Embarrassing Revelation

The marine that Twindil had healed had been nowhere in sight, apparently having left a while ago. Hopefully he will have found a source of food and water somewhere nearby, but Lance had no way of being sure. Every other Outworlder that had been cured though, humans and Final Kind alike, had all apparently perished soon after the Spiral Curse ended. Lance found it curious that they didn't disintegrate, as the other Fiends had, but she supposed that was because of how long they'd had it compared to the majority of Fiends. Most Fiends had been bearing the curse for centuries, close to a thousand years in fact. Of course the strain of the ages caught up with them, it shouldn't have been a shock.

She had initially been surprised at the lack of elves as well, there didn't seem to be a single one wandering around, free of its curse. Well, at least she had hoped that was the case, until they found a few pointy eared corpses littering the streets. Age had not turned them to dust, but the wounds they'd accumulated from over the years had likely killed them instantly upon the curse being lifted. She and Belaine whispered silent prayers for the deceased as the Rhino passed them by, dragging a newly acquired escape pod behind it.

The Rhino had a thick rope made of steel, which Jason had hooked to the front of the pod. Four small retractable wheels ensured that the shuttle wouldn't scrape along the ground as they drove, and it was an ideal shelter for them to camp in. That was what she kept insisting to Jason anyhow. It had been well over a week now since they had entered Akan-Var, and no matter how much Lance pestered him, Jason refused to sleep until they were out onto the Greatbridge. This had been the longest time he'd gone without sleep thus far in the time they'd come to know one another, and she could hear it in his voice.

It was taking everything he had to stay conscious, as soon as they were a decent distance onto the Greatbridge, she was certain that he would pass out for a long while. He'd damn well better, she understood wanting to leave Akan-Var as soon as possible, but did he need to run himself ragged in order to do so? She'd offered to drive the Rhino for him so he could sleep, but he insisted that he be the one to drive as well, stating that he wouldn't sleep until they were on the Greatbridge, no matter if Lance was driving or not.

Stubborn ass he was. Lance had used the most extreme nagging she was capable of, and he still wouldn't budge. Well, the gate leading to the Greatbridge was in sight right now, he'd have no more excuses to avoid sleep after that point.

"We amer there almostish." Jason mumbled.

"Listen to you." Lance sighed, shaking her head, "It's been how long since you've last slept? You sound like a zombie."

"NoIdon." Jason muttered.

"I believe zombies would be more coherent." Belaine stated, crossing her arms, "You cannot expect me to believe that you driving in this state is even remotely safe."

"It is." Jason retorted, sounding slightly irritated, "Can go for 'nother day."

"I don't think so, Jason." Lance told him firmly, "As soon as we're a good ways away, you're going to bed."

He merely nodded, his stubborn streak finally dying down. Willpower had a way of eroding under the weight of heavy eyelids. Despite his exhaustion though, his skill at driving hasn't appeared to have diminished at all. They passed the gate finally, and she could visibly see Jason's shoulders slacken, the tension he'd felt this past week finally leaving him. Lance felt it too, she hadn't relaxed once while they were inside those walls, she was genuinely happy to see the Greatbridge again. It stretched out past the horizon, leading straight to the Fiendwall, and the Faewood beyond. The sun hung overhead, shining brightly down through a cloudless sky.

The Setstone making up the bridge was covered in ash as well, but it was nothing compared to the ankle deep dusting inside the Fiendwood. Jason drove forth with an unintelligible grumble, the sunlight gleaming off his helmet. It may have been the middle of the day, but Lance was sure Jason didn't care, he'd hibernate like a bear in the winter. 

They drove for about half-an hour, picking up great speed as they went. Wind Shields were quickly deployed by Belaine when she realized that Jason was picking up the pace, thankfully. Lance wished that she could grasp the Flame already, so she could cast it on her own, but much to her frustration, it still eluded her. Belaine was trying her best to teach her, and while Lance could tell that she was getting closer to finally being able to grab that Flame, it still seemed impossible

Belaine had been insisting that Lance try to visualize actually grabbing the fire with her hand, and while that helped somewhat, the problem Lance had was that it would flood out from between her fingers and escape. Belaine reassured her that her rate of learning was standard, not that she was incompetent. Lance had to agree, but it was hard not to feel stupid when Jason could pick up new spells on the fly. She needed to stop comparing herself to him, he was half-dragon, of course commanding Foundation would come naturally to him. There had to be a way for her to grab that damn Fire. She pondered this for a while, until finally Jason slowed the Rhino, turning into one of the Rest-Stops, his head hanging low. 

