AN: This chapter's a little longer than yesterday's. I hope you're enjoying the story! I'd love to hear from you, and thanks for reading!
"Seriously, though, Leo," Avani said some time later, as we lay catching our breath, "Where do you get the energy? It seems like we'll have barely caught our breath before you're all ready to go again!"
"Well, I do have several centuries of catching up to do," I replied, kissing the top of her head.
"That reminds me," she said, flipping around so that she could rest her head on my abdomen and still look into my face. "How old are you, anyway?"
"Several centuries; I thought we'd already established that," I said, teasingly.
She poked me in my cheek, saying, "You know what I mean! I mean, how old were you when you were sealed?"
"Does it matter?" I asked her, amused by her curiosity.
"No… of course it doesn't matter," she replied slowly. "I'm just curious, that's all. You seem older than the other young single guys in town, but at the same time, you're more playful than the others, too. I just can't tell."
I just closed my eyes and smiled, not answering her question. After a minute, she wriggled restlessly, saying, "Leo? Are you going to answer my question?"
I rolled over onto my stomach to let my tail finish drying. Instead of answering her, I simply commented, "The hot sun feels so good today, doesn't it?"
"Leeooo!" she exclaimed, mildly vexed.
"Maybe if you tell me how old you are, I'll tell you how old I am," I murmured.
"That's not fair!" she pouted. "You know I have no idea what my age is. Even my birthday is just a date Venti picked at random. Jones thought I was likely in my very early twenties when I arrived, and that's all I know."
She climbed up on my back and began to tickle my ears and neck. "H-hey! S-stop that!" I gasped, laughing.
"Not until you 'fess up!" she exclaimed, tickling even harder. I flipped over onto my back without dislodging her, grabbing her waist to hold her away from my ears. Remembering holding her in a similar position this morning as we made love in the early morning light, I found myself becoming aroused again.
Avani exclaimed as she felt me poking against her from behind, "Leo! Again? Already?!"
"Like I said, My Lady—you're addictive," I replied as I pulled her down to me and kissed her.
As I lay sprawled across her afterwards, our bodies still entwined and damp with sweat, I nuzzled and kissed her neck. "Twenty-eight," I whispered into her ear, then kissed her again.
She put her arms around my neck and kissed me back, then said, "Why didn't you want to tell me?"
"To tease you of course," I replied.
"Leo!"
"…or maybe not," I continued with a grin. "Maybe because I'm the oldest of the young men in town. Maybe I thought you'd think I was too old for you."
"Leo… I don't care how old you are—well, I mean, too young wouldn't be good, but no way could you be too old."
"Or maybe I'm teasing you even now, and I have been teasing you all along. The world may never know!"
"Ugh! Leo!" she said, poking my side. "Anyway, thanks. And twenty-eight is hardly ancient—you aren't that much older than most of the others. Kiel's nearly eighteen…."
"What? Really? Eighteen, huh? I thought he was fifteen at most. Interesting," I interrupted in surprise.
"Yep, he'll be eighteen on his next birthday, which is coming up soon," she continued. "Doug just turned nineteen, Vishnal will be twenty next month, and Arthur and Dylas are both twenty-three. Dylas was sealed practically as soon as he turned twenty-one, which I guess was the age of majority at that time. Or at least that's what Venti told me."
"She would probably know," I agreed.
The shadows were lengthening and we were getting hungry, so we dressed and gathered up our things and our buckets of fish. Avani cast Escape and we returned to her room, where one of the butlers had built up a nice, roaring fire for our return. I told her that she could have my fish as long as she didn't give anyone else the lamp squid and rainbow trout I'd caught. She laughingly agreed and placed them in her refrigerator along with her own catch.
After dinner, we spent the evening quietly, sitting together in front of the fire. I read, and Avani brought out a small harp, saying she needed to practice. She'd been taking lessons from Meg, and from the sound of it, she was a quick learner—her performance was quite pleasant, though as yet unpolished. After she set it aside, she picked up her history book and read for a while before we prepared for bed. She gently brushed my tail out for me, which I found far more enjoyable this time. Once in bed, I kissed her good night before she blew out the lamp, leaving the room bathed in the dim, amber light from the waning fire.
I was just drifting off to sleep a few minutes later when she whispered my name. "Hmmm?" I responded drowsily.
"I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you, but… could you… could you just hold me, please?" she said, sounding slightly anxious.
"Anytime you wish, My Lady, and for as long as you wish," I replied, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close to me. She rested her head against my chest with a sigh, and I asked, "Is anything wrong, My Lady?"
She hesitated for a moment, then said, "I… I just suddenly felt incredibly sad and alone. I guess it was talking about everyone's ages and how even my birthday isn't really my birthday. It just hit me all over again, about not knowing my past, I mean. I think that's why I like to read history books so much—because I have no history of my own, at least, not from before I came here."
