I've actually written the first five chapters of this before even posting Ch1 of Golden Hair, so by the time you're reading this, I've probably been able to write at least up to Ch6, meaning there won't be any absurd delay, at least in here. I'd say this is the chapter where things finally start getting good, too!

If I haven't mentioned it yet, if you've taken time out of your day to read, comment, or like/kudo this fanfiction, I REALLY do appreciate it. The Summoner's War fanfiction community is tiny, and I actually don't expect anyone who's in the fandom to ever look at this. (I'm not kidding when I say it's small – as of this writing, there are 9 fanfiction in the SW category on AO3, and 6 are mine.)

I'm serious; I still remember someone named Classic_No on AO3 commented five really in-depth comments on The Defense Destroyers, talking about everything they liked about the fic, and I actually read them whenever I have a bad day! If you're reading this, Classic_No, hi and thank you so much for being so sweet back there!

Because I've been asked this a lot, NO, I am not VeladrielShipper, despite writing about the same ship. We do not speak of her in this good Christian Minecraft server.

Moment 5
Abruptly Escalated Our Relationship

"Are you free tomorrow?" Taranys trips over his words, and then immediately starts to backpedal, "I-I mean, like, you – you don't have to say yes if you don't want to, but –"

"Taranys, calm down," Baleygr smiles an endeared smile, "It's fine, really. But to answer your question, yeah, I get off work at around seven in the morning tomorrow and the Summoner doesn't have anything planned then."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Taranys sighs in relief, before remembering why he even asked Baleygr's availability in the first place, "I was thinking that maybe we could… well, you know, perhaps we could go out for lunch or coffee tomorrow. You and me."

Before Baleygr can even open his mouth, Taranys starts up again, "Well, I mean, we don't have to go out on a date or something like that, we could just be friends, if you'd like."

Baleygr says the magical words that Taranys imagined him saying for a month now. "I'd love to go on a date with you."

Suddenly, it feels like a whole world of opportunities opens up for Taranys, like a warm happiness spreading throughout his body. In that moment, the sun filtered through the window of the bar, hitting Baleygr's hair and giving it a golden shine. His hair is tied up into a thick, loose ponytail, and it looks like spun gold in the afternoon sunlight.

"Coffee in the afternoon sounds great," Baleygr goes on, "2:30 works for me. What do you think?"

"It's a date, then!" Taranys smiles wide at the blond man. "2:30 tomorrow, for coffee."

God, Taranys thought he'd never get to the point where he could even muster up enough courage to ask Baleygr ask, much less hear him say yes. Then it hits him that he's got a day to prepare. Taranys wishes, more than anything right now, that he had some friend to help him prepare, like how Baleygr probably has Katarina on his side.

That's how Taranys finds himself near the end of his shift, panicking out loud to Hwa as he wipes down the counter of the café.

"Taranys! Chill for a second," Hwa tries to say over his internal turmoil, "It'll be fine. You're already friends with them, yeah?"

"I mean, I am, but…" Taranys responds, though the rock in his stomach doesn't stop quivering and his hands can't stop trembling. "Look, Hwa, I don't know; it's been years since the last time I went on a date!"

Hwa continues her reassurance, "I know, I know, but you say they're pretty calm and always insist you're doing great, right?"

"I did, yes."

"And they said they'd love to go out on a date with you, right?"

"Yes?"

"Then you've got nothing to worry about!" Hwa laughs and flaps her hand, "Seriously. I've been on dates before, and half the guys I've been with weren't nearly as enthusiastic as your date seems."

Taranys sighs softly, exhaling through his teeth and closing his eyes. "…Thanks, Hwa. I'm sorry I had to dump all this on you, but I didn't really have anyone else to talk with."

"Well hey; if you ever have any other dating problems, you can come to me," Hwa shrugs, "I've had enough bad dates to know what not to do. Just take a breath, dress nice, and keep it casual. It's a first date, after all. And between you and me, if you're going out for coffee I'd recommend this place called Miho's Hideout. It's in this Garen Forest town, called Guinying. You and your date would love it there."

