[F11-PP] By Your Side (Telrenya)

[Jomei 0]

Telrenya’s expression of love acted like a magnet, drawing Jomei’s parted lips back to hers perfectly fitting in the spaces between her own. The moment shared between the two lovers was all that mattered inside of the Irishman’s mind, no thoughts of the boss fight that had just transpired the day before could have ruined this bliss. As space grew between the two’s blushing faces yet again, Jomei had teased Telrenya about her plot to distract Jomei from finding the last note. The imp-like smile that spread from cheek to cheek revealed her playful reasoning for kissing Jomei as passionately as she had. The man, obviously knowing those were not her true intentions, decided to play along with her joke anyway. Jomei extended his arms to push his body upward, Tel still laying on the bed under him, her blonde hair pouring out in all directions behind her head. “I see how it is.” Jomei said with another smirk, drawing his hands closer to the sides of her body. The tips of his fingers glided along the now wrinkled sheet of his bed, until they gently followed up the pale blue sweater towards the center of her stomach, the sly smirk on his lips extending farther. His mouth bore his teeth as he let out a chuckle, his fingers spreading out to the sides as he tickled the girl’s stomach. He continued to torture the adorable girl in this way until she seemed distracted with her own laugh enough to pop back onto his feet. As he stood, he span in place, quickly searching the bookshelf that stood at the foot of his bed. His gaze quickly went past the spines off the books, to the empty recording crystals, the picture of himself with his old friends, and finally his specially recorded song. Under the blackened item, he saw another small square of paper. With a grin, the man lifted the crystal and took the paper out, turning back to the woman. “And that was my way of distracting you.” he said, giving her a playful wink as he began to unfold the paper in his hands.

Once the small note was completely unfolded, he read the words lines out on the creased paper.

"This one is definitely my favorite! ♥ I wish I could memorize every song you've made, but this is one I don't want to ever forget. I'd like to listen to it again in the real world someday... Maybe we can play it together?"

Jomei softly inhaled, feeling a fluttering feeling in his core as he finished the note. His smile grew wide on his face once again, before turning to Telrenya. The song on that crystal was very special to him, being one of the only songs he had really ever composed for his own use. “I’m.. really happy you like this one.” Jomei said, his gaze darting from Telrenya for a moment. “It really means a lot to me.” his voice was warm, but soft as he spoke, the thankfulness truly genuine. His grin widened as he turned back to Telrenya. “I-I have a song that I’m almost finished writing.. Once it’s finished, we could record that together.. If you’d like.. But as for this one.” He placed the note down, taking the small crystal in his hand. With one finger, he tapped on the item, bringing it to life as it floated in his palm, a light emanating from its center, the soft tune beginning to play from an unknown part of the crystal. “If you’d like.. You could keep it.” his arm extended forward, holding the crystal just in front of Telrenya.

[Telrenya 0]

Jomei's frame lifted, extending the space between them and drawing Telrenya's attention back to the man. The impish smile on her face had faded, replaced with an expression of curiosity while she could feel his hands draw themselves closer to her body. His playful smirk grew wider into a mischievous grin while his fingers trailed up her sides, and Telrenya felt the blush persisting on her cheeks. It was then that her eyes grew wide, a look of realization overtaking her expression just before she felt the light tingling sensation from his fingertips grazing over her stomach, tickling at her skin underneath her casual clothing. "Eep!" The blonde only had time to react with a short gasp before she was consumed by laughter. Only half involuntary, brought about by the Irishman's touch, Telrenya still wriggled and squirmed underneath him, her hands moving to try and free herself from Jomei's evil clutches. Her weak attemps were futile, too distracted by the fits of giggles that left her.

When the man had finally let her free from his torture, Telrenya rolled onto her shoulder, clutching her stomach through the subsiding laughter. "No--no fair!" She playfully whined through the last few chuckles. The woman managed to prop herself up on her elbow, using the knuckle of her index finger on her other hand to wipe away the beads of tears that had formed at the corners of her eyes from the tickle attack. Just as she did so, Jomei had already located and was reaching the end of the third note, another warm smile that she loved so much to see stretching across his face. Olive green eyes met her chocolate brown, and his words carried their warmth to her heart, resulting in a bashful smile appearing on her own features. He brought up another song, one he said he was still writing, and after a moment's time Telrenya felt her eyes widen just slightly in recollection. The melody of the notes that she replayed, and the subsequent ones she had written down on the final note that waited for him rushed to the front of her thoughts. Before she thought she might have given anything away by her reaction, however, her eyes fell to the familiar crystal hovering above Jomei's palm as he extended the item out to her. She blinked in surprise, his offer taking a second to register in her mind. Telrenya quickly picked herself up from her elbow, bringing both hands outwardly facing in front of her chest with a light shake of her head. "N-no way!" She denied adamantly at first, but the possible harshness of her reaction caused her to tense even further. "I-I just mean, I couldn't! It's so important to you, and--well..." Her brow creased with worry after the words had spilled out of her, her response ending with a light drop of her shoulders and an expression of uncertainty.

