Chapter 21: A Sweet Afternoon

I tossed and turn in bed before finally sitting up and staring at Aries.

"Can't sleep?" Aries asked as he leaned against the arm rest of the chair by the bookshelf in my room.

"Apparently so. Sigh... Its different... Do you want to go for a walk instead?" I asked as I combed my fingers through my hair and glanced at Aries.

The lighting was dim as he wanted me to rest early, however, the afternoon sun shone brightly through the blinds. It kept the room lit just enough that I could see his face. He had donned a thoughtful expression before turning towards me and nodding.

"Maybe a stimulus to calm you would be better. Let's take a walk." Aries agreed as he stood to turn on the lights, picking up my cardigan I had draped on my desk chair.

"You sure work fast." I replied as I threw my legs off the bed and pulled the blanket off to head towards him.

"I need to ensure you get a proper rest. The last month was my fault. I'm not going to allow you to use me as an excuse again this month." Aries said with a smirk as he handed me the cardigan.

I rolled my eyes as I exited the door which he had opened, Aries trailing after me as I went to take the lab keys.

"After you." Aries said as he opened the front door. I glanced at him a little suspicious of his act but decided to pay it no mind as I exited the lab.

"Shall I lead the way?" Aries asked, running towards me as he kept the lab keys in his pocket after locking up.

"Are you low-key offering because you don't want me to get us both lost?" I asked as I furrowed my brows and frowned.

"Hmm~ Perhaps? Perhaps not?" Aries hummed as he averted his gaze.

I folded my arms and followed after him as we headed in a direction I seldom go to.

"Hey, why this direction? I... don't know the terrain that well. We might stumble into some issues." I said, catching up to him as I tripped on a tree root.

"Ah, careful. That's why I told you to hold my hand." Aries frowned as he helped me up.

"I-I-I just tripped! And this time there is something there that actually tripped me!" I replied with a stammer as I frantically pointed out at the tree root jutting out of the ground.

"So you're saying most of the time you trip on nothing?" Aries asked with an astonished expression.

"That... Ah, hey. You're teasing me again!" I folded my arms as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Well, like I said, you're easy to tease. So full of openings." Aries smirked.

Knowing what that expression meant, I wrapped my arms around myself to protect myself from his barrage of tickles.

"Where's the opening now?" I laughed mockingly as I squatted and secured myself like a ball.

I waited for a long moment before peeking out from my defences, noticing Aries had pulled out his phone and was recording my reactions.

"Ahh! Since when were you recording! That's not fair!" I exclaimed as I reached out to grab his phone from his hand.

"Now you're open! Mission accomplished!" Aries laughed as his slender fingers found its way to my torso.

"Ack! No! My perfect guar--- hahahahah! Stop! I give!" I gasped as his attack was relentless.

"And I caught most of it on video." Aries smirked as I had a mischievous grin in my eye and managed to snatch the phone he was holding in his hand.

"Now let me delete this." I huffed with pride as I swiped through his gallery to delete the video.

"No way. I worked so hard to capture it." Aries said as he leaned over my back and easily took the phone from my hands.

"Ah, hey!" I exclaimed, snatching at the air as Aries lifted his phone high above me, knowing full well I wouldn't be able to reach it.

"Why you--" I stepped on his foot and turned around, marching forward as I heard Aries groaning from the pain.

"If you tease me for my height one more time I'm going to make you short just like me!" I said as I revelled in the fact I had triumphed over the bully.

"I... look forward to it. But Sol... Did you need to stomp so hard?" Aries whined as he rubbed his foot with a grimace.

"It's so you would learn your lesson." I harrumphed and waited for him a few steps ahead.

"What would you do if I couldn't use my leg anymore?" Aries pouted as he turned to give me his best puppy dog eyes.

"I-... I don't think stomping on your foot would cause such problems. Quit dawdling, didn't you say you were going to lead the way?" I changed the subject as Aries got up and ruffled through my hair, tousling it as he laughed.

"Yes, yes. Your wish is my command."

"Hey! My hair! I took so long to style it today!" I yelled as I felt my hair sticking up at all the places I had forced down by brushing through it for a long time.

"Sol's amazing bed hair is cuter though." Aries laughed as I stroked my hair to flatten the sticking out parts.

"No its not!" I frowned, fixated on fixing my hair until I noticed a sweet fragrance in the air.

"Huh? What's that smell?" I asked as I glanced at Aries.

"So you could smell it. I thought you couldn't as you never thought to visit here." Aries grinned as he took my hand that was still above my head ready to groom my hair.

"What's here?" I asked as all thought of fixing my hair was replaced with curiosity.

"This." Aries smiled as I caught up to him.

A vast flowerbed large enough to call it a sea of flowers was spread out before me. The various colours shimmered in the warmth of the afternoon sun, dancing on the delicate petals of the wild flowers as I broke into a smile.

"How did you find this place?" I asked Aries as I noticed him picking at some flowers.

"Stumbled upon it when I went on a walk before." Aries said as he smiled at me.

"Oh... was it that one night where I was being chased by the wolf?" I asked as I wracked my brain, thinking of all the opportunities he had to find the field of blooming flowers.

"Perhaps. Also... did the wolf return? Did you call animal control? Was it really a lone wolf? Don't take your chances, it might bring its pack in the future. If you want to keep the area safe, I suggest---" Aries looked my way as he recalled the topic of the wolf I had mentioned before and barraged me with a multitude of questions.

"That's alright. The matter with the wolf has already been settled." I said as I tried to get Aries to stop talking.

"You sure?"

"Yes. But! It's a secret on how I managed to settle it." I said as I watched Aries expression.

"What's with that look?" I asked as Aries had a look of disbelief mixed with a smile which makes it a pretty awkward expression.

"What look?"

"The look you have on your face at the moment."

"Well, let's not debate on what face I'm making... weren't we here to help you nod off?" Aries asked as he headed towards me.

His body was overcasted by the sun, looking like a shadowy figure as he stood above me. I instinctively shut my eyes as he leaned down.

*rustle*

As I pried my eyes open, I found Aries in front of me with his usual smile. I smiled back until I noticed a petal falling from above me.

"Is the trees also blooming? It's not spring though." I asked as I glanced upwards to look at the crown of the tree.

"Eh?" I touched my head to find that Aries had placed a flower crown on my head.

"Isn't it pretty on you? Now you can look like a flower fairy as you doze off beneath a tree." Aries grinned as I wrinkled my nose at him unimpressed.

"Oh, don't be like that. The flowers look better now when it's rested on a bird's nest."

"Whose head is a bird's nest?!" I exclaimed as I ruffled through his hair in return as Aries continued to laugh.

***

I leaned against the tree bark as I found myself slowly dozing off. The warmth on my skin and the gentle sound of the flowers swaying in the wind accompanied by the rustles of the tree leaves...

I heard Aries say something, but his voice drifted away. I only remembered the sweet scent of flowers and the soft chirping of the songbirds as nature lulled me to sleep.