“So, where were you?” Elise demanded of Maia, her voice even and carefully measured, her attitude imperious and demanding. Leon could tell that she was trying to project authority as she suppressed both her joy and anger at seeing Maia again.

She, Leon, and Maia were now alone in Elise’s room, with Anzu moved to Emilie’s stables, and Alix and Valeria shown to guest rooms in Emilie’s estate. Leon and Elise’s villa was still technically in the hands of the Bull Kingdom’s government, so moving back in would probably take a few days even with the power of Heaven’s Eye on their side.

“I had to go back to Saron…” Maia explained as she told Elise of her journey back to the city of the river nymphs and the meeting with her mother.

Elise nodded in understanding once the story was over. She didn’t once interrupt to ask a question, she just listened quietly as Maia filled her in on the details.

“… and Leon chased me down and forced me to reveal myself,” Maia finished as she smiled radiantly at Leon.

Elise then directed her gaze his way, fixing him in a sharp, almost uncompromising stare. Leon returned one that was almost defiant; he didn’t think he’d done anything wrong, he understood that Elise was just angry that Maia had left in the first place.

“You could’ve done me the courtesy of sending word,” Elise complained, turning away from them both with almost exaggerated haughtiness. “This isn’t something I wanted to be surprised with.”

“How would you like to be surprised?” Leon teasingly asked. “I can accommodate you however you want…”

“Unless it’s a ring, don’t bother,” Elise said in a clear joke.

But Leon didn’t take it as a joke. He went quiet, glanced over at Maia, then stood up from his chair.

“… What—” Elise began as he dropped down to both knees in front of her as she sat in her chair, staring at her with such serious intensity that there was no way in any hell she could’ve averted her gaze.

Without a word, Leon reached into his soul realm and retrieved his gift for her, something which he and the Thunderbird had labored over for weeks after he had it commissioned in Ironford.

It was the golden lotus bracelet, its petals now thoroughly enchanted to emit light based on the time of day, just like the flower it had been inspired by. The sapphires in its petals pulsed with magic power while the gold petals themselves glowed red in the morning, purple at midday, and a gentle blue at night. It had far more practical enchantments than just those, though.

“I love you,” he said to her without a shred of insincerity, “and I could barely stand to be away for so long. I know that this is just a ‘thing’ and so shouldn’t mean much, but I wanted to get you something that showed how often you’ve been on my mind.”

Elise’s eyes were as wide as plates, the green in them sparkling in the purple light of the lotus bracelet. She started making strange blubbering sounds as if she were trying to say something but just couldn’t quite form the words. After a few seconds, she just stopped trying and quickly extended her wrist.

Leon took her hand in his and briefly brought his lips to her knuckles, then the back of her hand, then her wrist, only to then clasp the bracelet around it.

“I’m not good enough with the kinds of magic you employ so I had to get the Thunderbird’s assistance. That thing isn’t just decorative; once you unlock your elemental magic, it should boost your abilities with earth magic quite a bit, plus a little bit with water and light.”

Elise barely heard what he said as she was utterly captivated by the intricate piece. The way the light spilled from the sapphires set within its golden petals, the swirling root-like clasp, and the power that she could feel within it was almost too much for her to process right now.

“Do you like it?” Leon hesitantly asked, unsure as he was how to take her reaction.

Elise looked up at him, stared into his eyes for a quick second, and then threw herself into his arms, practically sobbing from the emotional overload of the gift and Maia’s return, all of her attempts to remain domineering and in charge utterly ruined now.

“I love you,” Leon whispered into his red-haired lover’s ear.

“… l-love you too,” Elise managed to sputter, though her smile had practically split her face in half and tears streamed down her face. She glanced at Maia still sitting in her chair, staring at the two of them with a longing gaze, and gestured to her to come over. Maia happily jumped out of her chair and threw her arms around the two of them. “W-we can go over the details later,” Elise said to them. “Right now, nothing matters except that you two are home!”

The sentiment was certainly shared among all three of them, and it wasn’t long before they were ditching their clothes right there so that they could express their feelings in more ways than just with their words.

---

Elise moaned in satisfaction and snuggled closer to Leon as he collapsed on the bed next to her. Maia was over on his other side, earlier pleasure leaving her utterly unconscious, her arms still above her head even though Elise had untied them from the bedposts almost half an hour ago.

Leon smiled and pulled her closer, their naked bodies pressing together as if they were trying to join themselves into one. “It’s good being back,” he whispered into her ear. “If I have my way, I’ll never be gone for so long again.”

“I’m… not sure that’s… a promise you can keep,” Elise replied, still a little breathless after receiving his affection.

“I’ll be doing my best, though. At the very least, I doubt I’ll last another month in the Legions with the King taking charge again.”

“I can’t lie, it’ll be nice to have you around more,” Elise said as her fingers idly stroked Leon’s broad chest. “What do you want to do after that?”