I gave her a squeeze and said, "I understand. In a way, we have similar problems—we've both lost our past. You to amnesia, and me to the passage of centuries. And I'm not even sure which is worse—knowing what you've lost, or not knowing—but neither one is much fun, is it? Still, keep your chin up, My Lady. Even if most of the townsfolk can't understand how you feel, I think I do, and I suspect the other Guardians would, too. So just remember—you're not alone."
She snuggled a little closer to me, whispering, "Thank you, Leo," and soon we were both asleep.
The following morning, after Avani returned from her chores, I asked her if I could borrow her study for the day, or if she'd rather, I could return to my room at the inn and use my own desk. "I really need to spend the day working on this translation, My Lady, so I'm afraid I won't be able to take you anywhere fun today."
"I don't mind," she replied, "help yourself. And that's fine about today. To be honest, I need some time alone anyway. I need to spend some time thinking… about how I feel about Dylas now and what I'm going to tell him if he shows up tomorrow. So I kind of wanted to get away from town, maybe do a little monster hunting, and just mull things over."
I frowned, saying, "That's fine, but it's not good to go out alone when you're distracted. You should take someone with you—either someone you're willing to discuss it with or someone who isn't talkative. Or take Baldur, if you'd rather not have other people around."
She nodded, and said with a faint blush, "I guess what I meant by 'alone' was 'away from men'. I thought I'd ask a couple of the girls to go with me, and then I can talk things over with them, too. I don't want to ask Forte—she's needed here in town right now. But I thought I'd ask Amber and Dolce. Amber won't be much help, but Dolce's really intuitive, maybe thanks to Pico. And even if she isn't much of a fighter, Amber always cheers me up—she's just so happy all the time. Plus I think she feels badly that she wasn't able to warn me about Dylas and Lumie in time, and I want her to know I'm not upset with her."
I smiled fondly at her, and said, "In that case, My Lady, have a good day and return safely. Shall I order dinner from Porcoline's upon your return?"
"That would be fantastic. Thanks, Leo—and good luck with your translation." She gave me a lingering kiss, then grabbed her gear and went in search of the two female Guardians.
I spent the day hard at work on my translation. It wasn't difficult, but it was time-consuming. The story was interesting, I thought—titled A Recipe for Happiness, it was a charming tale of a loving couple's life together. It was written in a form of the common language that by my own time had fallen into disuse, and only a few could still read it easily—myself, for one, and Maria for another. Though there was no date assigned to it, I assumed that it must predate me, since books written in my day had been written in the "new" style of the language—the style still currently in use.
I worked steadily, stopping only for lunch. Around noon, I walked the long way around to Porcoline's restaurant in order to stretch my legs a little and get some fresh air. Dylas was there, busily waiting on customers during the busy lunch hour.
After he took my order, he asked somewhat acerbically, "What, no Avani today?"
"Nope," I replied calmly, "I'm working and she's gone off monster hunting, with Dolce and Amber, I believe."
He snorted and walked away to seat some new customers. A short while later when he brought me my food, he said, "Hey, listen. Tomorrow's the fourth day. Would you please tell Avani that I'll be there in the morning, if she's still willing to talk to me by then?"
I paused for a moment, looking at the anxious expression on his face, then nodded. "Yeah, I'll pass that along to her. And, hey. You might not believe me, but I wish you good luck tomorrow. You were a real jerk to her, but I'm sure you've figured that out by now. I hope at the very least we can all be friends again, but I really do hope the two of you can patch things up sooner or later—preferably sooner."
His eyes widened, and he mumbled "Thanks, Leon," before he hurried off.
That afternoon, I continued with my work until I finally noticed that the room was growing dim and the candle was guttering. I extinguished the flame and set my work aside, then I went downstairs to build up the fire and wait for Avani to return. I was kneeling in front of the fireplace, adding a few logs, when in a burst of light, Avani appeared, along with Dolce and Amber—and of course Dolce's ghostly companion, Pico. She dropped her equipment on the floor and ran over to me, giving me a tight squeeze and a kiss, exclaiming, "I'm home!"
"So I see," I laughed, nodding to the others.
"Let me just fix the girls a snack—they're tired, hungry, and thirsty after a day out with me."
"I know the feeling," I replied with a smirk. She blushed and ruffled my hair before darting off to the kitchen, the girls close behind her. A short while later, they emerged, and bidding us good night, Dolce and Amber left, Pico darting after Dolce as they closed the door.
After closing and locking the door behind them, Avani came over to where I was sitting on the sofa. "How'd it go?" I asked, setting my book aside and pulling her down onto my lap. To my surprise, she began to kiss me hungrily, pulling and tugging at my clothes and shedding her own. I hadn't yet seen this aspect of her, and although she caught me off guard, I was more than willing to accommodate her need. Her urgency resulted in a brief but very intense union, leaving us gasping and limp for some time afterwards.
