"Don't worry Cordelia, I'm sure you'll think of something to get for Gregor."
Cordelia sighed as she stopped walking and turned to look at Sumia, who had a reassuring smile on her face. She was not convinced, as they had perused every stall in the market, and she had not found one thing that she thought Gregor would like for his birthday. She was running out of time to find a gift, for his birthday was only a week away.
"I don't know, Sumia. Nothing is really standing out. I need to get him something he'll really enjoy." Cordelia said with a frown. She had come to realize that Gregor was really hard to buy gifts for. He was a mercenary and traveled a lot, so he really didn't have anywhere to put material items. She had tried to find a book that he might like, but nothing really stood out to her. He also had no need for any additional weapons; the ones that he had were in great shape due to how well he cared for them. She was truly at a loss.
"Well, you still have a couple days, right? We'll probably be passing through another village tomorrow, so we can just look there for something." Sumia said, placing a gentle hand on her best friend's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Here, let's stop by the tavern. I think I see Robin sitting at a table." Cordelia nodded as she followed Sumia inside.
The tavern was small and cozy, and not too busy at the moment. A few tables had some people sitting at them, and Robin and Lissa were currently occupying one.
"Hey guys!" Lissa said when she spotted them, a broad smile crossing her face as she waved in their direction. Sumia went to get them some drinks while Cordelia sat down in an empty chair next to Robin.
"Hello Lissa. Robin. Enjoying yourselves?" Cordelia asked, eyeing the two half full ale mugs on the table.
"Oh yeah! It's nice when we have time to relax like this, right?" Lissa said happily as she glanced at Robin. The purple-haired tactician nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. Down time like this is great for moral." Robin said as she took a sip of her ale. "Did you and Sumia find anything in the market?"
Cordelia frowned and sighed again. "Unfortunately no. At this rate I'll never find a good birthday present for Gregor." Lissa and Robin shared a thoughtful look. Maybe they could help her think of something.
"Do you guys have any ideas-" Cordelia started to ask, but she was interrupted when Sully suddenly appeared out of nowhere and plopped down in the seat next to her. Sumia had also returned and sat down next to Sully, sliding Cordelia a mug of ale.
"'Sup guys? Enjoying the ale?" Sully asked, taking a sip from her own drink. Everyone else raised an eyebrow at her, for she was not drinking ale, but rather wine in a fancy glass.
"Since when did you drink wine, Sully?" Lissa asked, a mischievous grin crossing her face. Sully adverted her gaze, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Err, well, Virion swears by the stuff, so I've been trying it more. It's actually pretty good, and gets you drunk way faster than ale does." Sully said with a shrug, the flush on her face telling the rest of the women that the latter was the truth. "So, what are you guys talking about."
"Well, Cordelia here is having trouble thinking of a birthday gift for Gregor." Lissa said, glancing in Cordelia's direction. Cordelia nodded and sighed.
"A gift for Gregor, eh?" Sully echoed, resting her elbow on the table and setting her chin in her hand. She thought for a moment, before a wicked grin settled on her face.
"Have you and Gregor fucked yet, Cordelia?"
The table had mixed reactions to the blunt statement. Robin unfortunately had been in the middle of taking a drink of ale, so when she snorted, the burning liquid went up her nose and sent her into a coughing fit. Sumia flushed and trying to help Robin by patting her back. Lissa burst out laughing. Cordelia's face turned the color of her hair as a mortified look crossed her face.
"Jeez Sully, way to be blunt about it." Lissa wheezed as she tried to recover from her laughing fit. Sully just shrugged and looked at Cordelia, waiting for an answer. Robin finally recovered and gave Sully a disapproving look.
"That's rather private information you're asking for Sully. Isn't that kind of rude." Robin said, a frown crossing her face.
"Hey, I'm just trying to help here. So?" Sully said, rolling her eyes. Cordelia cleared her throat to stifle her embarrassment as she shook her head.
"N-no, not yet." Cordelia answered simply. She didn't know what this had to do with anything, but she was curious as to what Sully would say next.
