The last couple one-shots have been me kind of beating around the bush a little bit with familiar parts. This one is a good for honest fic. Also, I had an idea for a story. Kind of going through a slight AU of the beginning of the story on. It's kept to some of the good landmarks from the anime so far, but there's definitely new content I've written linked into it. And the more I've added, the more the story diverges in different ways from its roots. It's turned out to be pretty fun to write. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the one-shot for now!

Disclaimer: I don't own the anime, the manga, the web novels, and everything else attached to this.

Naofumi stared at the mirror. Even though it had been a few days ago, he hadn't had the time to do this with everything going on. To stare at himself and the shield on his arm in disbelief at what had happened.

"I did it." He whispered.

Behind him, the rest of the room he was in glowed from the light of the setting sun outside the castle window. One of the master bedrooms in the castle of Melromarc he was staying in at the Queen's insistence. Because, in her words, it was the least she could to reward all the brave heroes for all their hard work and effort.

"I did it." He whispered to himself again.

Outside, down below in the front lawn of Melmomarc Castle, one of the world's largest celebrations was happening. It seemed like the whole kingdom had gathered together for one massive party. Even demi-humans were part of the crowd celebrating the definitive end of the waves. The other heroes and their parties were somewhere down below with them. All celebrating the end of the crisis that had shaken all the worlds for so long.

"I did it." He whispered like a mantra. His every thought trying to wrap around something he didn't think had been all that possible two years ago when he was first summoned to this world. Back when he had been treated worse than the dirt below everyone's boots.

He, the other heroes, and their armies of friends and soldiers had actually banded together in the end. They'd each gotten past their various challenges, overcome their unique set of curse series; had no bickering, no arguing, but actual solid teamwork as somewhat friends with one another. And it had been because of them all working together that they had managed to defeat not only Glass and her friends but they had also defeated the mastermind behind the waves. A powerful being who had treated many worlds cruelly using the waves as a means to gather more power from the pain and sorrow inflicted on each world. And this being's grand sole selfish overarching reason for it was that it was because it had wanted more power.

And they had beat it. They had won. They were done.

That was what he was mostly wrapping his mind around. They had actually done it. The waves, at long last for every world including Glass and L'arc's, had come to an end.

It was done. It was over. It was finally, thankfully, over.

"I did it… so why am I not happy?" He asked himself quietly.

A part of him couldn't understand it. Now the part that he and the other heroes were on speaking terms again. He was honestly glad that they didn't hate each other's guts anymore... So why did he feel like he couldn't go out to celebrate with the others? Now that his goal in protecting the world and all his friends had finally been accomplished...

…

The door to his room opened.

"Master Naofumi?"

Naofumi Iwatani glanced to the side at the open doorway. Standing in it, as beautiful as ever, was his faithful companion and sword Raphtalia. A raccoon demi-human, who despite two tough years of grinding levels and growing up with people hating them most of the time, was as sweet and kind as ever. Her long brown hair was still in the same style, and her deep tea red eyes stared at him with the same mixture of emotions he could remember being there since forever ago.

Oh yeah. He remembered why now.

"Raphtalia." He moved away from the mirror in surprise. She was out of her armor for once and was in a nice fitting red dress that looked good on her. She also had a touch of makeup on her face. Not enough that it made her look girly, but enough that it brought out the colors in her eyes. He had to force down a gulp at how wonderful his companion looked at that moment. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled for him. "Filo and the others noticed you weren't at the party with the other heroes, and it was decided that I should be the one to come up to check on you in case you were brooding or something."

"Please. Don't tell me it was because Motoyasu decided to start hitting on Filo again." He said with a groan, causing Raphtalia to laugh.

"No. She's used to him trying to grab her attention now. Which he started doing after I left to check on you." She said happily.

Naofumi rolled his eyes. "I swear, that guy is such a lolicon." He muttered, causing Raphtalia to giggle. "Look, I'm fine. You can tell the others they don't need to worry. It's just, I'm thinking about a lot of things right now." He said offhandedly to her, turning to face the mirror again.

Raphtalia's happy look faded away. "If you're thinking about something, then why did you look so sad when I entered?" She asked. "Were you thinking about something sad Master Naofumi?"

Naofumi looked back at her, trying to mask his face with indifference. Just like he'd always done before. "I wasn't sad about anything. I was being contemplative. There's a difference."

