Good morning USA! I have a feeling that it's gonna be a wonderful day! Sorry I haven't uploaded in a while, been busy with some other things like usual... I'll try to make time to write these stories whenever I get the chance, with school juuuust around the corner, and by that I mean next bloody week, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update my two stories, might even write a whole 'nother story since I thought of a plot that might work, but I'm still going to figure out to itty bitty details about that, so yeah. I'm not getting any more comments for this particular story, and I fear that people are finding it substandard or even unsatisfactory, or perhaps it's just my paranoid ass idk, so please... if it's not too much trouble, please take the time to comment anything about the story, if there's anything I can do better, or anything I'd rather leave out, criticism is very much welcome! Anyway, I've said all that comes to mind for now... let's proceed with the show!
I do not own Danmachi, the series is rightfully owned by Fujino Ōmori
Three Days Later...
With less than a spring in his step, a languid Bell Cranel trudged along the busy streets of Orario, it was a sunny afternoon and the boy just finished up with his fair share of chores and errands, so he decided to go look around the commercial streets of Orario to simply kill some time.
During moments like this... the boy would either be wandering inside the dungeon or simply training and honing his skills... but he wasn't in any condition to do either of those due to his still healing injuries and sleep-deprivation. The boy quickly found sleeping soundly, or at all, a herculean task... ever since a few days ago... the nightmares of Ryu and his' struggle for survival down the White Palace replayed over and over within his mind, heavily injured and near-death, whilst being hunted by a ferocious predator deep within unknown territory really shook him to his core, assailing and inundating him every time he closed his eyes to rest.
Profound, dark eyebags were present under the boy's red, dry eyes, his shoulders were slightly slump, his body feeling a little bit too heavy from weariness, and breathing heavily, the boy is currently far from the gregarious character he was
Suffering from sudden and unpredictable bouts of micro sleeps, he blinks and seemingly loses consciousness for a very brief period of time, then regaining consciousness only to find himself in an odd situation, one micro sleep episode and the next thing he knew when he woke up is that he was leaning face first on some sacks of rice on the floor beside a nearby stall
"Hey! What the?!- Rabbit's Foot?!"
A muscular man exclaimed in shock at the peculiar sight of the white haired boy face planted onto the stacked sacks of rice
"Huh- Wha?!"
After regaining consciousness, the boy quickly noticed that his vision was obstructed and his breathing was obstructed, he quickly deduced that he was lying face-first on something hard and plump
"Fueh?!"
Quickly getting up, he noticed that he was lying on some sacks of rice beside a stall with the owner giving him a weird look
A loud apology quickly burst forth from the boy as he picked himself up and walked away
"I really... want... to sleep...zzz"
In the middle of taking a step, the boy suddenly suffered another episode of micro-sleep, with his legs suddenly giving way to his weight at the sudden loss of control, which caused him to stumble forward and fall...
Onto somebody...
"Kya!!!"
A feminine squeak was heard, along with a dull thud of a body colliding against a much lighter body, causing them to both fall down
"B-Bell Cranel?!"
The surprised and confused voice of Airmid Teasanare exclaimed, different thoughts rushing through her head
She was about to ask him what in the world he was doing when she noticed that the boy was unconscious
"?"
She only needed a glance, and not a second later... she had deduced that the boy was profoundly sleep-deprived
Pushing the boy off of her gently, she got up and shook him awake
"B-Bell... wake up"
As soon as she started shaking him, the boy's consciousness began to slowly return
Registering the shaking sensation, he quickly noticed that he was face to face with a very familiar face
"M-Miss Airmid!?"
The poor boy barely shouted out in shock
Seeing as the boy was alright, Airmid couldn't help but let out a small smile in relief, which was a sharp contrast to the apathetic expression she usually wore on her face
"Thank goodness you're alright"
She nodded at him as she helped him get up, the initial commotion warranted the stares of a small, gathering crowd that went to check what on earth happened
The stares of the crowd made the Dea Saint slightly uncomfortable, but her professional attitude took command over the situation and forced her embarrassment down, the health of the boy in front of her was top priority as of the moment
Helping him get back to his feet, she removed the dust and dirt off of her clothes as they started walking away from the quickly gathering crowd
"I can't help but notice... have you not been getting enough sleep, Bell?"
