Iris woke up in bed, feeling a rush of energy come to her as the morning breeze came in through the window. The air carried an unusual scent that their northern home doesn’t usually bring. As she rose out of bed, she felt a smile come to her face as she stretched her arms. For the first time, she woke up refreshed and energised; something that never happens to her.

She let out a sigh as she rose from the bed and hummed a tune as she took off her nightgown and put on a simple white shirt and trousers that were loosely cut yet comfortable. Dressed, she opened the sliding door of her room and went out into the living space with a part of her expecting Arylos to be there.

Yet the Titan was nowhere to be found; only a note on the table that was folded up. Iris came over to the note and unfolded it and giggled when she recognised the handwriting of the Titan who had yet to master the Kaiyumian language.

“Come over to Bellona and Eir’s; you’ll want to see this.”

Iris let out a smile as she remembered what she told Arylos before she went to sleep. She quickly threw on a pair of sandals and went outside into the sun-drenched morning and walked down the street. Iris practically had a skip in her step and continued to hum as she went along to the cottage down the street. She couldn’t hide her big smile as she approached the door and knocked on it. After a couple of minutes of waiting, the door finally opened and Eir stood on the other side, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

“Well good morning~” Iris said with a cheery voice. “Is Arylos here?”

“Arylos? I thought he was staying with you?” Eir asked while trying to rub the sleep from her eyes.

“Oh, he’s here,” Iris replied while keeping her smile innocent. “Mind if I come in and say hello to Bellona?”

“Uh, why not I guess?” Eir asked while opening the door for Iris to come in.

Iris walked in while continuing to hum as she went down the hall. “Is this Bellona’s room?” she asked while pointing to one of the sliding doors.

“Yeah, but I don’t think she’s awake,” Eir said while coming next to Iris.

“Oh, she is,” Iris said while continuing her innocent smile. Without knocking, she opened the door and saw a fatigued Bellona continuing the push-up regimen while Arylos supervised, reading a book and drinking another cup of tea.

“Well good morning, Iris,” Arylos greeted without looking up from his book.

“Ugh, one thousand,” Bellona grunted while remaining in the push-up position.

Iris leaned against the door frame with an observant and shy Eir right behind her. Iris looked towards the Templarian Centurion with a raised eyebrow, not quite believing her count.

“Is a lot of push-ups; I don’t think I can do them all,” Bellona confessed with a heavy sigh.

“Ahuh,” Iris responded with a sarcastic nod. “Arylos, how many is she at right now?”

“923,” Arylos responded while turning a page in his book.

“Thank you, Arylos,” Iris answered with a smile and a happy voice.

“I hate both of you, you know that?” Bellona grunted while blowing sweat-drenched hair out of her face. “You both are sadistic and evil.”

“The girl’s masochistic; get it right,” Arylos mentioned with a chuckle.

“And the Titan’s suicidal apparently,” Iris growled while trying to find something to throw at him.

“Wait, you were doing the push-ups while we were sleeping?” Eir cut in, realising what was going on.

“To be fair, Arylos gave me a surprise visit and then said ‘drop and give me a thousand’,” Bellona clarified with a sigh.

“Well then Arylos, can I trust you to keep watch of her and make sure she finishes?” Iris asked while coming next to the Titan.

“What? You don’t want to watch this?” Arylos asked with a smile.

“I do, but I also want to get some food and I’m sure she’ll still be going at it while I eat,” Iris responded while smiling.

Arylos laughed and set down his book and his tea. “I’ll trade you; I’ll get something and you can watch her from here.”

“That’s fair,” Iris responded while clapping.

Arylos laughed as he got up and walked out of the room while beckoning Eir to come with him. Iris sat down in his place and picked up the book he was reading, recognising the swirling characters of the Titanic language. “Go on Bellona; 77 more to go,” Iris said casually while opening the book and trying to read the characters.

Bellona laughed under her breath before going down to continue the exercise. “I know you can’t read that book; just saying,” the Templarian said in between grunts.

“I get credit for trying,” Iris barked back while continuing to read the confusing characters.

Bellona let out a laughing grunt before stopping for a moment. “Wouldn’t me not sleeping last night concern you?”

Iris shrugged as she reached for the cup of tea Arylos was drinking and inhaled the aroma, sensing a dark and strong black tea. “It would, but in Arylos’s words ‘Templarians sleep on a different schedule; one missed Kaiyumian night doesn’t affect you’.”

Bellona sighed while shaking her head. “I swear, when the two of you are together, you come up with some evil shit.”