[Jomei 0]

Telrenya’s first reaction to Jomei offering the crystal to her was a sharp no before explaining her reasoning for declining his offer. The man’s head nodded as he closed his eyes, a smile widening on his face. As his olive eyes opened back up, he stepped forward, taking a seat on the bed aside from Telrenta once again. With his free hand, he took one of the blonde’s outward facing palms and gently turned it. Wrapping his fingers around the crystal, that was still playing the soft melody at the moment, turned his hand into her palm, letting the small item slide from his grasp into her hands. Using his thumbs, he ran them along the backs of her fingers, pushing gently so they closed around the crystal, holding her hand tightly in both of his. His gaze then moved from their hands and back up to her chocolate brown eyes. “It is important to me, but you’re much more important.. I want you to hold on to it, it’s really helped me to calm my nerves.. But I have you for that now.” he said with a small chuckle, before his gaze drifted from hers, “Yesterday… may not be my last boss fight … We are only at Floor 22 now.. They are going to need all the help they can get, So.. I think it’s best you hold onto that” He looked back into her eyes and smiled.

Jomei looked over his shoulder, back at the unfolded note that he had left on the bookshelf, “You know.. You mentioned in that note that you wanted to maybe play that song together sometime..” he turned back to look at Telrenya, “I may have the sheet music downstairs somewhere, I can teach it to you and we can play it together. Or I could even show you the song I started writing.” Jomei grinned with an excitement in his voice. The thought of playing music with Telrenya brought a warmth to his heart and butterflies to his stomach.

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya stared back at his face, relieved at Jomei's calm expression as he moved to sit beside her, as if she was afraid that her flustered response would have disappointed the man. She blinked in slight surprise when he took her hand in his, watching shyly as he moved the crystal into her palm and closed his hands around hers. She felt his gaze move up to her face and followed suit, a light tinge of blush touching her cheeks when their eyes met. Her free hand gravitated towards his, placing her empty palm over his fingers and running her thumb lightly over the back of his hand. A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth after his explanation: one that held a hint of sadness, but also understanding and a loving warmth.

The Irishman cast a glance over his shoulder and when he mentioned the sheet music for it the girl's expression brightened up. She was about to eagerly agree when he made mention of his song in progress and Telrenya realized what was waiting, hidden away in the music room downstairs. She suddenly faltered, and then realizing her mistake, gave a small chuckle that she just couldn't keep her nerves out of. She wasn't sure if she should go ahead and agree--as that would make it incredibly likely for him to find the last note she'd written--or try to shift the subject elsewhere to delay that possibility. How terribly awful she was at improvising. "Ohh, y-yeah, I'd like to check it out...sometime." In the end, her response was a poorly-delivered combination that just sounded more unsure than anything.

[Jomei 0]

With no response coming from the girl, aside from the smile that cut through her blushing cheeks, Jomei figured that Telrenya would accept his gift to her. A soft blanket that was Telrenya’s free hand covered his hand, gently caressing at the back of his hand with her thumb. Her expression seemed to answer Jomei, letting him know that she understood his reasoning. “Besides.. You know if I really needed a new one.. I would just try and make another.” he said with a laugh. “Though, nothing will ever be as good as the original.. But I don’t think I’ll need it anymore. Now that the boss raid is over I feel.. Happy. And my mind is at ease, thanks to you.”

Telrenya’s response to Jomei’s invitation to see the song he had been working on seemed reluctant. The last time he had invited her down there, it was almost impossible for him to get the sparkling eyed woman to leave. A curious brow raised, looking at Telrenya, trying to find some sort of answer. The corner of his mouth twitched before his lips extended up to the side with another sly smirk, “Ooh. I get it.” he said with a chuckle. “There’s another note down there.. Isn’t there.” He brought his face in close to the girl, the lids of his eyes closing slightly, glaring across at the nervous sounding girl. The man then laughed as he pulled his head away. “I’m only kidding with you. I’m not gonna lead you on another chase down into my workshop. However..” Jomei stood up, looking down at the girl who still sat on his mattress. “I feel really excited to show you what I’ve been working on.” he said as he began to walk towards the door, waiting for Telrenya to follow.

