This chapter is from Goo Goo Dolls - Iris

Maxi was the first to spot him, even from far away he could tell she was nervous as her hands tugged at her hair. He couldn't hear what she had said but it caused Gabel to turn around and smile brightly as he waved Riftan over.

Despite his slow movements, Riftan felt as if his heart would explode at the pace it was racing. A thousand questions started to run though his mind; most could be summed up to why? Why now? Why him? Why after everything seemed to be finally working in his favor.

Why?

"Ah! Sir Riftan, took you long enough. I was telling lady Maximilian how you earned your nickname Single-Strike Calypse while we waited...for..." Gabel trailed off as Riftan shot him a glare, daring the man to continue before turning his attention towards Maxi.

He was surprised to see she was wearing a shy smile as he approached, however, it started to fade when she looked at Riftan's dark expression.

Gabel cleared his throat, causing Riftan to turn his attention towards him.

Before he could say anything, Riftan took a step toward him.

"What are you doing here?"

Much to his credit, Gabel kept up the smile as he straightened his shoulders and stood his ground.

"I came to find you. The commander wanted to speak with you but you had already left your room."

"I was in my room all morning."

Gabel's mask fell for a moment before he turned towards Maxi.

"My lady, would you please excuse us for a moment?"

Turning his attention from Gabel, Riftan watched as whatever smile was left completely crumbled, turning into panic as she looked between them.

"Y-y-yes...of...c-course."

"I'll be but a moment, I promise." Gabel tried to reassure her before nodding for Riftan to follow.

The look in her eyes made Riftan hesitate to move. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold her, to take her away from this situation, but he kept his hands firmly to his side.

He took a small step towards her and spoke in a low tone so Gabel couldn't hear.

"Everything will be alright, stay here."

Her eyes once again shifted between the two knights. Maxi moved to take a step towards him but stopped before giving him a small tentative nod.

The urge to hold her was still raging inside him but he continued to hold back as he painfully moved away to follow Gabel.

As soon as they were out of sight from Maxi, Gabel turned toward Riftan to speak. However, he was quickly cut off as Riftan grabbed him by his collar and slammed him against the nearest tree. It was with enough force that the leaves above them shook and Gabel didn't hesitate to start trying to get out of his grasp but he quickly stopped when Riftan's hold tightened as he towered over him.

"Before you hit me, let me explain."

"Make it quick."

"Most are ignorant but those who know you, who fought beside you for years, have noticed how you've been acting.

"Oh? Enlighten me, how have I been acting?" Riftan asked with a condescending sneer.

Gabel shifted a little against the tree as he cleared his throat.

"Strange."

"Strange how?"

"Just...strange. You've always been rather consistent, even when you've acted out of routine there was always an obvious reason behind it but lately..."

"Keep talking."

Gabel sighed. "Lately, you have been disappearing for hours without any notice and always at the same time. You have attended nearly every banquet without complaining and when you are there Hebaron swears you act like...well to put it bluntly, you've been blushing and it's starting to scare him."

Riftan's hold on Gabel faltered only slightly as his teeth started to hurt with how hard he's clutching his jaw. He was so wrapped up in seeing her he didn't even think about how his disappearance would look. As for Hebaron's accusation, Riftan wanted to believe he was lying but he couldn't deny there were times where he felt his mask slip around Maxi.

Looking uneasy with the silence, Gabel brought up his hands in an act of defense.

"As I said, most in our order are completely oblivious to this and those who have noticed don't know who it is. I believe I was the first to find out it was her ladyship.

"How." His voice shook slightly, not sounding as harsh as he would have liked.

Gabel let out a short laugh. "You must be joking?" Whatever smile Gabel had from his laughter was quickly gone when Riftan made sure his hold on the knight was firm once more as he shot him a frigid look.

"Answer. My. Question."

With a bit of irritation in his voice, Gabel began. "When we first got here, I noticed you staring at a woman when normally you would completely ignore their existence. I brushed that off at first but then I noticed you being introduced to what I assumed was the same woman and she was the first noble you didn't look like you wanted to kill. I was still skeptical until you sparred with Hebaron...could you please loosen your grip? I'm rather fond of-."

"Keep making jokes and see where that gets you."

Despite the possible discomfort, Gabel shrugged, the sound of fabric scraping against the bark making him wince. "Right, forgot you have no humo-ah alright! You kept trying to position yourself so you could look at the ladies, it was so odd that I wasn't the only one that notice it. It wasn't until after your match that I saw lady Maximilian was watching...so I brought up rumors I had heard to see how you would react and something felt off...and well...I don't think I've ever seen you make that face before. It was honestly a little disturbing."

