It had been almost four full weeks since the incident at Dante's parent's home. She was still working for Mr.Kedar at the Snake's Lair, although he was considerably colder to her now. Karana was more understanding, and she and Zoe still visited with one another regularly. They never talked about Dante, although sometimes she wished they would. Zoe had not seen him since that day, and missed him desperately. She needed Dante, as much as she wished she could deny it. He made her feel beautiful, and special, and loved. Zoe needed that in her life, and Dante had been the first one to give it to her.
Every Friday, Zoe worked the late shift at the inn, and was the one to close the place up. As she was walking out into the cold March night, she was greeted by another dark figure. This time, Zoe screamed, long and loud.
"Iris! Goddess bless, stop screaming!" The figure told her. It was Dante.
"Dante.." She whispered. She didn't know whether to hug him or to slap him. She did neither, only standing there, shivering slightly. He smiled slightly.
"Iris. Zoe." He laughed, nervously. "I don't which I should call you." She ventured a small smile at him.
"Call me either, I'll respond. They're both me." She said, making a reference to the point she had made when they were fighting in the guest bedroom, earlier that month. Dante sighed.
"I know they're both you, Iris. I just wanted to..apologize. For reacting like that. I didn't give you a chance to explain." She nodded, slowly, looking down at the light sprinkling of snow that had fallen earlier.
"I'm sorry too, Dante. I should have told you the truth earlier. We trusted each other, you had a right to know." Dante kicked at the ground, silent. "Well," Zoe told him, "I should be going. Goodnight." She turned and began to walk away. He jogged after her,
"Iris, let me walk you home. Is that okay?" Mustering her courage, Zoe smiled up at him.
"Yes, it's quite alright." He slung his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against him. They walked slow.
"Why did you run away?" He finally asked, after many moments of silence between them.
"I needed to. My mother was planning to marry me off to some powerful merchant, he probably would have been 50 years old and slimy as anything. I was horribly bored, I needed adventure. So I ran away, and I acquired the identity Iris Callasri." Dante grinned shyly down at her.
"Did you get what you ran away for? Adventure, I mean?" They approached her door, and she unlocked it, standing halfway in the doorway. She smiled at him.
"Yes, I did. Goodnight, Dante." She turned to go, but once again, he caught her.
"Iris?" She looked up at him,
"Dante?"
"I love you." That was all it took. Within moments they were in each other's arms, their lips meeting again and again. They broke only long enough to move into Zoe's apartment. The kissing progressed into the bedroom, and as they neared the bed, she reached for the hem of Dante's shirt. He pulled away, stroking her cheek gently.
"Iris, are you sure? You're only 15.. We can wait." Zoe shook her head,
"No, I'm sure. I love you too, Dante." That night, Dante and Zoe spent the night together in the same bed.
