Happy New Year's Eve's Eve! I hope that you have a wonderful day and enjoy this new chapter! There's a bit more action in this one and finally we've gotten to a little more embarrassed, confused Bell. I hope that you really like this chapter, and that I wrote the action parts well though I couldn't help but embarrass Bell a little bit anyway, because naturally his confusion and frenzied thoughts aren't just going to vanish when one of the causes is before him. I really hope that you like this chapter, and that you've had a wonderful New Year's Eve's Eve today, and that tomorrow goes well for you.
The dungeon hadn't drained his joy, just replaced a bunch of it with exhaustion, and thus he was still smiling as Bell headed off to wash up and meet up with Aiz for a quick training session or rather spar.
A part of his mind was caught up in tangible excitement and joy over the fact that he'll be sparring with Aiz again and that that may go well as it usually did though he also felt a little bit of nerves sink in where they really shouldn't.
Bell, once clean, climbed up to their usual waiting spot; he'd, for once, arrived before Aiz, and so he took to casually looking over the area that they sparred as small as it was and tried to not let his thoughts spin back to the general acceptance on Ryu and Syr's parts though they hadn't stated simply put that they'd be open to polyamory, just that he should sort out his thoughts before he came back to them to ask them to enter into a relationship of that sort with him.
His ruby eyes flickered over towards his approaching sparring partner, unable to completely ignore how beautiful she looked in the still setting sun, blond hair cast by gorgeous red-orange hues.
Her blue eyes sparkled under the sudden light, and he couldn't help his bright smile when he saw her show up; normally, they didn't arrange sparring sessions so close to sunset, because once it became dark, it grew harder to simply fight each other though today was one of those rare days that they both knew they'd have to call it short before too long.
Bell got into position, hand clasped tightly over the Hestia Knife, and let his smile slip into a calculating smirk, crush or not, he was an adventurer and a fighter as well and definitely wouldn't hold back.
At a silent signal that they both caught simply by the look in the other's eyes, they sprung into action.
Bell slid forward on quick feet, ducking past the blade that Aiz was wielding, slipping by as if he were just a shadow or had somehow grown invisible under the setting sun, muscles pulling tight as he shifted as if to remind him to spring forward again if the blade that Aiz held came too close to his head.
She spun around, catching his knife on her sword, shifting with a little sturdier force but not enough to knock the two of them over on to the ground in an awkward pile of stumbling limbs, just enough to assure him that she wasn't afraid to use some force.
His ruby eyes focused in on her blade, already calculating which way to move in case she struck again though he didn't have long to think when she slid her sword away from his knife and brought it down as if to hit him in the head; Bell dove to the side, pressing his knife steadily against the armor at her side, not quite touching despite how close it was.
Her blue eyes flickered with emotion or the remnants there of emotion, and she spun further away from his blade to poke him in the side, a reminder that she could fully cut into him if she so chose, and he couldn't resist the steady smirk and the pounding adrenaline in his veins that were growing at the thought of this being a real battle rather than a spar.
Bell flicked the sword away with a steady hand on his knife and dove forward, shocked by his impulse, to just take over the battle, only realizing his recklessness when she easily batted the knife away from her chest plate.
Aiz shifted position, and it struck Bell how beautiful majestic it looked like a long standing, rippling wave coming together at the seams; there was a grace to her fighting style: a princess hidden behind a sword.
Bell let his steady breath of air propel him to yet again move around her, half spinning past her side as he brought his knife close to her armor, close to her skin to be batted away, though when she brought her sword to deliver a varied mix of attacks, a slash when he came too close to her side, a stab when he slid just by her sword to stand partially in front of her, he batted away the sword with his knife.
While they were both aware of the fact that they wouldn't hurt each other, adrenaline coursed through their veins as if it had never gotten the message.
When Bell lunged just moments later, bring his knife rather close to her chest plate as if to embed it in the surface, she moved easily to brush her sword against his side, uncaring if they left any marks in each other's armor, Bell froze; he shouldn't let himself get carried away, but the fiery passion that burst in her blue eyes caught his breath.
He usually avoided letting her distract him however accidentally she did so whenever they sparred, and he was good at focusing on fighting her as if she were just another adventurer after their first awkward spar.
His mind crashed to a shuddering stop as he gazed into blue eyes before she pushed him back, and Bell toppled over on to the hard ground behind him.
Pride danced within her eyes though it was muted as if she couldn't take credit for a win like this when he grew so distracted at the end.
Bell loved the pride that entered her eyes whenever she won even though that meant he lost in the mean time though hated when it was muted; he always gave their spars enough attention and put his best foot forward partly for that and partly out of his own pride.
His mind was still whirling with romance, and he couldn't help but wish that he was able to lean forward in that brief moment of proximity that helped end their latest spar and close that gap between them; he adored the fiery passion that easily broke free from the dam of her eyes in a spar, that only grew stronger the longer it went on yet it never distracted her from battle.
Bell was disappointed in himself for being distracted by a regular, still as mind boggling sight, that usually didn't end with him sprawled on the ground, regretting his own tendency to fall under the easy charm that Aiz more than likely didn't know she possessed.
He couldn't pull his mind away and as he looked up at her, he remembered the hot spring that he'd stumbled upon and how irresistibly beautiful that she naturally was, bare of the armor that she usually wore, bare of anything to hide her ethereal beauty.
Bell cursed himself for his own tendency to be distracted by her that he'd worked so hard to hide and push back over the time that he'd gotten close to her; he just loved everything about her, loved her strength, her fearlessness, her beauty that only grew stronger by the determined woman underneath.
Aiz was truly incredible, and he couldn't help but stare today as the late sunset lit her skin in dark hues of orange as she leaned down to offer a hand to the adventurer still gaining his bearings from his own mind's tendency to be consumed by her.
"What's wrong?" She asked as his hand tightened over her own, and Bell forced himself to not be so mesmerized by her pretty voice that sounded so different that the fearless warrior within her even if it shouldn't.
"Sorry, I got distracted." Bell couldn't help the dark blush that lit up his cheeks as he looked at her, trying to ignore the way his heart raced at just touching her, trying to ignore how perfectly soft her hands were and yet how chapped they were from every day that she spent in the dungeon.
"That's not like you." Aiz shrugged, "It's been a while since you've been this distracted."
Of course, she'd notice those types of things though his heart suddenly felt too big for his chest; hope spiraled within its depths even though he knew better than to hope that she possibly returned his feelings for her, knew better than to hope that she'd be okay with his confusing mix of emotions, the many people that he was realizing that he was attracting to, slowly falling in love with.
"I know. I've just had a lot on my mind." He let go of her hand, realizing belatedly that he probably should since he was now standing up, had been for a little bit, and hoped that by looking out towards the sky to the side of them that it would hide the cherry red of his cheeks that still bloomed in embarrassment and over the emotions that were still so hard to hide that he wondered briefly if he should show now.
"Do you think you will be better by tomorrow afternoon?" She asked, and Bell realized that they'd more than likely spar after a quicker dungeon visit tomorrow or before they entered the dungeon.
"Yeah, I should be." He shrugged; Bell figured that may be after one embarrassing day sparring with one of the women that he had more than casual feelings towards, he should be able to handle himself the next day.
More time to stew in embarrassment and more time to calm down regardless.
"Good." Aiz smiled lightly at that, "I'll see you tomorrow then." She was already stepping down, and Bell realized that he shouldn't stare as if he were in the presence of a princess for the first time, but it was hard to look away, to pull himself together before he made his own journey down and back home.