The Dea Saint asked, her tone as unwavering as ever... but there was a slight hint of concern for the boy, like how one is concerned for the well-being of someone close to them
The languid form of Bell Cranel perked up slightly after being addressed, took a second to process what she said and reluctantly nodded yes
"Yes... ever since a few days ago... I've been *yawwwwnnn* having trouble sleeping..."
The boy admitted, ashamed
The Dea Saint raised an eyebrow at this
"Do you have any idea as to why so?"
She asked, hoping to get an insight of the boy's predicament and hopefully remedy the situation as soon as possible
"Well... recently, I've been getting nightmares of the time Miss Ryu and I got trapped down the thirty-seventh floor..."
The boy finished his sentence with a heavy yawn
"Why haven't you said anything sooner?"
She pressed the boy with her signature stare, upset that the boy did not even think of consulting her
"I-I'm sorry Miss Airmid... but I thought that we could take care of it at home... but I was just about to have you look *yaaaaaawn* ...at it..."
The boy managed a smile
"I told you Bell, we're already past the formalities..."
She reminded him
"Ah, oh yeah... sorry about that Airmid, it's just that you're kind of scary when your *yaaaawn* Dea Saint switch is flipped"
He grinned at her, the girl was slightly annoyed by his remark... but she decided not to dwell on it
"Back to topic, I take it that you and your Familia have been taking measures to address this problem of yours?"
She prodded him for more information, which he readily gave... it's not a got idea to hide anything from your healthcare provider after all
"Yes... we've tried many things... from home arrangements to weird medicine we got at an apothecary... one of my fellow Familia members even offered to recite to me hero stories while I try to fall asleep..."
Her eyes twitched at this, probably because the boy claimed that they had tried homeopathic approaches or probably because of the second thing the boy said
"You should have told me about this as soon as it started to become a problem, how irresponsible could you be, Bell?"
She scolded him as she pinched his cheek with both her index finger and thumb
"Ow! Ah! I-I'm sowwy!"
The boy struggled to enunciate his words
"Hah... anyway... you said something about this occurring just recently?"
She asked him, dusk was now approaching and the afternoon sky started to gain a beautiful amalgamation of orange, red and yellow
"Y-Yes... *yaaaawnnnn* ever since the day after we got dinner together..."
Good thing the boy replied in a moderately quiet tone of voice, lest they were overheard and a misunderstanding started
"I see, you haven't been getting nightmares during your stay at our Familia's facility?"
She asked him for clarification, and the boy shook his head, negative
"No... I'm almost embarrassed to admit it... but I think that your presence really *yaaaawwwwnn* helped keep the nightmares away, Airmid..."
The boy sheepishly confessed with a yawn, which got her attention
"Why would you think that?"
She raised an eyebrow at the boy, confused at his words
"Please don't laugh at me?"
The boy pleaded, which earned a soft smile from the Dea Saint and a nod of agreement
"I promise"
She reassured him
"Well... I'm not quite sure how to say this... I find your presence very comforting... it's as if you're embracing me, which makes me feel safe and secure... I think I might have said too much..."
The boy suddenly trailed off, embarrassed at having to pour out his thoughts like that in such an embarrassing manner, now he couldn't bring himself to make eye-contact with Airmid, who was suddenly very silent
Deep in thought, she blankly stared forward with a thousand-yard stare
'I've gone and done it now... Airmid probably thinks I'm a massive weirdo... or worse, a pervert!'
While the boy internally scolded himself for being so carelessly loquacious, Airmid snapped out of her trance with a 'eureka' moment, as if she had just discovered how to end world hunger... or in this case, a potential remedy for the white haired boy's predicament
"I think I have a solution to your problem, Bell..."
She trailed off, gaining the boy's interest
The boy honestly expected it to be something simple... whether it be some medicine, or even a therapeutic treatment of some sort... but nothing could have prepared him for the Dea Saint's suggestion
"Might I suggest you sleep with me for the next few nights?"
She may have worded that a bit too poorly, which did wonders for the sleep-deprived boy's heart
"E-E-Ex-Excuse me?"
