Hey guys, just a heads up, there are major spoilers in this story, so if you haven't completed the game, please proceed with caution.

Otherwise, enjoy! :)

Malroth was not exactly known for being an emotional man.

He had his moods, sure, and he was never afraid to voice his emotions (or his opinions), but lately, he'd noticed a change in how he felt around his best friend. It wasn't a good or bad change, just different.

And they were starting to seriously affect him whether she was around or not.

At first, it was hardly noticeable. He'd feel slightly happier whenever she was around, and he would kinda-sorta miss her when she wasn't. He figured it wasn't anything to worry about; after all, that's how friends normally felt, right? Friends liked being with each other, and they could miss each other. That was completely normal.

But then it got worse. Malroth couldn't seem to get the Builder off his mind. Her dopey smile, the way her eyes lit up when she figured out a new blueprint, the soft giggle when she'd crouch down to pet one of the animals… Everything about her was sweet and pure. She was everything he wasn't, and he liked that about her.

He also couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she'd risked everything to save him. She'd gone to that dark, morbid realm Hargon conjured up, and she'd gone with the knowledge that she may never return to their friends. The Builder knew, to some degree, that there was a chance she might never find Malroth—that she might die—but she'd still gone ahead with the determination to save him.

She'd seen his monster form, even though they both knew he was different from the original entity that shared his namesake. She had seen him at his absolute worst, and yet she'd still fought for him with everything she had, even though it had nearly cost her her life. Once they'd saved the world and peace was restored, the Builder didn't treat him any differently after seeing the monster he'd become. As a matter of fact, they were closer than ever before; they still went adventuring, they ate together, and they even shared a house, with the first floor being his own space and the second hers. Malroth wasn't an expert on friendship, but he knew she was one of a kind, and he was grateful that if he had any friends, she was his best friend.

But... The thought of these things, especially when he thought about her smiles and her voice and her pretty face, and how she was selfless, and all of the good times they'd shared... All of it made him feel warm inside, and he didn't know what to think about it.

Lately, she'd been busy building this and that for all their friends. Something about surprising all three communities with a brand new spa… Truth be told, he hadn't really been paying much attention when she notified him that she'd be spending more time in other areas of the island aside from Green Gardens, where their house was located. Instead, he'd been more focused on looking at her, at how her eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect of building new things. He hadn't noticed before how pretty her eyes were, or how cute her button nose was, or the way her hair always looked soft and shiny…

Once the Builder was off to start her projects, however, Malroth felt her absence much more than anyone else did. Meals weren't the same without her, and it felt strange to not wake up to her bright and cheerful, "Good morning!" when she'd come downstairs. He knew he was being ridiculous—after all, she was only in Scarlet Sands, which wasn't too far away—but he still missed her fiercely.

Three days passed before he decided he couldn't take it anymore and finally went to see how the beloved builder was doing. During his journey to Scarlet Sands, he noticed his stomach felt weird. Upon entering the pyramid, he'd wanted to say hello and see what she was up to, but the feeling in his stomach worsened as soon as he saw those familiar pigtails bouncing around as she crafted something. She had her back to him, so she didn't realize he'd stopped by, and he felt frozen. For the first time in his life, he hesitated.

Malroth was always happy to see the Builder—after all, her optimism and bubbliness was contagious, and she was his best friend—but this was a new sort of happy. He felt almost nervous around her, like his stomach was jumping up and down, and he didn't understand why he suddenly felt this way around her when he always felt fine all the other times they'd been together.

Was he about to be sick? Was that why his stomach felt like it was in knots?

Instead of saying hello to her, he turned on his heel and decided to get some fresh air. The amount of disappointment and regret he felt at not approaching her was far worse than the nervous feeling, and he grumbled in frustration at the conflicting signals his body was giving him.

A few nights later, after he'd forced himself to greet his friend and hang around her to see if the feelings continued (they were definitely still present), these strange new feelings came to a head while Malroth and the Builder decided to put their feet up at Den's new bar. The blonde had finished making a spa for everyone and Den promised that any drinks she wanted were on the house; while she and Malroth were each enjoying a glass of digger's jigger, one of the villagers approached her and struck up a friendly conversation. Normally, the tough young man wouldn't care if someone was being kind to the Builder—after all, everyone liked her, it was pretty difficult not to—but this particular instance got under his skin.

