Archive of Our Own ^beta

“...I wonder just how many times this thing has saved my life.”

Shez had been working himself off all morning, and thus decided to give himself a moment of respite. He laid on a bed inside his tent, curiously holding and looking at a small object he held in his hand: a whistle–or Merc Whistle, as he likes to call it. An object crucial for any mercenary on the job, be it an experienced, self-made warrior on the battlefield, or a rookie stepping into their first assignment. In the heat of battle, it is both easy and dangerous to get separated from one’s allies, and getting back to them should come first when one is found in such a circumstance. In a large battlefield, though, simply looking for your way back is not easy. An object like a Merc Whistle is key in this situation: you blow on it as hard as you can, giving a signal of your location and that you are in need of help. Your allies then blow on their own whistles, letting you know that they have heard you and are headed your way, making regrouping much easier.

“How many times has that saved you? If it’s been with you longer than I have, I can’t imagine you kept count.”

A voice near Shez spoke in a sarcastic and annoyed tone. It belonged to none other than Shez’s partner in destiny, Arval. A being of origin as mysterious and shrouded by darkness as their ties to Shez’s past. Neither of them have figured out the answers to their origins or why they are together, nor do they see signs of receiving them any time soon. Despite this, they have been accustomed to living and being bound to one another in their daily lives.

“Good morning to you too”, responded Shez sarcastically. “What is that supposed to mean anyway?”

“I’m just saying”, replied Arval, “I have been with you for not even half a year, and I feel like the times I’ve saved your life exceeds your age in years. And not only do I not receive a ‘thank you’ or ‘I really owe you one’, you’re here asking the whistle how many times it’s saved your skin. Again, if it has been with you longer than me, counting that would be a task impossible to anyone.” Arval was not someone to lie to Shez; as a matter of fact, they make it their duty to be as brutally honest at all times, frequently accompanied with a snarky tone or remark.

“I’m not talking to the whistle or replacing you with it, Arval, so cool it. I just got pensive, that's all.” Shez turned his attention to the whistle in his hand again. “From the moment I became a mercenary, I’ve had it, and used it so many times. I was thinking about how some of my battles would have gone without it.”

“Hmph.” Arval crossed their arms and stared at Shez with a gaze that he could feel; he could even detect the annoyance in it.

“...I have asked this same question regarding you too, you know.”

“Really now? I don’t think you have.”

“Arval, having a spiritual guardian that has helped you avoid death multiple times isn’t something everyone has. Of course I’ve asked myself where I’d be without you.”

“6 feet underground.”

“Yeah, I’ve…realized that a couple of times.” Shez voiced that last statement in a defeated tone; he and Arval arguing was not an uncommon occurrence, yet it always ended in Shez losing said argument. Not because Arval is more intelligent, wiser or anything, but rather because Shez can be fairly–as some would describe him as–‘dumb’.
“...But it’s because of those realizations”, Shez cleverly added, “that I think about how this small piece of wood impacted my life. Would I have lost some battles? Would I have gone some nights without payment, and off to bed hungry? Would I be…alive?”

“...Ugh”, Arval groaned after some moments of silence. “Okay, fine, point taken. Still, you pose quite the question: how could things have been had you not carried your whistle to all your battles?”

“Exactly. Like, that mission a few months ago where we fended off some bandits from a local village.”

“The one where they baited you into separating from your allies and they surrounded you with mages?” Arval had a smug look on their face as they reminded Shez of this predicament he once found himself in. If there’s one other thing Arval does frequently–aside from arguing with Shez–it’s teasing him. Being by his side at all times makes such an action very easy. Even Shez could tell.

“...Yeah”, Shez responded with an unamused expression. “That’s the one. I assessed the situation as best I could, and came up with a plan on the spot. I teleported behind–”

“I teleported you behind one of the mages”, Arval cheekily corrected.

“Yes, you teleported me behind them”, Shez unenthusiastically reworded. “After that, I blew my whistle as hard as I could, then immediately booked it. While escaping the mages, I kept blowing my whistle on the way, and it wasn’t long till I found my friends again and was rescued. But, if it wasn’t for the whistle, I couldn’t have found my friends that easily, and my plan would have needed to be different. What would I have done? Teleport and try to sneak away? Fight all the mages as hard as I could by myself?”

