ROSES HAVE THORNS-Chapter 47 - I Love You

"Kurt!" Dominik, who was airborne, noticed that Kurt was about to be sliced through the chest by Diana.

"NO!" He tried going as fast as he could but alas, he was too far away.

To his surprise however, Kurt managed to dodge the incoming attack and quickly grabbed her from behind. Then the next moment he saw Emelie fly towards them and use some sort of spell on Diana’s forehead.

’Shit! Things are getting out of hand! I need to stop this since it’s all my fault!’

With one last burst of fire exploding from his hands and feet, Dominik came flying down like a meteor. When he landed, he left a trail of scorched earth as he ran to them in hopes to deescalate the chaos.

"Stop figh–"

SHWOOSH

"-ting... What?"

"Domin– *Ehem!* I mean Prefect. Good afternoon. What brings you here?"

"... Huh?? What happened to those two? Where are they?"

"Errhhmm... Somewhere?" Emelie shrugged. "As for what happened, Diana took Kurt on a little trip to have a one-on-one discussion. They’ll be back in around two days."

"But I saw that she was about to– And then you casted some sort of spell– And then they disappeared..."

"Everything is going to be alright, Prefect. Before he left, Kurt said that we needed to trust him. So let’s do just that and have faith in him, alright?"

"... Alright. Two days you said? No problem. By the way did you and Kurt come to an agreement on working together?"

"Before you start asking questions, you might want to clean that up." She pointed behind him.

"Clean what up– Oh shit!" Dominik ran and casted water magic over the fire he caused.

"Don’t take too long. Once you’re finished you can find me in the common room inside the dorm. We can talk then." Emelie waved him goodbye and flew away.

.

..

...

SPLASH!

Diana and Kurt lay together on the shore of a beach. One was completely depleted of mana, while the other was completely and utterly mentally exhausted from all the teleportation.

The small waves from the ocean hit the shore, as well as the both of them, a total of three times before Kurt tried to move to check his surroundings.

When he opened his eye, he realised that Diana had not only stopped teleporting, but she also fainted on top of him with her back on his chest.

’As much as I’d like to stay like this, I really need to move before one of us gets sick.’

He slowly began to sit up while holding her in his arms, then readied himself to stand up.

’Easy now Kurt. Remember, baby steps. Just put one leg in front of the other and you should be alright.’

With the force waves pulling him slightly towards the sea it was a bit of a struggle to try and stand up while holding a grown woman in his arms. But where there’s a will, there’s a way and Kurt was lacking in neither. He mustered up the strength to lift both himself and the unconscious Diana up safely.

"Got’cha princess. Now let’s see where we are..."

To his left was nothing but the endless shore of the beach. To his right was also nothing but the endless shore of the beach. Over the ocean’s horizon there was nothing but the ever-expanding myriads of open seas; however, when Kurt turned around, he saw something that might be able to help them survive this situation.

"An unknown and dense forest. Or is jungle the right term? What do you think sleeping beauty?" He looked at her peaceful face.

".... zzz."

"Yeah, I think jungle’s the right term too."

He then walked over and set her down under the shade of a palm tree and began planning on what to do next.

’Need to warm up first.’

Along the edges of the jungle’s entrance were pieces of wood and broken branches that fell from trees.

’Perfect. Maybe I can get a fire going.’

"I’ll be right back Diana. I’m just gonna go fetch some things that’ll help us warm up. Will you be alright on your own for a bit?"

"...zzz mm...zzzz." She shifted in her sleep which he saw as a sign of approval.

"Great! Don’t go anywhere now. See you in 10 ten minutes."

Kurt stood up and left in order to gather some things so that he could start a fire.

......

–CK!

’Mmm zzzzz...’

–ACK!

’... What’s that.... sound?’ Diana wondered in her groggy state of mind.

*Snap* *Crackle* *Pop* Sizzle*

"There...... go!... nice and warm.... Wet.... clothes." An incoherent and muffled voice spoke.

’What? Nice and warm? Wet clothes? Come to think of it, I do feel a bit uncomfortable in these clothes. I should have Wendy look into that.’

She suddenly felt someone taking off her clothes. Starting with her red blazer.

’Oh. Guess I didn’t have to tell her; she was already on it. I should really give her a day off or maybe even a nice gift. I’ve just been so busy lately that I haven’t gotten the chance to tell her how grateful I am.’

Next, she felt her shorts being taken off.

’I should really just undress myself and stop being so lazy. What would Kurt think if he saw me acting like this...... Wait.... Kurt?’

