Author's Notes:
-Hello readers. Today's chapter is a pretty interesting one. We got laughs, important decisions and much more! If you see a sign like this; XOXO, then we'll be getting into some... lemony goodness. Once you see the second XOXO, the section ends.
-By the way, I'd like to thank you for over 400 favorites, albeit it happened a while ago...
Nonetheless, let's start the show!
Blake stepped out of the shower, wearing a short-sleeved purple nightgown. Her ears were visible for all to see, but the purple ribbon was held in her left hand.
"Oh there you are Blake." Sun greeted her. "Mr. and Mrs. B went out to get the food they ordered for us." The tormented catgirl went to her bed. She started to tie the ribbon around her ears, her boyfriend looked at her nervously before glancing to the side. "You okay?"
"No, not really." she answered.
"Anything you want to talk about?"
"Still no."
"Maybe it would help you feel better?"
Blake stayed silent for a few moments as she finished tying the ribbon. For a moment, she didn't speak a word. "Well, to be honest... A new fear has emerged in my mind. Adam... nearly raped me while I was his prisoner. The only reason he didn't is because of the alarm going off when it did. And if I end up captured by him and taken as a prisoner of war again, who's to say he won't finish what he started? And if he were to succeed, what would happen to me? What if I was raped, and then fell pregnant with his bastard child? Then what? Would I be forced to give birth to a child I didn't want? And even if I did escape and found out I was pregnant later, then what? Would such events interfere with countering his attack on Haven? And what about my own physical and mental self? What if I can't do it or can't be a mom to the child I'd be forced to carry? I know there's abortion, but... what if it only makes my already shattered psyche even worse?"
Sun didn't know what to say. He knew Blake was hurting, and he feared she was on the verge of breaking completely.
"That's... that's a lot." Sun finally spoke. "I can understand the reasons for your fear, and no matter what happens, I'm here for you. Although, I have a question for you that might help you if such circumstances were to occur, even though I hope they don't. Do you want to be a mother?"
"Honestly... I don't think I want children. This world is fucked up. Grimm attacking and destroying civilization and its life, faunus being second-class citizens to most of the world, extremist faunus terrorists who are trying to destroy said world because of this mistreatment and abuse, human supremacists that capitalize or otherwise benefit from faunus misery, and who knows what else lurks out there? This world is ruined, broken and I fear that we, as a society of humans and human-like beings, may be irredeemable. And even if we do succeed in saving Haven, would our efforts even matter in the end?"
"That... is a lot. I can understand how you feel. I learned at a young age that the world we live in can be cruel, cold and merciless. But bear this in mind- if faunus and humans in general had given up because of these things, we wouldn't be here right now. And I think that shows our resilience as humans and faunus. The world may be cruel, but I don't think that should stop you from having kids if you really want them."
She sighed. "It's not the only reason though. I have seventeen years, give or take a few months, worth of regrets, and at least five years worth of crime, all of which would result in a life sentence and/or death penalty. Assuming I were to have a child, how would I explain to them that their mother was a terrorist?" She sadly folded her arms. "Not to mention, I'm a coward, and I have a long list of running away when things get too tough for me to handle. What if I can't handle the responsibilities of raising a child? And if I were to abandon them, I'd be a horrible mother, and I don't think I could live with myself with that kind of guilt."
"You're not the only one who has a messed up past. I've seen and heard lots of stories where one or both of the parents were once criminals before pulling themselves together. One particular case involved a bunny faunus girl formerly in the White Fang and a boy that was once an intern for Jacques Schnee who is said to have done... questionable things for his boss. They both moved to Vacuo and settled in Vacuo City during my fourth and final year, and have since had a daughter together. I heard this story from my cousin Starr, who trained the former intern in the art of self-defense. Nonetheless, I honestly don't think it would matter to your hypothetical future child."
Blake gave her boyfriend a look, as Kali and Ghira were shown in the hallway, each of them carrying a paper bag of food containers. "And what about you? Do you want to have kids?" they both heard her ask.
