ams *ੈ✩‧₊˚

The events of the day keep repeating in Noah's mind. No matter how much he tosses and turns, no matter how hard he shuts his eyes hoping to whatever higher being he still struggles to believe in to fall asleep, he can’t. How could he? He thought he lost Mio. His Mio.

Isn’t she your Mio?

No, she wasn’t his Mio. He couldn’t bring himself to call her that, not after everything. Noah saw the path that N led, the path that led him to becoming Moebius, but even worse in his mind the path to hurting M. If they were destined to meet in every life, were they also destined to be together? Was Noah destined to treat Mio the same as N treated M?

“No, that can’t be true.” A sob escapes Noah's mouth, his breath hitches as he once again loses control of his emotions, he’d lost count of how many times that's happened today alone. But he has to keep quiet, he can’t bear to wake the others and let them see him this way, especially Mio. All Noah can do is lay and face this on his own…He won’t make this her problem. He can’t. His bloodied and bruised hands cover his face as his emotions silently pour out.

“It’s been fun, Noah…” The sky becomes filled with the lights of Mio’s life leaving this world, inevitably returning back to those damned pods just to be used all over again by the Queen-no, by Moebius. The sight of her life continues to blur as tears fill Noah’s eyes. No matter how loud he screams, no matter how hard he tries to go to her, her life continues to fade right in front of him. Noah tries to will himself to stand, to be there where Mio once stood. But he can’t, no matter how much he tries he just can’t stand. Noah feels the cold steel on the back of his neck, he knows what is about to happen. Deep down, he welcomes it. How could he live in a world without Mio? N raises his blade as the world goes black.

“Noah? Noah, are you okay?” A familiar voice echoes through the darkness. “Noah, please wake up!” His eyes shoot open. They feel like they’re on fire, his cot soaked in tears. He feels a hand gently rubbing his back. Noah turns around, it’s Mio. Fuck, she wasn’t supposed to see me like this. He slowly sits up, wiping his eyes as best as he can before facing Mio. How am I supposed to face her like this? After everything?

“Oh, Mio. Are you okay?”

“You’re asking me if I’m okay?” Mio arches her brow both out of confusion and concern.

“Ah, sorry..” Noah looks down, barely able to stand looking Mio in the face. Not that he didn’t enjoy the sight of her. Her golden eyes, those adorable ears, that smile that could melt away every worry under the sun. Wait, no. I can’t think of that. Not now.

Mio moves her hand, gently holding it to Noah's cheek. “Hey, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for. You shouldn’t be worried about me. I’m the one worried about you..” Mio stands up, holding her hand out to Noah. “Here, let the others sleep. Let’s find somewhere to talk.” Noah hesitantly grabs her hand, still unable to look her in the eyes.

The two find a quiet spot in the castle. It was quite difficult, after liberating the castle any privacy was near impossible to find. Mio notices Noah not looking at her. Her heart sinks at the fact. She knows she couldn’t tell Noah the plan, she wouldn’t be standing here now if she did. But her heart still breaks at the sight of Noah so hurt.

“Listen, Noah…I’m sorry that I didn’t-” Mio stares at her own feet, herself now unable to look at Noah. But she’s interrupted.

“You don’t need to apologize, Mio. I understand.” Mio looks back up to see Noah, she can barely make out his eyes, they’re bloodshot and puffy. She could see just how much he was hurting. Noah…My poor Noah… “I’m not upset with you Mio. You have nothing to be sorry for..”

“But I do. Noah, look at you…” She looks down and notices his knuckles, bruised and bloodied. Every day for the last month, he had punched at the walls and the door of his cell just to get to her. Mio reaches her hand back out, holding his hand in hers. Noah…

“I’m fine, I promise…What matters is that you’re here. Everything else is irrelevant.”

“But it’s not irrelevant!” Mio’s voice becomes louder, shooting Noah’s attention directly to her. That’s when he notices. Mio’s eyes were just as puffy, just as bloodshot as his own. Mio… “Noah, I hurt you! I should have trusted you of all people to know the plan! But I was too scared of something going wrong. And even if it worked out, something still did go wrong! I hurt you! The one thing I never wanted to do, I did!” Her breath hitches as she does everything to hold herself back. I can’t cry, not after everything Noah has been through- Her thoughts are interrupted by a pair of arms firmly wrapped around her. Noah..?

