Love is a Tricky Thing

The sun blazed in the sky over Pilchard Bay as seagulls screeched and the hustle and bustle of the village's residents gave a sense of excitement to the usually quiet hamlet. More than a few people from the nearby city of Estard were present in town today, as well as a few soldiers from Estard Castle. There was an undeniable tension in the air courtesy of the impending arrival of dignitaries from the distant land of Hubble, a land renowned for its love of music and dance. The approaching group included the ruler of Hubble, Queen Euphonia, which was the biggest reason everyone was excited. There had been more than a few travelers who had come to visit Estard, and Pilchard Bay as well, since the fall of the Demon King, Orgodemir, over a year ago. None of the visitors had been as important as Queen Euphonia though, which meant that everyone was scrambling to make the village look as inviting as possible. If nothing else, the village leader, Mayor Mayde, hoped to at least showcase just what Pilchard Bay was slowly becoming well known around the world for. This was, unsurprisingly, the seafood produced by the little village, with pilchards being a general favorite. Despite all of this latent excitement, one youth found himself dreading the upcoming visit.

Auster, one of the heroes who had stood up to the Demon King and actually defeated him, stood on the deck of his father's ship, looking out over the sea with a worried expression upon his face. For him, and him alone, Euphonia's visit to Estard was looking to be a difficult experience. He had met Euphonia during the long quest to restore the world and defeat Orgodemir, and had rather suddenly gained a so-called best friend in the young, rather impulsive queen. This in and of itself wasn't a terrible thing, but when he and his friends had journeyed to Hubble during their victory tour of the world after defeating Orgodemir for good, Euphonia had shown an interest in him beyond that of just friends. She had even brought up the fact that she would be of marriageable age soon, though she thankfully dropped that line of thought before saying anything concrete. She did basically order Auster to make frequent visits to Hubble, however, which was something Auster had no problem doing, but he was wary of the exact implications Euphonia had made.

In the few visits he made back to Hubble since that day, Euphonia had made it clearer and clearer that she was quite interested in him as a romantic partner. It made Auster uncomfortable, though not because he had an issue with girls. Euphonia was just too much for him in his opinion, and he couldn't find a way of telling her that he wasn't looking for more than friendship without risking setting the girl off. Euphonia's volatile nature didn't mix well with Auster's more relaxed and quiet nature and the teen knew that. Even so, he was at a loss for what to do in order to escape his situation without making Euphonia mad and losing her friendship. She may have been an odd and difficult to speak to girl at times, but Auster valued his relationship with her nonetheless. Not for the first time, he sighed tiredly over his little problem.

"Sounds like you're having an off day," a familiar voice said from behind him. Auster turned and had to fight the urge to blush uncontrollably. Standing before him was his friend Aishe, clad in her usual revealing garments that never failed to cause him to avert his gaze. Though he had traveled with Aishe for a good while, he still hadn't managed to get used to how much skin she showed regularly. The knowing smile she always wore when he could look at her again long since clued him in to the fact that she was well aware of her effect on him.

"Hi, Aishe," Auster said, doing his best to look at her face instead of her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard Euphonia was paying a visit to the castle, so I came down to greet her when she arrives," the beautiful Roamer explained.

"You've been staying at the castle?" Auster was surprised. Last he knew, Aishe had returned to her people, still too used to wandering to stay at Estard Castle for too long.

"I've been around for a few days. I did attempt to come see you, but you've been gone every time I tried. I admit to being curious as to where you've been getting off to."

"Sorry about that. I've had a lot of trouble sitting still lately, so I've been traveling to the past again."

"Did you perhaps want some alone time with Maribel?" Aishe asked, giggling. Auster just looked at her like she had grown a second head.

"What makes you say that?" he questioned. "Maribel and I are just friends."

"You are very intelligent, but rather oblivious at times. Surely you've seen how Maribel acts around you? She even watches me more carefully when I'm around."

"That's ridiculous," Auster said, shaking his head. "Maribel doesn't feel that way about me."

Aishe regarded him with a look of pity, sighing dramatically. "Your obliviousness is impressive, but quite cute. Trust me when I say that Maribel likely wants more from your relationship than simply being friends."

"Trust me when I say I think you're crazy," Auster retorted. Aishe merely smiled and moved to stand beside him. The two stood in silence for a few minutes, watching the sea with varying levels of interest. Auster swore he saw Aishe shooting odd glances his way a few times, but when he thought to ask her what was wrong, she returned to staring at the water. Auster found himself at a loss as to what to say, unsure if he even wanted to break the silence at all. Aishe eventually took the choice out of his hands, however.

