(A/N: Chapters with this title are just them spending time together. You know, relationship building, fun times, whole or angst moments. No, not "those" fun times. Those will start with an {S}, so you'll know right away lol👀.)
Alistair :"So I was thinking-"
Miquella :"That's shocking. Never knew you could do that."
Alistair :"Hey, I think thonks all the time!"
Miquella :"-_-"
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Miquella was mad. No, he was livid. Alistair had shown the characteristics of a calm yet vicious warrior at first, but was suddenly so careless. Seriously... sure, there were spirit springs under them, but it didn't mean they should have jumped from the high up.
So as punishment, he had to walk by himself beside Torrent while getting the silent treatment from the former master and horse. And the object that earned him the punishment could or couldn't be said to be worth it. A Gold Pickled Fowl Foot, which would raise the amount of runes one could get for a short amount of time. 30% for 3 minutes, according to Alistair.
Was that truly worth it? All the enemies they had met until now had only given less than 50 runes each. Godrick's knight was an exception, since he gave a few hundred. But his point remains.
He was far too weak to take on any strong opponents, which would give a lot of runes, and the weaker enemies he could take on gave a pitiful amount of runes. So he wondered if the danger they took was worth it or not. Either way, Alistair was getting punished for scaring them like that.
"Come on, you two. Don't be mad." Alistair sighed, walking beside the huffing Torrent and the pouting Miquella. His feet were getting tired after walking for so long. Miquella finally glanced at him, but his gaze was cold :"Have you reflected on your mistake?"
"Yes..." He mumbled, shoulders slumped :"I'm sorry." Miquella watched him like a hawk, before finally sighing with worry :"You really worried us there, you know? I really thought we were going to plummet to our death. Isn't that right, Torrent?"
"Neigh!" Torrent stomped his feet, glaring at Alistair accusingly :"Neigh neigh! Neeeigh!!" If he could, he surely would have pointed at him with one of his hooves too.
"I-I'm sorry..." He mumbled, looking like a sad puppy. He could understand their frustration. After all, that really was a deep dive. If not for the spirit springs there, he was sure their bodies would be unrecognizable. He was scared too while falling off of that height.
Seeing that he was truly sorry, the two looked at each other, before sighing and smiling :"Alright, you're forgiven. But please be more careful from now on, alright? I don't know what's the true use of that Gold Pickled Fowl Foot, but surely it's not worth your life."
"Oh, it definitely is." Alistair replied sharply, a glint in his eyes :"And you'll know what I mean when the time comes to use it."
"Haaah, alright, I'll wait and see if it was truly worth it. But how long will I have to wait? Where is our destination anyway?"
"From what I've seen, very, very long..." He sulked. They had parted ways from the Gatefront Site of Grace hours ago. At least half a day ago, or maybe even several hours more. The night had already passed and day had arrived. He hadn't slept in the protection of the Gatefront Site of Grace, since worry wouldn't have let him sleep.
He was planning on sleeping when he had reached a Site of Grace far enough away from the Stormgate, but he had severely underestimated just how huge the world was compared to the game.
They had been on the way for hours, yet they hadn't even reached the Agheel Lake North Site of Grace. The one that was literally 15 to 30 seconds away from the Gatefront Site of Grace, and the one that should have been 2 seconds away from the camp. But no matter how much they walked, the damn thing would come to view.
He shuddered at the thought of how long they were going to be on the road for. Oh, how he already missed the game where he could get to the end of the map in a few minutes. Now, they had been walking for several hours, yet hadn't reached the Site of Grace that should have been seconds away from them.
"Oh, I see a Site of Grace!" Miquella's words made his head shoot up :"What?! Where?! Where?!" And in the distance, he finally saw the rays of light gathering into a single location in the distance :"Hahahaha! Fucking finally!"
"H-hey! Hahahaha calm down!" Miquella chuckled as he jumped to sit behind him on Torrent :"Come on, Torrent! Run!" Torrent rolled his eyes in amusement, but hit the gas nonetheless.
"W-whoa! Hey now, you're gonna make us fall!" Alistair nearly fell, but his hands instinctively went to circle around and grab Miquella's small waist. Making the demigod jump from the sudden action, before looking back with a small glare and blush :"You should warn me first about these things, you know? You surprised me."
"Hahaha, sorry." He smiled apologetically, but didn't let go. He felt so good to hug. He was eternally hug sized after all. Miquella stared at him, and he stared back, and seeing that he didn't have any intentions of letting go, he just sighed in defeat. Letting the muscular warrior hug him from behind while he blushed because of the physical contact.
Not many people dared to touch him in the past. Thinking him too precious to touch. As if touching him would be a sin. Again, his family was an exception. But still, he wasn't used to physical contact. And Alistair could see that, seeing how his ears turned red.
It made him smirk. Closing in on Miquella's cute ear, he whispered teasingly :"You talk about marriage and such so calmly, yet you blush so hard from just this? Hahaha, you really are adorable."
"Y-you...!" Miquella looked back, glaring, but his blush was even redder as he lightly elbowed Alistair :"Don't tease your elders..."
