BlackLynx17: New chapter. Sorry for the delay.
Title: Love At First Sight
Secret Title: Pirate Love
Summary: Wendy is a princess forced to be married at the age of 18. It wouldn't be a problem for her if she had fallen in love with her fiance, but alas fate is not too kind. Determined to runaway to chose her own love, she runs into a nice man who rescues her from her guards. Thinking this man is her one true love, she decides to escape with him. She had no idea that her true love was a no good pirate.
Chapter Fourteen
Confessions
Mest wakes up with a jolt. He stares at her sleeping form and realizes that everything wasn't all just a dream, that she's actually here right now in his arms. He lays his head back down on the pillows and breathes in her scent, sighing out peacefully. She's so beautiful. There isn't a single wrinkle on her face as she sleeps without a care in the world. For a moment he thinks he'll never see this view again and closes his eyes, fighting those thoughts away. None of that is true. He has her, he loves her, he'll never let her go again or take her for granted. Wendy moans softly and flutters her eyes open, smiling up at Mest as he looks down at her. She reaches her hands out and brushes her fingers through his hair.
"Good morning Mest."
He thinks he'll never hear her say that again.
"Looks like someone needs a haircut. If you keep this up your hair will end up longer than mine, hehehehe."
He thinks he'll never hear her laugh like that again.
"I didn't get the chance to tell you last night because you wanted to know everything about what happened and I passed out without realizing it, sorry about that. I should have said it immediately after you, but better late than never. I love you as well Mest. I've fallen for you just like you've fallen for me. I've known for a while, since the moment you gave me my necklace." Wendy smiles, her fingers fiddling with it.
Mest gulps and forgets all his doubts and dark fears.
"Tell me this isn't a dream. I've had so many dreams about this, with you in my arms, with you confessing your love, please tell me this is real. I won't be able to survive if this is just another dream."
"As real as the wedding ring on my finger," she stares at the cheap copper.
No matter how much she loves that dirty thing he really needs to buy her a better one.
"As real as the necklace lying on my chest." She tells him.
Now that's a good gift; he'll have to give her more things she can show off his claim on her.
"As real as the touches I give you," she whispers stroking his hair again, "I'm here Mest. You came for me and we escaped. You have me again in your arms and this time we're in love with each other."
Mest grabs her wrists and rolls over on top of her, holding them gently against the bed. He stares down at her lips and gulps, his mouth suddenly going dry as he thinks about what he's about to do.
"Can I?" He licks his lip.
Wendy hears her heart beating loudly in her ears and nods her head once, closing her eyes wondering if it'll make it any less scary. Mest takes a small breath and leans down, pressing their lips together for a second time. She squeals when his tongue brushes against her lips and shoots her eyes back open, squirming a bit. Mest sighs and pulls away, lying on his back again. Too soon. He runs his hands through his hair and gets up out of bed.
"Hungry? I'm sure Mira has a giant banquet waiting for you. We should keep her waiting or else the food will get cold."
"Mest? Did I do something wrong?" Wendy asks leaning up with him, hands reaching out.
"Of course not princess, I just don't think I should keep you to myself when everyone else hasn't gotten the chance to see that you're okay as well."
"Oh, right. Yeah," she mumbles resting her head against his shoulder.
Mest leans over and presses his lips against her head, "sorry about your clothes. I'll clean up everything and see if Natsu can fix our door."
"I'll help you too."
Mest clears his voice and gets up out of the bed. He walks around the room, moving around clothes and broken furniture before he finds what he's looking for. He stares back at Wendy, smile on his face as he holds up a brush.
"I can see your hair hasn't been taken care of. May I?"
Wendy grins brightly and bounces in bed; that it the last straw their bed can handle as the leg posts holding it up finally cracks. She eeps as it falls to the floor and Mest runs over, checking to see if she's okay. Wendy looks up at him with wide eyes before she giggles.
"I don't think Natsu's going to be able to fix that." She laughs.
Mest smiles and laughs with her, "yeah, let's just toss all this stuff and buy new furniture. We can pick it out together since we'll be sharing this room now."
"Okay, I'm thinking everything should be pink," Wendy grins as she turns around for him.
Mest grimaces as he pulls her hair and starts brushing it gently, "we'll see about that Wendy."
