#stard

Amelia had been going to the mines a lot recently.

She'd also been coming out of the mines more than a little bloody and bruised a lot.

Sebastian grew more and more worried each time he saw her with her sword on hand.

So he practiced.

She was heading into the mines specifically for some gold ore and minerals, meaning she had to go further down. She crossed the footbridge and slowed when she saw Sebastian by the entrance, finishing off his cigarette.

“Right on time,” he exhaled, a plume of smoke rising above him. She was about to ask, but her eyes caught on the sword he had at his side.

“Seb, what do you think–”

“I'm coming with you.”

She blinked and frowned, her brows furrowing together, “Seb, today isn't a good day to come along. I'm going deeper into the mines today and it's not safe.”

“All the more reason for me to come.”

It was then that he started tagging along. At first, he thought about just throwing her over his shoulder and leaving. The monsters were terrifying. But the more he thought about it, the more willing he was to stay and fight and protect her. It seemed to be working too. Neither of them emerged with any serious injuries like she had when alone.

It helped that she liked having him around. Their banter was always playful and he always had her back. There had been a few close calls before, but they always made it through. The worst was when he took a blow from a shadow brute, knocking her out of the way. She had to pour a life elixir down his throat and was still worried.

She didn't go into the mines for a while after that.

It was about two months since he started going down with her. He had graduated from a short sword to a couple of daggers and a bow with a few specialized arrows. She stuck to her shortsword and slingshot. She loved watching him with the bow, the elegance of it suiting him in so many ways. And with his daggers, he was fast and silent.

They were further down than they'd been since the incident when he fell.

They hated these floors. All they were was plagued with monsters, the ladder hidden behind some magic that couldn't seem to be repelled.

“Left!” Sebastian called, the farmer lunging right at her target, Sebastian’s arrow flying by on her left, pinning one of the bats to the wall with the sickening screech of its final cry.

With a small chuckle, she stood, having bottled some slime to take.

“You know, you're becoming a bit of a badass.”

“Becoming?” he smirked, shooting her a look. He followed as she mined a node of what he assumed was iron.

“You've gotta earn that title, Seb,” she teased, tossing the ore into her pack.

“Well, shit. I'll have to work a little harder.”

She rolled her eyes and looked around, trying to see some inkling of where to go. She chipped away at stones until she found the ladder, “alright. Let's do this.”

They went on like this for a while, defending one another while they gathered ore and made their way deeper.

Sebastian landed, helping Amelia down over the last few rungs of the ladder. She froze as she looked around, whispering, “Seb, this floor is infested.”

He looked around, a small smirk spreading, “we've got this.”

Clearing the floor took longer than they anticipated, the two having to fall back to eat something and wake themselves up.

“Okay, yeah. Infested is a good word,” Sebastian breathed, his breath still heavy.

“Told you. Slimes or larvae?”

“Slimes. Watch for bats.”

They went back in, making quick work of the rest. Amelia ran out of ammo for the slingshot, not enough stone that she could spare. She was fine with her short sword, plunging it through the last slime.

“Do you see the ladder?” Sebastian looked around, not noticing the bat flying toward him.

“Seb, right!”

Sebastian ducked and watched as Amelia’s axe flew past him, the strained screech of the bat pinned to the wall with the axe echoing. He pulled the axe out and walked it back over to her, his face a mix of shock, awe, and something Amelia couldn't quite name.

“Holy shit,” Sebastian said, laughing quietly.

“Seb, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have thrown my axe. That's… That could have–”

“You know I'm in love with you, right?”

She didn't know what surprised her more: his confession, the fact that he was kissing her, or the fact that she didn't hesitate to kiss him back. He had one hand cupping her cheek as he kissed her. It wasn't wild or even intense despite their adrenaline. It was soft and genuine. She had her free hand resting at his shoulder, her thumb brushing over the side of his neck.

Neither of them knew if it was thirty seconds or thirty minutes, but he pulled back, his eyes scanning her face for any inkling that he messed up.

She started back up at him, eyes growing a little wider, “you… You’re what?”

He couldn't help but laugh, whether from anxiety or happiness he couldn't say, “I uh, I'm in love with you.”

She nodded for a second, “that's what I thought you said. Uh.. And you realized this when I threw an axe at your head?”

“Well, no. You're just a badass and it compelled me to tell you. That was impressive.”

“So what I'm hearing is if I ever want you to kiss me again… Throw an axe at you?”

Sebastian arched an eyebrow, his smirk enhancing his sarcasm, “usually it works pretty well. Just asking works too. Or… Well, make that face you always make when you want something,” he tried to make it.

Amelia laughed and gave a little pout.

“That's the one,” he laughed, still standing close. He paused for a long moment, “Ames, should I be–”

“I love you too.”

“Oh. Well, alright… That's gre–”

She cut him off this time with a kiss, much briefer than the prior.

“I think the mines aren't a great place for this,” she laughed, walking with him to the elevator.

“You're… Not wrong.”

They made it most the way up in the elevator before she laughed quietly, earning a questioning look from Sebastian.

“I think you've earned the right to call yourself a badass.”

“Oh, sweet!” he jokingly brought his fist down like he was celebrating.