With every minute that passed, the island’s temperature was dropping. Lewis and Simone got the rundown of what was happening from Xeik, and were prepping themselves to go out an assist in the gathering of mana in order to help rebalance the world. In the meantime, though, the two decided to put the most responsible of their children, Lucas and Ezili, in charge of everything,.

As Lewis strapped a few more daggers to his person, he pulled Lucas aside. “Extra blankets are easy enough to find. Due to the extreme circumstances, we’re also telling the house help to stay in the main portion of the castle. It;ll be safer for them here, and if they need anything like food or water, it’s readily available.” He thought to himself for a moment, trying to gauge if he had forgotten anything. “Ah, yes! I need you to run upstairs and grab my bow.”

“Right. I’ll be right back!” the young adult said. During these last five years, he had grown tall, and was a tad taller than Lewis was, but still had issues standing up straight. He was wearing a loose fitting shirt and pants, mostly because it was hard to gauge what his size was. The poor kid kept growing and it was hard to keep up.

As Lucas ran upstairs, Lewis yanked Rex aside, and whispered in his ear. The younger teen nodded, and gave Lewis the thumbs up as they broke apart. Simone gave him a weird look, but was still getting ready herself, with barely any time to ask questions. Lucas came down with Lewis’ bow, and with their preparations complete, Lewis and Simone departed. As they stepped out into the now blizzard-like conditions, the concern for their children skyrocketed.

“We have to help fix this quickly…” Lewis said. “Right…on to it.” With that said, Lewis and Simone gated to their destination.

Lucas made sure to lock the door, and made his way to the children’s room upstairs. Alshaya and Everett were still sharing a room, something that would probably be changing soon. Both of them were tucked in, fast asleep. For the moment, the castle was keeping its warmth, and there seemed to be no danger in letting them sleep up here.

Fiori and Mira, for the most part, he left alone. Mira was always in and out, and at her age, was more than responsible enough to go out and face the dangers of the world should she choose to. And Fiori…well…Fiori was complicated. He moved to Ezili’s room, where he knew she’d be waiting, and started to knock.

“Hey bro,” Rex said as he seemed to pop out of nowhere.

Lucas jumped, a little shocked to see Rex. “Hey Rex…:”

“Sooo….wanna wrestle? Spar? We can do it downstairs next to the fire.”

“Not…really my thing, you know,” Lucas replied uneasily.

“Oh right. Bookworm…” Rex laughed, scratching the back of his head. “Oh! How about we read then? By the fire. You know….maybe you can show me something cool?”

Lucas sighed. “I was…actually going to invite Ezili downstairs to the family room to do just that…but you don’t need to come. I know how much you hate books…”

Ezili had been asking Simone questions, very specific questions. Likeee “What do boys like?” “Is it weird when you kiss for a long period of time?” She bombarded Simone with these questions. “Do you think Lucas would kiss me back?” They were innocent and their relationship for the last five years had been blushes and holding each other’s hand. She would also sit in his lap to hear the stories. He was so much taller than she was now.

That just made him more comfortable to sleep with though. Simone had given her some tips but mostly she needed to figure out what Lucas liked and what he didn’t like. Which was making Ezili blush even more. In the words of Simone, “I can’t really stop you kids but I can at least make sure everything is healthy. I was a kid once so I know exactly how I was.”

Once she heard Lucas’s voice she opened the door timidly, “Lucas!” Her opal eyes lit up and her blush had all but gone away now. She was wearing a very cute dress that accented her features which she was growing into very well at this point. Simone had point-blank said she was jealous of the curvy little naiad. Ezili didn’t understand but she assumed that was a good thing. Her hair was braided and pinned up into a cute little updo. Something Simone had done before she left.

She had barely recognized the fact that Rex was around. “OH! Hello Rex,” she gave a smile before she came out and took Lucas’s hand. “Do you want to go read by the fireplace? They got the extra warm blankets out and if we move the sofa pillows I bet we could make a nice seat on the floor by it.”

When Ezili made herself known, Lucas was immediately at attention, standing up straight and smiling. “Oh! Ezili, hi! I was just telling Rex here that we were going to be reading next to the fire, and how he wouldn’t be interested cause-”

Rex cleared his throat loudly, “You know, Lucas. I think I need to start furthering my education. I can’t be a brainless oaf for the whole of my life. Would rather not end up like my dad and all, you know. Perfect time for you to help with my studies.” He smiled. “We can cuddle as a family and everything. You know…each have our own blanket. Separate.”

At this point Lucas was wondering what was up. “This was our dad wasn’t it…”

Rex shrugged, “No idea what you’re talking about, bro. I just wanted to spend some quality time with you.”