The only problem with that statement was that he couldn't lie to her without her knowing it was a lie. Not after everything they had gone through together. Not after all the time she'd gotten to spend with him as a trusted friend. It was like she could read his emotions like an open book. Sometimes, he'd even wonder if she had discovered a spell that allowed her to read his mind. After all the magic he learned existed in this world (even brainwashing, surprisingly), it was definitely a possibility.

She closed the door behind her and walked into the room. "You're lying." She said, the happiness gone from her voice. She was being serious.

Naofumi sighed and sat down at the foot of his bed. Again, the thought that she learned a spell that made her able to read his mind went through his mind. "Yeah, I was lying." He admitted, looking off to the side.

Raphtalia sat down on the other side of him. Her hands clasped together in her lap. "What's troubling you Master Naofumi?" She asked.

"Do I really have a choice about wanting to keep it secret or not?" Naofumi blandly asked.

"Nope." She replied, a hint of a smirk appearing on her face.

"That's what I thought." He said with a sigh.

…

Despite the silence, Raphtalia continued to stare at him. Her tail behind her waving gently from side to side as she waited patiently for him to start speaking.

"Ra-Raphtalia." He finally whispered quietly.

"Hmmm?" She responded.

"If… if you had the choice to see your family again… but at the cost of losing your friends around you, would you take it?" He asked her sincerely.

She looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. She guessed in her mind it was his way of beating around the topic on his mind. "You mean, would I rather see my mom and dad again, or would I prefer staying with you and Filo?" She asked.

He nodded for her. "Yeah."

"Is there any reason you'd ask a question like that Master Naofumi?" She asked him.

"Not really… It's just..." He trailed off, not trusting himself to speak.

She waited a moment to see if he'd speak, but at his silence she looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling.

Naofumi glanced to the side of his menu while she was thinking. The wave countdown timer had disappeared. A signal that the waves were really and truly over with... The only problem was that it had been replaced with a different timer. With a different label attached to the side of it.

Oneway Teleportation available back to the homeworld. Ready in, 04:00 hours

He couldn't believe it. He only had four more hours left. Four more hours until he returned to his home. To his family… and he was torn apart on the inside because of that first word. Oneway. As in, never to return again.

He was so conflicted. A part of him wanted to stay, but another part wanted to go back to his family. To see his little brother again. To hug his mom and dad, and go back to the way things were. But he also couldn't ignore that part of him that wanted to stay here. To live his life in this world that was so unlike his. A world where he actually felt he had meaning and purpose. A world that didn't have the same boring repetitions that his world had. Where he had gone through so much, and yet grown in many good ways because of it. Where he had learned valuable skills that would continue to support him here even though the waves were over and done with… where he had made real friends, helped real people, and even fallen in love.

It tore him apart because he didn't know what would happen in four hours. He didn't know if he'd suddenly be yanked from this world back to his own. If it would stay around in his menu as an option he could ignore. Or if it'd only stay for a moment, giving him only a few minutes to make a choice before it'd disappear, leaving him in Melmomarc forever saddened at the prospect that he didn't think it all through well enough to make a definitive choice…

'It's just… I have no idea what's going to happen now. I've done so much here, and yet I'm scared of making this choice, or being allowed no choice in the matter to what happens to me.' He thought.

He couldn't imagine his life without the legendary shield now. He couldn't imagine not getting to play around with Filo anymore. Getting to train some new recruit to defend themselves from monsters. Meeting with Melty and other nobles and royalty… actually, he could admit he wouldn't miss that. Politics bored him like nothing else. But he'd honestly miss Melty because of the great support she'd been both as a princess and as a friend.

Then, of course, there was the girl beside him. The demi-human girl who had turned into a beautiful strong demi-woman over the time he'd been with her. A woman, which he had no problem admitting after talking to some of his other friends about it, that he was falling deeply in love with. Even though they were different. He just couldn't picture anyone he trusted himself with more than her. He had never even shown this level of trust with his family. Though that didn't mean he didn't love them too.

How he wished he could have the best of both worlds. That he could see his family again, and still be with Raphtalia. But the world had been cruel to him before. Inwardly, he wouldn't be surprised if he never got to be with her again should whoever controlled the universe forced him to portal back to his world. Though it would hurt him deeply if the person he'd come to trust the most wasn't at his side if that happened.