“Don’t say that, please…” Noah’s head falls to rest on Mio’s shoulders. Neither would admit it at that moment, but that gesture alone was enough to soothe their minds even a little bit. “I don’t give a damn about any of that…You’re still here. Still here with me…If you ask me, all of the pain was worth it…” Mio raises her arms to wrap around Noah, but they fall. She can’t bring herself to return the gesture. Not because she didn’t want to, God it’s exactly what she wanted. But how could she after everything she’d put Noah through?

“You haven’t hurt me, Mio.”

“Then what's going on..?”

Noah's grip becomes tighter around Mio, her heart melting at the gesture. Sobs begin to escape Noah’s mouth once again. “I’m afraid of hurting you. I’m afraid that me being here with you will only repeat the cycle…that I’ll become just like N.” Mio’s eyes shoot open as tears start to well up. And in that moment, she returns the gesture. She wraps her arms around Noah’s chest, her slightly taller exterior from M allowing her to reach higher than she would have before.

“Noah…Listen to me. I can't say that I know for a fact that won't happen. I want nothing more than to say exactly that, to melt all your fears away. But neither of us know what the future holds. We don't know what will become of us…But what I can tell you is that I trust you. I trust you more than you can ever truly know. You have such a bleeding heart. And today proves that…I trust and believe you will become everything N wishes he could have.” Her own grip becomes tighter around Noah, both savoring every single second of this embrace. “My Noah…”

Another sob escapes Noah. “My…” Noah stops.

Isn't she your Mio?

Mio slightly pulls back just enough to look at him. “Noah..?” Noah pulls away, his breath hitching more and more. He's visibly shaking, tears falling down his face once again. He's surprised he still has any tears left to cry.

“I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't-I” But Noah doesn't get to finish his sentence. He's interrupted by a pair of lips pressing against his own. His eyes widen, his heart races. And before long, he relaxes into it, wrapping his arms back around her as the two finally embrace each other. The kiss is brief, but the two cherish every second of it. Mio breaks the kiss, pulling back just enough to speak but close enough to where they're lips are still just inches away.

“I don't care about anything else right now. We can worry about the details later…all I care about right now is you, Noah. My Noah…”

Noah tries to find the words, only stutters can escape his mouth before Mio reaches back in to kiss him again. This kiss is longer, deeper, much more passionate. A tear falls down Noah's face once more, but this one feels much more content. Despite all of his fears, he's exactly where he wants to be. After a few moments, Noah breaks the kiss briefly. “My Mio…” He finally allows himself to say it before pulling Mio back in to kiss again. Her hand reaches to cup his face as Noah moves his arms to wrap around Mio’s waist. Maybe it was selfish, but both of them wished this moment could last forever.

The two pull back after what feels like an eternity before both of them simultaneously murmur the same three words. “I love you.” They stay like that just a little longer, savoring every single second of each other.

“Should we..head back? I don't want the others to worry.”

“Mmm..no. I think I just want to stay right here…” Mio says as she pulls Noah in quickly to lay a kiss on his forehead. A chuckle escapes Noah as the two lean back on the wall behind them, content to stay right where they were with each other. As they slowly fall to the floor, Mio rests her head atop of Noah's shoulder. No cot or bed they'd slept in had ever felt this comfortable, for the first time since leaving the colony, Mio felt at home.

“You know..I love the new hair by the way.”

“Really? I was thinking of just chopping it off. Sure it's pretty but it's a bitch to maintain.”

Noah laughs at this as a smile grows on Mio's face. God he's so cute…

“Well, whatever you decide to do with it, you're beautiful regardless.” Noah's face flushes a deep red. “I-I mean uh your hair will still look great regardless!” But he gets no response. He looks down to see Mio, sleeping peacefully beside him. Noah smiles, resting his head atop hers. Her gentle breaths finally lulling him to sleep.