CH 9: Alistair & Miquella P2

(A/N: This single image shows exactly what Alistair and Miquella's relationship is gonna be like lol:)

Miquella :"How is it that the people who get back with their exes are always so happy?"

Alistair :"You ever seen a sad clown?"

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Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and with them on the road on every single one of them. Alistair was just thankful he had listened to Miquella and taken all the rations of Godrick's soldiers' camp. Otherwise, he didn't know what they would have done. Well, that was an exaggeration, since there were many animals around to hunt. But still, processed food was a lot better.

And now, several days later, maybe a week after departing from the Agheel Lake North Site of Grace, they had arrived at the Mistwood Outskirts Site of Grace. The Site of Grace on the way to the Third Church of Marika Site of Grace, their Site of Grace destination.

He had also gotten his hands on another ash of war on the way thanks to a teardrop scarab, so life was good. And also some runes from slashing at the nobles just wobbling around while they rode Torrent.

[Runes: 1,083 -> 1,197

Ash of War: Determination]

"Oooh, that's the spot~..." At night, Alistair sighed with a smile, his head falling down on his forearms. He was lying on his stomach due to Miquella helping his body get over the ache of working hard to get skilled with his weapons. So he was lying down, enjoying the massage of an amused femboy of a demigod, while a pot was getting cooked on top of the fire they had set.

Well, the fire Miquella had made with his Incantation. Although he couldn't use any powerful Incantations, he could use ones like Catch Flame. Which Alistair called him ridiculous for calling Catch Flame of all things weak.

"But Catch Flame IS weak." Miquella argued, gently kneading the small of his back, causing Alistair to roll his eyes, but unable to suppress a hum at the feeling :"Miquella, you would start a war by saying that back in my place. Catch Flame isn't weak, it just has low requirements! Do you have any idea how overpowered Catch Flame is with high Faith?! People have literally cleared the game with that single Incantation!"

"Alright, alright. Geez." Miquella rolled his eyes, amused at how worked up he would get when it came to these things :"I just find it useful for things like these."

"Speaking of things like these, you really do surprise me. You're a prince, the son of a god, but are skilled in so many useful things. Early thanks for cooking us food, by the way."

"One, it's nothing. I had to learn at least this when I escaped to Elphael back then. I couldn't just starve, after all." Miquella smiled :"And two, you're welcome. I can at least pull my own weight by preparing our food. I hope it comes out good."

Alistair smiled :"Another thing that surprises me is that you not only know how to cook, but you're actually pretty good at it. So don't worry, I bet it will turn out delicious this time too."

"Hahaha, thanks." He was about to continue, but stopped when the food was cooked :"Alright, that should be enough. Come on, get up so we can eat."

"Hm, thanks for the massage. You're a real lifesaver." He got up with a comfortable groan, feeling his body as good as new. He was really thankful to Miquella, since his massage, mixed with a healing Incantation, really did the job.

He sat next to Miquella, giving him the plates to fill with the mouthwatering stew he had prepared. Alistair nearly drooled from just the smell, and barely managed to hold back at the beautiful stew with the sliced meat floating in it.

Seeing his enchanted face staring at the plate in his hand, Miquella teasingly moved it around in front of him, chuckling at how his eyes didn't leave it even for a moment :"You seriously love food, huh?"

"Miquella, if not for already being kinda engaged, I would have asked you to marry me just because of how much of an awesome cook you are." He gulped, eyes unable to leave the dish. Miquella rolled his eyes, but couldn't hold back the smile. He was so amusing at times.

"Alright, no need for sweet talk. You can enjoy your food." He couldn't hold back another chuckle as Alistair took the food with both hands like an excited puppy. But sighed in disappointment at how hit it was. The growling of his stomach also showed its disappointment.

Miquella couldn't help but pet him from how cute he was, but could only reach the side of his head :"Just give it a minute, silly. It was just prepared, of course it would be hot."

"Hey now, you're getting too used to treating me like a child." Alistair frowned, causing Miquella to smirk :"Well, you ARE like a child compared to me." An "are you for real?" raise of Alistair's eyebrows made him clear his throat :"At least to my actual age." His smirk came back :"You are like a little wittle child."

The noiret's face twitched, before he caught the hand on his hair. Miquella thought he went too far, but yelped when Alistair bit it gently, a lustful little grin on his handsome face :"Treat me like that again, then you will see how "big" I am for yourself, sweetheart."

Miquella's cute face broke into a blush, before he quickly snatched back the hand Alistair pecked quickly, mumbling as he rubbed it :"Pervert..." But for a quick moment, with a mind of their own, his eyes traveled down Alistair's muscular frame. Down his broad chest and steel-like abs, but didn't dare go any lower.

He didn't know what Alistair would do, considering the dangerous glint of his eyes that only grew brighter at every inch of his body he marveled at. The hungry look in those crimson eyes made him shiver in emotions he was inexperienced with.

'H-he is to be my consort in the future.' Miquella cleared his throat, face blushing in shame :'T-there's nothing about looking at my future spouse's body. Y-yes, that's r-right.'

"Like what you see?" Alistair's voice, laced with the same smug and hot tone Miquella didn't know how to deal with, reached his ears, making him blush even harder :"Why don't I give you a show since you seem to like my body so much?"