"Taranys, hey!" Baleygr jogs up to Taranys, waving at him. He seems to have ditched his usual armor in battle or the bartender uniform; instead donning a crimson flannel shirt and a pair of jeans. Baleygr's played with his hair again, now wearing it tied up into a flaxen braid that flows down his back. His amber eyes are beautiful, glittering like jewels in the light.

"Oh- oh, hi!" Taranys smiles back, literally biting his tongue to hold back a remark about how pretty Baleygr looks in flannel.

Baleygr catches up with Taranys finally, the latter leaning back on the side of a tree in the middle of Garen Forest, as if in some desperate attempt to look cool and casual. Is it wrong to still be so nervous now, even after an outsider like Hwa realized that their date would probably go wonderful? Ah well, Taranys doesn't really know, and his nerves are still going wild.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting; Kat wouldn't let me leave unless she deemed I looked perfect," Baleygr chuckles and touches the back of his neck.

"Oh, you didn't keep me at all," Even if he had, Taranys would have never said otherwise.

"Great! So, coffee date, right?" Baleygr grins and takes one of Taranys's hands in his own, causing his heart to skip a beat in his chest.

It takes a second for Taranys to remember how to talk. "Oh, yeah! I was thinking maybe we could catch a movie afterward, too? There's this one human movie I've been looking forward to for a bit."

"Well, then what're we waiting for? Come on, let's go!" Baleygr's smile seems to shine brighter than any star in a night sky, his gentle beauty something that haunts Taranys's dreams almost every night. He can't help but feel inferior appearance-wise; even if he's been told multiple times that his white hair and Druid markings looked insanely good on him. (Granted, all these compliments came from Amelia in the past, but it's best not to focus on that.)

The two of them start off on the well-travelled path to Guinying, Baleygr in high spirits and Taranys just doing everything he can to not kiss that pretty smile of Baleygr's, right then and there.

"So where're we off to, hmm?" Baleygr asks.

"My coworker, Hwa, recommended this café called Miho's Hideout to me," Taranys responds, "so I was thinking we could check it out."

"Oh, I think I've been there before!" Baleygr chirps, idly twirling a loose strand of hair around his finger. "The atmosphere was really good."

The town of Guinying is small and cozy; the sunlight is filtered through the leaves of the forest and making such pretty patterns on the grass and tiny buildings. It's a cloudless day out. Taranys inhales softly, enjoying the natural scents of flowers tangled throughout the air. He glances over at Baleygr, and he smiles at the sight of him looking so in awe at the sights.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Baleygr sighs.

Taranys resists the urge to say of course you are, you're you and responds, "Yeah…"

"Do you see this kind of thing often, as a Druid and all?" Baleygr turns to Taranys, head tilted just a tad.

He thinks for a second. "I've seen many places, but nothing quite like this. Perhaps nature, humans and monsters really can coexist together."

As the two of them enter Miho's Hideout, Baleygr chuckles, "Your optimism's a pretty nice breath of fresh air. You know how humans get about this kind of thing; saying that they've basically killed their world and they're going to go extinct any day now."

"Well, I guess it's not my place to comment on that."

The café's pretty small, but it has a homely feel to it. The entire front of the store is a window, giving patrons a beautiful view of Guinying to go with their drinks. It seems like one of those places that writers would take their laptop with them and go to the place to write. There's no one else in the café; it's just Taranys and Baleygr now.

"Oh, can we sit here?" Baleygr pulls out a chair at a table near the window. "It's such a nice day today."

"Sure, I don't see why not." Taranys decides to sit at the chair on the other side of the table so he can see Baleygr's pretty face. He looks so lovely in the sunlight. Oh, that flannel looks so good on him; Taranys is honestly surprised he doesn't wear it more often. His braid's been flipped over one shoulder now, and Taranys can't help but wonder how he can look so good all the time.

"Is there any really good secret drink, Taranys?" Baleygr asks. "I mean, you work at that coffee shop, right?"

Taranys blushes, realizing that Baleygr remembered where he worked after Taranys had offhandedly mentioned it at some point.

"Oh, uhh, there's nothing really that I would suggest," Taranys says. "We… actually don't get that many people asking for off-menu drinks."