With the girl behind her, Jomei walked down the stairs from his room and into the main hallway. Walking towards his front door, he turned to open the door to the large music workshop. He stepped into the room, getting the same reliving sense of familiarity as he had walking into his living room and bedroom before. Reaching behind him, Jomei took Tel’s hand in his own. “Come on, I have it on the music stand over here.” he said, his voice with a tint of excitement. Jomei hastily lead the girl over to the baby grand piano, where he offered Telrenya the seat. “Theres not much to it, only the one page so far.. Hopefully I find the inspiration to finish it soon.” He pointed to the paper that stood on the stand, unknowing of the second sheet of paper that rested behind it, one that Telrenya had filled out herself.

[Telrenya 0]

Her expression only grew more flustered as Jomei pulled his face closer to hers, his smirk paired with a suspicious gaze. Her shoulders stiffened, meeting his stare with only another nervous chuckle. She felt a small sense of relief when he backed away with a laugh, saying that he was only teasing her. When he stood up beside her, the look of excitement on his face made her smile stretch more genuinely across her lips. There was no way she could say no to that look in his eyes.

Telrenya stood, realizing that the recording crystal still rested in the palm of her hand. Feeling a bit embarrassed to do so despite the man's heartfelt explanation when he had given her the item, she opened up her inventory and carefully selected to place the item inside of it. Dismissing the menus, she followed after Jomei, who seemed to grow more eager the closer they got to his workshop. Feeling his hand wrap around her own, she let out a soft giggle as she was led across the length of the room and took the seat he offered in front of the piano. She turned her head to the man standing over her shoulder, and her eyes traveled up to Jomei's seeing the glint of excitement still present in his expression before she looked to the sheet of paper in front of her. She hesitated for a moment, staring at the notes that she was already familiar with as she wondered what she should say. Should she pretend like it was her first time reading the music? The thought of lying to the Irishman, especially after other secretive thoughts had been running through her head as of late, left a ball of guilt in her throat.

"Uhm..." She started by just trying to fill the silent air, and the fingers resting in her lap fidgeted amongst themselves. "Well, uh--" She suddenly realized that her sudden, awkward stammering could easily be misinterpreted, and the blonde's shoulders tensed as she hurried to look up at the man and explain herself. "No, sorry! I mean, I love your song! I think it's great so far." Her cheeks took on another soft pink hue as she turned to face the piano and music stand once again. She let out a tiny sigh of defeat. "The reason I'm acting weird...well," She leaned forward and extended her arm to reach behind the paper and retrieve the fourth and final note. She rolled her shoulder back and held the note out for the Irishman to take, keeping herself facing away while the light blush stretched across the bridge of her nose.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei’s excitement turned to concern as Telrenya struggled to piece together what she wanted to tell the man. Her fidgeting fingers and stammering voice caused the curious Jomei to raise a brow and look in her direction. It was then that he remembered that she had been in the house all on her own, going into his clothes and placing random noted around his room. It did not occur to him that she would extend her curious explorations to his music room, most likely to quench her want to play the violin once again. In that time, it would not have surprised him if she had taken a look at the song he had started.. But did she enjoy it? The man felt a knot in his stomach at the thought of her not liking the song he had been writing for the two of them to one day play and record together.

Quickly, as if being able to read the turmoil going on in Jomei’s mind, the woman corrected herself, stating that she did in fact love the song. A wave of relief washed all of the tension out of his body, expelling as a sigh through his nostrils. Then, what was it that she needed to tell him? He watched as he hesitantly reached for the sheet of music in front of her, with all of the lines Jomei recognized as ones he wrote himself. However, it was not his sheet that he was grabbing for, and instead, her fingers found the sheet resting behind it, which Jomei had assumed was a blank piece of paper waiting to be written on. Turning in the chair, Telrenya handed the sheet of music to Jomei, all written in the familiar red ink as the other three notes were. Jomei’s eyes were wide, looking into Telrenya’s chocolate brown orbs before finally falling to the sheet of unfolded paper he held in his hand. Most of the paper was covered in music, hand written by Telrenya herself, but at the top was a short note to the man. His eyes read over the words before making it to the music,

"I can't thank you enough for bringing music back into my life here. It feels like I found a piece of myself again, and it means the world to me. Your music is so inspiring, it always infects me and makes me want to play. Back home, I never even tried writing my own songs, but you make it look so easy, I envy you for that~ But here, I wanted to try, so... I hope this works with what you were going for:"