"N-no, i-it's quite alright." He cleared his throat, avoiding Alistair teasing eyes :"You sure? You seemed pretty focused there. You especially seem to wanna take a look at my mem-"

"L-look, the food has gotten colder!" He quickly interrupted, not sure if he could handle any more teasing :"W-we better eat it quickly before it gets cold! It won't be tasty anymore then!"

Alistair's smile didn't leave him, only growing more as he watched the squirming Miquella. But fortunately for Miquella, he finally shrugged :"Alright then, let's not waste the food. I'll leave the teasing for later."

"Thanks, I suppose." He mumbled before they started enjoying the stew. He couldn't lie, the sight of Alistair humming and groaning at the good while his shoulders danced with each spoon was as amusing as ever. He really loved food, Miquella had figured that out pretty early on. He was also a dancer if the food was good enough, an even more amusing fact.

They didn't have the luxury of making much food often, worried about the beings the smell would attract. But on the occasions they were protected by grace, Miquella was always sure to make much, much extra for later. And luckily for them, time stopped in Alistair's inventory, so they weren't worried about the food going back. Or cold. It was why they would store it when the temperature was just right for later use.

After eating to their fill, Alistair stored the dirty plates to wash when they come across a river. But when he looked back, he saw Miquella stretching with cute little groans :"I have to admit, being on the road for so long can always take its toll on one's body. Haaah, I miss having a bed so much."

"Hah, you can say that again." Alistair sighed :"Hmm... hey, Miquella, come here." He patted the spot in front of him. Miquella looked confused, but listened :"What is it?" He sat in front of him as he crawled back to give him space between the fire and himself.

"Just returning the favor." He grew even more confused, but flinched when his hands gently landed on his shoulders, but then nearly sank to the ground as Alistair started gently kneading his shoulders :"Oooh, my goodness... Mmm..."

"Hahaha, does that feel good?" Alistair chuckled, the comfortable groans of the adorable femboy in front of him sounding like a sweet melody. Miquella only answered with another soft hum, not bothering to use words.

Alistair smiled :"Tell me if I'm using too much force."

"It's perfect the way it is..." Miquella gave a dopey smile, eyes closed as he trailed off. Alistair didn't interrupt his good time anymore. Just opting to squeeze his shoulders over his white tunic and get rid of the knots.

Miquella's breathing was calm, except the occasional hums and little moans whenever Alistair hit a specially good stuff. He felt his long golden hair being pushed across his shoulder to fall on his chest as one hand moved to massage his neck.

His head fell down unconsciously, giving him more space to comfort. It took all Miquella had to not pass out right there and then. Alistair praised him for being a good massager, but he was no slouch himself.

"Al, you're really good at this too." He mumbled, and although he couldn't see it from behind him, Alistair could hear the smile on his cute lips. He smiled, raising an amused eyebrow :"Glad to hear that. And also, Al?"

Miquella twisted his neck a bit, just slightly to smirk at him :"What, you can call me Miq but I can't call you Al? Either drop that awful nickname or bear with mine too."

He chuckled before shrugging :"Nah, no way. In fact, I like my nickname. So continue calling me that."

"Hmph, alright then." He scoffed, but Alistair could see he wasn't annoyed :'I guess he likes the idea of calling each other by nicknames too. How cute.' His hands moved up again, into his golden forest of a head and began gently massaging his scalp.

This time, Miquella didn't stop himself from falling back on Alistair's chest with a comfortable groan :"Hmm... continue doing that and I'm not going to want to get up for a long time."

"I'm okay with that." The noiret chuckled softly, letting Miquella rest against him, (happy for it in fact) as he massaged his head. The sight of Miquella being so comfortable was a pleasure in itself, and the feeling of his golden hair between his fingers felt heavenly.

"What are we going to do from here on?" The golden femboy suddenly asked, but his eyes were still closed. Alistair hummed softly, making Miquella even sleepier :"Our destination is the Third Church of Marika.

We're going there first. Not only are there a few very useful things, but there's also a teleporter that will send us to Caelid. It will take us a LOT of time. If not for it, we'd have to be on the road for ages."

"Caelid? That's where we're going?" He didn't sound concerned. Probably due to not having any idea about what kind of a cancer case Caelid has become after Malenia "bloomed."

"Yes, there are a few things we need to do there. It will be very beneficial. You'll know once we get there. But to get to the Third Church of Marika, we'll need to deal with a troll that seems to be guarding the place."

"A troll?" That got his attention. Miquella's eyes opened, his honest feelings, his worry about his health, unhidden due to his sleepiness :"Is that going to be okay? Can't we... I don't know, avoid the troll?"

His concern warmed his heart. Making him smile fondly as he stroked his head lovingly, making Miquella sigh comfortably :"Don't worry, trolls are easy to deal with. They're slow and predictable, so me and the wolves will easily deal with it. Have some faith in me."

"If you say so..." Miquella trailed off, eyes closing slowly as Alistair kissed his head :"It's alright, just sleep. Sweet dreams, Miquella."

"Hmm... thanks..." He trailed off, this time finally as his breathing became even. Smiling, Alistair made quick work of laying down a (stolen) futon and laying down on it together with Miquella. He tucked them both in under a thick blanket, pulling Miquella into a hug to give him even more warmth. An act that Miquella seemed to appreciate as he returned the cuddle, making his smile grow fonder :"Good night, hon."