Paige had no idea where Levi was leading her. She was pretty sure he just wanted to spend time with her, but with Levi, it was really hard to be sure. He smelled a little nervous, but he always smelled nervous. It was different this time, she smelled a hint of excitement and happiness, too.

As she walked beside the stream of flowing water with him, matching his casual pace, she felt his hand reach out and grasp hers lightly. Her stomach fluttered at the feeling, and she quickly twined her fingers into his. She looked to see his expression, but he didn't turn to look at her, just kept walking forward.

Levi sighed deeply next to her, but this time, she did recognize the sigh as a good one. As Levi exhaled, Paige felt some of the tension leave him through the hand she held.

Paige decided to break the silence. "So, where are we going?"

Levi didn’t answer immediately, but he didn't tense up or change his posture, either, keeping his relaxed pace.

"I'd rather it be a surpise," Levi finally answered, turning to give her a gentle smile.

Paige felt an ache in her chest when she realized that gentle, genuine smile was for her. She looked away, suddenly feeling vulnerable. 'It's just a crush,' she told herself.

After that, they walked in silence. Paige felt the nerves and butterflies thrumming through her. She thought it was a little stupid, how she'd always felt confident and at ease when she'd been pursuing him and he'd been the one putting up walls and resisting, but now she felt all timid and flustered with anticipation.

After another ten minutes or so, Levi finally spoke again. "I think we're about here." He pointed to the other side of a stream, where a small tree stood alone at the top of the low hill. The sun was almost setting on the other side. "You think you can jump across to the other side?"

"Pffft. Easy." Paige released his hand, then tensed her legs and sprung across, landing lightly on the other side of the stream. She turned to look at where Levi still stood on the other side of the stream, except... he wasn't there. She felt a tap on her shoulder and spun to see Levi's grinning face. "But how... oh you asshole, you used your boosting skills." She feigned anger, but she couldn't hold back her smile.

"Was that cheating?"

"Well, I didn't know it was a race in the first place," Paige protested.

"Want a rematch? We can race to the tree if you want."

Levi's smile had never seemed so happy to Paige before. It was always genuine, but it always seemed like there was still something sad just behind his eyes. Now, she didn't sense any sadness in them at all. She took a deep breath in through her nostrils. He was still nervous, but it was different. He smelled content, happy, and all his nerves smelled of excitement and anticipation.

Paige felt the blood rise to her cheeks. She gave Levi a light, playful shove. "How about you just get back to holding my hand and being the gentleman you were before you decided to be a show-off."

He stared down at her for a moment and then reached out to take her hand. She wondered what it was he wanted to show her. She didn't think it was the tree. True, there weren't many in these plains, but it was still just a tree.

As they topped the hill, it became obvious what he'd wanted to show her. The grass here was much shorter than the tall yellow blades in most of the plains. A variety of colors speckled the shorter grass as far as she could see. Fall flowers filled the rolling plains in front of them.

"Wow. That's beautiful," Paige said.

"Yeah. I thought it would be nice to watch the sunset here together. They reminded me of you. It probably sounds silly, but I've kind of always thought you as some kind of wildflower."

Paige let out a small laugh as a pulse of delight flooded through her. "What? Really?"

"Yeah. I'm not exactly sure why, other than that you're obviously both beautiful and wild. But I had this thought once that if you were a flower someone tried to trap in a garden, it wouldn't be long before you took that whole damned garden over." After a moment, Levi tensed and turned to Paige. "That probably sounds really corny."

Paige wrapped her arm around Levi's, took his hand, and leaned against him. "I liked it.'

"I'm glad." Levi's face was red. He unslung his pack, pulled out his cloak, and laid it out beneath the tree. "Want to sit down and watch the sunset with me?" He asked as he straightened and turned to her.

"Yeah, that'd be great."

For a long time, they just sat together, watching the sunset in a content quiet. Paige nestled herself into Levi's side, arms and fingers intertwined.

Levi was the one to finally break the silence. "You know, I feel like every time we've spent hung out together, we've always been talking about me in some form or another. We haven't really talked about you much."

"Uh... what do you want to know?" Paige felt a pang of worry twist in her stomach. There wasn't really anything great about her. What if he realized that and lost interest.

"Well, I don't know. How about you tell me something about you."

Paige felt put on the spot. Before she could spit out some dismissive comment, Levi interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry. I guess it's kind of hard to just talk about yourself when someone asks like that. How about we just take turns asking some questions. But... I get two questions to your one. It's fair because I already told you a lot."

Paige felt a little relieved at Levi understanding that she felt put on the spot. She smiled up at him. "Okay. I guess that's fair."