"Well, maybe you could be his birthday present, if you know what I mean." Sully said, winking at Cordelia, "He's well traveled, and has that rugged mercenary charm. He's probably had a lot of sexual partners in the past. Maybe its time that the woman he's actually serious about finally puts out." The other women at the table went silent as they looked from Sully to Cordelia.
Cordelia pursed her lips as she processed Sully's words. She and Gregor had been dating for a few months now, and their intimacy hadn't progressed passed the occasional make out session. This was partially because they didn't really have much time or privacy in the camp (although that didn't stop Virion and Sully from engaging in explicit encounters), and partially because Cordelia really wasn't ready to take that next step. She wanted the moment to be perfect. Gregor didn't seem to mind. He always stopped when she asked him to, and never seemed angry or disappointed in her.
But what if he was just being nice? Sully's words disturbed her. Even though they hadn't discussed his sexual history, Cordelia could just tell that he was not a virgin like herself. He was older than her, charismatic, very handsome, and had a certain charm that was very appealing to women. She didn't like to think that she might be making him unhappy by delaying their first sexual encounter.
"Oh Cordelia, don't listen to her. Sully, you're drunk." Robin said, frowning at the red-haired cavalier.
"Eh, yeah, I'm a bit trashed. This wine shit really kicks ya in the ass." Sully said, blinking as she stared at at her now empty glass. Lissa rolled her eyes and stood up, pulling Sully to her feet.
"I'll walk Sully back to the camp. See you guys later!" Lissa said as she dragged a stumbling Sully out the door.
"Cordelia, you shouldn't feel pressured into doing anything you don't want to. I'm sure Gregor isn't upset with you or anything." Sumia said, placing a reassuring hand on Cordelia's arm. Cordelia stared at Sumia's hand for a moment before smiling to hide her uneasiness.
"You're right, I'm sure everything will work out." Cordelia said, nodding slightly.
"Hey, I'll come and help you guys look for a present when we get to the next village, okay?" Robin said, a bright smile crossing her face.
"Good idea! Maybe we can all come up with something!" Sumia said. Cordelia sipped on her drink in silence as she listened to her two friends conversation, as Sully's words weighed heavily in the back of her mind.
Gregor was having a good birthday so far.
The mercenary had not expected anyone to acknowledge his birthday at all, so he was surprised when he learned that Sumia had baked a cake for him. He then was greeted by many 'Happy Birthdays' by most of the camp. Vaike and Lon'qu had even gotten him a gift; it was a new, high quality cleaning rag for his weapons. He even got to test it out right away, as immediately after gifting it, Vaike and Lon'qu had challenged him to a fight. Gregor had won, of course, and he felt invigorated for the rest of the day. It was shaping up to be a pretty good birthday.
There was one problem, however: Gregor had not seen Cordelia all day.
He had not gone a day without seeing her since they started dating, so this was a very unusual occurrence. Gregor had asked Sumia if she had seen Cordelia today, and she had said that she was off training with Aurora somewhere. Gregor was slightly disappointed that Cordelia hadn't spoken to him before she had left, but he eventually shrugged it off. Maybe she had been so focused on her training that she forgot. Ah well, Gregor had those moments of total focus before, so he wasn't going to be upset with her.
The sun was setting as he made his way back to his tent, and he was sad that he still hadn't seen Cordelia. Maybe she wasn't feeling well and went to bed early. He would have to check on her in the morning. Gregor was very surprised then when he walked into his tent and found Cordelia sitting on his cot, with a blanket wrapped completely around her.
"Cordelia?" Gregor said, blinking at her with confusion. She straightened up when Gregor entered the tent and she stood up, and he noticed her gulp nervously.
"Um, Happy Birthday Gregor." she said, standing up as she kept a tight grip on the blanket around her. "I-I couldn't find you a good present in the markets we've passed recently so...I'm you're present." She finished speaking, took a deep breath, and dropped the blanked.