“Or gotten cooked alive by them.” Somehow, Shez could sense that every addition to the conversation that Arval made was snarkier than the last.
“That too”, Shez responded; he knew Arval’s smugness was not going to let up, so being even a little frustrated by it was not worth it. “But, you see what I mean, right? And that’s just one encounter. There were probably entire battles where victory was gained almost entirely thanks to my trusty whistle.”

“I think you may be giving too much credit to it.”

“You know what I mean!” Shez sat up to face Arval and think more clearly. “What other one was there…oh, remember one of the assignments from Garreg Mach where I was fighting a horde of enemies?”

“The one in the forest?”

“Yeah, that one! They somehow just kept coming, did not let up, and my body was about to collapse. I used some of my remaining energy to blow on my whistle, and moments after, one of my friends found me and was able to heal me.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me”, Arval says as they lay their fingers on their forehead. “I was sure that that was the one time I could not save you.” Shez felt that statement was more sentimental than Arval’s usual teasing. While it is sweet that they showed care and worry for him once in a while, he saw it primarily as an opportunity to fire back with his own quip.

“You did? Aw, you really do care about me.” Shez had a wide grin across his face as he forced Arval into the receiving side of the wittiness for once.
“Oh, wipe that look off your face”, Arval said in a unamused tone. Shez was satisfied with the response, and didn’t attempt to get on Arval’s nerves (if they had any) further.

“Say”, Arval continued. “Remember the battle with the monsters?”

“Monsters?”, Shez asked. That was too broad a description to be used to pinpoint one specific battle–there were many that forced Shez and the army alongside him to fight a giant wolf, bird, worm or lizard-like creature. “Which one? I’ve fought many monsters before.”

“The one where a friend of yours summoned them somehow, and the creatures began attacking everyone in the battlefield. At one point, I remember you were getting attacked by two of them at once.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember…” Shez chuckled to himself, but as he analyzed Arval’s statement further, and one question formed in his head, unless he heard them wrong. “Wait. One of my friends summoned them?” Arval gave him a mixed look of surprise and, strangely, disappointment.

“Out of all the people you forget…Yes, that special friend of yours. Red hair? Big shoulder pads? That issue over her sighing?” It did not take long for Shez to realize who Arval meant; such a profile is one that could belong to only one person he knew.

“Ohhh, right, Hapi. Yeah, I remember. We and her friends went on a, uh, excursion of our own.”

“Yes, that’s the one.” Arval chuckled to themselves as they remembered that particularly tough fight. “Looking back at all of it, it really seems like your luck is–”

Arval kept talking about the memories and close calls they had been sharing with Shez, but their partner in destiny’s mind wandered to other things. He silently thought about that one batt–no, not the battle. He was thinking about Hapi. This was a situation Shez often found himself in: he goes about his day like any other, and as soon as his mind happens to come across a thought or memory related to Hapi, it starts to fully focus on and think only about her. On her hair–red as a sunset sky on a beautiful evening, most of its weight brushed to her right side, making it seem asymmetrical at first glance, but gave it a charm that only she could pull off. On her eyes–round and a bright red like her hair, eyes that Shez has found himself wishing he could stare at for hours on end. On her brown skin–a tone that shone brightly under the sun, making her seem even more radiant and beautiful than ever. On her rare and uncommon smile that always warmed Shez’s heart and made his day better. On her lips–that he may have once or twice fantasized of softly kissing. On her outfit–a combination of black, gray, wine and green that made Shez realize she had a great fashion sense, despite being someone that wouldn’t normally care about such things. Everything about her filled Shez with an unusual feeling that, in his rather unconventional and erratic mercenary life, has rarely felt– at least to the level that she made him feel. A feeling of love. Of want. Of longing. Of need. These feelings and thoughts always danced inside Shez whenever his mind briefly focused on that person he wanted more than a simple friendship from.

Usually, Shez interrupts himself and goes back to what he was doing when he catches himself daydreaming like this. At this moment, he did not have the chance or quickness to do so, and was brought back to his Hapi-love-and-kiss-less reality by a strong statement from Arval.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Well, ‘strong’ is not the right way to describe it; it was a frustrated sigh from a being whose patience had been tested too much despite it being barely noon.

Shez briefly shook his head and fantasies away, momentarily and blankly staring at nothing. He then quickly turned his attention to his friend, who had their fingers on the bridge of their nose, conveying their irritation. “Uh, what?”, he innocently asked.

