"Can I ask you something, Rey?"

Esme was back to laying on Rey's bednot that he minded, of course.

At some point, a thought did cross his mind that once Esme left, her sweet flowery scent would remain imprinted on his bed.

He didn't consider this a bad thing, though, so he let her have at it.

'But what would Alicia think if my room starts smelling like a different woman?'

He had heard from someone that women had that kind of superpower, but he wasn't so sure about how valid the claim was.

Still, was it a risk he was willing to take?

The fact that he still let Esme lay on his bed proved that to be the case.

"What is it?" He responded with a question of his own.

With the two of them already talking about the Grand Calamity, Rey's rising fame, and pretty much all of the current things that had happened in Esme's absence, she was pretty much up to speed with his life.

As for Rey, he also got the gist of what Esme had been up to for the past couple of months.

It only took four to five hours, give or take, but the time was well spent. There were no holes or gaps in their memories any longer.

Plus, as a bonus, they enjoyed every second of the interaction.

'I initially thought Esme would need to rest and freshen up before we began our long talk, but I was wrong.'

Thanks to her high Level and Stats, she could go on for a while without getting too exhausted.

She also claimed to have rested considerably before arriving at the Capital and gatecrashing the Gala.

As for freshening upeven though Rey didn't smell any slightly bad odor from Esme, but rather the oppositehe still thought it would be nice for her to take a long shower after such an arduous trip.

That was until she reminded him of her elemental abilitiesone of which was generating and controlling water.

She had also taken a long, hot bath before arriving at the Gala.

Rey could no longer argue with any of her points, so he couldn't wiggle out of a conversation with hernot that he wanted to anyway.

His introspection into all of these things was interrupted by Esme's request.

"Can I see her? Alicia, I mean"

The moment he heard this, Rey's body shook a little. The System controlled his emotions at that moment.

'Damnit!' He could never get used to the forced suppression now that he was aware of its occurrence.

The sensation was subtle, but after improving sensitivity to that facet of his being, he felt every hit.

'But why was it suppressed? Because I reacted as a result of Alicia and not Esme?'

Rey was reminded of what had happened moments earlier; with Ater and how flustered he became.

'I see now' His thoughts trailed as he realized the deal of the System.

If any other element other than that of the favored one entered the mix, it would inadvertently react.

'Looks like, in the end, I still have to be in control of my emotions'

In order to prevent their complete erosion.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, but I would just like to see her."

"Why?" Rey's calmer voice took over, and Esme noticed it instantly.

Rey could tell that much from how her brows were raised in response to his complete change in tone.

"Is it acting up again? The emotion dampening thing?"

Rey said nothing. He only nodded, and then sighed not long after.

"I see"

Rey had told Esme all about the Class Privilege problem he was dealing with. However, when he mentioned it, he told her that it wasn't working when he was with her.

That made her happy for some reason.

But now, after his reaction upon hearing about Alicia, he knew she could already guess what was happening.

"It's okay. We don't have to talk about her if"

"No, it's fine." Rey swiftly responded, interrupting her.

He rose up from the bed and cleared his throat.

"I was just caught off guard is all"

Esme also rose from her comfortable position.

"You sure?"

The moment she stood, a sudden warp in space occurred, causing everything around them to shift instantly.

~VWUSH~

Within less than the blink of an eye, the two of them were in a different room.

There was a bed positioned succinctly close to the windows, with a very pretty girl with long brown hair asleep on it.

Esme was still taking in the change that happened when Rey's voice filled the room.

"That's Alicia." He stepped forward as he uttered those words, his eyes on the girl who wouldn't wake up.

A slightly conflicted expression filled his face, but all of them remained barely expressed as he became silent.

"Oh"

Esme light steps echoed softly within the hall as she stepped forward as well. She silently looked at Alicia's face for a minute or so.

No one said anything within that period.

Then

"She's really pretty." Esme said with a compassionate smile.

"Yeah. She is." He croaked.

If he tried releasing more emotions, he knew the fate that would befall him. As such, he kept every expression to the minimum.

"You should see her when she's awake. She can get so excited would befall him. As such, he kept every expression to the minimum.

and passionate about stuff" Rey began as he looked at the sleeping beauty.

"Even though she can be very fierce, she's the kindest person I know. I even though I know the entire disaster wasn't my fault I sometimes wish I was mm I was there to do something."

Rey had to keep pausing with almost every word due to his emotions constantly rising as he spoke.

It was almost comparable to someone trying their hardest not to cry when talking about something very sad.

He had to keep stopping himself. Else

"She must have been so scared. Even when she saw me I can only imagine her shock. Did she feel betrayed? I lied to her, after all"

Rey was scared to know.

However, what was more frightening than that was that he would never get to know.

"What if she never opens her eyes? What will I what will she I can't" His lips trembled at this point, and he couldn't say any more.

He just kept stopping at that point, unable to continue.

It felt so frustrating.

He wanted to let his emotions loose, but the walls just wouldn't let him.

"I"

At that moment, Rey felt something warm surround his body as Esme hugged him.

Her body pressed against him, with her arms wrapping themselves around his broader body. He had no idea how much he needed it until the embrace finally came.

His surprised face finally had tears streaming down them as he felt Esme's warmth seep through every part of his body.

"I can't lose her Esme."

"You won't." She whispered into his ears as she stroked the back of his head.

He almost felt like a baby in her arms despite him being taller than she was.

Silent sobs escaped his lips as more tears flowed. The comfort he felt in her arms was more than enough to make him let those emotions out.

Then, as he drowned himself in the maelstrom of emotions, Esme spoke in a soft, fleeting whisper.

"I can see why you like her so much..."

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Thanks for reading!