Couple

„This is dumb”, Ragna said. „Might as well burn this entire place down and be done with it.”

Eden smiled to themselves.

“That defeats the sense of a maze” they said, patiently, and smiled.

It was just like Ragna to get frustrated this easily. The temperamental redhead wasn’t made for tasks that required patience. But that was why Eden was here. They worked best as a team.

Today was their day off from knight duties. Coincidentally, their free day fell on the same date, so that they could actually spend time together. Ever since they became an official couple, Eden tried to arrange their duties such that they could see each other, but it didn’t always work. Knight duties took up a lot of their schedule. Eden would never have guessed themselves as a relationship person, but here they were.

They playfully nudged the bigger vexyn, effectively taking Ragna’s mind off the maze and back to them. The redhead smiled at them, enamored, and Eden felt themselves blush. They cleared their throat.

“Um, this way!” they said and turned a new direction, a knowingly grinning Ragna following them.

“Why did you even want to do this?” the redhead asked. “We could have spent our day lounging on the beach. The Heartsong Isles are beautiful in autumn.”

“This may be true”, Eden answered. “But I’ve read in my book about relationship advice that if a couple solves problems together, it will strengthen the bond.”

“Of course it’s the book again”, Ragna snorted and rolled her eyes. “Are you sure this is what it meant?”

“I don’t know. But at least we’re already spending quality time together.”

“Anything done with you is quality time”, Ragna mumbled, absent-mindedly, already giving in to her fate of spending the entire afternoon in this maze.

Eden stumbled slightly.

‘How can it be’, they thought to themselves, ‘that Ragna manages to fluster me this effortlessly without even trying! She wasn’t even looking to compliment me!’

Eden couldn’t decide if Ragna was a natural at relationships or a complete disaster. It wasn’t fair that the redhead seemed so carefree, while Eden felt like they were completely clueless and stumbling around in the dark.

They snapped back to attention. Ragna had taken the lead while Eden was lost in thought. The readhead turned the corners without hesitation, trusting her instincts. She might have a fiery temper and often hinder herself and her career as a knight in the process, but one couldn’t deny that Ragna’s gut feeling got a lot of things right. Maybe this was why she was so confident in their relationship, unlike the overthinking Eden. They sighed.

Ragna’s ear snapped back, turning in to the sound.

“What is it?” she asked. “Are you stuck in your head again?”

The larger vexyn’s tail snaked around Eden’s wispy one, holding on tightly in an imitation of holding hands. A wing fell over their shoulders, pulling them closer to Ragna’s side.

“Think of me if you want to think about something” the redhead said casually. “I’ll get us out of this thing.”

Fighting down yet another blush – again! – Eden forced themselves to relax. Tugged under the redhead’s wing, they felt awfully small (damned be Ragna’s towering size!), but also safe. The worried voices in their head quieted down some.

Eden smiled.

Maybe, just maybe, they could forget about their relationship book and trust Ragna in this.

Just like they trusted her with this maze.