Romancing the shadows Volume One

A girl and her fish pt 2 (SFW)

Gale was quiet for the most part. He enjoyed making conversation with you when he had gotten to know you better and while he was rough and seemed have a chip on his shoulder, he was softer with you.
He'd always make breakfast and be up before you claiming he never slept much anyways. He had been applying to jobs saying he refused to stay under your house without a job but... he's to prideful for the jobs that will hire him seeing as he has no experience here. But you can see that pride slowly chipping away. You tell him a jobs a job after all.
It's Friday and the weekend is coming, there is a summer festival  coming up. You thought it might be a nice surprise to take him and also give you an excuse to drag him out of the house.
The two of you had become good friends and it was no secret the way you fawned over him that your feelings ran deeper for him with every minute you spent together.
You found out he was banished from his home world due to fleeing from a war that was going on. He lived with the guilt and shame and you could see it. He seemed to try and prove his worth to you with every little moment and often rejected any positivity you tried to return to him, not believing he was worth it.
You didn't blame him for what he did, could you blame someone for not wanting to die?
You were shaken from your day dream by the smell of something Good.
Really. Good.
The smell was of cookies maybe? honey and lavender perhaps? It was so sweet it made your teeth ache and your stomach growl and you didn't even realize you had dragged yourself off the couch and I tot he kitchen until you were trying to peer around Gales Larger frame.
"What are you making?" You poke him and you could see the fond yet still terrifying smile spread against his face. All those teeth.
"It's from my home world. It's a type of desert."
It was something wrapped in dough. That's all you could tell.
"Annnnnd what's the special occasion? You never make stuff from your home world?" You were curious for sure but your tone was some what cautious.
"Hm.." his smile doesn't leave him but his mouth closes "you'll see." He bumps you lightly but it still knocks you away from the food before you can stick your fingers in it.
"Go sit, go sit. Get out of here I'm cooking." He shoos you out like a puppy and you pout but happily comply if it means you'll get to taste the treat eventually. The rest of the night goes by but despite your desperate attempts, you never get one of those snacks.
"They have to chill! You can have one tomorrow. Don't be such a pup!" He scolds throughout the night and despite his rough face and sometimes uneasy stoicism it doesn't deter you very much.
Something about them just smelt so good.
The next morning you awoke rather early excited for the festival, the idea of spending the whole day with him and ending the night with fire works brought a blush to your cheeks. Maybe you would get the courage to tell him? Despite waking early however, leaving your room you still saw Gale playing breakfast and dressed for the day. He even looked like he might be going some where. No where fancy but he was dressed in jeans that would fit him, dark brown boots and a flannel adorned his torso. It was tight and the top few buttons were undone but he seemed to move just fine in it. He glanced over and smiled.
"You're up early. Good morning, come eat." Your chest always got warm and fluttery to find he had made food for the two of you despite it becoming a regular occurrence.

"Oh so I have an idea." You spoke after a few moments of silence and eating. He simply raises an eyebrow and you beam at him, "there's a festival happening, I think we should go!" He looks surprised at first before he blinks, smooth milk eyelids appearing and disappearing.
"That sounds... splendid." He smiles and you wiggle in your seat, giddy with excitement.
"Great! Let's hurry up and eat then we can spend all day walking around!!" You May have said that a little loud and the way you scarf down your food visibly disappoints Gale but he says nothing. He's always liked savoring food. But you were too excited.