"Okay then. Let me think." Levi stared into the distance for a moment, brows furrowed. "Okay, how about this... if you could choose any superpower, what would you choose?"

Paige stared at Levi indisbelief. "That's your question?"

Levi turned to her and saw the look she was giving him. He just grinned at Paige and explained. "Seriously, you can tell a lot from a person by the superpower they pick."

"No. It's stupid. Plus, we already kind of have powers." Paige felt both nervous about the question and stupid for feeling that way, but she thought he probably expected some kind of thought-out answer, and she didn't have one.

"Okay," Levi said gently. "How about this, I'll count to three, and we answer the question together."

Paige rolled her eyes in response.

"Seriously, humor me," Levi insisted.

Paige finally let out a small sigh. "Fine."

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"On three. One, two, three..." Levi counted down.

"Flight," Paige and Levi answered at the same time.

Paige smiled when she heard his matching answer. Then Levi started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Paige said as she tried to pull her arm away from his.

His grip tightened just enough to stop her from pulling away as he answered. "I'm sorry for laughing...I just thought it was funny how much you didn't want to answer, and then our answers were the same. Just kind of funny."

With her free hand, Paige put her fingers on Levi's cheek and pushed his face away from hers. "Your face is funny."

Levi turned back with a grin, and returned the gesture, pushing her face away from him. "Well, I still think your face is beautiful."

As she turned her head back to Levi, she completely forgot what she was going to say, as his lips met hers.

It wasn't like their first two kisses. It didn't have the sexual urgency or pressure. It didn't feel hungry, like it wanted to take her all in. Instead, it was tender and giving. It was slow and deliberate, as if he was savoring the way her lips felt, and she felt her chest tighten when his hand touched her cheek. Paige almost lost control then, but somehow, as if he could feel her desire building, he pulled away before she made the kiss more intense.

For a moment, he just looked her in the eyes with a content smile on his face. Paige wanted him, bad. There was a feeling of longing, an ache in her lower stomach, for him. Paige just wanted to jump on him, press him into the ground and make him satisfy that need. For a split second, she was afraid she was going to do just that, but herself under control.

Levi had said he wanted to know more about her, and had made a point to bring it up. She should at least try. "So, what's you next question?" Paige managed to say. Her throat still felt tight, causing her voice to come out a little strained..

Levi grinned and ran his fingers through his hair. "Hell, I don't know. I guess I didn't think this through. Let me think... um... why'd you pick your class?"

"I didn't, actually. I let Mr. Stowe pick my class," Paige said quietly.

Levi jerked and stared at her in disbelief. "You just let the entity choose your class? Why? ...I mean, in retrospect it probably had your best interest at heart, but still. Why?"

Paige was about to shrug off the question, give some nonchalant answer about being carefree. He probably would have believed it. But he'd actually opened up a lot to her. She decided to just tell him the truth, and told Levi about her entire interaction with Mr. Stowe.

She did omit the part about not wanting to feel like she had to earn love, though. There were some things that she just wasn't going to share.

Levi sat in thought for a while after she finished. Paige's chest tightened as she waited for his response. Would he think her mentality was stupid or childish? And then, without looking up, he squeezed her hand gently.

"It really isn't fair," He finally said.

Paige waited on him to clarify, but he still stared blankly at the ground, so she asked. "What isn't fair?"

Levi finally looked up at her. "They always expect you to either have it figured out or do what they think is best. All based on their own regrets and lack of accomplishment. Not just parents, but parents especially. That's why I went into the Marine Corps." Levi paused for a moment, then deliberately looked Paige directly in her eyes. "I'm sorry you felt like that, and I think Mr. Stowe did a good job picking your class. But trust me, it was completely normal to not know what you wanted to do with your life. That kind of pressure is what keeps us from figuring that out in the first place... I mean, I believe that, at least."

Paige wasn't sure what she was feeling. She knew it was good. She was happy that Levi hadn't thought it was stupid. But, he'd also been understanding about the way she'd felt. He'd been something she really hadn't known she'd even wanted before that moment. And all she could do was hug his arm, press her cheek into his shoulder, and then curse herself that she couldn't hold back the tears.

Levi didn't say anything about her crying. He pulled his arm free of hers, and she was afraid he was pulling away, but then his arm wrapped across her back and he pulled her tighter against him. His free hand came across and grabbed her hand, pulling it onto his lap where he just held it. They stayed like that for a while.

Long after her tears had stopped, Levi pulled away from her. His face looked worried as she turned to him.

"Paige, I know you're younger than me, but...I never actually knew... how old are you, exactly?" He finally asked.

Paige's heart seized in her chest, but she answered defiantly. "I just turned 19 a week or two ago. Why? You going to break things off now that you know how young I am?"