The Lightning Emperor seems surprised at this, "Really?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry if you were expecting anything else," Taranys shrugs.

"Oh, don't worry about a thing." Baleygr says, "Anyway, I'm thinking about getting a cinnamon bun to split between us. Personally, I can't eat a whole one myself. What do you think?"

"That works for me. I guess I'll just order a regular coffee; two creams and a sugar."

"Alright!" Baleygr shoots one of those gorgeous smiles at Taranys, and he can already feel his face heating up at the sight of it. "I'll go order up front, so you just sit here."

With that, Baleygr turns on his heel and heads off, and Taranys hangs behind, watching him go. He feels so happy, just to be here with such a beautiful young man. And to think, just a week ago, Taranys would've endlessly dreamed about going out with Baleygr, but never would've actually believed he would be here right now, with him.

Baleygr returns sooner than Taranys expected, a tiny smile playing on his face. "It'll be out here in a bit."

Taranys thinks for a bit, to try and give them something to work off of. After all, a date usually means talking and getting to know the person you've gone out with, right? Eventually, he settles for a question that, personally, he thinks is rather lame, but can't think of anything better.

"Did you ever go to a place like this, back in Tamor Desert?" Almost instantly, he starts mentally berating himself; of course Baleygr would've been to a café before.

"Well, I mean, after training sessions, Kat and I would drop by this one place a couple times. To be honest, though, I was never really the type to go off there on my own." Baleygr says.

The mention of one of these training sessions wasn't something Taranys is unfamiliar with; every monster that's eligible to be summoned in the Sky Islands is required to have a certain amount of training hours under their belt, to hone their specialty. Taranys himself has been through a couple hundred hours of training, to unlock the healing power of Mother Nature inside of him.

And, if he's being completely honest, he can say that Baleygr's training has really paid off, in his opinion. It's so much fun to sit back and watch him use his knowledge to bring on the start of an apocalypse on his enemies; to see them practically melt away from the raw power Baleygr summons.

The two of them stay there for hours, chatting away about nothing and everything at the same time.

"By the way, back at the bar, you mentioned this girl, Herne," Baleygr starts, tracing his finger around the rim of his empty coffee cup, "Your… niece, was it? No, your cousin, yeah, she was your cousin. What was she like?"

All those happy memories Taranys has of her surfaces up in his mind.

"If you ask me, I'd say she's a pretty sweet kid," He says, "She was kind of shy, though. She loved flowers, plants, and all that. I'm not sure if the fact I was taking care had anything to do with it, but I suppose it helps she's part of the Dryad family."

"Do you still take care of her?"

Taranys falters from bringing his cup up to his lips, "…No, not anymore."

Baleygr's voice suddenly drops, and his next words are quiet; worried, even. "…Did something happen to her?"

"Oh, no, nothing bad, I swear!" Taranys realizes how worrying his words could be if interpreted the wrong way, "I still visit her every week or so. It's just… about a decade ago, when I turned seventeen, I asked one of my relatives, Abellio, to take her in for me."

He starts to say more, but then stops. Did he really want to tell Baleygr why he did such a thing, and perhaps ruin something good that may be developing between them? Would he even want to know?

Baleygr sighs, as in relief, before asking, "How come?"

There it is.

Well, Taranys supposes there's no use in lying. If they did end up working out together, Baleygr's bound to get the truth sooner or later.

"…When I was younger, I used to have terrible anger issues," He says, voice low, as if afraid someone would overhear. "The slightest thing would tip me off, and I'd get into awful fights. The results would be bruises and broken bones, and they wouldn't be injuries I received."

"Eventually, it got so bad that… I was afraid I'd turn my anger on Herne." Taranys gulps, bringing a hand to his mouth. He knows, he knows that he's okay now, but it's still so difficult to tell anyone about this kind of thing. Lord knows that people have reacted negatively to it before. "When I realized just how bad it was, I asked Abellio to take her in for me, and I used that time to get help for it. And it did work, it really did; I've gotten so much better at managing my anger and keeping myself from ever getting to that brink of blackout rage again, but… sometimes, I fear that one day I'll slip, and all my work would've been for nothing."

