Chapter Thirty-Six
I awoke to the flickering rays of sunlight that protruded beyond the blockade of branches shining brightly on my face, slowly forcing my eyes to adjust to their intensity. Beyond the branches I could see the vast blanket of blue hovering above, its sublime surface covered with white balls of fluff as it stood beyond the reach of even the tree planted in the ground. Shifting my gaze further up I was met with Raelin's face, her eyes closed and chest rising up and down in sync with her heartbeat.
Even though Raelin looked so endearing as she slept soundly, I couldn't help myself and wound up reaching up and pinching her cheek. She was slow to respond at first, but as I stretched her cheek out even further she instinctively grabbed my arm and with her other hand she grabbed my face in retaliation.
"Ah!" I exclaimed as her talon-like grip held my face and grabbed her hand in an effort to pull it off. "You're gonna crack my skull if you squeeze any harder!" I grimaced.
"Then let go of my cheek…" Raelin muttered as I had my thumb in her mouth now pulling on her cheek even harder. I wanted to resist at first, but her fingernails were digging into my skin now so I reluctantly let go of her cheek and pulled my thumb out from her mouth returning my hand to my chest. With Raelin's cheek bouncing back to it's original shape she would hold my face for a few more seconds before pulling it back, but not before pinching my nose shut for a moment. I winced in response and was forced to sneeze, which led me to rub my nose furiously afterwards. I looked up at Raelin as I rubbed my nose and found she was looking down at me with an amused expression.
"Why do you gotta be so mean to me…" I whimpered.
"It's mean to pull on someone's cheek while they're sleeping." Raelin replied with a frown. "Especially one who is letting you sleep in their lap." Ralein added.
"I'm sorry…" I murmured, still rubbing my nose. "But you looked so cute while you were sleeping." I said
"And your response to that was to pinch my cheek?" Raelin asked, raising a brow in response.
"Y-Yeah." I said.
"Unbelievable." Raelin murmured.
"Besides you were the one who asked me if I wanted to lay in your lap?" I said.
"Cause I know how you love laying in my lap." Raelin said.
"Yeah because your lap is so soft and makes for an excellent pillow." I said.
"You sleep on my breast all the time when we go to bed, are you saying those make for an excellent pillow as well?" Raelin asked bluntly.
"Yup, they're just the right amount of cushion and softness." I said.
"Well I'm glad to know that I'm just a glorified pillow to you." Raelin rolled her eyes.
"You know what I meant." I said reaching up again and giving her cheek a pinch, which was quickly slapped away. "I can't fall asleep on just anyone you know, you're a very special type of pillow." I joked, trying to keep a straight face in the process.
"That's the most unromantic thing you've ever said to me." Raelin couldn't help but smile as she tried to hold back her own laughter.
"Yet you still love me, don't you?" I asked as I reached up and cupped her cheek this time. Raelin brought her hand up to my own and gripped it affectionately as she reached down and patted my head.
"Well of course I do, if I didn't, who else would?" Raelin joked back.
"I'm sure I could find someone who also loves me." I said.
"Your Mom or Dad doesn't count and neither does your sister." Raelin shot down the most obvious examples I could have used, almost as if she had been expecting me to use them.
"Well I guess if you exclude them, then you're right." I admitted.
"Of course I am!" Raelin said. "I'm always right." Raelin added with a cheeky smile.
"I don't know about always, but maybe sometimes." I said.
"Hey!" Raelin exclaimed, as she reached down and pinched both cheeks before pulling in opposite directions.
"Owe Owe!" I cried out as my cheeks were stretched out.
"You don't like that do you?" Raelin mocked. "I can do it some more if you like, since you liked doing it to me so much." Raelin said as she pulled my cheeks harder.
"Stop that, that hurts! I'm very fragile. I'll have you know!" I exclaimed.
"Fragile my ass." Raelin scoffed. "You are such a whiner, you know that? Anytime you're on the receiving end you act all innocent." Raelin scolded me as she started pulling up and down on my cheeks.
"And you're such a meanie." I said.
"Only to you." Raelin responded. "Anyone else though and I'd say I'm a pretty nice person." Raelin said.
"I don't know how to feel about that." I murmured.
"You should feel honored, nobody else gets to see my mean side." Raelin said.
"I feel like this is how domestic abuse star…." I said and before I could my sentence Raelin pinched my cheeks with her nails. "Owe Owe! Domestic abuse! Domestic abuse!" I cried out. She would proceed to pull my cheeks out one more time before letting them go where they snapped back into place causing me to wince.