The boy did a double take to make sure if he had misheard the silver-haired girl
Noticing the boy's profoundly flustered and confused expression, the Dea Saint raised a delicate eyebrow and, after realizing what she said had been misconstrued, exploded in red
"F-F-Forgive me! I wasn't implying what you think I was!"
She immediately elaborated, steam was coming out of her head as her face was adorned with an incredibly powerful shade of red
"I-I...!!!"
Even if Airmid did elaborate, the damage had already been done... and the boy's mind was quickly going towards some... interesting places...
Before he could space out though, he vigorously shook his head clear of such thoughts
"*Ehem* W-What I meant was that I can watch over you as you sleep, if your words are to be believed, this will be the remedy to your predicament..."
She tried to compose herself as she explained away, but fell short as she couldn't bring herself to meet the boy's eyes
"T-That's still embarrassing!"
He blurted out, incredibly embarrassed that the girl had even suggested such an outrageous idea
Once the sentence left his mouth though, Airmid's stern expression returned with a vengeance, she always did tend to get a bit more coercive when her patients were less than cooperative...
"I understand that you're embarrassed about this Bell... but it is for the sake of your health, and that is paramount!"
Her tone had a sense of finality within it, The Dea Saint was undefeated when it came to rhetorics
Sensing that any further resistance will bear no fruit, the boy very reluctantly acquiesced to her offer, quietly mumbling to himself about such a weird turn of events...
The boy agreeing had dispelled Airmid's stern expression as it gave way for a more softer one
"This is all for the sake of your health so worry not"
She smiled softly at him
"I would love to chat some more with you Bell... but I must get going now, Lord Dian Cecht might be wondering where I am right about now..."
She informed him while he nodded with apprehension, still in disbelief that he had submitted to her without more resistance than what he had put up
"Later after dinner, excuse yourself for the night and pretend to retreat into your room, find a way out of the Hestia Manor without getting detected and make your way towards my Familia's residence, I shall wait for you at the western side of our manor, there is a secret entrance there"
She informed him about what was to happen within the next few hours, Bell was confused about a few things
"Eh? Why will I be the one to sneak out...?"
His voice pretty much died in his mouth when he saw Airmid give him a weird look
"You are more physically capable than I am, and do you actually expect me to be the one to do such a thing? That's not very traditionally roman-!!!"
Airmid gave little thought while she explained away her reasoning to the boy, but had immediately caught herself just before she could have let out a dangerous slip of the tongue, she had the tendency to speak her unfiltered thoughts whenever she explained away, good thing she was paying just a little bit extra attention this time
"Airmid?"
The boy was confused that she had abruptly stopped her sentence, but the Dea Saint just played it off as of little consequence
"*Ehem* Please ignore that..."
She forcibly coughed into her clenched fist
"A-anyway, I'll be waiting from seven thirty up until eight, please don't take long... farewell for now"
She hastily made her retreat with a flushed face, disappearing into the sea of people, leaving the weary white haired boy confused and with plans for the evening
"What... just happened...?"
...
"I'm heading to bed now, good night everyone!"
After a hearty meal, the Captain of the Hestia Familia bid everybody a good night
"I really wish you'd finally get some sleep now Bell-kun... I can't bear to see you suffer like this!"
Hestia spoke, earning a tired yet grateful smile from the boy
"Thank you goddess... I hope so too..."
He replied
"Hope you get some sleep Bell! You don't look to good..."
Welf wished him luck as well
"Lili concurs with Master Welf, Master Bell isn't looking too well right now..."
The prum supporter of the Hestia Familia also chimed in, noticing that the boy had definitely seen better days
And indeed, the two of them were correct, Bell was beginning to feel a bit feverish since getting back home, with an onset of fever from the lack of meaningful sleep for the past few days, his breathing rate was elevated and his body felt a bit heavy... but the boy didn't show any signs that might worry them aside from his usual weary demeanor
"M-Master Bell! I-If you ever require my services... p-please don't hesitate to call me!"
The renard of the Hestia Familia offered her aid to the white haired boy, but before he could answer... Mikoto beat him to the punch
"L-Lady Haruhime! P-Please don't say it in such a suggestive manner!"
