The two of them were apparently alone in the house that day. The empty house made her look at Garan, who—despite his stoic face—actually looked smug.
"Your teammates are very smart. I ought to reward them."
There was apparently a silent agreement to leave the couple alone for a full day, to enjoy a honeymoon even for just one day.
Althea rolled her eyes.
Garan smiled and pulled her to sit on his thigh. "Let me show you some things I bought back in Ferrol," he said and she brightened, quickly forgetting her annoyance.
She wanted to see what a town offered.
Garan held down a smile as he seriously introduced her to his gifts.
First, he showed her the tanner products from hides. There were bags and shoes, all fitted for her.
"Wow, I love this! Thank you!" She said, kissing his cheek. He stopped himself from capturing her lips again and willed himself to focus on the gift-giving.
From his space, he took some cloth he bought for a high price. It was very smooth and soft, and her delicate hands grabbed it to study.
"It's really silk!" She used her ability and whipped her head to him in awe, "And it had a bit of defensive properties!
"This must've been expensive."
Garan shook his head and just handed her the final box.
And she smacked his face with kisses.
He smiled as he looked at her so happy. He wondered how she'd react when he gave her 'that' gift in a few days?
Anyway, his attention was pulled by her kisses and he quickly captured her lips to take them as his own.
She drowned in his warmth, and she wrapped her delicate arms around him as she accepted his plunder. The atmosphere quickly heated up again.
Then… her stomach gurgled.
The preparation for lunch came a little later. Fortunately, her body at level 8 was very strong, otherwise Garan would have had to carry her to the kitchen.
Not that he hadn't offered, of course.
Garan watched lovingly as his wife prepared all the ingredients—refusing his help.
His wife was cooking for him, His wife was cooking for him, His wife was cooking for him.
What to do… he wanted to do her on the countertop..
If there was a way for them to be conjoined forever…
As if feeling his thoughts, Althea threw an vegetable peel on his face.
It did not wipe the smile on his face though and he just continued to watch all her movements with hyperfocus.
He didn't even notice all the errors she was making, he was too happy.
Althea, who was experiencing the brunt of his heated stare, tried very hard to focus on the task at hand.
She wanted to throw noodles at his face, but that would be food waste and she'd have sinned, so she stopped herself.
Fortunately, she did manage to finish the dish and she proudly brought it to the table.
She made him a simple noodle dish, which was barely within her trained capability at the moment, but Garan ate it like it was the tastiest thing.
It was indeed what Garan thought. The dish didn't use the most sophisticated techniques or materials, but Garan thought it was the best meal he had ever eaten.
If he hadn't been out so much.. perhaps he'd have tasted this earlier.
If he hadn't been out too much, maybe the children would be all grown up and capable of taking care of themselves by now, rather than Althea carrying them on her own for a year.
(If Althea heard his thoughts she'd look at him weirdly. They had only been married for 2 years right? Did he expect one year olds to defend themselves??)
Anyway, Garan couldn't help but recall the tortuous pain in his heart a while back. It was probably when she gave birth, right?
Didn't that mean she almost died?
The very thought placed his heart and mind into extreme turmoil.
"Don't like it? Was it too salty?" Althea asked, seeing his distraction.
Garan shook his head, pulling himself together. He put the thoughts aside for now and they began feeding each other like they usually did.
After they ate, however, he silently carried her back to their room and he buried his face on her neck.
However, instead of doing something perverted, he just laid there unmoving.
Then she felt… liquid?
"Are you crying?" Althea flinched a bit, but Garan only tightened his hold on her and buried himself deeper.
During their time apart, he had a lot of thoughts. He regretted missing so much time because of his obsession.
The other duties of a soldier was one thing— but there were plenty of missions he volunteered for, particularly those related to Fargo and his regime.
"I wish I spent more time with you." He did not regret becoming a soldier. But he regretted how much time with her that he lost.
"Our time together has always been more on quality rather than quantity." She told him. This was especially true after he became a soldier.
His jaw clenched and looked at her in the eye.
"I found Fargo," he said. "I'll end him soon."
Althea sighed. "I know part of it is for me, but you didn't have to be so obsessed. I don't even remember what happened."
Garans large hand slid to her back, tracing the scars from that year.
"It is also mostly selfish," he told her, "Because as long as he existed he reminded me that I almost lost you.
"I did it mostly for myself."
"I understand my obsession made us miss out on a lot."
After all, she was just unlucky to be there, she wasn't being targeted in particular. In exchange, a lot of time together were sacrificed.
He had always been guilty about this. "I took for granted you would always be home, waiting for me."
But he had almost lost her again. The belief he'd find her again was the only thing that kept him going.
He leaned down and met her lips, tasting every inch of it, and engraving the taste into his soul.