“Dinner, loves!” Alexis announced as she ducked into her tent, holding a bowl of soup in one hand and using the other to keep the flap up so that Briar could follow her in with the other two bowls. “Put the research aside for five minutes and get some food into you,” she said in amusement, taking in the way Erich and Kisuke were sitting side by side, their heads bent over a notebook perched between them.

Erich looked up and blinked at her, clearly needing a moment to refocus on the world around him instead of whatever the two of them had been discussing. “Oh, sorry,” he murmured as he looked between Alexis and Briar. “I didn’t realize it had been that long already.”

Briar snorted and stepped forward, holding out a bowl to Erich and the other to Kisuke as he dryly said, “Ilsa owes me fifty gald. She thought the two of you would be in here making out. I told her you’d never, not where anyone could walk in on you.”

“You’re lucky you’re Lexi’s favorite,” Erich growled, a bright blush staining his cheeks as he took the bowl from Briar. At his side, Kisuke just groaned and buried his — also red! — face in his hands.

“I used to be your favorite, too,” Briar mused with a teasing smile, then nudged Kisuke’s knee with his foot. “Chin up, we’ll get bored of betting on you soon enough. You’ve just been teasing us for years with your not-a-relationship-we-swear antics, so now its our turn.”

Kisuke groaned again and swiped at Briar’s foot in retaliation. “That’s not reassuring,” he grumbled as he finally sat up enough to take the bowl. “Are the rest of your Guild going to be like this to?” he asked with a small pout.

“For what it’s worth, that’s very unlikely,” Alexis said with a wry smile and a small shake of her head. She stepped around Briar and settled on the bedroll next to Kisuke, balancing her bowl on her thigh and briefly leaning in to brush her shoulder against Kisuke’s in greeting. “Though Erich’s parents… might.”

“Erich’s parents will,” Briar corrected her gleefully, then hastily hopped backwards to avoid the boot Erich threw at him. “They have eyes just like the rest of us, and you know how his father gets about romance.”

Kisuke froze, a look of horror flickering across his face as he turned towards Erich. “Erich?”

“Father reads romance novels,” Erich explained dryly, then studiously turned to his soup and began to eat, as if that explained anything at all.

Alexis chuckled and gently nudged Kisuke to pull his attention to her. “You’ll be fine,” she reassured, desperately hoping that she was right. “Seigmar and Lucia, his mother, will just tease. It’s the rest of the Guild you’ll need to watch out for.”

Briar grimaced and offered, “You’ll know them when you meet them. They’re not exactly discrete about it these days. A lot of us have started becoming… tired of it all.” He hesitated then, gaze flickering between the three of them, and chewed on his lower lip; Alexis could see the questions — see the hope — in Briar’s eyes, but… she didn’t know how to answer him.

(They hadn’t even begun to discuss how to handle the dissolution of the Quincy Guild.)

(She… she couldn’t offer something she had no right to!)

On Kisuke’s other side, Erich leaned in and whispered into Kisuke’s ear, his voice too soft for even her hearing to pick up; though judging by the thoughtful cast to Kisuke’s expression, Erich was explaining the outline of their original plan and how they’d intended to shelter at least some of the better Quincy.

Kisuke fiddled with his spoon for a moment, clearly thinking Erich’s words over, then nodded sharply and looked up at Briar with a determined expression. “Candy Shop is small, and we certainly can’t provide a home to everyone, but I wouldn’t dream of separating Alexis from her adventuring party.” He paused to clear his throat and cast a sheepish look her way, adding, “I, uh… I’m sure we can figure out other good guilds for the rest to join. Or, or if they want to, I can definitely help with setting a new one up.”

Briar rocked back on his heels with a soft sigh of relief, and Alexis smiled reassuringly up at him as she said, “I think I chose well.”

“You did,” Briar agreed, then inclined his head to Kisuke and said, “Thank you. If you’ll excuse me, I need to tell the others.”

“Thank you, Kisuke,” Alexis murmured as soon as Briar had darted from the tent and left them alone. She turned towards him and reached up, brushing the backs of her fingers across his cheek, and asked, “May I kiss you?”

Kisuke stilled, eyes wide and gaze darting from her arm and then back to her face. “Wh-what…? Why?”

“Lexi,” Erich hissed as he leaned around Kisuke, expression stern and his free hand gripping Kisuke’s arm just above his elbow; a grounding touch, she’d long suspected, which… meant she’d definitely overstepped herself without meaning to.

(Damnit!)

(She’d forgotten how new to all this Kisuke was!)

