Freelance DxD
Life 53: Finally, something Normal
"Is this really a necessity? It's not like we'll be going very far."
"Of course it is Xenovia! A date is an event, it has to be treated like one! Now stay still while I see what works. It has to be light since it's pretty hot here hmm… hey would you mind if I used a spell to make your hair a bit longer so I could style it?"
"Hmm… well, I'm thinking of growing it out from now anyway so, fine."
A snap of Lucina's fingers sounded, and Xenovia's short hair quickly extended out to just past shoulder length. Normally used to the short length, done for the sake of practicality in fights, Xenovia took a moment to bounce around the new length of the locks, which were much longer to the back than in the front at her bangs.
"Will this last very long?" Xenovia asked, Lucina shaking her head as she stepped over from laying out a couple of outfits, getting to brushing Xenovia's now extended hair.
"It's just for a little bit. You like to keep it short for fights right? So for now we'll leave it like it is. But… well, normally it's so short you can't style it. And like I said, it's a date, so you have to do a bit more." Lucina remarked, turning Xenovia around to the outfits she had set out. "So, take your pick!"
"Hmm… I'll go with…"
Soren was waiting down in the lobby of the hotel, peering outside to see the sky was starting to turn amber as dusk approached. Being someone who wasn't bothered by heat in the slightest (perks of being a demi-dragon and all that, he could probably bathe in lava without issue), Soren had a bit more options for clothing, but keeping to it being summer his outfit a the time was light, just a simple but good looking white button down over a t-shit and slacks. No need to be that formal after all.
"Let's hope Luci isn't having to be fussy about it."
"She's actually pretty straightforward."
Soren turned when he heard Xenovia's voice, glancing over when he heard the elevator ping. True to advice, Xenovia had picked something light, wearing a white top with a lacy shawl stitched into it, leaving the top itself loose. Combine it with short shorts, and stockings that went up just enough to leave a fair bit of her thighs bare.
"Ahahaha… those two are starting to be smart with outfits they pick out aren't they?" Soren thought, a snickering Lucina and Astra coming to mind in his head. "Well, you look nice. Hm… is your hair longer?"
"It's just a spell Lucina used." Xenovia said, brushing some of the longer strands with her fingers. "It's only temporary, though I plan to grow it out anyway. Might as well get used to it, right?"
"Makes sense." Soren said, then giving a chuckle. "Annd I just realized I know nothing about places to go here… considering the past couple of days for me went."
"Hmhmhm, well then I suppose it's good I looked around with Anwen and Jeanne isn't it?" Xenovia remarked, Soren sighing a bit. "Hmm… why not a restaurant first? Anwen showed me a few, so let's check those out first."
"Sounds good… hmm, where'd I'd put that map?" As Soren was shuffling around his pockets, Xenovia stepped over and looped an arm through his, starting to pull him off.
"I'll lead, don't worry." Xenovia said, nodding to herself. "Good, I just need to follow Lady Astra's advice, and this should go well. I'm not good with this kind of thing at all. But like she said, keep the mood going, that's all I need to do."
"She probably got advice from Astra about this." Soren thought, but not doing anything to fight it was Xenovia took the lead out of the hotel. "I'll just go along with it, it's time to have fun anyway."
"I'm surprised of the things you'd pick, it'd be pizza."
"Hey genuine Italian pizza is dang good. I've been there enough times to try my fair hand of cuisine. Typically the best part of most of my trips."
"Hm, makes sense."
Xenovia hummed as the fork in her hand spun at the pasta on the plate before her, Soren sticking a bit of the pizza he'd ordered into his mouth. The Italian restaurant Xenovia had brought things too was, rather thankfully, away form Neria's Roma district, meaning they could generally avoid that area as a whole. Not that it mattered that much overall, so why bother thinking on it eh?
"Hmm… you know, a thought that came to mind." Soren murmured, wiping a bit of sauce off the corner of his mouth, Xenovia humming. "You don't talk much about yourself. I mean, aside from having been one of the Church's Sword Maidens, I don't know that much else about you… well, and that you're Griselda's kid."