Leon took a moment to consider how to broach this topic, but settled on straight-up honesty. After all the waiting he’d had to make Elise do in their relationship, the least he could do was to be honest about his intentions.

“I want to leave the Bull Kingdom,” he said.

Elise’s hand froze on his chest. Her entire life had been spent in the Kingdom, the idea of leaving wasn’t as enticing to her as it was to Leon.

“If you don’t,” Leon continued, “I can wait until you’re ready. I’ll wait as long as you want, but… I can’t stay here forever. You know that I have many places to visit here on Aeterna outside of the Kingdom, and then the Nexus after that…”

Leon briefly thought about Valeria and the information she’d shared. He’d yet to talk to Elise about the things that happened between him and her silver-haired friend while they were gone, and he wanted Valeria there with him when he did.

Suddenly, Elise raised her head to look him in the eye and gave him a self-deprecating smile. “Give me some time, all right?” she asked. “I want to go with you when you leave, but… I can’t just yet.”

“However long you need,” he repeated.

They went quiet for a long moment. Elise’s eyes eventually fell on the golden lotus bracelet that she still wore—it was the only thing she was still wearing, in fact. “You know,” she said, “some might consider this a gift worthy of a marriage proposal…”

“Do you include yourself when you say ‘some’?” Leon playfully asked.

“Maybe I do,” she replied, indulging in the teasing for just a moment before her tone took a more serious and apprehensive turn. “Would… that be a problem?”

Leon pulled her tighter against him and, without a trace of hesitation, said, “Absolutely not.” He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his other hand around her, keeping her against him in a tight embrace. “I love you, Elise. I don’t need to put a title like ‘married’ on what we have to make my feelings any stronger. For you and Maia, I would forsake all others. As far as I’m concerned, I’m already committed to you two. But I also know that marriage… means a lot to a lot of people. I don’t really think I need it, but if that’s what you want…”

He trailed off for a second as he gently took a hold of Elise’s chin and tipped her head up so that they could make eye contact.

“… then I’ll do anything.”

He heard her breath hitch in a tiny gasp, and he leaned down as far as he could to press his lips against hers. It was uncomfortable, so he couldn’t hold it for long, but he wanted her to feel his honesty, his love, and his commitment.

When their lips separated, Elise smiled up at him, twisted herself so that she was resting atop him instead of against his side, and then pushed herself up to straddle his waist.

“That… is something I want,” she admitted, her eyes meeting his.

Leon felt his heart flutter in that moment, and he wanted nothing more than to make Elise and Maia as happy as he could. He was already bonded with Maia, but he needed to do more with his relationship with Elise.

“Then let’s get married,” he said.

Elise burst out laughing, her body going limp against Leon as she threw her arms around his neck.

“I… I can’t… believe… that’s how… how you asked!” she said in between bouts of laughter. Leon might’ve been a bit concerned had he not been able to hear the joy in her voice, and she pulled back just enough to seal his lips with hers. A few seconds passed like that, neither moving much in order to stay connected, both feeling the other’s rapidly increasing arousal as their bodies ground against each other.

When they finally did separate their lips just a little bit, Leon asked, “Is that a no?”

“As if!” Elise cried. “I don’t want some elaborate proposal ceremony, that you asked in the first place was enough. I wasn’t sure if you would, to be honest…”

Her voice took on an insecure tone as she stopped talking, one that Leon didn’t think he’d ever heard her use before. So he pushed himself up even more, far enough that Elise’s legs fully left the bed, then he turned and tossed her back down on the bed.

“I get the feeling that I still need to show you just how much I love you,” he said, a playful gleam in his eyes. Elise smiled and tried to rise back up to embrace him, but he only pushed her back down, his eyes drinking in the sight of her fit, well-endowed body as it hit the mattress. After a moment, he grabbed her legs behind the knees and lifted her lower half until it was positioned directly over his hips and rapidly stiffened manhood, his lower head gently rubbing against her lower lips. He could feel her desire, all heat and wetness. She wanted him, he wanted her, they needed no more preparation.

He leaned down, pushing inside of her as he went. She gasped in pleasure as he filled her, her eyes glazing over, her heart only settling once he bottomed out and paused. She glanced back up at him and saw him gazing over at Maia, who had begun to stir.

“Maia…” Elise whispered, reaching over to take the river nymph’s hand in her own.

Maia’s eyes shot open. She glanced over at them, and once she registered what they were doing, she rolled over next to Elise and pressed her breasts into the red-head’s face. Looking back over her shoulder, she gave Leon a rather cheeky smile, which he took as a sign to begin round eight—or was it ten? He’d lost count—in earnest.

It was an overwhelming feeling, having both of these women here with him again. He couldn’t believe the luck that had led him to them, even if their relationships—with Maia in particular—didn’t exactly start off in the best of places. That didn’t matter anymore, he loved them both, and he wouldn’t give them up for anything.

They were his family.

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