"Ooh, I can't do that, sweetie." But Alistair's smirk remained. His gaze turning hotter, voice going lower as his fingers gently danced on Miquella's belly, making him shiver :"It's impossible with you adorable you and your reactions are. Makes me wanna tease you all~ day long. Hahaha, you should get used to blushing, because I feel like I'm gonna get addicted to your cute reactions."
"Y-you..." His face felt hot. Hotter than it had ever felt. He glared, trying to scold him to quit it, but the hit look in his darkened eyes made him feel weak at the knees. His glare grew weaker, while his face grew hotter, and he just turned to the front with a defeated scoff :"Hmph... whatever..."
"Hahahaha, seriously, so adorable." Alistair's voice turned back to normal. He was fortunate for that. He wasn't so fortunate when he started gently petting him however. Miquella didn't like how he was toying with him. But strangely, it felt nice...
'Haaah, what in the world are you thinking?' He pouted at his own thoughts, barely stopping himself from leaning back on Alistair's broad chest :'...Oh well, I guess a little bit of physical contact wouldn't hurt.'
"Bffh!" Torrent came to a stop beside the unmarked Site of Grace. Alistair all but jumped down, before picking up Miquella by his armpits and putting him down. Ignoring the embarrassed glare he received in doing so as he resonated with the Site of Grace.
And the moment it's done, he falls on his ass with a happy groan :"Finally, some rest." Miquella sighed before going and sitting beside him :"You're really starting to get comfortable with me, huh?" While Torrent opted to enjoy some Rowa Fruits and Raisins around.
Alistair chuckled, an awkward one as he rubbed his own nape :"I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to hurt your feet. You could have sprained an ankle while climbing down Torrent, after all."
His words took away the annoyance. Being so young eternally, Miquella had to come to really hate it when people picked him up to reach or get down from somewhere after a certain age. But knowing he only had good will instead of wanting to tease him, he supposed he could let it slide.
"You're an interesting fellow, you know that?" Miquella rested his chin on his palm as he watched Alistair take the boots he had replaced the bandages with, his feet sore from the looks of it :"I thought you did it to tease me again, but you're apologizing instead of making fun of me. What's the deal with that?"
Alistair's eyebrows rose, before he smiled as he massaged his feet :"Hahahaha, I think you've misunderstood. I don't tease people because I like to make fun of others. I do it because I genuinely like their reactions. How they look and act when happy, when they're being teased, when they're embarrassed, when they're annoyed, etc. Of course, I don't like seeing them sad or angry, but mild emotions amuse me. It's fun and makes me feel close to other people."
"I see..." Miquella mumbled before smiling :"Hahaha, that's good then. I thought you just liked making fun of me. But if it's for a cute reason like that, then it's alright."
"C-cute?" He spotted a light blush on his confused, handsome face. Making him grin in confusion :"Seriously, what's with you? One second, you're a vicious warrior, then you act like a playboy, then you're adorable like this. Hahaha, seriously, who's the adorable one again?"
"Quiet, you..." Alistair blush grew as his hand found his nape again :"I can't help it, I've always been like this. I'm prone to mood swings, that's all. If something gets me going in a certain mood, it gets me going hard."
"Ooh? That's interesting. So what got you acting so cute?" Miquella couldn't stop his grin. He had to be honest, teasing Alistair and seeing him shy was fun. He could understand why he teased him, if he was feeling the same as he was. Seeing his blush grow even redder as he avoided his gaze made him grin even more :"Y-you looked genuinely annoyed when I picked you up like that... I don't want you to be mad at me..."
"..." Miquella went silent, caught off guard by the innocent reason. Covering his smile, he looked away :'Seriously, then he calls me cute...'
When he looked back, he noticed Alistair's frowns as he massaged his legs :"Do they hurt a lot? We have been on the road for quite a while now, after all."
"Yeah, and I had to walk all the way through because a certain someone was mad at me."
"Hmph, you deserve it after giving me that scare. Hmm... hey, lay down on your stomach."
Alistair raised an eyebrow :"Hm? Why?"
"Your feet and calves hurt, right? I'll massage them for you? I know a bit when it comes to massaging overworked muscles."
"Huh? Really? How would you of all people know anything about massaging? You're a prince, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am." A nostalgia filled smile made its way to his cute face as he recalled memories from the past :"But back then, when Malenia had started learning swordsmanship, her body, which was already beginning to show sickness, would ache even more after working out hard.
One day, I suggested that I massage her to relax her body. Afterwards, it became a thing between us where I would help after every workout so her body wouldn't ache. Hahaha, of course, I was clumsy at first. But with time, I was like her own professional massager.
And when Godwyn heard of it from Malenia who was smug about it, he acted like a jealous kid who had been left out. He would amuse me from time to time too, so we could find some time to spend with each other. Those two were such kids sometimes. Malenia acted like that even when we grew up."
Seeing his smile, a mix of happiness and nostalgia, but also sadness, Alistair asked :"Do you miss them?"
Miquella's smile didn't drop, but all happiness left it, replaced with sadness and longing :"I do. So very, very much."