He flicked on the headlights, illuminating the interior as they pulled into the large domed rest area. It was dark, covered with dust and was quiet as a corpse, but this still felt far safer than Akan-Var. Jason parked the Rhino, before immediately standing up and heading for the pod. Lance moved to stand, suddenly feeling hesitant to follow after him. She'd been relishing the opportunity to rest with him again, but she was no longer used to that any longer. It had been over a week since the last time he'd held her, the thought of being held by him that way made her heart want to explode.

"Lance, I will be taking watch." Belaine smirked, tapping her on the shoulder, "How about you go and rest as well?" 

"Oh I don't know if that's entirely necessary-" She began.

"As a former member of the Harkhall, I insist." Belaine said in a commanding tone, "Now go."

Lance hesitated again, but gave a soft smile, "I can't deny a member of the Hall, I suppose."

"I suppose you cannot." Belaine giggled, right before stepping out of the Rhino, "I must stretch my legs, goodness me. You wouldn't think that sitting down all day would be so exhausting."

Lance nodded, stepping out of the Rhino as well, "You're telling me." She sighed, popping her back, "I heard riding horseback is the same way."

Belaine shrugged, "I wouldn't know, the horses aren't exactly fond of me either."

"Belaine…" Lance frowned.

The Fire-Eyes put up her hands, "No, stop!" She insisted, "I didn't mean it in a way to draw pity, just a statement of fact."

"Oh um, alright." Lance said awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed.

"Horse faces are too long anyhow." Belaine sighed, "They frighten me."

"You're scared of horses?" Lance asked, perplexed, "I've never met an elf scared of horses before."

She shook her head, "Their horribly long faces haunt my nightmares."

"Well that's just strange." Lance chuckled, "Cows have long faces too, are you scared of them?"

Belaine let out a huff, "Just get going already! All I'm going to be doing is sitting around, trying to get these accursed knots out of my hair with my fingers, go!"

Lance gave a small curtsy, "On it my lady."

"Quiet you!" Belaine snapped, though there was mirth in her tone.

Lance grinned as she turned toward the pod. Belaine was infinitely easier to get along with than Terlin. Aside from the resemblance, one could almost say they were completely different people. Belaine was actually quite sweet despite her serious-looking exterior, Lance would even say that the woman was a tad bit silly. Terlin however, his outer being reflected his inner self, that is to say, sour and cranky. Lance wondered why it was they were so different as she rounded the pod, seeing Jason there, already removing his armor in the middle of the aisle.

He was kneeling down, removing his sabatons before he looked back at her. The bags under his eyes were massive, and the only emotion present in those bloodshot golden orbs was pure exhaustion. He didn't even say anything as he returned to removing his armor, his movements sluggish. Lance stepped into the pod, feeling butterflies in her chest as she stared at the muscles in his back work.

She shut the pod door without looking at the panel, unable to tear her eyes away from him. Nervously, she approached, laying a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head slowly, his tired eyes finding hers. The exhaustion was still there, but she was pleased to also see happiness in his gaze. 

He smiled, "Belaine is-" He paused to yawn, shutting his eyes and shaking his head before continuing, "She's taking watch?" 

Lance nodded, "Sure is, it's just us." 

Acknowledging that fact nearly made her heart skip a beat. 

Jason nodded, eyes half shut already, "I got a question I didn't want to ask in front of Belaine." He told her, voice suddenly becoming clear.

That he didn't want to ask in front of Belaine? What could it be? The possibilities roiled in her head violently, sending blood straight to the tips of her ears.

"It's worrying me and I wanted to talk with you and try to figure it out." He said, running a hand down his face.

Worry filled his eyes now, along with a tinge of fear.

"You can talk with me about anything." Lance assured him, sitting down beside him and the now fully disassembled Phalanx suit. "Anything, Jason." She finished, resting her chin on his shoulder.

