Sunny's eyelids slowly opened as he regained consciousness from his earlier forced rest. The warmth and touch of skin was the first thing that greeted him. His eyes roamed over the peculiar sight of the two women curled up on top of him.
He didn't quite grasp the situation until the memories of the morning came to his mind. He blinked a couple of times in astonishment, shifting his eyes between Aiko and Beth in disbelief. "Is this really happening?" He failed to stifle a long sigh. If he could have brought a hand to his face, he would have, but doing so might disturb the sleep of his companions.
'All right, now what the hell did I do...? Wait, this isn't my fault, they seemed coercive. So what's supposed to happen now?' His mind continued to work, filling with questions and assumptions. His panicked sequence of questions was interrupted when he felt movement on his right side. His eyes fell on the woman next to him, and he watched as, little by little, consciousness returned to her.
Beth opened her eyes heavily. She felt dejected. The constant sleepless nights and stress seemed to be taking their toll on her just now. Though, far from feeling bad, she was relaxed like never before in her life, tempting her to fall back into a deep sleep. Out of work habit, she forced herself to open her eyes, and when she did, something particular caught her attention.
Their gazes collided. It took a couple of seconds for Beth to react. She slowly regained consciousness, processing the information around her. Sunny couldn't help but watch, amused, as she tensed and opened her eyes. 'Oh, she's remembering everything.'
Her shocked expression didn't last long. Once the shock of the memories faded, her mouth curved into a shy smile, a slight blush adorning it. She buried her head in his shoulder, hiding from his gaze.
Sunny moved his arm around her in response, but unexpectedly she jumped up and recomposed herself on the bed, sitting bolt upright.
Beth's voice sounded alarmed, "W-what time is it? I wasn't supposed to be gone this long!"
"Damn it! I got carried away, I have to i-AY!..." Urgently she stood up from the bed. As she did, a sharp stab of pain shot to her crotch, ceasing any movement.
She fell back into a sitting position on the bed. Her hands reflexively went to her crotch, seeking to stifle the sudden twinge of pain.
Sunny chuckled as she shook her head at the display. He immediately understood what her predicament was: time waits for no one and neither does work. Sunny gingerly peeled himself off Aiko, freeing his arm. Reincorporating himself, he sat down next to Beth, placing a hand on her back.
"I don't think you're going to be able to walk anytime soon. Don't you want to rest here for a while while you recover? Of course, I don't want to interrupt your work, but I, at least, can see that you're indisposed." His voice sounded soft and low, careful not to wake the sleeping little fairy beside her.
"Once in Antarctica I heard you lecture me about not overexerting yourself too much. You sounded very dramatic there, by the way, but anyway, would you mind taking your own advice? Rest here for the day."
Beth stood still, watching him carefully, rummaging through her memories. "Did I say something like that?"
He closed his eyes and stifled a sigh. 'I guessed as much, but I would have at least preferred that you remembered saying it. Wait, no, I'd rather he didn't. He said it to me or to no one, there's no other choice!'
"Yes, you did. Never mind, just... could you lie down again? And I also won't deny you to wear clothes if you wish." He said as he summoned the misty cloak and stood up, ready to fetch his trousers that were sent flying by Aiko somewhere in the room.
Beth looked down and blushed as she realised her state of undress. Reflexively, out of embarrassment, her hands were about to cover herself, but she repressed this urge. '...I guess I don't have anything to hide from you anymore.' She shook her head. Sunny convinced her to rest for now, so she took the blanket to hide inside it. But just as she was about to slide down, her sight stumbled upon something peculiar.
After finding and putting on the trousers, at that moment Beth's concerned voice rang out:
"Hey, doesn't Aiko look a little off?"
At a slow pace, Sunny walked over and looked at the small woman, which caused him to raise an eyebrow. Aiko was on her back, her cheeks sunken, her expression weary, her mouth slightly ajar.
'She really looks kind of ruined. Is it because... I've been too rough with her?' He looked away, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
"She'll be fine, just let her rest, she'll recover soon, so don't worry," Sunny said casually. He sat back down on the bed. Beth slid between the sheets, next to Aiko, seeking the warmth radiating from her body.
Sunny's eyes rolled around the room as if he was looking for something, but he wasn't really. He only pretended to want to do something to avoid staying in the room. He began to feel uncomfortable in the room; he didn't feel that way because of the new visitor in the bed specifically, but rather because he felt puzzled about the upcoming implications of what happened. 'Did I have to be so impulsive - shit! And what was I supposed to do or say now?'
He stifled a frustrated grunt as he realised that the only right course of action would be to simply speak.
He turned, looking in Beth's direction, leaning back and staring into nothingness, lost in his own thoughts. After gathering his courage for a moment, he coughed audibly, drawing the girl's attention.
He swallowed saliva and tried not to look flustered, failing miserably. "Uh, well... I'm glad you're here, but... what's supposed to happen now?" He hadn't forgotten he'd confessed earlier; he'd done it in the heat of the moment, he didn't lie though, it was the reality of his feelings, but it only made him even more tense.
Beth blinked silently, staring at him. She tilted her head to one side, confused. "Does something specific have to happen?"
Sunny shook his head. "I really don't know, but..." His voice trailed off as he broke eye contact with Beth and his gaze fell on the unconscious Aiko.
With that gesture on his part, Beth sensed what he was referring to. She let out a small giggle and spoke:
"It's okay, don't feel guilty about anything! There's nothing to discuss with her, everything is in order. So I think it would be better to start talking about this in another way... tell me, what do you want?"
He looked away and contemplated the question in his mind. He held back the answer until the pain of his flaw forced him to speak.
"I really don't know. I'm sorry."
