"Cir, I was just thinking about you. We o talk," Draco said, his voice a bit somber.

  Cir paused, her gaze shiftiween Drad Bahamut, the grocery bags in her hands momentarily fotten.

  Rec herself, she took a deep breath, approached the kit table, thely set down the bags before turning to face Draco, her expression a mix of apprehension aermination.

  "There's something important I o discuss with you too," she replied, her tone resolute.

  Draodded, brag himself for the versation ahead.

  "Of course, Cir. Please, have a seat," he offered, gesturing to the chair beside him.

  Bahamut shifted unfortably, sensing the tension in the air.

  She gnced between Drad Cir, uain of her role in the impending discussion.

  Draco cleared his throat, hinting at Bahamut to leave, but Cir shook her head, signalling that it was okay for her to stay.

  "Alright, Cir, what is it you'd like to discuss?" Draco asked, givihe opportunity to speak first.

  Cir took another deep breath, steadying her frayed nerves.

  During the walk to Bahamut's house, she had tried to sort through her thoughts, repeating the questions she had asked herself the previous night and mulling over the answers she had gai the time.

  The reason for her fusion was that she kept trying to find a clusive reason for why she loved Draco, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

  She was grateful for all he had doo preserve their family, she admired his strength and knowledge, and she felt ied to him for all he had provided.

  He had beehrough the best and worst parts of her short life, but did that mean these were the reasons she loved him?

  Had she, somewhere along the way, bee obsessed with him due to these things, mistaking obsession for love?

  The more she asked herself, the more fused she became.

  Just when she had been about to give up ohing, a memory from her childhood popped into her head, a memory from when she was only four years old.

  Thinking about it, she couldn't help but reminisce about her younger years whehing was much simpler.

  She had been with Draco basically all her life, more precisely since she was around a year old.

  Her mother had decided at the time to move in with Draco's family, and she had been watg him ever since, eventually falling in love with him at some point in time, one she couldn’t quite recall.

  'Do I really need a reason love someone?' Cir questioned herself.

  She mulled over this question for a while and soon found her answer.

  There didn't have to be a reason that she loved him; she just did, and she was going to tell him that at this very moment.

  If he were to reject her, then so be it.

  There was no w that stated love must be reciprocated.

  She was young, and it wouldn't be the end of the world.

  Perhaps the experience could bee a bittersweet memory whehought of it iure, but right at this moment, she wao tell him that she loved him.

  Cir took a deep breath and looked directly into Draco's eyes.

  "Draco, I've been doing a lot of thinking tely, and I've e to the realization that... I really love you." Her voice was steady, though her heart ounding in her chest.

  Draco's eyes widened in surprise at her sudden bluion, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Cir quickly raised her hand to stop him.

  "Please, let me finish," she said, her tone softening.

  "I know it might seem sudden, or even inappropriate, given our retionship. But the truth is, I've loved you for as long as I remember. You've been a stant in my life, a source of strength and guidance, and I've e to rely on you in ways I 't even begin to expin." she paused, her gaze flickering to Bahamut for a moment before returning to Drabsp;

  "I don't need a plicated reason to love you. I just do. And I wanted you to knardless of how you feel about me.” she paused again, a heartsick smile f on her lips and her eyes flickering with subtle expectation.

  “I uand if you don’t reciprocate, and I’m prepared to accept that. But I had to be ho with you, and with myself.” She cluded.

  Draained silent for a long moment, his expression unreadable.

  Cir could feel the tension in the room, the uainty hanging thi the air.

  Bahamut shifted unfortably, her eyes dartiweewo.

  Finally, Draco cleared his throat and spoke.

  "Cir, I... I don't know what to say." he ran a hand through his hair, a gesture Cir had seen him do tless times when he was deep in thought.

  "This was...what I was expeg to discuss with you, but when you present it like this I…..." he paused, his gaze softening as he studied Cir's fabsp;

  "I care about you deeply, you know that. You've been a part of my life for so long, and I 't imagi without you. But..." he hesitated, his brow furrowing.

  "I'm not sure if what I feel for you is the kind of love you're talking about. I don't want to hurt you, Cir, but I also 't pretend to feel something I don't." he said,

  odded, her eyes glistening with uears.

  "I uand, Draco. I appreciate your hoy, and I'm thankful for everything you've done for me. I don't expect you to love me the way I love you, but I needed you to know how I feel." she mao squeeze out.

  She took a deep breath, mustering a small, bittersweet smile.

  "I'll be okay, I promise. I just ask that we still be... well, whatever we are to each other. I don't want to lose you, Draco." she pleaded.

  Draco reached out aly squeezed her hand, his eyes filled with a mixture of affe a.