The other guy kept making the blonde giggle and smile that extra-bright, dopey smile that she usually reserved for when she and Malroth high-fived after a victorious battle. With every giggle and smile as she chatted with him, Malroth's irritation grew stronger until he couldn't take it anymore. The master of destruction abruptly stood up and stormed out of the bar. The whole bar was abuzz with good times, so if anyone noticed him making a beeline for the door, they didn't show it.

His best friend, however, immediately excused herself to chase after him. He'd gotten as far as the stairs leading to the first level of the pyramid when she caught up to him easily, concern written all over her face as she moved to stand in front of him.

"Hey, what's the matter? Are you okay?"

Malroth instantly felt relief at knowing that it was just them now, that the other guy was momentarily forgotten.

He exhaled and nodded. "I just needed some air."

The blonde searched his face for a moment. "You sure? You seemed upset."

Her question caused him to examine his new feelings much more closely than before. Why had he gotten angry at that other guy for being friendly towards her? They were best friends, so why was he feeling so annoyed at seeing another person make her smile like that? Part of him knew it wasn't fair to feel this way; she could talk to anyone she wanted and he didn't care before, so… Why was he suddenly feeling up in arms about it, now?

After reassuring her that he was okay and making the excuse that he was just tired, Malroth headed to the inn and got ready for bed. He didn't sleep much that night, his thoughts revolving around his best friend and trying to figure out what all these feelings were. One thing was for sure: whatever was going on, it was only getting worse.

Sometime during the night, Malroth decided to take a break from hanging around the petite young woman until he could get his emotions under control. If he was going to experience random bouts of irritation, he'd rather handle it on his own and prevent himself from accidentally snapping at the blonde.

He spent the entire next day wandering around the Isle, careful to avoid wherever the Builder was going to be working. He occasionally stopped to say hello to some of their friends, but otherwise kept to himself. He helped the people in Cerulean Steppe fight off some stray monsters and, when evening was quickly approaching, retired to his room.

The Builder arrived shortly after he'd gotten into bed. He pretended to be sleeping even when he'd heard her whisper his name to see if he was still awake. Believing he'd nodded off and not wanting to disturb him, the blonde had hesitated before heading up the stairs to her own room.

The next few days, he continued to avoid her. He purposely woke up before her, grabbed breakfast, and then wandered off to fight any monsters that were causing trouble. Then he'd return home, eat dinner at Lillian's, and pretend to be asleep when the Builder came back. Sometimes he purposely wouldn't return until he was sure the blonde was already asleep upstairs.

He felt bad for ignoring her, and he noticed that it hurt him to be away from her for long periods of time. The longer he was away from her, no matter if he was slaying monsters or not, the more she crept into his thoughts. He wondered what she was up to, if she was alright—was she eating enough? Did she get enough sleep? Did she need his help at all?

The final straw came one evening when he was returning to Scarlet Sands. A party was in full-swing and everyone was enjoying themselves, but the Builder was standing off to the side. She didn't look too happy, but as soon as she spotted him, the frown on her face instantly became a bright smile, causing that weird flutter-feeling in his belly to return.

"Hey!" She bounded up to him with her hand raised, and he high-fived her without hesitation. "I haven't seen you around much. What have you been up to?"

He felt more nervous than he'd ever felt before in his life, and he couldn't figure out why. Why was he feeling this way towards her? Why now, after all the time they'd spent together? And why was it her, of all people? Why did he only feel like this around her?!

"Mal?"

He realized he'd gotten lost in his thoughts again.

"Oh, uh... I've been helping the people at Cerulean Steppe, mostly."

The blonde worried her bottom lip, which drew his eyes to her mouth. His own mouth suddenly felt like he'd been chewing on cotton, and he forced himself to look away.

"Are you mad at me?"

The question almost made him jump. "What?"

When she tried to repeat what she'd said, he frowned, "Of course not, why would you think that?"

"I never see you anymore and we don't hang out like we used to. Ever since that night at the bar…"

She shook her head. "It's almost like you're avoiding me, and if I did something to upset you, I'd want to know so I can make it right."

"Don't worry so much," he assured her, feeling like an idiot for making her worry. "If I'm quiet, it's not because I'm upset. I'm just quiet sometimes."

