So this is something I'll be adding to every now and then whenever I'm bored. I'm really proud of More Than Just a Shield, and I wanted to write something related to it during the inter-season hiatus. I decided to start a series of short stories focusing on the relationship between Aris and Raphtalia.

These stories aren't canon to MTJaS, as they take place in a separate timeline in which Sephiroth is defeated and the Waves are gone. The events of season 3 will eventually happen, so if you want, you can imagine this little series as taking place between seasons 2 and 3.

One final thing: if you have an idea for a short story, feel free to leave a review and tell me your idea! If I end up using your idea, I'll credit you (if you so desire) in the chapter based on the idea you gave me.

"Thanks again for helping me with the groceries," said Raphtalia as she and Loretta exited a small food shop with bags of fresh produce in hand.

Loretta smiled at her. "Don't mention it, amigo. I'm happy to help." She adjusted her grip on one of the bags she was holding. "Man, Aris is gonna have a field day in the kitchen with all this stuff!"

"Where did you two learn to cook?" Raphtalia inquired. "I've been wondering for a while now."

"Mother and Father taught us," Loretta replied. "In Hyrule, certain ingredients can cause certain recipes to have weird effects on the person eating it."

"Like what?"

"Some can boost your speed, endurance, strength, even resistance to electricity. Others can help you brave extreme heat or cold, and some can reduce the noise you make."

Raphtalia was fascinated. "Wow..."

Loretta activated a part of her armor, using the warp function to transport Raphtalia and her back to Lighthaven Village.

"So," Loretta said to Raphtalia upon their return, "how are things with you and my brother?"

Raphtalia's face flushed a little. "Going well, as usual."

Loretta smiled. "Glad to hear it."

Suddenly, an idea popped into Loretta's head. "Ya know," she said, "I just realized, you two haven't had a proper date yet, have you?"

Raphtalia shook her head. "I don't really know what you mean."

"Well, a date is when a couple goes out together," Loretta explained. "There aren't really any particulars other than that. What you guys do on the date is up to you. I mean, shoot, you can do a stay-at-home date if you want."

"Tell me more," said Raphtalia.

Aris sheathed the Master Sword. "Good work today, Keel. You're getting better."

"I'm still nowhere near your level," Keel remarked as she dismissed her Keyblade. "And I still need to finish learning those spells Sora uses."

"Even so, you're making good progress," Aris commended. "Keep it up, yeah?"

Keel nodded. "I'll do my best!"

The demi-human left to return to her home.

Aris was about to do the same when Raphtalia approached him. "Oh, hi, dear," he said warmly, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

Raphtalia blushed. "Hey, love."

"Grocery shopping go well?" Aris asked.

"Yeah." Raphtalia nodded. "Loretta helped out."

"Good, good."

Raphtalia looked around. "Where's Filo?"

"She's with Ness and Melty," Aris replied. "I think Ness wanted to teach them how to play baseball."

"Okay, good," said Raphtalia. "Say, love?"

"Hm?"

Raphtalia hesitated. "It's...It's occurred to me that...we've been together for so long, and we haven't gone on an official date yet."

"A date?" said Aris. "Yeah, you're right. We haven't had a true date, unless you count that time at the hot springs." The Hylian reminisced, fondly thinking back to his first kiss with Raphtalia.

"So...do you want to...?" Raphtalia said.

"Want to what?"

"Go on a date with me."

"Oh, of course!" Aris responded. "But, what do you want to do?"

"I don't really know," said Raphtalia. "I didn't exactly plan this far."

Aris thought for a moment. "Maybe we could head into the capital for dinner, and then take a walk on the beach afterwards?"

Raphtalia smiled. "I think I'd like that."

"Are you sure I look good enough?"

Raphtalia stared at her reflection in the mirror. Loretta had helped with her makeup and doing her hair into a bun.

"Of course I am," said Loretta. "Besides, it's you we're talking about here. You could be wearing an inflatable dinosaur costume and Aris would still go on a date with you anyway. That's just how much he loves you."

Raphtalia smiled a little, her cheeks turning red. "Th-Thanks, Lorie."

