"Come on, damn it, take this seriously!" Snapped Lexia, as she lunged forward and drove a bone blade towards Colt, who let her graze his left side, before backing away with a grin as she chased after him.

"I am taking it seriously, though, I'm totally serious."

"No, you're clearly messing around!"

"I mean, I'm having fun, but that doesn't mean I'm not putting any effort in...and besides, things are super peaceful right now, we don't really need to-...," He began with a shrug.

"Don't be stupid, we can't let ourselves get rusty just because things are peaceful!" She huffed, as she zipped forward and leapt towards him.

Colt extended blood tendrils and grabbed her wrists, before sliding his right foot forward and slipping it behind her heel. He tripped her as he pulled his foot back, striking her heel.

Lexia let out a yelp as she fell forward, her forehead thudding against his nose before the two of them collapsed in a heap.

"Ow...," She muttered, before stiffening as she met his gaze from inches away, her heart skipping a beat.

"Heh, this feels pretty nice, you're so soft," He grinned, before waiting in anticipation for her to snap at him.

She paused for a moment, a slight, hesitant grimace on her face, before she suddenly leaned down and pressed her lips against his.

Colt froze in shock, completely caught off-guard, a wide-eyed look on his face as she pulled back and met his gaze.

"Oh, what do you know? You actually shut up, for once," She remarked, before getting back onto her feet and turning around, her face turning bright red as she thought to herself frantically, "Wh-Wha...what did I just do?! S-Stupid impulses, wh-where did that even come from?! O-Okay, calm down, just...just play it off. Yeah, I-...huh? Wait...where did he go?"

She looked around the training field in bemusement, no sign of Colt anywhere...

...

...

"Uh...are you okay, ma'am? You seem tense," Remarked one of the other Knights hesitantly.

"Huh? I'm fine, go away," She huffed in response.

"R-Right, of course!"

"Grr, where is he?! He's late...," Lexia thought to herself impatiently, tapping her foot against the floor repeatedly.

It was the next day, and Lexia was at the Knight outpost, waiting for Colt. She hadn't seen him after he disappeared following their sparring session yesterday, and she couldn't muster up the courage to go to his place to talk about what happened.

As the door to the building opened, she perked up as Colt walked in, nervously approaching him. He tensed and averted his gaze as he saw her coming.

"H-Hey, I-...," She began awkwardly.

"S-Sorry I'm late, I, uh... I'm gonna go patrol!" He blurted, before rushing out before she could respond.

A brief silence ensued, before the other Knights shrunk back as they sensed Lexia's seething rage, an ominous growl ringing out as she clenched her fists.

The Knights flinched as she glanced back at them with a dark look in her eyes, before addressing them...

"Someone cover for me, I'm stepping away for a bit."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

"L-Leave it to us!"

She headed for the drawers where the Teleport Spells were kept, before picking on linked to Amethyst City and activating it.

As she reappearing in the Amethyst City outpost, she glanced around before heading for the back, towards Raven's office, pushing the door open and stepping inside, where both Raven and Celia were seated behind the desk.

"Hm? Lexia? Is something wrong?" Celia asked her.

"Okay, good, you're both here. I...I need to talk about something."

"What's up? Did something happen?" Responded Raven, a look of concern on his face.

Lexia hesitated for a moment, before explaining what had happened, the two of them staring at her in surprise.

She averted her gaze with an embarrassed look on her face as she finished, fidgeting slightly.

"Well, I definitely didn't expect this...but the solution is simple. Just chase him down, restrain him and confess," Stated Raven with a shrug.

"Wha-...what do you mean, confess?! Confess what? Th-That I like him or something? B-Because that's not-...!" She began defensively.

"Come on, we can't help you if you aren't even going to be honest with yourself," Pointed out Celia.

"I-I don't know what you're-..."

"Hey, so, quick reminder...you know I can literally sense when people are lying, right?" Raven reminded her.

She tensed for a moment, before hanging her head as her shoulders slumped, letting out a strained sigh.

"O-Okay, I-...yeah. I'm...I'm in love with him," She admitted, before burying her face in her hands with a mortified groan, shuddering slightly.

"Did you literally just have a visceral reaction to...being honest with your feelings?" Responded Celia in bemusement.

"Sh-Shut up..."

"Well, now that you've admitted it, the rest should be simple. I mean, yeah, actually doing it is a lot easier said than done, but at least you know what you need to do now. Take some time to calm down and come to terms with it, and then form a plan of action," Surmised Raven with a smile.

"I-...o-okay, thanks. I'm, um...I'm gonna go now," She muttered, before leaving and shutting the door behind her.

"Well, that sure was unexpected, huh?" Remarked Celia, following a brief silence.

"Yeah, that's an understatement. That's the most flustered I've ever seen her, it was quite a sight. Colt's reaction was pretty surprising too. I mean, I'd have expected him to be caught off-guard, but to straight up run away?" Added Raven in bemusement.

"Honestly, I don't find it too surprising, I can definitely see it. He's pretty awkward when it comes to genuine affection, this was probably the last thing he ever expected," Responded Celia thoughtfully.

"I suppose...still, though. I wonder how it's going to go? Wish we could be there to see it play out," He replied with a wry smile.

"Yeah, same...but I guess we'll find out soon enough."

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