"I'm only teasing Mest, I like how you decorate your room. It has this ancient, rustic look and welcoming feeling to it. It needs a couple of more colors though... maybe a new carpet too, something softer for when I fall off the bed in my sleep."
"You'll be sleeping in my arms from now own, so I don't think that will be a problem."
Wendy blushes and looks down; Mest can't see it and continues to brush.
"How come you stopped kissing me before?"
His brush pauses before he continues, "I surprised you, I was going too fast."
"Some would think we aren't going fast enough at all. We've been together for months."
"We haven't been in love with each other-"
"Yes we have, we just didn't realize it yet," she teases.
Mest chuckles, "whatever you call it, it doesn't change the fact that I'm inexperienced when it comes to cherishing women while you're inexperienced at anything there has to do with men. We can take our time Wendy, we don't have to rush."
"Oh, so does that mean you're going to teach me how to kiss you properly?"
Mest chokes and coughs heavily, covering his mouth. Wendy peeks behind her shoulder and raises an eyebrow, "what did I say?"
"Everything Wendy, everything."
"Knock? Knock? Sorry, am I interrupting something?" Erza asks. She walks in the doorway and spots Wendy sitting on the bed with Mest behind her, face red.
"No, Mest is just brushing my hair. Hi Erza, it's good to see you again." Wendy greets warmly.
Erza matches her smile and raises an eyebrow at Mest, "I wasn't aware Mest brushed your hair. Does he know how to braid as well? Because I would absolutely love to see that."
"What do you want Erza?" Mest growls.
"Oh no, please don't stop on my account. I just came to tell you that everyone is waiting for you two in the kitchen. Mira made all this delicious food and she's refusing to let anyone have any until our guest of honor arrives. People have started to get a little antsy."
"Well we can't have that then, can we Mest?" Wendy giggles before standing up.
She pulls away from him and Mest reaches out, his fingers only touching her hair as she runs over towards Erza and wraps her arms around her.
"Thanks for saving me Erza and don't worry about before, I don't blame you at all for my kidnapping. I know you did your best."
Erza swallows and wraps her arms back around their little doctor, "thank you Wendy."
"Wendy, I don't think you should see the others wearing those clothes. Why don't you get dressed?" Mest asks reaching for her hand and holding it tightly.
"Yes, yes, you go get dressed while I have a conversation with your husband. We'll meet you in the kitchen dear," Erza agrees tugging Mest's arm.
"What? No! I-"
"Want to see your wife undress? Come on now Mest, I'm sure you've seen her naked plenty of times before-"
"What?! That's not it!" Mest yells out, blush back on his cheeks.
"It's not? Then it's not a problem, bye Wendy!" Erza grins before tugging Mest.
"Erza, I'm serious, I'm not leaving her-"
"Mest, she's back on our ship. No one is going to grab her again, besides this talk concerns her. It's serious Mest, come on." Erza warns pulling him away down the hall into a different more private room.
Mest frowns as he paces, glaring over at Erza for taking away his happiness. He's barely even had her for half a day and people are already trying to pull them apart.
"So about Gray-"
"I thought you said this was about Wendy?" Mest frowns raising an eyebrow.
"Shut up, will you Captain? Listen, Gray told Wendy something before he went on board with Lamia Scale. He told her to tell Juvia that he'd be waiting for her in the place they first met. Now I know some of the crew want to track down Lamia Scale to rescue Gray, but we both know him. He wouldn't have gone willing and said such a thing if he was sure of his death. I'm thinking, and you should really like this part, that we take a break from our adventuring and ask Juvia where this place is. We should sail straight to it and take a vacation while we wait for Gray's arrival. It gives everyone the chance to relax, you really put our lives through hell, and it'll give you and Wendy more time together and privacy since... you broke your door down."
Mest frowns as he thinks it over. They should be going after Gray, chasing them... but Gray is one of the smartest members in their crew. He knows what he's doing... Erza's right. Plus, Mest has to admit that he doesn't really have the heart to go on adventures right now. All he wants to do is be with Wendy, spend time with her, make sure she really didn't get hurt. They needed to pick up some new things for their room as well; he doesn't want her to continue sleeping in a pig's pen.
"Ask Juvia for where our heading is. I think everyone deserves a little vacation after what we've all been through. We'll stay for as long as we possibly can until the money runs out." Mest agrees.