Loretta smiled, having Raphtalia stand up. "No worries, you two have fun on your first date."

"Oh...wow."

Raphtalia blushed. "You...You like it?"

Aris stood quietly, saying one word Raphtalia could barely hear: "Beautiful..."

"Thank you, love." She stepped forward and stood on her toes to peck his cheek.

Loretta leaned her head around the corner from the living room. "Don't forget to use protection, little bro!" she called out.

Aris's face turned beet red. "Damn you, Lorie!"

His teasing twin laughed as she went back into the living room.

After taking a moment to compose himself, Aris held out his left hand. "Shall we, my dear?"

"We shall." Raphtalia gently placed her hand in his, allowing Aris to lead her outside of Lighthaven Village, passing Keel and Eclair. The two were conversing, and Keel had her Keyblade resting on her shoulder.

"She's still using that Keyblade," said Raphtalia.

"Well," said Aris, "once a Keybearer, always a Keybearer."

Aris used his right arm to summon his motorcycle, mounting the vehicle and motioning for Raphtalia to get on behind him. She did so, gently embracing his waist. Aris hit the throttle and cruised down the road to the capital.

"This place seems livelier than usual," Raphtalia noticed.

People of all walks milled about in the streets of the capital, conversing with friends or closing up their shop booths. "Well," said Aris, "Queen Mirellia recently abolished Melromarc's international slave trade, and is currently moving to abolish Demi-Human slavery altogether."

"She told you that?" asked Raphtalia.

Aris shook his head. "Melty did."

"Oh, wow!" Raphtalia said cheerfully, her voice like an angelic choir to Aris's ears. "That's wonderful."

"Melty told me her mother saw everything you'd done for the country, and the world," said Aris, "and apparently decided to work towards abolishing slavery."

"As much as I love the idea," Raphtalia replied, "it might impact the economy quite a lot."

"Oh, believe me, the queen knows," said Aris. "If that wasn't the case, she'd have outlawed slavery already."

"Hey, not to sound rude, but why did you bring up the whole slavery issue?" Raphtalia inquired.

Aris pointed up ahead. "We're here."

"Isn't this the inn we ate lunch at the day after you bought me out of slavery?"

Aris nodded. "It is, and they welcome Demi-Humans now!"

"Oh, wow!" said Raphtalia. "This...brings back a lot of fond memories."

"Heh, yeah...it does. Remember how you managed to down an entire cup of jasmine tea without letting it cool?"

Raphtalia laughed as she followed Aris inside. "You did the same thing right after I did, goofball."

"Ah, if it isn't the Shield Hero!" said the innkeep, cheerfully smiling as Aris and Raphtalia entered his establishment. "Need to use the kitchen again, sir?"

Aris nodded. "Yeah." He turned to his girlfriend. "You remember where we sat the first time we came here, right?"

"Yeah," said Raphtalia. "Near that window in the corner. The table's empty right now."

"Go ahead and grab a seat there," said Aris. "I'm gonna whip up some Hasty Cream of Mushroom Soup and brew some jasmine tea."

"And, done!"

Aris exited the kitchen with two steaming bowls and two cups of piping hot tea. He set down one of each in front of Raphtalia, placing the other two down on his side of the table.

"I said it earlier, but...this really does bring back memories," said Raphtalia before blowing on a spoonful of soup and depositing the scoop into her mouth."

"It feels like a lifetime ago," said Aris, "but also like it was yesterday. I don't know why."

"So much has changed since then," Raphtalia added. "Back then, you were a lot...colder, less willing to open up to people. But now, you're probably the most wonderful person I know."

"I think you're more wonderful," Aris flirted.

Raphtalia blushed, looking down into her bowl before looking back up and taking a sip of her tea.

"But, yeah, you're right," said Aris. "I was a lot more closed-off back then. After the incident, I felt like I couldn't trust anyone, so I put up a tougher front as a subtle way of telling people to keep their distance, because I was afraid that if I got too attached to any one person, they would stab me in the back like a certain someone else did."

"What about me?" asked Raphtalia.