Those lovely blue eyes searched his face for a moment before she nodded slowly.

"Okay. And if something was up, you'd tell me?"

"Of course. You even gotta ask that?"

She beamed, and the flutter-feeling increased. It was then that Malroth realized he didn't want to avoid her anymore, and he couldn't. He felt too torn-up inside; he missed her way too much to put any sort of distance between them. Whatever was going on with him was starting to slip out of his control, and truth be told, it was frightening him a little.

When the first rays of dawn could be seen from the pyramid's entrance, Malroth set off for Cerulean Steppe, where Lulu was the self-appointed ruler. He wasn't as close to her as he was with the Builder, but Lulu was infuriatingly good at reading him. Part of him had wanted to talk to blonde about how he was feeling, but he couldn't quite put it into words himself, and if he couldn't explain it properly, there was a chance he'd hurt her feelings.

...Not that she was emotionally fragile, but he didn't want to do anything that might accidentally hurt his best friend. The thought of saying or doing anything to wipe that cute smile off her face made him feel sick inside. It would be safer to explain the situation to Lulu and see what she had to say.

Malroth entered the castle and walked up the steps to the throne room where a few people were already gathered. Anessa, Esther, and Zara were speaking with Lulu—well, Lady Lulu, as she preferred now—but they all turned when they heard the dark-haired young man approaching.

Lulu, of course, grinned. "Malroth! To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Finally come to see how well Lulutopia is getting along?"

He snorted. "Please. My empire of evisceration would look way better."

"Someone's just jealous that I got dibs on the castle~."

"As if! You totally girled-up the place." He didn't bother hiding his contempt. "My empire would slaughter your puny, rainbow-infested kingdom."

She rolled her eyes. "For your information, the Builder hung most of the curtains you see in here. She at least understands good taste when she sees it."

The mention of the blonde made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, momentarily distracting him from their usual bickering. He settled for a halfhearted, "Whatever," and simply looked away, his cheeks darkening with blush.

"So... Any particular reason you decided to come bug me?"

Anessa and Zara were also staring at him curiously, causing his mouth to feel drier than the sands of Khrumbul-Dun. Esther, however, smiled kindly at him, and that seemed to be the encouragement he needed to continue.

"When you have a second, do you think I could talk to you about something?" Feeling the other women's eyes on him, he cleared his throat, "Alone?"

Anessa and Zara shared a glance that Malroth couldn't decipher, but Esther seemed to understand a hint when she saw one.

"Come along, my lambs, we can visit Lady Lulu tomorrow."

Both soldiers got to their feet and followed the nun, Anessa casting one final glance towards Malroth before she disappeared through the double doors. When it was just him and Lulu, the pinkette raised an eyebrow.

"So, what's got mighty Malroth all upset?"

"It's…" He sighed angrily, running a gloved hand through his hair. "It's hard to explain."

She cocked her head to the side. Malroth was never unsure of himself, so to see him in such a state of frustration was new.

"What's hard to explain? Is Hargon sending you visions again?"

"No, nothing like that," he assured. "It's just, I keep getting this weird feeling and it won't go away, and I don't know what it is."

Lulu frowned. "Is it a gut feeling, like something bad is going to happen?"

"No. It's more like…" The dark-haired man allowed both of his hands to clasp together behind him. "Do you ever feel funny inside around other people?"

"Funny inside?" At his nod, Lulu chewed her bottom lip in deep thought. "I mean, I felt funny about you when I first met you, but I attribute that to you being yourself."

"You felt weird in your stomach?" he asked, ignoring the jibe, and she laughed.

"No, more like I felt like I wanted to punch you. Completely different feeling."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and Lulu wondered what exactly he was trying to describe.

"Can you tell me what it's like? This feeling in your stomach, I mean."

Malroth shrugged. "It's, well… I dunno, a fluttering? But not around just anyone."

"So… It's only around certain people?"

"It's only around the Builder."

At the mention of the bubbly blonde, realization dawned across Lulu's face. Malroth immediately noticed the change in the pinkette and cocked his head to the side.

"Do you know what it is? Have you ever felt it around her?"

She couldn't fight the smile that spread over her lips. "No, I've never felt that way around her; I only look at her as a friend. Tell me, when you get this feeling, do you also feel happy?"

