Hello again, Berserk Archive :)

Aside from a minor/major mistake in my first Berserk fic, it seemed to go well enough for me to pursue another idea I had. I wanted to do a piece with Guts and Casca at night, reflecting on their actions in volume 9, and their feelings for one another. That idea never materialized, but in re-reading volume 10 recently, I discovered that it took three days to get to Windham. The idea spun on from there, and a couple thousand words later, I ended up with this :)

Once more, thank you Kipper898 for putting your eyes on this for me, and Silver Spider for being awesome ;)

I sincerely apologize if I've once again made an error in this narrative. It's all still quite new to me, but the ideas I have for this series, and the love I have for these characters is proving VERY difficult to silence :( I still don't own Berserk or any of its characters ;)

Three Nights

The Lush greenery that surrounded Casca, Guts, Judeau and Pippin was hardly known to them. All they saw in the distance was Windham Castle, and all they heard was the pounding of their horse's hooves through the grass. Not far from the Castle was the dungeon in which Griffith was being held, and in three days time, they would enact their plan to retrieve their leader.

Casca and Guts led the small group, with Judeau and Pippin following closely behind. They all donned their typical armor, though none of them so much as brought a helmet with them, further dictating the nature of their operation. This wasn't to be an all-out melee, but a stealthy rescue. While helmets were an excellent safety precaution, they were ultimately unnecessary for a task such as this.

From the rear, Judeau couldn't help but notice the constant back-and-forth glances Guts and Casca shot each other every now and again. Every time she turned to him, Guts was focused on the trail, and when he turned to her, Casca was focused on the trail. Seeing the somewhat childish behavior, Judeau smiled slightly. What had happened between them was not announced, but to Judeau's keen eye, it didn't need to be. Guts and Casca never needed more than the expressions they wore to tell exactly what they were feeling, and right now, their faces were speaking quite clearly.

"Treat her well, Guts," the blonde-haired bandit thought as he observed another long stare on Guts' part. "She needs you more than even she realizes."

Slowly, the daylight faded, and with it, the fevered pace they held, too seemed to vanish. None of them had spoken a word since leaving the Hawks' camp that morning, but with the now slow trot of their horses, it became clear that they had gone as far as they could in one day's time.

"Whoa," Casca lightly called as she drew up her horse's reins. She came to a stop with the next few steps, and turned to her comrades, calling no louder than was necessary, "That's all for today. We'll set camp here, and set out again first thing tomorrow."

Guts finally found her eyes, and with a content grin on his lips, quietly replied, "Whatever you say, boss."

With the words he spoke, and the smile he wore, Casca blushed slightly and returned the smile before dismounting her horse.

Within a few minutes of stopping for the night, everyone had tied off their horses, and Judeau was quick to set a fire. Luckily, the thick woods that surrounded them were loaded with critters. Finding dinner would have been easy enough for the mercenaries, though in a somewhat primitive display of affection, Guts had brought Casca a skinned squirrel on a stick. It was an odd gift for sure, though her eyes and smile told that the kindness of the gesture wasn't lost on her.

Shortly after the fire was lit, they each sat closely around it. As well as cooking their dinners, the flames kept them warm on this cold night. For what was to be a long overdue and joyous reunion, none of them appeared excited or anxious. They knew that Griffith had been incarcerated for treason, and if the reports were to be believed, he was being inhumanly tortured at the King's request. None of them ever spoke it aloud, but they each wondered what their leader had done to earn him such a terrible place in the King's heart. Furthermore, they couldn't help but wonder just what condition Griffith would return to them in.

Judeau lifted his eyes from the rabbit he'd caught, and was at long last offered a glance that confirmed his suspicions. While Guts and Casca also sat facing the fire, their eyes weren't on their meals, but on one another. He knew that when the time came, they would both be absolutely focused in their retrieval of Griffith, but right now, as they simply enjoyed the sight of each other's face, this time was theirs.

Soon, they had all finished their dinners, and began the oddly awkward process of laying out their bedrolls. This had never been a cause for concern in the past, but both Guts and Casca seemed to be squirming about in an uncomfortable dance. Always observant, Judeau gathered their attention, "I think I'll keep out a bit from the camp. Make sure no one gets the drop on us during the night."

"Are you sur-"

"Don't worry, Casca," Judeau casually interrupted. "It wouldn't be the first time this year I've had to keep watch."

