Temptations

Rain continued to observe Yv's continuous change of attitude. Her sudden change brought upon an ominous feeling to Rain, who had never seen her behave that way ever since they started living together for almost 2 years.

Rain's eyes wandered for a moment before finally settling on Yv, who's drying their clothes under the sun.

"Strange. Very, very strange." Rain though.

Yv's usual arrogant and prideful behavior was nowhere to be seen. Rain, who had been observing her for days ever since her change of behavior and attitude could not believe that he is looking at the same person.

"Yv, do you want something? I'm going to the village to restock our ingredients." asked Rain, carrying his basket.

Yv glanced at the goods he is willing to trade and shook her head, "I don't think there's something I need. I have everything I need here." said Yv, turning away.

Rain finds her words strange and since she's been acting strange for days, he brushes any unnecessary thoughts. And then he started preparing to leave, carrying everything he needed on his back.

"You sure? You know you don't need to be shy. If there's anything you want, just tell me. Although it might be outside of our budget, it wouldn't hurt to be aware of your needs." said Rain, but Yv was adamant on her decision. "Fine. Just tell me if you need anything, I'll try to give it to you." Ren then left.

Yv continue to dry their clothes. And as Rain slowly starts to  walk further and further away from the house and eventually passing through the bridge. Yv finds herself staring at Rain's back with a hopeful look on her face.

"I told you….." whispered Yv.

After an hour, Rain returned with a basket full of spices and other ingredients they were missing. Rain put everything on the table and sat down to catch his breath. 

"Phew! Today's a little bit hot!" exclaimed Rain.

Rain suddenly felt a cold sensation brushing his cheeks. He immediately turned and saw Yv holding a glass of cold drink, intentionally sticking it to his cheeks.

"You need something to freshen yourself up, right?" said Yv, handing him the glass.

Rain gratefully accepted the glass and took a sip. His troubled expression disappears as soon as he swallows a mouthful of the drink Yv made for him.

"Is this honeyed lemon?" asked Rain.

"Yes, I assumed that you'll need something cold to drink when walking under this heat so I prepared this in advance, for I too, am feeling too hot under this heat." she told him, fanning herself.

Because of the heat, Yv was drenched in sweat. Her shirt which was supposed to be white has turned almost transparent, revealing the last piece of cloth covering her chest.

Rain immediately turned away, completely flushed. Yv noticed this and scanned her body for his unusual reaction. Upon gazing on her shirt, she cracks a smile after realizing the reason for him turning his gaze away. 

"I think you should change your shirt, Yv. You'll get cold if you continue to wear that shirt drenched in sweat." said Rain, sipping his drink. "Thanks for the drink, by the way."

"Did you see?" asked Yv, teasingly. 

"See what? I didn't see anything- yes, accidentally. It was a total accident. I'm sorry."

Seeing his reaction, Yv moved closer. This urged Rain to put a distance between them. But as he puts a distance between them, Yv doesn't stop and follows him.

"What the heck are you following me for?" snapped Rain, finally having enough of her behavior. "Is there something wrong?" Rain put away his glass and turned to Yv even though his face was completely flustered.

She finally saw his face after he tried so hard to hide his reaction.

"What a cute look you have there, Rain.  You should be used to that by now." said Yv, almost in a teasing manner.

"So what? Is it really that amusing?" 

Yv looked at him briefly before touching his cheeks, making him even more flustered. "Not really. I thought humans are open to these kinds of things. I mean they even have sex slaves to satisfy their lust, so I was wondering if you're the same." 

"What the heck? Just because most humans tend to do that doesn't mean I have to be one as well. Despite how I look, I'm a gentleman.  I'm not some sex crazed animal or something." said Rain, trying to change her impression of him. 

As if satisfied with his words, Yv stood up and made her way towards her folded clothes and picked a shirt. Taking the hint that it was time for him to leave, Rain moved towards the door. And just as he's about to take a step outside, Yv called out to him. 

"Stay."