“You know,” Lucas said. “Alice? Who’s living all alone cause her parents are abroad? I’m sure she’s so cold right now. If you hurry, I’m sure she’ll welcome you with open arms. Just think…an uninterrupted night with Ali-”

“Oh right! Alice is alone right now!” he exclaimed. “Have a good night Lucas! I got places to be!” He bolted down the hall and down the stairs.

“…idiot,” Lucas said under his breath as he turned his attention to Ezili. “So…fireplace? What story did we want to read? I can go grab it and meet you down there.”

Lewis had been… weird about everything and Simone hadn’t started that fight. There was no point since neither of them could walk away from a fight, literally they were in each other’s heads. So neither of them discussed the Ezili and Lucas issue they just handled it their own way.

Ezili held her breath waiting to see if Rex would take the bait. They were home. Alone. For once. They could close the doors to the family room and just be together. “I got a few books,” she went into her room and came out with a few chapter books. “Mostly about the sea. I do love it when you read about the sea,” she blushed a bit and took his hands.

“We should… go. Before Rex finds out.” There was a blush on her face as she led him down the lesser-used stairwell. Getting to the family room she closed the door behind them and locked it. “Just… in case.” Ezili was very, very familiar with how Rex operated and she checked the windows, pulled the curtains closed, and made sure the doors were shut.

Taking the pillows off the couches they made a little seat and she got a warm blanket to wrap around them. She snuggled into him and put her head onto his shoulder. She was nervous and her heart was beating loudly. They read for a little bit before Ezili took a breath.

Rex wouldn’t be gone forever. “Lucas,” her voice was soft and her opal eyes stared into his as she turned him her way. It was just enough as she kissed him gently. “You know that…” She rubbed the back of her neck. “That… This might be the only time we get one over on Rex and that Papa is away…” Her face was flushing. She sucked in her breath before kissing him again.

The moment the door clicked into place, and the key was turned, Lucas’ heart rate skyrocketed. He was fully aware of just what they had done, and what opportunities now presented themselves that they were actually alone. As Ezili set them up for their little date, and wrapped the blanket around them, Lucas felt almost lightheaded with the nervousness that he was feeling, but willed his heart to slow itself. It would be almost embarrassing to pass out at this critical time.

“Y-yeah,” he said as he kissed her back. They had been kissing consistently for almost three years now, but these kisses felt different. They were electric, and he could feel almost everything around him tenfold. “B-but if you don’t want to, then…” He flushed. “I mean…I wouldn’t blame you. I don’t want to rush…and…you know, they could come back at any time…” He thought for a moment. “We probably have a few hours though at best…and Rex is more likely to get stuck in Bennin at the rate this is going…” He kissed her again, slowly. He took his time before breaking it, and smiled.

Something was keeping him calm. Perhaps it was the fact that Ezili’s perfect face was mere inches away from his. “I’m…okay with anything that you are. If you just…wanted to lay here, then I would be okay with it. But…if you….if you want more…” He put his nose to hers. “We can…”

The last three years they had stolen kisses whenever they could. Whenever Lewis was away on jobs and Simone would turn a blind eye… but recently Lewis had gotten more creative with how they were being watched. For right now they had managed to avoid the trap set mainly because Rex was thinking about other things. “Why wouldn’t I?” Her eyes were curious at him. “I…” She blushed a bit before they kissed again. “Rex being stuck is perfect… They could be away for a lot longer than a few hours.” It was a lot of what-ifs.

Ezili tilted her head, “If only you knew~” She chuckled a bit and pulled herself into his lap, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I’ve been asking Mama things it’s probably how Papa has been catching wind.” She blushed a bit. “I didn’t want to go in blind and…” She kissed him again. “I wasn’t quite sure what to do so I asked her.”

She rubbed her nose to his, “We’ll probably never get another chance like this in like eighty years if Papa has his way. And to me… this isn’t rushing at all. I love you, Lucas… I always have since you found me. I’m your’s.” She had been sure about that for a while and everyone else was so sure of it too. Even the people in Benin doted on how cute they were."I just didn't want to mess up…"

Lucas was nervous when she climbed in his lap, but as she kept speaking, her voice simply soothed his nerves. Her love for him was something that was pure and innocent, and when she vocalized her fear of messing up, Lucas chuckled a bit and gave her an encouraging kiss.

“You’re too perfect to mess up,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her. With the fire crackling, flickering in the cool night, Lucas kissed her again. This time, though, it insuited more. It wasn’t lust, though, or a desire of simply primal needs. No, this was a bond and a connection of intimacy that came with those who were destined to be together. Some might say they were too young to experience something like this, but to them it was all they knew. Even if this wasn’t meant to last, it was their world for the time being, and that was okay.