His shoulders dropped and with every word he spoke as Riftan's anger shifted from Gabel to himself. He was right to scoff at Riftan, as much as he didn't want to believe it, he had been painfully obvious.

"What do you want?"

"First, I'd like for you to let go."

Nodding, he did so and as soon as he released his hold the man started to try and smooth out the stretched-out fabric.

"Second, I need you to come with me. I wasn't lying when I said Triton was looking for you."

Riftan nearly asked him if their commander knew but stopped as he let out a groan and brushed his hair out of his face.

Of course he knows.

" Fine, but how did you know I'd be here?"

Crossing his arms, Gabel leaned back against the tree, his posture having relaxed since being freed. "I may have occasionally been following you."

"No, I would have noticed." Riftan said while shaking his head in disbelief.

"Give me some credit." he replied while rolling his eyes. "It wouldn't be the first time I've been able to sneak around you."

As much as Riftan wanted to argue against that he knew he couldn't. The first time he met Gabel the man had snuck up on him.

"How long?"

He shrugged. "Not long, the first time was just before the rain stopped. Triton was starting to worry and asked me to follow you. I thought it was strange how you just stood out here alone…until last night."

A wave of nausea hit Riftan and the migraine he had warded off from his hangover came back in full force. He had been wrong; he didn't hear someone coming into the hall but leaving.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he rubbed his hand over his eyes, not being able to tell if his face was getting warm from embarrassment or anger. Gabel had heard everything and Riftan didn't even notice...he was going to kill Hebaron.

As he tried to alleviate the pain behind his eyes, Riftan heard a dramatic sigh.

"I'm not a cruel man. The reason why I didn't come get you this morning was so you could see her ladyship before you talked to the commander."

As thoughtful as that sounded, Riftan didn't like the implications behind his words.

"The commander, is he..."

"Angry?"

Riftan only nodded as he swallowed down a lump in his throat.

"Honestly, I don't know." Riftan looked over to judge Gabel's expression, hoping to see some sort of hint to him lying but he couldn't find any. If anything, he saw pity.

Gabel gestured towards the path leading to where Maxi was.

"I'll wait here. Don't take too long."

Riftan nodded in reply as a thanks before heading back towards the garden, his feet feeling heavier with each step.

As Maxi came into view his heart twisted in his chest. She was pacing back and forth as she bit her thumb nail, stopping only when she heard him approaching.

He watched as she started to walk towards him only to stop and instead wait while she nearly bit her nail again before moving her hands to pull at her already abused hair. Her braid was almost completely undone and he could see the skin around her nail looked raw.

"I-I...I th-thought you had t-told him, I...d-didn't say a-anything." she blurted out before he even had a chance to speak. The tears in her eyes and the panic in her voice felt like a punch to the gut.

"I know." he mumbled while reaching out to take a strand of her hair, causing her hands to leave the curls alone as he watched a red coil wrapped around his finger.

"He didn't do or say anything inappropriate to you?"

She looked confused by the question but shook her head no.

At least he had that.

"H-has...will h-he t-t-tell anyone?"

Riftan let the curl slip from his finger before reaching out to wrap her up in his arms, kissing the top of her forehead as he let out an exhausted sigh.

"He told my commander." Though Gabel didn't say it, Riftan was sure that's how Triton knew.

Even though Maxi accepted the hug her body was still tense from his words. Riftan's body felt heavy with guilt, this was his fault. They could have been sitting in the shade as they enjoyed each other's company instead of dreading what was to come. All because he couldn't hold himself back for one day.

"I need to leave to talk to him."

Pulling back, he rested his forehead against hers as he closed his eyes.

"If I don't go to the banquet tonight, could you meet me here?"

He felt her nod as she let out a shaky breath.

"Good." He moved to kiss her forehead again, keeping his lips there for a few seconds before gently kissing her temple, then her tear covered cheek until he brushed his lips against hers.

As she sighed into the bitter sweet kiss, Riftan brought his hand to rest at the back of her neck, his finger playing with the chain of the necklace he had gifted to her.

The walk back was painfully quiet, he felt as if he was being led to the hanged man. He truly didn't know what his commander would do. Though Triton complained, he never severely punished any of the knights that seduced anything with a pulse, but none of the others had been caught with the daughter of someone like the duke.

As they reached the room Triton was staying in. Riftan felt Gabel pat his shoulder as if to say good luck.

Riftan tried to ignore his rising anxiety as he entered the room. He was surprised to see it was roughly the same size as his own, the only difference being the quality of furniture and the additional desk near the window which was currently being occupied.

His commander kept his back turned to his vice as the sound of quill on paper filled the cold silence between them. With each passing second Riftan felt his muscles starting to ache due to his tense posture.

After what felt like an eternity of silence Triton finally stopped writing and spoke up.

