EX Mission: A Midsummer's Nightmare Dream Vacation

Aeris slid up to the banquet table, threw back the nearest drink, and sighed. When she caught sight of Bastion and Vayu’s embarrassed faces, she glowered at them.

“Don’t you all start acting embarrassed and ashamed,” she growled. “How do you think that’s supposed to make me feel?”

Her eyes drifted over to where Komori stood, and she grimaced. What a fool she must have looked like.

Someone groaned from nearby, and she turned as Mongo feebly tried to clamber onto the table. For a moment, she was tempted to kick him away, but then she sighed and snatched him up by the collar of his robe to hoist him onto the table.

“Here.” She shoved a goblet into his paws and threw back another herself. “Drink it off.”

Mongo dipped a long, wiry finger into the goblet and sucked a drop off, smacking his lips. “Mmm. Thank you, Miss. That’s kind of you. You would have been my pageant winner, you know.”

Aeris snorted and plucked at a grape. “Well, that just makes my evening feel a whole lot better.”

“Glad to be of service!” Mongo chirped before slurping down his goblet.

“That’s not...” She trailed off and shrugged. Well... why not. Let him have this one.

———————————————

Bastion felt moderately mollified at Aeris’ words. If expert Vanguards like her and Komori fell for the charm, there was no sense in their juniors beating themselves over it.

No, in truth, it wasn’t the fact that he’d gotten charmed that he was truly remorseful about. But there was nothing to be done about that now. He’d just need to work on an apology for the future.

He turned as Rory sidled up beside him to pluck some fruit from the table, giggling as Aeris reached out to catch Mongo as he nearly toppled off the table throwing back his goblet of wine. She didn’t seem too bothered by everything that had happened. If anything, she seemed happier than he’d ever seen her back in Chaldea.

“What do you think, Queen of Summer?” he asked, smiling. “Was our vacation a success?”

Rory looked up, cheeks reddening, though her smile grew wider if possible. “I think... it was the best vacation ever!”

“If the Queen declares it, it must be,” he said warmly.

She beamed at him and settled beside him on the bench, swinging her legs as she watched the lights twinkling in the trees above them.

Bastion looked around the table as everyone began to settle in and relax, enjoying the food and festivities and bonding with the fairy folk swarming around them. This vacation had been anything but the relaxation he thought it would be, but maybe that wasn’t so bad. It certainly would be a memory he wouldn’t forget any time soon.

——————————————

Komori was waiting for Nena by the chariot when she finished her talk with Cleo, hand outstretched like a dashing knight about to whisk away his princess. Nena blushed at the idea, but slid her had into his and let him help her into the chariot. It took into the sky in a rush of wind, and the two settled back into their seats as the forest swept away beneath them.

“It’s beautiful,” Nena murmured, watching the twinkling fairy lights cast an ethereal glow across the treetops while the stars glistened high above them.

“It is.” Komori leaned into her, his warmth radiating into her body. “Not a bad end to our little vacation, eh?”

She smiled and let herself relax against him. “No. I could have done without some of the chaos in between, but... I guess it wouldn’t have been us if things didn’t go completely sideways.”

“Sometimes, the best rewards in life are hidden behind the biggest difficulties.” He produced a bottle of wine and two glasses he’d smuggled from the banquet. “After all, if it weren’t for all that chaos, we wouldn’t be up here right now, with the most amazing view anyone could wish for.”

The best rewards come with the biggest difficulties. Like a demon wanting to be with a human.

Komori slid a glass into her hand, the liquid bubbling, and grinned.

“A toast?”

She thought a moment, then smiled. “To the first of many great vacations.”

He grinned. “Cheers to that.”

They tapped glasses, then sipped down their sparkling wine in silence as the woods slipped away below them. The night air blew, crisp and cool, but nestled in beside each other, they couldn’t have been warmer.