If she wanted to come with him that is.

…

"I mean, I loved my family. I really did." Raphtalia spoke next to him, dragging him back out of his thoughts. But I don't think I could ever bring myself to leave you and Filo, even if I was given the option to see them." She finally answered honestly.

He looked baffled at her response. Here he was thinking about how hard it was, and yet it looked like she hadn't even batted an eye with her choice. "Why is that?" He asked curiously.

She smiled to herself, moving her hands to rest them over her heart. "Because I wouldn't want to go back to that time. There have been so many great things that have happened since then. And sure, my childhood before the waves was everything I ever wanted then. But…" She looked up at him. "But never before have I had a more fulfilling purpose in my life than being at the side of the great Shield Hero. In being his sword to help to protect others. And in being his friend and companion when no one else was willing." She said happily, her smile coming back onto her face.

Naofumi failed utterly at hiding how shocked his face was. He might have also been blushing a little bit from how embarrassed he felt. "R-Really?" He asked her.

She nodded, her smile somehow glowing brighter than the sun outside in that moment to him. "Master Naofumi. I vowed to stay at your side forever. Wherever you go, I'll follow without hesitation. Even though the waves are done, I'll still follow you wherever you choose to go now." She said as she got up.

Naofumi continued to look at her in shock. His mind still working on processing the words she'd said.

"Oh, and Master Naofumi."

He blinked and realized she was standing in the doorway looking at him. "I know I've begged you to stay with us here. Even after we beat the waves." She folded her arms, hugging herself. He blinked again. Hadn't she just looked so happy before, yet now she looked so vulnerable in that moment. Her lips quivered as if she wanted to say something more. "B-But I know, there's some places you'll want to go, that, that I…"

His breath caught in his throat, his mind wondering what would be following what she'd just said…

But then she quickly turned around, fleeing his room faster than he'd ever seen her run before.

Naofumi quickly got up from the bed. "Wait, Raphtalia!" He called after her, running for the door. When he looked out into the hallway though, she was already gone. Whether because she'd been quick, or because she cast an invisibility spell on herself, he didn't know.

'No, wait! Please don't go!' He thought as he ran into the hallway. "Raphtalia!" He shouted.

For the next fifteen minutes he looked all over for her. She wasn't in any of the hallways. She wasn't hiding away in the kitchen. She wasn't at any of the balconies. The more he looked around, the more the feeling of dread filled him at having to go outside. He had tried looking down from one of the balconies at the large crowd of people down below, but because of the height and the sheer mass of people he couldn't spot her.

Finally, caving in, he ran out the front doors thirty minutes after starting his search and ran into the celebration.

"It's the Shield Hero!" A villager yelled happily.

"The Blessed Shield has favored us with his presence!" A demi-human he had never seen before squealed with delight.

"God bless this man and his mighty shield!" A religious follower of the new Church of the Four Heroes yelled.

'Oh yeah. This was why I didn't want to come out here.' He thought sarcastically to himself, pushing his way through the crowd. 'Because of all the weirdos.'

He tried his best to ignore everyone else that wanted to grab his attention. And there seemed to be many who wanted his attention.

That many lowered somewhat when he attached his familiar scowl to his face.

'This isn't working.' Of course, he was now surrounded by people, and could barely see above their heads for anyone else in the crowd.

"Filo! Filo!" Naofumi yelled while looking around him.

"Yes, Master?!" Suddenly, a little girl with angel wings in a white and blue dress appeared beside him. How she had managed to hear him over the sounds of all the partying and not when he'd try to wake her up in the morning would forever be a mystery to him.

"Filo, do you know where Raphtalia went?" He asked her seriously.

Filo put her hand to her chin in thought. "Hmmm, last I saw, she had gone to check on you. Why do you ask master?" She asked happily at the end.

"It's-" Naofumi cut himself off. "It's nothing. Thanks, Filo." He said quickly, before running off into the crowd again.

"Wait, but master-" Filo tried to follow, but she lost Naofumi in the crowd of people around him. "Hmph! I'll go play with Mel then if that's how you're going to be!" She harrumphed to herself and ran off to find where Melty had gone.