His eyes lit up. She'd just put into words what he'd been struggling to verbalize.

"Yeah! I get extremely happy when I get to see her, and I miss her a lot when she isn't around."

"And how do you feel if other guys are around her?"

Malroth frowned. "You mean like Bonanzo or Digby?"

"Well, no, but I guess they count as well," she shrugged. "What I mean is, if some other guy is making her happy, does it tick you off?"

He nodded and told her about what had happened at Den's new bar, to which Lulu's grin grew wider.

"It sounds to me like you've got yourself a crush, my friend."

Silence filled the air as Malroth tried and failed to make sense of what she'd just said.

"A… Crush?"

"Yeah." At his confused expression, she blinked, her grin fading slightly. "You DO know what that is… Don't you?"

At the blank stare, she pursed her lips.

"Okay, so… You know how you fall in love with someone?"

"Wait… You fall in love? Is it a place you fall into?"

She sighed, readjusting herself on the throne so her leg wouldn't fall asleep. This might be tougher than she thought.

"Love isn't a place," she began, trying to remember what her mother had told her about the concept. "Love is a feeling that goes beyond simple friendship. You put their needs above your own, you love making them happy, you enjoy spending time with them, and even when they annoy you, you still stick with them because, well, you care about them. It's like friendship, but a little different.

"Think of it this way: you and the Builder are friends, right?" At his nod, she continued: "Friendship is the foundation for love. You start out as friends, you get to know each other, spend lots of time together… Eventually, or sometimes immediately, you may develop romantic feelings for that particular friend. You think they're really handsome or beautiful, and you enjoy being around them. It's a feeling more than anything; it's hard to describe, but… You'd know it when you feel it."

Malroth hummed, trying to figure out what Lulu was saying. It did fit the description of what he'd been experiencing the past few weeks… And he had definitely started noticing how pretty the Builder was. Sometimes he wondered how he hadn't noticed it before.

And he remembered Khrumbul-Dun, when the concept of love had been right in front of his face; everyone there seemed to be wrapped around Babs' finger, even when she'd been turned to stone. They all did whatever was necessary to make sure she was happy, and at first, he hadn't understood why. She was beautiful, sure, but he didn't get why they all seemed to compete for her affections, even getting upset when Babs would send the Builder off with food she'd made.

The more he thought about it, however, the more he realized that their love for Babs fit the description of, well, love. Despite their rivalry for her attention, everyone in Khrumbul-Dun worked themselves to the bone for the gorgeous dancer because they cared about her and wanted to make sure she was safe and happy. Because they loved her.

Goldirox had given his life for her, and Malroth had initially thought the golem would be better off without all this "love" stuff, but… If what Goldirox felt for Babs mirrored how Malroth was feeling towards the Builder, he was starting to understand why a being as powerful as Goldirox would choose to sacrifice everything, even his life, for one person.

...Kind of like how the Builder put everything on the line to go after him when Hargon kidnapped him.

And kind of like how Malroth would always go to bat for her if she needed him.

"I'm guessing since you don't know what love is, you aren't familiar with kissing or hugging?"

"I know what hugs and kisses are," he affirmed. "I just didn't understand what love was. I thought it was about sacrificing your life for someone else."

"It is, but that's an extreme form of love." When Malroth tilted his head curiously, Lulu smiled. "If you're willing to give your life for someone else's, that's considered a pure form of love, but if you care about someone's happiness, that's also considered love. Love is love is love."

"So…" Malroth folded his arms across his chest. "If I understand this right, love is something you feel for someone."

Lulu grinned. "Right!"

"And you think I feel love for the Builder?"

"Yes."

"So what did you mean when you said I have a crush on her?"

"A crush is when you just start to fall in love with someone. Like I said, you start to notice how attractive that person is, you feel a fluttery feeling in your stomach—lots of people call it 'butterflies'—and you want to spend lots of time with that person. Based on what you're describing to me, you're starting to fall in love with her, so you're crushing on her. It's not quite love yet, but if you guys both feel the same way towards each other and decide to date, it could turn into love."

"And dating is...?"

"You're hopeless when it comes to this stuff," she giggled. "Alright, you might as well sit down. This may take a while to explain."

