"Well, the thing you see in movies and books isn't real." Lucas said softly. "Real relationships are different. Real relationships have real people, who make real decisions and real mistakes. Relationships are a bit of a mess, but hey. They let you know you're human, and that your partner is too."
Slowly she came to a stop, her hand loosening on his. "How… how do you know if it's real then? Love I mean. How do you know it's real?"
"Well, I dunno for sure… I guess you can't always know, Mel. You can't really know anything for sure…" Lucas sighed softly and looked over at Melissa again. "But I do love you. I would never hurt you, Melissa."
That's all she needed to hear. Her questions ceased, and in a matter of seconds she had her arms wrapped around his neck. "I…I love you too…" Melissa whispered to him, holding on tight.
Lucas flushed red and hugged her tightly in return. He gently rested his head on her shoulder and sighed with content.
"This… this is real love… right?" Melissa asked him softly, taking in everything. The hug, and her own emotions in general.
"As far as I can tell, Melissa." Lucas hummed softly, holding Melissa close to himself. "Feels pretty real to me, anyway."
Pulling back, she gave him a weak smile. "Well, then I love you a lot. More than I can explain." Melissa told him, cupping his cheek.
Lucas flushed again, his heart fluttering. It had been a very long time since someone had actually told him they loved him. He pulled her back into the hug, trembling slightly.
Taken by surprise, she half froze in place. "Are… are you alright Lucas?" Melissa asked him softly, starting to hug him tightly.
"Y-Yeah, sorry… I… I'm just not used to people… um… loving me, I guess." Lucas stammered, tightening his grip on Melissa a bit. "It… it means a lot…"
"Oh Lu…" Melissa whispered, resting her head against his. Rubbing circles into his back, she hummed quietly. "Well, you know I love you. A lot." She continued to whisper soothingly.
Lucas nodded, laughing weakly. "Yeah… I bet you do if you've been willing to stick with me this long." He pulled away after a few more seconds, smiling softly.
"Of course I do. Can I do anything, in general?" She asked softly resting her hand on his cheek once again. "Just ask and I'll get it done."
"Just being here is good, Mel." Lucas kissed Melissa's cheek softly and kept walking in the direction of the park.
Face flushing heavily, she tilted her head down and began to walk up behind him. "Y-yeah… sounds good." She mumbled, biting on her lip.
"You okay?" He asked, lacing his fingers with Melissa's as he walked.
Lifting her head up, she gave him a soft smile and a nod. "Yup! Perfectly fine, just… a little flustered."
Lucas nodded, smiling a bit as well. "Understandable. Wanna go to the park or no?" He asked.
Melissa mirrored his actions, nodding back. "We can go to the park. Sounds relaxing." She chirped, pursing her lips.
"Alrighty, then." Lucas steered Melissa towards the park and led her through the underbrush when they arrived. "Here we are."
"Just as relaxing as it has been…" Melissa breathed, smiling brightly when they stepped through. "Though I feel even more relaxed…"
"Mhmm." Lucas was smiling as well as he led Melissa back over to the tree and began to climb up it. "My favorite place in the world."
"You sure you want to climb up?" Melissa asked biting into her lip nervously. "We could sit down here for now…"
"I'm not gonna fall, Mel. Don't worry." Lucas smiled softly to reassure her and held out his hand to help her climb up.
Sucking in a deep breath, she nodded gently. "Alright fine… I still feel nervous." She mumbled, pulling herself up to his level.
"I know, I know… I promise I'll be careful." Lucas led her up onto their usual branch and sat down, sighing softly in content.
"You don't sound like you really mean it." Melissa huffed, letting on a slight pout. "But fine…"
"I do mean it! I wouldn't lie to you." Lucas snickered a bit and kissed Melissa's cheek when she sat down.
Face flushing again, she whined slightly. “You need to stop doing that~” Melissa mumbled, burying her face in her hands.