Gregor made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. Cordelia was wearing nothing but her smallclothes, her prefect skin shining in the dim light of his tent. He had never seen her this undressed before, and he certainly wasn't displeased with the sight, or the implications of it.
However, Gregor sensed that something was off. Cordelia was staring at the ground, her hands clenched into fists. It did not look like normal first time nervousness that he'd seen in his previous partners who had also been virgins. She seemed like she was trying to force herself to want to do this, and Gregor was having none of that.
Gregor smiled slightly as he walked over to Cordelia, picking up the discarded blanket on the way. He the wrapped the blanket around her again and rested his hands on her shoulders. She was shaking slightly, and she looked up at him with a confused look on her face.
"My dear Cordelia," Gregor said, running a hand through her hair gently, "Gregor is honored that you would offer him such a precious gift, but is Cordelia really ready? Be honest with Gregor."
He watched as Cordelia looked at the ground again, and then back up at him, and his heart sank when he saw tears welling up in her eyes.
"I-I just...N-no Gregor." Cordelia said, the tears in her eyes spilling over and falling down her face. "I'm so sorry. I feel like such a fool. I love you so much Gregor, but I'm just not ready. I just feel like I'm moving too slow for you." Cordelia moved a hand to her face to wipe at her tears, but Gregor's hand beat her to it. He wiped her tears away and then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. He felt terrible. Had he said something that implied that he was impatient with her in regards to taking their relationship to the next level? He was ashamed with himself.
"No, no. My poor Cordelia. Gregor is one who is sorry. He not realize he make Cordelia feel this way." Gregor said as he gently rubbed Cordelia's back. She sniffed slightly and tilted her head upwards so that she was looking him in the eyes. "What did Gregor say to make you feel this way? He is ashamed with himself for making his love cry."
Cordelia frowned and shook her head. "Gregor, you didn't say anything. It's just...Sully may have mentioned something about your...well...probable intimate past and I just...felt like I may be depriving you of that intimacy." she whispered, adverting her gaze from his own.
Gregor sighed and let out a chuckle. Gregor was not surprised that Sully would have said something like that; she wasn't one to have a filter when discussing private matters. He wished she hadn't put those silly thoughts into Cordelia's head, but it had happened, and Gregor needed to set the record straight.
"Now you listen to Gregor, Cordelia." he said as he placed a kiss on Cordelia's forehead. She looked back up at him, her eyes staring intently into his. "Gregor would never, ever want his love doing something she doesn't want to. Gregor loves Cordelia, and wants her to know that every relationship is different. Everyone has their own pace that they move at, and Gregor is always okay with moving at Cordelia's pace. Gregor wants his first intimate encounter with Cordelia to be special, and he most certainly wants her to be ready and willing." Gregor grinned when Cordelia blushed and giggled.
"Oh, Gregor, thank you. I want it to be special too. I'll be sure to tell you when I'm ready." she said, leaning up to place a light kiss on Gregor's lips.
"Hehe, Gregor is looking forward to it, but is also in no rush, remember. Cordelia can take her time." he said, resting his forehead against hers as he held her hands. She smiled and nodded, squeezing his hands gently.
"Um, Gregor? Would it be okay if I spent the night here with you? Just sleeping of course." Cordelia asked, looking at Gregor with bright eyes. Gregor chuckled and nodded.
"Of course. Gregor loves cuddling his sweet Cordelia. Always has good dreams with his love in his arms." he said. They climbed into his cot together and Cordelia laid with her head on his chest.
"Goodnight Gregor. I'm so lucky to have you in my life. And I'm sorry I didn't get you a birthday gift." Cordelia whispered as her eyes slowly shut. Gregor smiled and stroked her back with one hand, while his other ran though her long, beautiful hair.
"Gregor is luckiest man in the world to have beautiful Cordelia in his arms. He not need anything else as long as he has her. Gregor loves Cordelia so much." he whispered, his eyes growing heavy.
"I love you too, Gregor." Cordelia said. They drifted off into a restful sleep in each other's arms, right where they knew they belonged.