23 - Respite

[Author here. I've noticed some readers drop the novel around this chapter. I advise you to try to read up to Chapter 25 before deciding whether to continue or not, as the direction is different from what you think.]

"Are you..."

"-Feeling better now..."

"-Van?" They asked in unison, settling next to Van on a secluded bench.

Van remained silent, overwhelmed and still processing the unexpected depth of emotion from their encounter.

"Or do you need..."

"-To be held a bit longer...?" They offered gently, noticing his stillness. Van slowly turned towards them, his helmet obscuring his face, but not his vulnerability.

"We're here..."

"-With no reservations if you need..."

"-To feel our closeness..."

"-without the physical barriers we don."

Van maintained his gaze, thunderstruck in his suit of armor.

"...What if I said yes?" His voice broke slightly, the earlier tears still heavy in his tone.

"Then we would..."

"-Be honored to provide..."

"-Your solace." They responded softly, ready to offer him the comfort he scarcely admitted needing.

'Honored...? To... be intimate with... me...?' Van thought, his mind teetering on the edge of disbelief, half-convinced he was dreaming.

"W-wait..." Van stuttered, feeling his heart rate spike at the prospect of a closer encounter with the two as he breathed heavily, yet weakly as his strength began to elude him.

"Y-you have... Magus..." Van managed to say, his voice low, the mention of Magus causing a subtle twitch from the sisters.

"Speaking of which... I came to visit him as well as you two... Do you know where he's staying? So that... I might visit...?" he added, trying to navigate the sudden spike of his feelings and their implications.

The two exchanged a brief glance.

"That can..."

"-Wait until tomorrow, you..."

"-Must be tired."

"How about you..."

"-Stay with us tonight, and..."

"-We'll take you to..."

"-Magus tomorrow?" The two offered as they extended their hands toward Van, inviting him to follow.

He stared at their outstretched hands, his emotions swirling inside as his heart yearned for closeness.

'Max... Is... Is this what you felt when Milina died...? Is this what you experienced when you were comforted by Amoria...?' Van pondered, his thoughts deepening as he placed his hands in theirs, allowing them to lead him away.

'Because... If this is what you felt... If this is what Amoria made you feel... Then...'

'...Frankly, I don't blame you for taking her away from me.' He concluded, surrendering to the moment, fully entrusting himself to Mika and Rika's care.

Without taking note of his surroundings, Van soon found himself in a cozy, enclosed space, almost as if he had teleported there with Mika and Rika.

'There are so many things I want to discuss with them... Right..?'

"H-hey..." Van began weakly, but Mika and Rika quickly took the initiative.

"-I shall prepare a meal..." Mika started.

"-While I'll hold you on our sofa," Rika finished for her.

Van fell silent, lacking the energy to offer any suggestions. He simply nodded softly, allowing Rika to guide him as Mika hurried off to the kitchen.

"Shall I help you remove your armor?" Rika offered, reaching towards his helmet. Van twitched slightly, hesitantly halting her hand.

"Do... you wish to keep this on?" she asked gently.

Van met her gaze, then slowly lowered his arms, giving her permission to help him remove his helmet.

Rika's eyes widened in surprise as she lifted the helmet off while Van settled onto the sofa.

"You look..."

"-Exactly the same..." they both whispered in unison. Van could almost hear the genuine astonishment in their voices as they took in his face, unchanged from sixteen years ago.

"It really is.."

"-you, Van," they murmured, glancing at each other in bewildered frustration.

Van's voice dropped even lower, almost a whisper, "Are you... disappointed with this face?" he asked, looking down.

Rika shook her head, her expression earnest.

"We just wish to..."

"-Have met you at..."

"-A less hectic time," they finished together, their brows knitted in concern.

"I see... W-would you like to talk about it?" Van asked, noting their furrowed brows.

'Seeing them this troubled... Two women trained to mask their emotions... Have they grown out of their old habits, or is there truly that much weighing on their minds these days? And yet, they still make such an effort for me... I had no idea I meant so much to them...' Van reflected, feeling a deep sense of humility.

'I feel as if I'm intruding... It must be that,' Van concluded.

"I... Could come back at a better time," Van muttered, beginning to stand. Rika quickly moved to his side, pressing her weight against him, her face hidden as she leaned against his chest armor.

"You are.."

"-Making our time better..."

"-Right now, so..."

"-Please don't leave," they pleaded. Rika's weight on Van felt heavier than any burden he had carried so far. He found himself sinking back into the sofa.

'I have never seen them this vulnerable. Only around Magus, maybe... Am I really that cherished in their eyes?'

He pondered as Rika gently removed the armor he wore, and the scent of a delicious meal prepared by Mika began to fill the room. Once his armor was off, he was left sitting on the sofa in his undershirt, unsure where to look or what to say, his eyes cast downward.

Rika then gently lifted his chin with her palm, urging him to meet her gaze.

"You have the eyes of someone... Who is alien to this kind of warmth," Rika murmured softly.

Van shyly looked away, unable to hold her intense gaze.

"Have you not..."

"-Met anyone who could introduce you..."

"-To this kind of closeness..."

"-In the past sixteen years..."

"-Since we've been apart?" they gently inquired.

Van's eyes drifted to his thigh, noticing Rika's tender caress. He remained silent for a moment.

'...Not even Alicia gave me something like that... It was only something I dreamed that she would sometimes do with me... But... She chose to do that with...!' He thought in frustration as he recalled her in the embrace of another.

He sighed as he looked into Rika's curious eyes. Letting his frustration and anger drown in her gaze.

"I... have that passive after all. No helping it, I guess..." He whispered, his voice barely audible as Rika then pressed her body against his armourless self, unannounced. He gasped in shock.

"Your body is.. Warm..." Rika whispered as she clutched her arms around him, closing her eyes as she savored this closeness.

He could sense the individual strands of Rika's smooth black hair rustling on his chest, the odd friction of her rough, yet gentle fingertips as they pressed against his skin. The natural dampness of her eyelids grazing against himself. The tickling sensation of her nose nuzzling against his abdomen, and the tease of her soft lips brushing him as she pinned her head onto him.

Once more, he felt tears welling up in his throat.

"It must have been.."

"-difficult being..."

"-this lonely." They chimed. A hammer that once more broke the dam of tears in his eyes.