Here we are at Chapter 2. Don't worry, this chapter will be longer. Also, just so you know, some of these chapters will directly correlate with the game story, others won't. I do not own Code Vein. They belong to Bandai Namco. I only own my OC. Here's chapter 2. Enjoy.

Chapter 2: Comfy and Warm

Fuyumi POV

We return to the church after finding another blood spring further in the old city ruins. That makes at least five blood springs we've found now. Thanks to my abilities, I was able to revitalize them, thus giving us some more blood beads for the time being. However, we still need to find the source in order to have a steady supply of blood beads, just as Louis said. I walk up to Murasame and her workshop.

"Hey, Murasame. Can you give my blade a little repair job?" I ask, placing Hanemukuro on her table.

"Whoa, looks like you've been busy. I guess it can't be easy sometimes when you're looking for blood springs. Don't worry, I'll have it fixed up in no time. You go on ahead and get some rest," Murasame says.

"Thank you," I nod to her and head to my room.

When I get inside, I take off my blood veil, my Seraph Fatigues and place them in a large brown dresser in my room. Now just in my normal clothes (normal clothes for a revenant anyway), I head back out into the main room to meet up with Louis.

"How are you doing Louis?" I ask, finding him standing in front of our map.

"I'm doing fine, Fuyumi. Thanks to you, we now have four revitalized blood springs that we can reach without much trouble. Truth be told, we were starting to run low on blood beads, but now we have a supply to keep us going for a while. But, even still, we can't grow complacent. We've narrowed down the search to where the source may be. It seems to be somewhere east of the old city ruins. As bad as things are around here, the Lost over there, and the levels of destruction to the city are much worse. I suggest for now that we rest and get our gear situated before heading back out there," Louis says, hand on his chin as he starts thinking again.

"Well, we probably would've had more trouble finding it if not for Mia's help," I say, looking back to see Mia talking with Coco.

"Indeed. We're all grateful to have her here," Louis agrees with me.

When we met, I thought it was strange that she was looking for blood beads on her own, but then I saw her brother and I understood the situation. I can tell that she's a good person, and that's one of the reasons that I'm glad that she's here. I walk outside to the wooden chairs and table, taking a seat in the center one. Looking out as the sun is up in the skies overlooking the Gaol of the Mists; there's something surreal about it in a way. Being outside like this, but far enough away from the Lost that we aren't in any danger. I find it rather soothing as I close my eyes for a moment.

"So, this is where you were," I hear and look over to see Mia walking over to me, sitting in the chair to my right. "I take it you come to this spot a lot," Mia says.

I smile at her presence, "Yes, I quite like it out here. It's almost like the Lost don't exist and things are peaceful. They're like that inside, but being outside has its own, unique feeling of peace," I say.

Mia smiles back, "I guess I never really thought about it like that. When I was moving around with Nicola, we always moved from place to place, trying to find blood beads and avoid the lost when we can. We never really had time to just enjoy ourselves. I guess I forgot what that feels like," she says.

"While revenants die and can be reborn again as long as they don't lose their hearts, there are people who can never come back from the dead, or worse have joined the ranks of the Lost, and may never know peace. I think it's important to enjoy the little things like this from time to time. It reminds me that I'm still alive," I reply.

"I see," Mia replies.

A thought occurs to me, "Oh, I almost forgot," I say, and pull something out from my pocket. "I found this during our last expedition, and I wanted to give it to you. They're aromatic herbs, and they still appear to be good. However, I can't remember if I ever used something like this, so I wanted to ask you if you do," I explain.

Mia takes a whiff of them and smiles, "Oh, that smells wonderful. I bet this would be perfect for tea. I'll be sure to brew it up just right. This is lovely, thank you, Fuyumi," Mia appreciates the gift as I give it to her.

Seeing her smile makes me feel better for some reason.

"Oh, you know how to brew tea?" I ask, intrigued.

"Yeah, actually. It's been a little while since I haven't found anything to make tea with, and because as a revenant, I don't need to eat or drink anything except for human blood, but it's something I used to do when I was human. Would you... like to try some?" Mia offers.

"I would love to," I accept the offer.

"Cool. Then I'll get started on it. I'll let you know when it's ready," Mia says and walks away to prepare the tea.

I am actually excited to try Mia's tea. I guess I'm not the only one that's got a few skills under her belt. Mia's a caring person, she's skilled in a fight, she's really pretty, and she knows how to make tea. Deciding to find something to do to pass the time until she's ready, I look around to talk with Yakumo. Not surprisingly, I find him at the bar, having a cup of brandy that I previously found before.

"No surprise you're here," I note as I walk up and take a seat next to him.

"Hey there, care for a cup?" Yakumo offers.

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass. I'm pretty sure I'm not old enough to drink anyway. Besides, Mia's making tea for the two of us, and I don't want to be drunk before I get to try her tea," I politely turn down his offer.

"Oh well, more for me then. But, Mia knows how to make tea? That's pretty cool, and you get to be the first one to try her tea brewing. Aren't you special," Yakumo jokes while sipping his drink.

