By the time we actually noticed how late it had gotten, the academy had turned into a completely different place.
Most of the students had already vanished into their dormitories for the night, leaving the sprawling campus eerily quiet... pretty scary if I were alone but.. I’m not, lol.
And welll... somehow, without either of us really planning it, we’d wandered all the way back to exactly where I’d started that afternoon— same bench, same garden —except now the sky overhead had gone fully oranged, faint stars scattered at the sky.
I dropped onto the bench with a long, tired groan, leaning my head back against the carved backrest.
Aveline settled beside me, her knees pulled slightly toward her chest as she enthusiastically launched into yet another absurd story about her family estate’s unhinged pets.
"...and then, somehow, by the third week, there were literally hundreds of them!" she declared, her eyes wide behind her round glasses.
I turned my head to stare at her. "The FUCK?"
"Yes! Hundreds!"
"How does a single dog even manage to collect a hundred puppies?!"
"Honestly? I don’t even know anymore!" she giggled, throwing her hands up in utter defeat.
"Good. Because if you had an explanation for that, I’d be seriously concerned."
She started laughing beside me.
How does one even fuck bunch of girl dog and comes home with hundreds of puppies... sigh. This dog of hers has crazy stamina.
Looking at her face flushed red under the dim light, I couldn’t help myself— a quiet, rare snicker escaped my own lips, melting into a genuine laugh.
The shared noise slowly faded, leaving behind a warm, surprisingly comfortable silence.
Above us, a single enchanted streetlamp cast a soft, golden circle of light over our bench, while crickets chirped rhythmically beneath the rustling leaves.
Neither of us spoke for a long time. And it was... surprisingly peaceful.
Aveline broke the quiet first, shifting her posture and looking up at me through her bangs. "You know... you’re actually really fun to be with, Rex."
I glanced sideways at her, resting my arm over the back of the bench. "You too. You’re not half bad for someone who got beat up in an alleyway."
She smiled, her eyes sparkling under the lamp light.
Then, with a sudden, mischievous little tilt of her head, she let out a soft sigh and whispered, "Babe."
I blinked. "...Huh?" ಠ_ʖಠ
She immediately covered her mouth with both hands, her shoulders shaking as she tried and utterly failed to suppress her laughter. "I’m teasing you!"
I stared at her, completely unamused. "Why?"
"Because..." She shrugged helplessly, a faint, rosy pink blush creeping across her cheeks as she pulled her hands away. "Think about it. What we did today was pretty much an actual date."
I looked back out toward the dark garden path, rubbing the bridge of my nose as a small, quiet laugh slipped out. "Yeah. I guess it kind of was."
Staring out at the dark garden, something nagged at the back of my head — like I was forgetting some important detail I definitely should not have been forgetting. Then it clicked.
Right. The quest.
A familiar interface blinked open in front of me, hovering steady in the dark.
『Spend 7 Hours Accompanying a Person of Your Choice — [1:10:47] Remaining.
Requirements:
• Remain together for at least 7 consecutive hours — not yet completed.
• Participate in at least 3 activities together, or perform intercourse — 2/3 (only 2 activities completed with current partner).』
"Ah... Yep," I muttered under my breath.
"Ah. Yep," I muttered, burying my face in both hands, staring at Aveline through the gaps in my fingers with pure desperation. "Hey— you hungry?"
She tilted her head. "I’m no—"
"Alright, awesome, you’re starving. Let me cook something for you."
"Ah... (●´⌓`●)... O-Okay?" she stammered, completely thrown off by my sudden, aggressive hospitality.
I pushed myself off the bench, looking down at her as I straightened my uniform. "So... which dorm room are we going to?"
Aveline panicked instantly, her face flushing red as she scrambled up off the bench. "Definitely NOT mine!"
I nodded smoothly. "Understood."
She paused, blinking at me. "...Oh. I thought you’d ask why."
"Nope. Don’t care."
"Ask." she insisted, taking a step closer, as she stares at me with her slightly off pupils that could stab you if it was a knife.
"Huh?"
She reached out, grabbed the lapels of my academy blazer with both hands, and pulled herself up slightly so she could glare directly into my eyes. "Ask me why."
That’s... pretty, unhinged... "Oh. Alright. Why?"
A bright, triumphant smile spread across her face. "Because I have three roommates in my suite! And... they’re probably super busy right now doing... you know. Things."
"Oh. Se—"
Before the word could fully leave my mouth, she shoved her soft, warm palm directly against my lips, muffling me entirely. "YES! Do NOT finish that word!"
I laughed against her hand, gently taking her wrist to pull her hand away. "Alright, alright... What are you, twelve?"
She puffed out her cheeks defensively. "I am 21! Thank you very much!"
"Oh... I was being entirely sarcastic, but good to know."
***
I led Aveline back toward the dormitories, hands buried in my coat pockets, the campus lit now by scattered floating lamps and the occasional glowing lantern strung along the pathways.
Aveline walked right beside me, practically glued to my shoulder, quietly humming a soft tune to herself.
I checked the quest interface again out of habit.
1:02:01.
Still running.
I’ll just knock this out and be done with it, I told myself, mostly to keep from spiraling about the fact that I was somehow still only 2/3 of the way to a requirement that only had three slots to fill.
But seriously, how had we only cleared two activities? We’d eaten together. We’d wandered the entire campus together. That should’ve counted for more than just two.
...Unless the system was counting "wandering the campus" as one giant single activity instead of several, in which case, fantastic, cool, very helpful of it to be that stingy about the definitions... MF!!!! I’m getting pissed offff Grgh aghhhhh.
"You okay? You’re frowning? ( ◜‿◝ )♡"
"Ah... yea."
"Anyways, you sure you want to cook?" Aveline asked, glancing up at me as we turned the corner into the elite residential quad. "It’s really late."
"Yeah."
"Do you even know how to cook?"
"Yeah."
"You don’t have to force yourself just to be nice, you know."
"I know."
"Then why are you insisting on making food right now?"
I glanced at her, weighing a few different answers before settling on the honest one, mostly stripped down. "Because if I don’t, I’ll probably end up starving too, so. Might as well."
Aveline let out a soft, chuckle, shaking her head. "It really seems like you’re desperate for something but too stubborn to say it out loud. Don’t worry, I’ll respect your weird mystery."
Ah, fuck I love you just because of that.
We reached the dormitory entrance a few minutes later, the building’s outer lanterns casting long shadows across the stone steps.
Got into the buiding went to room 404. Pushed the door open, "Alright. Welcome to my—" WHEN I STOPPED MID SENTENCE.
***
(Luna Ebonveil — hours earlier.)
Lying flat on the top bunk, I stared at the door where Rex had disappeared out of the room, my knees pulled up against my chest, arms wrapped around them.