"Well, it's not like there's much to say." Xenovia remarked, twirling her form a bit while leaning on her open hand. "I was raised in one of the Churches institutions from a young age, and was taken in by Griselda when I was a child. She taught me everything I know, and when it was found out I had a natural affinity to Holy Swords, that put me up rather quickly when it came to being an Exorcist. I can't say I had too many exciting happenings. I'm sure you have plenty more interesting stories about things, considering the Association does a lot more than just hunt down stray Devils."
"I mean some Stray hunting stories can be pretty entertaining. For example, hmm… ah yeah. I was in France about a year ago, and we were tracking down a Stray… in the catacombs. Not a fun time to say the least. Though it ended when the passage under me and the guys with me fell loose and we wound up in some big ol' underground structure, probably from some Age of Gods thing, we didn't really have the time to parse it. The Stray was even weirder, somehow. It was like… well not sure what to say besides a mass of roots and eyes… so many fucking eyes… and then the wizard somehow contracted with it and sealed the thing into a sword." Soren's expressions as he told this short tale ranged up from mildly troubled, amused, to fully weirded out, which since the odds were he very vividly remembered it, made sense he probably had a strange string of emotions thinking about the event as a whole."
"That is… certainly an odd story." Xenovia said.
"It sounds right out of a DnD session. The wizard's been getting along fine with the Devil ever since too." Soren added, Xenovia humming, surprisingly still feeling her appetite was present.
"Hmm… something interesting huh?" Xenovia stuck some more food in her mouth, keeping it between her lips as she thought. "Do I have anything that could top that? No, that's not the point of sharing stories is it? I'm not sure… wait, there is one, actually!" Xenovia smiled a bit as she pulled the fork out of her mouth, nodding. "I've got one: I'll tell you about how I obtained Durandal."
"Oh ho ho, now this has gotta be good." Soren remarked, between the slice of pizza in his mouth.
"As you know, Durandal is a troublesome sword. Its power is hard to control, and it's picky about who can wield it. Even natural Holy Sword wielders like me often have a hard time being able to use it. It wasn't too long after I met Jeanne as I recall it. We were sent with a few others to investigate a tomb. I'm sure you're familiar with Charlemagne and his twelve Paladins, yes?"
"Yeup. One of my siblings is descended from Astolfo… and about as bad as he was when it comes to women. But carry on."
"The tomb was rumored to potentially be where Charlemagne was slumbering. The details weren't that clear, but, obvious to say, a Stray Devil hiding out there is an urgent matter to deal with. I can't exactly say the situation was going badly, but the Devil was a lot tougher than we expected it to be. The fighting was rough, and without a Holy Sword, damaging it was proving difficult… and that was when a nearby stone pillar was broken apart." As Xenovia continued, Soren listened with intent interest to it, nodding along as she spoke while munching on his food more. "Part of it stayed in an oddly large piece and it fell right near me. The shape of the stone was also odd, like a sword. I felt something when my hand brushed against it, something asking me "what do you want with power?" My thought at the time of course was "To destroy this Devil before me." I grabbed onto the stone, and swung it as it glowed. The next thing I knew, the Devil had lost an arm and I was holding Durandal."
"Well that's a convenient case. Sounds like you had to end up in the right place. Perchance your team was in Roland's tomb in the structure as well? It was an acropolis, right? Just hazarding a guess. The Church doesn't like us from the Association snooping around their places." Soren said, Xenovia giving a nod, tracing a finger on the edge of the half-filled glass of water in front of her. "And from there I presume the Stray was promptly dealt with."
"Of course. We returned to the local Church, the fact I had recovered and could use Durandal resulted in quite the news flood through the higher ups. And eventually, well… now we're here. You know the rest of those details." Xenovia remarked, Soren nodding as he looked to the side with an awkward chuckle to him. "Hmm, there is how Anwen got Clarent as well, but I feel that's not quite my story to tell. Knowing how she is, I'd rather not get kicked out of a window."
"Ah I doubt she'd go that far… maybe." Soren said, giving a sigh. "So wait, that means Anwen was being raised by the Church too right?"
"Yes. When we were younger, she and I were in the same institution. I won't give more details than that, though I suppose you can easily link it to the fact she possesses Clarent." Xenovia said, Soren leaning back a bit in his seat.
