Hello hello! Another place called vertigo!... So, here it is the Second Chapter! I told a fellow writer that I wouldn't get it out today (Saturday, May 2), but I did. And that is because I finished the third Chapter just a few mintues ago (12:20 PM EST). You'll also notice after reading this chapter that this fic is going to be a serious romance AND have comic relief and random mischief. And when I say random mischief, I mean me just being random to where it wouldn't be considered 'proper' if it were published in a book. But don't worry serious romancers, it's not that random. Trust me, it's a nice blend of everything. Anyway, enough jibber-jabber. Get reading!

Golden Days of Love

Chapter 2

Isaac hammered in a nail with quick, successive strikes and then wiped the sweat from his brow with his forearm. The late afternoon sun beat down on his back with rays of golden warmth.

He fidgeted in his semi-seated position in between two 4x4 pieces of wood careful to keep his balance and grabbed three nails from the pouch on his hip. Biting onto two of the nails, Isaac readied the third one over the wood and hammered away.

After another thirty minutes, Isaac was on the other side of the house frame having completed a part of the roof. He stared out at his handiwork and smiled a job well done. The other Valemen who were helping with the building of this house examined the roof checking for faults.

"Well m'boy, I think this roof section is finished. You did a good job."

"Thanks Dad," his voice nearly as deep as his father's. He smiled appreciatively to him. "You didn't do so bad yourself…for an old man."

"I haven't been away for that long, Isaac." Isaac laughed. "Let's get cleaned up, then hurry back to Vault. Your mother said she was cooking up beef stew tonight." Isaac nearly pushed his father off the house structure as he hurriedly raced down the ladder. When Isaac reached the ground he called back to his dad.

"First one to get home gets more beef stew!" His father just chuckled. As Isaac bolted to the bathing river, he undid his belt with his hammer and nail pouch still attached to it and held it in his left hand. With his right hand, Isaac slipped his sleeveless brown tunic over his head and caught himself from nearly tripping on his own feet as the ground dipped slightly.

He leaped over a large tree root that was barely submerged in the ground and flew down a grassy knoll towards the narrow bathing river. As he came closer, Isaac dropped his tool belt and tunic and slowed down to hop on one foot to yank his left leather boot off…and then the other. He was already in shorts and so Isaac used his remaining momentum to fling himself off of a large rock into the cool water giving off a shout of exhilaration as he did so.

When he resurfaced, he spat out the river water in his mouth and sighed with relaxation as the heat of the day rapidly dissipated from his body. Isaac floated on his back and stared up at the blue sky and the leaves of trees that bent over the river. The sun was leaving its afternoon angle in the sky and its rays gave everything a dazzling golden wash.

It reminded him of a certain spring afternoon about a year ago when his journey had led him and his group to Xian in eastern Angara. He had met a girl there who he had gotten close to…very close. While Ivan was being taught how to use Reveal from Master Hama, the girl had taken Isaac to see Xian's surrounding countryside. They talked about many things and got to know each other in ways that even elder couples might never have gotten to know about each other. In the few days he spent with her, she had given to him peace, contentment, and a mental release from the constant anxiety that overwhelmed him from his impending, perilous quest.

The spring afternoon in memory had been the last in which they had had together. The girl had taken Isaac to a place that she had shown him before; a cliff overhang that looked out on a massive valley vista. When she had taken him there before, it was rainy and gray, although the view was still impressive despite the dreary weather. This time however, the sun was shining magnificently, white puffy clouds gathered in small bunches and drifted along the vast blue abyss and a rainbow had formed over the valley of green forest and rising, head-round pillars of stone that were the remnants of a huge mountain range.

It bewildered Isaac to see so much of nature's beauty in one glorious view. It was all so much to take in and Isaac was completely awed to silence; all he could do was gape. The girl was obviously pleased by his reaction and giggled at him. Isaac looked over to her asking her what was so funny in which she answered back that he was. Isaac then found himself unable to look away from her. Despite the epic view, his crystalline blue eyes were glued to the girl's leaf green eyes and without realizing it, their faces drew near…

Isaac heard a shout come from his right and was jolted from his memories. He lifted his head out of the water and saw Garet and Ivan scrambling toward the river already in their swim gear (which was just shorts). They were both running headlong toward the rock, but just when they got to it, Ivan shoved Garet to the side causing him to fumble into the river with a great cacophony of splashes. Ivan had done a flip off the rock and resurfaced with a wide grin. Isaac laughed at the whole scene.

"Ivan, you dolt! You could have really hurt me!" Garet sputtered recovering from his fumble.

"Nah! Not really. Besides you're fine now aren't you?"

"Yeah…but you aren't!" Garet charged at Ivan, or at least he tried to; it is rather difficult to 'charge' in waist deep, and then deeper, water. Ivan swam away and Garet swam after him and eventually they were wrestling in the river. Isaac watched with mild amusement. He then noticed more people walking to the river. It was Felix, Jenna, and Sheba.

"Hey Isaac," Sheba called out cheerfully. "How's the water?"