Arval turned their head up and closed their palm as they spoke. “I don’t know if your mercenary life taught you this, but it’s inconsiderate to be in a conversation with someone, yet too distracted to hear what they say. I was happily contributing to our earlier talk–something that you would not find me doing often, may I add– and you’re, for the I-don’t-know-what-nth time, thinking about her.” Shez bore a slight guilt not usually felt around Arval of all people. Even so, he accepted that they were right: he had been ignoring his companion due to his silly dreams and was in the wrong.

“I’m sorry, I got lost in thought. I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

“Honestly? I don’t really care for that anymore. It’s more the fact that you are, yet again, daydreaming about this woman and you still haven’t made any…move towards her. For how longer am I going to have to sit through this sequence of fantasies until you actually make a move?”

“Sit through?”, Shez exclaimed, confused. “I don’t force you to look at my thoughts, that’s your choice.”

“I don’t do that necessarily because I want to, you know. I exist within your mind. Whatever goes through there doesn’t get past me. And I make it my personal responsibility to analyze your thoughts in case you’re thinking something foolish that could get you in trouble. Again.”

Shez tried to come up with a rebuttal, which resulted in him stuttering and struggling to find one, before giving up entirely. They had a point, and he had to face it. Despite Arval having no experience with topics like love or romance and they shouldn’t be commenti–

“I heard that”, Arval scolded.

Oops.

“Look, I know what you mean, but it’s not that easy. It sounds weird, but it’s one thing to put my life on the line every battle for a cause I believe in and so I live another day, and it’s another entirely to potentially ruin a friendship because of my feelings. The main difference is that I’ve come to terms with one of those things, and the other…not so much.”

Arval contemplated the situation in silence. Shez was being fully honest, and they could tell. This was one of the few times where Arval felt sympathy for Shez, even with how different their lives and states of being were.

Arval broke the silence after a while. “I see. You’re afraid. I admit this is not something I often see in you.”

“I’m not afraid. I’m more…nervous than anything, I guess. I’ve already lost people close to me, and those losses were my fault. I don’t want to go through that again.” Shez thought about his old crew, Berling’s group. They were like a family to him, ever since he took up a blade and job as mercenary. He remembered the good and bad times he had with them, and how the last time he saw them was in that battle long ago. The battle where they fought Jeralt’s mercenaries and a group led by the Ashen Demon, the monster of a combatant who wiped all of them out. Shez could have done something. Anything. He could have helped at least some of them escape. He could have suggested a retreat earlier in the battle. He could have tried harder to defeat his foe. But he did nothing. He was weak in a decisive moment, and his friends paid the price for him.

Arval felt a need to speak and insist that what Shez felt was indeed fear–fear of losing loved ones, of winding up alone–but they pushed it down. Shez was being vulnerable in their presence, something that does not happen often, and in this state, words have to be chosen carefully. Arval did not know much about human emotion, but their time with Shez and the people around him helped them learn more about it, thus leading to this choice on their part. Silence befell the room for a good minute; Arval was letting their partner have time to himself. After that, Shez continued speaking.

“You know…I’m pretty sure this happened to her too.”

“What do you mean?”, asked Arval.

“I remember Hapi mentioning some things about her past: that she ran from her village, was kidnapped on the way, and then thrown out. She was left alone and lost, when she was only a girl.” Thinking about these dark times Hapi spoke to him about suddenly gave Shez an idea. The same way Hapi once found herself lost in land she did not know, Shez had been after losing his crew. But also, he had been in similar situations in the midst of battle before, and there were three things that always got him out of such troubles: Arval’s powers, his skills to invent a plan on the fly, and…

Shez once again looked at and held his whistle, pondering. It had helped him in moments where he’s felt separated and away from his loved ones, multiple times. Hapi was one of those loved ones, and she, for years, had also been forcibly separated from her people and family. In the event that something like that were to happen to her again, she would need to find her way back. Back to her home and friends. Shez could not guarantee her a way of never getting lost, but he could give her something to help her.

“...You already know what I’m thinking”, softly said Shez. “Don’t you, friend?”

“Yes, and I do understand why you want this. It is a nice sentiment. However, you’ll have to forgive me for asking: are you sure about this? That whistle has many times saved you from almost certain death. I’m not sure this is a great idea.” Shez considered Arval’s words for a minute. They were certainly right in the sense that the whistle has been a fantastic asset to Shez throughout the years, and something he has come to depend on. Giving it up would be indirectly risking his life. Although, no matter how much Shez thought and reconsidered, his mind was made up from the moment he got the idea.