Aris thought for a moment. "Now that I remember, you - and later my sister - were probably the only exceptions. Lorie was an obvious one, but...I don't know what it was about you, but...you made me feel calmer, and I felt like I could open up around you more than I could with anyone else?"

"Do you..." Raphtalia hesitated. "Do you still feel that way?"

"I feel that, and so much more." Aris reached forward and gently clasped her right hand in his left. "And I wouldn't trade you for the universe."

BGM: Traverse in Trance - Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

"We're here, and just in time for the sunset."

Aris dismounted his motorcycle, holding out a hand to help Raphtalia do the same. He didn't let go, however; his hand of flesh still held Raphtalia's as he led her along the beach. Their faces were lit up with the orange glow of the setting sun as they took in the feeling of the ocean breeze and the sound of waves softly hitting the shore.

After a minute or two, they sat down side by side, their faces bathed in evening sunlight as they took refuge in each other's company. Raphtalia subconsciously found herself curled up in Aris's lap as he held her close to him.

"It makes me sad, love," Raphtalia suddenly said.

"What does?"

Raphtalia shifted herself in Aris's lap, nuzzling her head closer to his beating heart. "The fact that moments like this...moments with you...don't last forever."

Aris pondered her words as he stared towards the distant horizon. He couldn't help but agree with her; he wished tonight - their night - would never end. Oh, the things he would give to be able to use Triforce Timeshift to stop everything for eternity as he rested in the solace of Raphtalia's presence.

But on the other hand, there are others who need him. Others, who need a hero, or perhaps a leader, or sometimes both. He realized could never live with himself if he would decide to abandon New Hyrule, or even Lighthaven Village.

"I wish moments with you could last forever, too, love," he said, gently stroking Raphtalia's hair. "But, there are people who need us. New Hyrule isn't gonna govern itself, after all."

"I know," said Raphtalia, "and I'm glad that you're the one restoring Sayette to its former beauty in the form of New Hyrule."

"Even so," Aris said, "that doesn't mean I don't want to be able to have more of these moments with you, love."

Silence ensued as they continued watching the sunset.

"It's been a while since I last did this," Raphtalia said, breaking the silence. "Watching the sunset, I mean."

"When did you last do it?" asked Aris.

"The evening after the first Wave destroyed Lurolona Village," replied Raphtalia, "I went to this spot to mourn my parents. I was thinking about going back to that cliff - the one where the memorial is now - and jumping into the ocean to let the current take me away. I ended up deciding against it, and chose to help take charge of rebuilding."

"You were a beacon of hope for everyone," said Aris. "A light to shine through the darkness left behind by the disaster."

"It was pretty short-lived," Raphtalia noted. "Not even a week after we started reconstruction, that mob of crazed soldiers came through and took everyone away to be sold into slavery. I was among them.*

"And that's when you ended up at Idol Rabier's."

Raphtalia nodded. "And that was where my friend Rifana lost her life."

"She'd be proud of you," said Aris. "Your parents would, too."

"I wish they could see me now." Raphtalia blinked away a tear as the sun dipped lower and lower. "While I was being tortured at Rabier's estate, I told myself to keep on smiling, in the hopes that I would keep being a beacon of hope for everyone despite our suffering. That's why Idol eventually sold me off to someone else, because he could never get me to scream and cry like he wanted. At some point, I got sick, just a common cold, but no one bothered to cure me. I remember one night, I was sitting in a cage surrounded by other captive slaves, some of whom weren't even alive."

"You were on the brink of death," said Aris, "and all because of something that could easily be treated if anyone had bothered to."

Raphtalia nodded. "That same night, I remember apologizing to my parents, because I thought I wouldn't be able to survive any longer."

"What happened next?"

"Well..." Raphtalia trailed off. "I was about to close my eyes and just let death come, but then...I heard a voice. Not the voice of the person who had bought me, but another one. A much...gentler voice. A voice that I would eventually love more than any other."

"Who...Who was it?"

Raphtalia raised her head to meet Aris's gaze, leaning her face so close to his that her breath grazed his lips. "A hero," she cooed softly. "My hero."

Their lips met in a tender kiss, one they wished could last forever.