"Yeah that makes sense. The thing's a tainted Holy Sword, that would cause I mess. She might open up about it at some point." Soren remarked, now finished with his food. "Ahh that was good, so, where too next eh? You're the one who knows the sweet spots apparently."
"And here I thought the boy was supposed to be the one leading." Xenovia mused, Soren snickering.
"Well sometimes a flip of a script can be fun, so I think." He quipped, stretching his arms. "There's still a good couple of hours to burn till it gets dark, so, where too next?"
"Heh, you'd think at this kind of hour an overlook would be a lot more crowded." Soren hummed as he leaned against the rail of the area, a spot that while not too far up the mountain, gave a good view of the two different sides of the island. "Heh… from here you can really see where the ends separate. Even the rail line just vanishes right into the forest. And then you've got the sea just going out without end."
"Though I doubt it's the best view you've seen." Xenovia remarked, Soren shaking his head.
"Not in the slightest. Both in this world and Eonis, I remember a lot of the things I've seen… well, okay some things from Eonis are still pretty vague, but I was like 10 or 11."
"Do you miss it? Eonis?" Xenovia asked, Soren turning and leaning back on the rail.
"Of course I do. I don't even know what state the place is in. I still don't remember a thing from the time between Bahamut woke up in me to when Artoria took me in. I don't know if anything got fixed, how my friends have done since that time, nothing… all I have to go on is the fact some time ago my dad visited the Association, and that was only for a brief time before he dropped off the radar again. It's vexing as hell."
"Hm… you know, I actually feel a little jealous of you." Xenovia said, Soren glancing at her. "Like I said, I grew up in a Church institution. I didn't have parents I knew about, nor a place I suppose could really be called a home. Griselda is more like an older sister to me than a mother, and for the longest time I was entirely devoted to God and serving my purpose as an Exorcist. Of course at the time I hardly knew a thing about our world past that. In an ironic way I suppose I was naïve."
"I would say "we're all naïve when we're young" but well… we're still young so it… get the point." Soren sighed as he put a hand behind his head, Xenovia giving a chuckle. "I do not get how I switch from talking fine to fumbling on my points so quickly."
"I think it's somewhat charming. You're earnest no matter what you say." Xenovia then gave a hum, turning from leaning on the rail. "I'm curious about something… you're someone who's surrounded by many people who love you dearly. And while I know this situation is one you're comfortable with now… from your behavior around some people we've met recently, I get the impression this is rather recent."
"Ah… well… yeah, it kind of is." Soren remarked, looking off a bit. "Before I actually straight up hated the word harem… never knew why really, it just bugged me. Then again at the same time I was also suffering from magically induced retrograde amnesia so I can't say my personality was all together-annnd I'm gonna shut up before I go on a stupid tangent about something else entirely."
"But as for my question?"
"Well… I guess I'm fine with it honestly." Soren said, rolling a finger. "I mean, obviously I am. Wouldn't be fine with the current double engagement if I wasn't. But love is also a weird goddamn thing. I know what my feelings are, don't get me wrong, and I'm dead serious about things too so I'm not half-assing it. I guess though… well the entire concept of love is just weird and undefinable and why am I starting to talk philosophy? Dammit that's not gonna answer anything!"
"Hehe… and that habit is charming too." Xenovia said, then giving a sigh. "I'll be honest as well… when I first asked you to make a child with me, I wasn't asking out of genuine feelings. I was ignorant and didn't take those kinds of things into account… I figured making babies was sort of just a thing people did when they wanted to."
"Ahehehe… I guess the Church doesn't do a lot in the way of sex ed huh? And hey, look it's fine alright? No skin off anyone's back right?"
"But… I realized it not that long ago: The reason people are drawn to you. It's not your power. You sincerity and earnestness, your constant drive to help people, even if you have to go so far as to confront beings even more powerful than you… it's because of people trusting that good will of yours I'm even here to enjoy this kind of life right now." Xenovia took in a breath and looked Soren in the eye. "Without beating around the bush: I love you. I know that now without a doubt. And whatever your current feelings for me are, I hope you'll come to love me as much as you do Lucina and Lady Astra."