“I won’t say that’s not true, because it is. But”, Shez continued to speak as he stood up from his bed, “I want to help my friend with this. If a day comes where she ends up lost and by herself again, I don’t want her to lose hope or be scared. Besides…it would do me well to not depend on this little thing so often, don’t you think?” Shez said these last words with a confident smile. Arval looked at him with surprise written across their face, and sighed.

“A foolish act made out of love for another…I could not find a better way for you to express your affection than that.”

“Thank you, friend. I’m glad you understand. I just hope you’re ready for me to borrow your powers a little more often in the future.”

“As if you don’t already”, Arval said with an unamused expression. Without any further delay, Shez walked out of his tent and looked around. Hapi was not anywhere in near sight; he would have to look for her. Such is life as lived in a wide military camp, but Shez was more than willing to find his dear friend, and give her a gift straight from his big, dumb and loving heart.

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------—

“Okay, on second thought, this was not my best idea.”

Shez panted and put his hands on his knees as he took a moment to rest and breathe. It had been some good time–about 20 minutes–since he started his little quest to look for Hapi and give her his Merc Whistle, as a sign of friendship and to help her in case she ever gets lost. Unfortunately, the camp they lived in was very big, with a myriad of places one person could be doing something. It proved difficult to find his friend, and he was too embarrassed to ask for help or directions; a soldier seeing a respected general hopelessly lost would make their faith in him and his skills as a leader waver. Thus, Shez inferred it would be better if he just kept looking by himself, and tried not to give off the impression that he was somewhat lost. Alas, this proved to be more difficult than he would have wanted: Hapi was nowhere to be found, no matter how much he looked. She was not in the mess hall, not in the library, not in the training grounds, not in the war council room, not in the stables, not anywhere. Shez had briefly thought to himself if she was in her quarters, but he decided against looking for them, in case he would interrupt something or she was not there at all. Due to all this, Shez was understandably tired and needed to catch his breath. He was near the cathedral, and close to there was a tree providing shade.

“Fine, whatever, 5 minutes”, Shez told himself. He trudged over to the tree, turned around to lean his back on it, and sat down. The heat he felt all over his body and the sweat that made its way from his forehead to his chin could not be dealt with much, but at least he could shield himself from the harsh, afternoon sun. He slowly breathed in and out, letting his body recuperate some oxygen. “Ugh, this is hard. Way too hard. Where could she be?”

“Is that you, Motor Mouth?”

“WHO IN–”

Shez was startled; he knew that voice anywhere, not to mention that nickname and the only person who uses it to refer to him. He looked around but saw no one, leaving Shez confused. Luckily, he would receive a helpful hint as to the whereabouts of this mysterious speaker.

“Ahem. Back here.”

Brief and simple, but helpful.

Shez looked behind him, or rather, behind the tree, and upon seeing who had almost scared the soul out of his body to never return, he exhaled in relief.

“Hi, Hapi.”

“Yo.” She held a book in her hands, under the same tree that Shez happened to take shelter under. Though he could only guess how long she had been there, how many times he had passed in front of that same tree, and why he did not think to even take a peek behind it. Regardless, Hapi was finally found, and Shez was alone and at peace with her, his very dear frie–

“Behind this tree, huh? Heh. You’re lucky you stopped here for shade and not somewhere else.”

Well, ‘alone’ is too strong a word. The better term would be simply ‘at peace’. Shez still had a partner in destiny that went with him everywhere, even if they did not manifest themselves as visible to Shez.

“Arval”, Shez spoke in his mind to his friend. “Not now.” As he thought these words, Shez looked away from Hapi, as if staring at where Arval would be floating next to him, with an expression that demonstrated slight annoyance.

“You okay?”, Hapi asked, noticing the tone on Shez’s face. Hearing this, he looked back at her and changed the frustrated look he had to a friendlier one.

“Oh, it’s nothing, just thought I heard a bug fly past. I don’t like their buzzing sounds, they’re…bothersome.”

“Oh, fuck you”, Arval said to Shez in his mind. They almost wanted to start chastising him, but realized it would fall on deaf ears given his current situation. A simple, short statement would have to suffice. It did get the point across, though.

“But, anyway”, Shez said, trying to make proper conversation, “what are you doing here? Seeking shelter from the sun?”

