Effectshipping (Kaibaman/Maiden with Eyes of Blue)

. . .

He wasn't lying next to her when she woke up. The Maiden's eyes opened, blinking through her sticky eyelashes as the sleep released her slowly. She couldn't feel his bulk against her where it had been last night, and for a moment, she clenched her fist open and closed a few times as though trying to find him against her arm. Her eyes came fully open, then and she rose, slowly, pushing her weight up onto her shaky wrists, blinking the blur from her eyes.

She was still in the forest clearing she had fallen asleep in with him. The soft grasses were swirled beneath her in the best bedding they had been able to put together out in the forest, clover thick and soft under her fingers. It was surprisingly more comfortable than one would think.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, sending designs across her skin. She smiled as she felt the faint warmth of the sun poke through the shadows decorating her skin, shifting her legs underneath her. Her dress was a little rumpled from sleeping in it, but the grass was soft and warm against her bare feet. She had unbraided her hair last night, and it was a mess. She tried to comb through it with her fingers, but she was going to need to take a bath soon.

The clearing was quiet. She could hear birds in the trees, and the remains of their fire from last night still sat in the middle of the clearing, with the pair of stumps they had been using for seats. It looked as though their single pot had been cleaned, and it was hanging over the ashes. He must have gotten up early to clean it. But where had he gone then? Briefly, her heart leaped as she thought of the horrifying possibility that he might have left her in the night—but no, he wouldn't have...not after they had come this far together...

It was the faint sound of water that finally drew her attention to where he must be. She rose, stepping lighting across the clover and into the foliage of the woods, towards the sound. Past the shrubbery, and pushing through the branches to get them out of her face, she soon came upon the river where they had gotten the water for their soup last night. Sunlight poured through the trees over it, making the clear water look like it was made of diamonds. A tiny waterfall fed the river, which lead back upwards to where she knew a larger waterfall at the end; they had been following this river for a few days now.

And...ah, yes, there he was...

His armor lay against the rocky shore of the river, polished to a gleaming shimmer, his robes folded neatly beside it. He himself was already standing to his waist in the water, squeezing the river out of his incredibly long auburn hair. His back was to her, she thought with a sneaking grin.

Her feet were silent against the smooth rocks of the shore, and she tread lightly so as not to startle any of them from their place. She had to step into the water to reach him, and she saw his fingers hesitate in the middle of running through his hair.

It was a little too late for him, though, and he yelped as she pushed on his shoulders, enough to make him stumble face first into the deeper part of the river. She laughed, jumping back as he burst upwards, spluttering.

He whipped around and his hair smacked him in the face. A redness spread over his cheeks as her laugh rolled even louder out of her, and then he grinned mischievously at her.

"You shouldn't tease me, my lady," he said. "Unless you're ready to be teased back."

He caught her wrist on its swing and she squealed as he tugged her forward.

"My dress will get wet, sir knight," she giggled. "And then I will catch a cold, and you will have to nurse me back to health."

"Oh~" he said with a laugh. "You could take it off, you know."

She smacked him playfully on the shoulder.

"You are too forward," she teased.

"Then I shall have to give you a cold, so that I can hold you close to me to warm you up again with my own heat," he said, pulling her into his arms. She laughed, remembering a time when she would have been flustered and spluttering at the fact that he was fully naked, but now she only felt the need to tease him back. She bopped him on the nose, and then kissed him there quickly.

"If you're so keen on it, then, my love," she said. "I don't mind being held."

He rarely needed more of an invitation than that to kiss her—and he did so, leaning down to press his lips against hers. And she melted with her arms around his shoulders, melted into the arms of the person she loved, more than anything else in this world.

Even the river did not feel cold when he was holding her.

. . .

A/N: I want more cute shit like this pls. Next is Ecoshipping (Ryota x Haga).