"Do you like Maribel?" she asked suddenly, giving him a curious glance.

Auster was completely blindsided by the question, having not been expecting anything of the sort. Why was she asking him this? "She's my friend," he eventually said.

"That isn't what I meant, and you know it."

"I like her as a friend, but nothing more," Auster told her. It was the simple truth, despite the occasional hints that Mayor Mayde kept dropping in regards to how well he thought his daughter and Auster would get along if they paired off. "Why exactly are you so curious?"

Aishe didn't answer him, opting to direct her gaze to the vast ocean before them once more. Auster wanted to press her, but he found himself letting the matter drop. It didn't seem all that important.

"Walk with me," Aishe ordered him all of a sudden, walking off the ship and towards the village gate.

"Where are we going?" Auster asked, following suit.

"Just come on. There's something I want to say, and I don't think I can say it here."

Auster was visibly confused at his friend's odd actions, but he shrugged and silently obliged, wondering where Aishe would take him. It didn't take long for Auster to realize that Aishe was leading him to the Shrine of Mysteries, but he kept quiet, perplexed as to why she needed to take him such a distance from Pilchard Bay.

Once they arrived, Aishe guided him towards a statue that Auster was quite familiar with, as it was the very thing that allowed him, Maribel, and their friend Kiefer to begin a journey that would end with the world being saved and the Demon King being slain. Auster spared a few thoughts for Kiefer, the erstwhile prince of Estard who had chosen to leave the royal life behind for something more fulfilling, but forced himself to keep his attention on the matter at hand and waited for Aishe to disclose her reasoning for bringing him here. When she seemed less than forthcoming with the details, Auster found he'd have to give her a little prod. He'd never been alone with her before, and he realized that he was getting more nervous by the moment.

"So…why are we here?" he asked as casually as he could. Aishe was his friend, certainly, but the odd way she was acting only made his nervousness worse.

"For your benefit, actually," Aishe revealed. "What I have to say will undoubtedly be something you will need time to process, and I didn't want you to be possibly embarrassed in public."

Now Auster's nerves went into a critical state. He simultaneously wanted to know and not want to ever find out what she needed to say. Did she find out some sort of secret of his? What could it be? How did she discover it?

Did he even have something to hide? It was a testament to his utter confusion that he wasn't sure anymore.

"Auster … how would you feel about us becoming closer?" Aishe asked with a slight trace of uncertainty that was so unlike her. Auster didn't immediately answer her, more than a little taken aback by her question. He was absolutely sure he knew what she meant, but a part of him wanted to ask for clarification because there was a chance he was entirely wrong.

That part of him ultimately won out. "What do you mean, Aishe? We're close already, aren't we? How could we not be, after all we've been through?"

"You need me to spell it out for you then? Very well; I much prefer the direct approach anyway."

Before Auster could ask what the direct approach was, Aishe grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him closer. There was a brief moment where he had the absurd thought that she was going to punch him in the face, but that thought, along with all others, was driven from his mind when she put her lips to his in a kiss that was best described as aggressive. He was able to register a noise that sounded like a surprised gasp, but he paid it no mind as the fact that Aishe was kissing him was too outrageous to ignore in the least.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she pulled away. Auster nearly reached out to initiate another kiss, feeling as if he needed to experience that once more, but a moment of hesitation struck, and he stayed his arms. Aishe noticed the movement though, and did what he found himself unable to. As their lips met once more, Auster had the startling realization that he did not want the moment to end. In an attempt to ensure it wouldn't, he placed his arms around Aishe to keep her from moving away. In response, she wrapped herself around him and maneuvered them backwards until they crashed againt the wall. They stayed like that until the need for air forced them to part, though neither removed their arms from around the other.

"Does that make my meaning clear enough?" Aishe asked, smiling lasciviously.

Auster opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came forth. It appeared his ability to speak had deserted him momentarily, and he struggled to get something, anything, out. After a few failed attempts, he finally managed to clumsily say, "W-w-wow."

"Not the answer I was looking for, but an amusing one nonetheless," she replied airily. "I do wish to know your current thoughts, though."

"I don't even know where to begin," he said honestly. He went silent for a second, then asked, "where did that come from?"