“Sort of. I mostly wanted a quiet place to read my book.”

“Oh, yeah, I see. Sorry for interrupting with my, uh…sudden appearance.”

“No worries. Honestly, it’s more fun talking with you.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah”, Hapi responds, as she folds the corner of the page she left off, and closes the book. “You’re one of the few people I’d rather be talking with than reading a book. I can’t just say about everyone.”

Shez felt his heartbeat slowly increase hearing Hapi give him such an honest compliment. He tried his best to hide it by bearing a smile on his face–despite his cheeks turning a little red. “That’s nice of you to say. Is there a specific reason for it?” Hapi scooted over next to Shez, much to his surprise, an act that–as you can imagine–made his heart beat even faster.
“You’re funny”, she said with a smile on her face. A strange sense of pressure befell Shez–the pressure of keeping up the appearance of everything being fine with him, in spite of all the reasons he had to collapse then and there. Her sincere compliment. Her sitting right next to him. Her smile–that damned, cute smile. Shez gave it his all to keep calm and, in the way he would say, ‘play it cool’.

“I’m…funny, huh? Now that I think about it, you did once describe me that way: funny and sometimes smart.”

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it”, Hapi chuckled. A smile and a chuckle in the same conversation, and practically in quick succession? It proved difficult for Shez to keep his composure, but it’s not like he has not had to do it before. “Off topic”, Hapi continued, “but what was bothering you earlier?”

“Bothering? What do you mean?”

“You said you were looking for someone.”

Shez then remembered the remark he made to himself just earlier, after he sat down. “Oh, that.” He scratched his chin, trying to think of something proper to say. The idea of saying it was someone else–without specifying who–tempted him, and he would have gone with it had he not been talking to Hapi. He knows she does not like being lied to, and accepted that he would have to be honest. “I was uh…actually looking for you.”

A curious and surprised expression was painted across Hapi’s face. “Really? What for?” This is it. This was the moment he had been waiting for. The reason he had been looking for Hapi to begin with. Shez attempted to calm his nerves internally. “Come on, you can do it”, he told himself in thought. He half expected a witty response from Arval, but they had been surprisingly silent.

“Well”, Shez said, “I wanted to give you something.” He grabbed the small rope that held his whistle over his chest, like a necklace, and took it off. He held the rope in one hand and brought the whistle up with the other. “This is a whistle–a Merc Whistle, as I like to call it. I’m sure you’ve heard me use it in battle when I get lost or need help. I was thinking about some of those moments earlier, and realized…you have gone through something like that before. So, in case it ever happens again, I wanted to give you this.” Hapi contemplated the whistle he held in front of her with a look of surprise. It seemed like she was genuinely shocked someone would gift her something like this. She put her hand forward to grab it, but hesitated for a moment. Shez wondered what held her back, but before he could say anything, she took it in her hands. She observed the whistle in her hands some more, before putting on the self-made necklace.

“Something like this is probably wasted on me, but…thanks.” She lifted her face up at Shez and smiled at him as she said this. He could not help but smile back.

“Wasted? Not at all. It’s my gift to you, in case you need it…and for being a great friend.” Hapi did not show it, but she was touched by such a sincere gift. She held it in her hand once more, as if she pondered something about it.

“...Please don’t blow on it”, Shez asked Hapi. The remark made her chuckle.

“I’m not going to, Motor Mouth. It would be funny, though.” Afterwards, Hapi’s eyes briefly widened, and her smile shortly faded. “Actually…” She then reached for a pocket, looking for something. Shez was curious about what she had forgotten. Even Arval’s interest was piqued. Before long, she took her hand out, closed and holding something. “Here, take this. It’s all yours now.” She opened her hand to reveal a necklace similar to Shez, only it of course did not have a whistle. The main piece of the necklace was a round, well polished, purple charm. Even without the sun shining directly over it, it shone brightly. “It’s made of amethyst”, she added. Shez admired it for a moment, before taking it in his hand contemplating it more.

“This is beautiful, Hapi.” He put the necklace over his head, and then on his neck. “Thank you. Hey, it even matches my hair.”

“That was the intent. I’m glad you like it.” A feeling of warmth traveled across Shez’s body, his heart touched by such a gift, given directly to him by Hapi. He looked at his gift more, before his peace and warmth was abruptly interrupted.