The raven haired girl scolded the renard for blurting out such easily misunderstand-able things with little thought
"Ahaha... I'm truly grateful that you all care so much about me..."
This earned him bright smiles from all of his fellow Familia members
"Well... I'm feeling lucky that tonight will be different, so best seize the opportunity..."
And with that, he bid his Familia members goodnight one last time before he finally did retreat into his chambers
Gently and noiselessly shutting the door to his room, he quickly, yet sloppily put on a more decent change of clothes, quickly went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, then came back, locked the door to his room to ensure nobody notices his late-night absconding, checked himself on the mirror one last time before promptly exiting via the windows of his room, dropping onto the lawn of the Manor with as little noise as possible, he surreptitiously ran towards the gate of the manor and leapt past it
The easy part was done
Barely remembering the way towards the Dian Cecht Familia residence, in his sleep-deprived state... he stumbled into a few wrong turns, finally reaching his destination after almost getting lost a few times
The boy went towards the west side of the Dian Cecht Familia's manor as per Airmid's instructions, and sure enough, his eyes registered her lone figure preoccupied with a small book she was reading
"*yaaawn* Good evening Airmid!"
Yawning along the way, the boy enthusiastically went up to greet her, snapping her attention away from the book she was engrossed with a few seconds ago
"Oh, Bell... good evening"
She returned his greeting with a small smile on her face
"Good to see you didn't change your mind"
She told him, which earned her an awkward chuckle from the boy
"Well, that wouldn't be in my best interest... or so you say..."
He acknowledged as she just harrumphed at him in response
"Well, enough dilly-dallying... let's head inside shall we?"
She turned around and led the boy towards a secret emergency passageway that led into and out of the Dian Cecht Familia manor, the entrance of said passageway was a small, slightly rusted hatch neatly concealed by a false patch of the cobblestone pathway surrounding the manor's perimeters
Making sure that absolutely nobody saw them, she quietly took out the patch of false pathway and revealed the slightly rusted hatch
Bell served as the watch-out to see if anybody was just a bit too curious, he sensed no presence in the general area
Opening the hatch, Airmid ushered Bell down the entrance which was connected to a ladder, then placed the false bottom securely back on top of the hatch before promptly shutting the hatch close and descending down into the secret passageway herself
Bell, after a bit of descent, had reached the floor of the passageway and looked up to check how his partner was doing, and had immediately witnessed enlightenment
The so called 'panchira', according to his late grandfather, when a man gets the incredibly fortuitous chance of witnessing such a sight, said man could now die a happy man
"Are you alright Bell? You seem a bit unresponsive"
After finally getting the boy to snap out of his trance, she asked if there was something that was bothering him, for some reason... the boy was incredibly worked up, with a fierce blush on his face and kept on glancing anywhere but towards her
"E-E-Everything's fine! Yep!"
Wildly gesticulating, he reassured her that there was nothing to be concerned about
Merely shrugging her shoulders in defeat, she gave him the benefit of the doubt
"If you say so..."
She then overtook the boy and led the way
"Anyway, let's not waste anymore time"
The boy meekly followed closely behind her, unable to shake the color white off of his mind
...
The entrance leading into the Dian Cecht Familia manor was not far off now, Bell had now calmed down enough after a little bit of walking and decided to strike up a conversation with the girl in front of him
"Are you sure you ought to be showing me this secret passageway, Airmid?"
It wasn't as if the boy had any malicious intentions, but he just wanted to ask for her sake
The Dea Saint seemed to hold up her head slightly as if to give what he just said some thought, before finally responding
"I trust that you're not that type of person, Bell"
She looked back at the boy to give him a warm smile
Bell couldn't help but feel a bit warm due to her words, to hear that she trusted him that much was just absolutely heartwarming and precious, he could've melted on the spot
"I-I'm glad you think of me so highly, Airmid..."
He sheepishly returned her smile with a faint blush on his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment
She gave him a nod and another smile before turning her gaze back towards the front
"We're here, please be as quiet as you possibly could..."
