Can I hug you?

"What kind of questions do you want answered?" Lucas asked in return, not really minding that they were going to have his past romance as a topic.

"Let's see..." She paused to think as she looked ahead and stared at the view. She was pretty sure that he loved her so the question that entered her mind was, "If you don't mind me asking... What made you both separate?"

"Career," He replied without even hesitating. He looked ahead just to look at the scene in front of them while his mind brought him back to his past. "She said that the way I think about the future is very much lackluster. She said that I am not that ambitious. I might drag her down. She said." He smiled a bit upon remembering that part of his history.

"What made her say that?" She asked, turning her curious eyes back to him.

It was not like Lucas had to hide anything. Besides, he didn't mind sharing his past relationship with her. "She was my co-researcher in one of our projects in the US. Our research received a Nobel prize and after that, she asked me to be a full-time researcher at NASA but I declined. You can say that after that successful project, I wanted to go back to my country and teach. She seemed confused with the thought but for me, I rather teach in my Alma Mater."

"Wait. You studied at Huiwen High?" Violet asked with eyes wide in surprise. Everything he said was already surprising but being an Alma Mater was even shocking!

"Yes. That's why the principal knows me." He replied with a chuckle.

"Wow, that's amazing." Just the thought of his high school self made her wonder what kind of teenager he was. "You know, being a teacher is not bad. I on my part, prefer doing something I love instead of doing something that will trouble me." She looked at him and smiled, giving a squeeze on his hand. "If you want to be a teacher, then so be it. If a researcher? Scientist? Then sure! You have the right to decide on what you want to be in your life."

"Right?" He looked at her and grinned. It was actually the reason why when she told him that she was not going to tie him down, it attracted him since his past relationship got was ruined all because his ex wanted to hold him down. "You said that you won't hold me down, I guess that's what brought me here now, willing to marry you."

For some reason, his words made Violet's heart jump. A blush crept out on her cheeks. "W-well... I-I don't want someone to hold me down... so it's only fair for me to do the same with you..."

"And now, we're about to be bound by law, not by love huh?"

Just after he said that, small neon light passed by between them which caught their attention. The light flew around them like a tiny fairy. Two more came flying around, freely.

"Fireflies..." Violet whispered, a smile forming on her lips as she got distracted by the insects' lights.

The fireflies flew above them like they were carried in unfelt currents. Just to look at them gave Violet a buzz of excitement, as if these tiny glimmers of light had electrified the night. The temperature of the place and the scent of the trees were very much loved by the fireflies that they were able to notice a few more.

Despite the distraction around them, Lucas ended up staring at Violet with a small smile on his lips. The day he first saw her in the bar, he was already attracted by her for some reason as if something clicked between them. For some reason, he felt like he had already seen her somewhere back then, a memory hiding at the back of his head.

Why was he so captivated by her? She may not be the prettiest out there but in his eyes, she was an adorable and lovely person. He couldn't stop thinking of her ever since he saw her at that bar.

"Violet..." He called, his voice sounded so mellow and smooth.

Just like earlier, Violet felt her heart jump when he called her name. Heat spread across her face when their face met.

"Can I hug you?"

His sudden request startled her. Should she allow him? The idea itself wasn't bad and she was sure that he was just going to only hug her and he won't do anything that she wouldn't like. It was just... the thought of hugging him scared her. She was trying to put a distance between them, a wall so that she wouldn't end up getting attached to him. The last thing she wanted to have right now was for her feelings to bloom.

Just like what she thought, Lucas didn't want to force her that's why he didn't insist on his request. Instead, he reached out gently placed his other hand on her cheek, caressing it with his thumb. "Violet Song."

Oh, she was just so lovely, so precious. The urge to kiss her was great that he ended up leaning forward but stopped and regained his sense when he heard her say, "Okay, I guess hug is fine."