"Goodnight, Hakua."
"Goodnight, Crimson. Let's do a sword training lesson tomorrow morning. I've missed having someone with skills like yours. We can play around with your newly acquired powers." Hakua grinned and excitement sparkled in her purple eyes.
"Deal. Sleep well," I bid farewell and walked into the hall. I glanced at the garden and took a deep breath of the chill air.
It wasn't super cold where Hakua lived, but the mountains were filled with snow and there was the area where there was constantly a blizzard. Time for bed. I wonder where the others are sleeping?
I moved down the hall and turned to see Quil relaxing against a wooden pillar. He wore a black robe and was staring out at the garden.
"Quil?"
He blinked out of his daze and looked my way. A small smile formed on his lips and his expression softened.
"Hey," he spoke softly.
I smiled, walking up to him. He held out his arms and I stepped into his embrace. "Were you waiting for me?"
"Yes. Did you have fun with your friend? I walked by earlier, but you two were still talking," he confessed.
"Yes, it was great. I really missed her and I updated her with what's going on. I trust her enough to not tell anyone else. You didn't have to wait for me. Were you here long?" I inquired. It made me feel warm and fuzzy that he waited for me.
"No, just a few minutes. Itsuki's setting up the futons, but didn't want you walking back alone. And it’s fine you told her. I can see she cares deeply about you and wants the best for you. She wouldn't put you in danger," Quil approved.
"Arigato, Quil."
He looked into my eyes and his smile widened. "Why? I didn't do anything."
"You waited for me, when you didn't have to. You and the others accepted Hakua with ease and didn't ask questions or anything. You all gave me the day off to enjoy her company and I'm just so grateful," I acknowledged with a smile.
"No need. If you’re happy, anything is fine with us. Plus, she has character," Quil smirked. He leaned down to my ear. "And if you ever need to relieve that tension we're causing, you can always come to me," he whispered, then kissed me on the cheek.
I froze and my face went red. "You...heard...that?" I squeaked.
He pulled back and gave me a playful grin. "Heard what?" he teased, sliding his hand into mine.
We began to walk back to our room and I prayed the cool air would cool off the growing desire I had for Quil after his comment.
These men are gonna be the death of me.
"You look like a little kid who just got their favorite scoop of ice cream," I teased.
Akihiro turned his head and an ear-to-ear grin was still plastered on his lips. "I get you all to myself today. Why wouldn't I be happy? It's like I won a giveaway or something."
"Men. You guys are weird," I scoffed, shaking my head with a smile on my face. I rested my head on Aki's shoulder as we waited to reach the top of the ski slope.
Hakua and her cleverish ways decided she needed some extra help with classes today because of some field trip event and Aki had still been asleep. So when I woke up and saw Quil's note explaining and Aki emerged asking where the others were, Aki decided to take advantage of the situation and show me all the different activities that could be done up here.
"Did you sleep well last night?" Aki inquired.
I knew he was asking if I had any weird dreams or experienced any of Storm's memories. "I did. No dreams or anything. Maybe I was having them because I was anxious?" I considered.
Aki's hand went through my hair and he was quiet for a moment. "It could be another trait from Storm. She sometimes had dreams that ended up coming true, but only on rare occasions. I don't think you have anything to worry about," Aki reassured me.
"Even the blizzard dream?" That was the one I always found the most worrying, especially with us being in a snowy place.
"We're far away from that area. I remember from when I came here with Storm. Only a few people know where that specific location is. It's shielded with some type of invisible wall. You wouldn't know you were in it until it was too late," Aki explained.
"But can't you just walk back out?" I asked.
"Nope. I don't know what magic that area holds, but if you walk through, you’re placed right in the middle of the blizzard."
"That's a pain in the ass. How did you guys get out? Wouldn’t it be freezing?" I inquired.
"There's a spell you can perform to stabilize your internal heat. Even if by chance you get stuck for hours in the snow, you wouldn't die. You might experience frostbite if you’re out there for a long time, though. Storm hadn't been feeling well when we got caught, so the spell was a lifesaver; I kept her warm as best as I could," Aki admitted.
"Were you in your half Kitsune form?" I remembered how well he was able to warm me up in that form.
"My full form, actually. There's a cave within the deeper parts of the blizzard area. I carried her there and shifted into my full form to keep her warm and give her time to recover. We didn't have to wait long before the others found us," he explained.
"The guys were able to find you?"
"Malachi has heightened senses. So do Itsuki and Quil. They don't need to be familiar with an area to find a person. Haru, Quil, and I can track someone by their magic, as long as they’re familiar to us."
"Interesting. Well, I'm glad you guys made it out okay."
We got off the lift when we reached the top and made our way to the starting point.
"Ya," Aki whispered.
I paused and he stopped to give me a confused look.
"What's wrong?"
"I feel I shouldn't be bringing Storm up, I don't know. It's just rubbing salt in a wound, especially when we're in a place like this where you guys shared memories together," I disclosed, feeling guilty.
Aki sighed and walked over to me, with his snowboard under his arm. "Crimson. Don't worry about it. It hurts from time to time to think about it, but I'm healing slowly. Just because I've shared this experience with Storm doesn't mean I don’t want to enjoy it with you. Understood?" Aki spoke firmly.
"Hai," I whispered, nodding.
He used his free hand to lift my chin up and laid a soft kiss on my lips. "I want us to enjoy this date. No frowns allowed," he whispered the words against my lips.
I slowly nodded and stared at his lips. I closed the distance and kissed him hard. He pressed back and deepened the kiss. We pulled apart and pressed our foreheads together as we caught our breath.
"I like when you kiss me," Aki revealed.
"Do you?"
He kissed me again before answering, "Yes."
I pressed my lips against him and we kissed for a little longer. We finally broke apart and I smiled. "I like it too, a lot," I confirmed.
He placed a kiss on my forehead and set his board down on the snowy ground. "You ready to try this? This isn't the bunny hill, Crim," he teased.
I huffed and gave him a confident look. "This bunny hill champion will beat you," I proclaimed.
Aki laughed. "We'll see about that."
"All my muscles hurt," I complained before I sipped my hot chocolate and stared up at the night sky.
"You did well recovering from that fall. You sure you didn't hurt anything?" Aki sounded worried. He came to stand next to me on the wooden patio behind the little cabin we were staying at for the night.
"I'm alright. It was really fun." I sipped more of my hot chocolate and continued to gaze at the stars.