"Come on, I'm not that special," I say.

"You can restore vestiges, you can revitalize mistles and blood springs, and clear away the miasma. That sounds pretty special to me," Yakumo notes.

"Well... I guess you got a point there," I concede, making him chuckle.

"Well, either way, it's good that the two of you are getting along so well. Though, be sure to let me know how her tea tastes in case she ever offers me a cup," Yakumo says.

"What, in case it turns out to taste bad? I doubt her tea will be bad. Besides, I bet if it was sake she was offering, you'd accept in a heartbeat," I note.

Yakumo shrugs his shoulders, "I won't deny it. Well, last chance, you sure you don't want a drink before you go off for tea?' he tries again.

"I'm sure. I'll see you later," I say and go to check on Mia to see if she's done.

Walking up to her room, I politely knock on her door.

"Who is it?" I hear Mia call out.

"It's Fuyumi," I reply.

"Oh, Fuyumi, come on in," Mia says and I open the door, finding her sitting on her bed, finishing up the tea on the table next to the bed. "Good timing, I'm just about done. Just wait one more minute," Mia says.

I sit down next to her bed and watch her work. Seeing her put such care and methodical work into making her tea, it almost makes me forget that she's a skilled fighter. Soon enough, she finishes the tea and pours me a cup.

"Here you go. It's still warm, so be careful," Mia offers me my cup.

I gently take it, feeling my fingers slightly brush against her own. The tiniest spark jolts me from the contact, but lucky it's not enough for me to accidently spill the tea. That would be a disaster.

"What was that feeling?" I wonder.

"Well, go on. Tell me what you think?" Mia asks while pouring herself a cup.

I raise the cup to my lips, breathing in the soft aroma of the herbs I gave her. It smells good, so that's a plus. Taking a slow sip, careful not to burn my tongue, my prayers are answered when I realize that the tea tastes really good. The liquid is soft on my tongue, and there's a slight sweetness to the it.

"Wow, that's actually really good," I note.

"Really? Oh, thank goodness. Those herbs you gave me were ones I never tried before, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I'm glad you liked it," Mia says, taking a sip of her own tea. "Hmm, that IS good. I'm glad I haven't gotten rusty in this kind of thing," Mia says, smiling from the delicious tea.

I sip more of the tea, and then get a little more serious, "Listen, I probably should've said this before, but... I'm sorry," I say, staring at my cup in my hands.

"Huh? Sorry for what?" Mia asks.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to save your brother. Even with these strange abilities of mine, there was nothing I could do for him," I apologize again.

At hearing this, Mia rests her cup on her lap, "That wasn't your fault, Fuyumi. You tried to get to us as fast as you could, but the Lost got in your way. Listen, if it wasn't for you saving me when you did, I would've either died by the Hunter's hands as well, or joined the ranks of the Lost. You did all you could," Mia says.

"But, don't you miss him? Aren't you sad that he's gone?" I ask, concerned.

Mia looks straight ahead, "I won't lie and say that I don't. I miss him every day. We've always been together. I have so many questions, but I know that I'll find them when we find that snowy mountain. Nicola didn't die because of you, so you don't have to blame yourself for it. I'll always miss my little brother, but I have friends like Louis, Murasame, Io, Yakumo, and you. So, I'll be okay, thanks to you guys," Mia explains.

I sigh in relief, feeling like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I thought she was angry with me, but it seems I was wrong, thankfully.

"That makes me feel relieved in a way. And I promise, I'll help you find the answers you're looking for," I say.

Mia smiles, "Well, I appreciate that, but don't overwork yourself. Let's take things, one step at a time," she says.

I nod and sip more of my tea. Knowing that things are cool between us, and the soothing feeling from Mia's tea, it started to make me feel tired. The fact that we had been out looking for more blood springs and fought a lot of Lost along the way, only added to my exhaustion. I finished the rest of my tea. Only moments later did I feel like I really needed to take a nap.

"Hey, Fuyumi are you okay?" Mia asks.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired, is all," I reply, trying to keep my eyes open.

"Maybe we should get you to your room so you can rest," Mia says and stands up to put her things away.

"Yeah... That sounds like a good... Idea..." I forget what I said after that; I think I fell asleep at that point.

Mia POV

I look back when I hear a soft thump and see Fuyumi, fast asleep and laid out on my bed.

"What? Already? Maybe it was the tea," I note as I check on Fuyumi. I gently nudge her shoulder to get a response, taking notice of how smooth and warm her skin is, despite her appearance. "Fuyumi, can you hear me? Come on, wake up. I'll take you to your room so you can rest there," I try to get her to wake up. Of course, that plan doesn't go so well. Suddenly, Fuyumi shifts her position, catching my right arm between her body and her left arm, forcing me almost on top of her. "Fuyumi! You need to wake up!" I quietly yell. I can't imagine what would happen if Murasame or Yakumo found us in this position.