Casca smiled warmly, her eyes and tone telling just how much she truly appreciated his effort and support this past year, "Thank you, Judeau."

From the opposite end of the camp, Pippin's deep voice called over to Guts and the commander, "I'll watch this side."

"Are you two sure about this?" Guts asked about as concernedly as he knew how. "You're gonna be freezing out there."

"Like I said, we've dealt with far worse this past year, Guts," Judeau reassured. He turned to head out of sight, and after a few steps, turned to look back over his shoulder with a smile, "You just keep Casca warm."

Casca's eyes widened slightly in embarrassment, and without another word or response, Judeau turned and headed out into the woods for the night. When Guts and Casca turned back towards Pippin, the large merc was already long gone into the woods. Both of their eyes wide with surprise and perhaps even a hint of fear, the next logical place for their gazes to wander was towards one another. Just taking in the sight of his face as he looked down to her with a smile on his lips, Casca again blushed, the lonely woman in her coming back to the surface.

Gazing into her lovely dark eyes, Guts wished that Casca understood the full meaning of his words that morning. That he wanted nothing more than to keep holding her; to lay with her a thousand times more. The warm smile that slowly overtook her features told that not only did she understand how he felt for her, but that she felt the same for him. There were no words as Casca took a similar pose to the one she had that morning, her arms nervously locked behind her, her hips twisted towards him, lifting her right heel from the earth. Guts quickly took his cue and lowered his lips to hers.

Slowly their lips encroached on one another, finally meeting every so gently. So warm, so soft and delicate. It had only been perhaps the third or fourth time their lips had met, but every time seemed to hold more magic than the last. They each remembered their beautiful consummation the night before, but as they pulled apart from one another, they both knew that this wasn't the time for that. Guts stepped away and knelt down on the grass just beside the fire. He held his bedroll by its lowermost corner, and slid hers within it, effectively doubling its thickness.

Seeing what he had done, Casca appeared a good bit nervous. Sleeping beside Guts would be nothing new, but for some reason, she felt differently now. She raised her hand, giving herself something to look at, so that she didn't have to look at him as she nervously spoke, "Guts…" She tried to organize her thoughts, "…I…"

She closed her eyes, and without finishing her thought, took nervous hold of the edge of her tunic, "This is what he expects of me, right?"

She lifted her shirt around her abdomen, bringing Guts' eyes to widen; instantly mesmerized by the sight of her exotic dark flesh. Just as she had almost pulled the shirt over her chest, Guts asked, "What are you doing?"

She lowered her shirt, and with embarrassed eyes, skittishly replied, "Getting ready for bed."

Guts chuckled slightly as he replied, "But it's freezing out."

"I thought that-"

"You need to keep warm, Casca," Guts replied. "You need your rest more than any of us, and if you spend the night shivering, you won't sleep well."

She smiled slightly, still keeping her eyes away from him. She'd always been the one to give her heart to another, but never before had someone given their heart to her. For all he'd done for her, and for all she'd done for him throughout the years, not even Griffith had ever offered Casca such selfless kindness.

Guts lay on his right side in the doubled-up bedroll, and held it open with his left arm, silently inviting her to join him. She took step after nervous step towards him, eventually setting her feet on the roll, and lowered herself to the earth. On top of insulating them better, the added layer beneath them made the uneven ground they lay on that much less uncomfortable.

Once she was lying down, Guts lowered the fabric over them, wrapping her small frame with his left arm. He could almost feel the nervous pounding in her chest through his forearm. She was as stiff as a board at his side, either by virtue of the cold, or just by feeling so completely awkward at his side.

"Why do I feel this way?" She wondered. "After what we did…" even in her own thoughts she was lost, "…I am his woman now, aren't I?"

Suddenly, Casca's eyes opened wide and her body went soft. Guts had placed a gentle kiss on her temple, and immediately all of the tension she held in her limbs, and extremities, all of her fear and worry faded to nothing. She felt safe wrapped in his arms, and finally, she allowed the woman she kept buried inside to take over. She rolled onto her back, her lips beaming bright as she took Guts in her sights.

While this was every bit as new to him as it was to her, Guts seemed to have less of a problem with his feelings for her. He simply gazed on her smile, accepting her warm hands on his cheeks as she gently lowered his lips to meet hers. The heat of his kiss spread throughout Casca's entire body like a flood to a dry crop. She was filled with excitement and warmth, reassuring her of what had become of them these past two days.

"From now on, I give my heart only to him."