[A/N] Sorry I've not been around in a while. Life's been getting in the way of my writing, and it doesn't help that I keep getting new games to fill my time (speaking of which, once I come up with a definitive idea, I'd like to try my hand at writing something for Octopath Traveler).

As such, I'd like to deeply apologize to anyone who still follows my stories. I've been trying to make some more time for my writing, but it never feels like enough, hence the long waits between publishings. Really, I'm sorry.

On a lighter note, have some mediocre fight scenes and a lemon, since it's been a while since the last time I wrote either of those things.

Oh, and it case it wasn't obvious, this takes place during and directly after Book II, Chapter 10. I started writing this back when that was the newest chapter, so things are somewhat outdated considering Book II is over and Book III is announced (which may or may not end up getting places in the main story), but I think it should still stand.

The fight was raging on a level that Kiran had never anticipated. He had to keep his mind concentrated on the battle, whirling around in all directions to ensure that he saw everything that was happening.

He wiped the sweat from his brow - gods, he was amazed that anyone could bear to fight in this heat. His warriors were definitely more resilient than him, but he could see the heat was taking a toll on everyone, even their enemies.

The sole exception was Surtr. He watched the fight with a scowl, unaffected by the flame, but his eyes snapped forward when Alfonse bounded out of the haze, Fólkvangr raised above his head. The king of Múspell gritted his teeth, raising Sinmara to block the strike, and the two engaged in a fierce battle.

As Kiran watched, the battle seemed to turn in his army's favor. Sharena stabbed her lance at Canas, easily driving the mage back, and Reinhardt let loose with a bolt from his tome, forcing Lloyd to his knees. Eirika wore down Linus with a flurry of strikes, and Jaffar was forced to disappear into the shadows as Hector brought down his axe.

He'd never understand exactly why or how the warriors that he'd already recruited appeared again, under the control of the enemy - but there were lots of things in this land that were beyond his comprehension. Besides, now wasn't the time to worry about that.

The important thing was that the enemies were driven back. Until the contract was broken, these warriors would continue to fight, but killing them seemed wrong in a case like this, so all Kiran could do was hope that Alfonse could defeat Surtr and break the control that was exercised over them.

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be going too well. Alfonse was doing a good job of using his greater maneuverability to his advantage, deftly moving from side to side to avoid Surtr's strong, heavy blows. But Surtr was just as skilled at keeping up his defense. Alfonse was unable to land a solid hit.

As Kiran watched, the prince hesitated for the slightest moment, and took a huge risk; he darted straight forward, Fólkvangr out to one side, and jumped, swinging it in an arc. The slash landed on Surtr's cheek, leaving a wicked cut, and the king had an expression of shock and anger on his face from the wound.

With a roar of challenge, he pressed harder, and the brutal weapon he held was slashed across Alfonse's chest. The prince went pale, blood sprinkling in the air, and he was forced to back away a few steps before he fell to his knees. He leaned heavily on Fólkvangr, struggling to get up.

Kiran shouted a command to Genny, who rushed ahead to try and work on the wound, even as Surtr started stomping toward them. He was about to look for another warrior to keep up the fight, but before he could, a loud yell of challenge sounded out.

He looked to its source, and saw Fjorm darting forward, Leiptr in one hand. She pointed it at the king, and countless fragments of ice appeared around her, flying in Surtr's direction immediately. He growled, twirling Sinmara in a defensive gesture, and most of them hit the weapon harmlessly.

The few that passed it, however, caused frost to form on Surtr's armor. He looked at the princess of Nifl with unbridled hatred in his eyes, and swung Sinmara in a desperate attempt to stop her advance.

But Fjorm was ready with more of her ice crystals. She fought defensively, attacking him with ice as she focused on dodging Surtr's strikes. It took several tense minutes, and a few failed attempts, but the deathly cold of Nifl's frost finally enveloped Surtr completely. His body was quickly encased in a prison of ice.

He spoke as it closed in on his head. "Impossible!" he screamed. "My flames are unquenchable! I will not-"

The ice covered him completely, freezing his expression of anger and defiance, and Fjorm walked forward, slowly, deliberately. She looked up into the king's eyes for several seconds before drawing Leiptr back. Blue light enveloped the tip of the spear as she thrust it forward.

The body of the king of Múspell shattered into countless pieces.

She stood there, staring at the remains, and breathed heavily. "Sister… Mother…" she murmured to herself. "I hope you were watching that."

