The sun finally started to sink beyond the far side of the island, casting a dark orange glow over some places, and shadows over others, as the boat glided gently up to the dock through the crystal-clear waters. During the remainder of the trip, glea had stripped off his surcoat and other metal armors, leaving him in his familiar, comfy Garish Tunic and slacks. The rest of his armor, save for his sword, which still hung at his side, were now nestled within his pack, much like Elute's were. It was this pack that he swung over his shoulder as he took Elute's hand and they stepped off the boat. as it pulled away, he looked at her, mustered the best smile he could pull up to dampen his increasing nervousness, and said, "well, this is it, huh?..."

She blushed lightly as she stared up at him and smiled, nodding.

Thankfully, the Eft had all but been forgotten by this point. Even the slightly torn sleeves of her dress were of no great consequence. The two newlyweds wound their way through the beach, past the mighty Uragnites that seemed content to mind their own business, the Opo-Opos that screeched playfully as they walked by, and, as they started towards the interior of the island, some of the black mandragoras happened to look up at them quizzically as they passed.

"Love, wherrre do you think we should set up camp?" Elute asked, as the shadows descended even further on the tropical paradise.

Glea stopped in his tracks for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. Then, his face lit up in a smile. "Hey, do ya remember when we were splashin' each other and getting all wet the last time we were here?"

Elute frowned momentarily, then grinned at his roguishly. "Of courrrse I do," she said, poking him in the stomach, which made him squirm and try not to laugh.

"Well, I thin--hey!-- I think that there would be a goo--cut it out!--good place!" Glea exclaimed, near breathlessly, as he tried hopelessly to avoid Elute's barrage of poking.

"well, okay," she added, smiling and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Lead the way, then."

They hit the interior of the island, and then followed the little stream that lead towards another, much more secluded beach. It was a familiar sight to both of them--it was the first place they had visited after he had proposed to her. They found a good spot that was nestled in between the cliff wall and some palm trees, far enough from the water that they needn't worry about the tides, yet close enough to easily go take a swim or wash up anytime they desired. Gleason started to pitch their tent up while Elute began to unpack the smaller things--extra clothes, food rations, and the like. They weren't going to take anymore chances at her dress getting ripped or torn or dirty. finally, they got a small fire going, and set some food up to cook upon it. Glea laid out his sleeping bag, unfolded, so that they could gaze up at the stars together while waiting for the food to finish cooking.

"sure is a pretty night out tonight, huh?..." glea asked her, as he stared up at the sky.

"Yeah..." she answered from beside him.

He rolled over on his side, propping himself up with an elbow. "Love...I'm still amazed, maybe even a lil' in shock yet."

Elute arced an eyebrow, her curiousity aroused. "why's that?"

"Just...I can't believe we've done it. I know it's been a whole day since we've gotten married, but still, it's...it's so nice, it's like a dream, almost. Lyin' here with the girl I love...seems like it's almost too good to be true."

A cool breeze blew, and Elute shivered, huddling close to Gleason in the night. "But.." she whispered, "It's not. Almost too good to be trrrue...but it's not."

Neither one of them could remember who had kissed who first, started the final set of fireworks. What started as yet a simple, yet truthful display of love boiled into a passionate act, and progressed on from there. There once was a point where they would have stopped, perhaps even jumped away, but...they were husband and wife now, were they not, and wasn't it another way to express love? The tugging of a tunic, the unbuttoning of a dress... the initial awkwardness lost in the heat and flames of passion..

The food boiled over, began to burn, and burnt. Overhead, the stars continued to twinkle down gently, as they always did...