Naofumi kept on looking around. He was frantic because he hadn't wanted Raphtalia to assume the wrong thing. Hell, he hadn't wanted her to realize what he was worrying about. Yet, after thinking over what she'd said, he realized she must have known the hidden meaning behind his question. Especially by the way she responded at the end.

'Please, Raphtalia, where are you!?' He thought to himself.

The night sky glistened up above. The party was well lit by lanterns filled with magical fire. Yet after what felt like an eternity of wandering through the party of people. Of being constantly stopped by nobles and others who wanted to discuss politics or have the privilege of being seen with the great Shield Hero, Naofumi felt tired. He had seen Filo and Melty a couple of times. He had even found Rishia dancing with Itsuki and some girl hanging off of Ren's arm. But he had as of yet to find Raphtalia again.

The bottom right portion of his screen said he had only an hour left until one of the three possibilities his mind had thought about came to pass.

'Raphtalia. Please. I just need to finish talking with you. I need to see you one last time if it is for the last time.' He thought.

He was so distracted trying to blot out the other people around him, he almost walked into Motoyasu. Luckily, Motoyasu saw him coming just in time. "Oh, hey Naofumi." He said, grabbing the Shield Hero by the shoulder. "I was just looking for you. Have you seen Filo around by any chance? I was talking to her earlier when she suddenly ran off." He said.

Naofumi blinked his eyes in surprise. "Sorry. I think I saw her a couple of minutes ago, but right now I'm trying to find Raphtalia. I need to talk to her about-" He was saying hurriedly.

"Oh, I see where this is going. You're planning on telling her how you feel about her now, right?" Motoyasu asked in a teasing voice.

Naofumi's mind grounded to a halt. "What?! I mean, um, I'm not sure..." He had wanted to deny it at first, but to be honest, that was also on his bucket list to do in the next hour before whatever it was that happened would happen.

Motoyasu started to laugh. "Naofumi, you need to relax. We've all learned by this point that you two are crazy for each other. Waiting a few hours for the end of the party to be alone with each other won't kill anyone."

Naofumi couldn't tell how hard his face was blushing at that moment. However, his comment also made Naofumi grind his teeth in frustration. "Oh, is it so easy for you to ignore the possibility of us being portaled back to our different worlds in the next hour then? Huh, is that it?!" He asked him angrily.

Motoyasu looked confused by Naofumi's comment. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Look in the part of your screen where the wave countdown timer used to be!" Naofumi yelled angrily.

Motoyasu continued to look at Naofumi as if he'd grown a 2nd head. "Yeah, so what about that timer?" He asked.

Naofumi's mouth opened and closed, trying to formulate some response that could vent out his anger and frustration in one sweep. 'Is he still so thick-skulled that he doesn't realize that we could be forced back to our worlds!? That we'd have to leave everything here behind and-'

"Wait, just a second, don't tell me the Queen hasn't talked to you about it," Motoyasu asked.

Naofumi stopped formulating the response in his mind. "Talked to me about what?" He asked.

Motoyasu facepalmed. "Naofumi. When that timer hits zero, you aren't going to be forced to portal back home against your will." He said calmly.

It was like a whole block of worry resting on his back was taken away. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"According to the Queen, all that countdown timer does is notify you that your portal home is ready, and add an option to your menu that you can either choose to use or get rid of it forever at any time. That's what happened to the past Cardinal Heroes. And that's what's happening to us." Motoyasu continued.

Naofumi looked down at his hands. "So, you're saying we'd have as long as we needed to make our choice, and we don't have to choose immediately." He asked.

"Of course. Although between you and me; me, Ren, and Itsuki have already talked it over among ourselves. We've decided we're going to live here in this world. So when the option appears in our menus, we're getting rid of it right then and there." He said happily.

Naofumi became confused at that. "But, but what about the worlds where you all came from? What about our families we left behind?" He asked.

"Naofumi," Motoyasu said seriously. "I know we said when this all started that we wanted to go back to our worlds. But look around you."

Naofumi did what Motoyasu said. For now, it seemed like everyone around the two of them was leaving them both alone. There was dancing, laughter, talking, smiles, and everything else all around him. "Don't you see? We helped to cause this Naofumi," Motoyasu said, appearing at his side. "We helped this world to beat the waves. When I first came here, I was so caught up in what Whore was telling me that I wanted to be her definition of a hero. But after seeing how you interacted with the people in your village, how you treated them like family, I wanted to do become what you'd defined a hero to be. And these people... I want to continue being that hero to them. That's why the others and I want to stay here." He said firmly.

