But even as she tried to compose herself, Julie was beginning to realize something she'd been trying hard to ignore, Cassius wasn't someone she could simply brush off.

Not anymore. His charm, his words, the way he looked at her, spoke to her, moved around her, it was simply too potent for her heart to handle.

He was disarming in ways she hadn't anticipated, and it made the space between them feel like quicksand.

And then, just as that warmth was settling into something real, something that wrapped itself around her like a silken ribbon...everything suddenly went dark.

One moment, the sky was clear, bright and lovely. The next, she was plunged into pitch darkness.

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Wh-What—?!" She blinked wildly, but nothing changed. "Oh no. It's the apocalypse. It's the apocalypse, Cassius!" She said, flailing slightly as her hand clutched at his shirt. "The sun's gone out! The skies are crashing down and we're going to live in eternal night!"

She panicked against his lap, the sudden blindness having completely thrown her off. But just as she was about to jump off in full-blown chaos—

"It's not the apocalypse." Cassius said calmly, his voice right next to her ear as his fingers tightened the knot of a soft handkerchief behind her head. "Calm down, will you? You're not blind. I just put a blindfold on you."

Julie stopped panicking.

"…What?"

"It's still a beautiful day outside." He added, amused. "No fire, no crumbling world, no eternal night. Just a girl being dramatic while I tie fabric around her head."

She let out a relieved sigh. "Oh thank god."

But then...the realization hit.

"Wait." Her voice grew suspicious. "Why exactly are you blindfolding me?"

She turned toward him, or at least she thought she did, her head tilted in his direction and her voice took on a sharpness meant to deliver a glare. Of course, the glare was completely wasted behind the cloth.

Still, she crossed her arms over her chest with exaggerated suspicion. "Is this because you're trying to take advantage of me right now?"

She only asked that to play with him as she knew that he wouldn't do something like that.

But to her dismay, he didn't deny it. Instead, he leaned in close, his breath brushing her ear.

"Maybe I am, Julie." He whispered. "What are you going to do about it?"

Just like her, he was also joking to see her reaction and he half-expected her to go stiff or swat him away in that usual flustered way she had, maybe call him shameless or shoot him one of her classic glares.

But she didn't.

To his surprise, she simply leaned back against him with ease, so casually, so naturally, as if her entire body trusted him to hold her up. She then tilted her chin with a light, amused huff, arms still crossed as she replied.

"I don't need to worry about that."

He blinked in surprise while she smiled, almost knowingly, her voice carrying that teasing edge that had been showing itself more and more around him.

"Because I've already realized something about you." She said, her tone slow, like she was letting him in on a secret. "You might be a dangerous man, Cassius...but in some ways, you're also completely harmless."

Then, before he could reply, she subtly pressed herself back against him, just a little harder, almost like she was daring him to react. Her shoulder nudged into his chest, her weight shifting, and her voice dropped to a sultry tease.

"You won't do anything." She said with a small smirk, like it was an undeniable truth. "No matter what I do, you won't do anything that will make me uncomfortable."

"You may have a whole lot of perverted thoughts in that devious mind of yours and even now you probably want to push me down and do unspeakable things to me as I rub myself against you, and I don't even blame you as I'm totally the one who's provoking you right now." Forabetterreadingexperience,visitM(VLEMPYR).

"...But you definitely won't act on it, that's just the person you are. The person I trust enough to act like this."

She said as she looked up at him with a infuriatingly knowing smile on her face like she could read him like a book.

And hearing this made something tighten in his throat. He groaned softly, playfully, as he let himself fall back a bit from the pressure she was applying with her back.

"Ahh...it's really nice to have so much trust in me." He drawled with exaggerated sarcasm. "But at the same time...I don't know how to feel about being treated like some kind of...harmless dummy."

Julie only giggled, delighted at his frustration, thinking that it was adorable before finally leaning forward a little, relieving the pressure, and giving him just enough space to breathe again.

Her fingers lightly brushed the blindfold over her eyes, feeling its fabric between her fingertips before tilting her head slightly.

"So...what's the blindfold for anyway?" She asked.

Cassius straightened and cleared his throat, getting his tone back to that smooth, calm teacher's voice he had used earlier.

"Well, now that you've learned all the basics...all the grips, the movements, and the tension control." He began. "It's time to actually put it all into practice. We're going to knit something, something real."

She went still for a second.

"But..." He continued. "I'm worried that you'll panic. Or start second-guessing yourself. One tend to mix up things whenever their brain gets all crowded." He leaned in closer. "So, to help you focus, I want to completely shut out all distractions. Blindfolding you means you'll only hear my voice, no threads to confuse you, no needles to overanalyze."

"...Just listen, follow, and let your hands move."

Julie tilted her head slightly again under the blindfold. "Makes sense." She said softly. "I went through something similar before...back when I was training with my father."

She smiled faintly at the memory. "He used to blindfold me too. He'd stand behind me and give me precise instructions. I had to listen carefully and act on them without hesitation." She gave a small, thoughtful nod. "What you're saying right now...it really does make sense."