"Agh." Soren felt a sudden surprise wave of embarrassment. Considering the framing of the situation… the remaining rays from the setting sun, it set up a good lightning to make the smile Xenovia gave suitably dazzling… of course he couldn't keep in some mood cause a moment later he glanced over and saw the crowns of two familiar hair styles diving back down around a corner. "Those two… they've been following us the entire time haven't they? No, nope, ignore it." Soren gave a sigh and cleared his throat, at least feeling a bit calmer. "Well, you just earned a deal of points. Hehe, I decided a while ago too I'd respond to those kinds of feelings in kind. So sure it may take a bit before I'm thinking of you on the same level as Luci and Astra but…" Soren then drew Xenovia into a hug, causing the girl's face to go red. "I did promise I'd help you out with your new lease on life back then. Kehe, I gotta take responsibility right?"
"You're too sweet." Xenovia said, glancing back a bit as Soren chuckled. "So… I do have one more idea of where I want to go tonight."
"Alright then." Soren said, nodding, then humming. "Why do I feel like I know where this is going?"
"I called it… I freaking called it."
In somehow the least surprising turn of events that could have come about from this, Soren now found himself in front of a love hotel on that end of the island (not the Roma section). Xenovia seemed more preoccupied looking at the different rooms available.
"There's quite the variety… they really cater to a lot of different tastes, don't they?" Xenovia said, Soren giving a dry chuckle.
"Some can be weird." Soren remarked, a glance to his right coming with certain shapes dodging back behind corners. "Those two… haahhh. I'll talk to them afterwards. Because Astra'll chew me out if I don't, and I ain't giving her that ammo to use."
"So which room should I pick?" Xenovia asked.
"A normal one please." Soren said, Xenovia nodding. "Y'sure about this?"
"Of course I am. I suppose it could be called… practice for child making yes?"
"… well I mean you aren't that wrong about it really." Soren muttered, and out of the corner of his eye he caught Lucina yanking Astra back into their hiding place as a hand clamped over her mouth. "Just leave this one to me Astra, you can educate Xenovia on your thoughts about sex another time."
"This is… going to be a problem." Soren put a hand to his chin as he crossed his legs, the springy bed of the checked out room a bit tricky to balance on, but he was used to worse considering the bed Astra had in her room back at home. A towel was all that was left on him in this case. And laying on the bed, in a bit of a daze and red from top to bottom was Xenovia. "Is everywhere just a weak point for her or something!?"
"So this… is what it's like?" Xenovia murmured.
"I've done nothing but touch you in different places!" Soren said, giving a sigh and folding his arms. "I'm gonna check this again… I know your butt is sensitive from that time I had to get free of these legs just fine… but…"
Squeeeeze…
"Ahh!" A small moan left Xenovia's mouth for a moment as Soren grabbed at her bottom for a moment, the boy nodding again.
"… yeup. Next up, chest."
"Ahhh!"
"Slightly sharper… geez I am being weirdly medical now that this has come about." Soren sighed as he figured it'd be better for him to just… stop… also because it was a bit hard to think now anyway from how addled he felt dealing with this. "I am normally not this off guard about something… this was just surprising."
"I feel weird now…" Xenovia sat up with a murmur, wavering in place a bit as she looked at Soren, and there was no mistaking the erotic air around her now. "Soren, did you turn the heater on in here or something? I feel really hot…"
"That's called being aroused Xenovia." Soren said, yelping a bit when Xenovia shoved him down and ripped off the towel around his waist, the former church girl staring for a shocked moment.
"So this is a man's… it's… hot to touch."
"Well I'm also a demi-dragon so… inner flame and all. Ff, your hands are a lot softer for someone who handles swords… DAMMIT I SAID A DOUBLE ENTENDRE!" Soren let out a pained groan at his own actions as he flopped back a bit on the bed, but Xenovia remained more occupied in her analyzation at Soren's waist.
"Lady Astra gave me plenty of advice for this situation… so now I'd just…"
"Whoa?!" Soren yelped a bit as Xenovia moved her head down, hissing for a moment. "Heyheyhey! When did you… learn to do that huh?!"
