Mature themes involve, so proceed at your own risk! Nothing but a small time loving.

Chapter 18.5: Reality or Illusion Part 2

There was an endless night sky the moment that cool breeze of the outside world wafted over their faces. Reimuz and the party were dead tired, not to mention Celes, who kept her spirit materialized all the way.

Erumina greeted the group at the entrance. Her pale face recovered some of its vigor as soon as her eyes landed on the girl peacefully resting on the wind spirit’s back.

Reimuz had expected the reaction, and although he may have too many things that he wanted to complain about, he held them inside for now.

“Can you guide Sylphie to your sister’s tent?” he instructed as he handed over Elseria’s spirit sword.

“Of course. Please follow me,” Erumina complied immediately. “Also, I filled the tents with buckets of water, just in case you need it.”

Even though she was overly concerned about her sister’s health, she did not overlook the group’s condition. She walked to the nearest tent with Sylphie tagging behind her, right beside Elseria’s room.

After he had swiftly finished the main business, Reimuz turned to Wein. “Can you walk by yourself? Or do you want me to give you a piggyback ride?” asked Reimuz, clearly messing around.

He wasn’t particularly concerned about a guy who survived a fatal gunshot wound, but he did lose a good quantity of blood. A fact that made him wonder how Wein had survived.

“I’m good, I’ll be resting by the lake,” said Wein. Just as he said, he heaved and lifted his legs toward the body of water visible at the corner of his eye. “Come over when you’re done, Reimuz,” he added.

His words made Reimuz remember about their conversation from before. It was a topic he could not afford to miss after all.

“Alright, I’ll meet you over there,” he said to his friend’s back. He put his hands on his waist and sighed. Now that he knew they were completely safe once more, exhaustion was starting to grip his thoughts.

“You want to take a rest?” posed Celes on his side with a troubled face.

Reimuz hid his exhaustion underneath a smile and nodded. “That’s the best course of action right now.”

Dragging their weary bodies, they entered an empty tent. Inside the small shelter made of cloth was a single bed, a few buckets of water, and some towels on top of a wooden dresser. Right in the middle of the room was a crimson crystal dangling from the ceiling, giving the tent the security it needed at night. Reimuz approached the dresser sitting beside the bed. He knelt and placed his hand on its mahogany surface, and when he pulled out the round knob, he found some clean clothes.

Celes bounced on the bed and folded her legs. “Some clothes?”

“A few shirts,” said Reimuz.

He got up and lifted two buckets near the bed. Placing his prized hammer and gauntlets on top of the dresser, he stripped off his blood-drenched shirt, revealing some chiseled muscles. He yawned once and grabbed one of the white towels Erumina prepared beforehand, and dipped it inside the cool water. His dry skin faintly stung as soon as the water touched his skin. The water must’ve come from the lake nearby.

“Here, let me wipe your back,” Celes leaned a smidgen closer and took the damp towel he wrung out, as if it was natural. She kicked her shoes off and knelt on top of the bed and began to rub his back with both hands.

Reimuz squeezed out another towel and wiped his face with it. “Ah, this is good.”

“Idiot,” she lightly smacked his head, knocking him out of Nirvana. “Raise your arm,” she compelled him to, kneading his armpits open.

It made him smile, her lovable actions tickling his insides. Although some parts of his body still ached with pain, mainly his upper body, he felt refreshed. Too many things had happened in such a short amount of time he could scarcely believed it.

Suddenly he felt a familiar warmth securing on his chest.

“Something bothering you?” Celes carefully asked. He expected it, but he still didn’t know what to say.

“A few things,” answered Reimuz.

“I see,” a simple reply came from her soft voice that it was almost ticklish in his ears. But her intent was different, and he knew he was in trial now. “You said you’d run away at the first sign of trouble, yet you didn’t. Why was that?”

“Ah, some circumstances,” he scratched his cheek. It was his normal reaction when he made excuses.

“Hmm, even gallantly rushing forth just to save her. I wonder, was there a reason for your heroic act?”

