All For Love [Reth x OC x Jel]

Blueberries

Azu let out a squeal when she arrived home, seeing her blueberry bushes finally fruiting. She had been eagerly waiting for over a week, so she could finally give some to Reth. She'd just gotten back from dropping Jel off after their date; and as she ran over to inspect them, she couldnt help but let out a giddy giggle. She ran into her house first; quickly grabbing the poem she'd written for Jel off of her dresser to give to him later; before hurrying back out to pick them, and tend her field.

It didnt take her all that long; it was almost noon when she picked out some of the best ones, before putting some into her chest, and some into her shipping bin. She only slowed down as she went back inside to change her clothes; putting on her casual wear again to head out, only to pause as she noticed the slight bruises on her thigh, exposed now by her shorts. Immediately she could tell they were Reth's fingerprints; marring her pale skin with patches of light purple where he had gripped her the night before.

For a moment, she debated changing again; but as her eyes wandered up to the hickies the two had left on either side of her neck, painting her in pinks and purples against the attached-choker of her crop top, she gave herself a cheesy little grin in the mirror; she knew it would make the two of them blush to see her flaunt them instead. That was the factor that lead her to take it one step further; putting on her half skirt, but leaving her jacket at home; wearing the marks Jel had left on her left shoulder like a tattoo.

As soon as she was dressed she was running off to see them with gifts in hand; or rather, in her bag. It never took her long to get to town, but today she made it to the door of the inn in less than five minutes, sprinting in and over to the bar with a huge smile on her face. "Reth!"

"Hey, Sweet Tooth, how-" Reth's tongue got heavy as he turned to look at her, his cheeks instantly heating up at the sight before him. She was covered in little bruises; his eyes immediately picking out the ones he knew were from him, raking over the dark patches on the right side of her neck, and the mottled patch of pinks and purples that Jel had left on her left, before they drifted down across her body and to her thigh. He felt feverish, realizing that those were his fingerprints on her body; and she was just running around with them on total display.

Azu grinned coyly at his reaction, raising a brow at the way he gaped at her, his face turning such a deep shade of red she could actually compare it to apples. "I knew you would blush~" she giggled, coming to stand at the counter with him and leaning in to murmur to him. "Aren't they pretty~?"

It was too early for her to make him this hot and bothered; that was Reth's first thought, as he sucked in a breath and managed to smile back at her, murmuring in response. "I mean yeah-" he bit his lip, leaning in just a little closer, but not kissing her; he was at work, still. "I just wish you hadnt shown me while Im in the middle of my shift, thats so mean-"

"Well, I got excited!" Azu laughed as she pulled her backpack off, reaching into it while she spoke. "I was going to wait until dinner to come see you both but I got home and saw these so I came rushing back~"

Reth furrowed his brow as she held her hand out to him; but as she opened it, showing him a handful of ripe, freshly picked blueberries, his gaze softened to a look of confused awe. "I forgot I even asked you for these.."

"My very first harvest, as promised~" Azu grinned, reaching out with her empty hand to gently rub his forearm across the counter. "I know things got really intense right after that, but I didnt forget. Now you can bake that pie for Tish~"

"Azu.." Reth let out a little sigh as he took them from her, eyeing them for a moment before he looked back up at her, his brow upturned as he struggled to find the words to tell her how much that made his heart race. That whole time he had been worried sick over Tish, and even when he'd jumped to conclusions about where they stood, she had been thinking about him...enough to remember little things he'd said in passing, not expecting her to actually go through with any of what he had asked for that day..

To her it wasnt even a big deal; but she could tell by the look on his face that he wasnt used to people caring about him, down to the little details like this; so when he'd stared at her like that for nearly a minutes, she finally set the rest of the blueberries aside for him and came around the counter, walking through the two doors to reach him and wrap her arms around him.

Reth's cheeks only got warmer as she did so, shyly clinging to her as he tried to grasp at the idea that she really did want him to be happy. He knew he probably shouldnt get caught like this at work, but he didnt care in that moment. Even if he knew people were looking at them, he needed this; he needed the way she held him through the waves, keeping him from drowning in the intense emotions that rocked him like a boat on stormy seas..

"Thank you, Sweet Tooth. I really appreciate it.." he finally whispered against her hair, chuckling softly as he leaned back to meet her eyes. "You're too good for me, yknow.."

"As if," Azu rolled her eyes at the comment, smiling back at him as she rubbed his back. "You're exactly my kind of Trouble~"

Reth grinned sheepishly as she winked at him, and he let himself lean in to steal a quick kiss before he let her go, not wanting to risk Ashura lecturing him about PDA, too. "After everything you've done to save my ass, Im starting to believe you.."

"Only starting to? Guess I'll just have to love you even harder~"

"Dragon-" Even if his cheeks had just returned to their normal color, with just that one sentence they were bright red again; and Reth had to reach up to cover his face, letting out a heavy breath at the way she giggled. She knew what she was doing to him; she had to know, why else would she say things like that; and the part that made him want to groan in embarrassment was that he was starting to think she would; that maybe, this was more serious than he'd dared to hope..

"Hehehehe, I'll let you get back to work~" Azu smiled teasingly at him as she watched him peek at her through his fingers. "I'll see you for dinner, Trouble."

Reth took a deep breath as he ran his hands over his hair, before crossing his arms as he smiled back at her through the heat of his cheeks. "See you at dinner, Sweet Tooth.." he hummed; watching her go with a longing look as he tried to take her word for it. Maybe he really could be someone she loved..

He found himself thinking about it a lot, as he went to make a blueberry pie.