SPOILER WARNING: This occurs after the events of Dawn of the New World, and contains end-of-game spoilers.
Marta awoke to an early morning sunbeam hitting her face. She grumbled a little before turning over. She left the curtains open for the express purpose of waking her up. She was used to getting up early, but that did not mean she enjoyed it. She knew she had to rouse herself out of bed soon, but she felt the slight twinge of pressure behind her eyes. Maybe she shouldn't have stayed up so late brainstorming again. She had a few months before Emil's surprise birthday, so she wasn't in a rush to have everything figured out, but she did her best thinking at night.
It took a few minutes, but she eventually sat up in bed. She glanced around her sparsely furnished room at the Luin Inn. Marta hadn't spent much time there over the past few months, since she and Emil were often away from Luin. It was very generous of Flora and Alba to let her stay at the Inn for the foreseeable future, but it was temporary and Marta still didn't own many things, not since running away from the Vanguard with Ratatosk's Core. Even so, she was with Emil, something she didn't think would have been possible at the end of their journey. Any place felt like home, as long as she was with him.
As Marta stood up from the bed to begin her morning routine, she felt the pressure behind her eyes intensify for a moment. She thought to herself that she should eat breakfast soon. Sometimes she got a headache on an empty stomach, so perhaps some food would help. Marta wondered what Emil would prepare that morning. It had to be a quick meal—they had a reconnaissance mission on possible rogue Vanguard activity in the forests between Luin and the foothills of the mountains where the village of Hima was.
It was close to where they currently resided, so Marta was a little concerned as to if that meant anything. More worrying was that some of the former members aided Magnar in escaping when he was being transported to Meltokio prison, so he was presumably leading them. The rogue Vanguard hadn't attacked any towns or villages, but they did stop the pretense of only raiding Tethe'allan merchants. Marta, Emil, and authorities from Sylvarant and Tethe'alla still hadn't apprehended many deserters. They only occasionally found one or two former Vanguard members who went out on their own or joined a brigand crew. More rumors were going around than there were former members. The "Bandit Vanguard" may not even exist as one group anymore. Regardless, the youths had to be cautious while they were out on a mission, as they had no way of knowing just how many former Vanguard might be in the area. Marta and Emil also did not want to scare the deserters away so they could be taken into custody. That is assuming today would be more eventful than their last few missions.
Hours later, Marta and Emil strode through the sun-dappled woods, their Orion Zeimia trotting ahead. They walked at a deliberate pace so they could observe their surroundings. Heavily wooded areas could be difficult to scout, but it did give the pair cover. High above them, Monsoon the Simurgh surveyed the area. Petro the Gunna followed them through the tree branches. Sadly, Galena couldn't accompany them on this mission. Despite Fafnir like her being winged dragons, she couldn't stay airborne as long as Monsoon could. They needed to travel through the forest as discreetly as possible, and the massive Fafnir was anything but discreet. Hypothetically, they could have let the monsters explore the forest for them, but Marta wanted to be there if and when they came across the rogue Vanguard. After all, the monsters couldn't really tell if a large group of people were a large brigand gang, merchant caravan, or other travelers.
This was becoming routine for the couple over the past few months. Thus far, Marta and Emil hadn't actually come across any large bandit camps, former Vanguard or otherwise. There were times when the pair came across smaller groups and the youths would ask them if they knew anything about the rogue members. On multiple occasions these folks turned out to have been brigands and attacked Emil and Marta, thinking they would be easy pickings. Once the teenagers subdued their attackers, they would eventually learn that the bandits also knew little more than the rumors. Even the occasional former member they did come across had left a long time ago and sworn they had no idea as to the main group's whereabouts.
The lack of any leads on the "Bandit Vanguard" was not what was bothering Marta that late morning. Nor was the slight possibility that the deserters could be causing trouble in or around Luin. Rather, she felt that same pressure behind her eyes return and seem to spread to her forehead. Breakfast did seem to help lessen the pain, but she thought she could still feel something. Now it was starting to hurt more.
Marta kept traveling despite the growing headache. It would pass on its own, or so she hoped. She never thought to take along medicine when out on reconnaissance, or on a short trip in general. If only healing artes worked on headaches. Marta tried shutting her eyes tight and rubbing her temples, which felt like it might have soothed the pain ever so slightly.
This did not escape her partner's notice as he asked, "Are you okay, Marta?"
She sighed and replied, "Oh, I just have a headache."
Emil frowned at hearing that. "A headache? Does your head hurt badly?"
It was starting to hurt her more than it did earlier that morning, but Marta did not want to worry her boyfriend. She also did not want to admit that she likely got a headache from staying up late, especially since it was to plan his surprise birthday.
