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-"Dialogue"-

("Inner thinking")

This is a time skip: MWMWMWMWMWWMWMWMWMWMMWMWMW

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AFTER THE END

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The rays of the morning's sun on his face made Julius frown grumpily. Cracking his eyes, he noticed Ace was wrapped around him like an anaconda. Both of them spotting foxy features. He sighed, subjecting himself to this before glancing down and noticing Aria was gone. He blinked, surprised and honestly, a little hurt. After everything they had gone through, she didn't even want to wake up with them?

"Morning ... " Ace muttered with his eyes still closed, gently gripping Julius's hair before kissing him in the mouth. Julius gagged at the taste of morning breath, pushing Ace away as the knave cracked his eyes open to see he wasn't kissing Aria. Ace glanced down between them, finding his damsel gone. His smile remained although his foxy ears went down in disappointed before he decided to continue and crawl over Julius before kissing his forehead, his fluffy tail wagging lightly.- "Where's Ari?" - He asked, trying to kiss Julius again but Julius caught his mouth and tried to push him away.

"It doesn't matter. She'll be back when she feels like it."-Julius deeply frowned, feeling his clock aching a bit. Even in their hugging embrace, she managed to slip out somehow. Was it that horrible to sleep with them? Was she fearing them? He heavily sighed before pausing, sniffing something odd in the air.

The scent of a delicious meal and the sound of something crackling in the distance immediately caught both of their attentions as they tumbled out of bed and followed their sensible noses. Neither knew what to think of it before they stepped inside the kitchen to find a buffet of assorted foods before them, and Aria chopping away at some onions with an apron on

"Come Take A Seat. I'm Almost Done With The Pico De Gallo.*" -She said, adding the onion to some chopped tomatoes.-"I'm Pretty Hungry And I Suspected You'd Be Too. I Dont Cook Often, Dont Expect It Either. But Right Now Its A Good Start I Think."

Julius and Ace remained quiet, taking on the scene before Julius pulled a seat out and Ace picked Aria up, setting her in the seat before Ace began getting some dishes together.

"Sit down and eat with us." -Julius looked over the big array of food, knowing she wasn't just hungry. She was famished.

The knave picked out the biggest, setting the plates in front of her while Julius got all 3 of them coffee, both Julius and Ace taking a seat with their own plates before they started to eat.

"So good!" -Ace grinned, devouring his food and going for seconds and thirds.

"Yes… Tis Are Recipes From My World, Well, With Adapted Ingredients." - Aria mentioned while stuffing herself as much if not more than Ace.- "I Noticed The Fridge Was Full… Actually There Is A New Big Fridge"

"Thats because I must be a good food provider. The post for den provider is already taken by Julius"- Ace mumbled through his munching.

Julius remained silent, thinking better than to bother commenting on such a stupid thought, before he went ahead and began sipping on some coffee.

Aria picked up her coffee with a small smile on her lips and drank it slowly, savoring the moment.- "So...Now What?"

"As if you dont have all planned already, Ari" - Ace smiled, refilling her cup before going back to his plate.- "You tell us, dear dame."

"Julius?" - Aria looked at the other man, waiting for his answer.

"I plan to sit here and enjoy my drink. Whatever you two decide to do isn't my concern."- The clock master sipped his coffee.-"But do come back tonight. I'll brew you two coffee… and perhaps we can go out for a stroll around town too during the Night time change.." - He suggested with a small smile of his own, startling both Ace and Aria that he would want to go out at all.

After a moment of stunned silence, both A's stood up to check on Julius.

Aria pressed her hands on Julius's forehead before grabbing his chin to make him look her way.- "Julius, Are You Feeling Alright!?"- Her eyes shifted color lenses as she drew her face very close. - " I Didnt Add Any Drugs To The Food This Time."

Ace joined Aria at the other side of Julius.- "Maybe you need to rest more after being in the Prison, Julius. Want me to take you to bed?" -

"What? I'm fine!" - Julius growled and huffed them off.- " Is it that unusual for me to invite you two over for the night? We are married now, aren't we?" - He huffed, with a light flush on his cheeks.

