I was used to getting ready at Yuri's side, dressing, cleaning… but perhaps I was wrong. Any movement of his arm through his shirt gave me goose bumps, and I couldn't stop from staring. He usually caught my gaze and smiled, making me fumble for words of defense or retaliation. These days, Yuri responded with a laugh or a scoff. I'm sure he was wondering when I would ever stop doing that; I wondered the same. He had stolen many kisses from me, had held me close in hard times and easy ones. We were more than just "brothers-in-arms", more than childhood friends, but I still found myself wanting to argue with him, the familiarity too hard to ignore, the urge too strong to avoid. Every time, I stopped halfway through, and Yuri gave a non-verbal response, whether it be smiles or (even better) kisses.

Today was no different. He said something about fighting monsters, about having my back, but I couldn't keep my mouth shut, as sweet as he was being.

"I can watch my own-…" There was that smile. I bit my lip to silence myself, and I turned away from him, slipping my arms into my undershirt. Damn him. He was always, somehow, two steps ahead of me. Somehow.

"I am well aware of your skills, Flynn. But… we are dating now, aren't we?" I nodded my head in response, not turning around. I felt a bit embarrassed, and it was better for me to fix myself before facing Yuri again. Definitely. "Flynn?" I lifted my head but still didn't turn. I couldn't. He was waiting for me to do it; I knew that already. I felt a touch to my shoulder and turned my head to look. Yuri was staring at me, those gorgeous eyes staring back at me as I took a breath.

"Right."

There was a moment of silence before those soft, gentle lips caressed mine, his arm looping around my waist. I couldn't stop from melting into him, fitting into his grasp like putty. The kiss was soft, careful. If I tried too hard, I felt as though Yuri wouldn't want to kiss me anymore, and I couldn't risk that. His kisses were addictive, as if I couldn't get enough even when kissing him directly. His free hand snaked its way into mine, our fingers fitting together. The spaces between his fingers were perfect for my fingers.

"So… are you done with whatever makes you want to fight?"

"I'm trying. You know you want to say it back," I argued, his expression lightening up.

"I'm just better at not doing it, Finny." I sighed. Of course he was. He was always better at everything, no matter the task.

"I know you are. You're better at everything."

"That's not true. You're in charge of the knights, aren't you? I can't do that."

"It's not that you can't, you just don't want to." His eyes brightened, and he shrugged with a nod. I was right with that, at least. He turned back to what he was doing, slipping his vest and tying his sash about his waist.

"You're right." I already knew that. I focused back on my armor, layering things on how I had for years now. I didn't want to wear the gloves; touching Yuri wasn't the same when they covered the skin of my fingers. I slid them on anyway. Once we were done prepping for the day, sharing a breakfast in the lobby of the inn, we joined Yuri's friends outside. They looked just as ready as we did. We were making our way back to Aurnion to deliver more supplies.

When we stepped out of the inn, everyone had turned to look to us, Lady Estellise coming close to greet Yuri and me. After a small discussion of direction, we left our current city and ventured out into the dangerous world of monsters and beasts.

We were a few hours out when Yuri and I had successfully laid waste to a few more monsters on our path. Yuri had slipped his hand into mine once our swords were placed back into their sheaths. I wished I could feel his skin against mine, but I didn't voice that concern. I reduced my response to a simple smile, one that made Yuri smile back. He was so sweet. I pulled his hand a bit, the boy taking a step closer.

"You still have so much skill. This is what I meant when I said you were better at everything."

"It's only fighting monsters, Flynn. I bet you could still beat me in a fight."

"Bet I couldn't." We both laughed and continued to stand together, hands joined between us.

"Ahem, lovebirds. We're on a bit of a mission here," Rita interjected. I looked quickly to her, quickly remembering all of Yuri's companions. We hadn't had the chance to explain our relationship yet; this was still fairly new to the two of us.

My face grew hot, my hand pulling from Yuri's. I couldn't hold my smile, stepping back. Yuri sort of let out a laugh, and I wanted to yell that this wasn't funny, but I pursed my lips and resisted saying anything.

"I had no idea you two were… dating?" Lady Estellise asked, stepping close to my side. It seemed her question was aimed toward Yuri, as her eyes had fallen to him. I shuffled away from her next but was boxed in by another of Yuri's female companions, Judith… or Judy. She shot me an almost smug smile but then looked to Yuri.

"It's not much of a surprise, honestly," Judy commented, my face getting even hotter. Yuri smiled once again, his laugh blessing my ears all over again.

"Really? I thought we had it under locks pretty well," Yuri laughed, his hand reaching for mine again. I didn't reach back. He sighed and stepped in, taking it by force. "Flynn, really, you don't need to be so worried about it."

"Yuri, now isn't really the time-" Repede began to bark loudly, his body rigid and facing away from the rest of us.

"Repede?" Yuri asked, moved over toward his canine. When we all looked together, a group of monsters was approaching.

"We'll talk about this later?" Karol suggested, his hands shaking as he lifted his axe.

"Or not at all. That would be better," I countered, pulling my sword and trying to focus more on the battle at hand than the thought of explaining his love for Yuri to everyone else. He wouldn't- couldn't! There was no way that he-

"So… how long have you been seeing each other?" Raven asked. I let out a groan of annoyance, my head falling back as I covered my face with my hands.

"Not talking about this!"

"About 3 months now, right? Something like that."

"Yuri! Shut up!"

"You shut up! You act like it was some sort of secret," he argued. I stepped out of formation to stand toward the end of our line-up.

"I'm not talking about this, Yuri."

"I'll do the talking then. What other questions?" He was such a pain! Of course. He would tell Lady Estellise and Judith almost anything, not to mention that Karol and Rita were the most curious of the bunch. Raven just seemed to be proud of Yuri.

"Have you two… y'know?" Judy asked, her eyebrows raised as she walked alongside Yuri.

"Y'know what? I'm confused," Karol said, his feet falling into line as well. They continued to try and ask questions, but Yuri almost deflected all of the questions. He knew better. He knew that I didn't want to talk about it. I did see him whisper to Judy once, her eyes moving to me as she blushed and smiled. What had he said?