The situation only gets worse when Fuyumi shifts her position again, this time rolling onto her left side and taking me with her, now both of us lying on the bed. Fuyumi, still fast asleep, suddenly wraps her arms around me like a stuffed animal, pulling me closer to her body, and making me silently shriek in shock, my cheeks turning red.

"What the Hell is she doing?! I'm not some kind of teddy bear," I mentally gasp.

However, as I'm about to do something, Fuyumi speaks in her sleep, "So warm," she whispers.

This stops me in my tracks, "Wait, what is she dreaming about?" I wonder, sure that she's still asleep. She pulls me a little closer, my face pressed into her chest, making my already red face even redder. Her... assets were so big, yet soft and warm. I see her sleeping so peacefully, it was actually pretty cute. I almost don't want to wake her up at this point. Logic would tell me to get out of this situation, but I find myself feeling more and more comfortable in this position. At this point, I started feeling myself growing more tired. "Well, maybe one nap couldn't hurt. She's actually pretty comfy as a pillow, and she's really warm too," I concede and close my eyes, wrapping my arms around her waist.

I guess it's true what they say, if you can't beat them, join them.

…

I don't know how much time has passed when I finally feel refreshed enough to open my eyes, feeling well-rested. I prepare to move, only to feel something around my body, preventing me from leaving. I focus on what's in front of me, finding Fuyumi still sound asleep. The events from earlier return to me like a wave, and so does the blush on my face. I fidget a bit, hoping that will wake her up, but she stays sound asleep. I wonder how can she still be so sound asleep like this? But, she looks so peaceful when she sleeps, and we're so close, I can hear her soft breathing. I manage to slowly move her arms off of me a bit as she begins to roll over onto her back, finally regaining my freedom. I get up on my hands and knees and loom over her a bit. I look over her face, my eyes moving from the blue gem on her forehead to her eyes and then down to her lips. My gaze lingers on her lips. I bet I could kiss her and she wouldn't even notice.

My blush returns as the thought goes through my head.

"No, no, no, no, no, why am I even thinking that?!" I mentally freak out as I shake my head.

Despite my freaking out, Fuyumi remains asleep. I stare at her, getting a little closer to see any signs of her waking up. Of course, fate has a messed-up sense of humor. Just then, knocks on the door.

"Mia, It's Louis. Have you seen-," I hear Louis begin as he opens the door, only to find me looming over a sleeping Fuyumi, and stops in his tracks.

To make it worse, Fuyumi finally decides to wake up.

"Ermm, Mia... what..." Fuyumi mutters, still half-asleep.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to intrude," Louis quickly says before he closes the door.

"Wait, Louis! It's not what you think!" I quickly yell as I run after him to clear the situation, leaving Fuyumi in my room.

Fuyumi POV

The first thing I notice is seeing Mia looming over me, her face a little close to mine. I guess I fell asleep and she was trying to wake me. But then I hear Louis enter the room, only for him to apologize for some intrusion or something; I wasn't really paying attention as my focus was on Mia's blushing face. She's actually really cute when she blushes. Louis leaves, followed by Mia running after him. I sit up and stretch a bit.

"That tea must've made me fall asleep. I wonder what's got Mia all out of sorts," I wonder, rubbing my right eye.

I leave the room to see how the others are doing, eventually finding Yakumo who seems to be chuckling about something.

"What's going on? What's so funny?" I ask him.

"Oh nothing, just Mia freaking out over Louis catching you guys in her room. From the sound of things, it looked like he caught you guys in a compromising position," Yakumo says.

"Really? All I remember was talking with Mia over some tea, and then I got a little tired... I guess I fell asleep on her bed huh?" I ask.

"That seems to be part of it. Apparently, when Louis entered the room, looking for you by the way, he saw Mia looming over you while you were asleep. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it looked like she was about to kiss you in your sleep. 'Only true loves kiss will break the spell and wake the sleeping beauty from her slumber', or so I remember from an old fairytale story. Hah, Louis had a slight blush on his face and Mia's was as red as a tomato. It was pretty funny," Yakumo explains.

Wait, Mia tried to kiss me? I doubt she would try something like that while I was asleep. She doesn't strike me as the type. But, that also raises the question of if she swings that way. I can't remember most of my past, so I don't know if I was straight or otherwise, but... I do always like being around her. Although, maybe I'm just imagining things. I go to find Mia, having finished whatever discussion she had with Louis.

"Hey Mia, you okay?" I ask her.

Mia looks at me, and suddenly her face turns red again for some reason.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine! I'm going to go take a dip in the hot springs. See ya later!" Mia quickly says and leaves.

I hum in confusion, and I think I hear Yakumo snickering behind me. Did I miss something?

And that's the chapter. Another little escapade that shows Mia and Fuyumi's growing relationship. Luckily, there's plenty more to come for these two in the near future. I'll try to keep the chapters around this length or a little longer so there's more substance in them. Anyway, what other situations will the pair find themselves in? Until then, please Read and Review.