It hadn't been that hard to notice the change. Especially for someone like Pierce who was always on guard and observing. They may have tried to be subtle about it, or at least Noi did. Ava didn't seem like she cared much for the constant physical contact that Noi had been giving her.
Hand-holding, little hugs, and sometimes even just leaning into her space. The two of them seemed much closer and more comfortable with each other. The other daemos were at loss to when, how and why this happened. Asch thought that it may be due to Noi's persistence. Leif thinks one of them seduced the other. And Rhys thought of the possibility of a charm spell being used. But Pierce thought otherwise.
They may have not been living with Ava for long but he has observed her. Despite all the death spells she casts, the human didn't look like the kind to be violent or seducing. If the fact that she turns red whenever they undress is any indication. As for charm spells, instead of wanting to keep them, Pierce has spoke to her about it and knew that Ava was more or less, forced to keep them, so a charm spell would be contradicting what she said before. The, there's Noi. While it's possible that they're closer because of Noi, it's probably not because he persisted. Ava herself seemed comfortable and not at all annoyed whenever Noi gets close. So that crosses out all of the others' guesses.
Pierce would've asked Noi for answers but whenver he's asked about Ava, he would turn into a red-faced idiot with a stupid grin on his face. He'll also be in a daze for hours. So he's useless. Which means there's only one other person to ask.
And that is why Pierce finds himself in Ava's room, a couple of hours since they were meant to be resting.
Looking at Ava sleeping deeply almost made Pierce turn around but he brushed the thought off. Knowing his fellow daemos, they would most likely interrogate Ava tomorrow since Noi was too far gone. Which means this is his only chance.
He gently started to shake Ava awake, who in turn, grumbled at the disturbance. She opened on eye to look at Pierce, groaned and then slowly sat up.
"Did you need something, Pierce?" she asked with a yawn.
Pierce nods. "Yes. I apologize for disturbing your sleep, princess but I would like to ask you something."
"Okay. What is it?" Ava yawned and reflexively covered her mouth.
"Why are you letting Noi touch you so much?" Pierce asked.
Ava looked at him, confused. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"It's just Noi keeps on touching you. Like holding your hand or holding you. And your a princess. Noi is the lowest ranking soldier here. It's not common to just let those lower than you to touch you so casually. So why are you letting him?" Pierce explained, his eyebrows furrowed.
Ava looked at him for a second before sighing. "Honestly, I don't know," she answered.
Pierce looked at her with wide eyed. "What do you mean, princess?"
Ava chuckled, humorlessly. "I mean that I'm not keen on physical contact either. Even for those I am close in relationship to, like my dads. But humans usually love physical contact. Especially with people they care for but not so much for strangers. If someone they didn't know touched them, then they'd either feel disgusted, uncomfortable or violated. It depends."
"Then why?"
"Like I said, I don't know," Ava starts. "After I let Noi hold my hand that one night, he always asked before touching me. It was nice since most human don't really ask, I guess. After that, physical contact with him became normal and comfortable. It became something we just do without question. I'm not sure when that came to be, just that it did."
For a moment silence enveloped the room as both of the occupants gathered their thoughts about this revelation.
Pierce was the one to break the silence with a rather startling question.
"Then, may I hold you?"
Ava looked at him surprised. That was indeed unexpected. But, she smiled as she nodded and opened her arms, not denied.
Pierce slowly wrapped his arms around her, careful not to hurt her. Ava rolled her eyes and pulled him forward. He was surprised by the sudden pull and fell on top of Ava, who laughed in surprise. Pierce rolled over to his side and sat up, an apology in his tongue. But Ava shook her head and sat up again.
"Let's try that again, kay?" She smiled and crawled closer to Pierce, who sat there, stiff. "Try to relax, Pierce. I'm not gonna hurt you." Then she opened his arms and snuggled into his chest.
Pierce's arms hovered for a moment before carefully wrapping around Ava, who hummed contently. In no time, she was once again, asleep.
A smile reaches the daemos' lips as he carefully set Ava on her pillows and tucked her in. He pet her head for a minute before leaving, quietly.
Holding her was nice. He can see why Noi does it so much. Maybe he'll be granted permission to do it again.
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Omake:
Pierce: *pulls Ava into a giant bear hug*
Ava: *snuggles, contently*
Noi: *fumes on the side*
The other three: What the HELL?!
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OwO Who do you think should be next?
