Edward was in an awkward position.
All eyes were on him, and yet the one that really made him the most anxious was the piercing gaze of the Half Elf that kept her eyes fixed on his body.
Even though he had an actual outfit on, Edward felt naked—completely stripped bare in front of her scrutinizing gaze.
He felt his heart race at a phenomenal rate, and even though he tried his best not to show it, he felt nervous to the point of perspiring.
'Discipline, Edward. As a Martial Artist, you have to discipline your body and mind!' This mantra kept him sane, and so he maintained his calm facade as he maintained his rigid, unmoving stance.
"W-whoah, Edward!" Lemi's voice once again filled his ears as he watched her jump from her position and rush to him in the blink of an eye.
Within a second, she was right in front of him.
'S-she's too close!'
As someone who had been celibate all his life, who had abandoned worldly passions so that he could obtain enlightenment, he hadn't given in to emotions like this in what felt like an eternity.
No, it was more like he hadn't felt anything remotely close in a while.
However, with this Half Elf right in front of him, her eyes sparkling in wonder as she devoured his body with her gaze alone, Edward began to feel his body and mind reacting.
He could feel something rise within him.
"You've really changed a lot! For real! Look at you!" She went further than simply uttering words this time.
Her small, soft hands went to his bulging muscles and she began to feel them up with zero restraint.
"Look at them… so tough! They feel so different from before. Ahh… you've really changed a lot, haven't you?"
Edward felt like a toy in front of his young woman… like a subject of examination, merely experimented on and dealt with as the researcher pleased. Despite being a human with feelings and a sensitive body, this girl didn't care about that in the slightest.
It was like she didn't see him as a person!
Anyone one would get upset if they were being treated so disrespectfully.
But not Edward.
"Y-you've changed too…" He managed to finally whisper, trying any other embarassing sound he would make if he was too careless.
It took all his willpower, but Edward was about to put his body under control, even as Lemi massaged his chest.
"Ah, you think so?" She finally stopped stroking his body, responding to his earlier assertion.
"Y-yeah…" Edward could only mumble out.
"Really? Ah, must be my hairstyle. I cut my hair cus it kept getting longer."
"I-It suits you…"
"..."
At this point, both Edward and Lemi were silent.
Only the heavens could tell what was going on in their minds as they stared at each other, and then looked away a split second later.
Edward was using his willpower to control hos body's reaction, so he wasn't blushing or displaying any sort of reaction that could be interpreted as romantic interest.
As for Lemi, her face was generally the same as well.
However, when considering the control Elves—specifically the females—had over their bodies, it was possible that Lemi was also hiding something from Edward.
Unfortunately, neither of them displayed any of the swirling emotions within them, hence creating an awkwardly tense atmosphere.
"M-my dad, your very good friend, just ran off with a woman, can you believe it? He didn't even bother to look in my direction. Hmmph!" Lemi retracted her hands, folding them sharply as she almost instantly switched gear from being playful to slightly annoyed.
One could only guess the reason why she was taking this approach now, or why she never really seemed to mind prior to Edward showing up.
"Well, I apologize on behalf of Jared. He shouldn't have done that."
"R-right? What a jerk! You should never treat a woman like that."
"I'd never treat you like tha…t…"
Edward accidentally slipped, unable to control his words, and succeeded in recreating the same awkward atmosphere as just earlier.
A bead of sweat formed on his face as he looked at Lemi, whose arms were still folded. Her ears seemed to be twitching, but perhaps that was simply due to his imagination.
She pursed her glossy lips, and then bit them softly as if stopping herself from uttering any word. Edward felt himself pulled into her lips, but the moment he recalled Jared's face, his body stiffened even more, and he found himself feeling even more awkward.
'What should I do now? How should I resolve this? Argh! I'm such an idiot!'
Why did he have to resort to such a cheesy line? Here was a girl who was telling him about her dad not paying her much attention, yet he managed to make the subject about him.
As a result, the atmosphere had taken a plunge for the worst… or so he thought.
"Y-you better not…" Lemi whispered, almost as if trying her hardest not to show any emotion in her voice.
It affected her words so much that Edward couldn't quite make out what she said.
"What was that?" He mumbled in curiosity.
"I said it's good to have you back. T-that's all!"
"O-ohhh… it's good to be back. I-it's also good… to see you again…"
For the third time, yet another awkward atmosphere took charge, and the two found themsleves fidgeting like awkward teenagers.
Perhaps this was the prompt that finally made the silent audience intervene. The exchange between the two had finally become too painful to watch.
"Could everyone just calm the heck down? You just storm in all of a sudden, with no explanation, and you expect us to watch you all silently? What kind of nonsense is that?" Jane was the first to speak up.
She flexed her glasses, and her furrowed brow contained annoyance mixed with frustration.
"You all have some explaining to do! Edward, Ciara, what in the world happened!"
Jane's voice seemed to garner the unanimous support of everyone who had been in the meeting hall prior, though one of the seated ones seemed to be contemplating something else.
"W-well…" Edward was dumbstruck by the question.
It wasn't like he didn't have any answers, but he wondered where exactly he ought to start from.
A lot had happened since they were all teleported away from their homeworld, and there was a lot to reveal. He just wasn't sure if he was the right person to say all of them.
"I think it's—"
"Where is Neron?" Serah Crimson's voice interrupted Edward the instant he chose to say anything.
She was now on her feet, her crimson eyes fixated on Edward.
"I don't see him. I don't sense him anywhere. Where is he?" She asked once more, and this seemed to invite pressure into the room.
Everyone in the hall was no longer concerned about what had happened, but now considered the same thing their strongest member wanted to know.
The whereabouts of Serah's husband.
*
*
*
[A/N]
How will they tell Serah about Neron's current well-being, and what will her reaction be to it?
What will her reaction be?
I can only imagine.