At that moment, an angry and suspicious Ghira pressed his ear to the door and listened closely as Sun gave his response.
"I will admit, I feel like it would be really cool to be a father once I'm ready." His anxiousness was shown as he continued, "I won't lie though, I fear that I wouldn't be able to be there for my future child, as a huntsman protecting my tribe from danger. If I were to die, my future child would be left behind and have to grieve that loss for the rest of his/her life. Some days I wonder if that may be part of the reason Zhu is so tormented, because he lost everyone dear to him."
"What about you? You're still alive." Blake reasoned. "Doesn't he feel bad about fighting his half-brother?"
"Honestly, I don't know what he thinks about me." Sun frowned. "If his facial expressions, taunting and readiness to fight me are anything to go off of, I don't think he cares about me very much, or maybe not at all. Part of me wants to believe he might still care about me deep down, but I fear I'm only fooling myself. And what will happen when I must face him again?"
Silence reigned for a few seconds.
"Back when I was at Beacon, I could see the next four years laid out perfectly. But now? I can't see where I'll be in a year, or five, or even ten or more. What I do know is that I need to be prepared for the worst, which is why I'm thinking about getting birth control. I've already been looking into different options and narrowed it down to two choices. An implant or some form of IUD."
"Can't say I know what those are." Sun admitted. "Would you be willing to enlighten me?"
"Sure I suppose. The contraceptive implant is a small device about the size of a matchstick inserted in an area under the skin of the upper arm. IUD stands for intrauterine device. It is a T-shaped device shoved up my lady parts and can either be hormonal, using the hormone progestin to prevent pregnancy, or non-hormonal, using copper, which is said to be a highly effective spermicide. Both are considered LARCS. That is, long-acting-reversible contraception devices. I feel like the implant would be easier to insert, less painful, and perhaps less expensive. However, while I was held in captivity, Adam stabbed both of my arms. If I were to get the implant and he stabs my arm in the right place, he could dislodge it and it may fail to do its job, resulting in... bad things. The IUD would be lodged inside my body, and thus, a lot harder to sabotage. The problem with that idea is that I've heard through the grapevine that IUD insertion and possibly the aftermath of insertion is painful."
Ghira and Kali were shown outside the room again, the latter now holding both bags. "I'm guessing you heard a lot of horror stories of insertions gone wrong."
"Not exactly." Blake's face was shown again. "I just heard it's painful. According to what I was told by Pyrrha during a conversation in the second semester of our first and only year at Beacon, she got herself a hormonal IUD before attending Beacon. The insertion of the IUD itself didn't hurt, but she says that the insertion of the speculum used to insert the IUD did hurt. She felt mostly fine afterwards though."
"I see." He looked at the clock. "I'm surprised it's taking this long. Where are they?"
At that moment, Ghira accidentally knocked down the door, unhinged and flattened to the ground.
"Mom?! Dad?!"
"Hello there, we're back, and we have food!" Kali cheered.
Ghira groaned, "We need to get that door fixed."
"Um..." Sun scratched his neck. "...how much of that did you hear?"
The Belladonna patriarch answered as he got up. "Enough to question you and your intentions. I'm sure you can catch us up to speed over dinner."
Sun slightly groaned.
XOXO
Meanwhile, Pyrrha and Jaune were already well on their way to sweet and arguably sinful pleasure. With only her red bra and panties, Pyrrha towered over a shirtless Jaune. She pinned his right wrist down on the white sheet.
"I must say, you're good at this." Jaune smirked. "Almost too good."
"When it comes to romance, is there really such thing as too good?" Pyrrha playfully pondered.
Jaune grabbed her lips in a passionate embrace. Pyrrha softly nibbled at his bottom lip as he dragged her closer to him.
"I have an idea, if you're up for it." Pyrrha told him.
"Oh? And what might that be?" Jaune inquired.