Without turning to Telrenya to express his happiness to her about the words she had left for him, his eyes continued down the paper, reading the scores of music she had left for him. He went through the verses once before his eyes widened, looking through them a second time. He then hastily placed the note on the piano’s music stand, next to his own composition. Sliding himself onto the piano bench, his fingers found their places on the keys, his eyes locking to the sheets of music in front of him. Slowly, his fingers began to dance among the ivory keys, creating the first half of his melody almost by memory. As he neared the closing of his sheet, his eyes shot upwards to the red ink that covered the next page, the notes flowing perfectly into the second half. His hands moved slightly slower along the keys while reading Telrenya’s half, but he was still able to manage playing it. With his fingers pressing into the last chord of the piano, he turned to look at Telrenya, his eyes wide and mouth agape, before the corners of his mouth stretched into a smile. “Estelle, that was beautiful. You are just..” He leaned his body to the side, pressing his lips into the woman’s warm cheek, wrapping his arms around her to pull her into a tight embrace. “You are just so incredible. Thank you.”

[Telrenya 0]

Her hand fell back into her lap when she felt the slip of paper leave her fingers. The woman fidgeted slightly, apprehension building as Jomei read over her note and music both. Without a word, Telrenya felt the man slide onto the bench beside her. She perked to attention, her eyes traveling to the slender fingers he placed over the monochrome keys. Then the melody she had repeated over and over in her head the night before came to life. Telrenya only thought how much nicer it was listening to the piano sing Jomei's song, and her embarrassment and anxiety were soon quelled by the sounds of his music. She sat beside him, her eyes closing while a soft, calm smile took over her features. His melody ended, and the sound carried into something a bit different. She just wasn't capable of listening to her own work without critiquing something, and so even when Jomei carried the notes she had written out beautifully into the empty space of the workshop, she would find herself second-guessing her pitch or tempo she had written for a certain note.

When the final chord lingered in the air for a few long moments, Telrenya had lost herself in thought, eyes still closed as she reflected on the piece and how her tune had flowed alongside his. Pulling her from her musings, she felt Jomei’s kiss on her cheek followed promptly by his arms wrapping around her shoulders. Her eyes flew open in surprise, and another tint of pink stained her cheeks as she let out a giggle. "You...really like it?" She asked, a bashful tone in her question. Her hands hooked around his arm in front of her, squeezing lightly as she simply enjoyed his hold. Another small laugh escaped her as she felt a sense of relief. "You don’t have to use it, but after I saw it yesterday I just couldn’t get it out of my head. It took me forever just to come up with that, I don’t know how you do it." She grinned at the Irishman beside her.

[Jomei 0]

A soft chuckle escaped from Jomei’s lips when Telrenya questioned if he truly liked the additions she had made to the song. “Like it? I love it.” Jomei said, slowly pulling away from the blonde woman to look across at her. He could tell that she was unsure of her portion of the song, being she was not too keen on writing her own music before. His brow pinched, wish the woman would not be so hard on herself with her creation, as she told Jomei that he did not need to use it in the final cut of the song if he did not wish to. “It takes me forever to write something too.. Unless I have the right.. Inspiration.” he said with a smile, looking to Telrenya with love in his eyes, since writing the music that came to his mind was not as difficult with her around. “I started struggling with this piece after that one day.. With Death Adder. All of the grieving we were doing, and all those thoughts on my mind.. I just couldn’t come up with an ending to the song. I planned on finishing it after the boss fight, but it looks like you already did it for me.” He chuckled, gently rubbing the back of his neck while looking towards the keys, a pink hue on his cheeks. “And.. I want to use this part of the song because.. Well.. I was writing it for the two of us to record together.” he spoke in a bashful tone before looking back up to Telrenya.

His eyes lit up for a moment, “Here.” Jomei stretched his arm across the keys in front of Telrenya, gently pressing at each of the keys on the octave in front of her, and explaining what note each ivory slab represented, in accordance to the music on the sheet. As he would show her what the notes were, he would have Telrenya play a portion of the song, sometimes guiding her hands with his own to help her. He continued to teach the girl how to play the song on the keys in front of her until she felt comfortable playing at her own pace. “Alright, now play that through, and I’ll follow your lead.” he said looking at her, a warm smile on his face.

[Telrenya 0]

Her chin had turned to look back at the man as he spoke, her eyes meeting his sweet gaze while he hesitated with his words, causing the girl to take on another faint blush as she easily deciphered his meaning. Her hands had fallen back into her lap when he pulled away, and her fingertips lightly slid themselves over and around each other in idle motions while he touched on the events that still stung in the back of their recent memories. He explained that he had been planning for them to play it together, and her eyes widened in slight surprise. They had spent time together weaving music in his workshop before, often times just improvising from one another's lead, or reciting a piece that Jomei had already crafted. But as her gaze followed the hands that placed themselves over the keys once more, she felt a small surge of excitement.