"It was a product of time," Aishe told him. "Throughout the time we spent together, I found myself constantly impressed with your bravery and heroism. I'd never met a man as courageous as you, and it wasn't long before I wished we could become more than friends."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I could tell that Maribel held stronger feelings for you than she initially let on. Since I do consider Maribel a friend, it felt right to see if the two of you would get together before I told you of how I felt."

"That was kind of you," Auster said, taking off his cap to run his hand through his hair. "Unnecessary, but kind. Maribel and I are only friends."

"Yes, you said this earlier," Aishe said, now running her hand through Auster's hair. "And it makes me quite happy to know that. My own feelings have reached quite a peak by now, and I'm not sure how much longer I could hold them back."

"So I can see." Auster fought with the conflicting desires to both put some distance between Aishe and himself, and to beg her not to stop. After a while, he centered his mind enough to form a few more words. "This is a lot to take in, you know. I think I'm gonna need a while to get my own feelings in order."

Aishe immediately stopped playing with his hair and gave him a slightly confused look. "Do you not like me?" she asked, though Auster detected no hurt in her voice. It sounded more like…disbelief. "Is there another woman I know nothing of?"

"No!" he yelled, much louder than was needed. He could almost feel his more base desires trying to direct his actions. "I mean, there's no one else. I just…" he trailed off lamely.

"I suppose I was a bit…forceful in my confession, wasn't I?" Aishe admitted, though her expression was anything but sorry. "By all means, take whatever time you need. I will be at Estard Castle for some time, so come and find me when you're ready to give me a proper answer."

She gave Auster one last kiss before unraveling herself from his grip and starting on the journey back toward Pilchard Bay. She had only taken a few steps when she stopped and glanced back. "Oh, Auster?"

"Y-yeah?"

"I always get what I want, just so you know."

Auster could do little but watch her leave the ruins, still feeling the sensation of her lips on his and her body pressed up against him. It took him a good few minutes before he regained the ability to walk.

"Almighty help me," he breathed before taking his leave of the ruins as well.

Three days later saw the arrival of the visitors from Hubble, and Auster made absolutely sure to stay out Princess Euphonia's sight when he spotted her entourage making their way through Pilchard Bay and taking in the sights. He thought his heart had stopped when she actually came knocking on his door, forcing him to hide under his mother's bed as he had nowhere else to go aside from upstairs, and he lacked the time to do so since his mother quickly opened up the door. He sent a prayer up to the Almighty when Euphonia mentioned that she was looking for him specifically, hoping that his mother would send her away. His prayers were answered when she did just that, correctly assuming that Auster was hiding for a good reason. Once the queen of Hubble had left, Auster scrambled out from under the bed, sighing in relief.

"What was all that about?" Pearl asked, looking at him strangely. "Surely you aren't afraid of a little royalty, are you?"

"It's a bit of a story," Auster said, glad he didn't tell his parents about Euphonia's attraction to him. "I'll explain later. Right now, I'm supposed to be meeting Maribel. She's got something she wants to show me."

What Auster didn't say was that he was surprised that Maribel had asked him to drop by her house that day. The redhead hadn't spoken to him in three days, seemingly avoiding him. Auster had no idea why, though he didn't dwell on it much. His mind had mostly been on Aishe and how much he enjoyed kissing her. It was something he never considered before, but now that it happened, it was almost all he could focus on. He was now certain that he was ready to talk to her, and he would going to see her later.

"Hey, ask Maribel when she's coming over for dinner again," Pearl said as he left the house. "I was getting used to having her around so much, and your father says the two of you look good together."

"We're not a couple!" Auster said before closing the door. He couldn't understand why people kept assuming that.

After making sure that Euphonia had gone, Auster made his way to Maribel's house. He was curious to find out why she hadn't spoken to him lately, as he missed their conversations. She could be very abrasive at times, but Auster had known her long enough to be able to see the kinder personality that dwelled within.

He did wish it came out more often, though.

Entering the house, Auster said hello to Mayor Mayde and his wife before quickly bounding up the stairs to Maribel's room. He lightly rapped on her door, keenly aware of her reaction the last time he entered unannounced. That incident had been bad. "Maribel, you in there?"

"You're late!" she called out. "Could you at least try being on time every now and then? Come on, get in here!"