Hearing her sudden and absurd demand, Rain snapped. "What the hell are you talking about?! How can I stay in the same room where a woman is about to change clothes?! Have you finally lost it?!" yelled Rain.

The anger that burst out of Rain slowly dispersed as their gaze met. Seeing Yv's calm and collected demeanor influenced him. And not long after, Rain calmed down. 

"I'll stay if you give me a good reason. Otherwise, I'll leave." said Rain.

"I want to see for myself if you're really different compared to most humans in most kingdoms." 

Rain looked at Yv without a hint of anger on his face and sat down. "That's it? For a simple reason like that, you're going this far? Well, if that's what you want, I will indulge with your wishes." said Rain, "So? What should I do? Just sit here and watch you change?"

Yv nodded her head and started to take off her shirt, revealing her fair and white skin. Leaving only the last piece of clothing that covers her chest, Yv hesitated. And after a brief moment of contemplation, Yv took off the last piece of cloth, revealing her bare chest to Rain.

The latter was frozen in place. He managed to remain calm despite Yv deliberately slowing down her movements while changing her clothes. It became apparent to Rain that she wanted to test his limits. However, Rain, who declared complete control over his carnal desires, stayed true to his words.

"I guess, you're not all talk." Yv said, finally finished changing to her new clothes. "You're quite unusual for a human. Normally humans would immediately jump at the sight of a half-naked elf in front of them. My people call it 'Possession' since they act as if they're possessed, staying true to their desires. But you, you managed to hold on to yourself. Impressive." Yv cracks a smile as Rain stood up with his lower body part getting a hard on.

"This is a natural reaction. I hope you don't misunderstand how male bodies work." Rain told Yv, "We're done here, right? I'll excuse myself for now." Rain walked out of the house, clenching his jaw.

The day went on and the two continued working on their chores and interacted as if nothing happened. Before the sun started to set, they had already finished eating their dinner and went to bed.

Just like usual, Rain prepared his make-shift bed on the floor right beside the bed. And as he was about to finish his preparations, Yv stood on his hay-bed.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked Rain.

"What do you mean? You're going to sleep on the bed with me." said Yv.

Yv's abrupt and dangerous demand threw Rain off, making him angry rather than flustered.

"I thought I passed the test. So why should I listening to your unreasonable demand this ti-"

"That's precisely why I'm allowing you to sleep beside me. It's all because you managed to stop yourself from giving into your carnal desires. I have put my faith in your 'self-control' that you'll do nothing to me even if we sleep together." Yv cut in.

Utterly speechless and surprised by her unreasonable request yet again, Rain couldn't hide his anger and grab Yv by her shoulder, clenching them tightly. Though Rain poured enough strength to make her wary of him, the latter didn't flinch and stood her ground.

"Why are you pushing things too far?" asked Rain, "I've already finished indulging in your demand. I have no reason to go along with you this time-"

"You're having a hard time sleeping, right? Based on what I've observed so far, you're not used to sleeping in bed alone. You're longing for someone to embrace to fully sleep."

Rain stood in silence after hearing Yv's remarks. Instead of refuting her words, Rain looked at her straight in the eyes and asked, "How did you know?"

"How? Didn't I tell you? I observed you every night ever since we started living in this place. You don't always get the best sleep yet you are able to function just fine at first. But as time goes by, your body starts to slow down. That's a good indication that your body needs to rest well." explained Yv.

"I don't feel anything like slowing down. You're wrong about that-"

"Of course that would be the case. I offered you some help, after all." Yv cut in once more.

Rain didn't need her to explain what she meant as he immediately understood what she was saying. His face instantly turned red upon the realization of what had been happening without his knowledge.

"Looks like you understand what I was doing. Then that makes things easier, right? I'm letting you know this time since I don't want to be misunderstood and seen as a pervert." said Yv, "To tell you the truth, I'm the same. Which is why I was able to observe you while you sleep."

"W-Wait, are you saying you're awake almost every night? And you're saying you've done nothing but watch me sleep?!" Flustered, Rain clenched his jaw to avoid showing any strange expression. "That's just plain creepy!"