“Something’s off”, Arval said inside Shez’s mind.

“Seriously?”, Shez thought, trying to keep the annoyance inside his mind and not let it show. “What now?”

“Don’t give me that tone”, Arval strongly stated. “I’m just curious as to why she has this for you.”

“I don’t know. Maybe she just wanted to give it to me for being her friend.”

“She has more friends than just you, you know. Same goes for you and your other friends. And we both know why you gave her the whistle and not anyone else.”

Shez began to understand Arval’s point. He initially denied it, but part of the reason why he gave Hapi this gift was due to his feelings towards her. There was a chance she may be in the same situation. Shez wanted to push away the theory, but he accepted that the best moment to ask what he wanted to ask was now.

“Hey”, Shez said after a few seconds of silence, the smile from his face lowered. “I’m sorry for asking, but…why exactly are you giving this to me? I-I’m not saying I don’t like it, I’m just…a little curious, I guess.”

“Why?” Hapi looked away from Shez for a few seconds, and rubbed locks of hair between her fingers. ‘Is she trying to come up with something to say?’, Shez thought to himself.

“Well…it’s because you’ve been a great friend to me. I just wanted to give you thanks for that, I guess.”

“See?”, Arval said to Shez. “It’s practically the same thing you told yourself. Do you see what I’m trying to say or not?”

“...I do”, Shez thought. A choice had to be made: on one hand, leave the comment be, continue the conversation normally, and push down his feelings for the time being; on the other hand, face his insecurities, confess, and see what happens from there. Either keep his feelings from her further, or be honest with her. No, be honest with himself too.

No matter how much he thought and reconsidered, Shez’s mind was made up.

“Hapi, I have to be honest with you.” She looked at him with slight concern.

“What about?”

“...I told you the reasons for why I gave you my whistle. I didn’t lie about them, but…there’s another reason. A more important one.” As he said these words, Hapi’s concerned expression changed. Like she knew what he was going to say, and it did not go past Shez. However, even if he suspected that, even if he felt like he knew the answer, he had to come clean.

“...Hapi, I love you.”

A sense of relief flowed through Shez as he finally said it. He had his feelings off his chest and did not have to keep them to himself any longer. That said, that was not the end of it. There was still Hapi to consider, and how she would take it.

Hapi closed her eyes, lowered and lightly shook her head. Seeing this, Shez felt like his fears had become reality: fear of ruining their friendship–both with Hapi and maybe even the other Ashen Wolves–, fear of not being able to talk to her again, fear of ending up alone.

“I knew it”, Hapi said to herself.

…

“...Wait, what?” This was not exactly the response Shez had been expecting, he simply thought he was going to be rejected. But for Hapi to say that she knew his true feelings made Shez wonder when exactly she realized it, and for how long she had known.

Hapi lifted her head, opened her eyes, and spoke. “Look, this is something I say for your own good: I think it’s best to look for someone else, and not be near me.” The more Hapi spoke, the more bewildered it left Shez. For his own good? Someone else? Not be near her? It sounded more like a suggestion or warning than a rejection.

“I…don’t get it. ‘For my own good’? What does that mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You’ve known me for months now, I think you know what I mean. Living with someone like me would be putting yourself in danger.” Shez slowly realized what she meant, but struggled to accept why that was good enough a reason to stay away from her, especially given how long they have been friends.

“Hapi, I’m a mercenary. I put my life in harm’s way all the time. How is this any different?”

“As a mercenary, I’m sure you have moments of peace, and you know when you’re going to be in harm’s way and can prepare yourself for it.” Hapi had begun to raise her voice, trying to make her statement as clear as possible. “Living with me isn’t the same. One moment, we could be having a great day and fun together, and the next, you could become monster dinner!”

“I’ve fought monsters before plenty of times! I know my way around them already.”

“That doesn’t make a difference! Most of the time, you know when you’re going to fight a monster, and have an army at your side. You can’t rely on that with me.” Hapi really was trying to dissuade him the best she could, even if for good reason.

“I know that! There’s adjustments to be made, but we can work those out together! You have already gone years controlling your urges to sigh, and if that strength of yours isn’t enough for you to count on, I can help you! I can help you find more ways not to sigh, I can help in figuring out plans for surprise attacks. I’m willing to do it!”

