Gaius reappeared, fully dressed, and the two started walking. As if to prove his point, Eirika's face hadn't yet died down from blood red, so much to the point that Gaius started to worry,

"Rose, you feelin' okay?"

Eirika's response was instantaneous, "I'm fine!"

In truth, she was not fine. She was confused about why she's being reduced to a gushing school girl near Gaius. For heaven's sake, he was a thief! There was nothing attractive about that! But for some reason, she felt… oddly around him. Like her head was in a cloud. Thankfully, the two made their way to the courtyard relatively quickly. Wasting no time in fear that she'd gush again, she drew her sword,

"Ready, Gaius?"

He smirked and drew his blade, "It seems this Rose has a nasty thorn…"

She rolled her eyes, "Wow, what an original pun."

He laughed, "I know, I know."

The two started swinging. Though Eirika was weaker than Gaius, she was faster, and had formal training. Gaius's style appeared to be self-taught. While this was good enough for thieving, it wasn't exactly useful for intense combat. Eirika went for a stab, which Gaius dodged by rolling to his left. Using the momentum from the roll, he went for a slash to her side. She blocked, and then countered with a quick slash. Gaius, again, dodged, and this time made some distance between them, giving both sides time to think.

He's a good fighter, Eirika thought, but his pattern is easy to spot. All he does is dodge- never blocks. So all I need is speed- I don't really need to put power behind my strikes…

She charged, this time just swinging her sword quickly. This seemed to work, as she came much closer to hitting him. Gaius, however, realized this flaw. He decided to change his tactics. He went for a charge, using his strength to cause her to back up. This caused her to lose her balance, and he went for a leg-sweep. What he didn't count on was Eirika seeing this coming. Using her higher height, she quickly fell on top of him, causing them to fall. Eirika quickly brought her sword to his throat,

"Not bad, Sugar."

Gaius's voice was muffled, "You know, you're the first person to nickname me back. Sugar… I like it!"

She smiled, completely forgetting she was on top of him. At least until he spoke again,

"Rose, this isn't the kind of candy I usually eat, but if you're offering…"

She was confused, at least until she looked below her. With their height difference, when she fell, his head landed right between her breasts. Face lighting up like a Christmas tree, she shoot up.

Gaius merely laughed, and motioned to a bench, "Wanna take a breather?"

"Sure…"

"Haa haa… seriously?"

"Yep. I prayed for sweets… can you believe it? Padre looked as mad as he's ever been!"

They had been talking for what seemed like a few moments. However, they both realized how long it was when the sun started to set.

"Would ya' look at that? Come on Rose, I'll walk you to your room."

She smiled, and the two started walking again. Eirika couldn't believe how much fun she was having. She truly enjoyed Gaiu- Sugar's company. She made a mental note to call him Sugar as long as he called her Rose. She felt herself warming up to him much faster than she did anyone else. Unfortunately, they arrived at her room far more quickly than she would have liked,

"Well… I guess this is goodnight, Sugar."

Gaius smirked, "Yeah. Say, Rose…"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering… we have a few more days till we set sail for Valm. I was wondering… you wanna see the town? I bet Ylisse has things you only dreamed of in Magvel."

She thought about it. Her and Gaius, seeing the town, all alone… wait… all-

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

Gaius laughed, "Maybe. Depends if you want it to be."

Eirika's face… man, you know what it does by now, "Uh….. Sure. It's… a date."

Gaius smirked. Then, he suddenly grabbed her, moving their faces inches apart, and brushed a kiss across her lips.

"See ya then, Rose."

He then walked off, leaving a very confused and very happy Eirika behind him.