Marta put on a smile and replied, "It's really not that bad. I'm sure it'll clear up soon."
After she took a few more steps, she felt her head throb much more intensely than before. The surged in pain even felt like it radiated from her head to her upper jaw. She abruptly stopped walking, then placed her hand over her forehead and grimaced.
"Marta!" Emil exclaimed. He touched her shoulder out of concern.
"Okay, maybe it's a little bad," she admitted as her head continued to feel like an invisible vice grip was clamped over it, threatening to squeeze even harder than before.
"We should go back home if your headache hurts that badly," Emil worriedly suggested.
"But we haven't finished exploring this area—ugh!" She protested before she felt another severe pulse of pain.
"I'm sure we can catch up to the Vanguard another day. You shouldn't overdo it," Emil said. Marta grumbled, but didn't argue.
"Would it be hard for you to walk back to Luin? Maybe I can carry you? Oh, but that might take too long. . . Maybe one of the monsters can carry you back?"
Marta blushed at his first suggestion. A part of her really liked the idea of Emil carrying her, but most of the rest of her rejected the idea. It was so sweet and romantic of him to offer to carry her back to the inn. She had wanted him to carry her for a long while, but not while they were pursuing a group of militia-turned-bandits. It was also a long walk back home, and she felt embarrassed that she likely inflicted this headache on herself and didn't want Emil to go out of his way for something like this.
"We don't have to go back. I just need a little time to rest and I'm sure I'll be fine," Marta suggested. She wanted to continue searching the forest, but she doubted she could with this throbbing headache. Emil frowned with concern. It was so kind of him to fret over her, and his expression was endearing in a way, but she didn't want to be the cause of that worry.
"Okay," he relented, "We'll stop to rest. If you don't feel better after a while, then we'll head back."
"Well, if you insist," Marta said with a smile.
"I wish I brought camping gear," Emil remarked as he looked down on the ground. "We weren't going to stay overnight in this forest, after all."
"The ground is fine," Marta assured him. There was mostly dirt on the forest floor, but their travel clothes—the same ones they wore throughout their journey—were stain-resistant. Especially Emil's outfit, thanks to Tenebrae.
They asked Petro to keep a lookout and Ziemia to continue moving ahead and report back if she found any groups of people. Emil may not have been the Lord of Monsters in his current form, but their creatures still followed his and Marta's requests fairly well. Emil couldn't understand them either, but the monsters did the best they could to communicate through nodding, shaking their heads, and other simple gestures.
Marta remembered the time when Emil rejoined Ratatosk and she thought they would be separated forever. After she thanked Lloyd and the others and they said their good-byes, she was surprised to see the four monsters that accompanied them to the battle with Richter remained with her. She thought they would leave once their lord returned to the Ginnungagap. She would later find out that the other monsters Emil formed pacts with had escaped from the Katz Guild. Tenebrae would later explain that since Emil was in mortal form, he could no longer make pacts and couldn't command monsters as Ratatosk could. The creatures were still more drawn to him than to other people, and he could sense nearby monsters, but that was the extent of his abilities. Ziemia, Petro, Monsoon, and Galena stayed because they were some of their oldest monsters and they were genuinely fond of Emil and Marta, according to Tenebrae. It made Marta especially happy that the monsters liked her as a person, and not just because she was their lord's girlfriend. Their presence and friendship helped to ease Marta's sorrow when she thought she would never see the boy she loved again.
Emil and Marta sat down on the ground, their backs against a tall tree. Marta closed her eyes and already she felt the throbbing lessen a little. The tree bark wasn't all that comfortable, however, and neither was sitting up.
Perhaps a minute later, Emil offered another suggestion. "Maybe you would feel better if you lay down, Marta? You could use my scarf for a pillow, although I don't think it would be cushy enough, even folded. Maybe I should call Ziemia back so you can rest against her?"
"She probably went deep into the forest by now. I think it's better if Ziemia keeps searching rather than coming back so I can use her as a big pillow," Marta pointed out.
"Okay, so no Ziemia. . . Oh, how about this? You could rest your head on my lap."
Marta opened her eyes to look at Emil quizzically. "Your lap?"
"Yeah, so you could lie down without getting dirt in your hair. My lap probably wouldn't be as hard as the ground, too."
"Uh, that's. . !" She started to say, blushing lightly, "You don't think that's a bit too much?"
Emil looked at her bemusedly and asked, "What's too much? I'm sure your head isn't that heavy."
Marta blinked in surprise. "You mean you don't know?"
"Know what?"
"Um, nothing! Forget I brought it up," she sputtered, "Sure, I'll rest my head on your lap. Lying down would feel nice right about now."
