Alright! It is good to be back! After being away for two years, I'm finally home and ready to get writing again! Near the end of my time in Colorado I learned about Dark Dawn coming out, and became unbearably giddy for some time. One of the first things I did upon getting home was shut myself in my room and play Dark Dawn until I beat it! So, with all this excitement, what better way to re-introduce myself to fanfiction than with a Dark Dawn story! This is a Spiritshipping (Matthew/Sveta) story, with major spoilers about the end of the game! I would like to thank Elina Trevisan for the initial beta-read, and especially thank Mystwalker for her help (my sister Elina hasn't played Dark Dawn yet). And while I'm at it I might as well shamelessly plug Mystwalker's "A Different Kind of Storm" as being both the best Dark Dawn fanfiction on this site, and for being the diffinitive Stormshipping (Amiti/Karis) fic. Anyway, without further ado, I give you "Misunderstanding".

Matthew let out a sigh of relief as he boarded the ship. Of course, the ship was in no way a guarantee of safety. Plenty of monsters managed to find their way on deck whenever they were sailing for very long, but the ship was their home away from home, and it was comforting to be on board. Besides, if the Tuaparang were going to attack they probably would have done it before the party reached Tonfon. However, once the Apollo Lens had been fired the Tuaparang seemed to disappear. Most of Matthew's friends were already celebrating the end of the Grave Eclipse, and had been the whole way back along the Endless Wall.

"Orders, Matthew?" Eoleo's helmsman asked once they were all aboard. The Champan sailors that worked under Eoleo had obviously been partying in Tonfon since the eclipse ended. The helmsman, while holding himself together far better than the other sailors, was still obviously drunk: swaying unsteadily, gripping the railing, with cheeks brightly flushed.

"We'll stay docked at Tonfon for now. We can set off in the morning. I'm sure my group is eager to get some rest after the battle we had." Matthew saw Eoleo was entertaining some of his crew with the story. Most of the others were trying to participate in the festivities around them, but Matthew could tell they wouldn't last long. With the adrenaline rush completely worn off, their comfortable cabins and warm beds seemed to be calling them.

"Sure thing," the helmsman said. "Shore leave?"

"Go ahead," Matthew waved him off. "Tonfon's waiting." With a grin the man ran off, giving the word to the rest of the crew before heading into the port town.

Matthew scratched his head and looked around at his friends. His eyes fell on one who was sitting quietly, not in the same joyful mood as everyone else. Of course Sveta was happy the Eclipse was over, and Morgal was saved, but her thoughts would be on her brother right now. With his sacrifice the Eclipse was ended, and Sveta and Matthew had been spared. It was a difficult loss for the Morgal princess. She hadn't even removed most of her armor yet.

Sveta looked up at that moment and caught Matthew staring at her. She stood up and walked over to him.

"Could you come with me to my cabin?" she asked.

Matthew nodded and stood up to follow her. "You need something?"

"I need you to get me out of these clothes," she said simply, turning and heading below deck.

Matthew stopped dead in his tracks. Had she really said that? Matthew quickly went to catch up to her, his face redder than the drunken sailors. At the bottom of the stairs Sveta was waiting for him. Here Matthew was worrying how she was holding up, and she wanted…

"I'm sorry, I think I misheard you earlier," Matthew said. "What did you need me for?"

"I need you to get me out of my clothes," she said again. "I'm so hot right now," she added.

Images flooded Matthew's mind, and his face turned even redder. "Um, okay." Sure, Matthew had thought about Sveta. A lot. But this was so sudden. He also knew Sveta liked him. He had suspected it for some time, but when his soul had attached to Sveta he had learned for sure. Everything she felt, he felt. Like how his presence had calmed her fears, but excited her heart. That was what gave her the courage move forward back then. It had been a very… intimate experience. He supposed compared to sharing souls, sharing a bed shouldn't be something to be nervous about. And Sveta had been so straightforward about it. It was a side of her Matthew hadn't expected. What would she be like in bed?

Sveta had now led him into her cabin and closed the door. "Are you alright?" she asked. "Your face is so red."

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. It's just…" Matthew paused. "…I've never done this before. I'm just nervous."

"You've never…" Sveta looked confused. "Yes, you have. I've seen you do this with Tyrell."

