The next morning, I woke with the light of day. In the night Edrim had pulled me close, his grip was like a python. Part of him was on top of me, almost like a shield. I turned my head to look at him. The faint glow of his markings almost imperceptible in the morning light. He looked at peace in his sleep, softer somehow. For the first time since the fight, I was alone. Well as alone as I could be. I tried to squirm out of his arms and managed eventually.

I hoped out of the cart and stretched, I glanced over at the horse. She had tipped her bucket over in the night. I sighed, and made my way over, and after righting the bucket I summoned water into it before patting the mare. I pulled an apple out of bag and palmed it to her. She chomped on it, her lips tickling my hand. I returned to the cart to grab the feedbag, and after hooking it around her neck I summoned my fish.

“Jade, can you please go wake Edrim up?” The green fish bobbed her body and then sped over to him.

It only took a minute before I heard a “What the hell?!” come from the cart. I chuckled and untied the mare, leading her back to the cart.

“Your fish just swam into my mouth,” I heard Edrim groan rubbing his eyes blearily.

“You’re her favorite,” I hitched the horse back on to the cart.

“…That makes that more concerning.”

“Maybe,” I swung myself back on to the cart, this time in the driver’s seat. “I did only tell her to wake you up.”

I grabbed the reins and looked back at him, now that he was sitting up, I could see that he was a bit wider awake and digging in a bag for something. He soon pulled out a bag of fruit and offered me one. I took a small satchel of cherries. I popped a couple in my mouth, careful to spit out the seeds as I commanded the horse to start moving. The tent above the carriage provided a nice shade from the morning light, and I saw Edrim reach into a bag and retrieve a book. He started to read it, so I turned around to look ahead. I was startled just a few minutes later when I felt him kiss the back of my neck.

“H-hey!” I looked back at him, and his face was just a couple of inches from mine.

“I didn’t get a good morning kiss,” he said matter of factly, “so I figured I could at least kiss you.”

“You could’ve just asked,” I grumbled, puckering up my lips and leaning forward to kiss him. I felt him smile into the kiss, he placed his hand on my cheek.

“That's better,” he chuckled. I blushed and quickly turned around to face the front again. He chuckled again and turned back to his book. We sat in silence for a few minutes. I watched those the animals began to awake around us in the fields. Pondering what we were up against when we arrived in my hometown.

“I do wonder, how my dad is going to react.”

“Hmm?” He questioned distractedly.

“My dad, I haven't seen him in almost three years, he has no idea what I've done. No idea what I've been a part of, I'm bringing somebody home with me. Somebody very important to me,” I took a glance over my shoulder at him. “He's probably not even going to know what to think. Hell, he's probably expecting me to come back exactly as I was. Maybe with a few more gold coins in my pocket, but otherwise unchanged.”

The silence following my rambling, made me feel self-conscious.

“As a father myself, I can understand if he is surprised. But people should never expect somebody to leave and then come back the same. That's just naive.”

“Naive maybe, but until a few years ago it was just me, him, and my grandmother. I came back every couple of years, sure, I even came back to find him married. Expecting another child. But somehow, he was still the same, just with a few more Gray streaks in his hair.”

“Sometimes it's hard to tell how somebody is changed, you might not even think that they have without certain circumstances.”

“You're probably right,” I felt his arm wrap around my waist, Hugging me from behind. “Did us getting together flip a switch? You've gotten a lot touchier.”

“I like physical affection, but I don't do it to people that don't want it. I didn't realize how deprived I was with that, back home I'm usually holding or hugging a child most of the time. I am almost always being touched. I started to miss it. It's not too much right?”

“No, it's not, I'm just surprised because you're usually so reserved.”

“I'd say I'm cautious but not reserved.”

“Ehh, you keep thinking that,” I chuckled.

…

We spent the next few days switching out who was driving, talking constantly, getting to know each other better. Eventually we did arrive in my hometown, but it was late. So late that my father's Tavern was even closed for the night. I didn't want to wake them; I didn't want their first sight of me in three years to bleary eyed and exhausted. Edrim suggested we spend one last night in the cart. So, we exited town and found a spot on the edge to park the cart. I put the fish on guard duty, if you could call it that, really they just were there to alert us if anybody approached.

As we lay next to each other, slowly becoming entangled. I looked him in the eyes, and then I kissed him. He wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me closer. I hooked my leg behind his, he startled at that. Before pulling me in a little tighter. He turned over, and suddenly he was hanging over me. Looking down, I felt him run a finger across my cheek, and I shivered. We had slowly been getting more and more intimate, but I was still nervous. He fully respected me and would stop it even just me saying ‘wait’. It may have been nerves, or sudden boldness, but I reached around grabbed his ass and squeezed.

“Nal, what the hell,” he laughed.

“I was feeling bold!”

“You being bold equals squeezing my butt?”

“In this context yes,” I said a little defensively.

“Well, if you're being bold,” I felt his hands slide under and squeeze mine. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”

I nodded, and I felt him kiss me quickly on the lips and then duck his head into my neck. The points of his horns poked me a little, but I didn't mind, because I could feel him sucking and kissing my neck. For the first time in front of him I moaned. He paused and pulled back. He looked at me, and I looked at him with slightly hooded eyes. I feel my cheeks warming as he looked down at me.

“Nalypsis, why was that the cutest moan I've ever heard?”

My eyes widened, “what?” I squeaked.

“Gods, I flustered you again,” he bemused. “Good, I was just starting to get a bit too horny.”

My blush deepened. “I make you horny?”

“Have you ever looked at yourself? You're gorgeous, and you’re mine. Of course, you do.”

“You're pretty handsome, and you have a lot more experience to me. I'm surprised I do anything for you,” he frowned at that.

“Nal, don't get down on yourself. You're usually so confident where did that come from?”

I sighed and looked at the town in the darkness, “proximity.”

He looked at the town and I could see his eyes narrow. “Well, whatever you were told they were wrong. Just because they have small minded opinions, doesn't mean that their beauty standards are right.”

“But-“

“No, you have an adorable nose… you have gorgeous eyes… a lovely set of horns… and your markings are exquisite,” he paused between each of those lines to kiss me on that part Of my face. His soft lips tickling me and making me giggle.

“There's that pretty smile, you were hiding it so I couldn't kiss it,” He leaned down and kissed me. Like a cascade of fireworks, I felt sparks fly in my head.

“You are really good at smooth talking,” I said when he pulled away.

“It's not smooth talking if it's true, besides, I have to deal with prejudice all the time. I've gotten pretty good at being confident in myself, and of course encouraging others. I raise children, if I don't instill confidence in them, then who will?”

“Fair point,” I yawned. “We should probably go to sleep, if we wanted to get into town early.”

He settle down next to me, pull me closer. He took a moment to kiss me on my temple, before he closed his eyes and settled in for the night. I paused, and kissed his forehead.

“Goodnight Ed, sweet dreams.”