“I was offered some prize money, that’s why I went,” he babbled the first bullshit that entered his mind.

But it was ineffective. She puckered and blew on his ear. “Oh really?”

He didn’t answer, for every word that would leave his mouth would only dug him deeper in his grave. His father, under the guise of a wise man, once told him: that no matter how deep of a predicament he finds himself in, never admit the truth. ALWAYS. The moment he does, it will be the end.

“Liar,” her voice broke into his musing, like the most delightful melody he’s ever heard in his life. But he stood strong. She snaked one of her hands onto his bare chest then down to his stomach and whispered, “Jerk.”

In time, his silence freed him from his inevitable persecution. Celes crawled off the bed. She unfastened her shorts and dropped it to her feet, showing off her small and cute ass tightly gripped by her black leggings.

Reimuz lay on the bed sideways and leaned on his elbow. He wanted to know if she wore underwear under that thin piece of cloth, but he kept the question to himself. He turned and gazed at the ceiling and recalled the events that happened beyond his comfort zone.

Battling for his survival had never been that intense and he regretted not taking his training properly when it mattered to him. He felt like he wasted a few years of his life playing around.

And it certainly didn’t help that he found out that his childhood friend was dragged in this world too. It would have been fine if she was his typical childhood sweetheart, but their relationship wasn’t anything simple like that. Even the word convoluted would lose its meaning between them two.

Now he found himself wondering what to do. He buried the memories deep inside, as if to forget, but he felt like fate was pulling him towards something unimaginable that would one day cause him to delve into these bloodstained memories.

“Are you going to sleep now?” asked Celes as she sat on the bed. She drew her fingers through the back of her hair and freed it from the braids. She wore nothing but an oversized shirt, and that sight alone made him hard.

“Nah, I’ll go meet with Wein first, and then I’ll come back,” he hid his strong erection by folding his legs, but it just made him look like a fool.

Celes laughed and lay herself down on the line of his arm, her hazel eyes that once looked at him with intense sharpness now molded into something so loving he might not be able to hold himself in their exchange.

“Come here,” he whispered and drew her closer.

Celes twisted her mouth and pouted. “I want to sleep already. Can’t you just meet Wein tomorrow? You’re both tired, I’m sure he’ll understand.”

He grinned at her cuteness. “I can’t. This is something important I can’t miss.”

She slid her arms to his shoulder blades, and her hands pulled him closer. “Fine. I’m just glad everything turned out okay. I was scared something might have happened, and it was clearly because of my selfishness.”

“It wasn’t because of that,” he reassured her. “So you don’t need to blame yourself.”

He stroked her back and kissed her head, tasting the fine strands of her hair. He never held such a girl in his arms before, or kissed one who tasted like a warm, fresh-from-the-oven buttermilk biscuit—at least not when she’s this willing. His hands traveled to her butt after a while. It was soft and rounded, just how he envisioned it to be.

Celes gasped. “Pervert.”

“What do you expect? I’m a growing young man,” he kissed her again, and his hands stayed firm on their position.

“Pervert,” she repeated, a little playfully this time.

“Gosh, Celes, I’m indeed a lucky man to have you,” he pressed her closer even more, his nose inhaling her deeply. “You have no idea how much you make me happy,” he breathes into her hair.

Celes giggled. “And you to me,” she whispered, pressing her lips against his neck.

Nudging her cheek, he stood up. “Well, I’ll go meet Wein. Go to sleep, okay?”

As much as he’d like to stay, it was time to go. He didn’t want to keep the injured guy waiting for too long. He put on a fresh shirt and walked away, but Celes’s voice stopped him on his track. Enticingly.

“I hate you,” she hid herself underneath the bed covers, leaving nothing but her head poking out.

He stepped toward the exit, but he stopped once more before he left the room. He turned around and walked back to Celes, a mischievous smile ran across his face.

“Wh-what?” she shrank back and covered herself with the blanket, but it was all too late.

Reimuz crawled on top of her, remained in position for a full minute, and kissed her nose through the blanket. In the end, that was all he did. He craved to eat her that very instant, but bravely fought his urges from doing so. He compelled himself to save it for a later date. At a better time and place. Just like a pickled vegetable.

