Chapter 1: Doug and Frey

While the road hadn't always been smooth for the two, a deep bond was shared between Frey and Doug.

Doug's family had been killed by the evil Sech Empire; Frey had abolished the seemingly unbeatable enemy. Doug was temperamental and untrusting; Frey was calm and compassionate. Doug had once claimed himself Frey's enemy; Frey had recovered his trust in her.

While the road had twisted and curved before Frey could call Doug her true friend, finally, finally, the road remained straight before her Now it was time to strengthen her connection with the red-haired dwarf, and hope that for some miraculous reason, he might feel the same way about her.

You see, Frey loved Doug. She couldn't even remember when she had started loving him, but she did. The only problem? She was almost sure that he didn't feel the same way about her.

But I could change that! Frey always promised herself. I could change how he feels about me! I just…need to explain my own feelings to him first…

Frey decided she would confess to him on a simple, summer evening. She invited him to the beach, telling him that she would set up a picnic for the two of them to share. Doug's appetite for food couldn't resist the offer.

"I've always been a fan of your cooking," He had winked at Frey. Frey could've sworn her heart had melted right then and there, even without the inclusion of the blistering summer heat.

The next evening, Doug and Frey met up at the local beach beside the village lake, more than ready to share a picnic together. The summer sun was just setting behind the mountains in the distance, and its golden rays reflected beautifully off of the lake's sparkling water. How romantic, Frey thought to herself, captivated by the fairytale moment.

"Good to see you, Frey," Doug smiled, flicking one of Frey's long, green ponytails. "Did you have a nice day?"

Frey nodded, her heart pounding at full speed. Why does he have to be so cute? She asked herself desperately. If I'm this nervous, will I ever be able to tell him my true feelings? Will I even be able to repair my broken heart if he decides to reject me?

These thoughts continued to run through her brain as she spread out the quilted picnic blanket, wondering why in the heck she had decided to confess to him, tonight of all nights. Sure, she loved him. But she could never express her feelings into words. And for some strange reason, today she was just so…fearful. Completely opposite of the brave individual she usually was.

"Hey, are you all right?" Doug finally noticed Frey's quivering frame. "You look sort of pale…"

"I'm fine," Frey answered quickly, hurriedly taking a seat on the picnic blanket next to Doug. "I think I'm just a little tired. Would you like some food now?" She rushed.

Doug shot her a weird look. "Frey, are you sure you're all right?"

Frey nodded like a bobble-head. It was rather ironic, she decided, how Doug went from calling her his "enemy", to then knowing her so well that he could sense when she was uneasy. The transformation in the young man she had met less than a year ago was amazing. Sometimes, that transformation was what entranced Frey the most.

"I made you rice," Frey decided to distract the young man by enticing his appetite. "It's your favorite, right?"

Doug nodded, thankfully agreeing to change the subject. "Yeah, it's my favorite. How'd you know?"

"That's what friends are for," Frey sort of smiled, her eyes meeting his gray ones. I hope I can call him more than a friend by the end of tonight, She thought timidly to herself. "And you're definitely the best friend I have."

"Even after all we've been through?" Doug seemed incredulous.

"Of course," Frey replied with absolute certainty. "Especially after all we've been through."

Doug was quiet for a brief moment. "You know, you really amaze me, Frey," He spoke finally. "I don't think I've ever met someone as strange as you. You're definitely the best friend I've ever had, too."

Frey's heart skipped a beat. Was he actually saying he liked her…? Or was he just saying that he liked her in a friend sort of way?

Unfortunately she never got her answer, for Doug started devouring the rice she had prepared for him. Frey enjoyed the meal she had cooked too, and talked with Doug about various, insignificant subjects for at least two hours after that. By the time the sun had set, the fireflies had started to encircle the small picnic, lighting up the entire beach and glimmering stunningly against the lake's clear water. Frey watched the beautiful scenery around her in awe, taking in the moment, and still trying to work up enough courage to confess her true feelings to Doug…

Taking a deep breath, she finally mustered up all of her bravery, blurting, "Doug, I love you!"

She closed her eyes, waiting for the moment that would change her life. She didn't know why she was so fearful to hear Doug's answer…after all, she thought she'd be more excited than anything…but his answer never came. Frey popped her eyes open, wondering what exactly had gone wrong. Was Doug in shock? Did he not know how to reply to such an unexpected confession of love?

After a brief moment, Frey finally realized why the red-headed dwarf wasn't replying. He was sound asleep beside her, stretched out peacefully across the quilted picnic blanket. His breathing fell in slow, rhythmic beats, and his stormy gray eyes were closed and unsuspecting. One hand rested behind his head…the other rested on his stomach. The sight of his sleeping, angelic could only make Frey smile and laugh at her own stupidity.

