Vax sighed contentedly as he ran his fingers through Keyleth's hair. She lay stretched out on top of him, panting, muscles gloriously sore. Things hadn't gone quite as smoothly as she'd hoped – it had taken her a few tries to get the rhythm and angles right – but they'd both enjoyed themselves immensely. Ultimately, Keyleth felt surer of herself, more confident in her instincts, and excited to experiment further.

"You liked that, right?" she asked breathlessly. Remembering his reaction sent a little thrill up her spine- the expression on his face, the way he'd gripped her hips, bucking wildly as he cried out her name.

"Did I?" His tone said it all, but he continued anyway. "You were perfect. Everything you do is perfect." He could feel her smiling against his chest, face still burning hot. With his free hand he tilted her face toward him. "You wanna do it again sometime?" Keyleth's eyes sparkled with pride, giving Vax butterflies. The image of her gazing at him like that, cheeks flushed, hair mussed, lips parted as she breathed heavily, would present itself to him at inopportune times for years to come.

"Absolutely," she replied, placing a gentle kiss in the center of his chest. Her eyelashes fluttered softly against his skin for a moment before she set her head back down. Vax took a deep, shuddering breath, so overwhelmed with love for her that tears threatened to spill from his eyes. He was so lucky, luckier than he had any right to be, and this time he wouldn't mess it up. He'd learned his lesson before, that Keyleth didn't like surprises, and he needed ease into things instead of blurting out everything he was feeling. There was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to spend the rest of his life at her side, to devote himself to her entirely, but there would be time to tell her that later. Now he would focus on the present- they needed to rest up for the battle ahead. He stroked her back, letting the warmth and comfort of the moment lull him to sleep.

Sated and deliciously tired, Keyleth closed her eyes, listening to the steady thrum of Vax's heart beating beneath her ear. His hand on her back had stilled, his breathing had slowed. They needed to rest for their big day tomorrow… Sleepily, she glanced up at his face. Still smiling faintly, Vax seemed to have drifted off. Good. Basking in the glow of their love, warm and safe, she joined him in slumber.


"Scanlan!" Bang, bang, bang! The door rattled on its hinges.

Scanlan sat bolt upright in bed, woken from a dead sleep. It took him a moment to realize where he was- Zephrah, Keyleth's place. Even with the curtains on the balcony open, the room was pitch black. Pike's voice reached him again, louder this time.

"Yo, Scanlan! Wakey, wakey!"

Muttering to himself, the gnome crawled out of bed and padded barefoot toward the door.

"What the fuck, Pike?" he asked irritably, tripping over his lute in the dark. "It's the middle of the night!" A sudden thought struck him. After all this time, could it be…? Vex and Percy, Vax and Keyleth, now… Pike and Scanlan? Maybe all the intrateam romance, the beauty of the setting, the isolation of their rooms, had washed away the last of Pike's scruples and she was finally ready to get hers. Thank the gods! He couldn't remember the last time he'd gone this long without someone to warm his bed. And PIKE, of all people! He'd wanted her the second he saw her, but she'd always rebuffed his advances.

"C'mon, open the door already!" Pike called.

"Uh, just a second!" replied, feeling his way toward the bathroom. He needed to brush his teeth at least! "It's, um, real dark in here, trying to find the light…" His voice dropped to just above a whisper as he sang, "Scanlan's hand!" In the faint purple glow, he quickly readied himself. Teeth: clean. Hair: immaculate. Sideburns: sharp. His shirt was a little rumpled, but that could add to his charm. He unbuttoned it all the way, pulling it open to reveal his full torso. Damn, he barely even had to try! The mage hand gave him a thumbs up in the mirror as he dismissed it.

"Dude, what are you doing in there? Please, just open the door!"

Scanlan sauntered over to the door. "It's all right, Pike, I won't keep you waiting any longer. We've been waiting far too long as it is." He threw the door open. "I hope you're ready for the night of your life, my little swee-"

Pike was waiting there, hands on her hips, looking incredibly confused. Grog stood just behind her, arm raised to pound on the door again if needed.

"What- what did you think I was here for?" she asked hesitantly, eyeing him up and down.

"Oh! Uh, y'know," Scanlan replied nervously. "Middle of the night, no one around… maybe a first-class ride to Pound Town." He winced. Making a joke when he was uncomfortable was instinct, but he knew Pike hated that kind of vulgar humor. Stupid!

"Ugh," she replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Uh, Pike," Grog whispered, leaning down closer to his friend. "Did we wake up Scanlan so you could, y'know…"

Pike shook her head, trying to hide her irritation. "No, buddies. We have a dragon to fight today, remember?"

Grog took a moment to process this. "Yeah, but… you guys could do it before that." He dropped his voice. "I can leave, if you wanna be alone."

"No!" Pike said vehemently. "I don't wanna be alone with Scanlan. Guys, this is serious! Keyleth needs us to be on top of our game," she whipped around to point an accusing finger at Scanlan, "Don't turn that into a dirty joke- and we need to be in the dining room, ready for orders, at sunup. Now let's go." She stalked off down the hall before stopping to look at Scanlan over her shoulder. "Hurry up and get dressed, you look like you just walked out of a brothel."

Dejected, Scanlan ducked back into his room to button and tuck in his shirt. He grabbed his lute and shut the door behind him, trailing after Pike and Grog like a stray dog.