Both A's looked at each other before going back to their seats, Aria a bit awkwardly and Ace grinning widely.

The clock master sighed. -"What about you, Aria? I assume you need to go check on your infamous faction? Or to your mercenary job?" - Julius asked, curious.

She took a long pause. -"I Already Notified My Faction And I' Certainly Need To Check On Them."- She seemed uneasy. -" I Do Need To Get Back In Control. They Have Become Too Fanatical And I Need To Diffuse Or Direct It Somehow."- She looked down at her mug and twisted her lip.-"As For Mercenary Missions... I Really Can't Keep Up To That."- Before they asked, she spoke; although not looking at either guy and standing up to leave a dish at the sink. -"Im Not Fully Repaired Yet, And I've Sustained Too Much Damage Already. I Probably Cant Last Another Serious Fight. .. Or Maybe I Do. My Body Moved Closer To My End Moment In My Worl; That Means More Enhancements And Modifications, But I Dont Want To Find Out. Madness Would Get Stronger If I Do."

"What do you plan on doing then? And what of Aegis? Can't he help you repair it?" - Julius stared at her, memorizing her features once again while noticing the subtle changes; her hair was way longer, although she looked physically the same with those connective lines embed in her skin. She had spent a long time in her territory but her time was frozen and really wasn't moving on. And fearing her reaction to such information, Julius kept quiet about it.

"He's Been Helping With The Repairs, But He Is Tied To My Place. Thats Why I Can't Use Him Or Shadows Anywhere Else."- Aria stood up and took a couple steps back, extending her hand while concentrating very hard until a small dark cube formed between her fingers. -"Without Aegis, Handling The Matrix Calculations Is Impossible On Any Practical Level."- Pearly sweet ran down her forehead before she made it disappear. –"We Programmed Some Functions In My Current Armor Set, But Its Not Fluent."

"If your suit is broken, maybe now you can wear more frilly clothes." - Ace grinned. -" But you should eat more first, seeing your bones under your skin wouldnt be that sexy."

Fully agreeing Julius nodded, and while he was tilting his head, he noticed that her shadow was the silhouette of a man, transforming into something wyvernish. -"Aria ... did something happen to your shadow?"- He asked, curious and a little intimidated by the shape of her shadow.

"Aegis Is Still My Shadow." -She sat back and emptied her coffee before it got cold, glancing at Julius through the corner of her eyes.- "You Gave Him A Clock. That Basically Made Him The Jabberwock For This Side Of The Mirror, That Way The Other Jabberwock Cant Cross Because There Is Already One Of His Role Here." - She looked sideways and down to the floor to see her shadow move on its Own. - "He Probably Has Some Humanoid Form Too, But He Says He Prefers Fluffy Forms So He'll Get Pets. "

"Ah ... I did do that."- Julius said, sipping on his coffee rather calmly. He mildly wondered if he did the right thing giving Aegis a clock but considering Aria was safe and sound, he would venture to say that he , blinking, Julius remembered something. -"Oh, and the extra room was remodeled into an office for you. You can check it out and remodel it as you please if the current one doesn't suite you." -He said, wishing to convey his desire to have here stay here.

Aria's cup was filled again by Ace, whom smiled dashingly. -" We should move together definitely"

"The tower is free for your use whenever you desire it." - Julius smiled warmly.- "I'll always have a cup of coffee ready for you here."

"Coffee Sounds Nice" -Aria took another sip before leaning back and playing with the tip of her braid between her fingers.- "Or we can move to any of my places. After all, with the deal on, there's gonna be descents later on and more space will be needed, right?"

"Ah yes ... the deal."- Ace said with empty eyes and a disappointed smile.-"We haven't gone on our honeymoon yet and already you're planning to cheat on us. That makes me angry." - Ace directed

his gaze her way.- "Men are jealous creatures, Aria."

"Yes ... I too find that deal very disturbing and upsetting." -Julius admitted with a stiff frown.- "I don't like the idea of you being close to Joker nor adding him in the contract. There are reasons why no one likes him." - Julius stared at her eyes. No one liked that man, except for Aria, of course. After a firm frown in her direction he took a gulp of coffee.

