All For Love [Reth x OC x Jel]

He Cant Know

"I'll see you later, Sweet Tooth~"

"See you at dinner, babe~" Azu giggled as she let him go, watching the way he grinned to himself before heading into the inn. She eyed his arm until she couldnt see him anymore; the hickies over his tattoo being the only ones you could see now that his coat was on, aside from a couple of little ones on his neck, mostly hidden by his hair. She, on the other hand, had a mess of new markings on her body; the most obvious new ones painted across her exposed mid drift and peeking from under her shorts where Reth had trailed up and down her thighs; and even if she knew Eshe would cringe at her when she walked by, she wore them with pride.

She couldnt focus on the looks she may or may not have gotten with everything on her mind, though; a whole list of people she needed to talk to and things she needed to do whirling around her head like a tornado. Questions she needed answered, and things she might have to do; but she had to start somewhere..

She ended up starting with talking to Tish, finally turning on her heel and she started off to the furniture store, hoping to find the blonde elf woman inside. When she didnt though, she sighed; realizing she must've still been on her morning walk, and turning again to start running off to the Fisherman's Lagoon. It didnt take her long to find the younger woman beneath a tree, enjoying the morning sunshine.

Tish furrowed her brow as she noticed Azu coming over to her, waving happily as the human stopped beside her. "Hey, Azu! Everything okay? You seem kind of serious today." she hummed, studying the way the girl sighed.

"Well...if Im honest, Tish, no." Azu sighed, coming to stand under the tree with her and resting her hands on her hips. "Can I ask you about something..? If its too personal you can tell me no, I just...its about Reth."

Realizing that it must have been something to do with their still rather new relationship, Tish's stomach sank a little; hoping to the Phoenix that nothing had happened. "Of course..! Is everything okay with you two?" she murmured worriedly, tilting her head a bit.

"Dragon, yes-" Azu laughed, holding her hands up to ease the girls worry. "We're doing great, he's amazing, I'm just-" she paused, thinking back to the way he'd hesitated at every turn in their relationship so far.. "I'm worried about him...it feels like he's still waiting for me to break up with him or something, even though I've told him so many times that Im not going anywhere." Azu sighed, reaching up to rub her neck as she looked at the ground. "I mean I know he catches a lot of flak for the whole 'Path' thing, but that doesnt matter to me either and I...I cant help but feel like this is something deeper rooted than that. Its like Im trying to talk at a wall, Tish; no matter how many times Ive said I dont care what people think, or told him that Im not going anywhere and I want to be with him, he just.."

Tish had to bite her lip to hold back a few tears; she had a guess or two why Reth would act like that, and while it hurt her to know that her brother was still suffering in silence, she was glad to see that Azu cared so much; and even if she had told herself that she would never talk about them again, she knew she had to, if she was going to clear up the confusion about Reth's behavior. "U-Uhm...h-he doesnt talk about it, but he's...had a f-fair few people reject him before, because of well...the Path thing.." Tish swallowed, reaching up to rub her neck, remembering the times Reth had come home heartbroken, back in the city.. "And uhm...there was this girl who I-"

Tish stopped, wondering if it was even right for her to say. When she saw the way Azu was looking at her though; the fire in her eyes and the anger at the idea that someone had hurt Reth; she knew that Azu would never be like them...surely, that was a good reason to let her know what had happened..? "I-I think she really messed with his head." Tish finally sighed, letting herself lean on Azu's shoulder as they stood, looking up at the clouds. "It was back when we were in the city; my health was pretty bad, so I didnt get to do much; but, sometimes I would be able to sit at the cafe Reth used to work at. There was this girl; she would come in sometimes, and at first she seemed really sweet; she was funny, and they laughed a lot when she was around, b-but.." she paused to take a deep breath, shutting her eyes and trying not to tear up at the memories. "Over time, he started to really like her; a-and even I had thought that maybe something was there, because she would flirt back with him, but...th-then Reth started coming home really frustrated, some nights. He would never tell me what was wrong, but I could kinda guess when I noticed that the way she talked to him started being less playful, and more...hard to get.."