Naofumi was shocked. Not only by the fact that he was hearing such a statement, but that said statement was coming from Motoyasu of all people. Motoyasu smirked beside him. "Besides, if hearing this helps you out, that companion of yours is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You don't meet that many girls in this world who'll stay loyal to you the way Raphtalia has. Even back when I removed her slave crest, she slapped me across the face and stayed with you." He turned his face to look Naofumi in the eye. "Take that into account before you make your choice Naofumi." He said before he turned and walked away.

"Ah, Filo! There you are!" He yelled happily.

Naofumi looked around himself. The frantic feeling he had had before was gone. "I have a feeling he wanted to stay because of Filo." He muttered jokingly to himself. Motoyasu might have changed a lot with the other two heroes in the past year, but if there was one thing that hadn't changed, it was his attraction to girls that looked like angels. He almost wished he had had a camera back at the time when Motoyasu had reacted to meeting Fitoria. He'd never seen something so hilarious his entire life. Even after restraining him to a tree with her powers, she had still looked afraid of the way Motoyasu eyed her from afar.

...

The need to talk to Raphtalia was heavy on his mind. But now that worry and other emotions weren't clouding his mind, he was able to think more logically. 'If I was Raphtalia, where would I go after talking to me…'

...

He started walking. He hadn't tried by the area yet since there was no one partying in it. But somehow, he had a hunch he'd find her there.

…

Naofumi walked into the duel arena. A rectangular field with seats for nobles and royalty in the stands up above. The two thrones up above were empty, along with all the seats for nobility. No one from the massive party was here.

No one, except for Raphtalia. Who sat on her knees facing the other direction from him.

Her ears perked up as he approached, but she said nothing. He sat down on the ground next to her. All of a sudden, the nerves returned. "Raphtalia?" He asked in as calm a voice as he could.

"Hmmm." She hummed despondently.

"You… did you realize earlier what was on my mind?" He asked bluntly.

…

"Yes." She finally responded. Before looking at him. "I remember hearing stories from my parents about the heroes of old. How after they survived the waves, they were given the choice to either stay and live in this world or to return to their worlds. I figured that the same thing was going on with you."

"Do you know how a lot of those stories ended?" Naofumi asked.

She shrugged. Then she hugged her knees to herself. "It depends. There have been times when they've stayed and raised families here. There have also been times they chose to return and were never heard of again. There was a few who stayed to keep on fighting and training. And out of the many that chose to stay to keep on fighting, some went insane after some time and killed themselves or others. Those who stayed sane went on to take apprentices, training them and training their posterity after them. It depended on what the hero was like at heart." She said sadly.

Naofumi released a carefully drawn out breath to help ease his nerves. "Did any of these heroes who left, ever bring someone with them back to their world?" He decided to ask.

He was expecting her to look at him with happiness, with hope, or… or something. He didn't expect her to hang her head lower, and for a tear to hit the ground. "If that was possible. I would have gladly chosen to tell you that instead of running away to here." She admitted quietly.

Naofumi stared at her. Realizing then that her body was shaking. He put an arm over her shoulder and allowed her to lean into him. "I'm sorry Raphtalia." He whispered.

"It's okay Master Naofumi." She whispered back since she was afraid if she spoke louder he'd notice how sad and depressed she was. "I know I promised to follow you wherever you go no matter what. It's not my fault that your world isn't a place where I could follow beside you." She whispered quietly. Doing her best to hold back the rest of her tears.

Naofumi continued to stare down at her. His expression was sad at seeing Raphtalia like this. It reminded him of a couple of years ago, back in the village he renamed Rock Valley. How he'd made a promise to her that he wouldn't go anywhere without her…

...

A notification popped up on his menu. Causing him to look up from Raphtalia.

Oneway Teleport back to homeworld ready. Please choose one of the following options.

Return to homeworld at once (won't be given the option to return to the current world)

Save the Teleport option for later

His eyes widened when he saw the third option.

C. Designate the current world as homeworld and stay (won't be given the option to return to former homeworld)

His eyes stared at all three. Behind the first one, it was like he could see his parents and little brother waving at him. Their images blurred from how long it had been since he'd last seen them.