"Good, now my next point... which you probably aren't going to like, but you need to hear this. Wendy is useless."
Mest eyes go wide, "say that again-"
"Now, now, hear me out. She's useless Mest and I've told you this before, but you haven't listened to me so I'm hoping that after this little exchange that you will. She can't fight Mest. She can't protect herself and she can't swim! You've practically set her up for failure the next time someone takes her- ah, I'm praying there won't be a next time, but you have to see reason here. Tell me, did she fight at all when she was taken aboard that ship? Was she able to find an escape that didn't involve her drowning at sea? Was she?"
Mest lowers his eyes and clenches his hands into fists, glaring at the floorboards. Erza takes that as a no.
"Don't do this again. I know she's precious to you, I know you think you can protect her, but please learn from this mistake. The next time this happens she might not be so sick when she's grabbed; next time she might be able to fight-"
"Next time, next time, will you please stop barking out next time! There will be no next time! This will be the last time! She's not leaving my side ever again!" Mest explodes.
"You thought that before she was kidnapped and look what happened! The seas are unpredictable and unforgivable! You never know what is going to happen! You have no good reason why you have kept her from protecting herself! I'm not saying she'll have to use it, I pray she will never have to face anything like this again, but at least let her have the know how to fight back!"
Mest releases a shaky breath, "I'll think about it."
"No, you're misunderstand me. There is no thinking about it. You will do it, or the crew and I will. I just thought I should let you know."
He scoffs, "if anyone lays a finger on her, or sword for that matter-"
"We know how to train each other, I just thought you would like to be her teacher. You'd take the most care in making sure she doesn't get hurt. That is all I have to say about this matter Captain. I'll inform the others of your decision after breakfast, now scurry along to your wife."
"Erza, watch yourself," Mest threatens before leaving the room.
He can't let anyone else teach Wendy how to fight; she wasn't made to kill. She's a healer, not a fighter... but if she did get a sword in her hands... would it have been able to make a small difference? Wendy told her how she planned on stealing a boat, but was scared to because one aggressive wave and she would have drowned... he'll have to teach her how to swim. He's been putting that off for far too long, that he agrees on with Erza, but as for the sword fighting and gun training?
Mest shakes his head and walks into the kitchen, eyes widening when he sees his crew members all gathering around and fawning over Wendy. His eyes twitch ever so slightly as they all pull her in for hugs, hugging his wife, touching his wife. Wendy has tears in her eyes as she hugs everyone back, smiles and sobs escaping from her lips.
"Natsu, and Ever, Lisanna, Lucy, Levy," she cries going through each of them.
Mest lets this go on for about... a couple of more seconds before he's clearing his voice and calling for everyone's attention.
"Please give my wife room and allow her to eat!"
"Stop hogging her for yourself Captain!"
He hears grumbles from his crew and rolls his eyes, stomping over towards Mirajane smiling in the back. He picks up a tray and holds it out for her to start piling food up on it.
"Good morning Captain, I see you woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Mirajane giggles grabbing the tray.
"I swear she's right there and she's fine; they can stop fawning over her now." Mest grumbles.
"Have you?"
Mest gives her a look.
"Didn't think so. Here you are, let her see everyone again and just stuff yourself with your favorite. I have some extra stashed away for you and Wendy, so come get more whenever you want." Mira says handing him back his tray.
Mest's mouth waters as he looks down at his favorite snack, Mirajane's one of a kind jerky biscuits. He finds his sour mood skyrocketing up in the air and smiles, thanking her quickly before he heads over to one of the deserted tables. For a couple of minutes he forgets why he was even mad in the first place, what he was doing in the kitchen, and what he was worrying about.
"Mest! Are you eating without me?"
Suddenly it all comes back. Mest gulps heavily as he looks up, Wendy pouting next to him with her hands on her hips. He tries grinning and feels crumbs fall from his lips. Wendy snorts and covers her mouth, tilting her head as she stares at him.
"What are you eating?"
"Jerky biscuit?" Mest offers.
Wendy's eyes go wide as she reaches out for it. She sits down on the bench and leans her head against his shoulder as she takes an experimental bite.
"Hmm! It's really good!" Wendy grins at him.
"Yup, it's her specialty. There's plenty more for you Wendy, along with dozens of other things," he says pushing his tray towards her.