"I just confessed my love for nothing…" She murmured to nobody in particular, more than a bit relieved. It's a good thing Doug didn't hear me, She finally decided, her eyes trained on the sleeping boy before her. What would I have done if he said he didn't love me?

An idea came to Frey at that moment, an idea so risky yet so undeniably perfect that she couldn't help but carry it out. She quietly scooted closer to Doug, her timid hand reaching out and stroking the left side of his face. His skin was soft and cool, and this realization made Frey realize that she had never actually touched Doug before. His body heat felt nice against hers, and she could only pray that he wouldn't wake up, discovering the rather embarrassing situation at this particular moment.

"Doug…" Frey cooed softly, unmoving. She stared lovingly at Doug's face for several minutes, unsure if carrying out her plan would be worth it at this point. With her luck, Doug would probably wake up within the next five moments.

Her plan was to kiss him. Not to kiss him for a long time, as he was asleep and couldn't kiss her back, but just to rest her lips on his and satisfy that feeling of longing she often felt nowadays. If she kissed him now, while he was unconscious, he'd never know. He would never know how she felt about him, and she would never have to tell him how she felt. All she had to do was kiss him now, and perhaps those strong feelings she felt towards him would be numbed. A kiss would numb her for well over a month.

Frey's fingers traced the outline of Doug's face, running her fingers along his temple, and then along the edges of his jaw. Her fingers must have tickled him or something, because his nose scrunched up in his sleep, resembling that of a cute little Woolly. Frey gazed at her love adoringly, hardly believing that she was going to kiss him. Should I even be doing this? She questioned herself.

She brushed the hair away from his face, bracing herself for the mind-boggling moment. Even though he was asleep, Frey could hardly prepare herself for how his lips would feel against hers. She slowly leaned towards him, closing her eyes, waiting for the moment of a kiss that she knew would make her heart race at an incurable speed.

"I love you, Doug," she murmured again, just as her lips touched his. His lips were cold, soft, and unmoving, but Frey found herself leaning into them just a tiny bit more. I'm kissing him! She thought ecstatically, waiting for her strong feelings towards the dwarf to be numbed by the moment.

But they weren't. They only seemed to grow stronger as she continued to kiss his perfect lips.

Doug started to stir slightly in his sleep.

I should pull away now, the rational part of Frey's brain warned, but the illogical part of her mind convinced her to keep kissing him. I should pull away now, before he wakes up.

But alas, the warnings that sounded in her brain were far too late. Doug's dazzling gray eyes popped open mid-kiss, and they grew so wide once they met Frey's that Frey jumped a mile into the air. As her face turned the color of a ripe tomato, she hurriedly scooted back to the other side of the picnic blanket, far too dazed to even process the current situation.

No, no, no, no, no, this was NOT happening. This was almost worse than actually confessing her true feelings for Doug. Why oh why had she decided to kiss him in the first place? How could he ever look at her the same way again, knowing she had kissed him while he was asleep?

Maybe he's STILL asleep, Frey tried to console herself. Or maybe he was still half-asleep when I was kissing him, and he doesn't actually know that our lips touched…

"Frey, what the heck were you doing?" Doug quickly sat up, obviously quite startled himself. Frey blushed profusely, tempted to run away and lock herself up in her bedroom for at least a solid week. "Were you just…"

Frey quickly shook her head. "No. Not at all. Of course not. I was just, uh…cleaning off your face. Yeah, you had rice on your face, and I, uh…just had to wipe it off. Yeah, that's it," she answered almost too quickly.

Doug still seemed terrified. "That's not what it looked like to me," He finally spoke, his blushing face illuminated by the dozens of fireflies encircling him.

"Well… you were asleep," Frey squeaked, trying to hide behind her long green hair. "So you couldn't have seen anything…"

"I saw enough," Doug refused to meet her fretful gaze. "And…I…why'd you do it, anyways?"

Busted. NOW she'd have to confess her true feelings for him, whether she wanted to or not.
"I dunno…" Frey blushed even brighter, suddenly longing for another kiss. A real kiss this time, despite the fact that Doug probably hated her now. "I-I mean, w-who said I ever k-kissed you in the first place?"

"Frey, I saw you," Doug's voice was quiet, but firm. "I woke up and saw you kissing me."

"You were dreaming!" Frey protested meekly. "I'd never do that to you!"

Doug rolled his eyes, slightly frustrated now. "Frey, I saw you."

