“Ahh, I had a nice sleep.”

I glanced at the woman sleeping next to me, her arm hooked around mine. This wonderful Elma hadn’t left my side the entire night. Seeing her now, I was reminded of how vulnerable she was. I knew I couldn’t always protect her because of the nature of her job, but I vowed to always have a warm place for her to return to.

I stroked her face gently. “Thank you so much... Women like you always manage to keep the bad dreams at bay.”

She smiled. “I’m glad,” she whispered drowsily.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?”

“Not at all.” She got up a little and hugged me. “Good morning, Fainn.”

“Morning,” I replied, reciprocating the hug. Then I sniffed. “Hmm. Morning breath.”

She pulled away from me, her brow raised. “Morning breath?” She quickly breathed into her hand and took a whiff. She almost gagged and started laughing. “Oh my, that is unpleasant.”

She came closer and sniffed my breath. “Why do you smell as pleasant as a sweets room?”

I winked. “Godhood has its perks.”

“Oh. Now you claim your godhood.”

“Yup.” I reached for her, sliding my hands along her chin, and ended the move with a kiss. “Thank you, Elma.”

She rested her forehead against mine. “The pleasure is all mine.”

I jumped out of her bed and helped her out. She did so, getting up with the blankets covering her. I had forgotten she came to bed naked.

“So, want me to run you through proper teeth brushing protocol? I noticed you have toiletries in there.”

“Please," she replied. "I was mimicking what I saw the people who kept me do. I would love to learn from someone living.”

We walked into her bathroom together, and we got started on brushing our teeth.

It was a nice, innocent start to the morning, and many laughs were shared as Elma, and I awkwardly fumbled around.

“Don’t put so much toothpaste on the brush, Elma!”

“But you said this would eliminate the smell? Is more not good?”

“It’s wasteful! Gah! You squeezed it into my eyes!”

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry, Fainn! I didn’t mean to squeeze--hey why are you laughing?”

“I was just joking. You missed.”

“You! I was worried!”

“Haha! And hey, what did you use on your first night to brush your teeth?”

“The soap.”

“Ahh.”

“It cleans the body, so why would it not do so for the mouth?”

“Well... You’re not wrong.”

“Hey! Why’d you put it on my nose?!”

“Because you almost blinded me.”

“Why you!”

She came closer and I did too. We shared a kiss once more, and spread the toothpaste we had on our faces around even more. 

“Gah! It got in my eye! This time for real!”

“Serves you right, Fainn!”

I washed my face out and splashed some water onto Elma.

“Hey!” she yelped back, laughing.

“Come on. Let’s get serious--“

“Says the guy playing with water,” she said, putting on a playful pout.

“I swear, I am so close to ripping those bed sheets off you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” she said with a laugh.

I dared. I tugged on her sheets and made her spin, getting a surprised yelp from her. I tossed away the sheets and caught Elma. She looked up at me, startled by my sudden movement. My eyes went straight to her breasts, which jiggled nicely when she was spun about. I couldn't help it—I grinned widely as she pulled back to her feet. Her cheeks turned red and she quickly ducked her head again. I laughed softly at her embarrassment and she relaxed. I ceased the chance and pulled her closer and made her press her back against my chest. I wrapped my hands around and we both looked at the mirror.

"You're beautiful, Elma."

Her eyes went to her reflection and her ribs.

"Svilran and Zee seem fuller than I do...."

"Well, Dorthaunzee aside, Svilran's a healthy goddess." I shrugged. "Hey, we'll get there."

My hand traveled downward, toward her crotch. She stiffened up and took a breath. I pressed my finger firmly aganst her slit and she gasped, squirming back, her eyes widening at my sudden action. I worked quickly and she held onto my arms.

"Fainn~"

It wasn't meant to go long--it was just a nice little moment.

I smiled at her, and she smiled at me.

"Anyway, here’s the proper brushing technique.”

"Oh my, please do demonstrate, sir."

...

..

.

I won’t say how many times we behaved like love-struck teens.

 

***

 

“Well, I should probably get going,” I said as I checked myself to make sure my clothes were in order. “Svilran and I are probably going to be busy scouring the worlds for stuff to do.” I placed my hand on the doorknob and cocked my head. “Huh. The door’s open. Elma, did you open this door?”

She looked at me as she rubbed her neck. “No. Perhaps we didn’t close it the night before?”

“Yeah... Can’t really remember the lead-up to our moment there... You okay? You’ve been rubbing your neck.”

“I think so,” she replied. “I think I might have slept on it funny.”

“Fair... You probably weren’t used to sleeping with someone else.”

“That’s true.” She wore a devious smile. “I hope you’ll afford more opportunities to grow accustomed to it.”

“You can count on me, babe.”

Elma went red, wearing a goofy smile and started shaking her head. She couldn’t shake that smile off though.

“Heh, I’ll see you later, Elma,” I said.

She called out to me. “Oh! If you summon a new Hero--well, I want to be there!”

“Totally.”