The drive was filled with you telling him of all the different things you could do. The rides, the games, the food, the fire works. He seemed to light up at the invitation to watch fireworks together at the end of the night and it only made your chest buzz more.
Once you got there, the sun was finally making its way towards the middle of the sky and you excitedly pulled him around. Fairy lights were strewn everywhere and around every pole that was available. Tents and booths of all different colors danced around as the two of you moved from one isle to the next. Country and folk music of all different places and worlds filled your ears and you even saw the band from the bar playing up on one of the mini stages. It was everything you could ask for for a day out spent with someone close to you and eventually the two of you just moved through the tents and stopped at the games. There was a particularly large stuffed shark hanging next to a bear and despite you always wanting someone to win you a bear... the shark seemed more fitting. But he wasn't your boyfriend so you took it upon yourself. You yanked on his shirt catching his attention before you dashed over to the game. It was the game where you had to knock over stacked milk bottles. Three on the seat of a stool with one on top in the middle. There were three stools. And you had to knock all of them over with a light wooden ball in order to win the shark or the bear.
"How much to play?" You called catching the attention of the teenager who popped her gum and holding up five fingers.
"It's five bucks for five balls. Knocking over a bottle gets you a extra small prize knocking over a stack gets you a small and so on."
"Great." You smile and hand her the five. Gale is at your side watching on as the teenager sets five balls up on the counter for you.
You throw the first ball and miss. Cursing you grab the second and step back, adjusting you stance.
"Don't take your eye off the target." Gale offers and you flash him a grin before chucking the ball into the bottles effectively knocking the first stack down. His eyebrows shoot up and there's a look of pride but he says nothing in case to jinx you. You throw the next, you hit the second stack. There's a pride swelling in your chest but when you throw the fourth ball it misses and bounces against the wall nearly hitting the teenager.
"Oh! Shit I'm sorry!!" You yelp and she looks shocked but just laughs it off and stands back a little. You had one ball left. Turning to Gale you hold it out.
"Kiss it!"
"What?" He gives you a bewildered stare but you wiggle your shoulders holding it out and he snorts bending down to kiss the ball. You turn back with new determination and throw the ball as hard as you can and close your eyes at the last second. There's a clash and the breaking of glass, you open your eyes to find the last stack fallen to the ground. You jump up and down excited yelling "I did it!" And Gale claps for you. The teenager looks impressed and cracks a smile.
"Kick ass girl. Which would you like? The shark or the teddy bear?" She hums and you point to the shark holding your arms out as she pokes it down with a large stick for you to catch. As the shark falls and you reach up as much as you can catching the plushy in your hands you feel a hand come down slapping your backside as you Yelp and practically fall into Gale. A sleezy looking twenty something with a flat top cap and a shady smile stares back at you.
"excuse you?!" You start and he shrugs putting his hands up.
"Just admiring the view, I know you aren't supposed to touch art but I just couldn't stop myself." He snickers and as you cringe at what could be the shittiest thing you had ever heard you feel Gale puff up behind you. He steps in front of you lightly pressing you behind him.
"There a problem Mate?" His voice is low and threatening and the guy shrugs.
"I don't have a problem who the fuck are you huh? Some knight in shining armor?" The twenty something laughs and Gale laughs along with him to his surprise. But you feel it. The danger in that laugh.
"Yeah. Yeah I am."
"Aw shit look man get your girlfriend and leave if you can't take a fucking joke yeah? Maybe she shouldn't be posing like that if she didn't want any attention." He cracks a grin and you feel your skin crawl. You wanted to punch him your self but Gale suddenly snatched him by his hoodie and pulls him off the ground catching everyone's attention.
"You find it amusing to assault women? Because the entire time you've been running your mouth of been a little to polite in not mentioning how soft and gentle human skin is." Gale let's out a growl, and a grin so wide you could even see the rows of teeth in his mouth. "Been a little to polite in not mentioning how sharp these teeth are. And how hungry I am." When he says that you can hear the audible gulp from the twenty something. He's terrified and looks like he might piss himself. Then Gale lowers him down and slaps him on the shoulder.
"But you don't enjoy assaulting women anymore, do you?" He asks and your eyes nearly bug out of your head as the twenty something shakes his head before dashing away. Everyone starts to pretend they didn't just see what had happened as he turns to you and asks if you're okay.
"Marry me." You blurt in half a joke and half seriousness. He lets out a genuine laugh and throws his arm around you.
"Only if I'm lucky."

The sun is beginning to go down by then and the two of you find a spot on the grass after buying a blanket from a well dressed Drider. The two of you talk and laugh and there's a few times where it looks like he wants to say something specific but doesn't.  Everyone else is either leaving the festival or joining each other on the grass.
You don't notice it until he nudged you but Gale had pulled a small cloth from his shirt pocket with something wrapped in it. As he unwraps them you smell the familiar sweetness you had forgotten about. There are two small cookies that look like they are filled with something in the cloth and it feels as if your eyes sparkle when you see them.
"These are Lava cookies. Most ingredients can be substituted but lava cane is mandatory. It's a type of plant that grows on my home planet. Up next to the most dangerous volcano. It's constantly active and oozing lava. The canes thrive in it." He explains and you glance from the cookies to him in wonder as he speaks. Then he looks away, an odd behavior in him.
"There's a yearly tradition, of giving these deserts to someone you care about. Its name is translated to the day of romance. It's a way of... confessing your feeling to the person you love." He's suddenly so bashful and it feels like the breath is taken from your lungs as he glances back to you. "If the person of interest returns those feelings, they share the cookies and it's said to bless the relationship and bring a lifetime of love." He whispers and you feel your cheeks heat as he gently takes your hand in his free one. "You took me in out of the kindness of your heart and continuously support me and care for me despite my unforgivable past. I feel I have come back from the dead because of you. And when I felt better you opened up even more instead of forcing me out. I enjoy your presence and I enjoy you. I wish to always be around you and to support you through everything... if you will have me."
You've never seen Gale look so nervous and your heart felt like it was being squeezed the more anxious he got. You nodded your head vigorously still unable to speak and he smiled leaning in and pressing a kiss to your cheek. When he pulled away you practically jumped him, smashing your lips onto his and laughing as you did. He joined in on your laughter still holding the cookies out of harms way before pulling away and wiggling one of them in front of your face. He chuckled again when you grabbed at it but you weren't sure when to eat it. Casually he lifted his own cookie to his lips and bit in so you did as well.
The taste was... indescribable. It was sweet almost unbearably so but your body craves more of it. The dough was soft but not undercooked and the filling was a smooth almost frosting like consistency. When you smiled a heat bloomed in your stomach spreading across your body and making your face blush. You weren't drunk but it gave off the feeling of a warm blanket wrapping around you.
It made you happy, was it magic? Or was it truly a blessing?