Auster opened the door, silently chuckling at his friend's words, and then stopped dead in his tracks. Maribel was looking right at him, wearing a skimpy two-piece swimsuit and bearing a confident grin on her face. Despite being friends with her for so long, Auster was temporarily thrown into a state of shock at seeing so much of his friend's body at once.

"How do you like it?" Maribel asked, twirling around to give him a thorough view of herself. Auster's face gained an intense red color when he got a glimpse of Maribel's backside. He had never seen her like this, and it was kind of weirding him out.

"Maribel, you okay?" he asked slowly.

"What kind of dumb question is that? Do I look like I'm not okay?" She fixed with him with a hard stare, daring him to say otherwise. Then, "I bet you don't even care anyway."

"What makes you say that?"

"Oh, forget it. Let's just get going."

"Where are we going?"

"To the beach, you dummy! You know, by that shrine you and Kiefer were working on the boat for so long. Where else would we be going to swim in peace?"

Auster just gawked, barely following her anymore. "Swim? We're going to go swimming?"

"Oh, come on! You can't be this dense." Maribel sighed in exasperation. "Why would I be in a bikini like this otherwise?"

"I have no idea," Auster said honestly. "I don't really feel like swimming today, anyway. I was thinking about heading to the castle, actually."

Maribel's eyes narrowed, and she frowned at Auster. "And what are you heading that way for, hmm? Don't you want to spend time with me?"

"I do, but you're the one who's been avoiding me!" he fired back. Maribel scoffed.

"I was not!" she said hotly. "And even if I was, you didn't even try to find out what I was doing, did you?"

Auster opened his mouth to argue, but shut it almost immediately. He hadn't attempted to check on Maribel at all, mostly due to his mind being on a certain brunette.

"That's what I thought. Still, I suppose I can forgive you…on one condition," Maribel said.

"What's that?" Auster asked. He hoped she didn't ask him to do anything crazy.

"Spend the day with me."

Auster was pleasantly surprised at her condition, though he really did want to see Aishe too. Still, there was always the next day. He could put it off to give Maribel some company, especially since she seemed to really want him around today. "Okay, it's a deal," he agreed. "Anything specific you want to do?"

"Let's take the flying carpet out for a spin. I'm sure we can find something fun to occupy ourselves." Maribel sauntered over to her closet and grabbed a skirt to wrap around her bottom half, taking a moment to look herself up and down in the mirror before turning to Auster. "That's enough dawdling, then. Let's get moving."

The sun had nearly set by the time Auster and Maribel entered Pilchard Bay again. They had visited Buccanham's casino to try their luck, stopped by Gröndal to taste more of their famous Yggdrasil Dew, went to Wilted Heart to purchase some herbs and walk around the herb garden, and finally dropped in to see Queen Nerferta at the Temple Palace near Al-Balad, where they were greeted with the usual cheers they received for being the Saviors of the land, and given a fine meal that filled them up. By the time they were on their way home, Auster had to admit that he hadn't had that much fun in a long while. Judging from her reactions, Maribel felt the same way.

Once safely in town, Auster escorted Maribel home, though she requested he come to her room. Auster hesitated, not wanting to get in trouble with her parents, but she took hold of his arm and practically dragged him upstairs.

"You don't need to pull so hard, Maribel! Ow…" Auster said when she finally let him go, straightening out his shirt.

"I wouldn't have to if you weren't such a coward about coming up," she retorted.

"So, why did you want me to come up anyway? I do something wrong?"

"No, not this time," she said, then added, "Surprisingly."

"So what's up?"

"Are you so desperate to get out of my presence?" Maribel said, looking at him with hard eyes. Auster rushed to deny such a thing.

"No, nothing like that! I had a lot of fun with you today. I was just trying to get to the castle before they raised the drawbridge."

For whatever reason, this set Maribel off. "Is that all you've been thinking about today? How badly you wanted to get back so you can go see her?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Auster asked, confused.

"Don't play dumb with me! I know you just wanna go see Aishe so badly!"

Auster was completely shocked. How did Maribel even know that?

"I bet you just want to go play kissy face with her, huh? It's written all over your face!"

It took no more than a few seconds for Auster to realize that Maribel must've known he kissed Aishe, which logically meant that she'd seen them, or someone else did and told her. Something in his gut told him it was the former rather than the latter, and he felt a strange sense of guilt. He quickly shook it off, wondering why he should feel guilty.