Wendy turns around and wants to dig in, but just before she does she spots someone she was looking for in the corner of the room. She shoves the rest of her biscuit in her mouth and picks up the tray, walking around the bench and heading over towards her. Mest raises an eyebrow as he gets up and follows her, his eyes widening as she joins Juvia.
"Hi Juvia," Wendy greets softly.
Juvia looks up and smiles sadly at her, "hi Wendy. Juvia's happy you're back. You look good."
"Thanks, I wasn't really a prisoner on that ship. I mean I was, but everyone was nice to me. Everyone except for Lyon-er- but I mean! I'm sure that will be different since Gray's his brother." Wendy blurts out.
Mest sighs and shakes his head, patting the top of her head.
"Thanks Wendy."
"Um... while I was on the boat changing places with Gray, he told me something... for you. He said that he'll meet you at the place you first fell in love at and that he'll be waiting there for you."
Juvia's breath hitches and she nods her head, "yes, Juvia knows. Erza came by last night and told her the same thing. Tha- thanks, Wendy," her voice breaks.
"Juvia, you don't have to worry. Erza and I discussed things and we're going to take a break and head towards... whatever place that is. We're going to go and wait there for Gray to keep his promise to you. We'll stay until all our money runs out, and if you want, we can leave you behind with some of the crew and come back after making more scores."
She shakes her head, "no Mest, Juvia doesn't think that will be necessary."
Mest widens his eyes, "Juvia-"
"If Gray says he'll be waiting there then Juvia's sure he will be. There will be no more leaving behind our friends. Thanks though Mest, it means a lot." Juvia smiles brightly through her tears.
"Of course. Whenever you have the chance just tell Erza or Laxus about the place and we'll change our heading immediately. Who knows? We might even beat him there."
"Conomi Islands. It's Juvia's hometown; Gray found her there and welcomed her into the Fairy Tail Pirates."
Mest eyes widen a bit, "I remember that!... I remember... wait a second, isn't it stormy season right now?" He grimaces.
He remembers making port there years ago; it was in the middle of a lightning storm and their mast was struck by it. They had to rest there and it took twice as long to fix their ship because of the rainy weather and harsh winds.
"No, in August we have bright sunny days and flowers blooming everywhere."
"Really? I thought flowers bloomed in the spring?" Wendy asks.
"Conomi is known as an upside down island; it's all topsy turvy, winter happening in spring, spring in winter, but it's mainly subjected to storms."
"The day we all left though it was shining brightly. Juvia thinks you'll like it there Wendy, although it is a bit cold because of the winds. Dress warmly when we arrive."
"Hmm, hmm! I'm excited now! I can't wait to see your hometown! Do you think you can tell me more about it?"
Juvia smiles slightly and nods her head, opening her mouth to tell more tells about her home. Mest stares at Wendy out the corner of his eyes and relaxes. She really does make others smiles; she really does help people. She shouldn't fight them or hurt them, she should save them... but she should know how to protect herself. He goes back to eating as he sits quietly at the table, letting Wendy cheer Juvia up bit by bit.
"Um... yeah... the doors are going to take a while, maybe two hours? As for the rest... hmm..." Natsu hums, really trying not to say 'fuck it all' when Wendy's standing so close thinking he can fix anything, and hating Mest for putting him in this situation since he's the one who went on a rampage.
"Don't worry about the other stuff Natsu, once we dock at Conomi I'm going to buy new furniture. Just fix the door for us please," Mest tells him.
Natsu sighs out in relief, "oh thank goodness because this shit is fucked. Oops, sorry Wens. Yeah, I'll call Max over and we'll start working on this together. Need help getting rid of all the scraps when we're done?" Natsu asks picking up broken pieces of furniture.
"No, I should clean up my own mess. Thanks anyway," Mest rubs the back of his neck, a little embarrassed.
Wendy giggles behind a hand, "don't worry Natsu, I'll be helping him."
"Make sure to wear gloves Wens, splinters are a bitch- er, they hurt. A lot."
"Aye aye," Wendy salutes and giggles some more.
Natsu smiles and pats her head, "I'm going to go get my tools. Nice to have you back again Wendy. Try to stay a bit longer this time around, okay?"
Wendy laughs as she heads into the room. She goes through the old clothes she left on the floor, digging around her pockets for the small notebooks Sherria let her keep.