Marta mentally chastised herself over that exchange. Even if Emil didn't seem to know the full significance of offering her his lap as a pillow, he was still doing something very generous and romantic just for her. Before that moment she would have thought that Emil would be embarrassed about either one of them being a lap pillow for the other, but there he was, doing just that with no hesitation and not even a hint of a blush.
Besides, they were a couple. In romance stories, often one character would rest their head in another character's lap before they became a couple or confessed their feelings. It showed intimacy between them, somewhere between holding hands and kissing. Sometimes one or both characters would be embarrassed, but that was because they had fallen in love with each other, but didn't yet want to admit their feelings. Marta and Emil kissed many times before and fell asleep holding each other sometimes. Compared to that, resting one's head on the other's lap was comparatively less intimate. It was no less a thoughtful, romantic suggestion, of course.
Emil shifted his legs so that Marta would be comfortable laying her head down. She told him that she worried his legs would fall asleep, but he assured her that he would be fine. She obliged and found that his lap did indeed make for a firm but a pleasant-feeling pillow. Under the tree's shade and with her eyes closed, she could feel her headache subside even more. Marta then felt Emil place a hesitant hand on her head. She sighed contentedly to let Emil know that she liked it, so then he began to gently pat her head. The affectionate action made her very relaxed, and it didn't take long for her to drift off to slumber.
Marta next awoke to a familiar squawk. She mumbled as she opened her eyes to see Emil stir awake as well.
"Mmm. . .Marta?" Emil asked as he looked down at his girlfriend. "How is your headache?"
"It's gone now. I feel much better," she replied sincerely. There was no throbbing, no pressure, not even the slightest bit of pain. She supposed she really did just need to catch up on sleep.
"Good. I'm glad," Emil said as he smiled warmly.
"That sound, though; wasn't that Monsoon?" Marta asked.
"I think," Emil replied. They both looked in the direction of the squawk to see the giant green and white bird in front of them. Near Monsoon was Ziemia, sitting up on her haunches. The large canine let out a bark. The two teenagers then stood back up and stretched their limbs. Emil laughed sheepishly and said, "I guess I fell asleep, too. I wonder what time it is. It's probably still in the afternoon."
"It's long enough that Monsoon and Ziemia came back," Marta noted. She then faced the two monsters and asked them, "Did you see anything in the forest? A big camp, or even just a lot of people traveling?"
The Simurgh chirped and the Orion barked as they shook their heads to say "no." Marta wanted to ask more about if they saw anything suspicious, but she doubted they understood her that well. They would need Tenebrae to translate.
Suddenly, a disembodied voice answered her unasked questions.
"They could find no trace of the Vanguard or even any brigands or other suspicious types in the forest."
The very familiar voice startled the two youngsters as they looked around for the figure in question.
"Tenebrae?" Emil asked. Soon, the Centurion of Darkness appeared on the forest floor in front of them in a cloud of smoke-like dark mist.
"Good afternoon, you two," Tenebrae greeted as he sat upon his haunches much as Ziemia did.
"Oh, hi Tenebrae. Were you looking for us, or did you just happen to be out here?"
"It was the latter this time. I tell myself I don't need to check up on you two so often, and yet here I am. After all, Aqua and I are still the only Centurions able to manifest our bodies, and it will be at least a few more years before the others can as well, Solum in particular. We need to separate mana from all living beings after all. I'm often the only one at this task since Aqua spends so much time with Richter at the Ginnungagap."
Marta could see a slight smile on Tenebrae's face. He griped about needing to keep an eye on Emil as well as extract mana and command monsters to do the same, but he was clearly fond of his visits to his master and Marta. The Centurion just had an odd way of showing that fondness.
"Imagine my surprise when I came across both Monsoon and Ziemia without you. It is clever to have them scout out the area in search of the Vanguard deserters. I wasn't sure how well monsters would follow your instructions in your current state, Lord Emil. I must say that I am impressed at their willingness to help you and Lady Marta."
"I'm glad that they stayed," Emil said, "Early on, I told them that they could leave any time they wanted, but here they are, helping us look for the Vanguard."
"They really are quite attached to the two of you. Emil is understandable, but I am almost surprised that they are just as fond of you as well, Lady Marta. I say 'almost' because I then recall how much you coddle the monsters."
"I don't coddle them. I just give the monsters some attention. Emil does, too." She walked closer to Ziemia and Monsoon and patted them both, asking them, "Isn't that right?"
The big monsters barked and chirped in affirmation. Petro then landed on Marta's should and she stroked the rabbit-squirrel monster's fur as well. "It's too bad we couldn't take Galena with us today," Marta mused. Emil also joined her in petting the monsters.
Tenebrae's faint fond smile then shifted into a subtle smirk. "I am surprised to see the two of you fast asleep out here, draped all over each other. It seems I was right about you wanting Lady Marta to be more cuddly, my Lord."
