"I must leave you," he says. How does one utter those words so simply and with such clear articulation? Almost as if those words do not have the impact that they do. "I must leave you, Levi."

The way he says my name brings back memories--memories of a dim bedroom and satin sheets. I wonder if he thinks of that time as well. I could only hope for those memories to come back to him, and perhaps they would change his mind.

"I know," I whisper. I cannot tell if he has heard me or not, but it doesn't matter. We both share the same thoughts.

As the thought of leaving him permeates my mind it brings unwanted worry and stress. I have always turned my back on the thought of pretending, but now I break my own rules and pretend. I pretend that I'm not here discussing when the most appropriate time for me to leave my lover's estate is. I pretend that we're both just sitting here, under this cherry tree (of which I've never truly appreciated until this moment) with the wind brushing against our faces just for fun. I take a giant breath in and take in the feeling of my lungs expanding, before releasing it all in one long sigh.

After a long silence of each of us listening to our innermost thoughts, I say, "Erwin . . . I don't wish to leave."

"As do I, Levi. But it is impossible for you to stay. You have a mansion and other things that need taking care of."

"But that's not the real reason," I counter, my tone become more desperate by the second. I struggle for a moment to compose myself so I don't start to sound like a school girl pleading for her first love not to leave her. With a start I realize I have much more in common with that imaginary girl than I would like to admit.

I continue, "We both know that it's all about our reputation. More specifically, your reputation." Scorn starts to leak in as I say my words. "Too afraid to admit to the public that you've taken comfort with another man? Is that it? Because it doesn't have to be made public Erwin. Not everything is about what others perceive of us."

"But it is!" Erwin suddenly shouts, and the frustration is evident in his voice.

It has been a while since I've seen him so worked up, and I make my surprise known by staring at him with my eyebrows raised. He doesn't look directly at me and I'm thankful for that, since I don't believe that I would last a minute underneath his beautiful and cruel, blue eyes. Erwin's usually perfect hair style has become slightly undone, allowing a few blonde strands to fall across his forehead. I can feel the urge to fix his hair bubble underneath my skin, but I restrict it.

He's wearing a white dress shirt with a colorful vest over it. Black pants are tucked into large boots. I can't help but notice how perfectly sculpted his arms are and how straight his jawline is. His face always looks as if he has seen so much, like he has a story to tell. I'd told him how much I admired him just yesterday and I remember how happy I felt when he returned the feelings.

But now I question him. Perhaps he was only a strict businessman who didn't have feelings for anybody like what he'd first appeared as. What if the night we'd shared together and all the sweet things he'd whispered in my ear had meant nothing? I wanted to believe that my suspicions were only imaginary and had no prompt, but hearing his words now worried me that perhaps my inner conscious had been correct. I shall push those worries off for the moment and trust him.

For the first time in the three months that I've been at the Smith estate, I feel cold and unwelcome. I feel so detached from Erwin that it hurts and I feel awful. I can only imagine what it will feel like once I rid this place of my sight. I cannot stand this feeling any longer as I jump up from my spot on the wooden bench and walk a short ways and stand in front of him.

Immediately I feel my walls breaking down as I look at him. I'm reminded of all my vulnerabilities and small things about my appearance as his eyes lock onto mine. The black top hat on my head suddenly feels heavier, along with the black jacket draped over my shoulders. A white dress shirt covers my arms and the cravat around my neck becomes uncomfortably warm. Black pants adorn my legs as well, but I prefer short boots instead of his clunky, military ones. When I'm standing and he is sitting, I'm technically taller than him and can actually look directly into his eyes.

While I'm looking at him, I expect his stare to be critical and authoritative, but it lacks these qualities. It instead shows a sadness and softness, and with a start I realize that it looks as if he's given up.

Giving it my best attempt to look as fierce as possible, I say, "Explain to me why the public matters so much. Explain why it matters so much that you'd be willing to give up what we have and not stay with me." I say those things even though I know the answers. The public determines our way of life.

"You know that if the public dislikes us, they won't buy our products. And since your company's partnered with mine now, it will affect you as well," he explains solemnly. "Levi, you know I would do anything for you if you wanted me to. I would stay with you for the rest of your life. Take you anywhere you wanted to go, give you anything wanted."

His words don't heal my breaking heart as a dark shadow falls across my face and my mind. I can no longer stare into those eyes, that for some reason seem so oblivious. I look down at the ground and let my bangs fall from underneath the top hat.

Through gritted teeth I whisper, "You're lying. . . . You won't give me anything I want because what I want is to be with you."

"But I can't--"

"Yes you can! Just tell people that we're starting something major with the companies that need both of us to be together or something!"

"Even if we did that then we'd have to lie to everyone! Even in my own home I'd have to pretend to not be any closer to you than a businessman doing business! . . . And I don't want to live like that."

His words sting and they whip me, leaving fresh gashes on my back that burn like wildfire. I just want everything to be different. I want to be in a world where me and Erwin can love each other freely, despite what the public thinks and not have it directly impact our lifestyle.

Then a mad idea comes into my head.

"Let's run away together."

"What?" he asks, astounded. Despite his surprised face, I know he realizes my seriousness. I feel a new passion burn through me as I imagine it.

"You heard me! Let's run away from all this! Let's buy a house far away and then once we've bought it, we can use the other money for food and clothes and things until we find simpler jobs. It'll be like we disappeared."

"You would sacrifice all of your finery to be with me?" Erwin asks as if he already knows the answer.

"This finery is worth nothing if I can't enjoy it with you by my side."

My face looks determined and ready to argue.

Then he smiles. At the sight of his beautiful, white teeth I can't help but smile as well. He looks absolutely beautiful when he smiles, and I remember how wonderful he thinks my smile is as well.

He says firmly, "Then I accept. I would love to run away with you, Levi."

I lean in and so does he as we wrap our arms around each other. At first I am weary since we're out in the open where his servants could probably spot us, but I quickly relax and melt into his arms by ignoring those thoughts. I focus on the feeling of his arms around me, and feel myself heat up when he presses his lips against my neck and peppers me with kisses. I've now just slid so far forward that it would take barely any motion for Erwin to pull me onto his lap. In fact, he does so swiftly and subtly.

"You know we could be seen, Erwin," I whisper, noticing how fast his attitude towards our relationship has changed.

"It doesn't matter anymore, because we'll disappear soon enough. Plus, no one's out here anyway," he replies into my neck. It tickles, resulting in me giggling a little. "Your giggles sound adorable, by the way."

"Shut up, oaf," I chuckle as I lightly slap his back. I smile devilishly as an idea pops into my head.

I blow a raspberry into his neck and smirk as I feel him jolt before leaning back to laugh at me. I take my chance and surprise him by kissing him. Slowly it turns into something more and we end up kissing for a long time.

His lips feel like bliss against my own and I begin to feel like honey inside as he continues to envelope me in his arms. Everything feels wonderful until suddenly I hear footsteps crunch behind me.

Quickly, I jump off of him and turn around and stare at the servant right behind us. For once I feel frightened and I can see Erwin's distress as well.

"Masters Smith and Ackerman?!"