He taught her, guiding her own hands over the notes as she worked to remember each placement. It was akin to learning a second language; when she read the notes on the page in front of them, her mind first thought of where to place her fingers on the neck of a violin. But then she translated that, matching a piano key to a note and repeating the process. When her untrained fingers occasionally faltered, or made the wrong connection, she would give a gentle bite aginst her bottom lip and pull herself back a few notes to repeat the phrase correctly. After a bit of practice, Jomei had turned and encouraged her to give the piece a proper play-through where he would join in with her. Telrenya's shoulders stiffened the slightly bit as a few nervous butterflies fluttered in her stomach. His smile infected her as it often did, however, and the blonde's tiny bought of stagefright was quickly replaced with a sense of excitement. She turned back towards the keys, holding her hands over their surface for a moment. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the pages resting in front of her and the placement of her fingers, until she took in a short breath and began to play.

[Jomei 0]

Olive eyes watched as her hands slowly hovered over the ivory keys of the baby grand piano, before slowly rising to look at the nervous, yet determined expression on her face. His mind went blank, finding himself lost looking at the face of the woman he loved, about to play the song that he had been longing to perform with her. It was not until her fingers pressed upon the keys did he snap back to reality, his head jerking to face forward, while his eyes went back and forth from Telrenya’s slender fingers dancing upon the keys to his own. After she had played a few notes, Jomei joined in on the lower half of the piano, providing a more rhythmic melody to accompany Telrenya’s higher notes. Jomei continued to play, matching Telrenya’s slowed pace as she went along, playing note for note. Jomei could not help but grin brightly, the fluttering feeling of the butterflies in his stomach as they played through the song, all the way until the ending.

Jomei held his fingers against the ivory keys, letting the last chord fade out. As he lifted his fingers, he turned his head to look at Telrenya, a pink blush stretching across the bridge of his nose. He opened his mouth to speak, though the words on his mind jumbled together, the man only letting air pass his lips. “Its perfect.” he finally said, looking deeply into her chocolate brown eyes. “You’re perfect.” he said with a small, bashful chuckle. “Thank you.” he said, taking in a deep breath through his nostrils and closing his eyes, letting his chin slightly fall forward as he bowed his head to her.

[Telrenya 0]

Telrenya concentrated throughout the whole piece, resisting the urge to stop and rewind when she made a mistake or two. She pushed carefully, her fingers slowly growing used to the feeling of the keys beneath them each time they pressed down. When she repeated a note or a small phrase, she gradually remembered where to find it again. And when Jomei's music joined in and the notes that flowed from the strings of the piano entwined, Telrenya felt her heart beat faster. The duet excited her, and through the focus that she gave to playing the piece to the best of her ability, a smile stretched between her cheeks.

Telrenya's fingers danced over the keys in the last few notes, a small sigh of satisfaction escaping her as she allowed herself a bit of pride in the performance. Despite the few stumbles, missed notes, and at least one instance of her tempo faltering, their joined practice brought a newfound warmth to her heart. She felt as though she had only scratched the surface, but as Jomei had taught her the basics she was filled with a sense of joy and inspiration akin to the first time she had picked up a violin. Feeling the Irishman's eyes on her, the woman's head turned towards him to see the heartfelt expression displayed on his face. Just those few words spoken as she became lost in Jomei's olive eyes caused her to flush. A wide, loving smile stretched between her cheeks and when he thanked her Telrenya shifted to face her torso towards him. She leaned forward, bringing her arms up to slide past his shoulders and wrap around behind his neck. She nestled her cheek into the crook of his neck as the comfort that came with the embrace washed over her. "And thank you," Her eyes closed as she spoke softly, resting against his sturdy frame. "You make quite the perfect teacher."

[Jomei 0]

Jomei kept his gaze on Telrenya as she swung her body around on the bench to face towards the smiling man. The flushed-faced girl leaned her body forward, her arms slowly passing over his shoulders. Anticipating the woman’s loving embrace, Jomei lifted his own arms up under hers, wrapping her arms around the center of her back, just as hers wrapped around the back of his neck and shoulders. Jomei felt the woman’s warm cheek pressing against his exposed neck, his own face resting against her bob of blonde hair atop her head. She thanked him for showing him how to play the song that he had created for the two, mentioning to Jomei that she had thought he was a perfect teacher.

The ginger chuckled softly, his thumb softly caressed her back, gently gliding along her spine. “You think so?” Jomei said, a tinge of appreciation for her kind words in his voice. After a moment had passed, he separated himself from Telrenya, “Those were actually my plans.. Well.. before Sword Art Online, that is. I had studied to become a teacher in Japan..” he rubbed the nape of his neck, laughing. “Doesn’t look like that’ll be happening anytime soon though.” He smiled at her, happy he was able to share another bit of the true Jomei, or rather, the true Nick.