After about two hours of listening to Lulu and occasionally interjecting with questions, Malroth felt like his brain was going to explode.

She'd explained dating, marriage, even parenthood in more depth. While some parts were a bit awkward to sit through—he didn't think Lulu's face had ever looked so red when she started explaining how two people became parents, but then again, he didn't think his own face had ever burned so hotly before either—Malroth felt like he had a better understanding of what love was, and how it led to all of these things.

After thanking Lulu for helping him figure out what he was feeling for the Builder, he headed towards Green Gardens. The blonde was probably still in Scarlet Sands, so he figured he could use the rest of the night to reflect on everything Lulu had told him. She'd given him a lot to think about; how strong were his feelings for the Builder, and were they strong enough to eventually make him want to date her, let alone marry her?

...Okay, so maybe that was a bit too far ahead to think about right now, but it was still something to consider.

All of these concepts were foreign to Malroth, but they did sound pretty neat. He and the Builder technically already lived together, and he was happy being her roommate; why not eventually get married to her? That is, if she even felt the same way… If not, he would be happy just being her friend. Even if the rejection hurt him a little bit, he'd still do his best to be there for her in any way he could.

When he finally made it to his room, he planned on taking a nice hot shower and then getting some shut-eye. Maybe after a night of letting everything sink in, he could approach the Builder and see how she felt about all of this. Upon opening the door, however, he was surprised to see the girl in question sitting at the small table she'd made for him. She immediately looked up, eyes wide with surprise, and scrambled to her feet.

"There you are! I've been waiting for you."

Malroth swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. That fluttery feeling in his stomach—Lulu had called it butterflies, hadn't she?—came back full-force and his mouth suddenly felt dry.

"Hey?" He winced at the crack in his voice and cleared his throat. "Hey. Did you need something?"

She pouted, and he wondered if she was aware of just how cute she was. "I wanna know what's going on. You haven't been acting like yourself lately and I wanna know why."

Malroth opened his mouth to make some excuse, but then thought better of it. The Builder had obviously seen through the first excuse of 'I'm just tired,' and with everything Lulu had just revealed to him… Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to be honest about his feelings.

...Even if it meant the Builder didn't return them, and then maybe cause a rift in their relationship, and then he'd be the biggest moron ever because geez, she was so amazing and pretty and strong, and she deserved the world, and—

"...Mal?"

He shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts. "Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about. Unless, y'know, you're busy."

The Builder swiftly turned on her heel and plopped down onto one of the chairs at his table. She motioned for Malroth to take the other seat and he obliged her.

"What's on your mind?"

He looked away, his cheeks heating up and his heart hammering in his chest. "This is probably gonna sound lame, but... How do you feel about me?"

She blinked, his question catching her off-guard. "How do I feel about you?"

At his nod, she smiled. "You're my best friend. I care about you and I like being with you."

"Do you feel anything else?"

"Like what?"

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Like… I dunno... Butterflies?"

The Builder cocked her head to the side curiously, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. It took her a moment to grasp what he was hinting at, and when she did, her eyes lit up with something he couldn't place.

"Malroth, are you saying you have a crush on me?"

He refused to look at her, not trusting himself to speak. Usually, he had no problem maintaining eye contact with the blonde, but now… He couldn't seem to meet her eyes. His heart was racing and the butterfly feeling in his belly had become far worse than ever before; how could he be so fierce and brutal on the battlefield, yet when it came to the sweet girl in front of him, he was reduced to such a nervous mess?

Nevertheless, he nodded. The Builder giggled, and he chanced a peek at her. She was smiling at him with that dopey smile he was starting to fall more and more in love with.

"I have to admit, I've been crushing on you for a little while, too."

His eyes grew comically wide. "You have? Why didn't you say anything?!"

"I wasn't sure if you felt the same way, and if you didn't, I didn't want to accidentally ruin our friendship. I don't want a repeat of what happened at Moonbrooke."

"I don't think you could ruin our friendship by telling me something like that, and there's no way there'd ever be a repeat of Moonbrooke."

"Still." The Builder shrugged. "I didn't want to do anything that might hurt our friendship. I didn't know if you felt the same way and I didn't want to cause any sort of rift between us."

"Well, I do feel the same way," he grumbled. "I've been feeling all funny for a while now."

