Allison had gone to her Military School again the day after my Dad's death anniversary. Although she was still looking forward to becoming a beautician, Military School wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. According to her, it taught respect, discipline and epic fighting skills.
I definitely had noticed those during our sparring. She had become stronger than me, and by a lot. I used to be able to tackle her on my second or third try, but now she more often managed to tackle and thereby defeat me first.
So I decided to train some more. As long as I wasn't going back to Sapientiae, I had more than enough time to train. I took up jogging, boxing, and inline skating again, except now I did all of that twice as long as a year ago.
Sure, my stamina was awful, so jogging more than five miles at once was a big accomplishment. Yet I was fully motivated to make this day of training one of the hardest I had ever done.

That afternoon, it must have been around four, I was sitting on the couch in our living room, completely exhausted. Sweat had collected in droplets on the sides of my face and above my brow, but I hadn't bothered showering yet. That could wait until later, eveb though I probably stank to everyone around me.
Luckily, I was home alone.
Not having checked my phone all day, I went through all the messages I'd gotten.
A few texts from Allison - nothing out of the ordinary.
Three missed calls from Beta Daniel - also that was quite normal.
One voicemail from Willow Cervantes - now that was not normal.
I contemplated whether or not I would listen to it. It probably was a butt dial, a call she had accidentally made.
But what if it wasn't?
"Hello Livia, it's Willow." Her voice sounded strangely hoarse and tight through the phone. "I cannot believe I'm actually doing this, but we really need your help here. It's urgent. Please call me back as soon as you hear this."
It was from a few hours ago and she hadn't called since, yet it worried me quite a bit. I called back immediately.
She picked up after the first ring. "Livia?" She asked, almost out of breath. I could hear nothing else but her voice, so I assumed she was alone in a room.
I nodded, until I realised that she could never see that. "Yes." I kept quiet for a while. "I heard your voice mail."
She sighed, partly in annoyance, partly something else that I couldn't figure out. "Again, I can't believe I'm asking you this, but you have to come back. Vir needs you. I don't know what happened between you two that you left, but you need to put it aside and step on the first plane here."
"Why would he need me? He made it very clear that he doesn't. Besides, he can ask me to come back himself if it is so urgent."
Willow released a breath of air in exasperation. "That's the point. He doesn't realise it himself, but everyone else here is out of ideas. He really isn't doing well, Livia. Ever since you left five days ago, Vir drowned himself in work. He hasn't eaten, drunk, or slept at all for five full days. Yet we can't get him to calm down enough to go to bed and get some rest. He is too smart for us to try sedating him, and we don't want to hurt him physically." Her voice cracked a little. It was more than obvious. Willow, a fierce, strong, and deadly young woman, was worried about her brother to such an extent that she would call me and beg me to go back to Sapientiae.
"You are the last option we have before we must resort to physical violence, and that's not good for anyone."
I was quiet when she spoke, feeling my heart clench painfully at the thought of Vir hurting. For him to be so distressed at me leaving him, it hurt my very being. "Okay," I said. "I-I'll come back as soon as I can."
Willow cleared her throat, regaining her normal, business-like composure. "Good. I'll arrange for a helicopter to pick you up from the Sapientiae airport." Right after that she hung up the phone.
I sat still, staring in front of me for a minute, before getting up quickly to take a shower and pack my bags.
Not that I had really unpacked.
Stuffing some extra clothing, boxing gloves, sports attire and running shoes in my bag, I was done in a few minutes.
My mom wasn't home from work yet, but I couldn't wait for her to get back, so I left her a note.

Hey mom,
I'm sorry I'm leaving without saying goodbye, but I have to go. Vir needs me, and it's urgent. I'll call you later.
I love you, hopefully I'll be able to visit again soon.
Xxx Livia

So, that should be enough for now. I smiled softly, a few tears in my eyes. I would definitely miss her, but I was sure I would see her again sometime soon.
Hoisting my bags over my shoulder, I walked outside to the bus stop to wait for the bus that would take me to the airport. It wouldn't be long now before I was in Sapientiae. With a bit of luck, I would be there well before midnight.