Despite the fluttering feeling in his stomach keeping him mostly awake, exhaustion had finally caught up to the man, the lids of his eyes struggling to stay open. He looked over to Telrenya, who seemed to be experiencing a similar feeling, most likely from not sleeping the night Jomei was gone as well. The man stood up from the bench, “Looks like that tea is starting to wear off.” he said with a light chuckle, “Come on, we should go get some sleep.” Jomei then made his way towards the stairs to his bedroom with Telrenya behind him. Before walking up the stairs, the man stopped and turned to face the woman, a pink hue growing on his cheeks. “I-if you want I can leave you to the room yourself.. Unless. You..” he broke eye contact, rubbing at the nape of his neck sheepishly. He still did not want to push the girl if she was not comfortable sharing a bed with the man just yet. Looking back to her, he awaited her answer.

[Telrenya 0]

"Hmm, really?" She hummed with a small smile. She had enjoyed the peace of just resting in the man's arms before they parted again, and Telrenya listened with intrigue as he revealed what would have been his career path in the real world. She smiled softly, giving a small nod as if to affirm that she thought it a fitting role for the ginger man. Before they had dwelled on the topic much longer, Jomei had noticed the wave of fatigue that seemed to have overtaken them both. When he mentioned sleep, the woman couldn't prevent the yawn that worked its way up to escape her. With her body clearly in agreeance, Telrenya followed after her boyfriend until they came to a stop at the base of the stairs leading up to his bedroom. Her curious eyes trailed up to meet his blushing face and a short look of realization took over her alongside a faint pink color of her own. The woman let out a small giggle followed by a light shake of her head. Her hand reached forward, finding the one that rested at his side and sliding her fingers through the open spaces between his. Looking back up to Jomei with a smile, she spoke up. "No, that's okay." She averted her own gaze as a slight shyness took over. "Even though you're back, I would...probably start missing you again." She admitted in a quiet voice.

[Jomei 0]

Interrupting the man’s bashful rambling, Telrenya’s head shook as her hand extended forward, taking the hand that hung at his side in her own, her fingers softly intertwining with his. Jomei’s eyes widened, and mouth opened slightly in a bit of surprise when the blonde woman denied his plan for the two to sleep separate, and to share his bedroom once again. His agape mouth curled into a bright smile, nodding his head “Right.” he said, a small chuckle escaping his lips, slightly masking the word. With the woman’s gently hand in his own, he turned the rest of the way towards the staircase, leading the woman up into his bedroom.

In the familiar bedroom once again, Jomei’s eyes first went to the glass door that lead to his balcony. The sun was still high in the blue sky, it only being early afternoon at most. The man chuckled, sleeping at this time of the day was usually something he would avoid.. But after the past day he had, he would need the extra hours of sleep. Shifting his gaze to Telrenya, her tired eyes said she could use the same. With a soft smile, the man released his girlfriend’s hand, allowing her to retreat into the restroom to change into her sleeping attire. As the girl had closed the door behind her, Jomei lifted up his own hand to unequip the casual clothes he had been wearing, and began to equip his pajamas. The grey pants materialized over his black underwear, leaving the man without a shirt as he searched for it in his inventory. As his eyes scanned the names of the items, he spotted something shimmering on the desk through the slightly opaque menu in front of him. Dismissing the screen for a moment and stepping forward, Jomei looked at the two necklaces that rested on the desk beside each other. One was his own Hoya of Minos, the pendant striking a resemblance to a wave. Next to it, was another necklace, the charm looking like a golden shooting star. With a warm smile on his face, the man reached down and took the chain in his hands. Tapping on the charm attached to the golden chain, he saw that it was also a Hoya of Minos that belonged to Telrenya.

[Telrenya 0]

After Telrenya slipped past the door to the bathroom and shut it gently behind her, the woman let out a small, contented exhale through her nose. It felt odd to be getting ready for bed in the middle of the day, but the heavy weight of fatigue that pushed down on her would have none of her protests. Pushing her back off of the simple door, Telrenya summoned her menus and removed the casual sweater and skirt to replace it with the shorts and camisole she often wore to sleep. A small frown worked its way over her features as she looked up to the mirror in front of her. Was it strange that she didn't have much 'regular' clothing? She recalled for a moment her conversation with their sassy blonde guildmate, bragging about all of the vanity clothing she had amassed and suddenly felt a twinge of embarrassment in comparison. Bringing the hand that had hovered in the air over the back of her neck, she gave it a second thought. 'Maybe I shouldn't be comparing myself to that fashionista...' She ended the thought with a tiny, inward chuckle and a small shake of her head. 'Still, maybe I'll ask her to go to Sapphire's with me again. Having something new to wear doesn't sound so bad.'