"Is… Is that why you've been avoiding me?"

Malroth looked away, shame filling him. "Y-yeah. I didn't know what I was feeling, and like you, I didn't wanna make things weird."

The Builder nodded. "I can understand that. I missed being able to talk to you, though."

"I missed you like crazy. I'm never avoiding you like that again."

"I just have one more question." At his nod, she chuckled nervously. "Was that why you left the bar the other night?"

Malroth cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"When you saw that guy come over and flirt with me, did it upset you?"

He heaved a sigh and relaxed, leaning into the palm of his hand.

"Yeah, it did. I didn't understand it then, but now I realize I was jealous. Maybe it's selfish, but I wanted to be the one to make you smile and laugh like that."

The Builder giggled. "But you already do."

She reached over to take his free hand in hers, her gloves off for once, and he marveled at how small her fingers looked compared to his, her fingernails dainty despite her laborious line of work. The Builder was such a… A girl. She was so pretty and yet so strong; he loved that about her. She wasn't afraid to be herself, she was honest even if she probably shouldn't be (like in Skelkatraz, when she was honest about being a builder even though she probably should've lied), she was brave, and she had the biggest heart.

Speaking of hearts...

"How long have you had a crush on me?" he asked, remembering her earlier statement.

"I think it started in Khrumbul-Dun," she admitted. "Seeing you happy and sparring with the other miners was sweet. And then it got worse around the time we were captured and sent to Skelkatraz. You promised everyone you'd look after me, and there was something about you being so protective that made me feel really happy and safe, which I always felt, but... it was starting to get to the point where I couldn't stop thinking about you. I couldn't stop thinking about all the things that I really like about you, which is pretty much everything. And then in Skelkatraz, you kept giving me your share of food even though you were probably starving, and you told me if I needed anything, you'd be in the next cell over, and..."

She took a deep breath, and he squeezed her hand gently, silently encouraging her to continue. When she looked back up at him, biting her bottom lip, the butterflies worsened and suddenly he understood what Lulu had meant when she mentioned liking someone so much that you wanted to kiss them.

"When we had to spend all that time in confinement together, it was a little scary to be in the dark for whoever knows how long. I don't mind darkness, but being confined to a small space for days on end is a bit much, even for me. But then sometimes you'd reach over and take my hand, and knowing you were there with me made me feel like everything would be okay. It was then that I realized you were pretty special to me."

Malroth was stunned. He'd thought he was just being a good friend by doing those things, nothing special. The more he considered it, however, he realized that all the signs had been there for a while. Throughout their friendship, he'd always been protective over the builder, maybe to a ridiculous extent in others' eyes.

He'd always liked her, but at some point, 'like' had developed into deep affection and care.

"When all that stuff went down in Moonbrooke, and then when Hargon took you away, it hurt," she added. Her expression fell when she mentioned the war-torn country, and Malroth felt his own heart sink at the sour memory. That was certainly not a time he enjoyed thinking about. "When you told me we were done, it hurt so bad that I couldn't think straight. I didn't want to do anything except make things right with you. You can ask anyone, as soon as you walked away from me, I wasn't myself, and it felt like a big part of me was missing. Nothing personal against the people from Moonbrooke, but when you walked away, the last thing I cared about was building a new castle. All I wanted was to be with you."

The master of destruction blushed at her words. He never thought he'd mattered that much to her, but to know that he did indeed mean a lot to her made him feel ridiculously giddy inside.

"And then with Hargon, the thought of losing you hurt even more. I don't know when exactly I realized it... Maybe when I dove into that portal after you? I could've died. Hargon could've killed me instantly, he could've tricked me, but I still went ahead anyway because I couldn't stand the thought of you hurting. What I feel for you runs deeply, and I've felt it for a long time.

"So suffice it to say I've liked you for a while," she finished, flashing him that dopey smile he adored so much.

He really, really wanted to kiss her.

"So, since we both like each other, does this make us a couple?" he asked, and she grinned.

"Only if you want us to be."

"As long as I get to be with you, then yes."

She giggled. "That's generally how couples work, so yeah. I would be all yours, and you would be mine."

Malroth liked the sound of that. "One condition: only I get to flirt with you."

"Of course. If any other guys try, I'll let them know I'm already with someone who makes me very happy."