She stopped in front of a dead end with a lever sticking out of the wall on their side, activating it, only a small click was heard before the dead end in front of them suddenly became a narrow pathway leading into a spacious hallway
"Follow closely and be as stealthy as possible"
She warned him just before they slipped into the hallway
Bell closely followed behind Airmid as they clandestinely make their way towards the Dea Saint's room, turning their heads in every direction with every turn they make to make sure nobody saw them
"The others are probably about to retreat into their chambers for the evening, so we need to be extra careful around here..."
Airmid whispered to the boy crouched beside her as they overlooked a long hallway that led to the personal chambers of the Dian Cecht Familia members
"Understood..."
Bell whispered back as they got up and quietly made their way towards Airmid's personal quarters
After a bit of sneaking around, they finally made it and were now in front of the door
But just before Airmid could open it, she hesitated, confusing the boy
"A-Airmid?"
She didn't respond as she her thoughts suddenly went wild
'Goodness! I'm about to let a boy into my room!'
'A boy I l-l-like no less!'
'D-did I at least leave it in a presentable state?'
'Oh god! I think I neglected to tidy up before leaving this morning! It's probably a mess all over!'
A warm hand grasping her arm suddenly pulled her out of her hesitation
Turning towards the source of the warmth, she found the boy gazing upon her with an unsure expression
"A-are you uncomfortable with this? Should I leave?"
He asked her for confirmation, being the natural gentleman he is, he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable in any way
"Ah, no! I was thinking about something else, don't worry about it"
She quickly reassured him that she wasn't regretting her decision to invite him over into her room for the next few nights
Hearing what she said, the boy shrugged his shoulders slightly, though still unsure
"A-Anyway, come on"
She grabbed a hold of the door with one hand, opening it, and the boy's own hand with her other and pulled him into the room then promptly shut the door
Bell, after regaining his senses after being suddenly pulled into the room, glanced around her room and suddenly thought...
'Disorganized...'
The room was of a comfortable size, not too large that it feels needlessly spacious and not too small that it feels stifling either, it was just the right size. Neither over nor under furnished, the room allowed for a comfortable living and even working space. Miscellaneous books and documents were strewn all over a desk with an oil lamp beside the sizable bed that she owned and some were even all over the floor, and various paraphernalia relevant to her profession could be found all around the place
It was nothing too bad, for the most part... the room was well-kept, Airmid probably just a bit too engrossed in a recent project and forgot to tidy up
Well, nothing to be done about it
"I-I'm sorry that my room is in such a disorganized state... I couldn't clean up before you got here"
She bowed apologetically to the boy, who just laughed nervously at her apology
"Ahaha... please don't worry about it! I'm also a bit messy myself"
He admitted, which did assuage the Dea Saint's embarrassment just a bit
"Well, shall we get started then?"
She suggested as she moved to pick up a few scattered objects to tidy up her room a bit
"Ahm... is it okay that we talk for a little bit first? All that sneaking around kind of took away my sleepiness..."
The boy admitted, sneaking around and trying to avoid getting caught really did make him more alert
Putting away a few things, Airmid glanced briefly at him and nodded that it was alright to her
"Please don't be a stranger, make yourself at home"
She said as she just about finished tidying up her room, she worked fast as her profession demanded out of her
"Excuse me then..."
The boy gently sat down at the foot of the bed, patiently awaiting the Dea Saint to finish tidying up and join him
"So, what's on your mind?"
After taking care of the clutter, Airmid quickly joined him, sitting on the bed beside him, less than an arm's length away
"Ahm... nothing in particular, I just wanted to talk with you"
Airmid raised an eyebrow at the boy, but she didn't seemed weirded out by what he said
"Uh huh... oh, by the way"
She noticed something
"Y-yeah?"
The boy was all ears
"When you held my arm when we were just outside my room... I noticed that your touch was just a bit too warm for me to ignore"
She eyed him as he began to fidget uncomfortably
"I... uh..."
He couldn't find a way to play it off, he was indeed starting to feel a fever quickly approaching
"Bell, do you have a fever?"
She pressed the boy as she began to scooch closer towards the boy, who scooched away an inch further in response
"I-I'm as healthy as a horse!"