"I'm guessing you saw me and her the other day?" he asked, seeking verification of his thoughts. When Maribel just turned away from him, he knew he was right. It did nothing to curb his confusion, though. "Maribel, why are you so mad? I didn't do anything wrong!"

She spun around and looked at him like he was an idiot. To Auster's surprise, he noted a few tears in her eyes, which was quite unexpected. "Are you serious right now? Tell me you aren't this clueless!" she exclaimed.

Auster tried to think of something to say, but a revelation was occurring to him at the moment, robbing him of his oratory abilities. Just as he had this startling revelation, Maribel lunged forward and pressed her mouth to his in a furious kiss. Auster, unprepared for her sudden charge, stumbled over his feet and fell to the floor, with Maribel still on top of him. In spite of the fall, she still held the kiss for as long as she could, pouring all of her feelings into it. When she finally pulled away, there was an expectant smile on her face, as if she had won something. That smile faded within seconds of seeing Auster's own face, which held naught but an expression of sadness. Maribel knew what he was thinking before he even opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm not good enough for you, am I?" she asked sadly, getting off of him and standing up.

"It's not like that," Auster tried to explain. "I never knew how you felt. You never told me."

"It's not my fault you were too stupid to notice!"

"How could I? You never showed any signs of liking me as more than a friend! I don't know what you're thinking, you know!"

Maribel averted her gaze, unable to look at him. "You're supposed to know me," she said quietly. "You call me your friend, but you have no idea about my feelings at all."

"I'm sorry, Maribel. I really am," Auster said, at a loss for what else to say. "If you had told me sooner, then maybe-"

"What does she have that I don't?" Maribel interrupted. "I'm pretty, just like she is. I can be flirty, or brave, or more mature. I'm everything she is and more, except I don't dress like a slut!"

"That's being unnecessarily mean."

"Then tell me! What is it about her that makes you want her and not me?"

Auster didn't answer immediately, choosing his words carefully. When he opened his mouth, he spoke slowly. "It's…hard to explain. I never really considered Aishe as someone who could be that close to me. She seemed…out of reach. I always knew she was attractive, but it wasn't until she kissed me that I really started to think about my feelings toward her. Now that I have, I can't stop thinking about her."

"And me? How do you feel about me?"

"You're different than she is, and I've known you for way longer. I think you're beautiful, and I wouldn't have minded us becoming more than we are, but it never looked like you wanted that sort of thing, no matter what your father might hint at. Maybe we could give it a try, but…"

"You really want to see where it goes with Aishe, right?" Maribel finished for him. Auster nodded, feeling like he'd done his friend a great wrong that couldn't ever be righted. There was a part of him that wanted to embrace her and give her what she clearly wanted, but the rest of him itched to go find Aishe and speak to her.

"The castle's gonna close up soon. You should hurry if you want to make it in time," Maribel said, reminding him that it was getting late. A look out of the window told him that the sun had nearly gone by this point. He started to leave, ready to tell her he was sorry once more, when he had a thought. He moved in front of Maribel and gently took hold of her face, looking into her eyes before gracing her lips with a tender kiss. He had no idea if he was helping anything, but it felt right in some ways.

"If I could go back in time and change things…" he started, lacking an end to that stray thought.

"Have you forgotten our whole adventure?" she said with a sad smile. "Traveling through time is our specialty."

Auster smiled back, deciding that now was the time to take his leave. As he left her room, he took one last look back at Maribel before closing the door, realizing that he'd seen a side of her that he never had before, and likely never would for a long time, if ever. It momentarily made him wonder if he was making the right choice, but he shook that thought out of his head. He'd spent the last three days ruminating on Aishe, and he was sure that couldn't be for nothing. It was time to see if his newfound urges were just a fluke or not.

Auster arrived at Estard Castle in a flash, having run the entire way there. The castle drawbridge was still down, allowing him entry, but he knew it was only a matter of time before it was raised. He waved to the guards and ran inside, wanting to say what he needed to say before some soldier kicked him out.

He headed straight for Kiefer's old room, which was the room King Donald offered her when he gave her the chance to stay at the castle. When he reached the door, he found his heartbeat going crazy, telling him just how nervous he was all of a sudden. Struggling to get himself under control, he knocked on the door.

"Come in," Aishe said from within, not even asking who it was. Auster opened the door and stepped inside, unable to prevent a blush from appearing on his face when he saw how wide Aishe smiled upon laying eyes on him. "I was wondering when you'd finally come by. Here, sit with me."