  "Of course, Cir. You will always have a p my life, no matter what. I'm here for you…..always." he hesitantly replied.

  He didn’t want his words to be interpreted in a weird way.

  Bahamut, who had been silent throughout the exge, finally spoke up.

  "I'm so sorry, Cir. I 't even begin to imagine how difficult abreaking this must be for you," Bahamut said softly, moving closer to Cir and enveloping her in a warm, f embrace.

  Cir hesitantly accepted the hug, her tears finally spilling over as she allowed herself to be vulnerable in that moment.

  The emotional weight of Draco's reje had been building up, and now that the frontation was over, she could no longer hold back the flood of emotions.

  Despite the pain, Cir couldn't bring herself to hate Bahamut.

  She had realized that even if the goddess wasn't around, Draply didn't see her as anything more than family.

  It ainful realization, but one she had to e to terms with.

  Across the table, Draco leaned ba his chair, eyes closed as he pted the events that had just unfolded.

  The frontation had been far more emotionally charged and hurtful than he had expected, even though he had tried to prepare himself for it.

  He hadn't even had the ce to say most of what he had pnned, Cir had just been that overwhelming.

  ‘Aaah, my heart aches so badly right now, yet I feel a strange sense of relief. Is this the right emotion for this moment?’ Draco wondered, staring bnkly at the ceiling, his brow furrowed in thought.

  After a few minutes, Cir's sobs began to subside, and she started wiping the tears from her eyes as Bahamut gently tio pat her babsp;

  "Sniff, I'm okay now," Cir said, prompting Bahamut to release her from the embrace.

  Staring into Cir's still-teary eyes, Bahamut opened her lips as if she was about to say something but theated.

  ‘Poor child,’ she thought, her hand lightly caressing Cir's fabsp;

  ‘I had thought that she would be one of his fated partners, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. All I do is pray that she will find the right partner for herself iure, perhaps Michalis will do?……...Na’ she mused.

  Before Bahamut had desded to the lower world, epsis had given her some information about the future.

  Some of this knowledge she was allowed to share with Draco, while other aspects were to be kept to herself.

  One of these future revetions was that Draco was destio have numerous fated romantic partners.

  The exaumber and identities of these partners were not disclosed to Bahamut, but this had been a major reason why she wasn’t aggressively resistant about Cir also being his partner.

  As a powerful goddess, Bahamut was not expeg herself to fall in love or even bee one of Draco's fated partners, as the gods were generally resistant to the whims of fate.

  However, sometimes things happened for unknown reasons, so once she was sure of her own feelings, she embraced It and fessed to him.

  Being a fated partner meant that no matter what happehey would iably bee partners as long as they both lived.

  So in a way, Cir still had a ce. She just didn’t know it.

  "S-so... what happens now?" Cir suddenly asked, breaking the silend snapping both Drad Bahamut out of their inner musings.

  "I... I don't know," Draco replied holy, feeling the awkwardness permeate the room after his reje of Cir.

  Sileretched for a moment before Cir spoke up again.

  "Aaah, uhm, gratutions," she said, much to the fusion of Drad Bahamut.

  "What do you mean?" Draco asked, his brow furrowing.

  "Aren't you and Bahamut together now? I mean, I was gratuting you both on that," Cir replied, looking at them with a puzzled expression.

  "Uhm, we aren't officially together yet, though," Draco revealed.

  "And I don't pn to, and will not allow any official dating until the ing of age for everyone in the familia, whicludes me." he added.

  "What?!" both Cir and Bahamut excimed, their eyes widening in surprise.

  "Why? That's like around 4 years from now," Cir asked, her voice ced with disbelief.

  "It's quite simple, really," Draco expined.

  "The main reason is that we're all too young. We need more time to mature both physically aally” he added.

  Bahamut's expression shifted from one of surprise to one of uanding, after his expnation but Cir…….

  ‘Ugh, aren’t you already mentally mature enough and physically you…….’ Cir thought, gng down at his crotch,

  “Hey, eyes up” Draco warned.

  “Tsk, what’s the big deal?. Its not like you are ied in me anyway” Cir tried teasing, but ended up recalling her reje.

  The atmosphere once again became somber.

  ‘Has she bee unhinged’ Draco couldn’t help but wonder, seeing the sudden ge in her demeanour.

  Cir currently didn’t want to be around Drad Bahamut at the moment, but felt that she was running away if she suddenly got up ahe room, so she had to put on a weird facade upfront.

  Click !!

  A clig sound ing from the front door suddenly drew everyone’s attention.

  Turning to the source, two familiar figures had just ehe kit.

  “We’re back” they announced but were immediately taken aback by the dreary emotions that lingered in the air.