“Laters baby.”

Thus, he exited the tent with a cheek to cheek grin, thinking about his soon to be nightly endeavors.

Spoiler : Chapter 18.5: Part 2

It was an endless night sky the moment that cool breeze of the outside world wafted over their faces. Reimuz and the party were dead tired, not to mention Celes, who kept her spirit materialized all the way.

Erumina greeted the group on the entrance. Her pale face retained some of its vigor as soon as her eyes landed on the girl peacefully resting on the wind spirit’s back.

Reimuz had expected her reaction, and though he may have too many things that he wanted to complain about, he held them inside for now.

“Can you guide Sylphie to your sister’s tent?” he instructed as he handed Elseria’s spirit sword.

“Of course. Please follow me,” Erumina complied immediately. “Also, I filled the tents with buckets of water, just in case you need it.”

Even though she was overly concerned about her sister’s health, she did not overlook the group’s condition. She walked to the nearest tent with Sylphie tagging behind her, right beside Elseria’s room.

After he had swiftly finished the main business, Reimuz turned to Wein. “Can you walk by yourself? Or do you want me to give you a piggyback ride?” asked Reimuz, clearly messing around.

He wasn’t particularly concerned about a guy who survived a gunshot wound on fatal areas, but he did lost a good quantity of blood. A fact that made him wonder how he survived.

“I’m good, I’ll be resting by the lake,” said Wein. Just what he said, he heaved and lifted his legs to the body of water visible at the corner of his eyes. “Come over when you’re done Reimuz,” he added.

His words made Reimuz remember about their conversation from before. It was a topic that he could not afford to miss after all.

“Alright, I’ll meet you over there,” he said to his back. He put his hands on his waist and sighed. Now that he knew they were fully safe once more, exhaustion was starting to grip his thoughts.

“You want to take a rest?” posed Celes on his side with a troubled face.

Reimuz hid his exhaustion underneath a smile and nodded. “That’s the best course of action right now.”

Dragging their weary bodies, they occupied an empty tent. Inside the small shelter made of cloth was a single bed, a few buckets of water, and some towels on top of a wooden dresser. Right in the middle of the room was a crimson crystal dangling from the ceiling, giving the tent the security it needed at night. Reimuz approached the dresser sitting beside the bed. He knelt and placed his hand on its mahogany surface, and when he pulled out the round knob, he found some clean clothes.

Celes bounced on the bed and folded her legs. “Some clothes?”

“A few shirts,” said Reimuz.

He got up and lifted two buckets near the bed. He placed his prize hammer and gauntlets on top of the dresser and stripped his shirt drenched in blood, revealing some chiseled muscles. He yawned once and grabbed the white towels Erumina prepared beforehand, and dipped them inside the cool water that somewhat stung his dry skin. The water must’ve came from the lake nearby.

“Here, let me wipe your back,” Celes leaned a smidgen closer and took the damp towel he wringed out from his hands, as if it was natural. She kicked her shoes off and knelt on top of the bed, and she began to rubbed his back with both hands.

Reimuz squeezed another towel damp and wiped his face with it. “Ah, this is good.”

“Idiot,” she lightly smacked his head, knocking him out of Nirvana. “Raise your arm,” she compelled him to, kneading his armpits open.

It made him smile, her lovable actions tickling his insides. Although some parts of his body still ache with pain, mainly his trunk, he felt refreshed. Suddenly he felt a familiar warmth securing on his chest.

“Something bothering you?” Celes carefully asked. He expected it, but he still didn’t know what to say.

“A few things,” said Reimuz.

“I see,” a simple reply came from her soft voice that it was almost ticklish in his ears. But her intent was different, and he knew he was in trouble. “You said you’ll run away at the first sign of trouble, yet you didn’t. Why is that?”

“Ah, some circumstances,” he scratched his cheek. His normal reaction when he makes excuses.

“Hmm, even gallantly rushing forth just to save her. I wonder, was there a reason for your heroic act?”

