Eventually, Thera pulled away, her face shining, even as she smiled.
“Um, so what now then?”
“Well,” Ben started. “If we look at the order we’ve done things we got engaged, moved in together, confirmed our mutual love and then kissed. If we continue on doing romance the complete opposite of how my race typically does, that means it’s probably about time for me to take you on a date if you’re free today?”
“My schedule is completely open,” She told him happily. “Maybe just give me a few minutes to tidy up?”
“Sure, I could use some fresh clothing myself,” Ben said as he looked around, seeing all of his bags in her room. “Was my room taken?”
“No, but I wanted to look after your stuff just in case. I’ll meet you outside in a bit?”
“Sounds good.”
They parted just long enough to get dressed, Ben washing up quickly as he did. Given the constant supply of water in the trial he had managed to clean up at least a bit, but there was dried blood on him from the end of it that he wanted to scrub off, as well as soaping up for the first time in months to get rid of the feeling of grime. He did it all as quick as he could, not wanting to leave Thera waiting while Myriad's voice filled his head.
“You are way too invested in this man.”
“What can I say, I don’t really think about how close I get with people. Anyway Myriad, being able to hear you again is wonderful. I can honestly say that one of my bigger worries in there was dying without getting to thank you for all you’ve done for me, as well as just being there in my life, I want you to know I appreciate it.”
“Having said that, don’t go talking my ear off during my first official date with Thera.”
He knew silence was the best he could hope for given the overall lack of privacy he seemed to have to live with. Even now he wouldn’t be surprised if some of the grey were watching him from their reality. It was just something to ignore as he stepped out of his room and saw Thera waiting for him.
“Still rocking the cloak?” He questioned as he saw her in it. Her hood was down so he could see her face at least, but he’d been expecting her to jump at the chance to get out of it and wear something different.
“I don’t really have anything packed that doesn’t leave my arms exposed. Unless you have any ideas today, maybe we could do some shopping?”
“Sounds good to me, but first, breakfast.”
Thera gave a bright smile and shook her head as she took his arm and they walked out of the embassy, thinking that it was the same as any time he wanted to get food, but after the trial the need for a good meal ran so much deeper. All he’d had to eat in that time was the bread-like substance it was able to provide. It sustained him in there, but as far as he was concerned eating that had only been keeping him alive, it hadn’t been living. He needed real food, and as they found the closest restaurant that was both open and seemed to be high quality they took their seats on the outdoor patio as Ben poured over the menu.
The issue was that he couldn’t decide what to pick. Everything seemed like it would be delicious, but while he wasn’t averse to getting himself a couple plates, it was too early in the day. He had hours that he wanted to spend with Thera, he didn’t want to be too full to move just because his eyes were bigger than his stomach.
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“Ha, I can see exactly what you’re thinking,” Thera teased. “You’re practically drooling on the page. Get as much as you want Ben, I won’t judge.”
“Ah, no I shouldn’t,” He told her, chuckling awkwardly. “This is our first date, I don’t want to be out of commission if I eat too much, I want to spend the day having fun with you. It’s fine, I’ll settle on one in a bit.”
“Well get two,” She said as she watched him struggle, putting up a hand before he could argue. “I haven’t been eating well since you’ve been gone anyway. We can split the second one and you can try some of whatever I get for myself, okay?”
“Oh god, I really do love you.”
She blushed as he said it and looked away while he made his choices, with their waiter coming to take their order soon after, leaving them alone again while they waited for their food.
Ben took his eyes off Thera to watch the passing crowds go through the streets, the light of the sun pouring down over all of them. All sights he hadn’t known for sure he’d ever see again, all of them comforting, reminders of his freedom.
He only looked away as he felt Thera’s hand on his, gently holding it and bringing him back to the present.
“Are you okay Ben?” She asked him, having seen the distant look in his eye.
“I am now. Just a lot to do though. After today I should really stop by to see Jake and Amy to let them know I’m alive. Gotta collect my payment too. I’ll need to pop through the gate to see Steph and Will too on top of a bunch of letters to send explaining why I haven’t been writing, and I should probably stop by Anailia to let your mom know I survived and tell her the news about us.”
“Oh gods, we are not telling my parents,” She told him with a look of horror on her face.
“Ha, what? Embarrassed by me already?”
Thera shook her head. “Mom wanted this too badly. I refuse to give her the satisfaction, at least immediately. We’ll tell aunty and uncle though, okay?”
“Sounds good. Man, I can’t wait to see Falk’s face when he finds out. Or when he finds out I lived for that matter,” Ben said with a laugh. “He’s not getting out of having an apprentice that easily.”
“Ben, uncle was heartbroken when he thought you were going to die. He’s going to be thrilled to see you.”
“Oh I’m sure he will be. I’m going to have to cook a big celebration meal for all of us when I’m back too. See just what this crazy skill does for my cooking when I go all out.”
“Ha, well if you want we can leave tonight. I wouldn’t mind getting back to aunty too, and the clinic is probably having it rough since I’ve been away so much longer than expected. Even if I’m not a permanent member, I’ll need to do what I can when I’m back.”
“Ah, I’ll need to be here for at least one more day, maybe two,” He told her apologetically. “I’ll need to meet up with Greed to sort some things out, not to mention get my meeting with Jake’s teachers. If you need to leave though I can catch up before you know it.”
“Ben, if you think I’m letting you out of my sight ever again then you’re out of your mind,” She said in an instant, softening as she continued. “I don’t want to leave you when I just got you back.”
“Well, in that case we’ll have to make the bits of time when I’m not too busy with those chores as fun as possible. What do you say? See some shows and performances? I think there’s a couple museums in the city too, those could be fun. And we could always ask anyone working at the embassy for some suggestions too.”
“Sounds great to me. I’m looking forward to lots of dates from here on out.”
He lost himself in her smile as they locked eyes, still holding hands as they enjoyed the moment. Everything in life was good. He was safe and alive, and had only grown from the nightmare of an experience he’d gone through, he’d gotten his hands on a mythic artifact of some sort and had that to play with, at least depending on how his conversation with Greed went, and he was just at the beginning of a romantic relationship with the person he cared for most.
All of his minds were abuzz in their joy, but also active enough to pick up on every subtlety that happened at once. Thera’s eyelids twitched, alerting him to the fact that she’d switched to looking over his shoulder at the same time noise sprung up around them, and fractions of a second later her eyes widened and smile fell away as her expression turned to one of shock, with the sounds he was hearing finally registering. He was hearing thousands of screams as people everywhere began to panic, and with a feeling of dread he turned to see just what had caught Thera’s eye.
Off in the distance, just outside the city, a beam of light was stretching into the sky for all to see, marking the spot like a beacon.
He didn’t immediately understand what it was, what was causing so much panic in everyone with its arrival. It was strange, but it seemed relatively harmless, at least until his thoughts clicked into place.
What the world had been waiting for and hoped would never actually come, the reason he and his classmates had even been brought to that planet in the first place. That beacon of light was a sign that in a single year a gate would appear in its place, as well as hundreds of other locations on the planet, marking the beginning of the invasion, and potentially the end of the world.