I've mentioned this before, I think, but I'd like to mention it again; I'd really like to mirror what's going on with Anora and Ephemer with how Ava and Gula deal with their relationship. From the obvious (who is in what house) to some of the more minor things (who made the first move). I think, in some cases, who embodies who kinda flip-flops based on the situation. Something to work forward to, I guess.

Thank you for reading!

"You know, Shelby," Ava sighed to herself, petting said turtle with her foot, "If I had known there would be this much paperwork involved with being a headmaster, I don't think I would have been one."

Shelby gave her a happy little chirp in response. The Vulpes headmaster let out a small laughter before returning to her work. She even started to hum a little to herself as she went on. Silence didn't bother her as she worked, but she always felt slightly more productive if she vocalized what she was doing to others.

Her work was interrupted when she heard her phone buzz. Curious, Ava put her pen down (and also did a good hand stretch to relax those muscles) so she could look at the message. It surprised her to see that Gula had sent her a text.

'where r u? we agreed 2 meet at the fountain remember? hurry up pretty girl'

Ava gave a thoughtful sigh as she rested her head into her hand. Did she and Gula agree to meet at the fountain? If they had, she couldn't remember what fo-

"I forgot about Gula!" Ava quickly exclaimed before rushing out of her office. If she hadn't been rushed so quickly, she would have realized that she had forgotten something (or rather, someone) else entirely. But that was a story for another time. For now, Ava quickly rushed out of the main building and to the school fountain.

Gula was admiring the school fountain as he waited. As far as he knew, the fountain was about as old as the school itself. It was one of the first fixtures to be added at the school's founding, if he remembered correctly. He casually looked into the main pool and gave a light smirk at seeing the munny that had been tossed in by several students. Technically, it was considered an act of vandalism- as per the school grounds rulebook. But who didn't need a bit of luck when that next GPA destroying exam came along?

The Leopardus headmaster carefully looked around the area to make sure no one was watching him. Once he confirmed that the coast was clear, he dug around in his pockets for a bit of spare munny. He mumbled a small wish to himself before flicking the munny into the fountain. Not one second later, he could hear the cry of "Gula!" from none other than his favorite Ava. He turned around and greeted the other headmaster with a smile.

"Did you put schoolwork before the people you love again?" Gula teasingly asked her. Giving a small tsk, he then said, "How dare you Ava. So prudent and goal focused you are!"

Ava didn't have time to respond at first; too busy at catching her breath to properly speak. She must have really ran when she realized that she was late. How cute.

"How do you… not have a… ton of… paperwork to do? You… You slacker." Ava finally heaved as she looked up at him. Perhaps not with contempt, but something very close to it.

"I let Ira do it." came the quick, callous answer.

"Gula..."

"He seems to enjoy it." Gula went on to joke. "I mean, he would surely say something about it. Right? You know, something beyond a 'Gula, they are your students so you need to oversee their progress.' He's not very good at getting things across subtly."

"Gula."

The Leopardus headmaster playfully flinched at Ava's motherly tone. At this point, Ava had regained her sense of being and was now looking at him as if he had interrupted her from her work. Which, in a way, he kinda did. Gula gave her a knowing smirk (one that caused an immediate blush across her features, that beautifully predictive woman) before moving a bit closer to her to brush a strand of her hair away from her face.

"You work too hard, Foxy-Loxy." he said to her, quietly. Lovingly. "Let's go for a walk in town for a bit."

Ava raised a suspicious eyebrow at him for a moment, but then she relaxed. "I would like tha-" she even started to say before something suddenly hit her.

"Oh my gosh!" she quickly exclaimed. "I forgot to put Shelby back in his cage before I left!"

"He'll be fine." Gula immediately replied as he placed his arm on Ava's shoulders. "How much trouble could one little turtle get in to?"

It wasn't enough to satisfy Ava's fear. "What if he gets out of the office? What if he finds his way to the elevator and gets out of the main building? What if he tries to find me, or gets squished by the elevator, or… or…!"