"Mest, I'll be in the infirmary if you need me, okay?" She tells him looking back.
"What for? I mean, I can come with you. I don't mind, I wanted to return all these books you've stolen anyway. It looks like a library in here," Mest says although he doesn't mean it.
He just wants an excuse to stay with her despite not even needing an excuse. Just wanting to is more than enough; she would never send him away. Mest gathers up her medical books and follows after her as she walks down the halls to the infirmary. She holds open the door for him and Mest places the book on the counter, putting them in places that look like where books go while Wendy starts going over the journals.
"In Sherria's infirmary she had all these plants; she would grind the leaves there in her room for medicine instead of having it in bottles. Do you think we could do that as well Mest? It gave the room such a pleasant smell." Wendy asks.
"Ah, that would be a bit tough since sunlight hardly appears in here and fresh water is hard to come by when we're out at sea. It'll diminish our supply quicker and then we'll have to make stops more often."
"Sherria gave me the names of all the plants! If they're in full bloom they won't require sunlight and only need to be watered once a week. It won't hurt our supplies that much and think of it this way; we'll save more money buying plants instead of medicine. What some doctors charge for elixirs is robbery." Wendy mumbles.
"That's why we rob them," Mest chuckles.
Wendy giggles as she scribbles down notes. Mest finishes putting the books up and looks around the room for something else to do. He doesn't really remember what the infirmary used to look like. There's been no need to since he knows how to fight and take care of himself. He's not invincible, but he prefers to be patched up in his own quarters... that is until his wife came along. There are papers hanging all along the walls about each of the members of Fairy Tail in Wendy's handwriting. Mest looks over at his page and chuckles a bit. He has hearts written on it and questions marks wondering why he never gets sick.
"You said Sherria was the doctor in Lamia Scale. Did you learn a lot from her?"
"Yes! You won't believe how smart she is Mest! She had all these books filled with diseases! And home remedies! And plant life, and bug books as well! It explained the bite I got and showed me what the creature looked like! I wrote a list of the titles I really enjoyed, hopefully Juvia's hometown has a bookstore. I want to get them all so I can be a good doctor like Sherria. Oh... well, hopefully I'll have enough money to buy them all."
"Of course you will, what's mine is yours." Mest sighs kicking his boots off and lying on the cot. He doesn't see anything he can do in this cramped room, so he just opens the window to let in a breeze and decides to watch her and maybe take a nap.
"But I still owe you for getting me all my clothes before and everything else you've given me. I don't think my share of the treasures covers all of that. I'm still not sure how that works." Wendy mumbles, biting her bottom lip.
"It works like this, whatever you want all you have to do is ask. I'm serious Wendy. You've already paid me back by just gracing me with your presence." He teases.
Wendy turns around in her chair and pouts at him, "Mest."
He laughs at her expression, "you do a lot of work around here Wendy. You work hard to keep everyone alive and healthy. You deserve everything and anything you desire, plus I really like being able to get you things. Are you going to deny me this pleasure in life? Do you want to see me unhappy Wendy?" He pouts.
Wendy frowns and turns back around, "I'm going to make a list of how much money I owe you. I'll pay you back for everything somehow."
"You can pay it back with hugs and kisses, but I'm only accepting that type of payment from you."
Wendy bursts out in laughter and shakes her head, biting her lips as she tries to concentrate back on what she's doing. Mest smiles and reaches out, pinching strands of her hair between his fingers and twirling them around.
"So you want plants and books. Anything else you desire princess? Maybe something a bit more shiny? And valuable? Perhaps a new ring to go on your finger-"
"Don't you dare, I like my ring just fine. Maybe a ring for yourself though?"
"What are you talking about darling? I wear plenty of rings."
"That don't show that you're married to me."
"That's because we're actually not."
Mest lets that sit in the air for a second, watching her shoulders sag a bit. He smiles as he tugs at the tips of her hair.
"We should... actually do it."
Wendy drops her pen as she looks at him, "what?"
"Get married. It'll be a pirate's wedding, I'll make Erza captain for a few minutes since only captains have enough power to ordain weddings, or we can have whatever type of wedding you like. Church one, barn one, the one where you dance naked around a bonfire," he teases at the end.
It does the trick. Wendy gasps as she leans in, "weddings like that exist?"
"Who knows? It's a big world out there. Want to find out?" He grins while wiggling his eyebrows.