Hapi’s face gave away her surprise at Shez’s insistence, yet also her struggle to find other things to say. She wanted to convince him badly to agree with her, but if anything Shez is, it’s persistent. She closed her eyes and put a hand on her forehead, stressed. Shez knew that this could end up with a sigh, so he stopped to let her think. Silence befell them, as if the busy and loud world around them didn’t exist; right now, what mattered was this conversation, and that everyone came out of it in agreement…and alive.

After more silence, Shez decided to speak. “Look, I’m sorry for being so insisting on this. I just…want this to work out. That said, if you don’t feel the same way about me, that’s okay. Just say the word and I’ll leave you be for as long as you want.” Hearing this, Hapi lifted her head and gave her the harshest judgemental stare Shez has ever received. She looked almost offended by his words.

“Did I…say something wrong?”

“...You really are thick headed.” Before Shez could ask what that meant, Hapi grabbed his shirt under his armor with both hands, quickly and strongly pulled him into a kiss.

In just a moment, everything became clear: Hapi’s gift to Shez, her first reaction to his confession, her attempts at dissuading him from wanting a life with her, her struggle to come up with an argument after he kept insisting. None of that was Hapi attempting to let him down gently without hurting his feelings. Shez realized now that she would not do that, she would be fully honest if that was the case. He quickly understood everything that she had been saying up to this point, and why she did, and felt like an idiot for thinking Arval was wrong about it.

Moments passed, and Hapi separated her lips from Shez’s, who was still processing what had happened. Even so, in case he still did not understand, she said the truth in words.

“Motor–”, Hapi said, before shaking her head. “Shez. I love you too. That’s exactly the problem. I want to be with you. Even though I’ve accepted that a life with you isn’t something I can have. Not if I want you to be safe. And in peace too. Any other person could live with you peacefully.” She let go of her grip on Shez’s shirt. “...But not me.”

Shez finally saw the full picture of what was happening. Hapi was pushing him away out of a fear greater than any he had: a fear of being responsible for the death of a loved one. Shez knew that she always felt this for her friends that she loved, but did not know that he was a more special case. Hapi loved him in a way different than she loved her friends, the same way Shez loved her. It all made sense now.

“...Hapi”, Shez softly said. “I’m sorry that it took me this long to understand you. I get what you’re saying, really. But the truth is that I have thought about all that you’ve told me. Your curse is a hard one to bear, especially since it can affect others. And I haven’t ignored that. I don’t really know how we would live together like any other, but it can be figured out. We can do that together.”

Shez smiled as Hapi lifted her head to look at him. His smile assured her that he meant what he said, and that all the worries she has are ones she does not have to carry by herself. She can trust in Shez, whether it be as a friend, or more than that. Hapi returned the sentiment with a smile of her own.

“...It means a lot that you would do all that for me. Thanks. Oh, and sorry for forcing that kiss on you. I…felt like it was the best way to get the point across.”

“Don’t mention it”, Shez chuckled. He then thought a little more on her last remark, and an idea formed in his head. “Although I don’t think it was fully clear.” Hapi’s smile was replaced with another judgemental look.

“What?”

“Well, you know that I have a thicker head than most people. Maybe you should state your point again so I understand it better.” Hapi’s stare turned into one of suspicion. Not suspecting that he means anything bad, just that she knows what he’s up to.

“Is that supposed to be a way of flirting?”

“Did it work?” Shez had a wide grin on his face asking that. Even if he really did wonder if that cheeky joke was going to work. Hapi did not waste time in answering his question. She raised her hand close to Shez’s face, but did not touch him. He understood what that meant, and pushed her hand to his cheek. She caressed his cheek, hot and still slightly sweaty from the heat that surrounded them. She then slowly moved her face closer to his, with Shez responding with the same motion, uniting their lips once more. This time, the kiss was less abrupt, instead being a soft and caring way for them to show their love to one another. Shez felt great relief, knowing that he could finally let go of his fears and that the woman he desired to be with felt the same way towards him. He also finally knew what a kiss from Hapi felt like. It was more loving than anything he could have imagined. They kept their lips in union for a good minute, before separating them once again. They looked into each other’s eyes and smiled. After some moments, Hapi let go of Shez’s cheek, and grabbed the whistle she had given him.

“So, are these the first gifts we exchange as a couple?” Shez then looked down at his charm and grabbed it.

“Yeah, I guess they are.”

“I never thought I’d be doing something like that.” She smiled as she rotated the whistle in her hand. “I like it.”