"Ava." Gula said to her- using a tone that he knew could make her freeze dead in her tracks. "He'll be fine- just trust me on this. Who knows? Maybe he won't go anywhere, and if he does, it'll probably be to find Ephemer. He won't go far."

Ava continued to give Gula a worried look. Eventually, she gave a small sigh of defeat.

"You're right." she agreed. "You're absolutely right."

Gula didn't say anything against this, instead he offered out his arm and gave her a wide grin. Ava looked at him, then at his arm, then back at him again with uncertainty. Slowly, carefully, she let a smile cross her lips, and the two went off to town.

. . .

Gula and Ava walked arm in arm going into town. Gula lead them to a park plaza in between the residential and commercial areas and they continued to aimlessly walk along the sidewalk. The air was cool and light as they went along; occasionally, a small breeze would come by to make Ava shiver slightly. When it happened, she would step a bit closer to Gula for warmth- who, in all honesty, was a bit better dressed for the early September air than she was.

The Leopardus headmaster would steal a look or two at Ava as she happily trained her eyes to the sidewalk. If he listened closely enough, he could hear her hum the tune of her favorite song. For a moment, he could see her dressed entirely in white, humming that same tune as she went down a church aisle. It reminded Gula of something, so he just had to ask her about it.

"Did Invi talk to you about that wedding she was invited to?"

Ava responded with a quick nod. "It's so sweet that her friend was willing to let all of us go along. I can't imagine how expensive it could be..."

"Do you plan on going?"

"I would like to." Ava agreed, a wide grin spreading across her face. "I can't even remember the last wedding we were invited to."

"It has been awhile, hasn't it?" he agreed as he ran a sheepish hand along his neck. "You'd think that we'd have attended our own weddings by now. So many of the folks we knew when we were students are already married, some even have kids."

"Some of us had kids before we even graduated, thank you very much." Ava boasted. Gula had to laugh at this.

"You were a very plucky 15 year old." he agreed. "Although I'm sure a few others didn't have the same choice you did. Don't you remember Katrina (I think she was Ninth Year at the time?) and that Brom guy that she ran away with?"

Ava gave a small frown as she wondered, "I thought they eloped? Her dad was so tight fisted on what she could and couldn't do. I didn't think it was because she was…?"

"That's what they say happened." Gula shrugged. "Who am I to judge? Whatever made them happy in the end, I guess."

"I guess..."

Gula looked over at Ava, neatly raising an eyebrow in the process. Her thoughts were a bit more somber now- if that small frown tugging the corner of her lips were any indication. They'd never really discussed marriage between them before. In regards to themselves or otherwise. Gula looked back at the path they were walking down and gave a thoughtful hum.

"I think marriage would be a good beginning of the end." he decided out loud. "Besides sharing a bed and a house, maybe driving each other up the wall on who does what chores, it's not like anything changes between them. Shouldn't change between them, anyway."

"But what if it doesn't work out?" Ava worried. "What if, even if they thought they were happy, they just… weren't? And one day they just wake up and realize that… that it was all just a… just a waste? All those years together, and they were never really happy..."

Gula gave a soft glance toward Ava, trying very hard not to let his disappointment show. Ava herself had lightly intertwined her fingers with each other as she walked in a contemplative silence. When she finally spoke again, her voice as soft; almost at a whisper.

"Most people get married so they can have kids, or to have a sure place to rest their heads at night. But I already have both of those, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. I don't have a reason to be married at the moment. Does that… does that sound selfish?"

At this point, Gula stopped walking and took Ava by the hands.

"No, Ava," he softly said to her, stepping even closer to her. "That doesn't make you selfish in the slightest. If anything, it proves what I love about you the most; your sense of knowing what's important."

"Gula," Ava carefully said as she looked him over. "What are you..." But she cut herself off the moment she realized where his train of thought was. She looked at him with wide, surprised eyes and was about to say something, but he stopped her with a kiss.

After that, no other words were said between them about marriage. Absolutely none at all.