"Ugh, where the fuck are we supposed to go?" Pike cried out in frustration, looking left and right along the corridor. She was hopelessly turned around, agitated as she was after Scanlan's little joke, and now they were going to be late to the meeting.

"Don't worry, Pikey!" Grog said, clapping an enormous hand on her shoulder. He popped one finger in his mouth and then held it up above his head. "This way!" He confidently led them to the right, turning a corner ahead. Skeptical but without any other options, the two gnomes followed.

Pike stewed in her anger as she walked. She liked Scanlan. She liked him more than she was prepared to admit. She wished he liked her, too, not in the bawdy, comedic way he did, but sincerely. She wanted him to take her hand and tell her he was serious about her, that he admired her as a person and wanted to make a real commitment to her. She wanted him to let her in, to be honest and open about his feelings, to listen to her, to accept the love she had to offer. She wanted them to be REAL. But he just had to make a joke out of everything, had to turn it all sexual instead of romantic. And it pissed her off how often it worked; just then, seeing him answer the door in a state of undress, making those bedroom eyes at her- for just a second, she imagined him naked on top of her, smirking as he made her scream; and even worse, she liked the image. For that brief moment, she thought, "Why the hell not?" But she wasn't that type of person. Not that she would judge anyone else, but she didn't want to be a one-night conquest he joked about later. And if she couldn't have him, the real him, then she didn't want anything from him at all.

Scanlan followed a couple paces behind, beating himself up for his mistake. Once again, he'd upset Pike and probably put her off him even more. He wanted so desperately to be loved, truly loved, but he just couldn't stop himself from saying the dumbest shit imaginable and turning everything into either a joke or an orgy. Why? Why couldn't he just say, "Hey, Pike? I care about you. I don't know how you feel about me, but I like you in a serious way." He wanted to; once he'd been on the cusp of saying it, but instead he'd tried to kiss her and freaked her out. What an idiot. Pike was amazing; brave, kind, valiant, beautiful… everything he'd ever wanted. The few times he'd said something really sincere, she'd laughed it off, assuming he was flirting out of habit or to cheer her up. And why wouldn't she think that? No one believed he could be serious. He wasn't even sure he could be serious for more than a few seconds.

Scanlan glanced up at Pike, walking resolutely ahead of him. She wouldn't stay angry at him for long, but he knew this memory was just another entry in the "reasons Scanlan is unsuitable" list. He sighed. The way she was holding her head high, her shoulders back… her whole body was tensed up because he'd run his mouth, again.

You look tense. I know a little trick that would relax you real good. Scanlan winced, embarrassed by his own thoughts. No, shut up! Lines like that made things worse, but that was always where his mind went. Flirt, make a dirty joke, proposition them. With Kaylie, he was learning that the trick to good communication was honesty. Maybe… a little honesty would help here, too? It was worth a shot, he didn't think she could be any angrier at him. He sped up a little to catch up to her.

"Hey, Pike."

She sighed. "Hey, Scanlan."

He almost chickened out, but with a deep breath, he pushed ahead. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry, about earlier. I don't know why I thought that; you, of all people." He shook his head. "I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable, and in the future… I'll try to think before I speak."

Pike was surprised by how earnest he seemed. Touched, she reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's OK. I know how you are, and I know you weren't doing it to upset me."

'I know how you are' rang in his ears. How he was. He was just a degenerate by nature, not his fault. Scanlan sighed. "But it's not OK. I should know better. I DO know better. You don't want me, and that's fine. I just have to… stop joking around about it because it isn't funny."

Pike felt a twinge of discomfort. That wasn't entirely accurate; she DID want him, just… not casually, the way he meant it. She kept hoping, waiting for him to make some big confession to her, but should she actually be the one to say something? She cleared her throat.

"I mean… it's not that I don't… like you," she said haltingly. "I do like you. A lot, actually." She could feel his eyes on her but wasn't brave enough to meet his gaze. "You're very handsome, and charming, and I know you know that. I just… I don't do casual. I'm not interested in something that's purely physical, y'know what I mean?"

Scanlan grabbed her hand. "I know! And I- I want something like that, something that's real, meaningful. Pike, I can be serious, I swear. I mean, I've never actually done it, but I know I can!"

"What are you saying?" Was this it? Pike's free hand reached reflexively for her holy symbol.

"This is it!" Grog called out from up ahead. "Guys, hurry up!"

Shit. They were out of time. Scanlan wasn't sure if he should keep holding her hand or let go. Maybe let go? He couldn't read her expression. She might be excited, or she might be scared. He didn't think she was mad. Or was she?

"Pikey? Scanlan? Are you there?" Grog sounded worried.

Pike squeezed Scanlan's fingers before she released his hand. "Can we talk about this some more later?"

Scanlan sighed with relief. He still had a shot, maybe. "Yeah, after we deal with Raishan."

Pike's smile warmed him from head to toe. The two of them scurried around the corner to find Grog standing in front of a wide set of double doors. This didn't seem quite like the dining room they'd been in the night before, but they had noticed multiple sets of doors.

"Here we are!" Grog said, shoving the doors open to reveal… a storeroom piled high with wooden crates and burlap sacks. "Oh yeah, we are definitely lost."

Scanlan's eyes followed Pike lovingly as she paced the floor, a long stream of profanity flowing from her lips. What a woman, he thought to himself.