"You Dont Have To Like It. Allies Are Not Chosen Simply Because You Like Them. The Strategic And Power Advantages Of This Deal Cant Be Overlooked."- Aria finished her coffee and placed her hand over it when Ace was about to serve her more. -" Besides, He Is My Best Friend And I Trust Him"- Predictably defending Joker, she voiced the most harsh circumstance she could bring on, her glance becoming a bit harsh while the glow of her eyes flickered erratically, yet her shaky first moved to settle over her heart..-"It Will Always Be Into Account That You Are Normal Holders. Creepy Serial Murderers That Sent Me On A Suicide Mission And Have Threatened My Existence, Directly Or Indirectly… On Several Occasions."

"Really Aria?" - Not even bothering with a smile, Ace left his mug aside and stood up.- " I need to go back to the castle"

Not even a second later, Julius followed suit. - "I have work."

They barely make 3 steps away when the foreigner raised her hands in the air and snapped her fingers.-"Vector - Restrain!"- Aria shouted, crossing her arms over her chest and closing her hands. Her armor thinned and melted into her shadow and shot through the floor in form of dark tendrils that reach the holder's shadows before bursting up with astonishing speed to grab the men's limbs and force them to stop.

Both holders jolted, startled, turning her heads as they could to look at her with surprise.

"You Are Going To 'Work' With Those Puffy Tails? " -Her eyes were lit in a green digital haze, her chest moving up´and down as she breathed a bit faster. -"That's Not It, Is It? Give Me A Moment To Analyze This Situation. I Detect Something Is...off."- Rummaging in a compartment of her suit, she took out certain clock that was given to her by them. It was the one whose hands held an image of their faces and pointed at the emotions they three were feeling at the moment. After looking at it, Aria gazed back at both males and tilted her head in sincere confusion. -"Here It Says You Are Upset. Why?'

Restrained as he was, Julius stared at her in silence, trying to come up with a suitable answer. This was a rather terrible lose-lose situation for them, but at least it showed she really was trying; a big progress in her case. Finally he heavily sighed. There were some things that were simply impossible to explain to her. To Aria, this messed up deal was perfectly logical and rational and they were left without a valid argument to explain their point of view and what she did that was 'wrong'.

"If you think we are creepy serial murderers then maybe we should go and be so. Is that what you'd like?" – Ace, of course, smiled.

Aria approached to pat the knave's head and Ace's ears went down while the foreigner turned away to drop her dishes in the sink.- "Ace… I Was Just Merely Stating Facts. After Being Broken So Often And Not Even Knowing What I Am Anymore, I Can At Least Detect That I Cant Be Fully Repaired Ever And Some Damage Will Always Remain."- She snapped her fingers and an afterimage come in to start washing the dishes while Aria began cleaning up the table. Her husbands remained retraining. -"Yet, Our Current Status Corresponds As: Married. I Admit This Is A Strange Concept For Me. I Currently Can't Comprehend Why I Want You Even Beyond Rational Reasons, But I Do. I Cant Comprehend Why You Are Upset Either"

Julius pulled on his restraints but to no vail.-"Your lack of ability to comprehend only angers us, or at least me, more than anything else." - Julius heavily sighed with of frustration, but decided to try and explain.- "The deal you made with Joker and your view on it makes us upset."

The bright olive green eyes of the foreigner widened, and taken aback she approached Julius with hesitation.- "So You Are Angry That I Got You Out Of Prison And Saved Your Life, Julius?"

Julius groaned.- "No, I'm happy to be here. But that deal means you're sharing yourself with other and we don't like that."

"So we'll have to kill anyone interfering with our perfect trio" - Ace smiled showing sharp fangs along his teeth, his overly puffy tail wagging.

"So It's That I Had To Make A Deal?" - Aria blinked once, twice. She looked at Julius, then at Ace, then back at Julius, and suddenly, she hugged Julius very, very tightly-"You Think Joker Could Have Let You Go So Easily? "

"Maybe he would have if YOU asked him."- Julius looked down at her figure, huffing. -"You didn't have to include him in our deal. "

"Can you let us go now, Aria?"- Ace smiled, twisting on his restrains.

