They walked around for another hour, then watched the sunset before heading back to the inn. When they got back to the inn, they settled in for the night and as he watched Ellie sleep for a bit, Nozel's thoughts turned to everything that had happened since the start of their mission- as he found it doing more frequently lately.

They had been through a lot together, been thrown for quite the loop after their night of drunkenness, but even through it all, he found that he was feeling more and more drawn to Ellie is ways that he had never felt with another. The more he learned about her, the more he understood her, and he regretted not doing so sooner. He found comfort in her presence, enjoyed spending time with her, and she had given him a different perspective on several things- including how nobles and commoners aren't all that different. They may have different ways of life and the level of difficulty in which they can attain the things they needed or wanted in life vary, but they still always found a way to live as comfortable a life as they could. And seeing the communities that were less fortunate than most helped him to understand just how lucky he was to be born into such a prestigious family.

He could see that Ellie was creative, empathetic, generous, idealistic, a dreamer, optimistic, and a peacekeeper, but she still seem to prefer just going along with what others said or did. He admired how helpful to those around her she was, and wished she didn't have such a hard time accepting help from others. One thing he had noticed, even before the mission, was that she would go out of her way to think of thoughtful surprises and gifts for the people in her life, all just to show how much she cared about them. She is supportive, devoted, and family oriented- which Nozel thought was interesting considering she didn't have any family left. He loved that she was a good listener, but he wished she wasn't as easily impressionable, overly emotional or moody at times, and put too much trust into others. He worried about her safety and wellbeing in those moments, something he probably would have turned the other cheek to before.

Eventually, though- after nearly an hour of just laying there thinking, Nozel managed to fall asleep and things were peaceful in the cozy room. But for Ellie, her nightmares of the experiments began to take hold again and her restful slumber was interrupted. She woke with a start, covered in sweat, and it took her a few moments to realize that she was safe in their room at the inn.

Ellie went to check on Nozel, finding him sleeping soundly, then went behind the partition screen to draw herself a bath. Sinking into the water, she sighed and tried to push away the memories of the experiments- wondering why they were coming back now after having been absent for a few weeks.

'Is it because I've been spending more time with Nozel?' she wondered.

Ellie had begun to notice things about Nozel, things she hadn't before, and was finding more reasons to admire and even adore him. She found comfort in his presence, feeling safe by his side, and even began to understand nobles quite a bit more than she had before. Being from a royal family in particular, and the eldest child of his house, Nozel had a lot of expectations placed upon him as the firstborn to House Silva and as the Captain of the Silver Eagles. Being raised in such a prestigious family and being granted a life of constant luxury did no kindness to him when it came to lesser nobles or even commoners. He could still very much be arrogant, but there was a softer side to him that Ellie felt lucky enough to see and wished that he would show it more often to those around him.

'A noble must keep up appearances, though, I suppose...'

Soaking for a while longer, Ellie finally felt better and decided to try and go back to bed. She stepped out of the bath, wrapping herself up in one of the robes the innkeeper and his wife were kind enough to provide, and retrieved her clothes before making her way back over to her bed. As soon as she had gotten dressed once more, though, she heard Nozel shift in his sleep and went to check on him again. She pulled the covers back up over him, seeing him shiver for a moment, and just as she turned to walk away, he stirred.

"Ellie?"

Ellie looked down at him and offered him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine," Nozel replied, propping himself up on his elbow for a moment. "Are you alright?"

Ellie nodded. "Ya, just another nightmare."

Nozel pulled her down so that she sat on the bed next to him. "The memories?"

Ellie nodded again. "It's been a few weeks since the last time, so it hit me a little harder than normal."

"Would... you like to talk about it?"

Ellie smiled, reaching up to touch his cheek. "That's sweet of you, but I'll be fine."

Nozel leaned into her hand, reaching up to put his own over hers. "Are you sure?"

"It's nothing I can't handle."

"You don't have to handle it alone."

Ellie blushed a little at that, finding his concern genuine and endearing. "I wouldn't want to burden you or anyone else, though."

Nozel pushed himself all the way upright to a sitting position and his brow furrowed. "You're not a burden. To me, or to anyone."

Ellie knew he was right, but it was still a worry that she had that was hard to shake. She pressed her forehead to his, closing her eyes for a moment. "Thank you, Nozel, that means a lot."

They stayed like that for a moment before Ellie pulled back. "It's just hard sometimes to talk about it."

"Well, when you're ready, I'm here to listen."

Ellie's blush deepened at that and she smiled. "As am I, whenever you need." She leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I should let you get back to sleep." She made to stand, but Nozel stopped her and pulled her in for a kiss- catching her off guard.

Nozel had gotten caught up in the moment when he kissed her, but when she returned it and let him pull her in closer, he knew it was a good move. Pulling away for a minute, Nozel stroked her cheek and asked, "Stay with me tonight?"

Ellie's cheeks and ears burned, but she nodded. "Alright." She slid under the covers with Nozel, settling into his arms as he wrapped them around her.