"You can't be domestically abused." Raelin said.
"Yes I can." I protested as I rubbed my cheeks.
"You're not a woman, so you can't be domestically abused." Raelin replied.
"Gah! That's sexist!" I exclaimed.
"No it's not, I'm a woman." Raelin said.
"Oh my god Raelin." I said.
"I can say what I want, you're the only one here and we're back home." Raelin said and I let out a sigh.
"That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble." I said.
"You're one to talk." Raelin retorted.
"Ah well you got me there." I laughed. The two of us cast smiles at the other before laughing together for a short while.
A silence broke out and the two of us remained in place, as Raelin brushed my bangs out from my eyes and proceeded to stroke my hair. The sun passed overhead as we laid beneath the large tree, enjoying the brisk summer breeze that swept over our bodies and pond causing ripples across the water. After such a time had passed I broke the peaceful silence.
"So how are we going to spend the rest of this day?" I asked.
"I don't know, what are we going to do?" Raelin asked in response.
"That's why I was asking you, cause I don't know" I said as I nestled into Raelin's lap. "I'm content on staying put right here tho, I'm quite comfy." I added which caused Raelin to scoff.
"Yeah comfy in my lap." Raelin said.
"You don't seem to have any complaints since you're petting my head." I pointed out.
"Because you have soft hair." Raelin said.
"Oh gee thanks." I said.
"If you get to call my tits soft, then I can call your hair soft." Raelin said.
"Fair enough I suppose." I sighed. "But seriously Raelin, what are we gonna do with the rest of our day?" I asked once more.
"Do we have to do anything?" Raelin asked in return.
"No, but I just figured you'd want to do something with the week we have left at home." I said.
"No not really, perhaps when I first started working at Chaldea. " Raelin said. "I thought when I got home I'd want to do all these things now that I have money to spend, but now I'm always pooped out to do anything. I just want to spend my two weeks off relaxing and recuperating." Raelin said as ran her fingers through my hair.
"I'm surprised to hear you say that." I chuckled.
"Why's that?" Raelin looked down at me.
"You're always so full of energy, you're practically bouncing off the walls." I pointed out.
"My excess energy is used up by Chaldea." Raelin replied.
"You're starting to sound old." I joked. There was a prompt smack on my head and I winced in response.
"I'm only five years younger than you." Raelin pointed out.
"Before you know it, you'll be thirty." I said.
"Shut up." Raelin said.
"It'll happen in the blink of an eye." I poked at her..
"Shut up!" Raelin exclaimed as she proceeded to start hitting me on the head. I laughed in response as she kept swatting me upside the head, and eventually she calmed down and stopped hitting me. "You're such a meanie." Raelin murmured.
"For someone who is so mean, you've hit me far more than I've hit you." I pointed out.
"Don't you know you're not supposed to tell a woman she's going to get old." Raelin said.
"Well we all get old." I said.
"Yeah, but for women it's different." Raelin said.
"Different, different how?" I asked.
"You're not supposed to ask about that either!" Raelin exclaimed. For someone who was so young, Raelin got very defensive about her age. I would have thought she'd want to be told she's getting older, so she'd finally stop being treated like a kid.
"Fine." I let out a sigh before crossing my arms. "If I can't ask you about that, How about I ask if you want to go out anywhere for dinner?" I inquired.
"I don't wanna go out to town either." Raelin shook her head.
"So you just wanna stay here then?" I asked and Raelin nodded her head.
"Like I said, I'm too tired to go anywhere." Raelin said.
"Guess we'll just eat at home." I said.
"Oh boo, it's not like we don't go out plenty of times." Raelin said as she patted my head. "We do things all time, from shooting out at the range or going out hiking and we go shopping in the city plenty of times. In fact I'd say we go out to eat a little too much, you spoil me." Raelin said as she proceeded to stroke my head, even though she had just been hitting me earlier. "Right now all I want to do is just relax and enjoy the peace and quiet." Raelin said.
"I'll give you that, it is peaceful here." I murmured and Raelin nodded her head.
"So that means you should enjoy it while you can." Raelin said as she stroked my head. "It's hard to relax when you know work is right around the corner." I said.
"Just relax and shut your mind off." Raelin said.
"Isn't your brain always…." Before I could even finish that sentence I let out a gasp as there was a prompt smack to my forehead.