The second one sounded tempting. He could delay his choice for as long as he wanted. He could get everything he wanted to do out of the way and then think on it…

His third choice hovered right over Raphtalia's head. One of her hands raised to wipe away a tear from her eye. His heart constricted in his chest at the action.

He looked back at the first one. Back at the image of his family. He focused on them, trying to imagine what they'd want him to do… and what came to his mind surprised him.

For all his life, Naofumi had let his logic guide his decisions. Trusting his logic more often than his instincts. But right now, his logic was throwing itself willingly out the window. Knowing the logical thing here was to have Naofumi follow his instincts. And his instincts were telling him to follow his heart. And his heart…

Naofumi smiled softly. The image of his family waved goodbye to him, before turning around and disappearing behind the first option.

Raphtalia looked up, noticing that Naofumi hadn't spoken up. He was also smiling. "Master Naofumi, is everything alright?" She asked.

The menu disappeared from in front of his eyes. He continued to smile, despite the choice he had made. "Yeah… Hey Raphtalia?" He asked as he got up.

Raphtalia lifted herself onto one knee. "Yes?"

"What if, this time around, all four Cardinal Heroes decided to live in this world?" He asked.

Raphtalia's face scrunched up for a moment, and then her eyes widened in realization. "You, you mean-" She started to ask.

In Naofumi's menu, the option to teleport home was no longer there. In fact, under his party information, it now listed his home as Rock Valley.

"Yes, Raphtalia. I'm not going anywhere. I just chose to make this world my homeworld from now on." He said, his smile becoming a little bigger on his face. "You'll still follow me around, right?"

Raphtalia brought her hands to her face, almost as if she was unable to believe it. Then her face broke into happiness, and she tackled Naofumi down to the ground in a tight embrace. "Y-Yes! Thank you Master Naofumi!" She said loudly and happily. Even with his high defense, he was still caught off guard by her tackling him. And she was crying tears of happiness onto his chest. Which also made him shed a few happy tears.

"I'm glad you approve of it-" Before he could say anything else, she grabbed his face and kissed him.

His eyes widened in shock at the unexpected action.

Raphtalia after a couple of seconds realized what she was doing, and immediately separated from him. Her face was bright red. And the look on it was nothing short of adorable to him. "I'm, I'm not s-sure, what came over me there-" She tried to say through her nervousness to alleviate the embarrassment.

She was shut up. Literally, by Naofumi when he placed a hand behind her head, and gently pulled her in to place his lips back over hers. His other arm wrapping around her in a warm embrace. His shield having been changed to a bracelet form so he could hold her in such a way.

Raphtalia's eyes rolled up into the back of her head, and she kissed him back just as sweetly. Years of hidden feelings and rather poor barriers to hide them behind were released in that single moment. And though Naofumi still wasn't sure if fireworks existed in this world or not, he could have sworn he heard them going off in his head.

...

"Hmmm, it seems we have another reason to celebrate now."

A voice made the two jump apart and look up. Behind them, the Queen stood tall and proud. If that hadn't been bad enough, the other heroes and a few of their friends were behind her to witness what had just happened.

"Way to go Naofumi!" Motoyasu said happily.

"It's about time you two finally admitted it," Itsuki said happily.

Ren nodded his head. "Congrats." He said simply.

The two of them looked at each other. Both appeared very flustered in that moment. "Oh, um, uh…" Both Naofumi and Raphtalia said in sync.

"Awwww, they look so cute when they get flustered together like that!" Melty said happily next to Filo.

"But why doesn't Master ever show Filo that kind of attention!? I want kisses too!" She asked childishly.

"Hey! Ever heard of privacy before!?" Raphtalia finally managed to yell at them.

"You're acting like a bunch of peeping toms!" Naofumi yelled next to her in agreement.

"They're even cuter when they yell together like that!" Melty said in even more awe than before.

"Aren't they?!" Filo agreed with her. Already dropping the previous subject from her near child-like mind.

The Queen smiled. "I was simply coming with everyone else to help convince the Shield Hero to stay in our world. But it appears you've already chosen to do that if I'm not mistaken." She said knowingly. Almost as if she'd known this would be happening when she arrived.

Again, Raphtalia and Naofumi got flustered looks on their faces. "Yeah, I decided to stay." He said sheepishly.