In the end it was around eleven o'clock before the helicopter landed on top of Sapientiae Headquarters. Daniel and Willow waited for me in the pouring rain, their clothes drenched with the water. They quickly ushered me inside, Daniel leading the way to Vir's office.
"We can't go in, since he denied us access to his office as of yesterday, but we think that you might still be allowed in," he explained as he motioned for me to scan the chip in my wrist next to the door.
A soft pling sounded, and a green light could be seen. I was allowed to enter.
I opened the door instantly, Daniel and Willow entering right behind me.
What I saw was then imprinted on my  retina forever. There he stood, my dear, dear soul mate, hunched over near the blackboard, a piece of chalk in his bony fingers.
He had lost weight, and a lot too, as far as I could see. His hair, normally slightly shiny and falling in lovely messy curls around his face, was now dull and greasy, a result of not showering for days. Underneath his eyes I could see dark bags, a sign of his lack of sleep. His cheeks were red with fever, his hands shaking from exhaustion. His lips were chapped from dehydration, his muscles tense from the stress.
He hadn't even noticed me coming in, another sign of the distress in his mind he must have been feeling.
"Vir?" I said softly.
No answer, not even a look my way. He had no clue I was standing there.
"Vir," I said again, a little louder this time. Now he looked up shortly, his eyes widening at the sight of me, before continuing his work again.
"Vir," I said once more, this time with more power in my voice, as I took a hesitant step in his direction. "Look at me. Look at me."
He shook his head feverishly, only scribbling down more on the messy chalkboard. His normally immaculate office was now littered with chalk, papers, pencils, books and broken glass.
Daniel and Willow stood silently in the doorway, watching, wondering how this scene would play out.
"Vir."
I closed the distance between us when he didn't react. Closing my arms around him in a tight embrace, I didn't give him any time to prepare himself.
The sudden contact affected me as much as it did him. The sound of his heartbeat, his smell - though he didn't smell very nice, it still calmed my nerves of seeing him again. He trashed in my embrace shortly, but in his exhausted state he stood no chance against me. I forced him to sit on the couch after shoving away a few documents that were not so neatly placed there. Straddling him, I gave him no chance to escape. I cupped his head in my hands softly, caressing the sides of his face as I looked into his eyes intently. They were slightly puffy and bloodshot, pupils wide as he watched me, appearing almost frightened. He struggled a bit to get away from me, but gave up when it became clear that he would not win in his current state.
"Vir," I said softly. "I'm here now, it's okay. Everything is fine, I'm here."
His voice sounded strangled and raspy when he spoke. "I need to solve it, I need to make it right, I have to..." I shushed him quietly. "You need to do nothing now, Vir, nothing but sleep." I was worried by his body temperature. His face felt hot like fire, he was obviously not well.
"But they- I need to- They will- I have-" He stuttered tiredly, trying once more to free himself. His breathing was fast, ragged.
I pressed his face to my chest tightly, quietly caressing the side of his face in order to calm him down.
"Ssshh," I said softly. "Everything will be okay. You'll be alright. I'm here now."
I only noticed how badly his body was shaking when I felt his hands gripping the fabric of my shirt tightly. Still, he was calming down slowly, I could feel his breathing slow.
I got out of our embrace and pulled him up, letting him lean on me heavily. "Come on, Vir, let's get you to bed now, okay?"
He shook his head slowly, trying once again to get back to work. Somehow he managed to get me to release him, after which he staggered to the blackboard again. However, he collapsed before I could reach him again. "Daniel, a little help please?"
The beta quickly came to my aid, and together we pulled Vir up, who was struggling to get free weakly. Daniel led us the way to Virs private quarters, which I hadn't seen before. The large bedroom with dark grey, wooden floors, and a king sized bed was as clean and neat as I expected. We quietly brought him to the bed, where I politely turned around as Daniel helped him change into his pajamas, which consisted of a white shirt and boxers.

I got a glass of water and a wet towel from the small bathroom adjacent to his bedroom, and sat next to him as he slowly sipped on the water. When he had finished the glass, he finally lay down underneath the covers, shivering slightly. I patted his forehead, neck and shoulders with the wet towel, aiming at cooling down his body temperature. Vir sighed weakly.

His eyes shining brightly with fever, he clasped my hand in his. "Will you stay now?" he asked. His voice sounded desperate, as if he was genuinely afraid I would leave him now.

I suppose that fear was not completely wrong. I did leave before, after all.

"Yes, of course. I won't leave again."

"Do you promise?" The question was almost child-like.

"I promise," I said, and I pressed a chaste kiss on his warm forehead, the tingles that erupted from the touch soothing both of us. "Now sleep, okay?"