Iris took a drink of Arylos’s tea and the intensity punched her in the chest as she was overwhelmed by the flavour. It was an intensity that could burn, almost like a distilled alcohol. “You said it yourself; we deserve each other,” Iris said while clearing her throat after nearly gagging on the intense drink.

“Heh, and when do you plan to take action on that?” Bellona asked while continuing her push-ups.

“What do you mean?” Iris asked while taking another drink, beginning to warm up to the intense drink and tasting the different flavours in it.

“You two have been friends for a while; that’s all I’m saying,” Bellona said in between push-ups.

“So have you and Arylos; your point?” Iris asked with a sarcastic chuckle.

“Yeah, that may be true, but you’re the only person I know to have gotten so close to him,” Bellona said, hammering out push-ups as she realised she was nearly done.

“I highly doubt it,” Iris laughed while continuing to read the Titanic book.

Bellona realised her internal count had reached a thousand and she broke free from the ready position with a heavy and relieved sigh. She rolled over, laying on her back as she tried catching her breath. “Yeah, I’ve known him longer, but I don’t know him that well,” she said while panting.

“I doubt that more,” Iris laughed to herself while setting the book and tea down.

Bellona stabilised her breathing and slowly sat up on the floor but kept her back turned to Iris. “You know what happened to his people, don’t you?” Bellona asked softly.

“Yeah, he showed me his memories of what happened,” Iris confessed while rubbing her arm.

“Then there’s your proof,” Bellona said with a light chuckle. “He never told me what happened. When I asked, he said that he and the rest of his kind should be forgotten; so what good would come from telling me?”

Iris thought for a moment, thinking back to Youseiki when Arylos showed her his memories. “I am the only person alive who knows what happened to the Titans,” she said softly, repeating her initial realisation.

Bellona nodded while turning to face Iris. “For him to give that knowledge to you, especially willingly, he sees something in you that he didn’t see in me.”

“But what could that be?” Iris asked softly while clenching her fists. “What could he see in me that he doesn’t see in you.”

Bellona laughed as she slowly got up to her feet, feeling the soreness of her muscles kicking in. “No idea; you know what goes on in that Titan’s head better than most.”

“Eh? But you’ve known him longer,” Iris said, not believing Bellona’s words.

“You keep saying that, but I know him as the last of the Titans,” Bellona assured with a soft voice. “This Arylos is a completely new Arylos; a new side I have never seen before. Thousands of years ago, I would have laughed if I heard that this is how Arylos lives his life now. This is an Arylos only you know.”

Iris wrapped her arms around herself and blushed as she thought about Bellona’s words. “There’s still a lot about him that I don’t know,” she confessed softly.

“Sounds like this trip is the perfect time for that,” Bellona responded with a smile before resting a hand on Iris’s shoulder. “I’m going to take a bath; Arylos will probably be back when I’m done.”

“I’m already back,” Arylos cut in while standing in the doorway. “I brought food and a few extras. We can head to the beach by midday if you all want to go.”

“Absolutely!” Iris responded with a newfound determination.

“After I bathe though,” Bellona corrected while laughing at Iris’s determination while digging out a change of clothes from her bag.

“Oh! After we eat, we can change into our swimwear here before heading to the beach!” Eir jumped in while squeezing in behind Arylos, gingerly trying to avoid touching him.

“Looks like Eir and I are of the same mind; I brought our swimsuits with me, Iris,” Arylos said with a laugh.

“You two are geniuses!” Bellona cheered while jumping up. “What are we waiting for; let’s get some food in us and get going!”

Arylos laughed as he moved away from the door as Bellona went down the hall to the bathroom. Iris followed Arylos and Eir to the living room where Arylos picked up a grilled sandwich and gave it to Iris.

“I know how you like pork belly and extra cheese so I made sure you got that,” Arylos told Iris with a big smile.

“Awe, good boy,” Iris responded while getting on her toes to pet Arylos’s head.

“I’m not a dog, you know,” Arylos said in a soft growl.

“Shut up and take my head pats!” Iris squealed while tousling Arylos’s hair.

Eir laughed as she watched the two, entertained by their interactions with each other. “You have to admit Arylos, Iris is right; you are like a big elderly dog.”

“I try to live as a man and instead get the role of a dog; I see how it is,” Arylos laughed to himself while pushing away Iris’s hand. “I would have preferred the role of house husband, but I guess guard dog will have to do.”

“House husband? We’re not married though,” Iris said while turning away to take a bite from her sandwich.

