"It's too bad we aren't assigned to the same raids anymore, huh?" Aria sighed wistfully, as she leaned against me, my arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, it feels like it's been ages since we were last on a raid together. Guess that's the downside of being promoted to X-Ace Rank, huh?" I replied with a wry smile, before kissing the side of her head.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to make up for it by spending more time together outside of raids. Though, I'd say we've already got that in the bag," She giggled, as she reached up and placed her hand on mine atop her shoulder, stroking my fingers gently.

Today's the 20th of October, 2169, a few days had passed since Aria and I got into a relationship.

Not a lot has happened since her conversation with Luxuria, though she was pretty awkward for a day or two after that.

I am pretty curious about their discussion, but Aria wants to keep it a secret, so I'll respect that.

Yesterday, we'd both applied for a couple of High Level raids, and of course, we got assigned to different ones.

I get why, I really do, but I...I just wish I could fight alongside her again.

Well, we did work together a few weeks ago, a small Stampede occurred and we were both assigned to a Quest to eliminate the Monsters as fast as possible, which we completed without a problem.

Both our raids are scheduled for the 22nd, the day after tomorrow, and we were currently chilling at her place, snuggled up in her bed. We just finished watching a movie, and now we're just chilling and talking.

"Mhm, I'd say so. By the way, how should we act in public? Would you rather keep our relationship under wraps for now, or announce it to the world? I'm fine with either option, so it's your call," I remarked, before glancing at her as she stared down at my stomach.

"Huh? Sorry, what was that?" She responded, jumping slightly as I tapped her shoulder.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to startle you. You good?"

"I, um...your t-shirt was kinda riding up a bit, and I-I got distracted...sorry," She muttered, averting her gaze as her face turned red.

"Aw, just a small peek at my stomach was enough to get you this flustered, huh? How adorable," I smirked, before leaning in and whispering, "I don't mind, by the way...stare as much as you want."

"H-Hey, come on, don't tease me," She muttered, glancing at my abdomen again before averting her gaze.

<She really seems to be the polar opposite of you in this regard, doesn't she?>

Yeah, no question there. But I don't mind, it's cute and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I like this feeling.

"I'm only half-teasing, I did mean what I said," I grinned, as I playfully poked her cheek.

"O-Okay, then...," She mumbled quietly, before reaching out and lightly taking hold of my t-shirt, lifting it up a bit more.

Huh. I didn't expect her to actually-...wow, she's really staring.

"Want me to just take my shirt off?" I suggested jokingly.

"H-Huh? Um, okay...," She nodded, a slight gleam in her eyes as she stared at me with her face flushed, completely missing the joke.

I, uh...well, alright, then.

I pulled my t-shirt off, setting it down beside me as she continued to stare, her breathing slowly growing heavier.

I've never seen her like this before, it's so...

My eyes widened slightly as she began to reach out, almost looking like she was in a trance, her fingertips starting to press onto my abdomen before she suddenly pulled her arm back with a jolt.

"I-I'm sorry! I don't know what I was think, I-I just-...!" She began, before trailing off as I gently took hold of her hand.

"Hey, it's okay, you don't need to freak out. If you want to touch me, you can. Do you?" I responded with a smile.

She paused for a moment, before nodding quietly, a bashful look on her face. I slowly guided her hand towards my torso, placing in on my abdomen.

As I let go of her hand, she began moving it, tracing her fingertips around my abdomen, gulping as her face turned redder, before her hand moved up to my chest, while I did my best to stay calm.

The way she's touching me, so gentle and tender, it's getting kinda tough to keep my cool here. I-I just need to breathe, nice and slow, I-...

"Kai...," She suddenly whispered, her eyes gleaming and trembling slightly as I met her gaze.

She batted her eyes at me slightly, chills running down my spine as she caressed my chest with her fingertips. Her lips quivered slightly as I found myself slowly leaning in towards her, my mind blanking as she began to close her eyes-...

I suddenly tensed up as my I-Watch began ringing, Aria pulling her hand away with a startled look before her face flushed deeply as she looked away, burying her face in her hands, her ears bright red too.

I pursed my lips and clenched my teeth as I tapped on my I-Watch to see who was calling, bringing up the display as I quietly took a breath to calm down.

"I-It's the Guildmaster, I wonder what she wants?" I remarked, wincing as my voice cracked slightly.

"I-I see, m-maybe something happened," Muttered Aria, as I answered the call.

"Hey, Guildmaster, what's going-...?" I began.

"There's an emergency! A Calamity Level Dungeon has just appeared, we'll need to tackle it ASAP! I'm going to need both you and Ariella in the raid, I'll be there too.

We'll probably head out to tackle it sometime tomorrow, I'll give you the exact details later in the day. I have to go now, there's a lot of work to be done, and I need to let Ariella know too, and-...!"

"Calm down, Guildmaster, just take a breath. I'm with Aria right now, and you're on speaker, so she heard everything too," I informed her.

"Yeah, hi, Guildmaster," Spoke up Aria.

"Oh, okay, that's good. Alright, then, get ready for the raid, make sure your gear and weapons are in order. I'm sorry this is such short notice, but we have to deal with it immediately. I'll contact you two again later," Replied Isla, before hanging up.

"Huh. A Calamity Level Dungeon...I don't like the sound of that, but at least we'll get to work together," I remarked, as I slumped back slightly.

"Yeah, I suppose that's a silver lining for us, I-...," She began, before trailing off as she met my gaze, a flustered look appearing on her face as she turned away.

Hm, maybe that interruption was a blessing in disguise, I think she just caught up in the heat of the moment, I don't think she's ready to go any further just yet.

I smiled slightly before reaching out and patting her head, feeling her relax slightly against my touch as I gently stroked her hair.

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