Kiran stared at the princess in awe. After a moment, he snapped out of his reverie and looked around, only to see that everyone else in the hall was doing the same, friend and foe alike.

He sucked in a breath, still feeling the oppressive heat, and walked over to Genny and Alfonse. He kneeled next to the prince. "How is he?"

She shuddered. "The strike was deep," she reported. "I couldn't close it completely, and he lost a lot of blood. We should leave before the heat makes things worse."

Kiran looked down at the unconscious prince, and called Hector over to carry him. To the rest of the warriors, he projected his voice, attempting to be heard over the rush of lava still surrounding them. "We're moving out," he called. "It's finished."

He almost expected cheers of victory, but no one made a sound. That didn't bother him. It was way too hot for any of that.

As their exit began, he tossed a contemptuous look back at what was left of Surtr. The fragments of ice were flickering with flame. Poetic justice, Kiran thought, consumed by the fire he once controlled.

Several seconds later, they were leaving the hall when someone screamed.

Kiran looked over. The source was Sharena, who was staring back inside the room with a look of horror and one hand over her mouth. The summoner looked back again.

The fire was greater now, concentrated in a single spot. Surtr's remains were nowhere to be seen. Kiran's eyes were locked on the great column of flame, erupting with heat even as they watched.

The flames flickered, and a hulking form appeared within them. The king moved with short, jerking movements, flexing his joints as though feeling them for the first time. He stared at the shocked group with a cruel, cruel grin on his brutal face.

"I'm impressed, little girl," he rumbled, speaking directly to Fjorm. "That's the closest that anyone has come. But I will always return." He chuckled. "Do you hear the voice of your sister? Does she cry out in shame?" He laughed a little bit louder. "All of you will succumb to my fire."

Fjorm's lips moved noiselessly, looking for some kind of rebuttal. Kiran put a hand on her arm and pulled her backwards. The command went without saying, but he spoke it aloud anyway. "RUN!"

They moved as a single group, sprinting away from the king at a breakneck pace. The quicker warriors helped the slower ones along, and they ran far, far away from the king's hall.

{asterisks}

They continued running, but the pace was slowed once they realized they weren't being followed. Perhaps Surtr needed time to recover after his resurrection, or maybe he was just toying with them. In the moment, Kiran couldn't bring himself to care.

The group kept trudging along for the next hour or so. When they stopped, Kiran was pretty sure they were close to the kingdom's border, but there was no way to tell for sure, so they stayed where they were and set up camp.

Anna assigned a few warriors from the little group as patrols, and everyone else pitched tents to rest in. Luckily, the flames that choked the kingdom's terrain seemed to have died down when Surtr was killed the first time, so there was no fear of a sudden blaze taking them by surprise.

It all felt like a blur to Kiran. He just focused on what was directly in front of him. When everything was set up, he retired to his own tent without a word to anyone else.

The dwindling sunlight made it tough to see, so he lit up the lantern that he'd packed, set up his bedroll, and sat on it. He also took out a few books that he was meaning to study, and laid them all in front of him, but he found himself completely unable to concentrate.

Kiran sighed. There was a good reason for that, of course.

Before he could go into any musings on the events of the day, however, there was a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. His head snapped to the entrance of his tent, and his expression softened when he saw that it was Eirika. She gave him a strained, but gentle, smile, her face rosy in the flickering light of the lantern. "May I?"

He made room next to him on the bedroll, and gestured for her to join. She sat, legs crossed, and he started packing the books up again.

There was silence for several long moments before she broke it. "What's on your mind?"

He rubbed at his face with his hands. "Just… a lot. Everything today…"

She nodded sagely, putting one hand over his. "But… is it not important for you to keep your head up? You're a cornerstone of this army… the warriors need to see you with confidence."

He shook his head, running a hand back through his hair. "I know, but… gods, Eirika, I'm tired. I'm so tired of all this…"

She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. "I know…" she whispered.

They stayed like that for a moment before he broke apart from her grasp and flopped back on the bedspread. She watched his face, which was clearly conflicted. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He arched an eyebrow, and his lip twitched in slight amusement. "Apart from the obvious?" He continued without waiting for an answer. "I… there's something else on my mind, and… I don't want to say it out loud."

She frowned, pulling him back up into a sitting position. "You can trust me, Kiran," she replied.