XOXO
At that same time, Ruby looked at the calendar on the wall of the Captain's suite. March 20th. She had been here for four weeks, and while she had gotten slightly better sleep, she still wasn't doing very well. Knowing she was alone, she let out a yawn.
Alright, I've been able to memorize all the nautical terms well enough to do my job and finished reading that book Ren gave me. Now I just need to return it to him.
Taking the book she was loaned all those weeks ago, she left her room, carefully shutting the door behind her.
Hopefully I'll be back before Captain Odell notices... Or his young ward Chrysaor...
XOXO
Back in team JNPR's suite, Pyrrha asked, "You ready for this?"
"Ready."
She got out what appeared to be a black cloth, and tied it around Jaune's eyes. "Now then, let's see if you can get the rest of my clothes off without your eyes to guide you."
Jaune smirked. "A challenge? I accept."
He lifted his head a little bit, feeling his lips against her chin. His lips went downward til he found her neck. Once found, he kissed her several times all around before biting down on it. She moaned in pleasure as the knight slid his hands down. His hands soon found the clasp of her bra and he unhooked them. She soon tossed her bra off with a playful smile. Continuing downward, his hands soon found the edge of Pyrrha's panties. He located his right hand to her left leg, and slowly, but surely got them off her.
"Nicely done, my brave knight."
She soon found his manhood and the bed started to shake as they moved their hips in the familiar dance.
Cradling the book in her left arm, Ruby roamed the halls looking for team JNPR's suite. Upon reaching the door, she got out her Scroll, placed it next to the scanner and it clicked green.
"Hey Ren, I'm here to... Ahh!" Pyrrha screamed, followed by Ruby, who dropped the borrowed book as she saw her friends naked, covering her eyes in shock with her left hand. "My eyes! My pure silver eyes!"
Jaune appeared horribly confused. "What?! Is that Ruby?! Oh crap..."
The silver-eyed warrior peeked her eyes open from behind her hand, and tried to look only at Pyrrha's face. She was not completely successful. "This is filth! Filth!" Ruby yelled.
She screamed "Filth!" as she ran out of the bedroom, leaving the two lovebirds mortified.
XOXO
Elsewhere, Ren and Nora found themselves at a tiki bar. In front of them were their respective drinks; a green drink with ice, half consumed, and small hints of a pink drink that had already been drunk. Both were smiling, with Nora snuggling to Ren's shoulder. They were the only ones there, and it was a beautiful day for a late afternoon on the sea.
"Oh, Renny, this has been wonderful!" Nora exclaimed.
"I agree." Ren petted her head. "It has been really peaceful."
"Filthhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Suddenly Ruby's scream was heard until she tripped and landed face-first onto the deck.
"Spoke too soon." Nora told him. "You okay, Rubes?"
"I'm fine." she answered, muffled. She lifted her head up. "Other than the fact that I think I've been scarred for life."
"Wanna join us at the tiki bar and talk about it?" Ren offered.
"Am I even allowed here?"
The bartender spoke up. "Technically speaking, I usually don't let minors up here due to limited bar seating, but it's not too bad right now. Also you're the first mate of the ship. So I guess you can come up here, I just can't serve you anything alcoholic, lest I risk losing my liquor license."
Ruby took a seat next to Nora. She spoke really fast. "I.. I saw Pyrrha and Jaune in the midst of having sex! They were both completely naked! Pyrrha was on top of Jaune, smirking and oh my gosh, I can't believe this! How long have they been doing this?! Have they always been doing such filthy things?!"
Once she was done, Ren simply remained calm. "You didn't know?"
Nora raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
"I knew they were close, but I didn't know they were that close!" Ruby exclaimed in defense. She gave her friends a sigh. "I guess I'm just a bit startled."
"Perhaps maybe a non-alcoholic beverage will soothe your nerves?"
"That... doesn't sound like too bad of an idea." Ruby looked at their glasses. "So what drinks did you get?"
