Lucian tilted his head back to look at her, "If I reject you, you might start to think I'm not interested, and that's not the case at all. I love you, and I don't want to lose you," he said, "I don't want you to lose me either. That's why the marriage has to wait."
"I'm getting older and uglier with each passing day," she sighed, her eyes falling on the book he was holding as if it was his new mistress. She didn't want to show the hurt from his rejection and decided to take it out on the poor book. She reached over his shoulder and pulled it from his grasp, "I'll become a crone, and you'll leave me to die alone, surrounded by cats."
He caught her wrist, and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it as he saved the book by placing it on the desk, "My lifespan is shorter than yours, I should be the one worried about getting older and uglier every day."
"All the more reason to marry me now," she insisted, letting him play with her fingers, "We should make sure that we won't change our minds and choose to be with someone else."
"We?" Lucian didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.
"Statistics are on my side," she stated, "The more time passes, the more likely are humans to fall out of love. The marriage bond is the most effective tool that keeps them together, even if the love is gone. Not even cheating can destroy it."
"...Where do these statistics come from? Your imagination?"
"I did a thorough research," Celine assured him, "My tea parties with the noble ladies give me access to the latest news on marriage, love, and infidelity. Infidelity is a common thing among nobles, especially in arranged marriages, and yet, the couple stays together. How do they do that? Love is not the answer. It's money, power, and status."
"I'll prove you wrong then," Lucian said, determined, "You should believe in our love more, and not some gossip you've heard at your tea parties. It will make you feel better instead of depressed and anxious about it."
"...I don't want to be proved wrong." She pulled her hand out of his grasp, and paced around the office before grabbing his shoulders and shaking him violently, "We were supposed to attend the academy as a married couple and annoy everyone to death, not to go there separately and die from the distance."
"I don't remember agreeing to that," Lucian's head shook back and forth, "One person wasting their time there is more than enough for us. Take it as a vacation, rest and have fun for a few years. You've worked hard, Celine."
She looked at him like he had lost his mind, "Says one, who works like a slave."
"Well, you have to admit that I don't look half bad for a slave," he said, smiling.
"That's because you have a good owner." Somewhere amidst her shake fest, she groped his shoulders, frowning at what she found. Her shaking slowed down and she began to press the knots in his muscles, "Your eye bags would have turned into black holes by now, if not for me."
"True that," he agreed. He didn't notice how stiff his shoulders had become, and her fingers were doing miracles for him. It was as if she remembered that she was supposed to act like a little wife and had to take care of her man, "I would be dead by now."
She hummed in agreement and kept on rubbing. She had a good technique, and his muscles started to relax, the blood flowing through them, "You've been neglecting your body again. Is this how you take care of the gift bestowed on you by your parents and the universe?"
He gave her a guilty smile, "I'm a sinner," he admitted, "But you are here to redeem me. Aren't you?"
"..." Celine's hands moved from the shoulders to his back. She dug her thumbs in his spine, making him wince.
"Ow..." he grunted.
"Repent," she said, her voice stern, "Say: I promise to take better care of myself, or face Celine's wrath."
"..." Lucian's heart was stabbed by yet another arrow of cuteness. It was already full of arrows, yet it managed to fit another one, "I promise to take better care of myself, or face Celine's wrath."
"Good," she said, her hands moving up and down his back, "You may receive my grace now."
Celine still held a lot of troubles within her, but Lucian's presence seemed enough to make her feel better.
Their awareness didn't allow them to torture the other for long.
Showing too much of their ugly sides was not a way to keep people close.
The two of them were alike, in a way, only wanting to show sides they thought the other would find most appealing.
They were also good at pushing the limits of how long they could keep it up though, constantly cracking the other's edge and spilling the ugly bits.
What other way to crave themselves a place in the other's heart if not through such means?
"What if I find someone else?" she asked, tilting his head up to get a clearer view of his expression, "If someone better comes along, I might succumb to temptation like a weak human that I am. Will you give up on me then?"
"Arranged marriages don't count, since it won't affect my status as your only love, but if you are willing to commit to someone else...I will have him killed, probably in a very gruesome way," he said, his voice playful as if he was joking, "Before your eyes."
She didn't take it as a joke though, "What if they are innocent and don't deserve it? For all we know, you couldn't compare to their looks and charm. Wouldn't it be cruel to take away their life because of your own shortcomings?"
"There's always someone better out there, it's you who has to decide what you want the most, and what you can't live without."
"..." Celine sulked at his answer, "Are you not supposed to fight for me instead? What if it's just a temporary lapse of judgement on my part? Mistakes happen."
"So you want me to kill the guy and then win you back?" he asked, and her face brightened at the suggestion as if that's what she would do in his situation, "Celine..."
She coughed awkwardly, "It was a joke, but...that's what I would have wanted, yes...to feel like you can't live without me and will fight even a God for me..."
"..."
"..."