"Splendid!" The Queen clapped her hands together. "Seeing as how we've caught you at a bad time, the others and I will take our leave." She said, glaring back at everyone else.

"Yeah. Whatever. Just don't go bumping bunnies with each other in bed tonight. Me and the others would prefer being able to sleep." Ren said before turning around with a dismissal wave to the two.

"I'd think it'd be better to say they shouldn't bump raccoons with each other tonight since that'd make more sense in her case," Itsuki said as he followed Ren.

"Filo's confused about what Sword Guy and Bow Guy mean," Filo said, her face reflecting her confusion.

"Don't worry my precious little Filo!" Suddenly Motoyasu squeezed himself between Melty and Filo. "Motoyasu the love seeker here will help you to understand!" He said happily, before pulling her by the hand after the other two.

"Wait! Mel!" Filo yelled for Melty's help.

"Coming!" She yelled while chasing after the lovestruck looking Motoyasu and his captive.

"B-Bumping raccoons?" Naofumi stammered. His face was redder than it had ever been in his life.

"Are, are th-they insinuating-" Raphtalia tried to ask. Her face growing redder by the second.

The queen turned around a soft smile on her face. "I gave you all your own rooms, but I'll warn you now that the walls of my castle are not soundproof. So please, if you choose to engage in such behavior, do so quietly." She said before walking after the others.

The two stared in absolute shock and embarrassment. So much so that they glanced at each other, and then looked away even redder than before. "The, the nerve!" Raphtalia screeched.

"Who, who do they think they are!" Naofumi said angrily.

The two stayed silent for a long while. Both of them doing their best to try and rein in their emotions.

"So, um, I, I guess we're officially together now?" He squeaked out. It was very unlike him, but he couldn't help it.

"Yeah. I, I guess we are." She said, just as equally flustered as him. Her face still felt hot from all the blood rushing through it.

The two of them didn't speak again for a few moments. It wasn't until they could look at each other without feeling they had to look away from each other that one of them broke the silence. "I guess I'll be staying for a while now, huh?" Naofumi joked.

Raphtalia nodded her head. "I guess you will Master Naofumi." She said.

He tilted his head curiously at her. "Is there a problem with that?" He asked.

She shook her head hurriedly. "No, it's not that! It's just…" She looked at him curiously. "Didn't you tell me before that you had a family you wanted to return to?" She asked.

He nodded his head at her. "Yeah. I did." Then he smiled. "I've returned to them now. The people and family that I love. And I don't plan on leaving them behind."

Raphtalia kept staring at him, the meaning of his words slowly getting through to her mind. When they did, the tears came back to her eyes, and she embraced Naofumi in a hug again. "You, you do love us then?" She asked.

"I wouldn't have stayed if I didn't… especially you." He admitted at the end.

He looked down, seeing Raphtalia's tail spike behind her at the confession. She was also shaking in his arms again. He hoped that wasn't a sign that he had been reading all this wrong.

"Raph-"

Again, her lips cut him off. "Have you- any idea- how long- I've wanted- for you to- tell me- that-" She said in between kisses. Leaving him no room to talk, and leaving him no choice but to go along for the ride. Not that he was going to complain about it.

Finally, she separated from him long enough for him to speak. "H-How long-" She then cut him off with her lips again. Not that he minded. No, he didn't mind at all. He was starting to love them too since they were a part of her.

She separated again, her face once again red. Though this time it was more from lack of oxygen than from embarrassment. "Since… since around the time, you dueled the Spear Hero here." She admitted.

His eyes widened down at her. "Seriously, for that long?" He asked.

Raphtalia rolled her eyes. "I worried that you were never going to feel the same way for me that I did for you." She said, her eyes twinkling in the moonlight.

"So, so you're saying all this time-" He tried to say.

"Just shut up and kiss me. I want to do this now before the others come back to disturb us again." She ordered him.

'Whoa. And I thought she was the one with the slave crest.' He thought. Not that he minded since that was an order he'd now gladly follow.

And gladly follow that order he did.

He never realized until years later how easy the hard choice had been to make.

Author's Notes:

There we go. I was wondering if I could come out with a nicely lengthed one-shot. And I think I did pretty well on this one. Hope that you all liked it!

Till Next Time

Allen