For a moment he just looked at her. He went slightly pale and looked confused and worried. She smelled a small amount of fear. Then, he closed his eyes and his face relaxed.

When he opened his eyes, he wore a gentle smile. His eyes met hers with unapologetic confidence. "Nope. I reckon I'm just hooked, now."

Her heart fluttered, but she relaxed. Paige had been sure he was going to push her away again, but he hadn't. She turned to look back at the sun, almost completely behind the horizon. "Thank you for bringing me here. It's beautiful."

"Hey, I got you something. I guess it's good timing too, even though you never told anyone you had a birthday." Levi pulled away from her and reached into his pack.

He pulled out something small, and held out his open hand. In his palm was a wooden, hand-carved flower. It looked almost like a sunflower, yet somehow different. It was like he'd tried for a wildflower, thought of a sunflower, and had landed somewhere in-between. The carving only consisted of the bulb and petals, with no stem, and roughly the shape of a large coin. Still, Paige thought it was beautiful. She loved it.

"You carved this? For me?" Paige asked.

"Yeah. I told you that you reminded me of a wildflower. I didn't know you just had a birthday, but I guess happy belated birthday."

"It's beautiful," Paige said as she took the small sculpture from his hand. "Thank you."

Paige felt tears forming in her eyes, again. But she was done crying. Instead, she threw her arms around Levi and drove him onto his back, her lips pressed against his. She felt him tense beneath her as she straddled his waist, then felt his tension relax. For a moment, he melted beneath her, and she couldn't help but thrust against his hips, pressing him harder between her legs.

Then his body became taut again, no longer resisting, but no longer relaxed, as he took control. She felt his hands explore her, his lips press firmly against hers, and his body thrust beneath her. And then he was on top of her.

She pulled at his tunic, and he bit at the bindings on his bracers to help. In a frenzy they tugged at each other's clothes and gear. Levi freed himself easily, with her urging and help. But, when Levi failed to easily remove hers, he just tore at them or moved them aside.

And then everything that had been building, what she'd wanted, needed at that point, all finally came to fruition as she felt him inside her, his breath on her neck, and his hands on her body like it was his to use.

-----

Paige was asleep on his chest. Levi couldn't sleep. He stared into the stars trying to reconcile how he felt about everything. Conflicted for sure.

The notification he'd gotten was kind of funny.

Ding. Enriching Experience has reset Parched Soul of the Sage.

Parched Soul of the Sage has been paused for 36 hours.

It had been amazing. Paige had been amazing. He hadn't even known how badly he had wanted her. Flashes of the sex they had went through his mind, and he grinned, despite the conflicting and confused guilt he felt.

She was young. Too young. He looked down at her sleeping face, and felt the emotion wash over him. She was so fucking young, and yet that didn't mean a damned thing. Levi knew what he was feeling. 'Way too soon. Damn.'

"I am so fucked," He whispered to himself.

Levi had spoken quietly enough that he didn't think it would disturb her, but Paige still rolled off his chest and away from him. She immediately pressed her butt into his side as she readjusted herself and got comfortable on her side.

Levi looked at the sky again. What was he supposed to do? It was selfish, but he wanted, needed to be with her so much. 'Fuck.'

Finally, Levi came to a realization and made himself a promise. He had already been fucked up. He'd already seen heartbreak. But she was young, and she had a chance to never be fucked up or fucked over like he had.

He decided, no matter what happened, he was going to love her. He was going to be good to her. He was going to protect her. If she broke his heart, he could live with that. He'd had it broken before. But he'd make sure he wasn't the person who broke hers. He felt peace as he made the promise to himself. The smile he'd felt he hadn't deserved finally found its way to his lips as he reached his conclusion.

That's what he'd do. He just be as good as he could for her.

After a while of laying next to Paige appreciating the relaxed content he'd only just let himself feel, he slowly pulled away from her. He eased away and crawled from his cloak, doing his best to not disturb her. The night air was cold, so he lifted the cloak to wrap it over her.

He paused for a moment to give Paige's booty another good look, then reached out and gave it a gentle squeeze. She had an amazing ass, and if he was going to be with her, Levi was definitely going to appreciate the perks. Then he tucked his cloak around her.

After he'd gathered all his gear and gotten dressed, Levi made his way to the other side of the tree. Unsheathing his dagger, he did something he'd never done in his life. He almost felt like a silly teenager even thinking of it.

As Levi dug into the tree's bark, he was happy that his basic carving Skills made the task easier. It took him at least 20 minutes to finish the job, but he was satisfied with the result. Stepping back, Levi looked at his work.

Carved into the tree was a heart with the words 'Levi & Paige' carved inside it.