He defended, but Airmid wasn't having it
"I don't believe you"
She attempted to close the distance in order to press their foreheads together to see if he was indeed feverish, which alarmed the boy, he scooted further and further until he fell down onto the floor
Airmid attempted to catch him just before he fell down, but the boy's body was surprisingly heavy for such a small one, and with the sudden shift of weight, she was dragged down with him
Falling down together, Bell's back unceremoniously met the floor as Airmid was forcibly pressed onto his chest as she fell on top of his, forcing the boy to embrace her in order to prevent her from rolling down and hurting herself
"Owie owie..."
Bell muttered to himself as he quickly regained his senses
And promptly noticed the incredible, heavenly sensation pressed against his chest and lower abdomen, his olfactory sense was inundated by the Dea Saint's aroma once more as her lavender locks strewn all about
"A-Airmid, are you alright?"
Hearing her name being called, she regained her senses and quickly found herself in an incredibly embarrassing and risqué position
"B-Bell..."
Her tone of voice was surprisingly soft, almost as if she were purring...?
'W-wha?'
All that commotion understandably made the quickly approaching footsteps towards the Dea Saint's room go unnoticed
"Airmid, what's all the commotion at this hour..."
Bernadette, a fellow Familia member opened the door to her room without knocking to announce her presence, and was treated to an incredibly peculiar sight
Her Captain's petite frame pressed firmly against the muscular, yet lean body of a certain white haired boy, which he remembered to be Bell Cranel
"Ah"
She was quite rendered speechless
Then she proceeded to slowly close the door, muttering an apology about something along the lines of being sorry for interrupting them
"WAIT!"
...
"Ohhh... I see I see..."
The woman named Bernadette was quickly called back into the room to be briefed about the situation in order to avoid a severe misunderstanding, after hearing the story, she glanced at the white haired boy with a sympathetic look
"Must be tough going without sleep for nearly three days eh?"
She tried to start a conversation with him, to which he just laughed awkwardly at
"Y-yeah... I really hope that this'll do the trick, any longer and I'll probably drop dead"
He joked, which earned him a terrifying glare from the Dea Saint
"But still... are you sure that this just isn't an excuse to sleep with my dear captain?"
She smirked at the boy as she gave out the teasing remark
Both Bell and Airmid's faces exploded in red
"T-T-T-That's not it at all!"
Bell sputtered out his reply unceremoniously while Airmid simply remained quiet, neither agreeing with nor denying the claim
"Eehhhh...? You like each other don't you?"
Either Bernadette didn't have any sense of tact, or she simply wanted to be the impetus to something beautiful, one could not tell
In reality, she could tell that her captain longed to experience what it was like to love another person, with her life simply consisting of work, work, more work and then work, it was understandable that everybody would think that the poor doll badly needed somebody to take care of, comfort her when the going gets tough and to keep her in check when she might just be a bit too zealous with work
And besides, she thought they'd look cute together
Her sentence produced the expected results
"I ah uhm...!?!?!"
The poor boy's brain short-circuited, profound embarrassment, sensory overload, and the sheer shock factor of her words all conspired to render the boy a mumbling and blushing mess
Meanwhile, the Dea Saint's blush profoundly intensified, becoming even more taciturn, all the while stealing a glance at the boy beside him, who was wildly gesticulating and muttering incomprehensible noises
'D-Does he really...?'
She couldn't help but wonder, at this point, she had finally recognized and accepted her feelings towards the boy and decided to explore them, hence the suggestion, if she didn't hold any similar feelings for the boy... she would've never suggested such a brazen idea to begin with
"I uh... of course I like miss Airmid! She's helped me a ton! She may keep on shrugging it off as simply her job to provide aid, I'm still personally very grateful towards her"
In one breathe, Bell admitted, intriguing Bernadette and furthering Airmid's fluster
'Well... I wasn't expecting that kind of answer, no I wasn't...'
Bernadette smiled, it was apparent to her that the boy poorly worded his statement, but said nothing since it was eliciting such a cute reaction from her Captain
'Ahhh... she's so cute~, so this is her maiden-in-love side...'
She had decided that she had teased them enough for now
"Ahaha! Well, I won't take up much more of your time"
She promptly got up from the chair she was sitting on, turned around and made her way towards the door
But just before she exited, she couldn't help but give one last jab
"Be sure to keep it down alright? I want to get some sleep"
Without waiting for a response from either of them, she left the room, closing the door along the way, leaving the both of them in an awkward silence
"M-Mister Cranel..."