He was silent for a while. "I know, but it just feels… wrong. I don't even want to think about this."

Eirika looked him right in the eye. "Kiran," she said. "I promise you, you can trust me with anything. Please tell me. It will be easier for you if you can share it with someone."

He hesitated for another moment, and finally relented. "Alright…" he said. "But… don't tell anyone. Especially not Fjorm. Or Anna. Or Alfonse. Or-"

She put a finger on his lips. "I won't," she promised. "Your secret is safe with me, Kiran."

He nodded, and exhaled nervously. "I… I didn't want the war to end."

He felt the tension in the air thicken, even if it didn't show on her face. "I… see," she said. There was a hesitation before the words, a bit too long for anything but stunned shock. Understandable, he thought.

"Please hear me out," he said quickly. "There's been a part of me this whole time that's been hoping we would fail sometimes, hoping that Surtr would regain his ground and we'd just be deadlocked. I've got no love for Múspell or anything their royalty has done, but… I didn't want the fighting to stop."

She paused again, and swallowed. "May I ask why…?"

He chuckled bitterly. "I'd like to think the reason is good, but the fact that I'm thinking this way in the first place is what's bothering me."

"So you don't have one?"

"I didn't say that," he corrected quickly, inwardly berating himself for not thinking before he spoke. "Part of me thinks it's fun, I guess. There's a bit of a thrill that comes from going into a battle next to everybody, and I won't deny that I like it. But… mostly, it's just…" He sighed. "When the war ends, I won't be needed here anymore. And everyone else will have duties remaining in their own worlds. Like you." He gave her a little smile. "You're the princess of a war-torn kingdom. Your people need you, but you still stayed here to help us with our own battle. And… when it's over, then your duties will be too. You'll have to go back…"

Now she understood. She held him close. "You don't want to say goodbye," she whispered.

Tears welled up in his eyes. "I've got friends here," he continued. "Friends that I've built the closest bonds I can possibly imagine with… and you, Eirika. And… you'll all have to leave, and… so will I."

She hadn't even considered that. "Right… you have your own world to go back to as well."

"I don't want to go back," he said immediately. "My world's got nothing on this one. Even with the war."

More silence for a bit. "Tell me about your world," she said.

He blinked. That was something they'd only discussed sparingly in the past. "Um. Really? You sure I wouldn't bore you?"

She smiled at him again. "Of course you wouldn't," she replied. "You've told me so little, and I want to learn." She didn't mention her second reason; getting his mind off his own thoughts. "Did you like it there?"

He thought about that for a long time. "It was alright, I guess," he said. "I mean… technology was more advanced, for sure, and that was good."

"Tell me about that," she prompted.

And he did. He talked for quite a long time about the aspects of his own world - technology, transportation, politics, medicine, anything he could think of. He had her full attention the whole time. For Eirika's part, she participated in the conversation, asking frequent questions. She was clearly interested.

"Your world sounds like a wonderful place," she said eventually. "Why don't you want to go back?"

He was silent for a second, thinking about what to say to that. "Because I have a purpose here. I wasn't really unhappy in my world, and I never really thought I needed to find something important to do with my life, but now that I'm here, and I've got it… I can't give it up. I'm doing important work now that I'm here, finally. I'm making a difference, y'know?" He chuckled bitterly and shook his head. "Gods, just listen to me. I don't want this war to end because then I wouldn't be important anymore."

"Don't be silly, Kiran," Eirika replied, putting one hand over his and smiling. "You're still important to all of us. You've made lots of friends, remember? Even when we leave… none of us will ever forget you." She held him a bit closer. "Especially me."

There was more silence for a second as he enjoyed the feeling of having her close to him, but it was interrupted by a noise outside of the tent. Immediately, Sieglinde was in Eirika's hand, both of them facing the tent flap. Kiran crept forward to open up the flap as Eirika held the sword straight out.

It was too dark to see anything outside of the little circle of light that the lantern provided, so she stayed motionless. She remained like that for a while, senses on high alert, before sighing, and retreated back into the tent.

"Anything?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not that I could see."

He sighed in relief. "Alright… alright, good. ...It's gotten pretty late, huh?"

She was silent at that.

He hesitated before continuing. "Um. D'you… d'you wanna stay here for the night?"

She blinked. "Here?"