Relief in his eyes, but still the worry was present.

"I can't stop looking at you, for some reason." Jason sighed, shaking his head, "Not only that, but I keep wanting to grab you. I don't know why, but it scares me, because I don't know why."

Her face felt like a volcano, a warmth that only intensified as he began to go into details about just where he wanted to grab her. How could he just voice such things so openly!? She could not blame him for this, she had told him he could talk with her about anything, after all. A large part of her was also… was also glad to hear these things. She'd never have enjoyed hearing this kind of talk from anyone else, but Jason was different. It felt nice hearing it from the man she loved, and he wasn't doing it to be perverse. He was genuinely concerned about these urges of his, and trusted her enough to share them with her. Should she just tell him outright why he felt this way? No, it would be better to guide him to that conclusion, mostly because she could not bring herself to voice such things openly, coward as always.

She asked him why he would want to do such things with her. This gave him pause, until he continued, saying that he must have been curious as to how soft she was. He was on the right track, and soon confusion filled his eyes as he spoke. As he continued, realization began filling his gaze instead, as well as shock, replacing the confusion. It seems he had just figured it out. Her hands went to cover her ears, a small squeal trying to escape her lips.

He shook his head, "That's not something I'm supposed to feel. That's not for me, that's for normal humans." He said, seemingly to himself. Shame filled his eyes then, "I'm sorry. I didn't think I was capable of thinking in such a way."

"J-Jason." Lance began, voice trembling, "You aren't a Hoplite anymore, you're living life as a man. Men have- well, that is to say, men like women. There's nothing wrong with that, I'm sure you've been looking at Belaine the same way."

If he is, then I'm going to kill him. Lance deflected the invasive thought as Jason looked back to her.

"No, just you." He told her, the shame still present. "I'll try and stop-"

Anger flared up in her chest, "Don't you dare!" She pointed, tapping the tip of his nose with her finger, "If you try suppressing these things, you'll be taking steps backward, not forward."

Confusion again in those big dumb eyes, "Huh?" He asked.

She wagged her finger, "Don't you 'huh' me, trying to ignore these feelings is something Hoplite would have done."

His eyes widened a fraction, "I see. So you're saying it's okay for me to want sexual relations with you?"

"You can't just say it out loud like that!" She squealed, hiding her face with her hands.

"Why not?" He asked, apparently perplexed, "If that's what's really going on then why should I dance around the subject? It's a waste of time."

"Because it isn't appropriate in polite society!" She yelled, indignant.

"We aren't in society." Jason said, standing up, "It's just us, and I can be honest with you."

"W-what are you doing?" She asked, noticing him looming over her.

"I need to grab a blanket, you're in the way." He said, scooting by her with a yawn.

"What, that's it?" She asked, baffled, "You just had this grand revelation and now you want to sleep?"

"I'm relieved that I know what was wrong with me." He told her, pulling out a large sleeping bag from beneath one of the chairs, "I was worried that I wanted to hurt you, now that I know that's not the case, I can sleep easy now."

Was he saying that part of the reason he couldn't sleep was because he misunderstood his feelings toward Lance? He laid the sleeping bag down, unzipping it so it was fully opened before slipping inside with a sigh, shutting his eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lance asked, standing from the ground with a huff.

One of Jason's eyes popped open, mild irritation in his gaze, "Isn't it obvious?"

Lance frowned, undoing her cloak and letting it fall to the floor as she approached him "I'm tired too." She lied, crossing her arms, "And cold." She lied again.

"Alright?" Jason frowned, rubbing his eyes, "So what?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She said, mocking his earlier tone.

Jason then sat up from his sleeping bag with a frown, right before grabbing Lance by the wrist and pulling her into him. Before she could react, the sleeping bag was already over her, and he was already laying down, her head resting on his shoulder again. Her breathing became heavy as she looked up at him, face and ears afire. Would this be it, would he make a move now!? She felt simultaneously relieved and disappointed to see his eyes firmly shut. She glared at his dumb handsome face for a long while, but his eyes still refused to open. After a while, she gave up, nuzzling into his warm chest with a sigh.

"Idiot." She grumbled, draping her leg over his.