Aria ignored Ace for the moment.-"I Did Estimate All Possible Outcomes And Selected The Better Option For All Of Us. "- She buried her face on Julius's chest and nuzzled on him, closing her eyes. - "Getting You Alive Wasn't As Easy… I Know It Julius, Your Situation. Your Role May Give You Some Immunity, Even If Too Many Versions Of You Have Already Been Eliminated. But Joker Was Right. The Price For Getting You Out Was No Less As Big As Changing The Game; Something Only A Foreigner Can Do. Only Something Bigger Than The Game Would Have Allowed For The Exception Regarding The Rules. To Me Its A Very Small Price To Get You. And I'm Keeping You."- She took a deep breath.- "It's This World And It's My Fault. It's Shoving On Me In Quantities What It Offers To Foreigners. It's The Only Thing The Game Knows."- Behind Julius back, Aria flickered her wrist and snapped her fingers. -"Release"

The shadowy restrains on Julius and Ace uncoiled from their limbs and disappeared into the ground, crawling back over Aria's body to reform her clothing into some lighter dress.

It took Julius a second to come out of the stupor caused by her words, and another moment to notice her slight tremble. Feeling his arms free, Julius hugged her. - "Aria, I'm happy to be here. But that doesnt change the fact that now you'll have to share yourself, and your body, with someone other than us. We are upset that you have decided to share yourself with Joker even after promising to be ours. This makes us angry, its inevitable, even if it was done as payment for that deal."

"It wouldn't be knightly to not be protective and jealous of our dame, would it?"- Ace approached.- "But don't worry my lady. I'll get rid of anyone else fathoming your already married person."

Aria looked at Ace and once more back at Julius, tilting her head as her mental gears turned.- "Is It That You Thought Descendants Will Be Made With Someone Different That You First?"- Aria awkwardly patted Julius's head and pinched his soft fox ears.

"No." - Julius gently took her hand and pressed it to his cheek, admittedly, still slightly annoyed.- "Procreation has nothing to do with it. If having children won't make you happy, that's fine. We don't need them. If being near us makes you happy, then do just that."

Aria exhaled and buried her face in his chest once more, shocking her head.- "Its Alright. I Knew It Would Eventually Come To Reproduction Anyways. Its One Of The Secret Objectives Of The Game, So Its In Your Instincts And It Does Not Comes Without Benefits For You Either. One Day You Might Be Able To Retire Given The Proper Substitutes." - Aria's hand tried to pet his ears, but not wanting to abandon the hug, she settled for stroking his soft tail.-"I Understand It And I Dont Care. It's For Your Benefit. As Soon As I Test My Production Method Without Any Primitive Dangerous Inconveniences, I'll Be Able To Create As Many As You Want, Even Beyond The Necessary For Experimentation"

"That's not what I…" - Julius groaned, struggling not to scream in frustration.-"An army isn't necessary."- Julius finally groaned. He was still frustrated; soon he'd be the one needing that clock pointing out emotions so he could understand himself; but more than that, he was also disturbed at the fact that such lines from Aria wasn't as bothering anymore.

Suddenly, Aria was pulled back and tilted around by Ace. The knave, with a very serious smile, placed his hands over her shoulders and leaned to be face to face with her, their noses almost touching- 'I dont care for the result but the making will be fun."- His eyes raveled down to her chest - "How many is how many? An army has many, right?"

In response, Aria leaned forward to touch noses and smiled kindly, grabbing his hands and moving them from her shoulder and over her hips.-"As Many As You Want And As Many As It's Convenient From A Power Perspective; Or Just For The Mere Chance Of Further Experimentation And Development"

"I'd rather not have that happen." - Julius calmly began rubbing his temples. While children would be nice, he honestly wondered how well they'd turn out considering the other duo in this trio or the godfather they were going to have.

"I dont mind as long as WE make them" - Ace looked at Julius with an eager smile, his tail wagging and his ears perked while his hands moved to her rear to squish but her hard armor was on the way. So, he decided to just accelerate things and lifted Aria in his arms, bridal style. -"We get first dips. So let's go start making those puppies." - Ace began walking towards the door, but he suddenly stopped looking back at Julius and then down at Aria. - "Whom do you want to make puppies with first Aria? Julius or I?"