As if on cue, Emil blushed. Marta herself started to feel bashful.
"Tenebrae, you saw that?" She stammered. It was an obvious statement, but it hadn't occurred to her moments before that he saw Marta using Emil's lap as a pillow. "And what do you mean by me 'being more cuddly'?"
Marta looked to Emil, who flushed a deeper red at her saying that. She didn't even completely follow what Tenebrae was talking about, but whatever it was had Emil really flustered.
"M-Marta had a bad headache! We were resting so she could feel better. And we're, you know, a couple. In love. Doing things like that is normal," Emil explained nervously.
"Indeed, you are a couple, and there are certain things that couples do together. Even so, having Lady Marta rest her head upon your lap is quite bold for you. It's such an affectionate, even intimate gesture. My goodness, I wonder how far you will take it from here?"
Still blushing, Marta narrowed her eyes and said testily, "Tenebrae, that's enough!"
The snarky Centurion loved to tease people and Emil in particular. Marta wondered if he was taking full advantage of embarrassing Emil now that he was human and separated from Ratatosk. Or maybe he used to make fun of the Lord of Monsters in ages past?
Tenebrae chuckled darkly and said, "I see how it is. I shall leave you two to your own devices, then. I'm not sure if you're going too slowly in this relationship, but it seems to be progressing at a pace Lady Marta find agreeable."
"Hey! I'm not like how I was before! We're progressing just fine." Marta retorted
"That much is true, Lady Marta You both have come a long way." With that, the black panther-like Centurion vanished.
The young couple let a few moments pass to be sure Tenebrae left, even though Emil said he couldn't sense him anymore. Afterward, Marta sighed and said, "I know he cares in his own, spiteful way, but I wish he wouldn't make fun of you like that."
"Well, he wouldn't be the same Tenebrae if he didn't make fun of me. Or you, or anyone else," Emil replied.
"I guess that's true. I still wish he hadn't seen us like that, but he probably would have found something else to tease us about."
Emil chuckled and said, "Yeah, he would, but it didn't bother me all that much. I didn't know it was something special when I offered to be your pillow, but I can see why now."
Not wanting to make Emil feel awkward, Marta said carefully, "It can be special. Usually, at least in stories, it's a way to show that people care for each other and are going to fall in love. We're already in love, so I thought it wasn't that big of a deal. Oh! But I'm still grateful that you did that for me, Emil! It felt relaxing and my headache did stop!"
Emil blushed slightly. "Uh, yeah, it felt nice for me, too. I mean, I'm glad I was able to help you feel better and, uh, I like being close to you like that. I-I know that before I was so nervous about doing things like kissing and holding each other, but I do like them. It lets me show much much I love you, Marta."
The girl's eyes widened in awe. "Emil..."
"I'm sorry, did that sound weird?"
Marta shook her head and smiled warmly. "Not at all. I feel the same way about showing you how much I love you."
"Good. I'm glad," Emil replied with his own loving smile. "I still feel like I have no idea how to be a boyfriend, let alone a good one. But as long as I make you happy, then I know I'm doing okay."
"Oh, Emil!" Marta chimed happily before she hugged him. He blushed again but didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her. Marta continued, "You're the best boyfriend I could have asked for, and you always make me happy. I love you, Emil!"
"And you always make me happy, Marta. I love you, too." he reciprocated with less excitement but with equal tenderness and emotion.
He really had come a long way in a few months, Marta would have been fine if they took their relationship more slowly, but it amazed her how comfortable he was becoming with expressing his love for her. Emil was still nervous about public displays of affection, but kissing, embracing, and saying loving things were becoming second nature to him. He said he had no idea how to be romantic, but his kindness, empathy, and love for her were more than enough. Marta was also learning how to be a good partner to Emil, although Emil said she was already the best he could imagine.
He truly was such a dear.
The two shared a kiss before briefly discussing their next course of action. Marta wanted to check a nearby road where they could maybe find an abandoned camp or other clues as to the Vanguard's whereabouts. Maybe Ziemia could track the group if they found anything. Marta knew it was important to locate and arrest the rogue former members of the organization she helped her father to create, so she didn't want to end this day too early.
Even so, if their search did turn out to be fruitless, she and Emil could still have a little more time to themselves.
Author's Note: Of course, once I think I can write more fanfics on a somewhat regular basis, so much stuff happens that prevents me from doing so. I guess I still managed to write and post two stories during the hell year that has been 2020, so that's saying something. :P
This story is more pointless than my usual fare, but I wanted to write more light fluff for my favorite OTP. I do wish I hadn't taken so long to complete this fic, but I do hope that you all enjoy it. If you do, please let me know in a review. :)