"You didn't…!" Frey was so embarrassed and defeated that she couldn't take it anymore. Utterly against her will, a single tear slipped from her eye and rolled down her face, almost in slow motion. "I wouldn't…!"

Why did everything always have to end like this? All she had wanted to do was invite Doug out to a picnic and tell him she loved him. How had everything spiraled out of control so quickly? Instead of loving her, Doug hated her now. All because she had kissed him in his sleep.

Stupid Frey! Frey cursed herself. Stupid, stupid Frey!

Doug immediately noticed the single tear slipping down her face. "Frey, are you crying?"

Frey wanted to deny it, but how could she? Instead, all she could do was just sniffle and nod in reply.

Doug took a steady breath, scooting a little closer next to her on the picnic blanket. Frey could practically feel his body heat next to hers, which only tempted her to kiss him again. Why is he torturing me? She thought to herself, frustrated.

"Frey…" Doug started, as if he were choosing his words carefully. "I have to know…did you kiss me?"

Frey refused to meet his gaze. "It wasn't my fault!" She retorted automatically. "I…I mean, it was my fault, but I didn't mean for you to get mad! I just…I really like you, and I didn't know how to tell you...so I figured that I wouldn't tell you at all…"

"So you kissed me," Doug finished for her. "When I was sleeping."

"You make me sound like a creep," Frey sniffled.

The beginnings of a smile twitched at the corners of Doug's mouth. "Well, you are a creep," He gave her a small grin. "The biggest creep I know. In fact, you've been creeping me out since day one."

At least he's trying to reject me humorously, Frey thought wryly to herself, spirits shattered. "I…I creep you out?"

Doug nodded. "Yeah. But totally not in the way you think."

Frey cocked her head to the side. "What are you talking about?" How many kinds of "creepy" were there?

"Frey, I've never felt this way about someone before. After my family was killed by the Sech Empire, I've always found it hard to trust other people. But you…no matter how mean I was to you when we first met, or how much we fought, you always tried to be my friend. No matter how I acted, you always treated me with the same respect and care that you gave everyone else. That always amazed me…"

Frey was flabbergasted. She amazed him? "I…I amazed you?"

"You still amaze me," Doug gave her a crooked smile. "I mean, after all, I never thought you'd feel the same way I feel about you. As a matter of fact, I wasn't really sure how I felt about you until tonight."

"H-how do you feel about me now?" Frey's voice shook with each word. "I mean, I really messed up, didn't I?"

"Frey, you didn't mess up," Doug shook his head at her. "Sure, you creep me out…but you creep me out because I've never felt this way about someone before. It scares me, sometimes, how much I care about you."

Frey's heart pounded at full-speed. Was he confessing to her? It seemed impossible. If she was always creeping him out, why would he like her? Did he only care about her in a "friend" sort of way?

"So…d-do you like me?" Frey tried again, hands trembling violently. "I thought that I had scared you away after I…you know…kissed you…" The last of her words came out sounding squeaky.

Doug smiled sweetly. "Frey, I think I was just caught off-guard. I'm not mad at you. I mean, did I ever say that I didn't mind it when you kissed me for the duration of this conversation?"

Frey silently replayed the last five minutes of their conversation in her head. "No, but you made it sound like kissing you was a naughty thing to do…" She answered finally.

Doug rolled his dazzling gray eyes. "Yeah, it was naughty. But I didn't mind."

Frey's eyes widened, her body sent into a state of total shock. He didn't mind kissing her? "S-so you like me, then?"

Doug studied her for a moment. "I think I might have an answer to that."

And before Frey could even react or think about his statement, Doug closed the distance between them and kissed her. At first she was too stunned to react…Doug had initiated their first real kiss! But then Frey found herself closing her eyes, taking in the moment, and enjoying the way it felt to have her love actually kiss her back. Wow, he was a good kisser.

When the two of them finally pulled apart, Doug sort of grinned. "I just had to see what it was really like," He finally explained to her, his cheeks turning the color of his red hair. "I mean, you kissed me when I was asleep. It wasn't really fair, you know."

Frey blushed in her place beside him. "Does that mean you like me, then?"

Doug rolled his eyes. "I don't like you."

Frey was deeply puzzled, as reality hit her like a brick. "W-what?"

"I love you," Doug finished shyly, staring down at his hands. "I think I always have. It just took me until tonight to realize it."

"I love you too!" Frey gushed, uttering the words that she had wanted to proclaim to him all night. It felt so good to say them out loud!

And before Doug could react to her own confession of love, she took her face in his hands and stole another kiss from his unsuspecting lips.