CHAPTER 67: UNDER THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS

"Wait... why did you kiss me?"

Hermes blurted it out as soon as they exited the bathroom, faces flushed and hands still awkwardly brushing.

Aphrodite blinked at him slowly, avoiding eye contact. "Because... I didn’t know how else to say it."

Hermes tilted his head. "Say what?"

And then something strange happened.

A tingling sensation bloomed at the back of Hermes’ tongue, rising up into the roof of his mouth and spreading through his head like carbonation.

He blinked rapidly, and then...

Just above Aphrodite’s head... he saw them.

Bubbles.

Dozens of pink thought bubbles, delicate and shimmering like champagne froth, rising and swirling above him. The bubbles popped and reformed, letters dancing like calligraphy across the surface... individual thoughts coalescing into sentences, then paragraphs.

Hermes gasped. "Mindbloom..."

He remembered the first time that he asked Aphrodite to kiss him. It was also so he could take Mindbloom from him, even just for a while.

Suddenly, a larger bubble formed at the center of the others and spoke in Aphrodite’s mind voice...

One far more poetic than his usual self.

[Forgive me. I never mastered speech the way I mastered silence.]

The thought-voice was warm, rich, and full of metaphor.

[Spoken words are oceans, and I am often drowning before I can learn how to swim. But I do hope you’ll understand me here—here where I cannot fumble or falter.]

Hermes stared, mesmerized as the thoughts unfurled like verses.

[You looked beautiful in this rose-tinted light. Not just your skin or your smile, but the way you cradled pain like it was a child in need of sleep. You make brokenness seem noble. I wanted to kiss you sooner. I didn’t know how.]

[And... I’m glad.]

Hermes blinked. "Glad?"

[I’m glad that you’ve accepted Rewind as yours. That you didn’t crumble when it reminded you of him. You’re stronger than you think.]

Aphrodite looked down. [And I’m sorry. For being distant. For looking away. It’s hard to live with my eyes open when everyone’s thoughts are screaming above their heads.]

[But you—]

[You kept talking to me. Even when I didn’t talk back. Even when my eyes were on the floor. You still tried. And now, I want to give you something in return.]

He gave Hermes a smile, letting his thoughts speak for him.

[Take Mindbloom. For the rest of our date, steal it. I want you to know how much I’m enjoying this, even if I can’t say it out loud.]

Hermes felt his chest warm.

Not just from the poetry of it all, but from the intimacy. The honesty.

Aphrodite might not speak often, but he felt deeply. And Hermes was lucky enough to hear it.

They stepped out of the bathroom, hand-in-hand. Hermes bowed to the waitress and manager, his voice softer than before.

"I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I was out of line."

The manager nodded with a tight smile. "Thank you for understanding, Sir. We hope you’ll still enjoy the rest of your day."

They left the café without much fanfare... just the quiet hush of reconciliation following behind them like footsteps in soft sand.

***

Later, at the apartment...

Xolotl barked happily, bouncing from paw to paw as Hermes opened the door. The three Grrberus pups scrambled around his legs like gremlins.

"Took you long enough! How did your mating ritual go?" One of them barked, wagging his tiny tail.

"Did you kiss already?" Another snickered. "Was it sloppy? Did your tongues touch?"

"I read a book that said humans sometimes exchange saliva to test compatibility," the last pup declared proudly. "Is it true? Are you compatible now? Human mating rituals are strange, and take such a long time."

Aphrodite flushed to the ears.

Hermes coughed, picking up one of the pups. "Don’t you three have better things to do than study our mating rituals?"

"Nope, my Lord!" All three chimed.

Xolotl, the ever-faithful elder dog, gave a low chuff and nudged Hermes’ leg, herding them all toward the door.

"C’mon," Hermes said. "Let’s get you all to bed. We’re taking you out to a picnic tomorrow."

"Hooray!" The puppies cheered.

***

The sky turned gold, then lilac as they reached the park the following afternoon. It was quiet, only a few other people walking their pets.

Hermes set down a checkered blanket and opened a picnic basket he’d packed earlier. Some leftover cookies from Somner, an experimental pasta from Magni and Ymir, a thermos of fruit juice, and a few dog treats.

The pups immediately ran off, chasing squirrels and getting into trouble. Aphrodite watched them with quiet concern, biting his lip faintly.

Hermes glanced at him, and the thought bubbles reappeared above Aphrodite’s head.

[I hope they don’t get into fights. Or steal food. Or fall into a pond. Or—]

"Hey." Hermes reached over and gently touched his hand. "They’ll be fine. Grrberus pups have Void instincts. They’ll find their way home."

Aphrodite nodded, but his bubbles still floated above with nervous energy. Hermes realized how much of a worrywart he was deep inside. Of course it’s not a good thing but...

It just showed how much Aphrodite really cared about him and the dogs.

They sat on a bench under a streetlight, just across from a cluster of blooming cherry blossom trees. The petals floated in the breeze, drifting like snowflakes around them.

Aphrodite leaned back, watching the petals with a faraway look. Hermes heard in his thoughts.

[There was a passage in that book...]

Aphrodite’s internal voice continued, romantic and vivid.

[A kiss beneath the cherry blossoms, petals falling like a curtain between two hearts... hands trailing beneath fabric, lips devouring secrets... and then, finally, skin against skin under a blushing sky.]

Hermes’ eyes widened.

[They called it their season of unravelling. Just as the trees stripped themselves of their flowers and leaves.... This marks the start of becoming bare before love.]

Aphrodite’s expression hadn’t changed outwardly. But inwardly...

[I wonder if Hermes would ever want to do that with me.]

Hermes’ lower body responded before his brain could stop it.

’Oh no.’

He sat stiffly (in more ways than one), covering himself with the picnic blanket and coughing into his fist.

Aphrodite noticed the movement and tilted his head.

"Are you cold?"

"N-No. I mean. Yes. A little. Maybe."

He tried to think of anything else. Math, cold showers, Voidling tax laws... but Aphrodite’s thoughts kept floating above, full of romantic descriptions and surprisingly explicit metaphors about cherry blossoms and shared warmth.

"Do you want more coffee?" Aphrodite asked, still polite as ever.

"N-No! I mean—yes—but I’ll get it. You just stay here and keep looking beautiful—I mean—uh—STAY."

He stumbled off toward the thermos, praying to whatever deity was listening that Aphrodite wouldn’t notice.

But Aphrodite did notice. Of course he did.

He just turned his face away and looked at the falling petals again, lips quirking ever so slightly.

[Maybe I’ll kiss him again under these blossoms. After all... I’ve read that it is tradition somewhere to kiss under the cherry blossoms for love and prosperity for the whole year.]