Author's Note: I don't own Xenoblade Chronicles and all characters belong to their rightful owners.

I'm back ~ so hopefully chapters can be posted more frequently. But as soon as I say that, I'll disappear for months again. We'll just have to see where life takes me.

What better way to break up the last chapter's sadness, then with a bit of humor? I find it a bit amusing that my two most serious characters end up being my comedic relief.

Enjoy!

Rhodri glanced up when he heard the door to Teanna's room open. The woman moseyed into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee that Melo had prepared in advance. She plopped herself down onto the couch across from Rhodri.

"Good evening, I guess," Teanna chuckled and sipped the warm drink.

"You're correct. You slept longer than your usual power naps." He turned the last page of his book and closed the back cover. He looked over at Teanna and wasn't surprised to find her still in her pajamas: a blue boat neck shirt with a feris decal and a pair of little cotton shorts.

"I heard a loud crash this morning before I fell asleep. What was it?" Teanna tugged on the hair band holding up her bun. She freed the tresses and her mahogany hair tumbled around her shoulders.

"Pate fell out of bed." Rhodri watched the action with mild interest.

"What? But I thought he was already up." She combed her fingers through the curls thoughtfully.

"Pate and Reyn slept together." When the words left Rhodri's lips Teanna choked on her coffee. She gagged and then gulped down a breath of air.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm quite sure. Even though Pate had been sleeping on the couch, something required him to move to a different room. This morning he came from the guest room, after falling out of bed and causing the ruckus you heard." Rhodri eyed her in both confusion and amusement. Teanna drank a sip of her coffee in a thoughtful silence.

"Well, I'll be damned…" She chuckled and smirked at her companion. "Don't you know what that implies?"

"No. Do tell me what these implications are."

"Just think about it Rhodri, why would Pate go into Reyn's room?"

"Perhaps he was cold. This room is sometimes very drafty."

Teanna laughed and shook her head.

"Why would they be in the same bed?"

"It is simply two people sharing the same sleeping quarters. I'm afraid I don't follow your line of thinking." Rhodri furrowed his brow. "Please enlighten me."

Teanna brought her mug to her lips and slowly sipped in an agonizingly long pause. She watched Rhodri and knew every second of quiet killed him. She set the mug down onto the table and grinned.

"Sex. I'm talking about sex, Rhodri."

"What?" Rhodri recoiled.

"Just think about it. It all makes sense. Now I know why Pate's always blushing around him! The two seemed too close. Hell, I'm pretty sure the day I went to apologize to Pate, I broke up something secret." Her eyes glinted devilishly the more she dissected every little interaction.

"Teanna I think you're jumping to baseless conclusions." Rhodri started but Teanna interrupted him.

"Rhodri, you said it yourself, they slept together. What other evidence do we need?"

He opened his mouth but then snapped it closed. Teanna smirked and picked up her mug.

"Sometimes your naivety astounds me…" She muttered and laughed to herself.

"What do we do with this information?" Rhodri questioned. "This is considered 'gossip' isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I'm not one for gossip. So I'm keeping my lips sealed. Reyn's in enough trouble with that article about him floating around. Let's not make things worse for him."

"Can I ask him about it? I'm curious to learn about intimate relationships that Homs have with others, especially with other races." Rhodri failed at hiding the hope in his voice.

"No!" Teanna shot him down. "You can't do that. He'll tell us when he's ready. Besides, he doesn't know that we know, so we have to pretend like we don't. Okay?"

"Is this some form of Homs social protocol, because it seems too convoluted to make any sense?"

"Yes, yes it is." Teanna sighed into her empty mug. "Just pretend that things are the same as before. Don't blow it for them. If they haven't told us about their relationship, obviously they don't want us to know. It could have been a one night stand for all we know, it could have been their first time together, or it could have been their thirtieth. We don't know and we don't ask. That's a social protocol."

"As you say, I shall have to remember this…" Rhodri retrieved his notebook from his pocket and began to jot down notes. Teanna laughed once more and got to her feet. She stretched her arms over her head, the mug hanging precariously from her fingertips.

"Don't drop that." Rhodri chided.

"Thanks mother," Teanna stuck her tongue out at him and dropped her arms.

"I only say that because you broke a mug in a similar manner." Golden eyes flashed. "Do I look biologically related to you?"

"Absolutely, we could be twins."

Teanna flopped back down onto the couch. She didn't feel like getting changed, she'd be going to bed in a few hours anyway. She yawned and pulled her legs up to her chest. She curled up at the end of the couch and rested her head on the arm. Her fingers toyed with the cool ceramic of the mug.

"How's your research going?" Teanna asked.

"It is slowly progressing thanks to your help. Studying Reyn and your other friends has proved to be very useful. Your interactions with Dunban have proved to be both puzzling and fascinating. Friendships certainly are quite diverse in your people; there are no strict social boundaries as there are in High Entian society." Rhodri looked up before he continued and found that emerald eyes were closed. Teanna's breaths came out paced and even, she had fallen asleep. Rhodri rolled his eyes and got to his feet. He uncurled Teanna's fingers from the mug and collected the item. He passed it off to Melo, who scuttled into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Rhodri disappeared into Teanna's room and came back with a blanket. He draped it over her.

"I believe I executed that correctly…" Rhodri walked to the front door and hesitated. The guests of the house would be back at any moment so Teanna wouldn't be left alone, but… Rhodri sighed and found himself walking back into the room. He reached into the guest room and plucked a new book from the shelf before returning to his chair. He settled back into his seat and glanced up at the sleeping Homs. He could practically hear a certain girl's voice in his head.

"Rhodri! You forgot to remove her glasses."

He set his pair of books on the table and reached across. His large fingers looped around the legs and he carefully slid them from Teanna's elegant face. He folded the legs and placed the silver frames, within Teanna's reach, on the low table.

Rhodri sat back down and sighed to himself. He scooped up his new book and opened the cover. He shook his head. It had been that same voice that had told him to stay. He paused and gazed out the window. A feeling of longing pulled at his chest, he was about to push the feeling away like he usually did, but hesitated.

Eleanor… How I wish to find you again…

End Note:

Curious about who Rhodri's talking about? Check out IraOphelia's Twilight Eyes. Show her some support! She's fantastic.