Late Night Gaming

It took a few more days of non-stop learning, but finally, the fateful night was there: where Nela and my schedule overlapped enough that we could once again take half a day off, just for ourselves.

I stretched, and finally got up from my usual spot in the tiny library. Outside, the golden glow of the setting sun sparkled on the ocean waves. I could see a few elves even dancing on the water, as if they had solid ground under their feet instead of liquid. It was fascinating.

But not as fascinating as having a few hours of time with Nela.

"I'm done," I whispered, and took my books with me.

Ulfret barely looked up from his own texts. He was still correcting my mistakes in the latest version of my speech. It still had a long way to go, but I was surprised at how diligent he helped me learn the language.

"Close the door behind you," he said, and turned the page.

I nodded, and quietly left the library. The smell of freshly made food came from somewhere, and my stomach rumbled. Did I eat lunch, or had I forgotten it again? It was hard to tell, but I was only more excited to see Nela again. I hurried back to her room—our room.

It was still the usual mess, but it looked like Nela had actually tried to tidy some spots. She was currently sorting through her pile of pillows, fluffing each one up.

"I'm back," I said, and the words never felt so good. "How was your day?"

"Leo!" She immediately got up and hugged me.

I embraced her with a kiss and a small smile on my face as we leaned into each other. If that gesture was odd at first for me, now it felt like the most normal thing in the world. To touch her. To hug her. To feel her warmth, her arms around me. It was so normal, and that was the most wonderful thing.

"It was nice," she continued, speaking right into my shoulder, "I only had to spend two hours on planning, and since the weather was great, I got to take a look outside, and Meike helped me after lunch—oh, I had Labskaus for lunch, and you?—and then the rest of the time just flew by, I don't even know what I did, and now I'm here."

She finally took a step back to look at me. "I'm ready to play."

"Me as well," I said, even though so many other thoughts were racing through my head.

She was not only pretty, but also hardworking. She believed in me—enough not to be overbearing, while also supporting me with my questions regarding the language. And she was interested in me and my culture, as well!

"Great!" she said, and gave me a thumbs-up.

Even though we could communicate much better now than in the beginning, we still liked to use the emotes here and there. It was our secret language, the thing that had fostered our friendship for so long.

"I went ahead and got us some food," she said, motioning at our gaming corner.

"Some food" in this case meant a big bread platter with various types of bread, pickled vegetables, meats and cheeses, as well as fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts. There were Rollmops as well, as well as other types of fish to be eaten on bread. I smiled at her.

"You did a great job," I told her.

"No, you're the one who's great," she immediately rebuked. "Just look at you! You probably spent the whole day with Ulfret again, didn't you?"

"And another dinner practice with Meike," I sighed. "One day, I won't mix up the second and third fork."

"You will," she said with full conviction.

I hugged her again, just a little bit tighter, and planted a kiss on her hair. Even for me this gesture was becoming more and more natural. It was great to know she was here with me, to know she truly believed in me.

We stayed like this for a moment or two, before my stomach rumbled. I laughed, and let go of her.

"Shall we start, then?"

*~*

It had become dark outside some time ago. I couldn't tell how long we were already doing this, since I was too immersed in the game to even look outside.

"We have to go here," I said.

"I know, but look! They added a new bug model!"

I grinned at her, and our shoulders touched. "There has to be a dev on the team that really likes bugs."

"As they should."

I glanced at her. "Why do you like bugs so much, anyways?"

"Why not?" She grinned at me. "I was scared of them at first. I would cry for hours after a little beetle landed on my shoulder. But then we had a merchant come in who had a small case of these Goldwyrms and they looked so fascinating! Their little legs looked just like the waves."

I nodded. It was odd, but also a really interesting way of looking at them. "And now you collect them, dead and alive."

"Genau!" She grinned at me. "They are easy to care for."

“I know. Until I have to help you clean out their tanks."

"But you'll do that for me, right?" She winked at me. "Pretty please."

"Alright, alright." I laughed.

"What are your hobbies, aside from gaming?"

"Hm?" The question was so sudden, I had to blink. "Uh... To be honest, I didn't have many hobbies before I came here."

She could probably tell how uncomfortable the subject made me. Usually, I skirted around it, but tonight, she looked at me with such a serious face that it was hard to do so.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She hesitated, as if she wanted to say something else.

I took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Don't be. I'm happy you got me here. Marriage and all."

Sure, I sometimes woke up in the middle of the night with my heart racing and my head full of worries. How was my father doing? Had he even noticed that I was gone? What did they say in school about me? And yet, none of that seemed serious enough to warrant me going back. Not now. Not with Nela here.

She smiled, and squeezed back. "Then we need to find more hobbies for you! I want to see your weird side."

"M-my weird side?" I looked at her in shock.

She laughed. "Of course! I'm sure you're also weird. But not in a bug-collecting way. Maybe you would like to try out fishing?"

"Fishing is weird?" I sighed, and shook my head. "We can look for a hobby after the engagement party is done." Until then, it was the only goal I wanted to reach.

"You're right." She leaned in closer to me, until she was almost in my lap, yet we still both continued to look at the screen.

This was normal. This was nice. Having her around me calmed me down like nothing else. I kissed her head, and then rested my chin on her head. I could feel her giggle.

"Focus," I told her again.

"I focus," she protested. "I do!"

It was cute to hear her try and speak my language as well. And with that, we continued to game into the night, one indulgent day in a series of long, hard work days.