"Care to tell me why you decided to have a tryst in the hall with the duke's daughter?"

He could feel the blood drain from his face, his throat felt like it was closing in on itself, making it feel impossible to speak.

The chair Triton was sitting in creaked as his commander turned to look at him. Riftan tried to judge the expression on his face, he was surprised to see pity instead of anger.

"Don't look at me like that, Calypse. You're not in any trouble with me." he said after a long sigh.

Riftan couldn't believe his commanders words.

"Who am I in trouble with?"

"No one, unless you pull an idiotic stunt like last night again. You're lucky it was one of us that caught you."

Riftan's body started to relax as he nodded.

"What now?"

Triton looked Riftan over for a moment before turning his chair to face him.

"Now…now you sit down and answer some questions."

Sighing, he looked around for another chair to sit in only to find that the only one in the room is being used by Triton. Finding nowhere else to sit, he moved toward the bed. He was starting to feel like a child about to be scolded.

"When did this start."

"We've been meeting up to talk almost as soon as we arrived." he admitted, seeing no point in lying.

Triton gave Riftan an bemused look as he leaned back in his chair. "Just talking?"

He tried to ignore the rising warmth in his chest as he cleared his throat.

"It recently...changed."

Triton hummed as he crossed his arms, his movement slightly stiff making Riftan's eyes narrow. His commander's injury was still acting up.

"Have you slept with-?"

"No." he answered, cutting him off before he could think.

Luckily, Triton didn't seem to mind as he smiled for the first time since Riftan entered the room.

"Good. Keep it that way. Now, do try to be a bit more subtle and enjoy the time you have left before we leave." He started to move his chair back to where it was before, pausing for a moment when he noticed the shocked expression on Riftan's face.

"Oh, don't be so surprised. If anyone in our order deserves some bit of fun, it's you. Truth be told I was more surprised than anything when Gabel told me. To think there was a woman you would willingly seek out." he started to chuckle as he shook his head. "There must be something special there."

Riftan was starting to feel dizzy as he nodded.

"I can still see her?" he mumbled, still not fully believing what his commander was saying.

"With how stubborn you are I doubt I could stop you. I can only ask for you to be more discreet in the future."

Riftan took in a deep breath as he leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs, all the tension in his body having fully left him at this point. He felt beyond exhausted, like he had been preparing himself to face a hoard of monsters head on only to be met with an army of allies instead.

After a few moments he released the breath he had been holding and slowly started to stand up only to stop as Triton spoke up again.

"I do want to know one more thing."

"What?"

"Why the duke's daughter?"

Riftan hesitated for a moment. There wasn't a man alive who could get him to tell them the truth, that Maxi was the only reason why he was still alive, that without that one precious memory of her he would have been dead in that cave.

"I grew up here." His slight admission made Triton laugh.

"Ah, so you knew her when you were children." Triton said with a genuine smile.

Riftan nodded slowly stood back up, hoping his commander would dismiss him soon.

Triton seemed to sense this and waved Riftan away while turning back to his paperwork.

As Riftan's hand touched the door he heard Triton chuckle again.

"I have to say, Calypse, I'm surprised. I didn't picture you as a romantic."

Riftan kept quiet as he began to leave.

Neither did I.

Riftan wanted nothing more than to go to his room and be left alone until he could see Maxi again, but Gabel didn't seem to think so.

As soon as Riftan entered his room he spotted the younger knight waiting there with his arms crossed and a bright smile on his face.

"Do you have nothing better to do then follow me around?"

"Currently? No, not really. So, good news I take it?"

Narrowing his eyes, Riftan had a feeling Gabel already knew the answer. After a few moments of tense silence, he nodded.

"Excellent!"

Wanting to leave it at that, Riftan started to gesture for him to leave but stopped as he remembered something that had been bothering him.

"Why did you confront her?"

Gabel faked being offended. "Confront is such a strong word. I simply wanted to introduce myself properly. I was curious on what type of woman could thaw that cold heart of yours."

"Cut the bullshit."

Gabel kept up the act for a few seconds before dropping it and shrugging. "Aright, I also wanted to show you how careless you've been. You truly are in desperate need of my help."

"Like hell I am."

"Oh? Tell me, why do you think her maids are leaving her alone right now?"

Letting out a frustrated groan, Riftan ran his hand over his face. "What did you do?"

"Not I, Hebaron convinced a few of the knights to try and woo her ladyship's maids."

Riftan continued to groan in frustration. "How many did you fucking tell?"

"Ah, right, Hebaron knows. Wait!" Gabel held up his hands in defense as Riftan began to approach him. "Hear me out, the other knights believe it was a type of hazing so there's no need to worry about them."