When I could speak and move again, I stroked her hair and said with a smile, "Tough day at work, My Lady?"
She cringed and made a peculiar gurgling sound. Then she rolled off me, and leaning on one elbow, looked at me with a comical expression. "Oh, Leo. You have no idea what it's like to spend a day fighting monsters with Amber! I mean, I really do like her, but… oh, man!"
I laughed as she flopped over onto her back. "Do you know what her weapon of choice is?" she asked after a moment.
I thought, trying to imagine Amber using any weapon. "Staff?" I ventured as my best guess.
"Nope. She fights using a watering-can. A freaking watering-can! Oh gods, Leo. She should never be allowed outside the city walls alone. Ever. A blind wooly with two broken legs could kick her butt. She spent more time chasing butterflies and picking flowers than fighting. I felt like a babysitter. I'm so glad Dolce was there—she is the absolute Anti-Amber, and that's all that kept me sane, I'm sure."
I laughed again, then teased her, "So then… turn-ons include babysitting child-like innocents? Frustrating party members?"
She smiled at me, reaching her hand out to trace over my facial markings with a delicate fingertip. "No. Turn-ons include seeing you after missing you all day. When I arrived here and saw you there by the fire, I wanted nothing more than to tear your clothes off right then and there. It was all I could think of, the whole time I was feeding Dolce and Amber. I could hardly wait for them to leave."
I grabbed her finger and kissed the sensitive tip softly, then said, "By the way, Dylas asked me to let you know he'd be over in the morning, if you'll see him. Have you made up your mind what you want to do?"
She flung her other arm over her eyes and sighed. "More or less. I don't know exactly what I'll say yet, but I think… I think I've sorted out how I feel."
"I won't pry, but I want you to know that I'm hoping that you two reconcile—if not now, then soon."
She sat up and looked at me in surprise. "Really? Are you sure about that? If I take him back, you know that means you'll go back to sharing me again."
I sighed, saying, "Yes, I know that. And I know it won't be easy—if I could, I'd keep you all to myself."
She looked confused as she said, "Then… why…?"
"Because he can give you what I can't. Because I know that he cares deeply for you. And I know that, hurt and angry as you are now, deep down you care about him, too—or you wouldn't have bothered to even consider a second chance. And because I want us to be able to work as a team again—we're needed now, and we can't work together with things as they are."
"And what about his fling with Lumie? Do you think I should just overlook that?" she asked, curious rather than angry.
"Not at all. What he did to both of you was wrong. And I realize the hardest part will be learning to trust him again—and that he needs to earn that trust, not have it handed to him. No, I fully agree that he was a complete jackass and that you have every right to be angry and hurt by his actions. But at the same time—and I know this sounds strange—I believe he acted the way he did only because he cares so much for you."
She scowled thoughtfully, saying, "I don't follow your reasoning. Why would caring about me make him cheat on me? Shouldn't it be the opposite?"
"With most people, yes. But remember this is Dylas—he never really learned how to deal with people, or how to love and be loved. From all accounts, Venti was his only friend, ever—and as wonderful as she is, she isn't human. You need to learn how to interact with humans from humans, not from dragons. So when he misunderstood what had happened, he jumped to the wrong conclusion—that you didn't really care for him after all. Then he dealt with that hurt in the only way he knew how, even if it was a rather stupid way: by seeking another woman's company. He's dense and an idiot and has no social skills… but he cares about you more than he's ever cared about anyone in his entire life. And that scares the shit out of him."
She sighed as she snuggled up against me, resting her head on my chest. "Maybe…. Anyway, I decided that I do still care about him. I'm not even really that angry anymore—mostly I'm concerned about his way of dealing with problems. If I take him back and something upsets him again at some point in the future, I don't want him doing this to me again. And it's not even about the sex—I really wouldn't mind if he had other lovers. It was the sneaking around that I found despicable about his affair—that and the way he selfishly used Illuminata. And I don't want him to just shut me out and not listen to me when he's upset like he did this time. So while I still love him, I don't know if I'll be able to trust him again. I'm willing to take him back, but only as a friend… for now. Then we'll see what happens, if he can regain my trust and if I can feel the same about him again."
I put my arms around her and held her tightly, saying, "Well then, at least I'll have you all to myself for a little while longer."
She stroked my chest and abdomen, tracing imaginary lines across my skin. "Speaking of longer…." she said with a grin after a moment, her hand sliding lower under the sheet.
"Hmmm… and I think we can go a little more slowly this time around," I replied, smiling as I pulled her close and kissed her.
Disclaimer: Rune Factory 4, most locations and many of the characters in the story, and the game's plot belong to Neverland Co. and XSEED Games. The story plot and some characters and locations are my own invention.