Aria stiffened.- "You Guys Are Not Going To Fight Over It, Right? Can You Control Those Instincts?."- She held unto Ace, looking up at the knave with big wary eyes.- "I Remember When You Attacked Each Other. I Didnt Liked It. I Dont Like The Possibility Of It."- She took out the emotion's clock once again. -"It Points Me 2 Minutes Into Scary." - She showed Ace the clock's face. -" I Didnt Know I Had That Capacity. I Supposed It Was Scary Then Too?"

"I'm sure it was."- Julius glanced at the knight and gulped.-"Ace would have surely won. But what is more surprising is that you are admitting you were scared at all." -Julius admitted and approached to kiss Aria's cheek.

"Dont Fight Ace, Julius."- Aria direly warned. -"He Is Stronger, Faster, Bigger, More Skilled, Has More Stamina, Far More Killing Intent, A Lot More Fighting Experience, Its More Powerful, Has The Power Of 2 Roles And Is Far More Unpredictable."

Julius's brow twitched and his mouth was left half agape for a moment at the depressively real comparison with Ace. -"I know."- While he was not helpless, without using his costly role abilities he was admittedly not as strong as neither Ace or even Aria; whatever she was now, she was powerful. He let out a deep exhale and his n tail lightly wagged. -"And yes, Aria. We can control that instinct ... as long as you treat us both nice." - He smiled. It wasn't as if he couldn't handle them in other ways either.

Ace's tail wagged happily and his chest stood up proud at all his mate's compliments. He lifted her higher in his embrace to nuzzle her. -"That's why I get to protect my precious people."- He tightened his hold and then dedicated a general bright and dashing smile. - "And dont you worry, oh my fair dame. For you dont need to worry about us fighting; lo' there that Julius humped me into submission!"

Julius deeply blushed and covered his red face, turning away not wanting to remember the embarrassing incident. To think he had to go that far to control Ace… by Ace's own 'request' at that!

Aria blinked. -"So The Instinctual Hierarchy Issue Has Been Settled Between You Two?" - She looked up to her knight with a sly smile and passed the tip of her finger along Ace's jaw.- "Then We Ought To Get Started With This Marriage This, No?" -She pulled back her hand and placed it over her chest, looking at Julius and tilting her head.- "... I Dont Know How to Start This… Do We Need To Develop A Project Chart? My Faction Is Handling The Party And Else, But What About The Private Affairs?"

Ace chuckled and began walking back to the entrance.- "I have a better idea. Let's start our trio with a trio. I demand cuddles and banging exclusivity rights every night time change for the next month"

Aria nodded with a sly smile. - "Do We Take Turns To Be In The Middle?" - She then pawed at Julius. -"Julius, C'mon. Let's Go Settle All In The Bedroom. Do You Want To Choose Positions?"

"You get middle first, Ari…. unless you want to put Julius I the middle first. I dont mind to be bottom or top." - Ace grinned and winked. -"Oh! And I already stashed toys in the bedroom"

Julius worst nightmare, Aria and Ace teaming up against him became real, and he just gave in. But not just yet. Moving fast, he stopped right in front of them.- "Let's just enjoy each other's company for a bit. There's more to a relationship than just sex, isnt it?"- He said with a soft, satisfied smile, and blushing deeply, he change form in fluffy foxy and jumped over Aria's arms.

"Julius..."- Aria accommodated Julius and began petting him before looking at Ace's smile.-"Let's Go Have Time, And In Any Case, Life Goes On And So Does The Game"

"Yeah, it does. But we dont care." - Ace chuckled and continued walking, carrying both of his precious people back towards the bedroom and into to their perfect trio.

THE END.

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Yes. This is all. I admit it went on too long and after this I wont be touching HNKNA (except for maybe M-shots) for a while (Yes, I'm gonna focus on kamigami no asobi).

So... did you liked this romance arc? What you think? After all we went together int his story, this is your chance to flame me to your heart's content, and a general questionary is posted after this here for you to critic this so I avoid mistakes in future works.

Thanks for all.