Apparently, when she's embarrassed out of her mind, she reverts to addressing people formally
"Y-Yes?!"
Bell didn't bother to address the oddity
"I-it looks like you're definitely feverish! Y-y-you're red all over"
She tried to change the subject in order to divert their attention and hopefully lessen the awkwardness between them
Bell would've believed what she said had she not been red all over as well herself
"P-Please lay down on the bed, I'll get you some left over chicken soup from dinner"
Forcing the boy to lay down on the bed, she neatly tucked him in as she gave him a strained smile and momentarily left the room to fetch a few things, leaving the boy all alone with his thoughts
'I wonder... do I like her?'
Apparently the boy wasn't as dense as a rock
He laid his head down on the bed's pillow, feeling his body get even heavier to move and his core temperature become even warmer
...
"I-I can feed myself Airmid"
Bell ashamedly refused another spoonful of soup from the Dea Saint as she attempted to spoon-feed him again
"You're sick, Bell... please let me take care of you"
Speaking in a soft tone laced with care and tenderness, she dismissed his pleads to feed himself
Knowing that once she was in Dea Saint mode, he wouldn't be able to change her mind on the matter, so he simply let out a sigh and accepted her offered spoonful of chicken soup
"It's delicious..."
He noted the richness of the flavor, giving due credit
"Indeed, Martha's a very good cook"
She replied as she fed him another spoonful
"I... I'm good now, Airmid"
He informed her that his tank was now at full capacity, giving it a few pats to drive the point home
"Just a few more spoonfuls"
She insisted, but the boy kindly declined her with a smile
"I just had dinner a little while ago, so I'm still quite full..."
He admitted, to which she nodded to and set the bowl of half-empty chicken soup aside
"I see, how about you try to get some sleep now if you can, I'll join you shortly..."
She suggested as she stood up, grabbed the half-empty bowl and was about to exit the room before Bell called out to her
"I-Is it really alright for me to sleep on your bed, Airmid? I can sleep in a guest room or something, just being in the same building as you is enough... I think"
The boy suggested after his mind fully registered that he was actually about to sleep alongside such a beautiful girl, being the natural gentleman he is, he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable with his presence in the same room while they slept, the last thing he wanted was for her to lose sleep because of him, having been deprived of sleep for three agonizing days, he had realized just how precious sleep is to one
Airmid stopped in front of the door and stood silent, this went on for a few seconds before she looked up at him and sighed
"Bell... if you're worried that I'll feel uncomfortable because of this arrangement, rest assured, I'd actually be insulted if you slept anywhere else other than this very room and on that very bed..."
She smiled at him, to which he just sighed, he really wasn't going to win an argument against this woman was he?
"If you're absolutely sure..."
He finally resigned to his fate
"Good, I'll be back... please try to sleep now"
Nodding to her, he thanked her for the soup
And with that, she momentarily left the room to take care of the dishes
...
"Ngh..."
Bell snuggled up against an extra pillow beside him, his face contorted in panic, he was being assaulted by those awful nightmares again
"N-no...!"
A brief flash of a disembodied skull of a sheep with glowing, blood-red irises, and with a terrifying literal ear-to-ear grin on its face, slowly appearing from the jet-night darkness of the entrapping walls of the dungeon
The poor boy's breathing rate skyrocketed and he was sweating bullets
"Guh...! No...!"
Slowly but surely, the disembodied skull gravitated towards him, letting out a terrifyingly hoarse bleat, as if to mock its cornered prey
He couldn't run away even if he wanted to, which he very much did, his legs simply refused to even twitch a single muscle, he was at the looming predator's mercy, if it had any
The horrifyingly hoarse bleating of the monster got louder and louder as it loomed closer and closer, and then suddenly... silence
Sweet, sweet tranquility
The disembodied skull tormenting him was now nowhere to be found, just calm, comfortable silence
'Ah... bliss...'
His consciousness was now slipping away as the nightmares finally relented and ceased to torment him, as they wantonly did for the past few days
Sleep overcame his being
.
"You're safe now..."