“Maa, maa, it’s fine, Erich,” Kisuke said, giving Erich a fond-exasperated-warm look. “I’m just…” he paused, a tiny frown tugging at his lips, then shook his head and finished, “confused.”

“What part has you confused?” Alexis asked, letting her hand fall back into her lap; she had no idea if the touch had been part of the issue, but until she knew it wasn’t a problem she’d just… rather not.

Kisuke’s gaze darted down to the hand in her lap then back up to her face, something unreadable in his eyes as he said, “Giving your adventuring party a place in my guild is the least I can do. Why would you… why would that… there’s no one in here but us, so you don’t need to pretend.”

“Good deeds deserve a reward,” Alexis said lightly as she set her bowl aside and shifted around to face Kisuke properly. “But if you’re uncomfortable with it, I won’t offer again.”

Kisuke’s breath hitched and he cast a frantic, wary look at Erich. “Maa… I’m not… uncomfortable with it. But, ah—”

“I don’t mind, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Erich said firmly, leaning a bit closer to Kisuke as he did. “We’re a triad now, so say ‘you’re welcome, Alexis’ and enjoy your kiss.”

Kisuked laughed, bright-startled-relieved, and shook his head, reaching up to brush at Erich’s bangs. “You are far too kind,” he murmured softly, then took a careful breath and repeated, “You’re welcome, Alexis.”

Alexis huffed in amusement and shot a look at Erich, pleased by how red he was from Kisuke’s compliment; with luck, he’d start to realize his own feelings soon enough, if he was already acknowledging that they might as well embrace their story wholeheartedly. “Last chance to back out,” she murmured as she cupped Kisuke’s chin and leaned in a bit. When Kisuke just gave a small shake of his head, color painting his cheeks, she gently tugged him closer and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

He let her control the kiss, tension radiating from him even as his hands fluttered between them, fingertips brushing against her sides before jerking back as if burned.

“Not a fan?” Alexis asked kindly as she pulled away, wondering if they’d stumbled across something Kisuke didn’t like; whether it was her or kissing in general—

“No! I mean, yes! I mean—” Kisuke cut himself off with a groan and buried his crimson face in his hands. “I did like it,” he mumbled without looking up. “Just… I don’t… uhm…”

“He doesn’t know how to respond so he’s over-thinking it,” Erich supplied for him, his voice pitched low to not carry beyond them. “You’ll figure it out,” he added with a wry smile, nudging Kisuke’s side. “Just remember her boundaries and you’ll be fine.”

“Easy for you to say,” Kisuke muttered in response as he scrubbed at his face. “You’re used to this and already know where you stand.”

Alexis shared a thoughtful look with Erich, then hummed and threaded her fingers through Kisuke’s hair. “We won’t go any faster than you’re comfortable with,” she reassured him, pleased by the way he pressed into her touch and began to relax at last; so long as she didn’t tug, it seemed like petting was definitely something he enjoyed.

(Good.)

(The more ways she could find to give him positive touch, the better.)

(He seemed like he needed it.)

“I still don’t understand,” Kisuke admitted as he tipped his head enough to give her a narrow-eyed look. “We’re doing this for a specific reason, you’d don’t need to… well… do anything beyond that.”

“If everyone believes us and we don’t get caught, we’re going to end up married,” Alexis told him with a faint, wry smile, already knowing the trouble they were going to run into soon. Seigmar might be a romantic at heart, but he also wasn’t one for liars; if he decided their relationship was a lie, well… the extremists would be the least of their concern at that point. “Wouldn’t you rather be comfortable and make the most of it?”

Kisuke’s lips pinched together into a thin line as he thought her words over, his gaze sharp-thoughtful-wary as he looked from Alexis to Erich and back. “So long as I’m not imposing—”

“No, it’s… it’s fine,” Erich interrupted before Kisuke could finish his sentence, then tipped his chin up and glared at Kisuke when the man shot him a disbelieving look. “It is. I wouldn’t have agreed to this if it wasn’t.”

“Then I suppose you can do whatever you feel appropriate,” Kisuke finished with a huff and a glare of his own.

Alexis chuckled and leaned in to press a quick kiss to Kisuke’s cheek, amused by the way his glare melted into embarrassment once again. “Then we shall, so long as you continue to be comfortable with it.”

Kisuke mumbled something too softly for her to catch, but it didn’t seem to be a protest of any kind; if anything, he seemed more disbelieving of her words than annoyed or protesting of them.

(Well, she’d just have to prove herself then.)

(She could do that.)