"La'y As'ra ga'e me a 'hing for pra'ice."
"Don't talk… with it in your mouth dammit!" Soren hissed again as he put a hand on Xenovia's hand, sighing a bit in amusement as she stopped and looked at him. "Nah it's fine… geez tonight is just surprising… in weird ways."
"I was at least doing it right yes?"
"You were… though I've got a more productive position in mind."
"Hm?"
"Hehehe, just let me lead alright?"
"Note to self… keep my head out from between her legs from now on." Soren muttered a bit as he rubbed his neck, a sleeping Xenovia snuggled into his side on the bed, murmuring sweetly with a smile on her face. "But… that was fun. Let's check the phone."
A twitch of his fingers made the item pop into Soren's hand from the ever-convenient Armiger storage, the teen flicking it open. Nothing new, seemingly. If he remembered well enough around the same time the Gremory group was off training for something of their own. With another flick, his phone vanished. And when he tried to sit up, Soren found that Xenovia's arms tightened around him.
"Don't move." Xenovia said, her breath warm on his cheek as she shifted up. "Mainly because I can't… who'd have thought that so many of those would leave my muscles so sore…"
"It happens." Soren said, rolling over and patting Xenovia on the head. "I liked it a lot though. You'll get better, so don't worry too much about how you did right now."
"I know… you just did most of the work though." Xenovia said, moving a hand down a bit. "And you put so much in me… what if I do get pregnant from this?"
"Ahahahaha… don't jinx it. And Astra's got rules on that… that and Fallen Angels have a birth rate as low as Devils, so the odds are really low." Soren remarked, Xenovia humming again. "So? What does the former church girl think of the most carnal of man's pleasures hm?"
"Hmhm… I thought it was amazing." Xenovia said, leaning forward and kissing Soren. "I'm quite liking how my new life is turning out."
"Hehehe, good to know."
The following day, the party had picked to go on a trip to the island's aquarium, the star attraction of the place anyone they asked said they had to visit at least once before going. And today even moreso because the staff were putting on one of their big aquatic mammals shows.
"Whoaaa! Look at all of them!" Lucina rushed up to the bars at one of the viewing areas they were in, a massive tunnel that left all kinds of creatures to swim around over them and near the walkway. Many of them were normal sea creatures you'd see at an aquarium… and others weren't. "Hmm? Is that a sea serpent?"
"Water dragon actually." Soren said, walking up next to Lucina, a brochure in hand. "Says here he lives in the deeper areas outside of the islands, but he stops by to watch the shows… and freak out all the kids."
As if on cue to Soren making that remark, said water dragon streaked by, and along with it the screams from several people… and they could actually feel the beast's reverberating laugh from here.
"Well this just got a lot more interesting." Bahamut mused, Soren putting a hand on his head.
"Some of these looks like they'd good meals." Anwen murmured, a bit of drool at her mouth as she watched some of the swimming animals, and Xenovia gave Anwen a light hit to the head. "Hey! I was just saying!"
"Keep it at that level then please… oh that one has pretty colors." Xenovia pointed out, Anwen following her finger.
"Ohh! You're right! It's all gold and blue!" Anwen said, then turning to Soren. "Hey boss, you know anything about these fish here?"
"Not a freaking clue at all." Soren said.
"The show is gonna be pretty soon, so let's not spend a lot of time dawdling around now." Astra said, leaning into "frame", a finger held up. "It's good to be punctual you know?"
"What's with that attitude." Anwen murmured.
"We're in public, so she's in ojou-san mode." Soren remarked, an amused smirk on his face.
"Greetings all!" A collective groan went through the group when they heard Neria's voice boom down, the short girl approaching down the walkway with Cleo in tow of course, and not far behind was Hakunon. "Forgive me for not being able to thank you before, I was uh…"
"She was busy taking care of that list." Hakunon said, Neria nodding.
"What my assistant said! There were… things to address. But, now I can properly thank Praetor for taking care of that portal! A thing hasn't been heard from the Mae sisters since." Neria said, Soren shrugging as he pocketed his hands.