She dismissed her menus, reaching for the handle of the door that led back to the bedroom. Closing her eyes for a moment while using the fingers of her free hand to comb through the blonde hair that brushed against her shoulders, Telrenya pulled the door open and took a step through its frame before her lids opened and she spotted Jomei standing beside the desk. The woman froze before she had taken another step, taking in the sight of the Irishman's shirtless frame seemingly inspecting a small item she could not discern. The heavy blush came to her cheeks in a rush, possibly overheating her brain in the same moment. Should she retreat back to the bathroom? Should she say something?

Somehow, Telrenya managed to pull her thoughts back into working order after just a second's hesitation. She found herself asking if it was really all that strange or embarrassing to see the bare chest of the man she had already confessed her love to. They were just planning to sleep beside each other in the same bed as they had in the past, after all, so why was she reacting so strongly? 'I am really not used to this.' She thought as she slowly continued to close the door behind her. With her heart still beating faster than normal inside of her chest and a lingering blush stretching across her nose, Telrenya took slower steps to close the gap between Jomei and herself. She tried to focus on finding out what it was he was looking at, tilting her head to one side as she approached. The sight of the pendant in his hands was finally made clear, and the blonde let out a small, shy chuckle as she realized she had left it on his desk the night before. "Sorry... I thought they looked really pretty together, so I left it out." She said, unable to remove the bashful tone from her voice.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei continued to inspect the small pendant, wondering if he had ever actually noticed the necklace hanging from the woman’s neck before. Looking back down at his own Hoya that still sat on the desk, he realized that he had honestly forgotten about the item. It was said that the item was usually given as a gift, since the pendant could be changed depending on the player. The man’s memory betrayed him, not knowing what reasons he had to collect the Hoya in the first place, if not just to complete a quest for the experience.

His attention was brought towards the door to his bathroom when he heard Telrenya speak up, her voice sounding nervous and hesitant. On top of that, her face was redder than he had ever seen before. His head cocked to the side, wondering just what the girl had seen in his bathroom that made her so… His eyes widened, realizing just why she was embarrassed. A free hand hung at Jomei’s side rose up, placing it upon his chest as if searching for something lost. Had he been that distracted by seeing the two Hoyas that he had forgotten to equip a shirt? The man’s own face turned as red as his hair as he quickly threw his hand upward to open his menu, rummaging into his inventory and equipping the sleeveless black shirt that he usually slept in. “T-Tel! I’m sorry!” he said as the clothing materialized onto his chest. It was not that he minded the girl seeing him without a shirt… but rather he knew the innocent girl was most likely not ready to see Jomei as such. After a moment of silence, the bashful look on his face contorted into a smile as he chuckled, soon breaking out into a laugh as he realized the hilarity of the situation.

Once his laugh had subsided, he placed the Hoya back on his desk before walking over to his bed and sitting down, smiling over at Telrenya. “Sorry about that.. I was looking at how nice your Hoya of Minos was that it distracted me.” he chuckled again.

[Telrenya 0]

She wasn't sure if it was look of shock upon his face, or the subsequent shade of scarlet that filled his cheeks. Maybe it was the smile that took over his features, or the way he broke into a laugh. Telrenya felt a chuckle bubble up inside of her until her own laughter filled the air and mingled with Jomei's. The color steadily drained from her face as her giggles subsided, and she brought up a hand to tuck one side of her blonde hair behind her ear as Jomei took a seat on the bed. She walked a couple of steps towards the desk, placing her hands on the back of the chair as she gently leaned over the piece of furniture. With a soft smile lingering on her lips, the woman's brown eyes fell upon the two pendants resting side-by-side on the simple desk.

