#adagaf AHHHH

[one-leaf-grimoire]

"the twilight"

For some reason I decided to rework this Dyad chapter into a one shot... enjoy :)

Synopsis: the night before the Royal Knights mission, Lisa steals one last night with her husband.

Tap, tap tap

Julius starts awake, his face lifting off of the pile of paperwork he was in the middle of "working on."

"Hmm?"

Drowsily, he looks around before finally finding the source of the noise. It's me, of course, knocking gently on the window behind his desk, shadowed slightly by the twilight rays. "Oh! Hello there~" With a smile, he quickly gets up and moves to the window, pulling it open. "Would you like to come in?"

"Hmm, I don't know." I wink, still squatting on his windowsill, my new Royal Knights robe blowing in the gentle wind. "It's such a nice night outside, you know? It would be a shame to let it go to waste."

"Indeed... I forgot, you can fly now," he says, his eyes drifting over the small blue wings around my ankles and elbows that I used to get here. "You're still full of surprises."

I grin at the praise, leaning in seemingly for a kiss before suddenly pulling back. I push off the windowsill, do a loop in the air, before coming back to hover by the window. "I was always so jealous, watching you fly around like it was nothing. But it's so freeing, now... I feel like I could do anything!"

The teasing look in Julius's eyes fades away to be replaced by unbridled admiration. Seeing that expression on his face, directed at me of all people, never fails to give me a pleasant chill. Julius is the most amazing man in this world, after all... and yet he chose me to be by his side. "Come on... let's enjoy this night together."

"Sounds like a great idea."

I hold out my hand, which he takes, and I pull him out of the window. His arms wrap around my waist in an instant, holding me close as he speeds us both up, flying into the night. I giggle as he plants a teasing kiss on my neck, and I turn around to admire the view. Look at us! Flying together for the first time. Julius's hand loosens from around my waist, sliding down to my hand instead. "What should we do?" I shout over the wind. "Anywhere you'd like to visit?"

"Ooh!" Julius's eyes light up. "What about the Royal Knights headquarters? I'd really like to see everyone getting ready..."

His voice trails off at the look on my face. "No?"

"Well..." I shrug. "I just came from there... and if I go back, Mereo might make me stay for the night."

"Ah, right, we don't want that now,, do we?" Julius shoots me a little wink before thinking again. "Hmm." He once again grins. "How about Yami?"

"Yami? He's probably taking a shit!"

We both descend into gales of laughter, so much so that I have to hold onto him again. "You know, when Yami was in my squad, I had to hire a weekly bathroom cleaner just so our squad didn't suffer his consequences!"

"You're kidding!" I giggle, even though it's perfectly reasonable. "He was like that as a teenager, too?"

"You know it." Julius sighs and shakes his head. "It was Hell on Earth, almost. He never wanted to wear our cloak, either."

"Yikes... makes me glad that I didn't join the Grey Deer!" I wink, coaxing another chuckle, but there's a strange regret behind it.

"Right... if I had raised my hand that day... you probably would have joined the squad with William." He sighs and shakes his head. "I'm sorry. I'm usually better at sniffing out potential in people, but I didn't catch you until later."

"That's perfectly fine." I squeeze his arm, thinking he looked very handsome with the wind whipping through his short hair. "I was a dud back then, anyway, remember? I had no business being on any squad. And anyway... I'm happy with the way things went. Because of that, we're together today."

"You're right." Julius looks back at me to give me another smile, his fingers tightening through mine. "I suppose everything worked out in the end. I'm thankful for that."

I don't answer, I just let him pull me closer, leaning my head against his shoulder as we fly. Finally, we slow to a stop, dropping down onto a ledge on the side of a valley. "Look at that view-" Julius points out, letting a low whistle pass his lips. The castle and capitol both glimmer in the distance, seemingly worlds away. "Sometimes... I wish we could run away and never come back. It's such a beautiful place... but I don't think I could ever lead it forever. But for now, we're stuck here."

"That sounds fun, though, exploring the world with you?" I snake my arm into his, smiling up at him. "All sorts of new magic..."

"Ah, don't tempt me." Julius shakes his head. "I see enough new magic as Wizard King... even from people I've known a long time. It's great to see them all grow... maybe they'll even outgrow me one day." He lets out a chuckle. "But not yet... I'm not ready to give up this seat."

"Good." I squeeze his arm. "Unless someone forces you to."

Julius raises an eyebrow before turning to look down at me. "What do you-"

His body reacts before he even knows what's happening, pushing him away from me as I fire off Solar Bolt. "Hey! Be careful," he scolds, frowning as I start walking towards him again. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing." I grin and crack my knuckles. "It's been months since we sparred, Julius, I need some practice for tomorrow."