Ren answered, "For myself, I chose a Melon Ball cocktail and Nora chose the Pink Lady. Nora went through her drink quicker and so she's... a bit tipsy."
"I see."
Ruby looked at a list of drinks on a chalkboard menu before making her choice.
"Can I get a non-alcoholic Pina Colada?" she requested.
The bartender smiled. "That can be arranged."
"Interesting choice." Ren said as the bartender walked away. "Surprised you didn't go for a strawberry drink."
"Well I already had a lot of strawberry lemonades during our resting period in Aletheia, so I thought I'd try something different. I mean, I'm already outside my comfort zone seeing two of my closest friends in the midst of a primal scene."
"I see. Also, for future reference, non-alcoholic drink is called a virgin version of the original."
Ruby twitched in confusion. "Virgin? What does that have to do with...?"
Nora giggled. "I think you broke her Ren. Just call it a mocktail and be done with it."
The bartender made Ruby her drink, but her mind was too befuddled to respond. She asked softly, "Are you and Nora even old enough to drink?"
"Technically speaking, we are." Ren answered. "Since this ship sails from the outskirts of Vale to Mistral, they go by Mistral's drinking age, which is eighteen. Vale's drinking age is actually nineteen, so if we had departed directly from Vale, we wouldn't be able to get drinks. Most territories outside kingdom boundaries, such as Menagerie, usually have their drinking age set as eighteen."
"Huh. Guess I never knew that."
Nora giggled. "You should have known that, Rubes..."
Ruby turned back to Ren, trying to ignore Nora's drunk behavior. "What about Vacuo and Atlas?"
"Vacuo is an interesting case." Ren began. "Legally speaking, the drinking age is twenty. However, due to Vacuo being a mostly lawless wasteland, this law is often ignored. Bartenders and servers can often be bribed by underage clients with extra cash. Or sometimes they'll give them a drink without additional charge in return for entertainment."
The silver eyed warrior scratched her head in confusion. "Entertainment?"
"Sometimes the distributor can be persuaded by the customer reading them poetry, telling stories- real or fictional, bets, gambles or, more often than not, musical performances. A few years ago, me and Nora heard a story about a group of Shade Academy rejects who started a metal band, calling themselves The Lone Stoners. This quartet would often perform for various different venues, and in addition to getting paid for their performances, were often given one round of drinks for the entire group on the house. The Stoners were very successful in their career... Well, until they broke up following the death of two of their members in a gang raid.
"However, there are some places that actually follow the rules and regulations. Usually it's upper-class businesses and high-end social events that follow the rule, but not all of them are strict in following the law, and penalties may not always be severe. Even Shade Academy tries to reinforce it by charging students fines who are caught drinking, selling, buying or otherwise possessing it. First time, it's a hundred Lien. Second time, it's five hundred Lien. Third time and beyond is a thousand Lien. I know there's some form of punishment for those who fail to pay their fines before the end of the year, but I can't recall what it is at the moment.
"As for Atlas, they actually have the strictest drinking age of twenty one. There are a few petitions to try and lower the age, but no one can seem to agree what the new drinking age should be. Some say it should be twenty, that way fourth year Atlas Academy students can celebrate their graduation with one or more drinks if they desire to. Others argue that it should be eighteen or nineteen. To the best of my knowledge, none of these petitions have been successful. Whether or not anything will change in the future, we'll just have to wait and see."
Ruby stared at her drink, breathed in to soothe her nerves and then took a sip. "Mmm. Delicious!"
"Glad you like it." the bartender said.
"What do you think Le General is even doing these days?" Nora asked, imitating a french accent.
"Probably boring paperwork or trying to fully understand what happened the night Beacon fell." Ren suggested.
Unbeknownst to them, the general was not doing either of these things. At that moment, he and Merla stood on a long, flat stretch of land with only a singular piece of property on it. The snow on the ground covered the yard and nearly covered the fine stone pathway to the house.
