~WHOOOSH!~
Within the blink of an eye, Rey and Lucielle found themselves behind a particular building—the rendezvous spot that Adrien had set for himself and Rey before the very day.
The building was the Draconic Museum, and it was practically lager than any structure within the United Human Alliance; or any other place that the both of them had seen in H’Trae for that matter.
Of course, places like the Dragon Academy, or a Dragon Lord’s Domain were an exception, but those weren’t composed of a single building, unlike the Museum. Rey and Lucielle walked out of their corner, and he took a good look at the massive structure with a small smile.
’I wonder if Alicia would have loved coming here… to see what they could possibly have inside.’
He knew how much she loved Museums and historical landmarks, after all.
’It won’t be much of a date, especially since this is the enemy’s territory, but I’m sure she’d really enjoy herself.’ Looking closely at the Museum, it really did resemble Earth’s building structure.
It would have been the perfect place to spend more time with her.
’But… time has run out.’ Rey sighed, shrugging silently. ’It’s time for her to go…’
"What’s on your mind?" Lucielle asked, her arm still wrapped around his despite the teleportation now being complete.
She was also close—much too close for comfort—to him. Their bodies were literally brushing past each other with even the slightest movement. Rey couldn’t complain, though, since it didn’t seem like Lucielle had noticed or thought it was a big deal.
Why would he point it out and make things awkward between them?
"I’m fine. Just…"
"I saw you looking at the Museum. I didn’t think you liked places like this."
"Well…" He shrugged in response. "... Let’s just say I’ve taken a liking to them in recent times."
"Ohhh?"
Rey could see Lucielle’s smile broadening as she gave him a sly smile. Whatever was going on in her mind was probably going to be something crazy.
"After this is all done, why don’t the both of us go inside?"
"Are you crazy?"
"A little… yeah." She laughed, causing Rey to nearly slap himself in the face.
"For one, we don’t know when we’ll be done with our task. Secondly… it’s even closed because of the whole event taking place today."
"…"
"Besides, we can hardly see anyone around… which means the whole Capital is experiencing some kind of curfew. Maybe it’s because of the Exhibition or the fact that the Dragon Emperor showed his first. Either way… I don’t think we can—"
"Dude… if you didn’t want to go, you could have just said so." Lucielle sighed, removing her hand from his, quickly folding them as she frowned.
"What? When did I ever say that?"
"Ahh… my apologies. If you didn’t want to go WITH ME, then you could have just said so."
"How does that make what you said any better?" Rey was exasperated at this point, so he slightly raised the volume of his tone.
However, moments later, those feelings were suppressed.
"Haaa… nevermind." Lucielle shrugged. "Let’s just go."
Rey was tempted to simply let the matter die, but something told him that he would sorely regret it if he did that. And so, he swiftly grabbed her hand and pulled her closer the moment she quickened her pace.
"Hold on a moment. Just explain yourself, because I have no idea what’s going on right now or what I did wrong."
All he did was state the facts.
How did he manage to piss off someone like Lucielle, who should have understood?
"You just keep making excuses not to go in. How does a mere Museum being closed stop the two of us from heading in? Isn’t it even better that way, since we’ll have the place all to ourselves?"
Rey was stunned by her response.
"Do you think I didn’t notice that it was closed… or that the Capital is experiencing some sort of curfew right now? You must think I’m dumb or something… ahh…" Lucielle’s frown slowly dissipated and she turned away from Rey.
Once again, her cheeks were reddened.
"... Sorry about that."
"...."
It was now Rey’s turn to be silent as he looked at the girl that stood right beside him.
They had spent months together—getting to know each other, learning so much about their likes, dislikes, tastes, preferences… and so much more. Lucielle got to know what Earth was like before the accident, and Rey learned a lot more about H’Trae.
They had gotten much closer than ever… which meant certain feelings would naturally progress as their relationship advanced.
’Lucielle’s feelings for me are yet to recede.’ Rey thought to himself as he watched her avert her gaze.
He didn’t know whether or not to feel bad about this.
It was somewhat similar with what he experienced with Esme—the conflict of liking someone, but also loving another.
’I still love Alicia. I have tried to move on, but… it wouldn’t be fair for anyone if I just made them my rebound when I haven’t fully gotten over the one I really love.’
~I don’t mind being your rebound, Master!~
At this point, Emil swiftly made her move, but was instantly turned down by Rey.
’No!’
~Ahh… dammit. I will never give up, though!~
Rey sighed and shook his head. ’What a mess. When did I start having girl problems like this anyway?’
He took one of Lucielle’s hands, breaking her pose with just a single move.
"You want to see the Museum, right? Let’s go right now."
"W-what?!" Her face instantly turned red. "B-but don’t we have to go… do t-the thing with the—?"
"That can wait. I have time powers anyway…"
"B-but…!"
"Now look at you making excuses." Rey grinned broadly at her. "Something tells me you don’t want to do this…"
"W-what? No way!"
At this point, Lucielle pushed herself closer to Rey and locked her arm with his, clasping her fingers with his as she smiled daringly. Rey felt his heart skip a beat for a moment before it finally stabilized.
With her pale, pretty face now close to his, and her crimson eyes glowing with excitement, she nodded emphatically and pointed at the large building.
"Let’s go!"
"That’s the spirit!"
The both of them then ran off to the building—already shrouded by a barrier that blocked any form of observation from an external audience. Even if someone passed right beside them, they wouldn’t be able to sense them in the slightest.
And so, with this power making sure they remained undetected, Rey and Lucielle used another special dose of Magic to grant themselves entry into the Museum and rush into the massive building together.
They both had excited smiles on their faces… and if anyone were to see them—whether from afar or in much closer proximity—they would think the two were a couple.
It… just seemed right to assume.
********
"Look at those two dawdling…" Adrien mumbled to himself with a smile as he watched the Museum from afar.
He could already see R’ai and Luc’ia entering the Museum—or rather… Rey and Lucielle.
Indeed, he knew the identity of Rey’s partner.
’He brought her without telling me, but I guess it makes sense for him to do so.’ His smile broadened as he watched them absolutely enjoy themselves.
Unlike the two, he was all alone—not that it mattered to him.
"This doesn’t affect the plan at all…"
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
This isn’t me saying that they’re the final couple or anything. I just have to point that out…