of beautiful cherry blossom trees. And snaking through the forest was a small stream that went up to her knees and was wide enough for her to lie down comfortably.

The cherry blossom forest was also nicknamed the forest of love, as it was a popular spot for couples to go on dates or to propose. Some even held their weddings there.

Her heart sped up as she thought about what this meeting could be about. Could it be...? No, it's too soon and the others don't know...

She let out a little squeal as Leo crept up behind her and swept her up in his arms. He buried his head in the juncture where her shoulder and neck met.

"I've missed you," he murmured, his breath hot against her skin.

"Me too," Aquarius replied quietly, running her fingers through his honey-coloured hair.

They stayed like that for a little while before Leo raised his head and looked deep into her eyes. He looked troubled, like something was worrying him but he either couldn't put it in words or couldn't bring himself to say it.

True enough, Leo was having an internal debate with himself. He loved Aquarius a lot and he wanted the world to know that she was his. He wanted to be able to show her his love more openly, like Virgo and Capricorn, and Pisces and Scorpio. But the secrets were fun, thrilling even.

How would Aquarius take it? Does she want to finally come out? Can they finally come out? Or...

After what seemed like an eternity of internal debate, he finally asked cautiously, "Do you think we should tell the others?"

Aquarius shouldn't have been surpised at the question, but she was. She thought back on the past few months that they had been together. Secret meetings and stolen kisses. Sweet words exchanged through small notes or little whispers. No one knew about them except for Pisces and Scorpio. The secrets and the thrill of almost getting caught made it even more exciting.

But she knew that they would have to tell the others sooner or later. They had their fun and it was time for the others to know.

Aquarius took a deep breath. "Okay, let's do it."

Leo laced his fingers through hers. "Together?"

"Together."

Leo pulled her closer to him. The sweet scent of the pretty pink flowers lingered in the air as they stood there under the flowering branches, savouring the last of the secrets in the silvery moonlight that marked the start of something bigger than they could ever imagine.

・‥...━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━...‥・

How do you feel about Aquarius and Leo making their relationship public? Do you think they made the right choice with the trials going on?