"It's cold, but it's nice. Come on in!"

"Oh we plan to!" Jenna said. The 3 of them stripped down to their swim clothes, which Isaac felt a pang of embarrassment for watching Jenna and Sheba do, so he averted his vision to Ivan, who had just been thrown by Garet.

"Chur-ranamo-oo!" Isaac twisted around to see who it was that was coming in. However, the only thing he saw was a harsh spray of water bombarding his eyes as Jenna smacked the water next to him. He rubbed his stinging eyes as she came up to the surface laughing.

"Urgh! Jenna you have to give me more warning when you do that. You got water in my eyes."

"Aww, I'm sho-rrry," she said in a mocking voice. "Want me to kish it, make it feel better?" She was making fishy lips at him.

"Yesh pwease," Isaac answered back with his own fishy lips. Jenna planted a kiss on each of his eyebrows. "I think I swallowed some water too…" he lied innocently pointing to his mouth. She kissed him on the lips.

"All bett-ur?"

"All bett-ur." Isaac turned to look at Felix who was still on the shore with Sheba. "Hey Felix! Come in already!" Felix was hesitant to go jumping in what he thought was bitterly cold water. He gave Isaac a stern look.

"Yeah, yeah I'm comin'." He put his feet in the shallows which caused him to involuntarily squirm from a cold shiver racing up his spine.

"He's gonna take forever," Isaac groaned. Then he got an idea. "Hey Felix, look at this!" When Felix raised his head to look at Isaac, Isaac locked lips with Jenna and made out with her in an obviously obscene way.

"Oh, o-oh my-" Felix gagged a little. "M-my eyes! My eyes! That's just so…ooouuuuaaahhhh… Get a room! ...Wait! No! Don't get a room! Urghhh…!" Isaac and Jenna burst out laughing at his reaction. Sheba too was giggling.

"Sheba, could you be a dear and help my poor brother into the river?" Jenna asked.

"Why certainly, Jenna!" Before Felix could protest, Sheba pushed him, which was actually quite an accomplishment on her part considering Felix is a tall, young man and hardened warrior/traveler (pssh), and Sheba is a still-growing teenager that is two heads shorter than him. Even better was the fact that Felix didn't quite fall; he tried to regain his balance and ended up going further out into the river before finally falling with a splash.

He came back up spitting water from his mouth in an irritated spray and noticed everyone laughing at him; even Garet and Ivan had paused in their wrestling to laugh. Felix was not amused. -__-

And then Sheba launched herself from the rock and using the wind to give her lift, sprang high into the air, did three quick flips and dropped into the river with a small splash. Sheba resurfaced to a small applause.

"Thank you, thank you very much," she said with mockingly confident voice. She smiled cutely and then swam over to Felix to kiss him.

Garet and Ivan had stopped their wrestling declaring no winner and to continue their fight another day. So, everyone decided to float on their backs and look up at the sky. A feeling of Zen and tranquility settled on the 6 Adepts. They heard other people downriver washing away the sweat and grime of the day's work. But all in all, the 6 of them had calmed down and were enjoying the mostly silent golden afternoon.

Isaac's memories crept back up on him. Why was he thinking of her now? Even with Jenna right next to him, Isaac couldn't help but think of the girl from Xian. During the time he was with her he considered that he was in love with her, but Isaac had never experienced love before and he knew not what it meant to truly love someone at the time.

Upon reuniting with Jenna after the Jupiter beacon had been lit, Isaac realized that he had been truly in love with her since the day they met; since childhood. And she realized the same.

"I hope Piers and Mia are getting time to unwind," Jenna said. Isaac's thoughts wavered slightly from the disturbance in the quiet.

"Yeah they're always busying themselves with healing and cooking food," Ivan added. "They should really be forced to take some time off."

"You think they don't get time to themselves?" Garet questioned with a hint of disbelief.

"Well, yeah they're always so busy," Jenna said.

"Heh, oh they're 'busy' alright." Garet snuffed. Everyone crossed their eyebrows.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ivan asked.

"It's not really my place to say anything…" They all waited for Garet to go on.

"Buuuut…?"

"But nothin'! I'm not sayin' anything!"

"Alright fine, whatever." And the silent Zen returned.

Regardless of what he felt toward the Xianese girl, Isaac knew he wouldn't be able to forget her. When their faces came together on that last golden afternoon, it had felt so natural and it made him happy to share his first kiss with someone he had grown to really trust in so short a time… and his second and his third and his fourth…

He wondered where she was now, how she was doing…

Feizhi, the girl who had fallen in love with him in Xian….

…

…

…

"I'm hungry!" Garet announced.

Alright, so I took an artistic liberty in this one just like Chapter 1. In this one, I imply that it takes Ivan atleast a week to learn Reveal from Hama. Therefore, Isaac and Feizhi had some more time to get to know each other and get with the romantics.

But oh noes! Isaac and Jenna are together now. I thought this was a Weird-shipping fic.

Oh, it is...maybe...you'll just have to read to see where I go with it. Muhuhuhwahwahwahahahahahaa.....

-TLotW