Auster walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed, not daring to get up close to her. Aishe wasn't having that though, and repositioned herself to be right next to him. They sat like that for a few quiet moments before Aishe started running her fingers up and down his arm. Auster couldn't help but shiver at her touch, and it wasn't due to her hands being cold.

"So, have you thought more about my confession?" she asked, getting down to business.

"Yeah, but Maribel made her own feelings known today," he replied. "And to be honest, I'm a little torn now. I hate seeing her so down, but you've been on my mind since the other day. It's hard to know what to do."

"Maribel finally said something, did she? What brought that on?"

"She saw you kissing me."

"Ah. I suppose that would be a good motivator. It's also made you unsure of yourself, huh?"

"A little. This is the first time I've ever had any sort of real feelings for any girl, and it's really hard to sort them all out."

"Love is a tricky thing," Aishe said sagely. "One never quite knows how it will affect them, or those around them."

"This is love?" Auster asked. He expected it to feel…well, not like this.

"Not just yet, but all love starts with affection. When that affection grows, expands, and reaches new heights, then it becomes love," she told him. "It can take a long time, or a short time, and may even fizzle out before it reaches that stage, but love has to start somewhere, and it's tricky no matter how strong or weak it may be."

"So what does that mean for you and me, or even me and Maribel?"

"It means that you stand at a crossroads," Aishe said. "The affection is there on both paths, but there's no telling how it will develop or whether it can even flourish no matter what direction you choose to go in. It's up to you to decide which road you think will be the better option."

"This is all moving way too fast," he said.

"You can't plan to fall in love, Auster. Sometimes it just happens, and it may happen faster than you're ready for. The only thing we have complete control over is whether or not we give love a chance to grow. That, of course, brings us to the question at hand: what road will you chance to walk down? If you can't answer just yet, don't worry about it. Take all the time you need."

Aishe had given him an out, he could clearly see that. This was his chance to walk away and carefully think about what he was going to do. Nothing had to be decided right now, and he would have ample time to sort out his feelings. It was the easy way out.

But was it what he really wanted to do?

Three days had passed with him doing nothing but think of Aishe. He thought about her scent, the sensation of her body wrapped around his, her soft, thick lips that emptied his mind after one amazing kiss. It was sudden, quick, and utterly out of nowhere…but it felt good. It was like getting kicked in the head and having new memories pop into place without warning. The floodgates had been forced open, and now his feelings were rushing down the river of his heart, unstoppable and relentless. As he thought about all this, he knew there was only one answer to give to Aishe's query.

With a sense of surety he never felt in his life, Auster pulled Aishe into a kiss that said more than he ever could with words. Within seconds, both were lost in a haze of lust, but just beneath that haze was a ferocity and passion that spoke volumes. Auster didn't yet know what love felt like, aside from the familial love he felt for his parents, but he was going to try his best to find out with Aishe's help.

Hours later, in the dead of night, Auster and Aishe sat upon her bed, still fully clothed, but locked in an embrace that neither wanted to break. What energy they once had was gone, expended on exploring and cultivating the new closeness that had been born that night. Somewhere in the back of his head, Auster knew his parents were going to wonder where he scampered off to, but that was something to worry about explaining when dawn broke. For now, he simply wanted to enjoy the feel of Aishe nestled so close to him. He was content in a way he'd never been in the past, though there was one thing that nagged at him.

"Hey, Aishe?"

"Yes?"

"I remember you saying that you always get what you want. How were you so sure you'd get your way this time?"

"Because I'm irresistible."

"Isn't that thinking too highly of yourself there?"

"Where are you right now, Auster?"

He couldn't help but laugh. "Point taken. Still, that's not the answer I was looking for."

"I guess it isn't."

Several seconds passed in silence. And then,

"You aren't gonna tell me, are you?"

"However did you figure that one out?"

The two of them just laughed, reveling in the moment.

A/N: I came up with the idea for this story after seeing a particular picture of Auster and Aishe (or the Hero/ and Aira for players of the original PSX version of DQVII) used as a profile pic by a member of Dragon's Den. Once I got the idea, I just had to run with it. So, a big thanks to Stepchan of Dragon's Den. Without you, this story would not have been written.

And for the record, I used the newer names simply because it's gonna be the only time I do use them, as I actually prefer the original name for Aishe as opposed to her current one. Hell, I may even change it later on, especially if anyone prefers the old name too.