"It's not like it was any difficult. That and Astra scared 'em off into cleaning up their mess so odds are that's gonna keep those jackals busy for a while." Soren remarked, Astra giving a laugh when she was mentioned. "And it doesn't seem like there's any other problems, so hey."
"Umu! Sure I'm still busy but…" Neria looked to the side as Hakunon's flat gaze started boring into her. "Ahem. For now, let us all enjoy ourselves! These shows are quite impressive, especially with our guest water dragon! Huh? Isn't there normally seven of you?"
On cue to that, everyone in the entourage looked around, and then realized it: Jeanne was missing.
"Huh? Weird, I was sure she left with us." Soren murmured, "She say anything to you girls?"
"Hm, nope, nothing." Lucina said.
"I was more focused on the fish thing." Kuroka said. "Wonder where she went though…"
"Hello everyone! Welcome to today's show!"
Everyone got their answer at the show: Because the one who came out on the stage of the massive pool for the show was Jeanne herself, in a fresh new white beach jacket with a whistle around her neck, and glasses on her face… as if the glasses would be an effective disguise to wear. Or maybe they were just to look smart, who know what her thought process at the time was?
And along with it, that water dragon was also poking his head above the water to watch. And thanks to Neria, the main group was getting front row seats to all of this.
"When was this a thing?" Soren murmured, between things as Jeanne started ruling out things, and a brief glance showed she was clearly reading from a prompter likely high above everybody watching.
"Took the words right outta my mouth." Anwen murmured, her head tilting to one side as her brows cocked in confusion. "Is this what happened after she came down here the other day?"
"… and without further ado, let's begin!" Jeanne called out, and with a shrill blow of the whistle, a slew of dolphins launched from the water, bright trails following after them… and from some of the splashing that ensued at the front row somehow Soren was the only one who get wet in any form.
"Why do I have a weird feeling that was on purpose?" Soren muttered, pulling his bangs out of his eyes with a flat look on his face. And as he looked down, he'd swear some of those dolphins were snickering at him before diving back under the water. "I felt hostile intent from those things… what the fuck is up with that?"
"Ehehehe, sorry I didn't tell you guys about this. I kind of wanted it to be a surprise." Jeanne put a hand behind her head as she gave the chuckle. It was a short time after the show, and now the full group was in another of the passageways of the aquarium… and off a bit of a ways, Anwen was in a stare down with a shark for some reason.
"It definitely was one hell of a surprise." Astra said, then leaning on Jeanne's shoulder. "Who'd have thought the innocent one here would be so happy to do something like that ehhh? You've got a way with animals don't you! Ei!"
"Ahhh! Lady Astra please don't start groping me all of a sudden!" Jeanne started struggling as Astra playfully grabbed her chest, one hand slipping under her swimsuit. "Heyyy!"
"I just can't help it sometimes y'know? I may be heart, body and soul dedicated me Soren, but I'll admit I like girls too. Hmhmhmm… you should join me with him sometime soon Jeanne, Soren's had plenty of training at how to handle multiple women thanks to me and Luci!" Astra said, her voice at Jeanne's ear, making the poor girl blush horribly.
"P-Please don't say things like that aloud, Lady Astra!" Jeanne whined.
"Astra, listen to her." Soren muttered, though he was covering his nose with a hand as he looked away.
"Hahaha. With time with time. I'm just playin' around Jeanne." Astra said, then yelping when Lucina pulled at her ponytail. "Owowow! Luci quit pullin' my hair!"
"Astra you never play around like that. I'm actually surprised how cooled off you've been since the other day." Lucina remarked, releasing Astra, who started stroking her ponytail.
"I didn't expect for my Vice to get that agitated when I went to investigate! And besides I got promoted out of it, so it was worth it in the end. Also means I've got a much higher threshold before my Vice needs to be calmed down too."
"Oh good, maybe Soren will stop having to do you daily because of that thing." Kuroka snarked, Astra flinching, then looking at Soren with puppy dog eyes.
"Eh?! Don't look at me like that!" Soren snapped, Astra edging up to him.
"Please darling? I know it's no trouble at all! And besides by now it's basically routine isn't it?" Astra cooed, leaning up against Soren (easy thing to do since they were the same height and all) and nibbling at his ear. "I just love you so much it comes out as a desire to always be connected with you!"