"I understand if… you don't want to take a risk, by being with me," Taranys's hands tremble now as he holds his cardboard coffee cup, now empty. He can't even stop the words from flowing from his mouth, even if he wants to, knowing damn well he's definitely giving Baleygr the okay to run.

Baleygr speaks up finally, "…I mean, you said yourself that you've gotten help for it, and that it worked."

"I know, but I'm scared, Bay," Taranys admits. "I'm scared to hurt you, Herne; everyone that I care about, I'm worried about hurting."

"Well, to me, it sounds like you've admitted yourself that you knew you had a problem, and you went to get help." Baleygr leans over slightly, touching the back of Taranys's hand with his fingertips. "And hey, from what I've seen, you're doing great."

Taranys looks Baleygr in the eye, as if seeking any hint of a lie in him. All he got was warm, caring compassion. No hostility. Just compassion.

"I like you, Taranys," Baleygr continues on. "I want to be around you, during the good times or bad. I trust you."

"…Thank you, Baleygr. Really." A real smile passes across Taranys's face, and he feels so happy.

"Hey, it's the truth," He says, taking his hand off the back of Taranys's and placing it ever so gently on the Druid's cheek, smiling softly. The touch is unexpected, but Taranys finds it so… nice, leaning into the touch. He opens his eyes, not even realizing he's closed them, and it's only then that he sees the afternoon is gone, and now it's early evening.

"Oh!" Taranys shoots upright, "Oh, oh, we've missed that movie…!"

"Huh?" Baleygr looks away and at the clock, and he gasps at how long they've stayed there, enjoying the company of each other.

Taranys's heart sinks, but rises again when he remembers, "I have a couple of my favorite movies at my place. Maybe we could… drop by there and watch one?"

"Y'know, that sounds like a great way to end the day." Baleygr shoves a tip underneath the saucer of his coffee cup, hurling the empty cardboard into the nearby trashcan.

"That was great," Baleygr laughs, "We should totally have another date sometime."

Taranys sits upright, almost in shock, "Really?"

"Yeah!" Baleygr glances at Taranys's lips, parted slightly. "I'm free a couple days from now, after Guild Wars."

The night's dragged on now, and the movie has since ended. Baleygr's in Taranys apartment now (and Taranys is sober enough to remember), draped across the soft couch and leaning against his shoulder. He blushes at how excited Baleygr seems to be at the prospect of a second date.

"Well, since you're okay with it, I'd love to go on another date with you," Taranys admits. "This time, how about you pick where we go?"

"Sounds good to me," He rests against Taranys, tilting his head up at him. Baleygr's eyes glitter in the low light of the television screen, and Taranys can't help but think for the millionth time that he was so beautiful.

The mood is good, and Taranys thinks that the time is right. The next moment passes, and suddenly Taranys finds himself leaning down, pressing his lips against Baleygr's. His lips are soft – so very soft – and his mouth tastes like a hint of that cinnamon bun they shared, sweet with icing and just the taste of Baleygr in general. Flutters of warmth fill Taranys's chest, all of that happiness coming full-force in that kiss.

There's a hum in Taranys's mouth, and his entire body tenses up and he pulls away from Baleygr, realizing just how grave and irreversible what he just did is.

"Oh, god, I shouldn't have done that, I'm so sorry –" Taranys stutters in between gasps, "I should've asked, I really should have –"

Baleygr shouts, "Taranys!"

He grabs the edges of Taranys's Druid cloak and pushes up against him, now the one to initiate a kiss. It feels so nice, and Taranys melts into the kiss, arms wrapped around the man's waist. If it were up to him, he wouldn't let it stop, but eventually the two of them break away, gasping for air. Suddenly Baleygr looks so gorgeous, even more so than just seconds before.

"…Does that mean you –" Taranys starts, "– you feel the same way?"

Baleygr's response is a solid, definite "Yes."

Taranys's senses practically vanish in the coming minutes, but he's vaguely aware the two of them have rolled to the hardwood floor, lips connected and eyes closed.