"Ah, great, so I only need to worry about Hebaron." He said with a bit of venom in his voice.

Gabel kept his hands up but relaxed his stance a little. "He already had a feeling about it and I'm only one man. Oh, stop glaring at me, it's making my skin crawl. Trust me, he finds this far too entertaining to jeopardize it."

"How kind of you." he replied, his tone still threatening.

"How kind indeed! You should be thanking us. This is what I mean by letting us help you. Hebaron and I can work on keeping the rumors down and give you an alibi if need be...and woo a few cute maids to keep her ladyship free." he added the last bit with a chuckle.

Though he was starting to see what Gabel meant it still didn't sit right with him. "So, you want me to use members of the Remdragon knights to see her. We're an order of knight not-"

"Don't be so stubborn. I already warned you that the others are starting to talk and if Hebaron was able to catch on it's only a matter of time before the others do as well." Gabel took a step forward and placed a hand on Riftan's shoulder.

"So, let us help you from being caught...again. I doubt you'd want to spend the time we have left having to dodge any politics if you were to be caught...again." Gabel argued.

Riftan felt that bit of paranoia creep up again as he shrugged his hand off.

"Why are you helping me?"

"It hurts that you're so distrustful."

"Just answer the fucking question."

Gabel crossed his arms and shrugged. "You're my brother in arms, there have been countless times you have saved my life and both Hebaron and I feel like this is the least we could do for our future commander."

Clearing his throat, Riftan tried to fight off the odd way Gabel's words affected him. It was true, during the years there had been a few times Riftan had saved the younger knight's life but that's what he was supposed to do. Gabel shouldn't feel the need to owe Riftan for doing the bare minimum for someone he fought beside.

Whatever feeling of comradery that Riftan was feeling was quickly swept away by Gabel's next statement.

"That and for the poor girl's sake you should learn how to properly please a woman."

"Leave, now." Gabel kept his smile up despite Riftan's tone.

With light steps, he started to move towards the door, but paused before opening it.

"Though I don't know how much I could teach you. It's like someone spilled sugar on your skin?" He ended his statement with a whistle that was cut short by Riftan quickly opening the door and shoving the younger knight out, making him trip and nearly fall in the process.

"I said leave before I break your fucking jaw!"

Gabel laughed and started to talk but Riftan cut him off by slamming the door shut hard enough he was surprised it didn't break.

Riftan stared at the closed door for a moment, feeling an odd mixture of relief and mortification, before hitting his head against the wood.

Triton had tried to convince him to join the banquet but stopped when Riftan hinted that him being 'discreet' was the reason for him skipping.

His commander only chuckled as he told Riftan to behave himself as before closing the door. Riftan was still conflicted by everything that had happened. The more he looked back at his conversation with Triton and Gabel the more he was questioning if this was real. By all rights, his commander should have barred him from seeing Maxi again, he should have told her father and stripped Riftan of all rank and titles, yet it felt as if he was encouraging him. That mixed with Gabel and Hebaron offering to help him...it just didn't feel real. He had never been this lucky before.

As he watched the sun set over the garden, he took in a deep breath and tried to convince himself everything would be alright. He didn't doubt that he'd have to repay them in some way for helping him but until then he'd follow Triton's advice and enjoy the time he had left.

Hearing some movement, Riftan turned his attention toward the garden and smiled softly as Maxi slowly approached him at first before she started to pick up the pace. As she came closer Riftan held his arms open for her as she practically jumped into his embrace.

"It'll be alright, they won't tell."

"I k-know." she said, her voice slightly muffled as she spoke into the fabric of his tunic.

He was shocked to hear her say that, how could she know? Did Gabel approach her again?

Letting out an irritated sigh, Riftan pulled back to better see her.

She still looked a little nervous, but the panic in her eyes from before was no longer there.

Seeming to sense his question she looked down at her hands as they played with his necklace.

"M-my f-father...I..." she hesitated for a moment. "Th-they w-would...have t-told...him by now b-but he didn't...s-say a-anything. Th-then your c-c-commander smiled at m-me. It felt...r-reassuring."

Riftan hated that he felt a bit of jealousy at that but he pushed it down as he brought one of her hands up to kiss it.

"W-were y-you...punished?"

He shook his head while continuing to kiss her hand before moving to her wrist where he could feel her pulse start to speed up.

"C-can... can I s-still s-see you?" her question came out a little breathy as his other hand started to trace the exposed skin above the back of her bodice.

Riftan hummed against her skin to say yes before pulling her closer to capture her lips in a gentle embrace.

As he deepened the kiss, he felt her hand on the back of his neck to pull him in closer while the other rested over his heart. At that moment Riftan knew his commander was right.

No one could keep her from him.