Halo (Etrian Odyssey Fanfiction)

Chapter 35

The day hadn't gone exactly as planned, Sage never intended to fall back to sleep for a few more hours, only waking up past noon. Not that he regretted it, sometimes it was nice to take a lazy day for yourself, comfortably tucked under the covers and lying with his head on Dyria's chest, waking up slowly and rubbing at his eyes, frowning a little from the disorienting feeling that came with taking a spontaneous midday nap. When the memory of what had landed him in bed came back, he blushed furiously, turning his face against Dyria's chest and smiling softly, feeling even more pleased with his position when the protector's strong arms wound around his waist.

Sage folded his arms across Dyria's chest, his chin settling on top of his forearms so he could see the protector's face, smiling, "You awake?" he asked, reaching out to poke Dyria's nose and gaining a mumble in response.

"What time is it?"

"Late, the sun is already going down," Sage answered, pushing himself up to look over at the window, "I think we have enough time to bring the request items to the bar, so we didn't waste the day away."

Dyria just hummed, his hands rubbing up and down Sage's bare sides before settling at his waist, "I'm sorry for... that."

Sage looked down at him with a slight frown, "For what?"

The protector rolled his head to the side awkwardly, "Being so insecure I tricked myself into believing you would leave me."

Sage's frown became heavier before a sweet smile replaced it and he hummed, hands planting on the pillow on either side of Dyria's head, "Here I thought you wanted to apologize for what we just did," he teased, flopping on top of the protector and rubbing his cheek against the man's shoulder, "You don't have to apologize, silly, I'm not mad."

"Still," Dyria sighed, one hand sliding up Sage's back while his other arm wound around his waist, playing with his long hair, "I never thought I would be this possessive."

"You've lost a lot, Dyria," Sage said softly, touching the protector's chin with just the pads of his fingers, "I can't blame you for being scared. Actually, knowing you were that worried, it's kind of endearing," he laughed a little and kissed Dyria's neck, "It just shows how much you care about me, doesn't it?"

Dyria thought about it for a moment before humming and turning his head to stare at the scar on Sage's head while carefully combing his bangs back to get a clear view of the mark. He had mixed feelings about that scar now. The only reason he met Sage was because he got hurt, and the scar it left behind definitely didn't take away from the survivalist's beauty, although he was rather self-conscious about it himself. Dyria's problem with it was that something, or someone, hurt Sage. Sure, it happened before they met, but that didn't matter.

"I won't let anything else scar you like this," Dyria said, and Sage frowned a little in confusion, looking up at the protector before smiling softly.

"I know," he replied, leaning up on his hands and leaving a chaste kiss on Dyria's lips before sitting up and stretching his arms out in front of him, "Now, before it gets dark, we need to get up and bring Cass the items that were requested so we can get paid."

Dyria groaned and rolled onto his side, both arms wrapping around Sage's waist and squeezing as he pressed his face against the small of his back, "Or we could stay in bed," he suggested, and Sage laughed, turning a little and reaching down to play with the protector's hair.

"Don't act like such a child, Dyria, we'll have plenty of time to cuddle after we get home," he turned a bit more and leaned over the protector, rubbing his shoulders, "We can pick up something to eat on the way home, too."

Dyria turned his head so his cheek was against Sage's side, "You're asking me on a date, now? Isn't that my job?"

"You were taking too long," Sage teased, and Dyria sighed, forcing himself to sit up and leaning his head against Sage's shoulder.