The house itself was a large two story home made of wood with blue siding. The roof was made of black panels. The entrance had a square stone platform with a small white roof over two green doors with gold curved handles. There was a large window on the right side of the house, currently covered from the inside with a big blue curtain.
On the second level, there appeared to be one square window on the right side. It was not covered by a curtain, but it was so high up it was hard to see what it was. To the left of the house was a trapdoor which presumably led to a basement or cellar.
"Here it is- the Ironwood family estate. My old boyhood home." Ironwood spoke.
Merla took a moment to take it all in. A large house. Not quite a manor, but still a sizeable property... Abandoned for a long time...
She spoke aloud, "How long has it been since you've been here?"
"Four years. I haven't been here since... my mother died."
The maid winced. "Oh dear... I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you. She was fortunate enough to have lived a good life and passed away peacefully in her sleep. My father was not quite so lucky."
She nodded sadly. "If I recall what you told me the night of the Schnee gala correctly, he died of a heart attack. You were ten years old."
Ironwood grimaced, confirming her statement. "He was always stubborn. More stubborn than I am."
"Thankfully you are not that stubborn."
He got out a set of house keys. "I would hope not."
The general unlocked the door and they entered the house. The walls were cream colored and the floor was made up of brown carpeting. In front of them was a living room. To the right was an open archway that led to a kitchen.
The living room consisted of a green velvet couch large enough for three people. In front of the couch was a small rectangular coffee table, stained with dark brown rings. There appeared to be a small television screen about ten feet from the couch. However, what was most noticeable was that all the furniture was coated in varying layers of dust.
"Everything appears to be here." Ironwood said.
"But it's coated in dust." Merla responded. "Honestly, I'm surprised we don't see any intruders here."
"They'd never be able to get past security. Not to mention almost everyone believes that the property was sold. Unbeknownst to most of the public, I hired a house-sitter to take care of the place. Unfortunately, she died a little over a year ago, and I haven't had the time to thoroughly inspect this place. Until now."
"I see. Do you think that there are any other problems?"
"Hopefully not." Ironwood looked at her curiously. "Honestly, I'm surprised you agreed to do this, considering that you clean things all the time."
"Well there's a difference between doing chores that you want to, and doing them because you have to." Merla explained. "I'm guessing we should start with the master bedroom and go from there?"
"That would be a good place to start. I'll make sure the water and bathrooms are still working. From there we'll head to the kitchen/dining area, and then the living room. Now, if you will follow me..."
James went past the living room with Merla in tow. They two found a hallway with a few various doors, including an open arch. They went to the open arch, which appeared to be the stairway to the second floor. They went up the stairs as Merla took it all in wonder.
He took her hand as they finished their ascent. "A penny for your thoughts?"
"I have to admit, while not nearly as grand or lavish as the Schnee Manor, this place looks more... homey." the maid answered. "Or at least, I can imagine it being a home."
A moment of silence passed before the general asked, "And you don't think the Schnee Manor captures the feeling of a warm, comforting home?"
"Considering the environment us full time workers have to carry out our work in, and the events that occurred a few weeks ago..." Merla nearly trailed off in her answer before shaking her head and continuing what she started. "No, I wouldn't."
The two entered the master bedroom, a space about as big as the headmaster's office with cream-colored walls and a queen-sized bed in the center. To their left was a two-tiered rectangular drawer, presumably for storing clothes. To their right was a mirrored door that was opened, revealing white coats inside of a closet. To the left of the drawer was an open door that led to the master bathroom. Just like the living room, many furniture pieces were coated in dust.
Ironwood asked her, "What happened?"
"I don't know if you have heard the news or not, but... Weiss ran away from home." she confessed. The maid pulled out a feather duster and started to dust off the bed. "Klein Sieben, one of the best butlers in the manor, helped her to escape. He was unfortunately fired for that very reason." She sighed. "I never interacted with him very often, but he was a very polite, jovial man. I miss him, as do numerous others, but I believe his best friend Madame Blanche misses him the most."
"Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing about Weiss's departure from the manor." he said, using a rag to wipe off dust particles on the top of the drawer. "I tried to think about why she would do this, but I was unable to come up with a logical answer. I hope that Mr. Sieben and Weiss are doing well for themselves, wherever they are."
"Unfortunately, I don't know why she ran or why Klein aided her, but I too hope that they are alright." She sighed. "Is it bad that part of me wants Weiss to return? Mr. Schnee has been furious with Weiss's escapade and has been more irritable. On the other hand, he's been irritable since the SDC embargo."
He turned away... "I wouldn't blame you." Before facing her. "And speaking of Jacques, what lie did you tell him so that you could spend time with me?"
As she finished dusting the bed, the sheets and comforter were revealed to be navy blue. "I didn't. I told him the truth. Or rather, a half-truth."
The general appeared confused. "So what exactly did you tell him?"
"You see, I have a friend and former coworker from outside the manor named Violet. I told him that I would be spending all day with her and return by tomorrow morning in time. So I left at 10:45, meeting up with her at Lonely Stone Cafe. What Mr. Schnee doesn't know is that Violet actually has a double shift at their sister restaurant, Lonely Stone Tavern and Inn, from 15:30 to 0:00. We ate our lunches, paid our separate parts of the bill, and parted ways at around 13:00. From there, I went here, neither Violet nor Mr. Schnee being any wiser."
"Wow. That's... surprising. The way you weaved your story like that." He smiled. "I'm... actually impressed."
"Oh um, thank you?" The maid nervously smiled. "I will admit that meeting with you in daylight is no easy task, for in the daylight, I have to lie." She went over the closet and started dusting the outer frame of the door. "From what I have learned, there are three problems with lying; One, you can't form statements that are logical enough for your audience to believe. Two, you forget what you say and end up contradicting yourself. And three, the guilt that comes with keeping truth and secrets. Fortunately, I do not suffer from the first two problems. Unfortunately, I suffer quite a bit from the last one. For this reason, I try to lie as little as possible, or tell half-truths if applicable. I'd like to believe I'm honest... Most of the time anyway."
James looked at her sadly. "It seems that there's a lot of difficulty with you keeping the relationship secret."
"No, James!" She felt her heart thump. "I want to be with you."
She looked at him, her eyes silently crying out. The two locked eyes and understood each other quite well. She threw her arms around him, and for a few brief moments, the two held each other in comforting silence.
"I appreciate your honesty with me." James spoke, looking her in the eyes. "Lying to others isn't an easy thing to do. But yet honesty can be difficult as well. Can I be honest with you?"
The maid gave him a wide-eyed look. "Sure. What is it?"
"I'm... beginning to regret the decision to put an embargo on the SDC." He went to the bathroom, continuing to speak to Merla. "Part of me believes I should rescind the order, but I'm not sure if I'd be doing the right thing."
She got out a washcloth, soaked it under the water, and wrung it out as she gave her response. "Well, I don't know anything about foreign policy, but thinking logically about socioeconomic effects, the embargo is only hurting Atlas and other kingdoms. Dust is the primary source of power for homes and businesses around the world. And, if I'm not mistaken, Atlas is the only kingdom that has been dabbling in other power resources. Not to mention there are huntsmen and huntresses as well as trainees that rely on dust for their weapons to work." Merla reasoned. "How many members of the council agreed with your decision at the time it was made?"
Ironwood looked at himself in the clouded, dirty mirror as Merla wiped down the floor. "When the decision on the embargo of dust was made, Jacques Schnee and Poe Sidon were not in favor of placing the embargo. Me, Yolanda Jolan, and Piran Nubit were in favor. Since I hold two seats on the council, it was truly four to two. Either way, I could overturn the embargo by myself if I wanted to, but if I did, Ms. Jolan and Mr. Nubit would likely be displeased, if not outright furious with me. I could consult them, but they may disagree with me anyway. If I were to consult them, gain nothing but disapproval, and I choose to end the embargo anyway, it could make my relationship with them as coworkers and allies worse, depending on their reactions."