"Yeah. Uh, I mean, I know we've never really slept in the same bed before, and you can totally say no, I mean, if you want, and I guess it's not really that big of a deal if you don't, but I just kinda thought, after-"

Eirika put a finger over his lips to stop his babbling. "Kiran," she said, getting his attention. She gave him a little smile. "I'd be happy to."

He sighed in relief, the apprehension from earlier nearly gone. He hesitated for a moment before leaning forward to plant a short kiss on her lips.

She made a surprised little noise, and had a playful smile on her face when they pulled apart. "What was that for?"

He blushed. "Just, uh… I dunno. It feels good to have you here right now."

Before either of them had a chance to say anything else, he reached out to snuff the lantern, but she stopped him. He watched her quizzically.

"Leave it on," she murmured. "I like a little light. I want to see you…"

He blinked. Kiran could feel the tension between the two start to grow thicker again, but in a very different way. "Alright, I can… I can do that."

She smiled again, and started to undress. She started with her gloves, dropping them next to the bedroll, and stepped out of her boots next. After that, she turned her back to him. "Can you help me out of this?"

He said nothing for a moment, blushing. "Um. Sure." He fumbled with her cape for a moment before taking it off completely, folding it, and putting it aside. After that, he helped her shrug out of the armor that she wore on her upper body, and she put her sword belt aside on her own. She was left in her red top and white skirt, and little else.

She sighed as more of her skin hit the open air, and turned back around to see him blushing. "Are you alright?"

He shook his head. "No. Uh, yes, I'm fine." He hurried to shrug out of his robe, forcing himself to remember that she was just getting ready to sleep.

She watched him for a second before settling on the bedroll. He stayed in his sitting position for a little while.

"Is there something else on your mind?" she asked curiously.

He looked back over at her. "Yeah, I just…" There was silence for another short moment.

Then he whispered "to hell with it" and seized her in a passionate kiss. She made a quiet noise of surprise, and returned it. Eirika was pressed into the little bedspread.

When they pulled apart, both were breathing heavily. Eirika's face was flushed and she looked up at him with a dazed smile. "What's gotten into you?"

Part of him wanted to hand her a line of some sort - something like 'you'll be asking yourself the same question in a few minutes' - but he decided against it. This was a special moment. "All of this…" he whispered. "It got me thinking… I want to be near you… I want to feel you, Eirika… before this has to end…"

Her face turned a bit more apprehensive, but she nodded up at him, and pulled him down for another kiss. As it happened, his right hand massaged her thigh, and started moving up a little. She gasped quietly, and he stopped for a second.

He was pretty sure he already knew the answer, but he asked anyway. "Eirika…" he murmured, leaning back down toward her face. "Have you ever done this before…?"

She blushed and looked off in one direction. "My station…" she replied, barely audible. "It's removed the opportunity… but I'm familiar with how it works…" She hesitated for another moment. "And I've… explored myself in the past…"

His eyebrows shot up, and he let that image fill his mind - Eirika, sprawled on her bed, one hand between her legs, pleasuring herself with a quiet desperation. His hand kept moving up her thigh as the other was tangled in her long, sweet-smelling hair. Kiran whispered into her ear next. "How often…?"

She trembled from the sensation his hand caused, and held up four shaky fingers. He grinned, and started nibbling on her ear.

"Tell me about those times."

She shivered. "The first was when I was… sixteen years old…"

He hovered above her, less than an inch from her face. "Go on."

She tried to grasp the memory through the haze in her mind. "I-I felt… urges… for the first time… returned to my bedroom… and… f-felt myself… but I never told anyone…" She paused for a moment at that. "It was… i-improper… for a girl of… my standing…"

He gave her a devious little smile. "And the second time?" he asked, massaging her inner thigh.

She shivered. "The night before the war…" she said. "Something felt… wrong… and I did it again… to calm myself…"

Kiran tried not to dwell on that too much. His hand kept moving, and he paused just short of her entrance. "Keep going," he whispered huskily.

"Two nights after the war ended…" she continued. The memories flooded into her mind. "I can't remember what was the reason… but I remember doing it…"

His fingers moved directly over her panties, rubbing her lightly through the fabric. "What was the last time?" he asked.

She whimpered quietly. "The night I was summoned here…" Eirika whispered. "To comfort myself… when I was in an unfamiliar place… with no one I recognized…"

Kiran's breathing turned heavy, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear as he moved her panties aside. His fingers hovered over her entrance as he asked his question. "Did you think of me…?"