“I was offered some prize money, that’s why I went,” he babbled the first bullshit that entered his mind.

But it was ineffective. She puckered and blew on his ear. “Oh really?”

He didn’t answer, for every word that would leave his mouth would only dug him deeper towards his grave. His father under the guise of a wise man told him once: that no matter how deep of a predicament he finds himself in, never admit the truth. ALWAYS. The moment he does, it will be the end.

“Liar,” her voice broke into his musing, like the most delightful melody he’s ever heard in his life, but he stayed strong. She snaked one of her hands on his bare chest to his stomach and whispered. “Jerk.”

Celes freed his exhausted self and walked off the bed. She unfastened her shorts and dropped it on her feet, showing off her small and cute ass tightly gripped by her black leggings.

Reimuz lay on the bed sideways and leaned on one arm. He wanted to know if she wore an underwear under that thin piece of cloth, but he kept the question to himself. He turned and gazed at the ceiling and recalled the events that happened beyond his comfort zone.

Battling for his survival had never been that intense and he regretted not taking his training properly when it mattered to him. He felt like he wasted a few years of his life playing around.

And it certainly didn’t help that he found out that his childhood friend was dragged in this world too. It would have been fine if she was his typical childhood sweetheart, but their relationship wasn’t anything simple like that. Even the world convoluted would lost its meaning between them two.

Now he found himself wondering what to do. He buried the memories deep inside, as if to forget, but he felt like fate was pulling him into doing something unimaginable that would one day cost him to delve into these blood stained memories.

“Are you going to sleep now?” asked Celes as she sat on the bed. She drew the backs of her hair with her fingers and freed them from its braids. She wore nothing but an oversized shirt, and that sight alone made him hard.

“Nah, I’ll go meet with Wein first, and then I’ll come back,” he hid his strong erection by folding his legs, but it just made him look like a fool.

Celes laughed and lay herself down on the line of his arm, her hazel eyes that once looked at him with intense sharpness now molded into something so loving he might not be able to held himself in their exchange.

“Come here,” he whispered and drew her closer.

Celes twisted her mouth and pouted. “I want to sleep already. Can’t you just meet Wein tomorrow? You’re both tired, I’m sure he’ll understand.”

He grinned at her cuteness. “I can’t. This is something important I can’t miss.”

She slid her arms to his shoulder blades, and her hands pulled him closer. “Fine. I’m just glad everything turned out alright. I was scared something might have happened, and it was clearly because of my selfishness.”

“It wasn’t because of that,” he reassured her. “So you don’t need to blame yourself.”

He stroke her back and kissed her head, tasting the fine strands of her hair. He never held such a girl in his arms before. Or kissed one who tasted like a warm, fresh-from-the-oven buttermilk biscuit. His hands traveled to her butt after a while. It was soft and rounded, just how he envisioned it to be.

Celes gasped. “Pervert.”

“What do you expect? I’m a growing young man,” he kissed her again, and his hands stayed firm on their position.

“Pervert,” she repeated, a little playfully this time.

“Well, I’ll go meet Wein,” he stood up and nudged her cheek. “Go to sleep okay?”

As much as he'd like to stay, it was time to go. He didn't want to keep the injured guy waiting for too long. He put on a fresh shirt and walked away, but Celes’s voice stopped him on his track.

“I hate you,” she hid herself underneath the bed covers, leaving nothing but her head tucked out.

He stepped to the exit, but he stopped once more before he got out. He turned around and walked back to Celes, a mischievous smile ran across his face.

“Wh-what?” she shrank back and covered herself with the blanket, but it was all too late.

Reimuz crawled on top of her, remained in position for a full minute, and did nothing in the end. He craved to eat her that very instant, but bravely fought his urges from doing so. He compelled himself to save it at a later date. At a better time and place. Just like a pickled vegetable.

Thus, he exited the tent with a cheek to cheek grin, thinking about his soon to be nightly endeavors.

“Nyehehehe…”

Thank you very much for DemonWing for helping me proofread this chapter! Cookies to him please!