Lia looked in Marlin's direction. Upon seeing that she had already left, she quickly excused herself to the people around her and went out of the library, just in time to see Marlin turn a corner.

  She had missed her so much after avoiding her these past few days. No one knew how much she wanted to talk to her and be near her; it's just that her feelings for her kept growing uncontrolbly, and being near wasn't enough anymore. When they talked, she had the impulse to kiss her just seeing those lips open and close. She was scared that she might lose control if she didn't avoid her.

  She knew that Marlin might also feel uncomfortable, but she didn't know how to face her yet or how to talk about it. She was afraid that if Marlin found out, she might avoid her or, worse, be disgusted by her.

  She took a deep breath and followed Marlin, thinking that just seeing her from afar was enough for her for now, and that her feelings might fade with time.

  Time passed. Five months after observing Lia and giving themselves time and space, Marlin couldn't take it anymore. She noticed that Lia would secretly look at her most of the time, and sometimes when she walked home te, she noticed footsteps following her. At first, she thought it was a stranger or stalker. However, one time she secretly held a small mirror and discreetly pointed it behind her, and saw Lia following her.

  She didn't know if she should ugh or worry because of how Lia acted. She was worried that someone might think Lia was a stalker and also wanted to ugh because Lia seemed not to know that she wasn't very good at secretly looking or following someone.

  She waited for Lia to take the initiative, but seeing how Lia acted, she was afraid that someone was even more unconfident than her, and if both of them kept this up, they might waste a lot of time.

  "We're not young anymore, yet we still act like teenagers," Marlin murmured to herself as she thought about it.

  While browsing for books at the library, she could feel that someone was openly watching her. She looked around, pretending to look for a book, and when she saw that there was no one else in the library, she slowly walked out of the room. In the corner of her vision, she noticed how Lia pursed her lips and seemed to be hesitating about something.

  Marlin sighed, then after getting out of the room, she didn't go anywhere. Instead, she put a "closed" sign on the library's door, taking advantage of the time that it was still early and people were still in css. Then she went inside and closed the door with a click; it was locked.

  Lia was startled by Marlin's action and somehow felt a little nervous. Her grip on the book she was holding tightened. She took a deep breath to calm herself as she looked away, pretending not to notice anything, until Marlin tapped her desk twice to get her attention.

  Marlin chuckled as she watched Lia pretend to be busy. 'She's really cute when she acts like this,' she thought.

  "Lia, can you spare some time for me?" Marlin asked softly.

  Lia looked up at her, then nodded. She put down everything she was holding. "We can talk here."

  "How about we talk there?" Marlin pointed at their usual spot from before.

  Lia hesitated, but seeing that Marlin acted calmly, if you ignored the fact that she locked the door, everything seemed normal. But thinking about how long she'd been avoiding her and how Marlin hadn't taken the initiative to talk to her after so long, she felt uncertain.

  So, while Lia felt uncertain and was still struggling inside, which was written all over her face, Marlin already made a move. She went behind the counter where Lia was sitting, sat beside her, and before Lia could process her own thoughts, Marlin was already holding her face with both hands and turned it to face her.

  Lia, realizing what was going on, was flustered. She tried to stand up, but Marlin was faster. She held Lia's legs with both of her legs, then put one of her hands on Lia's shoulder.

  "W-what do you want?" Lia had no choice but to say something while trying to ignore how close they were right now; she could literally hear her heartbeat.

  Marlin watched Lia's face blush, and she felt helpless. She wasn't sure if Lia was blushing because she was shy and embarrassed or angry because of her rudeness. However, if she didn't do anything, she was afraid that Lia might slip away again.

  "Lia..." Marlin had a lot to say, however, the moment she called her name, her voice became hoarse. She had prepared a lot of words, but somehow, seeing Lia so close right now, she lost her calmness and composure. With a tearful voice, she continued, "I miss you."

  Lia looked up at the ceiling, trying not to cry, but hearing Marlin's tearful voice made her let go. She thought that after so long of avoiding and putting distance, she could let go. But obviously, she didn't know how love could be so magical that even time couldn't make it just fade, and instead, it only made everything clear to her that she loved someone and couldn't let go.

  She closed her eyes and took the initiative to hug Marlin tightly. She listened as Marlin kept repeating how she missed her. Lia felt that something inside her let go.