She gasped, her lips next to his ear. "Yes…" she breathed.

That was all he needed. He finally slipped two fingers inside her, and the quiet moan that she let out was music to his ears.

He kissed her lips now, smoothly moving his fingers in and out of her. Her arms wrapped around his back, pulling him in closer, and he felt her hum into the kiss.

He broke away from the kiss slightly, pulled his fingers out of her, and pulled the skirt off her legs as fast as he possibly could. Eirika giggled at his enthusiasm as he did the same thing to her panties. Soon, her blouse was the only bit of clothing remaining on her. Kiran pulled her up for another quick kiss and started undressing himself next.

She giggled again, watching him with a playful smile. "Excited, are we?"

He smiled back at her, removing his shirt. "I'd be lying if I said no," he replied as he got down between her legs again. "But I think you're feeling it too."

With that, he moved his head forward and gave her pussy a long lick. She moaned again, one hand tangling in his hair. Kiran cupped her behind with both hands to pull her closer, and continued eating her out.

He stuck his tongue inside her as far as he could, wiggling it a bit and getting a good taste of her insides, and Eirika arched her back, making a much louder noise of pleasure.

One of his hands joined his lips and he poked around her entrance with his fingers. He occupied his mouth by focusing on her clit with it. Kiran could feel her writhing in pleasure, and her sweet moans were addictive.

His name escaped her lips, voice wavering, and he felt her muscles seize up as Eirika's orgasm hit her. He pulled back a bit as it happened, gently rubbing little circles along her pussy with one finger, and looked up at her face.

She had an expression of dazed pleasure, chest heaving. Kiran clamored back up over her, gently taking hold of her chin and looking into her eyes. "How was that?" he murmured.

Her smile widened a little as she looked back at him. "Incredible..." she whispered back.

He moved back a little, lining himself up with her entrance as he prepared to continue. As he did this, he saw Eirika shake her head and prop herself back up on her elbows. "Wha- already?" she asked.

He blinked. "Well... Yeah. Unless you wanted something else."

She shook her head, slowly opening her blouse and discarding it on the floor. "I want to please you, Kiran," she told him. As she said this, she laid down in front of him, placing her head between his legs. Kiran got the hint, and settled back into a sitting position.

She leaned ahead, licking his cock tentatively. He shivered, gently placing one hand on the back of her head. This wasn't something Kiran could say he was expecting, but... well, protesting would be just about the stupidest thing he could do in this situation.

Eirika ran her tongue all across his member, stroking the base with one hand. A low moan came from Kiran's throat. He ran his hand through her hair, and his breathing turned heavy.

She wrapped her lips around the tip of his cock. This time, the moan was a little louder. Eirika hummed against his member, and his fingers tightened, slowly pushing her a little further down. Eirika faltered for a moment, but went with it, gently pressing her tongue against his erection as she kept going down on him.

"Ah, Eirika..." he whispered, still guiding her movements. He got a bit too hasty, however, and shoved her down a bit too far. Kiran's hand retracted as she gagged and moved back.

"Sorry..." he muttered, gently running his hands through her hair again. "Sorry, I... I got carried away."

She didn't reply, and wrapped her lips around his cock again. She moved a little faster now, keeping a steady pace. Kiran wouldn't last much longer, he could tell. He held out as long as he could against her ministrations before taking hold of her head again and withdrawing from her mouth. Eirika made a quiet noise of disappointment, and looked back at his face, confused.

"Gotta... gotta stop..." he panted. "Can't finish too early... or else we can't go on to the best part."

She swallowed, and slowly climbed up his body, bringing herself to a sitting position so she could kiss him again. "Kiran..." Eirika whispered, a pleading note in her voice. "I... I want you."

In response, he eased her back down so she was horizontal on the bedspread, propped up on her elbows. She stared in anticipation at the area around her waist, where Kiran's member was currently lingering.

Kiran's throat suddenly felt extremely dry, and his breathing sped up a little more. Holy shit, he was really doing this... with Eirika, no less. But he shook his head, getting himself out of his own thoughts, and lined himself up. He heard her gasp, which turned into a lingering moan as he finally pushed himself all the way inside of her.

He leaned forward, getting on top of her and supporting himself with his hands and knees. Eirika's eyes were half-lidded and her mouth hung open slightly. Her chest heaved a bit, and it was very attractive, Kiran had to say. But the little seed of prior knowledge was still in the back of his mind, so he whispered "are you alright?"