As he opened her eyes she saw a manly chest, that was full of scars, suddenly in front of her.

’W...hat?’

"It’d be so much easier if you were awake to do this yourself." The now familiar said.

"K-Kurt?"

"Oh hey! You’re awake! I got a fire going so do you mind removing your clothes yourself? You’d dry much quicker that way. You can leave your underwear and shirt on though." He said as he looked directly at her face.

"Kyaaah! W-What are you doing?!"

SLAP

"Ow! Did I really deserve that? I was only helping you to prevent you from catching a cold."

She quickly tried getting up on her feet but fell straight down again.

"Are you okay?!" He ran up to help her. "Emelie did say you’d be completely exhausted and out of mana."

"D-Don’t touch me! I’m fine!" She shoved him away knowing that her heart couldn’t take seeing him half naked.

".... Are you still saying that? Diana, I never–"

"Stop right there! Don’t come any closer!" Her face grew red of embarrassment as she saw him coming closer again.

"Your face! You’re burning up, aren’t you?! I knew it, come here!" He went and forcibly lifted her up.

"N-No! Stop that!" She hit his chest and struggled to get away.

"I’m not gonna bite you, geez! So stop struggling. Here." He plopped down on the ground and sat near to the fire while holding her in front of him to keep her warm.

As much as she’d hate to admit it, the feeling of the warm fire and Kurt embrace did make her feel somewhat comfortable. Although the fast thumping she felt in her heart was definitely something she could do without.

"I-I’m fine... You don’t have to do this..." She squirmed in his arms.

"Oh yeah? Then why’s your face so red?"

"T-That’s because..."

"Because?"

’Because of you, you handsome devil! Argh, why are you like this!? I-I hate you...’ She pouted.

Kurt clearly saw this but decided not to say anything and hold her tighter.

"..... Diana." Kurt’s deep voice reverberated through her causing her to flinch.

"..." She kept quiet, however, and just stared at the fire.

"You don’t have to say anything, but could you please listen to me?"

"..."

"I hurt you, didn’t I?"

’!’

"I don’t know what you heard of me or what sort of impression you got of me from other people, but whatever it is you think of me now I’d imagine you hate it. Most importantly, you hate me. I mean you even wanted to kill me haha. Nearly did too."

Diana subtly started trembling the more she heard him speak.

"I’m sorry, Diana. I’m sorry I hurt you so badly, but I need you to understand... it’s not true. I’m not some sort of playboy scumbag that toys with a woman’s heart. I learnt that from my father. He was a prime example of how not to live your life."

’Was?’

"This may sound a little silly, but I remember the first time I saw you I was absolutely blown away by how gorgeous you were and still are. My mouth was so wide open I wouldn’t be surprised if a fly flew in."

’I know. I saw you.’

"I never knew what people meant when they spoke about love and I felt so disconnected from them when they spoke of their own love life. I’ve never been in love after all. But I think I finally understand the meaning of the saying "Love at first sight". I’m sure someone like you must have tons of experience when it comes to love."

’No. I don’t’

"What I’m trying to say is, I love you, Diana. I know I’ve said it before on the field but let me say it again. I love you, and I never meant to hurt you. All those things you said about me flirting with other women is not true. I’m not seducing the dorm mother and I’m certainly not seducing Emelie. I mean, she’s still a student for goodness sake."

’I... *sob* I...’

"And the only reason I cancelled our date was because I didn’t know it was going to be with you. I told Dominik that I’d tell Mia about it because after the kiss we shared at the diner I decided that I was only going to pursue you. It’s kinda ironic to think that we would’ve met eventually and none of this would ever happen. We would’ve gone on our date and seen where fate led us. Which is here apparently..."

’I also *sob* l-love...’

"Again Diana, I love you. If you still hate me even after I told you everything then I’ll walk away. I’ll lock these feelings I have for you and throw away the keys. So, what do you say?"

"...."

After not getting an answer from her, Kurt felt a sharp pang in his heart but decided not to push it further.

’So, it’s over before it even began huh?’ He thought with a defeated smile.

Just as he was about to stand up, he felt a strong grip on his arm.

"D-Diana?"

She turned around and met with him face to face. Her face was rosy and her eyes were filled with unshed tears as she held a hand on his cheek.

"I... *sob* I love you too, Kurt."

"...Y-You do?" Kurt’s own eye started to well up.

"Yes! And I’m sorry I tried to kill you without listening to you."

"And I’m sorry for causing such a misunderstanding. I *sniff* I love you Diana!"

"I love you too Kurt!"

Diana crashed her lips onto his as he fell back and held her in his loving embrace.