The sun peeked through the curtains the following morning and Nozel woke to find Ellie still asleep in his arms. It actually brought a smile to his lips when he thought back on what had happened the night before and realized that he was glad he had asked her to stay with him, and even more so when she accepted. It was more of a restful night than he had had in a while- save for a few nights ago. Remembering that night and how he had made a bit of a fool of himself, his face turned bright red and he was grateful that Ellie was not awake to see it.
Ellie stirred as the clouds moved to reveal more of the sunlight through the curtains and yawned before realizing that she was still in bed with Nozel. She looked up at him, seeing that he was already awake and smiled sleepily at him. "Morning."
"Morning. How did you sleep?"
"Better than I have in awhile," Ellie replied, pushing herself upright so she could stretch a bit. When she looked back at him, she noticed he was blushing. "You're all red, is everything OK?"
Nozel cleared his throat, sitting up and looking away from her. "Y-Yes." Internally, though, he was kicking himself for allowing himself to think perverse thoughts of her.
Ellie could see his ears turning red, too, and leaned forward. "What is it? Your ears are turning red, too." She positioned herself in front of him, taking his face in her hands to look at him. "What's got you all embarrassed?"
"N-Nothing."
Ellie giggled, smoothing his hair down in places it was sticking up more than normal. "It's clearly not nothing, Nozel, you're as red as a cherry." She cocked her head to the side a little. "Please tell me? Maybe I can help."
'That isn't the issue...' Nozel thought before sighing and giving in to her, finding the way she looked at him like that rather cute. "I was only thinking of the other night... when you stayed with me last..."
Ellie understood then at that point why he was so flustered. "Oh. I see." She withdrew her hands and started blushing herself. "You remember everything..?"
Nozel cleared his throat, but nodded. "I do." He glanced at her. "I should apologize... I shouldn't have been so forward."
"It's, um, it's alright. You were still working the poison out of your system."
"That should not excuse my behavior." Nozel sighed. "I appreciate you stopping me."
"Y-You're welcome." Ellie tucked her hair behind her ear. "I.. meant what I said, though."
Nozel noticed her fidgeting a bit, another thing he found cute.
"About us... being together... like that again..?" Ellie's cheeks and ears burned as she refused to meet his gaze. She cleared her throat and scooted off the bed, making her way over to her things to grab a change of clothes. "A-Anyway, we should get ready to leave. I'm going to get changed real quick."
Nozel smirked a bit and slid out of bed as Ellie ducked behind the partition screen.
While Nozel was getting dressed himself, Ellie felt mortified. She did really mean what she said about them being together, but she couldn't believe that she was bold enough to say it out loud like that.
'What was I thinking..?' Ellie sighed, trying to ignore how embarrassed she was.
Ellie had grown rather fond of Nozel and if she was going to be truly honest with herself, she was glad that they had decided against getting their marriage annulled.
'I wonder how he feels about it... it was his suggestion to begin with...'
Ellie gathered her things, taking them to her pack and trying to ignore Nozel watching her. "We can grab some breakfast first, if you'd like, or we just get right out on the road if you'd rather, instead," she said, trying to busy herself with her pack.
"Breakfast sounds nice."
"We can stop by that same restaurant again from last night," Ellie suggested, shouldering her pack.
"Alright, lead the way then."
Ellie nodded and Nozel followed her out of their room. He could tell that she was just as flustered over their conversation as he was feeling, but he seemed to be having an easier time hiding it than her.
They checked out of the inn, thanking the innkeeper and his wife for everything, then made their way to the restaurant for breakfast. Nozel could sense an air of awkwardness between he and Ellie after their conversation earlier, and given his own thoughts on the matter he didn't want to push things.
As they ate their meal, mostly in silence, Nozel was beginning to realize that he was actually pleased with how their relationship had been growing since the start of their mission and he was relieved that Ellie had agreed to give their marriage a chance.
'Once we get back to the Royal Capital, though, things will be much more challenging since we had agreed to keep it secret for the time being.' Nozel thought. 'She's my wife, she should be with me at the palace and not that suite above the bakery.' He watched her a moment over his mug. 'Would she even want to live in the palace, though? She's not very comfortable around nobles or their way of life, so it would definitely be an adjustment for her.'
Ellie noticed Nozel watching her and blushed, swallowing the food in her mouth before asking if he needed anything. Nozel blushed and shook his head, turning his attention elsewhere.
'I wonder what he's thinking about?'