She shook her head at his repeated apology. ”No, it's okay. I shouldn't be so embarrassed." She admitted, the words mixed with another shy chuckle. She reached an arm across the desk’s surface and took the pendant that Jomei had been inspecting in her hand. She turned the trinket over with her fingers, scanning it with a bit of nostalgia in her eyes. ”I remember getting this. It wasn't all that long ago, but..." She let the Hoya rest in her open palm and continued. ”I'm still not sure why it looks like a shooting star. I could never decide if the game just thought I would like it, or if there's some weird symbolism behind it." She set the necklace back down beside Jomei's, admiring them together again for a brief moment before she turned her attention back to the Irishman. She pushed herself up from the chair and moved to take a seat beside him on the bed. Her hands rested on the edges on either side of her, fingers lightly curled while she stared at her knees. ”Sometimes I think life here wouldn't be so bad." She started again in a quiet voice. ”The memories we've made here… It would feel so strange for them to all just disappear." Her smile had grown a bit more sad as she lingered in the loose thoughts that filled the air.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei listened to Telrenya as she stood at his desk, looking down at the star shaped Hoya. She questioned why it took that certain shape, and if it had any sort of symbolism or not. Jomei shrugged his shoulders, “I’m not entirely sure.. I don’t know why mine is shaped like a wave to be honest. I took the quest a very long time ago, probably one of the first I ever took.” The man looked up to the ceiling with a look of nostalgia, “I had taken the quest with an old friend of mine, Ssendom.” he shook his head, remembering the Beserker as one of his most ridiculous and insane, yet closest friends. “He was one of the strongest guys I knew, and he was a big help with taking down some of those harder quests. I owed him a lot..” his smile had turned sour as his head drooped back towards his knees, the quick image of seeing the man’s person split in two before becoming nothing but floating data fragments. “S-Sorry.” Jomei said with a nervous chuckle, “We were talking about the Hoyas.” , he said, scratching at the back of his head.

The blonde then stood up straight from his desk and took a seat beside Jomei, her slightly troubled gaze staring down at her legs. Her fingers curled, grabbing at the sides of his mattress as she spoke about how life in this game could be enjoyable if not in their current circumstances. The ginger slowly nodded his head in agreement, Telrenya continuing on about all of the memories that she, and everyone else, had made here vanishing. Jomei frowned for a moment, looking across at the woman before his expression turned positive again. Reaching across, Jomei placed a hand on Telrenya’s exposed knee, gently caressing at her skin with his thumb. Once he had caught her gaze, his smile became even warmer. “I don’t think I could ever forget everything that happened here.. Though some I wish I could forget… All the other experiences I would not give away for the world..” he was silent for a moment as his cheeks took a tint of pink, breaking his gaze from her chocolate brown eyes, “Especially those memories that I’ve… I’ve made with you.” The man chuckled sheepishly, before taking in a quick breath through his nostrils, turning his torso to face more to the woman. “Estelle.. I want you to know that.. Though everything here might just be.. Digital. These feeling.. My love for you... That’s all real. And.. Well.” his eyes met with hers, looking deeply into the dark orbs, “I.. don’t want our relationship to end once we clear this game..” his loving gaze became more determined, slightly leaning forward and taking her hand in both of his. “I will find you, when this is all over, so we can truly be together. No worries about boss raids, or becoming stronger. Just real life.. With you and me.”

[Telrenya 0]

Jomei’s hand moving to rest on her knee caught the woman’s eye, and she quickly trailed up the length of his arm until her eyes met his. The smile on his face filled her with a warmth that seemed to ease the sadness in her own expression. She listened to him carefully, and when his frame shifted to center himself more towards her, Telrenya’s eyes widened slightly as she began to hang on every word the Irishman spoke.

She wasn’t sure when a similar pink hue appeared on her cheeks. She hadn’t even noticed that her eyes had begun to glisten with moisture that pooled at their corners. She had simply met Jomei’s olive green eyes with a stunned expression. It wasn’t until he had finished speaking and the sensation of fresh tears spilling over tickled her cheeks that Telrenya seemed to snap out of her trance. She blinked, pulling her gaze from his face while her free hand moved up to gingerly brush her fingertips against the wet skin. A new mixture of surprise and confusion that had surfaced in her features was soon replaced with a shy smile that only stretched wider when she softly spoke. "S-sorry... " Her voice was small, but showed no signs of a crack or break that would have normally accompanied a sob. She turned her hand to try and wipe away the fresh stream that stained one of her cheeks before looking back to the man’s face with a tiny laugh. "I don’t know why--" The tears in her eyes seemed as though they refused to subside, and only served to confuse the further.
 "That--Nick, everything you said made me really happy." She said with a wide smile, feeling the need to try and assure Jomei that he hadn’t said or done anything to upset her. "I… I feel the same way. I want to make more memories with you. If we still have to be stuck here, I want to keep fighting with you." She pulled the side of her hand across her cheek before looking back to his eyes with a warm smile. "And when we get out, I want to see you again. I’d like to take you to this cafe in Kyoto that I always went to. I want to show you some of the projects I worked on for my finals last year. A-and," She had given up trying to wipe away the tears that surfaced with her overwhelming joy. Her hand dropped to one of Jomei’s that had grasped hers. Her fingers wrapped themselves gently around the back of his hand to return his hold while the loving smile on her lips grew a bit wider. "I’d really like to see the places that are important to you someday, too."