"Don't get clingy just cause Kuroka made a joke." Soren deadpanned. "And admittedly, I'd like it if you stopped sneaking under my desk whenever I'm working at it."
"Ehhh?! But you said you love my throat!" Astra whined, wrapping her legs around Soren's waist as she leapt onto his back. "I don't wanna lose my daily routine with you! It's to good to give up!"
"And to think you were being so well behaved a few minutes ago!" Soren muttered, shifting to keep his balance as Astra nuzzled her face against his.
"Astra, you're being immature!" Lucina said, though also grabbing Soren by his left arm. "Honestly, you always get so uppity about this kind of thing!"
"Ohhh~! If we're playing grab on, I've got Soren's right arm!" Kuroka happily mewled, Soren yelping a bit now that he was being grabbed three different ways.
"Okay cut it out!" Soren snapped, throwing his arms out and ceasing the grab game. "Geez, enough of that! That's too typical a situation and I'm not letting it get further along! Pretty sure we're past stupid things like that aren't we?"
"Awe come on, the least you can do is let us clean to you every now and again, nya." Kuroka said.
"Not when it involves fighting over real estate!" Soren snapped.
"He said it. He actually said it." Lucina and Astra both deadpanned it at once, Soren clearing his throat into a hand.
"I'm rather content. Last night as… quite the experience." Xenovia remarked, a red tint coming to her face. "His skills are quiet something."
"I know right!" Astra happily said, throwing an arm up, Xenovia nodding.
"Awawawa… this kind of talk is too much for me." Jeanne murmured, looking over to Anwen, who was smirking as she watched the shark swim off. "Anwen?"
"Hah! Run you fishy bastard! Don't look at me weird again!" Anwen snapped, Jeanne tilting her head.
"She's fighting with animals again. How cute." Jeanne mused, Anwen suddenly looking over at her.
"What was that?" Anwen said, a cocked brow up.
"Nothing." Jeanne coyly said.
"It still kinda scares me how she gets sometimes." Soren murmured, though smirking a bit as he glanced at Jeanne snickering at Anwen as the other blonde questioned her, and he sighed when Lucina and Astra took his arms. "Come on your two."
"Nope. Your arms as ours for the rest of this." Astra said, happily pushing Soren's arm up between her chest. "We get fiancé privileges now!" she added, showing off the ring on her finger. "You signed it!"
"I agree with that." Lucina said, showing her own ring. "You put yourself in this spot Soren. So now we're not letting go. We get extras after another gets her turn."
"Haaahhh… okay fine. Just don't make it hard for me to walk." Soren sighed, but a smile was on his face. "Almost weird to say this has gotten normal for us huh? Hehehe… but y'know what, that's perfectly fine."
"Awwee, we love you too." Astra said, then throwing another arm up. "Hey Jeanne, since you seem to know more about here, wanna show us around?"
"Oh, of course, I'd love to! Come on, this way. There's even more things to show when you go deeper down!" Jeanne said.
"Is there any restaurants on the way? I'm in the mood for fish." Kuroka said.
"There's some, I think." Jeanne answered.
"Hehehe… glad something normal settled in." Soren mused, flinching when he felt something all of a sudden, looking off, but the feeling died down as soon as it came up. More… the person who had made his senses go off was only there for a split second. "Wait… was there somebody there, or am I just imagining things? It felt like… that guy from the peace conference."
"Heyyy! Don't zone out on us when we're moving!" Lucina said, pulling Soren along as he looked back around.
"Aha, sorry." Soren shook his head as he looked back again, seeing nothing past the crowd. "I'm too on edge because of how life normally is. But right now, I can afford to be lackadaisical right now. Not like they'll let me be anything but right now."
A/N
I always seem to weirdly manage to get into a good drive once I'm actually onto things with a chapter… but geez does it sometimes take forever to get that going… granted I've been marathoning Senran Kagura's 2nd season all weekend so there was that too. Either way, now we're building up to the segments of this volume I've had planned for freaking MONTHS now. Oh it will be fun to get going on that.
