His eyes are closed, hidden behind lids topped off with lush lashes. His hair, deepest red, the color of love itself, is wild and mussed. I’m held in his arms, curled close to his body. I can feel his heart pumping against his chest when I lay my head on it. I don’t know why, but I think he has the sexiest chest. It fits his body in an odd way. Muscular, well built, milky pale like the rest of his slender body, but curved to fit those shoulders.
       When I first saw him, I was amazed at the cold stone look in his eyes. Violet eyes, eyes that should be full of life all the time, bright and warm, are dead. To me, this should not be allowed. Shrouded behind the shield he set up around himself, nobody can see his full potential.
       Whenever I think this, I berate myself, but I always compare him to a rose bud. Beautiful as it is, it is nothing compared to a rose in bloom. He’s like the bud, held in itself, trapped wrapped in layer upon layer of protection. But he’s too scared to bloom, I realize, to spread his layers and reveal the majestic soul he has.
       I suppose it’s for the best really. If he were to live as himself, not behind this barrier, he would shatter. As an assassin he would never survive. He just wouldn’t be able to live. I snort. Like a rose in the arctic, he just couldn’t live. He will never be free.
       My sudden movement seems to wake him for his eyes flutter open, revealing a pair of endless violet seas. I smile at him and a flicker of a smile shines back at me, melting whatever shield I have around my own heart in an instant. He yawns at me, obviously tired.

“Go back to sleep Aya.” I mumble at him. He smiles, a tired smile, but a smile nonetheless. He leans down to kiss me, planting his pale flower-petal-soft lips upon mine.

“I love you Nagi.” He leans back into the pillow and I realize.

I’ve been kissed by a rose. With a dreamy smile I add just before I fall to sleep myself, a rose in bloom.