Wendy pouts and sticks her tongue at him, "you're mean Mest."
"I try... but seriously. I want to be married to you... I love you princess, so what do you say?" Mest asks, his heart racing a little bit.
Wendy looks down at her hands, spinning her ring around her finger.
"We could pick me up a ring at the next port? I'll stop wearing all these flashy things, they're uncomfortable most of the time anyways." Mest says slowly taking off his many rings.
"I..." Wendy starts.
Mest feels his hands tremble. He's nervous, why is he nervous? It doesn't matter what she says. No matter what she still loves him, she's still going to be with him, they just won't be married. And why not? Why doesn't she want to marry him? She's practically already doing that, they've been faking this entire time! What's the difference if she actually is?! What's so wrong with that?! Why doesn't she want to marry him?
"I want Gray to be there. I want all our friends there... do you think we could wait? Please? I don't mind a pirate's wedding, I don't really care what type of wedding it is honestly as long as I get to marry you Mest. I would like for him to be there though; I don't think he would want to miss it."
He was stressing out for the wrong reasons. Mest groans out in relief and leans his head down on her hands.
"Mest? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing at all. Yes, I think we should wait for Gray as well. He hates missing parties. I also think we should get you a pretty wedding dress; after all you only get married once. The crew is going to think we're doing it twice though," Mest grins at her.
Wendy giggles, "do you think we should tell them the truth?"
"What truth? I haven't lied to them one bit. Just stretched the truth a little. We are getting married, you are my wife, just not yet. It won't do them any good knowing; they'll just think I stole you away more and hate me."
"Oh no, we can't have that happening now can we?" Wendy smiles stroking his cheek.
"Not unless you want to keep me all to yourself and have everyone else hate me," Mest smirks leaning into her hand.
"That doesn't sound too bad... but I guess I wouldn't want that for you."
Mest stares into her eyes and forgets how to breathe. He's forgotten that just yesterday she was away from his grasp. He has forgotten the days he spent looking for her, dying over her. She's made him forget with only that small smile of hers, but when he remembers he feels a stab in his heart. He wants to marry her. He wants to marry her and kiss her and hug her and be there for her. He doesn't know how much time either of them have left and the thought of it getting cut short makes him want to quit being a pirate right now and steal her away to some forgotten land so they can start their lives. He doesn't think she'll go for that, and maybe he's over reacting just a bit, but still... if that's what she wanted he'd give it to her.
She once told him it wasn't freedom she desired, but love and children she adores. The thought made him laugh, but secretly it scared him. He wasn't used to love and he couldn't imagine kids. Children of pirates were murdered by law and the sea was no place for babies to learn their first steps. It's too soon for kids, but he wants to give it to her. She's still young and so is he (kind of). Whenever she wants to settle down he'll join her... but gosh, kids? Thoughts of being a father terrify him and he shivers involuntary.
Wendy tilts her head, "what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm just imagining being a father."
She raises both eyebrows high, "and how did your thoughts lead you there?"
"I was thinking about giving you everything you wanted and remembered you once told me you wanted love and children you adored."
"Well of course not now silly," Wendy giggles, "so you'll have the chance to get used to the idea. Only in the future, in the far off future. The thought terrifies me as well, but I do want a family."
"Are you sure you want it to be with me?" Mest asks.
"Of course, I wouldn't want anyone else to father my children but you."
Mest reaches out and grabs her face, pulling it closer to him as he presses their lips together. He had to do it, he had to kiss her and let her know what he felt when she told him those words. Wendy smiles as she kisses him back, pressing her lips firmly and even daring to open her mouth and lick his lips like he did so this morning. Mest flinches and pulls back, a smile on his lips as he pitches her cheek.
"You're bad."
"I blame you for not being a good enough teacher," she grins back, "I have to say though, I like kissing you. I wish we had done so a lot sooner. What was stopping us again?"
"The fact that you were so young," Mest answers.
"I'm still young, my birthday hasn't come yet."
"I've grown up from my childish thinking though. I'm still going to cherish and respect you, even after we're married... a few kisses here and there though aren't so bad."
Wendy smiles despite her cheeks hurting, "do you think this moment can be another here and there?"
Mest pinches her cheeks again, a little bit harder, and leans in.
"It shouldn't," he whispers and chuckles before kissing her again.