He grinned. "Or better yet, I'll let them know you're mine."

She blushed at that. "I'm curious, though, how did you figure out what love was all about?"

Malroth looked away, slightly embarrassed, and murmured, "Lulu told me."

"Huh?"

"Lulu told me." At the Builder's soft laugh, he glared, but she knew he wasn't actually upset with her. "She told me anything and everything about love, to the point where it gave me a headache. Seriously, how do you keep up with all this info? My head felt like it was gonna explode!"

"To be fair, you don't learn everything in one sitting. You learn as you go along." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "So, um... you know what kissing is, right?"

He blushed. "Yeah."

"Would it be okay if I kissed you, then? Since we're a couple, now."

"I'm supposed to ask you that question," he grumbled, but he wasn't really all that upset.

She stood up and moved around the table towards him, and he got to his feet as well. The Builder pulled him into a hug, which he was happy to oblige (he loved the feel of her in his arms), but she shifted slightly. She wound her arms around his neck and he, in turn, allowed his arms to fall to her waist. She leaned in, and he did too, face burning and nerves aflutter.

Suddenly, she paused. "Wait, Lulu didn't kiss you, did she?"

He chuckled at the slight twinge of jealousy in her voice. "No. She explained things to me, but she didn't give me demonstrations. That would've been weird, plus... She knows that you're the only one I want to kiss."

Satisfied with his answer, they both closed their eyes. The Builder touched her lips to his, and it was like nothing he'd ever felt before. After being subjected to horrific visions courtesy of Hargon, after all the hurt and betrayal in Moonbrooke, and even after all the good times in Furrowfield and Khrumbul-Dun, nothing could ever compare to how wonderful it felt in that moment; to have her not only safe in his arms, but to feel her sweet lips against his made everything worth it.

As she kissed him, he wondered how any version of himself could ever despise something like this. His heart was racing, butterflies raging throughout his belly just as they'd been for the past few weeks, but now it was a feeling he didn't want to end.

She kept her lips pressed to his for a few moments, and when she pulled away, this time he was the one who cupped her face with both hands and initiated another kiss.

The more they kissed, the more they both got the hang of kissing, and soon, what was once sweet and innocent became passionate, as if they couldn't get enough of each other. Her fingers tangled themselves in his hair and he groaned softly when she nibbled on his bottom lip. Eventually, they had no choice but to break for air, both of them panting. The Builder's face was flushed and Malroth was sure his was, too. They stared at each other for a minute, both wearing dopey, happy grins, and she pulled him into a hug. He held her tightly, burying his face in her hair.

"I really, really love you," he murmured, and the Builder nuzzled her face against his chest affectionately.

In her world, it would probably be way too early to consider themselves in love, but somehow, after everything they'd gone through and all the time they'd spent together, it felt right to say it.

"I really, really love you, too," she whispered back.

They held each other for a little while longer, and reluctantly let go when the Builder's stomach growled. She grinned sheepishly and Malroth laughed.

"Forget to eat dinner?"

"Well, yeah, but I also wanted to make sure you were okay." She pecked his cheek. "You're very important to me, you know."

He pulled her into yet another kiss, keeping it short and sweet. "While I appreciate that, you need to eat. Come on, the restaurant should still be open and if we're dating, I think it would pay to actually take you on a date."

"Look at you, being an expert on love and stuff," the Builder teased, and he kissed her forehead. He wasn't usually a touchy-feely person, but he could definitely get used to kissing her and hugging her. High fives were one thing, but kissing... Malroth really liked kissing.

"We're gonna go on lots of dates from here on out. And I'm gonna make sure we enjoy each and every one of 'em, too."

She beamed at him, love clear in those beautiful eyes of hers. "I look forward to it."

Taking his hand in hers, they set off for Lillian's restaurant, the stars above twinkling extra bright. The Builder held his hand for a little while, but eventually, after gaining a bit of courage, she linked her arm with Malroth's, and the action filled him with a sense of pride.

Neither of them noticed the knowing smiles their friends gave them when they entered the restaurant arm-in-arm. Only one thought entered the destructive man's mind as he watched the Builder order dinner for both of them, her blue eyes shining, that dopey smile more radiant than the golden bar in Khrumbul-Dun.

Yeah. I really do love her.