But then, she hesitated. Her fingers fidgeted against the edge of the blindfold, her voice quieter now.

"Still…" She murmured. "We've only practiced a little bit. I mean, I don't even really know how this is supposed to come together in the end. I...I don't know if I'm really ready for this."

There was vulnerability in her words, an uncertainty she rarely let out.

Cassius didn't answer with words at first. He simply placed his hands on her waist, firm and warm, and gently pulled her closer into him again. She felt his chest against her back, steady and reassuring, and then, his lips were beside her ear.

"You are..." He whispered. "You're completely ready, Julie."

He paused, making sure she heard every word.

"I know you don't always trust yourself...not after everything you've gone through. Not after being told you weren't good enough before. But you don't need to carry that doubt right now. Trust in me. Trust in my teaching. Trust in the trust I have for you. That's all you need tonight."

Her breath hitched. Hearing that, hearing that he trusted her, even when she wasn't sure of herself, sparked something steady in her chest. Like a lantern lighting up.

She nodded once, slowly, and a calm solemnity took over her expression.

"Alright." She said quietly. "I'm ready. What should I do?"

Cassius's voice lowered as he adopted a more solemn tone to match hers. "Alright. Do you have your needles on hand?"

Julie nodded eagerly. "Yes, sir. Always." She replied with mock-seriousness, holding them up proudly like a soldier showing off her weapons. "My trusty blades, they never leave my side."

He raised an eyebrow at her theatrics but played along. "And your yarn?"

Julie held up the skein of yarn in her lap. "Of course, sir. It shall never leave my hands."

She said with a straight face, like she was reciting a sacred oath. It was funny, a little dramatic, but there was a clear undertone of dedication in her voice that couldn't be ignored.

Seeing that everything was in place, Cassius gave a sharp nod. "Then your training is over, soldier." He paused. "It's time for actual combat."

Julie sat up straighter, her shoulders tensing with readiness.

"Now, listen carefully..."

He ordered, shifting his stance beside her.

"Let's start off with...Left sword slashes through the neck!"

Julie moved without hesitation, mimicking the motion with her needle and yarn.

"Right sword, stab into the gut. Pull out the stomach!"

Her hands twisted and flicked exactly the way he described, moving the yarn as though disemboweling some imaginary enemy.

"Perfect. Again. Left, gut, upward sweep. Now both together, one, two, twist!"

She followed every word, her face furrowed in intense concentration. The blindfold stayed firm over her eyes, cutting off her sight, and yet she moved like someone who could see every detail clearly in her mind.

"Double strike to the heart. Pull the yarn taut! Now stab, twist, pull!"

The yarn danced between her fingers as if it were a weapon, the needles flashing under her quick hands. It was almost a duel, a battle between focus and fear, rhythm and chaos.

She kept going and Cassius kept commanding.

Even when sweat broke across her forehead and her breathing turned shallow from effort, she didn't stop.

Even when Cassius's voice turned hoarse from giving commands, he didn't let up either.

The yarn tangled and untangled in her hands. The needles cut through the loops again and again, her fingers obeying every order he gave.

Her mind focused only on his voice.

The past didn't matter.

The doubts didn't exist.

There was only his voice, and her hands, and the yarn that was turning into something wonderful in her hands.

...Until finally.

Cassius exhaled, nearly out of breath. "The next step is…"

Julie straightened up slightly, still breathing hard, ready for the next move. "What's the next step?" She asked quickly, her hands bracing, waiting for the next imaginary enemy to strike.

But the voice that came next wasn't sharp or commanding.

It was calm...Gentle.

"The next step..." He said softly. "...is to take off your blindfold."

Hearing this, her hands turned stuff. His tone was different now, warmer, full of something else...Pride? Relief?

"Go on." He said. "Take it off. See what you've made."

Julie swallowed. Her hands trembled slightly as they reached up to the blindfold. Her mind raced.

What if it was another failure?

What if everything she felt was just her imagination?

What if the nightmare was still true, that no matter how much effort she put in, she would always mess it up?

But then she remembered, Cassius was still behind her.

He hadn't left.

He was still here.

And he believed in her.

She sucked in a shaky breath and, with trembling fingers, untied the handkerchief.

Light flooded her vision again.

She blinked hard, looking down.

At first, she didn't recognize it.

Then her breath caught.

In her lap, resting beneath her slightly sore fingers, was a small piece of fabric.

It wasn't perfect.

It wasn't even.

Heck, there were even a few lone strands poking out from here and there.

...But it was real.

It was knitted by her and her alone.

A true piece of fabric.

And the moment she realised what she had done, her eyes widened.

Her mouth parted, but no words came out.

Her hands shook as she lifted the soft, imperfect square from her lap.

She couldn't believe it...She couldn't even breathe.

And just as she was staring at her first creation in awe, from behind her, Cassius's voice came again, quiet, full of pride.

"Congratulations, Julie." He murmured with a gentle smile. "You've finally learned how to knit."

Julie stared down at her trembling hands, still holding the fabric.

And for the first time in her life, she understood what it felt like to be so happy and relieved that she she just wanted to cry her heart out...