Both of them knew what they were getting into, and neither one of them wanted to stop. It started slow, with kisses, and moved to more. Clothes were lost, and the two shared each other’s warmth and closeness under the blanket. It wasn’t explosive, or painful, but tender and loving. They explored each other in almost playful, innocent ways, trying to find what made each other happy. And soon, time passed, and they found themselves cuddling.

Lucas was on his side, holding Ezili who was wrapped all around the older teen. It was hard to tell, but with her eyes closed she may have been asleep. He couldn’t hear her soft breaths, but he could feel the heat on his bare chest as she exhaled. He squeezed her a little with his arms, and she squeezed back. He smiled, and kissed her forehead.

“Love you, Ezili….”

Ezili blushed a bit and chuckled, “I think you are perfect too…” As time pressed on she found the ultimate closeness to Lucas. It warmed her heart fully. They laid there silently for a time after, just cuddling. Her hair had come out of the bun if only so Lucas could play with her long white locks. She snuggled closer to him as he squeezed her.

“I love you too, Lucas,” she finally opened her eyes and looked up at him with a small smile. “You are the one thing I’ve always been certain about since I woke up in Jayou… From the time I saw you. You were all I wanted to love.” At least… love in this sense. Nothing could take her attention away from him and it had been that way since the beginning. She gently kissed his chest and then his shoulder.

Pulling the blankets closer around him she pushed her head up under his chin, “Forever. I’m going to love you forever… And forever is possible because Mama told me so. If they can have forever… Can’t we have it too?” They were both from the water and could move like one with it. “I want to be your ocean, Lucas. Only… you not screaming at me this time,” she chuckled a bit. She had been so innocent and still in some ways she was.

“I want to wake up next to you every day~” She smiled again and played with his fingers. “Mama and Papa weren’t that much older than us when they got married…” Though it was under different circumstances. “So…” She left the thought for now and closed her eyes.

“I bet… Rex has figured out by now… He’s probably in the middle of the lake freaking out,” she chuckled. She didn’t mean to change the subject but maybe it made her nervous. Nervous that maybe he would reject her if she went too far.

The two shared their moment, and when Ezili started speaking of loving forever, Lucas merely smiled at her. “I…can’t promise you forever, but I can promise you everything that I have.” It was his own way of saying forever. Living the way he did, he was more than aware of his own mortality.

“Rex…yeah…” Lucas smirked. “I wonder where he is. I hope he’s not stupid enough to have actually gotten caught out in all of that…”

–

Rex sneezed, and grumbled. He had managed to find his way into the harbor master’s little station out by the docks in Benin, and only just. By the time he had realized what had happened, it was far too late to turn back. He had barely made it to Benin as it was, and trying to find his way in this white-out of a storm was impossible.

Luckily, the little station had its own supply of firewood and other supplies, so he wouldn’t be but so out of luck. It took him some time to light a fire, and when he finally sat himself in front of it, he let out a long sigh.

“Well played, Lucas…well played…” He sneezed again. “Man…Lewis is going to kill me….”

Ezili gave a soft smile, “That’s more than good enough for me. I’m just going to have to make you last as long as possible.” She reached up and kissed him gently. She snuggled in and hugged herself to Lucas with a smile on her face. “This was the best idea~”

There was a little chuckle as she closed her eyes and rested her head on a smaller pillow, “Well… You know how Rex is about his girlfriends. He probably ran headfirst into the snow thinking the harbormaster would take him out in this. He’ll be fine… The harbormaster is crazy enough to have taken him though.”

There was a small yawn from her lips as she rolled Lucas over and sat on his chest. “Wanna see something I asked about?” There was a smirk on her face, probably one that she had picked up from Simone when she was being mischievous. “We got a bit more time to ourselves~ I’m not about to waste a golden opportunity like this.” She leaned down and kissed Lucas again.

Whatever followed exhausted them both. Young, in love, and having completely forgotten about the outside world for now.

Once Simone and Lewis came back it was early sunrise the next day, “I didn’t think… We would have been there all night.” She rubbed her neck. “I think that dragon about kicked my ass. I still have claw marks on my arm~” She pulled Lewis around her. They were trekking through the snow. They wanted to inspect the island for damages. On their way back, they found Rex making his way through the snow. “Rex… Why are you out in the snow?”

That only caused Lewis to run towards the house. Simone sighed a bit and beckoned Rex to follow her as they got inside, took their shoes off, and made their way towards the family room. The curtains were drawn and all the locks were locked. Simone took a hairpin out of her hair and got the door to pop. What they found inside was about to make Lewis freak.