Julius sighs heavily, but can't contain his own grin. "Very well... I'm not going to hold back."

"Good."

This time, there's no restrictions, and I can use my full power. And I need it, too, because Julius keeps his promise. I take flight again, my spear in my hand, letting out a determined yell as I flash towards him. But every attack, he moves out of the way just in time, not bothering to make his counter attack yet. "Ah! Get back here!" Despite trying to stay serious, both of us can't help but laugh as I keep pursuing him, sending everything I have at him. I fling my arm out, letting a volley of accelerated Solar Bolts shoot out at the ground at his feet, forcing Julius to jump into the air. There we go! You're in my new domain, now! I make chase again, following his movements and slowly but surely getting used to his speed. 

"Chrono Stasis."

Ah! That's behind me! I drop down just in time to avoid getting trapped, zooming away from his grasp. Hmm, that's right, if I trap him, I don't even have to land a hit! Feeling a bit better, I discard the spear and form my own Chrono Stasis in my palms before pushing off at him again. My version of the spell is smaller than his, but it will trap him for a crucial few seconds. We flash around each other in midair, both inches away each time from capturing one another. But then, something occurs to me. "Wait! Wait! Time out!"

"What?" Julius pauses, staring at me blankly.

"Maybe we should both avoid Chrono Stasis... A few times there, we nearly caught each other at the same time. If we did that, how would we get out?"

"Hmm..." Julius taps his chin. "I would assume that being stuck in the globe renders your external spells useless... so my Chrono Stasis on you would instantly disappear, and vice versa... or not... I would suggest an experiment, but we should really have Asta here just in case both of us do get trapped."

I giggle a little at the image. "That would be pretty funny..."

"I know, right?" Julius grins, stretching one of his arms across his chest. "Well... I guess you'll have to capture me another way. I'll keep using my own spells, thank you very much."

"Ah, that's not fair!"

"I'm the Wizard King, my word is law~"

"Oh yeah? We'll see..."

And it begins again. I catch up more quickly this time, my movements speeding up. I can feel blood trickling out of my nose, but it's not nearly as bad as it used to be. I really am getting stronger, it seems, my body adapting to the new mana over the six years I've had it. Well... maybe not "adapting." Because right now... the time magic feels as natural as my own.

"Watch out!" I warn, swinging my spear as I think I've finally cornered him. However, Julius simply raises his hand and blasts the spear into smithereens with a precisely placed attack. "Hmm, better luck next time." He shoots up at me, arms spread, and I let out a strangled shriek before zooming away from him as fast as he can. I can hear him cackling to himself, enthralled by the chase. God... I don't remember the last time I had so much fun...

But now I have an idea. I loop around in midair, summoning the spear again. This time... now! I do the same thing as before, pointing it down at him while the attack charges in the tip. Julius smirks, thinking he's got me, but pauses as I start to float up away from him. He thinks it's a feint... but it's not. This is my attack! The spell I've yet to use for you, Julius.

"Mana Zone... Solar Blitz, Overdrive!"

All at once, I feel my own mana connect with the magic hanging in the air around us, concentrating until it's in every particle of the night. Julius... you're surrounded. Try and dodge this! I swing my spear, more of a show than anything, and watch as the mana bursts to life in the form of a million bolts, all around the area, all careening towards Julius. 

"Wow... now this is magic..." Julius smiles to himself, and as soon as it began, it's over. He flashes between the bolts, his afterimage appearing all over the valley, before finally coming back to his original spot. The bolts pound into the ground below, throwing up dirt and dust. That was impressive... but where is she now- He realizes that he can't feel my mana anymore, at least not as strongly as it was before. Did she run away? Or- 

He looks up just in time for me to drop on him, my arms spread and immediately wrapping around his middle. "Ah!" We both go plummeting back to earth, and Julius uses his magic to pad our fall. We roll to a stop among the dust. When it finally clears, Julius blinks his eyes open to see me sitting on top of him, pinning both of his hands next to his head with nothing but my meager physical strength and a grin on my face.

"...got you!"

He lets out a snort of laughter, shaking his head a little. "I... let you do that."

"Did you?"

"Mmhmm."

I don't let him say anything else, I just lean down and press my lips against his, feeling him reciprocate the kiss eagerly. After a moment, he simply tugs his wrists out of my grasp and wraps his arms around me, one hand gently stroking my wind-whipped hair. We stay like that for a long time, completely alone except for each other.

Eventually, he pulls his head back slightly, his breath hitching. "D-Darling, can we-"

"Yes."

I take in a shuddering breath, then lean down and press my forehead against his. The familiar spark comes right after, and I feel my mark start to glow, burning on my head and into his...