"Did you say something?" Raelin asked, having kept her eyes closed and had hit me purely on impulse it seemed.
"N-No." I murmured rubbing my swelling forehead.
"As I was saying, just relax and unwind." Raelin said. "Take a deep breath and untense your muscles, letting yourself sink into my lap." Raelin instructed.
"I think I'm already as deep into your lap as I can go." I pointed out.
"Yes I know that, but your muscles are still tense." Raelin said.
"Probably because I've been bea…." I didn't finish my sentence once again as there was another prompt smack to my forehead. I was going to be black and blue by the time I got back to Chaldea at this rate.
"Do you ever stop?" Raelin asked.
"Stop what?" I replied.
"Being a smartass all the time." Raelin said.
"I wasn't being a smartass, you keep hitting me!" I protested.
"Cause you keep making smart remarks." Raelin said.
"Being a smartass is just part of my nature." I smirked.
"Well you're not very good at the smart part, you usually just come out as just an ass." Raelin said and I couldn't help but snort.
"God you gotta spell it out like that." I said.
"If I don't say it, who else will?"
"Trust me, plenty of people already tell me my jokes suck."
"It's not that your jokes are bad, they're funny… some of them at least."
"Gee Thanks."
"It's more like your timing sucks, you always make jokes at the possible time." Raelin pointed out. "And you've also always got some sarcastic or smart remarks about almost everything." Raelin added.
"Well I've been sarcastic ever since you've met me, that's never going to change." I said and Raelin let out a sigh.
"I know as much, I just wish I could go back and see what influenced you to be such a sarcastic smartass." Raelin said as she rubbed her temple.
"Pffft who says I wasn't always sarcastic since I was born?" I joked.
"I doubt that very much." Raelin patted my head. "Anyway, you're never gonna be able to relax if you keep making smart remarks that get you in trouble." Raelin said.
"Making jokes helps me deal with stress." I said. "It also lightens the mood or distracts one from stressful situations." I explained.
"Well if your jokes were good then that might make sense." Raelin replied.
"You said my jokes were good!" I exclaimed.
"I said some of them were funny, not all of them." Raelin said. "Nice try though." Raelin patted my head once more.
"Does that mean I'll never get to see my dream of being Comedian?" I asked.
"I'm afraid so. You're better off sticking with shooting stuff." Raelin said as she ruffled my hair.
"That's not even my major." I grumbled.
"I know it's not, but you're the one who always says "I have a Major in Engineering and Masters in shooting things."" Raelin mocked.
"I don't say that phrase as a term of endearment." I grumbled.
"Well when I went to go study magecraft at Clock tower for years I never thought I'd become a private security contractor for an odd sounding organization out in the arctic, whose sole purpose is to run around the world cleaning up the Clock towers messes while recovering dangerous artifacts that could very well kill us or end the world, some of which keep me up at night." Raelin said and I chuckled in response.
"Yeah well that makes two of us." I said.
"So that's why I just want to relax and enjoy our two weeks off." Raelin said, taking a deep breath. "And you need to learn to relax too." Raelin said as she rubbed my shoulders.
"I don't get stressed out about going back to work." I looked up at her. "It's just a job until I can get a proper job in my actual field of study." I said.
"Then when you finally get your Engineering job that means you'll abandon poor old me." Raelin squished my face together.
"Oh stop it, you know I would never leave you." I said reaching up and pinching her cheeks. Raelin smiled down at me in response and ruffled my hair some more.
"But what will I do once you get a job?" Raelin asked. "I'll be partnerless and then I'll only get to see you every two weeks." Raelin said.
"You could always quit working at Chaldea and get a normal job?" I suggested.
"I don't think I'd have much luck finding one with my job skills." Raelin murmured.
"I'm sure Chaldea would write you a good recommendation." I said.
"What would they write?" Raelin asked. "They gonna write down that I'm a mage who finds and kills other mages, while recovering magical artifacts?" Raelin pointed out.
"Fair point, but I think they'd probably write something down. Since our cover is that we work for a Private Security company anyhow." I said.
"I dunno, I just have trouble seeing myself in a regular job." Raelin said as she rubbed her forehead.
"I'm just saying I don't plan on working this Chaldea job forever." I said as I averted my attention towards the sky.
"I know, I know. I don't wanna work this job forever either." Raelin said.
