God Of Crafting

Even getting past the doors didn\'t help, as only more staff appeared around, pretty much escorting us with knowing smiles all the way back to the private part of the mansion.

\'Honestly, I can hardly fault them,\' I thought when I finally hid in our bedroom and helped Claire to get down to the bed.

Escorting her all this way, under all those curious and mischievous smiles of the staff took a much greater tool than I ever expected it to. And it was all because of how Claire, for some unknown reason, just couldn\'t stop stupidly grinning!

And even if it meant enduring all those well-wishing stares from the staff, I was too stingy to share this slightly dumb, outright happy smile that Claire either couldn\'t or outright refused to wipe off her face.

In the end however, we came back not to flirt… But to get well deserved rest. And all the knowing smiles and small grins that accompanied us on the way back to the bedroom grew small and meaningless when compared to the sea of mental and physical exhaustion we coped with for quite the stretch of time!

Now, it was time to rest.

And while I was too greedy not to hold Claire in my arms as I went to sleep, I honestly had no plans to go any further.

\'We\'ve faced a damn nuke,\' I thought, feeling a tense knot tie over my insides.

"What\'s wrong?"

Sprawled on the bed, Claire casually started to walk two of her fingers up my arm.

"You really know how to get a read on me, don\'t you?" I smiled lightly, soothed by the mere sight of such a lovely partner just… waiting for me to join her in bed so that we could fall asleep together.

\'I\'m gushing, aren\'t I?\' I thought, recognizing the state of my mind and then taking a deep breath to calm myself down.

"It\'s just…" I pursed my lips, only to close my eyes and shake my head.

"It\'s just that things escalated through the roof," I\'ve then revealed my thoughts nonetheless, happy with the idea of opening up to Claire some more, especially in light of my recent behavior. "They escalated into a realm I could no longer manage," I said as I sat down on the bed\'s edge and grabbed Claire\'s hand.

"Because of my oversight, I\'ve put the two of us, the whole project, your father\'s immediate future…" I muttered as I started to fully feel the weight of all the things I brought up. "Claire, I\'ve put all of that in jeopardy. And the worst of it all, you wound up injured!"

With my breath stuck in my throat, I could only tighten my hold over her hand.

"And that\'s…"

Before I could finish, Claire pulled on my hand, leading me to collapse down on the bed, right by her side.

"I owe you something, don\'t I?"

"Wait, if this is about this ASMR thing,"

"No," Claire pressed her forehead against my chest as she pulled herself right up to my arms. "You\'ve gone through a kidnapping, a whole damn battle, all because of your association with me."

Claire\'s words quickly rang the bell.

\'Is this the same… she felt back then?\' I thought, suddenly finding the obvious clue in all the small, weird hints Claire would drop after those two events took place.

"Then again," she raised her head and looked up to my face with a slight pout still partially hidden down in my chest, "it was OUR oversight," Claire\'s hands tightened into small fists as she pressed them down on my chest. And by the end of it, she looked up again before locking her gaze right as I looked down at her.

"Ours, not yours."

Claire kept her stare for a short moment, only to then drop it, as if suddenly embarrassed, hiding her face back in my chest.

"I mean…" I hesitated for a moment.

Then, it felt as if a stroke of genius… or maybe a hallucination caused by my exhaustion and wounds from overusing my weird constitution.

"I guess marriage is all about turning two into one, huh?"

It was a random, off-handed comment. An example of me merely noticing something, finding a name for something I didn\'t have one for.

"I mean, if anything, that\'s what I imagine a proper marriage to be," I added, staring with amazement as Claire\'s face first froze in shock only to then turn red from her cheeks up before quickly collapsing into a state of panic.

Charmed by how I could read the world from just her face, I fell into the commitment fallacy, opting to take it even one step further.

"And on that note, please, I really like if not love you and I\'m perfectly happy with what we have. Now, not to dismiss all that I\'ve said…" I hesitated a little, knowing full well how my next words would sound. "But what are we, exactly?"

Right now, we weren\'t having sex.

Heck!

We were still both clothed, too tired after what transpired to even think about taking a shower or changing before finally catching some shut-eye. And our hug…

Combined with our expressions as we looked right at each other… It looked more like a mature intimacy between long-time lovers rather than an exciting night after an exciting series of events.

And yet, even with all the marriage vibes I brought just a second ago, I\'ve now pretty much-put doubt into the essence of our relationship.

"What?" Claire… made something between a cry and a squeal.

"I mean, I think we are getting along just fine. Then, on paper, we are promised to each other, but that all rides on the contract."

Taking a deep breath, I brought my elbows closer as I grabbed Claire\'s shoulders only to then gently push her away a bit, just so that I could get a better look at her face.

"I\'m sorry if that comes out as pushy or needy, but I really think more of you than just a contractual partner, and or a friend."

Claire\'s face grew still again but quickly started to soften up and then turn between shocked and dreamy as she paid her full attention to my words.

Staring down at this show of the utlimate glory of adorableness, I\'ve pretty much lost the track of what I was to say next.

The whole point of my speaking suddenly went missing, leaving me with nothing but the very core of what I wanted to express.

"So, in the future, would you like to get married for real?

I\'ve asked as bluntly as I could, losing my wits as I wasted this opportunity when we were both agonaly tired rather than saving it for when I could make it a grand, memorable event.

I was just… too tired to think straight.

And so, all I could do at this point was to double down.

"Not because that\'s in the contract, but…" I\'ve raised my eyes and locked them on Claire\'s all-serious, focused, and… tearful look?

At this point, the embarrassment, the sense of vulnerability…

They quickly grew to a level that was too much for me to handle.

And right as all of the facade of the courage that I\'ve built around myself began to fully crumble, Claire reached out and placed her hand on my cheek as the first drop of a tear dropped down on hers.

"You dummy…"