The smooth, velvety voice of Airmid murmured into the white haired boy's ear as she enveloped his now-sleeping figure in her arms
She had come back to the room to find the boy trying to get some sleep, only to struggle with the nightmares tormenting him, his face contorting in fear and desperation, which broke her heart
This was nothing new to her, it was all too common for wounded adventurers to suffer from severe trauma, she sympathized with them... but it didn't really feel this profound for her, it's totally different if it's someone you care about
She wasted no time in tucking herself into the bed and enveloping the boy in her arms as she rubbed circles on his trembling body in an attempt to soothe his being, and whispered reassuring things into his ear as he slowly started to relax
"There there..."
It was as if she were soothing a baby
'Hah... I suddenly feel like a mother...'
Her line of thought eventually lead her to a thought of a distant, possible future
A baby in her arms, cooing lovingly at its mother
And a loving husband who had his arms wrapped around her beloved wife
It brought a smile to her face, a brilliantly beautiful smile of a woman in love
'I'd like that... very much'
Lost in her train of thought, she failed to notice the boy shifting in his position to face her, reciprocating her hug, only tighter
She found herself enveloped by his thin, yet robust arms, of a boy weaning into a man, but was not quite there yet
"Ah!"
She let out a squeak of surprise at the sudden intimacy between them
Coming face to face with the boy's sleeping expression, she couldn't help but study his face intently
'Cute'
She likened him to a sleeping rabbit
She smiled and pressed their foreheads together
"I don't know how you feel about me Bell... but I just want to say that you've really grown on me this past month..."
She mumbled, not expecting a reply
"Who knew that you could come to love somebody in such a short time..."
She blinked rapidly a few times
"I-I'm still not ready to tell you... but at least allow me this for now..."
Her gaze slowly drop down towards his slightly opened mouth, feeling a dangerous urge festering within her
She was about to lean in to kiss her, but suddenly stopped herself... it wouldn't feel right to do that when he wasn't even awake to experience it alongside her
Until, she was suddenly pulled into one
Greatly surprised and perhaps even a bit horrified, she abruptly disconnected their lips in shock
Her shocked violet irises meeting with rubellite ones
"Y-Y-Y-You... were awake?!?!"
She managed out, dismayed that the cat was now out of the bag, and quite prematurely
"Y-yes..."
The boy admitted, embarrassed but not at all regretting his decision
'It's now or never I guess...'
Shrieking into the palms of her hands, she scooted some distance away from the boy
"A-Airmid... if you really want to know how I feel, I'll tell you..."
Stopping her embarrassed shrieking, she listened to what the boy had to say, yet still refusing to lift her face up and look him in the eye
"A few months ago, we were simply acquaintances, we interacted whenever it was only necessary... and there wasn't even much necessity to interact back then, all that changed until my Familia and I undertook our failed expedition and I was wheeled into your Familia's medical facility in a state of near-death..."
She finally lifted up her face to gaze shyly at the boy, but still managed to glare at him, to which he simply gave a chuckle towards and continued
"Ever since that day, and even long before that... you've been taking such good care of me, it might just be all in a day's work to you... but to me... it means the world..."
His eyes softened as he scooted closer towards her, she didn't move away
"You made time for me and our little chats that we had, which gave me the honor to get to know who Airmid Teasanare truly is... I've shown you my vulnerable side, and you reciprocated... there's nothing more flattering to me than that..."
She unconsciously started to lean towards the boy, who was now less than an arm's length away from her
"So, if you want to know how I feel about you, Airmid Teasanare... I love you too"
Not a second later, their lips connected once more
-Fin-
And then they f*cked, the end (*static noises*)
Just kidding, holy moly this has been a bit longer than the others, but it was worth it... had to cover a lot of ground here, this entire chapter was actually supposed to be two separate chapters, but I kinda wanted to finalize the story sooner rather than later, so I thought 'f*ck it' and merged them into one single chapter, I hope the plot was moving at a steady pace for you guys, to me... the confession part kinda felt a bit rushed and I personally think it could've been more better and more heartfelt... buuuuttt that's all I can do at the moment, cut me some slack, anyways, the next chapter will be the epilogue, it'll be a time skip.
And with that my babies, I'll see you in the epilogue!