  Lia loosened her hug on Marlin, held her chin to look into her eyes. With tears in both their eyes, she confessed the feelings she'd been hiding, "Marlin... I like you."

  Marlin looked into Lia's eyes. She could see the tenderness and love that she'd been longing for. No more hiding; she wasn't avoiding her eyes now. She felt joy and excitement deep inside her; the wait was over.

  Marlin kissed Lia's lips as her response to Lia's confession.

  Lia was not prepared for Marlin's sudden action, but it only took her a few seconds to adjust, then she responded more actively.

  After a few minutes, they both let go to breathe.

  "I want to hear your response," Lia demanded after calming down.

  Marlin smiled widely. "I like you too," she said, then she kissed Lia's hand and asked, "Will you be my girlfriend?"

  Lia smiled with relief, looking into Marlin's eyes that only held her. She answered, "Yes."

  Lia leaned forward, her forehead touching Marlin's forehead. "Do you really want me to be your girlfriend?"

  "Yes," Marlin said with firmness. She knew what Lia felt because she felt it too before. She wanted Lia to know her decision wouldn't change.

  "Lia, from now on, you're not allowed to avoid me anymore. I'm your girlfriend now."

  "I-I'm sorry for avoiding you before... but is it really okay not to avoid now?"

  "Of course, why are you still thinking of avoiding me?" Marlin said with doubt and worry, then she quickly asked again, "You don't like me that much? Is that it?" she asked, slowly feeling down.

  Lia was startled. She was just worried that Marlin would mind if people found out about their retionship, but she didn't expect Marlin to react like this, which made her panic and scared, afraid that Marlin might think that she wasn't serious and scared that Marlin would really think she liked her.

  She quickly hugged Marlin tighter and said rushly, "No! Of course I like you! I love you so much that... that I avoided you because if I don't... I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from pouncing on you so you can only be with me. I'm possessive; I want your attention as much as possible. I don't want you to ugh or talk too much to others."

  "Then... do you mind if people know that I'm your girlfriend?"

  "Of course not, I'm just worried that... you won't like it," Lia answered softly.

  Marlin hugged Lia with a smile of victory. "I only care about you. I'm your girlfriend now, and just so you know, we're adults now, so I don't really care about other people's opinions. In fact, I'm thinking that maybe we should get married now."

  Lia widened her eyes in shock. "Marriage? So fast?"

  "Of course!"

  Lia was speechless. They had just gotten together and had just managed to talk after so long, and now they were talking about marriage. She actually didn't know what to say, but thinking of living together with her lover whom she had wanted for so long, yet had wasted her time because of being a coward, she felt that she didn't mind.

  "Okay," Lia answered.

  "It's okay, you can ta-" Marlin obviously didn't expect that Lia would really agree." What did you say?!"

  Lia smiled and kissed Marlin's lips. "Marlin, let's get married tomorrow. Let's get marriage certificate first, then have a proper wedding ter. What do you think?"

  "Okay! you're not allowed to change your mind," Marlin said with excitement.

  Lia could see lights in Marlin's eyes. Their decision was like those of reckless kids, but unlike them, she was confident that both of them were capable of supporting each other.

  "Marlin, thank you," Lia said. If not for Marlin's initiative, she might not have been able to let go of her own indecisiveness.

  Without Lia expining anything, Marlin understood her immediately. "You too. No matter how much you avoided me before because you love me too much, even from a distance, I could feel it, which gave me the courage to take a step. I'll make sure you won't regret being with me."

  Lia smiled. "You are really a sweet talker... but I believe you. I love you."

  Marlin and Lia went home together. Lia openly walked Marlin home this time, then went home after seeing Marlin wave at her from the window.

  Both of them really wanted to be together, but because they were pnning to get a marriage certificate tomorrow, they had to part ways for the time being to make prepare the documents needed.

  Marlin thought she wouldn't be able to sleep from excitement, but after a few minutes of exchanging text messages with Lia, she fell asleep.

  Lia waited, and seeing how te it was and still not receiving any reply, she knew Marlin might have fallen asleep. She recalled everything that happened the whole day, touching her lips and thinking of Marlin, she couldn't help but blush. She was looking forward now to the future with Marlin as her wife.

  End...