The normally optimistic maid grimaced. "I see. Perhaps you should ask yourself the following; What are Ms. Jolan and Mr. Nubit like?"
Remembering what he came into the bathroom to do, James grabbed a bottle of mirror cleaner, a paper towel from underneath the sink and started to clean the mirror he was looking into. "Yolanda Jolan is a smart woman, and she sees things outside the box. Her entire family comes from Mantle, so she knows what it's like facing difficulty in life. She values honesty, hard work and moral integrity. I have never seen her get angry or lose her temper with anyone, albeit she was annoyed when Jacques's son Whitley was present at the meeting. Piran Nubit is a man who comes from a rich, conservative family who has lived in Atlas for generations and he holds himself and those around him to high standards. He also has a daughter attending Atlas Academy. He has been known to jump to conclusions and has a subdued, yet fiery temper. If one of them is going to be mad at me, it will probably be him."
"Hmm... It seems to me that most of the council would approve of your decision. It's been over two months since the decision to embargo dust was made, and nearly six months since the Fall of Beacon occurred. If a kingdom wanted to declare war, they probably would have done so by now. Those two months of the dust embargo has negatively impacted Atlas, other kingdoms, and to an extent all the employees Jacques has working for him. This is especially true for the miners and full-time domestic workers." Ironwood hung his head in shame. She noticed, got up from the ground and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm not trying to influence, manipulate or guilt-trip you into doing this, and I don't want you to do this just for me. I want you to do this for the good of the many. What was it you once said to me? You like to look at the bigger picture? Look at that picture now."
As Merla backed away and went over to test the toilet for proper flushing, James looked at the newly cleaned mirror, the headmaster of Atlas Academy pondered to himself for a long moment of silence. "You're... being brutally honest here, and you make a lot of good points." he began. "Thinking about the likely consequences, both short-term and long-term... Atlas elections for one of my seats aren't scheduled for another two years. So even if I did displease Piran and/or Yolanda, I'd have time to gain back their trust, which would help me in the future election and securing Atlas's future." He smiled, sure of himself. "I'll do it. Tomorrow morning, the order is revoked." He turned to Merla, still scrubbing the floor with her feet to the wall. "But for now, I think I'll spend time with my present company."
He knelt down and kissed the maid on the forehead. Her face warmed up as she looked at him.
She gave him a smile of playfulness and annoyance. "You sly, sly vixen."
Returning the smile, he took a look around the master bathroom. "Alright, the floor is done, the mirror has been cleaned, water flowing in the sink and toilet, and the floor cleaned... Looks like everything's good here. All the major things at least." Then he remembered... "Oh wait, there's one thing we haven't tested. The shower."
Merla pushed back the blue curtains and turned on the faucet, turning it to the left. Upon the water hitting her hand, she immediately drew it back. "Brr! It's freezing!"
"It always takes a minute or two to warm up." Ironwood explained. "Hopefully the water heater is still working."
"So, we've knocked out most of the big things. What will we do now?"
"Ah decisions. We could take a break. After all, it will probably take more than one day to get this place in livable condition."
"True. Even for two people, it would take a while. And exhausting ourselves wouldn't be very optimal." She placed her hand under the water again. "The water's warm." She drew her wet hand back. Perhaps we could... shower together?"
"We could. But perhaps we should save it... for later tonight. There's still the kitchen and other rooms to work on. We may have a place to sleep, clean and relieve ourselves, but we still need a place to eat. I have a feeling we're going to be spending a lot of time here."
She smiled. "Fair enough. Let's go."
Merla took his hand, and while he seemed a little surprised at first, he soon smiled and walked away with her.