"What! No I haven't! Tyrell and I would never… I mean, whatever you thought you saw, you were mistaken!"

Now Sveta looked really confused. "How could I be? You did it in front of everyone."

"What?"

"Yes, and then Amiti did you."

So many images were flooding Matthew's mind. Horrible, disturbing images.

"Oh! No!" Sveta suddenly jumped back and Matthew realized she had just seen his thoughts. "No, no! You have the wrong idea! I… no, not that." Now Sveta was every bit as red as Matthew was. "No, I need help removing my armor. I can't get it off by myself."

"Oh!" It all snapped into place in Matthew's mind. Of course that was what she meant. And he had helped several of the guys with their armor before, as they had him. "I… I see. Of course."

After another moment, the silence was broken by Sveta clearing her throat. "You see, usually I can get the Umbra Gear on and off by myself. But up on the Apollo Lens all that light… well the gear started to melt."

Matthew looked at her now. She was pulling at one of the latches on the umbra cloak, which had clearly melted shut. She was also wearing one gauntlet.

"I was able to get the cowl and goggles off, but it took some hair with it," she winced as she said this. "I was able to get one gauntlet off, but only because the knuckles melted to it and made a good place to pull from. But I really need help with the cloak and the other gauntlet."

"Right," Matthew said. "Um, would you rather I get Karis or Himi to help?"

"Well, they seemed busy with the festivities," Sveta said. "If you'd like to be there yourself I can always find someone else. Or if this… makes you uncomfortable."

"No, it's fine," Matthew said. "Let me see what I can do." Matthew swallowed and tried very hard to just focus his mind on the task of undressing Sveta. He mentally slapped himself and rephrased his thoughts to 'removing the Umbra Gear.'

First they worked to take off her other gauntlet. The latches for securing it in place weren't coming loose anytime soon, so Matthew resorted to getting the best grip he could and just pulling. It finally came free, but Sveta's hands got some nasty bruises in the process. Matthew healed her quickly before moving on to the cloak.

The cloak's main latch went around Sveta's neck, but it was loose enough they suspected they could get it over her head. The problem was a secondary latch, securing it just above her hips. It made it very difficult to focus when every tug Matthew gave pulled her hips with it. Though the random tugging was hardly sensual in nature, just watching her hips move was captivating, if only because it was her. Finally, out of other options, they decided to use the Sol Blade to slowly and carefully saw through it. They would have liked to use a smaller blade, something easier to handle, but the Sol Blade was the only thing tough enough to saw through the Umbra Gear in a timely fashion, if anything else could get through it at all.

It was an extremely awkward process, to say the least. Matthew went very slowly. Slower, he was sure, than even Sveta would like, but he didn't want to risk getting the cloak off, only to continue and cut the girl of his dreams in half. Finally, the latch snapped.

"Now to finally get this off," Sveta smiled as she began to tug on the cloak. That didn't last long. "Matthew, one more thing."

Matthew saw the problem. While the latch was broken, the strap it attached to was melted to her shirt. "Well, at least this one's easy enough to deal with." This time Matthew used a very small knife from the ship's dining area, and cut the shirt off just above the strap. Again, it took all Matthew's focus not to stare at Sveta's now exposed midriff as she finally pulled the cloak off over her head. Her abdomen was firm, but still so very feminine.

"Thank you so much for helping me out, Matthew," Sveta said. Matthew couldn't help but peek at the way her hips swayed and her muscles flexed as she went forward to hug him. "And, um, sorry about the… misunderstanding."

"That's alright," he said. "But, I should let you get some rest now." Matthew opened her door and stepped out. "So I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah, of course. And Matthew, I… uh," Sveta looked up and down the hall, making sure they were alone. She then stepped forward and pressed her lips against his. The kiss ended as quickly as it started. "Just my way of saying 'thank you,'" she smiled. "Maybe next time I tell you to take off my clothes, it won't be a misunderstanding." She blushed profusely at her own boldness and closed the door, leaving Matthew to just when 'next time' might be.

I hope you all enjoyed that! Leave a review and let me know what you think! I'm thinking about writing a more serious multi-chapter Dark Dawn story, so keep an eye out for that!