"You've been working this job for far less time than I have, and you already want out?" I asked with raised brow. "I don't wanna influence your decision Raelin, if you like working at Chaldea you should keep on working there." I added.
"Well I don't hate working at Chaldea, but working there I've realized how dangerous it is and I worry about you and for myself sometimes." Raelin said.
"Worry about me?" I said. "I'm the one who has to make sure you stay out of trouble most of the time." I pointed out.
"Pffft do I need to remind you how many times I've saved your neck." Raelin said.
"I'd rather you not." I murmured.
"That's good, because the list is quite lengthy." Raelin said with a smug grin.
"Yeah, Yeah. Shut up." I said. "Otherwise I'll have to bring up all the times I've had to save your ass." I wagged my finger at her, and Raelin caught my hand.
"I think my list would still outweigh yours." Raelin chuckled as she let my finger slip through hers where it fell back into my lap. "I'm just worried about our future and I'd like to find a job that's safer, that's all." Raelin said.
"How awfully forward thinking of you." I teased.
"Shut up, I'm allowed to think about the future." Raelin hit me upside the head.
"Well you're still young and you've got plenty of time." I said.
"First you were saying I'm getting old now you're calling me young." Raelin pouted.
"You got mad when I joked about you getting old, now you're getting mad that I'm saying you're young. Which is it, Raelin?" I asked. Raelin ruffled her eyebrows at me as the gears in her head started turning as she pondered on how best to respond.
"...I'd rather be called younger." Raelin responded.
"Well there you have it then." I said.
"You make me so mad sometimes." Raelin puffed out her cheeks and I laughed in response.
"But you still love me right?" I asked and Raelin laughed.
"Of course I do." Raelin leaned down planting a kiss on my forehead.
"Well for what it's worth, no matter what the future holds in store I'll always be besides you no matter what path you take." I said. Raelin's cheeks flushed in response and she affectionately stroked my head as we smiled at one another.
"Me too."
Anyone watching us would come to the conclusion that we were a love struck couple as we laid there underneath the large oak tree with the afternoon sky up above, stroking my head and I for my part stroking Raelin's cheek. Until Raelin decided to take flight.
"Enough of this sobby stuff!" Raelin exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. Her sudden departure caused my head to hit the ground causing me to winch in pain. Owe. I sat up in place where I proceeded to rub the back of my head where it had hit the ground, and looking up I found Raelin standing at the edge of the pond barefooted.
"Wh-What…?" I said, still dazed from hitting my head.
"You kept asking me if you wanted to do something, so let's go do something."
"Li…Like what?" I asked.
"Let's go skinny dipping!" Raelin exclaimed.
"W-What?!" I exclaimed in response. "You can't be serious Raelin we can't go skinny dipping in the pond, we're in the middle of a neighborhood where people can see us, not to mention there are young kids in this neighborhood!" I protested, but it was already too late. Raelin was taking off her shirt now and was now only wearing shorts and her gray sports bra. I leaped to my feet and ran over to stop her, in the name of public decency. "Raelin stop that! Put your shirt back on!" I said, grabbing her arms.
"Why? It's not like anyone will see!" Raelin laughed.
"What do you mean no one will see! Everyone in the neighborhood can see the pond!" I exclaimed.
"Not if I use invisibility magic." Raelin smirked.
"Invisibility magic?! That's not a thing!" I exclaimed.
"Are you sure about that?" Raelin asked with raised brow.
"N-No… At least I don't think so." I said, trying to think back on my magical studies.
"If I bend the water to enclose us inside a physical air bubble beneath the surface, that's a type of invisibility." Raelin said.
"T-That still doesn't make us invisible!" I exclaimed. "Anyone looking into the pond would still see us." I pointed out.
"Pfft, whose gonna look into the pond and see us!" Raelin said, and I pondered on it before shaking my head.
"No Raelin! We can't!" I exclaimed.
"Oh come on, don't be such a buzz kill! I know you'd love to see me naked underwater!" Raelin blurted out loud laughing and I felt my cheeks flush bright red.
"Don't blurt that out you idiot!" I exclaimed.
"Nobody's gonna hear us!" Raelin laughed as she attempted to pull down her shorts as I held her arms, and the two of us struggled with one another as I attempted to keep Raelin from stripping down any further all the while Raelin laughed. The two of us struggled back and forth with one another until my balance began to give way and I went falling forward bringing Raelin with me as we hit the water with a loud SPLASH...
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