But it doesn't hurt, at least not enough for me to feel. In fact, it feels... good. The first Dyad we formed was violent and unstable, and it took everything in me to just survive it. But the years passed,, and my strength grew. This feeling, the feeling of sinking into him and him sinking into me, it used to be so scary and painful, but now it just feels natural... peaceful.

At the end of the day, I was blessed with this power, to share my thoughts, my life, my magic, and my everything with him. And he shared everything with me. 

He's literally my other half...

Sometimes, I feel like I married a goddess.

I love you.

A long time later, we finally break apart, flying home arm and arm. Both of us are dusty and dirty from our little fight (which left quite a bit of damage in the valley, actually...). I yawn and flop into bed with my hair still wet, listening as Julius hums happily to himself as he brushes his teeth in the bathroom. But then, my communicator comes to life with a familiar voice. "Mereo? What's going on?"

"Finally, I got through to you... it was just as we expected, the Midnight Sun already had a mole here to listen in on us. We'll be leaving first thing tomorrow."

I gulp at the news, but nod silently. "I see... got it. I'll be there before dawn."

"Before dawn?" Julius asks as he sits next to me. "So soon... well..." His hand comes up to pet through my hair. "Sooner better than later... we can put this all behind us and focus on the future."

"...yeah..." I break into a smile, his words comforting me. Yes, I'm feeling extremely worried about tomorrow. I just feel it in my gut, something's going to go wrong. That hungry pit of dread in my stomach from this morning still hasn't gone away. "I can't wait."

"That reminds me, I've been doing a little research!" Julius's voice brightens, and he crawls over to his bedside table and pulls out his notebook. I watch curiously as he flips through it before presenting me a page with a yearly calendar scrawled onto it. There's various dates and weeks marked down on it. "Owen helped me with this, and everything you told me helped, too... so, this-" He points at a week, approximately a week and a half ago, right after we got married. "Judging from when your cramps came, you should have gotten your period that week. So..." He goes a month further. "You should get to that part of the cycle, or whatever, on this week... SO-" He backtracks about a week. "THIS is when we want to be really trying... I marked it down for each month so we can keep track." He hands the book over for me to inspect. "Let me know if I did anything wrong... I just thought it would be helpful to have a plan."

Wow... he's really been thinking about this a lot, hasn't he? I can't help but smile to myself, hope welling up in my chest. "Yeah... it helps. I can't believe you actually went and figured all this out!"

Julius laughs nervously, scratching his neck after putting the notebook away. "I don't know... I was just thinking about it a lot lately. And... well..." He turns back towards me, a comforting smile on his lips. "I'm sure it'll be difficult... but we've accomplished the impossible together before. A baby should be easy compared to that."

For the first time in a while, hope blossoms in my mind without a moment of hesitation.

He's right... as long as we're together, everything will be okay. He's not going anywhere... and I'll survive tomorrow, no matter what! There's too much for us to look forward to.

"We will... I can feel it."

"Good." He leans in to give me another sweet kiss, his lips lingering for a moment longer than he means to. "Do you want to sleep?"

I nod, and he quickly turns off the light before wrapping himself around me like he always does. "Goodnight, darling."

"Goodnight, Julius."

His embrace feels tighter than usual tonight.

Morning comes before I'm ready. I slip out of bed and silently get dressed, hearing Julius's snores eventually fade as he wakes up as well. He watches me silently as I get ready in the dark, the sun yet to rise. I promised Mereo I would meet her before dawn, after all.

Finally, I'm ready. My heart is pounding a bit in anticipation, but my blood fills my veins with purpose.

We're going to win... we have to.

"I'll be waiting here, ready to hear from you after it's over," Julius tells me as we walk through the hallway, a little slower than we mean to. "I doubt I'll get much work done today..."

"That's alright. I'll be back to help you again soon enough." I slow to a stop as we reach my turn. I don't really want to let go of his hand, so we stand there in silence for a few seconds, not a single peep through the whole castle.

"...I'm going to be late-"

"I know."

Julius lets go, only for a moment, before wrapping his arms around me tightly. I squeeze my eyes shut and bury my face in his robe, inhaling his familiar scent, memorizing it for the day to come. Finally, he pulls back to look down at me with his beautiful eyes, looking concerned, a little scared... but also hopeful.

"If you die... I'll never forgive you."

"I'm not going to die!" I scold lightly, managing a little smile. "It'll be over before you know it."

"Right." Julius leans down, surprisingly going for my cheek instead of my lips. He presses that last kiss into my skin before stepping back, his eyes lingering on my face. 

"Good luck... I love you."

"I love you too, Julius." 

I give him one last wave before turning and running off, his eyes not leaving me until I disappear from sight.

And so begins the longest day of my life.