She gave him a dazed smile, and nodded. "It hurts a little..." she admitted. "But... it also feels... better than I imagined."

"Well, tell me when it-"

"Please don't stop," she interrupted, one hand grasping at his forearm. "I... I really want this, Kiran... please..." She paused and looked away from him, a blush growing on her face as she murmured the last few words, barely audible. "Please give it to me for as long as you can..."

He blinked, not expecting this from the normally modest princess, but gave her a little smile. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Don't worry... We can go as long as you like."

With that, he started off slow, moving his hips back a bit and pushing back in. Eirika moaned in a wavering voice, slowly shifting a little as he continued moving. Her hands moved to grasp the blanket near her head, and she bit her lip.

Kiran's breathing was laboured, and he swore under his breath. Eirika felt heavenly. He could've basked in the feeling forever, but kept moving. He sped up a little, keeping up his efforts to ease her into the act as best he could. As he did, her voice grew in volume a bit, and she slowly arched her back to press against him. He looked down at her face.

Her eyes were gently closed, and her mouth was open slightly. Her hair framed her face in a tangled mess, and just outside that silhouette, her hands were balled up into fists as she grasped the blanket she was currently laying on. He could feel her body pressed against his, and her neck was somewhat exposed from the way her head moved. He could still hear Eirika's quiet, high-pitched noises of pleasure.

Oh, gods, she was so cute. He could feel his self-control eroding very quickly. He took a shuddering breath, forcing himself to keep his pace, but he knew that that wouldn't last long. Something about the way she looked, lost in her pleasure underneath him, made him want to take Eirika in his arms and touch her all over, and make her feel pleasure the likes of which she never had before.

He shook his head, trying to clear those thoughts, and allowed himself to speed up just a little bit more. Her voice wavered again, and her eyes opened a little. She looked him in the eye, and he gulped.

Eirika lifted her arms, allowing herself to fall on her back, and wrapped them around him. One went to the back of his head and pulled him in closer to her, and her legs came up a bit and seized around his waist.

"Kiran..." she moaned. "T-this feels... so good..."

"Eirika, I..." His voice came out in a quiet tone that was barely above a whisper. "I can't... Gods, you're so beautiful, I... I can't help myself..."

She whispered directly in his ear. "Give it all to me, Kiran... I can take it..."

He swallowed, and slowed his movements for a moment. "You sure?"

"Yes..." she breathed.

That was all he needed. He didn't bother trying to hold himself back any longer, he just thrusted his hips against her as fast and as hard as he could bear. Eirika's limbs tightened around him like a vice, and her voice began to rise to new heights. She alternated between his name and wordless moans, and her body writhed underneath him. The way her head whipped from side to side exposed more of the pale, pretty flesh of her neck, and he lowered his head to lay gentle love bites there.

Soon, she shifted herself a little so she could plant a kiss directly on his lips. Kiran slipped his tongue into her mouth without missing a beat. He could feel the vibrations of her humming against his mouth.

Kiran continued driving himself into her, and relished the way her voice rose higher and higher. He grunted lowly. "Ah, Eirika..." he muttered. "I'm... I'm gonna..."

"I know..." she replied, pulling back a bit and caressing his face with a smile. "M-me too..."

He smiled gently, and thrusted inside her a few more times as he reached his peak. He felt his orgasm hit him, and pulled Eirika into another kiss as he came inside her. She let out a quiet squeak when he did, and he felt her cum as well.

He kept their lips locked for several seconds afterward, running his hands along her body and enjoying the little twitches and shudders that he felt. He pulled back slowly when it was over.

Eirika's face was a noticeably deeper shade of red than usual. She had a dazed smile on her face, and her eyes were half-lidded.

"How'd I do...?" he whispered.

It took her a moment before she replied "wonderful" in a breathy voice. Kiran smiled warmly, and slowly pulled out and positioned himself next to her. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling the comfort of her warmth against him and listening to the steady sound of her breathing.

"Eirika, I... I love you so much. You know that, right?"

She smiled, and laid a kiss on his cheek. "Of course," she replied. "I love you too, Kiran..."

He kissed her forehead as he held her. "I'm glad we got to do this together..."

He could feel her return the embrace, with no reply. Her breathing had turned a bit steadier, suggesting that she fell asleep. Kiran grinned.

"Good night," he whispered.

With that, he dozed off in her arms.