Bled Airport – 1:28 PM
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The world didn't freeze — it just… blurred. Voices blurred. Footsteps blurred. Even the loudspeaker calling for someone's lost luggage felt like it was coming from underwater.
All Eira could hear was her own heartbeat, flinging itself against her ribs like a wild thing. And Ares? Ares just stood there with a look in his eyes like he'd forgotten how to breathe.
Then — slowly — like it took everything he had to trust his feet, he walked toward her.
One step. Then another.
Eira's breath caught as he drew closer, the weight of his presence filling the space like light through a door cracked open.
And still — no one said a word.
They stood just a foot apart now, so close she could see the curve of his lashes and the faint shadow of stubble on his jaw. His scent was warm, like cedar and cold air and something clean beneath it all — him.
Eira's fingers twitched at her sides.
Ares blinked, eyes darting nervously from her lips to her eyes, back to the ground, then up again.
"I don't…" he began, his voice rough from nerves, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do right now."
Eira smiled, lips trembling with the effort to keep it together. "Me either."
He laughed — sharp, sweet, almost surprised — and she laughed too, the sound shaking the stiffness out of her shoulders like it was a spell being broken.
Then came the hesitation.
That breathless, hovering 'maybe' before a first hug — the sacred, silent question: 'Do I get to hold you now?'
Ares lifted one hand, half-reaching. "Can I?"
Eira stepped in, so close the heat of him wrapped around her before his arms did. "Please."
And then — finally — the hug.
It wasn't perfect. It was a little awkward. She stepped on his foot. He bumped his guitar case into her hip. But none of it mattered. Because the moment they locked their arms around each other, it 'fit'.
Not like puzzle pieces.
Like gravity.
Like they'd spent a lifetime apart and the universe had just righted itself.
His chin pressed lightly to the top of her head. Her hands clutched the back of his jacket like she was afraid he might dissolve. His heart beat thunderously against her ear — too fast, too real, too 'him'.
Neither of them let go.
Not for a while.
Not until the crowd moved around them and an older woman muttered something affectionate in Slovenian about young love.
Ares pulled back first, just a little — enough to look at her. His hands still held her elbows. "Hi," he whispered.
Eira's eyes were glassy with disbelief. "You're taller than I imagined."
He grinned. "You're shorter. But your energy is taller."
She giggled, breath catching in her throat.
"You're real," he said again, almost like he didn't believe it. His thumb brushed a stray hair from her cheek. "And you're here. And you're mine."
She nodded, quietly, like that one word — 'mine' — unraveled something tight in her chest.
---
'Outside the Airport – 2:03 PM'
The sun had decided to play nice that afternoon — golden light spilled across the cobblestones, wrapping the air in warmth as they walked side by side to the car.
Their fingers brushed once, twice — and then finally found each other, lacing together like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
They didn't speak much.
Every glance was its own sentence.
Every smile its own verse.
Every shared breath said: 'We made it. We're here.'
But then —
Jun.
Waiting by the car like a mood swing in motion, sunglasses on, arms folded, pretending like the slow walk toward him wasn't 'absolutely everything' he hated about romance.
He didn't speak until they were right in front of him.
"You two took your time," he said dryly.
Ares didn't flinch. "Hi, Jun. Meet Eira."
Jun's eyes flicked toward her. His voice stayed cool. "I've heard a lot about you."
Eira smiled politely. "Nice to finally meet you."
Jun didn't return the smile. "We'll see."
The moment crackled.
Eira blinked, caught off guard. Ares sighed, subtle — then glanced at her, and without a word, lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head slightly.
The gesture was small.
But she got it.
'He's protective. Not mean. Don't take it personally.'
Her shoulders eased.
And she gave the tiniest nod back.
'I know. I'm okay.'
Their silent conversation happened in less than a second — and Jun caught it. Watched it like someone reading subtitles to a movie he wasn't invited to.
And that stung more than he expected.
"Great," Jun said after a pause. "Let's get this circus on the road."
Ares rolled his eyes, but Eira just gave a soft chuckle — and when she looked at Ares again, he winked.
Just a wink. But it said everything.
'We've got this.'
'You and me. No matter what.'
Eira couldn't help but think:
'This is only the beginning.'