“Oh? Is that something you want?” Arylos asked while moving close to Iris and a deep growl in his voice.

Iris’s face went red as she backed away from the Titan, feeling her heartbeat in her throat and her chest cave in from the pressure. “Don’t say stuff like that, you big idiot!” she squealed while trying to steady her breathing.

“Yeah, you shouldn’t tease a girl’s heart like that,” Eir jumped in while laughing.

Arylos let out a full belly laugh and wiped away tears from his eyes. “It’s too much fun though,” he said while trying to contain his laughter. “Something tells me that she might actually want that.”

“I’m going to throw something at you,” Iris grumbled while turning away from Arylos.

“Why is everyone making fun of Iris when I’m not out there?!” Bellona’s voice bellowed through the hallway from the bathroom.

“Hurry up in there and get in on this action then!” Arylos shouted back while laughing.

“Just give me my swimsuit so I can change,” Iris grumbled while eating her sandwich, no longer able to enjoy it at this point.

Arylos laughed and handed Iris a small bag with her swimsuit inside. Iris snatched the bag from Arylos and headed for Bellona’s room and closed the sliding door behind her.

That big fucking idiot! Iris squealed in her mind. You can’t just say stuff like that! Why must you tease me like that?!

Iris shook her head, trying to get the thoughts from her mind as she finished her sandwich. With a happy stomach, she took her swimsuit from the bag and spread it out across Bellona’s bed as she began undressing. Once she put the swimsuit on, the idea of the revealing clothing hit her and made her face red as she looked at herself and admired the design and how she looked in it.

We’ll see who’s teasing who when you see this, Iris thought to herself with a wide grin. She ran her hands along her stomach and her waistline, still feeling as though her stomach was sticking out too much. But she didn’t care anymore. With a bigger smile, she went to the sliding door and opened it slightly to stick her head out.

In the living room, she saw Eir and Bellona showing off their swimsuits to Arylos; smiling and laughing all the while. Iris’s smile slowly faded as she also admired the Templarians’ outfits. Eir was wearing a white and blue one piece suit with flower designs and frills on the shoulders. The cut matched her thin body and highlighted her curves almost perfectly.

Bellona, however, picked out a revealing two piece set. The black and orange colour suited her personality and tastes and the cuts were beyond risque in Iris’s opinion; showing way more of Bellona’s waist than Iris thought she would ever see. The bottoms tied off at the sides with drawstrings and the tops had straps that crossed across Bellona’s back. The amount of skin shown made Iris’s cheeks turn red.

All the while, she saw Arylos smile, but not fully. Almost like he was already uncomfortable by the Templarians showing off to him. Iris shared his discomfort and she closed the sliding door, feeling the urge to show off fade from her. She felt upstaged; that comparing herself to Bellona and Eir’s perfect bodies was all in vain.

She was no match for them.

Iris felt her stomach turn as she tried to control tears that were on the verge of coming to her. She wanted to show off to him, for him to be impressed. Yet what if he showed no interest? The thought scared her and before she could tell herself otherwise, she already began undressing. She had given up on trying to tease him with her body, deciding that she was not ready and may never be ready.

Iris slowly put her lounge clothes back on before opening the door again to rejoin with the others, her head hanging down in shame the whole time. The others saw Iris come out and disappointment was heavy in their expressions.

“Aww, why didn’t you change?” Bellona asked as her disappointment came heavily to her.

“I-It’s fine, it just doesn’t fit as well as I thought,” Iris answered with a shy smile. “I’ll just get a different one while we’re out; it’s not a problem.”

“Are you sure?” Eir asked, feeling the same disappointment.

“Yeah, is that okay Arylos?” Iris asked softly while trying to maintain her smile.

Arylos raised his voice to respond but he stopped himself. He didn’t recognise this smile of hers; it was not her usual smile and it struck him. She was smiling, but her smile lacked that glow that he recognises, her cheeks weren’t as high as they normally were, and her lips were the wrong shape. It was a half-hearted smile.

It was a liar’s smile.

“Sure, so long as you’re comfortable,” Arylos confessed while rubbing his neck, starting to catch onto what was going on. “To be fair, from what the others told me, I was kind of excited to see what you picked out.”

Iris felt blood come back to her cheeks as she turned away shyly. “W-Were you really?”

“Absolutely,” Arylos responded with no hesitation. “But if you find the same design and it fits you properly, it will be fine.”

“Alright,” Iris said softly, trying to hide her embarrassment.