Beth nodded. In response, she smiled and spoke warmly, "It's okay! It's all happened extremely fast, both for me and for you. I wish things would slow down actually."
She sat up and moved close enough to Sunny to be able to take his hand. The touch was reciprocated with a gentle squeeze.
"For my part, I've made my decision, so I'd like to know what you'll do. What happens from now on is up to you, so..." Beth seemed to hesitate. She swallowed as her cheeks turned pink.
"Can I be your girlfriend...or rather, would you like me to be your girlfriend?"
Sunny's heart skipped a beat. The pink colour covered his cheeks. He also lost control of his jaw, causing his mouth to open slightly.
After regaining his composure, he took a deep breath and with his other free hand he directed it towards Beth's shoulder. Looking into her eyes, he answered shyly:
"Yes, yes I would like you to be my girlfriend."
Beth's smile became radiant. "Then it's done! I'm very happy to be your girlfriend, Sunny. I also know Aiko will be when she wakes up, or well, if she does."
Sunny chuckled without breaking eye contact. They both looked at each other, lost in each other's eyes. As if on cue, he succumbed to the urge to kiss her. Their lips met tenderly. They both closed their eyes, enjoying the warmth.
It wasn't until dusk that Aiko awoke, now partially recovered. Her body, at peace, lay sprawled on the bed. She blinked, staring at the ceiling. She tried to get up, but fell back onto the bed as a wave of pain surged through her body.
But after lying still, the pain persisted. Her bottom hurt like hell. She didn't have to check herself in front of a mirror to know that this part of her body would be completely red. In fact, she didn't even have a mirror handy to do that if she wanted to. For some reason unknown to her, her boss did not allow her to bring mirrors of any kind.
She cried silently, "They didn't have to be so harsh..."
Resigned, she floated, climbing out of bed. She grunted, trying to ignore the pain, and pulled on the clothes lying on the floor.
She heard muttering coming from somewhere in the emporium. With no more desire to writhe on the bed in pain, she preferred to at least walk around and see how things were going.
She floated out of the room, arms and legs stretched gracelessly towards the floor, eyes half-open, barely with the energy to do so.
As she went on, the murmurings grew more and more meaningful until they became a conversation. She advanced to the dining room and there she looked up, her eyes narrowing. Now she was fully focused on the scene in front of her, the scene she had constructed. She seemed to have missed the course, but arrived in time to see the end.
Sunny was standing at the exit next to Beth. They both looked at each other, somewhere between embarrassed and tender. After giving each other a hug, Beth said goodbye silently, waving her hand. She turned and walked slowly as Sunny watched her.
When the woman's figure was no longer visible to him, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh, closing the door behind him.
As he entered, he was greeted by a curious sight. Aiko stood in front of him, floating ungracefully, but with a smile that could not be described as anything other than wicked. Small giggles escaped her mouth.
The sight made him frown and his good humour immediately dissipated. He broke the silence as he spoke with clear annoyance in his voice, "What are you laughing at?"
Aiko rolled in the air as she continued to laugh, triumphantly, "Nothing in particular, I'm just feeling very happy. Don't you feel happy when things go your way?"
Sunny gritted his teeth and gave her a piercing look, "Beth told me what happened, she didn't answer a lot of things, but she told me enough to understand..." Aiko's eyes snapped open as her boss grabbed her cheeks tightly and pulled them outwards.
He raised his voice in annoyance: "...What the hell were you thinking in the first place!"
Tears began to form in the corners of the girl's eyes as she squealed pathetically in protest.
"Do you have any idea what would have happened if things hadn't turned out the way you wanted them to?" The grip on her cheeks became firmer, causing Aiko to kick and thrash her arms, struggling to break free.
"Immg! SoghwY!" She tried to modulate as she cried.
After letting out a long sigh, he released Aiko from his reprimand. She immediately brought her hands to her face and massaged her cheeks as she sobbed.
The anger he had at the moment slowly dissipated. At the same time, he felt pity and a hint of guilt at seeing the little girl like this.
He continued to watch her for a long time with conflicting emotions. He shook his head and in a calmer voice, he said:
"...You're a weirdo, you know, so I know that even if I ask you not to do something like that again, you'll find a way to do something similar, so all I'm going to ask is that you use that head for something with more sense next time."
The girl looked at him with abandoned puppy dog eyes and slowly nodded her head. She hovered, staring at the floor, as if a child were waiting for a parent's command to go to her room and be punished.
Compassion found its way into Sunny's heart, making him let out another heavy sigh. He reached up, grabbing the floating girl, and settled her in his arms. He stroked her head, running his fingers through her dark hair.
He brushed back the hair that covered her forehead and leaned in to kiss her.
After pulling away, he noticed her flushed face, mostly from her earlier outburst, but the glint in her eyes gave away something else.
"I'm sorry for being so angry with you, Aiko."
The girl's eyes glowed even brighter, as if demanding something else. Sunny recognised what it was and stifled a giggle before speaking.
"I love you."
Now the girl's face seemed to glow with intensity, "To be yelled at and hurt and then cuddled...! That's what I've always dreamed of!"
Sunny suppressed a grimace and simply looked at her, perplexed. 'Well... I can't let her have another mate, for her own good.'
Carrying her like a princess, he walked back into the room and laid her down on the bed.
Turning in the direction of the door, he said: "I'll be in the cellar forging, sleep tight."
Before Sunny walked out the door, Aiko stopped him with a more serious voice, different from her usual, "Tell me, are you happy with how things turned out?"
Sunny stood still, his back to her. A few moments passed before Sunny replied, "I think so."
She smiled and snuggled into the sheets and closed her eyes.
Not feeling that the conversation would continue, he went on his way and spent the night forging.
From that day on, Sunny's life was a little different.