Ariel began to cry.
She didn't mean to. She didn't want to. But the tears came anyway,hot, heavy, unstoppable. Because of the pain in his voice. Because of the scars on his skin. Because of the things he endured for her.
Alex expected the tears. He knew they would come. But watching them stream down her cheeks shattered something in him.
He felt guilty...deeply, painfully guilty.
He wanted to tell her everything. The whole truth. About who he really was. What he'd done. What he still had to do.
But he didn't.
Because if he did, she might look at him differently. Not with love. Not with sympathy.
But with fear.
So instead, he stepped forward and reached out with trembling hands. His thumb brushed the wet trail of a tear down her cheek. Then another.
And then, without a word, he leaned closer, closer than she expected, and touched his lips to her skin.
A single tear. A soft kiss. A taste.
Ariel's breath caught.
She pulled back slightly, confused and stunned. "W-What are you doing?"
Alex met her eyes. His voice was quiet, but serious. "I'm tasting your tears."
Her brows furrowed, her breath hitching. "Why?"
He stared at her, his gaze dark and intense.
"They taste bitter."
Ariel blinked. "Does it matter?"
"It does to me," he murmured. "I want to remember this bitterness. The way your pain feels... the way it tastes."
He stepped even closer, his fingers gently cradling her face.
"So I never forget," he whispered, "that I was the reason you cried. That someone as beautiful as you could carry such bitterness on her lips."
Ariel's lips parted, her heart aching, trembling under the weight of his words.
Alex looked at her, eyes full of regret and something deeper, darker. A vow.
"I promise," he said, voice low and raw, "never to make you cry again."
She didn't move. Couldn't speak. All she could do was stare at him.
And in that moment, she realized
This wasn't just the man who loved her.
This was the man who would burn the whole world down if it ever dared to hurt her again.
Alex's voice cracked as he whispered, "I love you, Ariel. I'm sorry… for making you cry."
He cupped her face gently, his thumbs wiping away the tears he'd sworn to never cause again.
"How about…" he paused, his voice almost trembling, "we start again?"
Ariel stared at him—this scarred, broken man who had risked everything for her. She saw the pain in his eyes, but also the hope. The desperate longing to fix what had been shattered.
She didn't need to think twice.
Without a word, she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. His warmth. His scent. The familiarity of him. It felt like coming home.
"Okay," she whispered, voice muffled against his skin. "Let's start again."
Alex exhaled, as if he'd been holding his breath for years. His arms wrapped tightly around her, pulling her closer, grounding himself in the one thing that still made sense—her.
No more lies. No more fear.
Just the two of them, starting again…
Alex leaned in, his breath mingling with hers, their foreheads brushing. Ariel's lips parted ever so slightly, her eyes fluttering shut as his fingers gently caressed her cheek.
Just one kiss, he thought. Just one moment to feel her again. To make her forget the pain and remember us.
But before their lips could meet—
BANG.
The door flew open.
"Okay, Mr. and Mrs. Starting Over bullshit," Adrien announced with a dramatic roll of his eyes. "Alex, it's time to leave this beauty and follow me to meet Mom. I've given you two enough time to play emotional therapy."
Ariel jumped slightly, startled, and Alex froze in place, his expression morphing from tenderness to absolute fury.
He didn't turn around right away.
He just clenched his fists at his sides, jaw tightening, eyes burning holes into the floor.
He was this close to kissing her. To tasting her lips. To finally reclaiming something real in all the chaos.
And his good-for-nothing, loud-mouthed, ever-annoying twin had ruined it.
Slowly, Alex turned and glared at Adrien, his voice low and deadly.
"You just ruined the only peaceful thing I've had in weeks."
Adrien smirked, unfazed. "You'll live. Maybe next time don't take twenty years to lean in. Let's go, lover boy. Mom's waiting, and you know she doesn't like to be kept waiting."
Alex growled under his breath, but Ariel placed a hand on his arm, calming him.
He looked down at her ,regret flickering in his eyes, but she gave him a small smile. "It's okay," she whispered. "We've got time."
He nodded, stealing one last look at her lips before turning to Adrien.
"I swear," he muttered, brushing past him, "if you ever interrupt something like that again, I'll make sure you regret it."
Adrien just chuckled, following him out. "I'm shaking in my boots, brother."