"Cree-! How dare you say that after I've helped you countless nights. How rude! If anything, you should be thanking me!" demanded Yv.

"I didn't ask for your help in the first place! More importantly, you said you have the same problem then that could only mean you did that for your own benefit!" Rain angrily points his finger at Yv.

Instead of arguing with Rain, Yv grabbed his shoulders and tossed him towards the bed. Rain was caught off guard and since Yv had proper training, tossing Rain towards the bed was as simple as laundry in a basket.

"What the heck are you doing?!" 

Rain tried to stand but before he could gather throws to his limbs, Yv pinned him down. Making a completely easy to misunderstand situation.

"Hey, hey, now. In my eyes, it's you who can't control yourself, Yv." said Rain, trying to crack a joke. 

Yv didn't respond nor move to give him a chance to gather his strength. Rain knew it was pointless to struggle since Yv made sure to overwhelm him with strength. Although Yv's a woman, the difference between their strength was clear. Rain lost the fight before it even started.

"What if that really is the case? What will you do?" said Yv, without a hint of humor.

It was Rain who was dumbfounded by her words. He was surprised enough to stare at her blankly, and overwhelmed by her ability to make a serious joke.

Rain burst into laughter, not taking her words at face-value, "Pfft! That's hilarious, Yv. I didn't know you could make jokes like that." said Rain, trying not to get his spit on her face. His laughter died down upon seeing Yv's stern expression, "W-Wait, seriously?"

With so many unexpected things happening, Yv pushed herself further and leaned closer to Rain, exposing her chest to his eyes. With their lips a few inches away, both of them could feel each other's breath. With Rain starting to breathe heavily, Yv could see how hard he is holding on to keep himself in check.

"You're holding yourself quite well. Why not let your desire take control over you just once? I'm sure you have a lot of pent up energy within you." said Yv softly, almost as if she was whispering to his ears.

Most people with immense self-control would have immediately gathered their strength and conquered Yv, but Rain was different. He gathered strength and yanked his arms out of Yv's grasp. Upon regaining his balance, he jumped out of the bed.

Rain was high on adrenaline. That sudden burst of strength surprised Yv, who was confident of her strength.

"You're demanding, I accept. Just promise me one thing: Don't push me over the edge again. There's only so much I can handle." said Rain, accepting Yv's demand.

"Very well." Yv scoot over and pat the side of the bed, "Then what are you still waiting for? We're going to sleep now, aren't we?"

Still unable to calm himself down, Rain raised his hand, "Can you give me a few minutes?" said Rain, covering his lower half.

Yv's face turned red upon realizing Rain's situation and nodded her head, turning away.

A few minutes later, as Rain asked, he slowly climbed the bed. And since it was still too early to sleep, they are both awake and end up staring on the ceiling in silence.

"You're awfully unreasonable and pushy today." 

"That's just how women are, Rain. You should have already realized that by now." said Yv.

"Is that how it is? Sorry, I didn't know."

Rain continued to stare on the ceiling. Although he had already calmed himself down before climbing onto the bed, he started to go nervous once more. With the prospect of sharing a bed with a woman, Rain couldn't help but fix his gaze on the ceiling.

Moments later, he felt Yv grabbing his shoulder.

"Calm down," said Yv. After grabbing his shoulder, she started moving her hand in a slow up and down motion as if she's rubbing his shoulder, "Should you really be nervous?"

"There's no way I can remain calm in this situation. After throwing those moves earlier, I can't help but be wary of you. I've already told you, didn't I? There's a limit to my self-control. And please stop what you're doing right now. You are only hastening my limit's duration."

Despite telling her to stop, Yv continues. Forcing Rain to hold her hand to stop her but as soon as he held her hand, he realized it was a bad decision and pulled his hand right away upon sensing danger. Unfortunately for him, Yv grabbed a hold of his hand firmly, cutting away his escape.

"We have a deal, remember?" said Rain, slowly pulling his hand away.

"Before that, I want to ask you something. How are you able to control yourself? Does my body not appeal to you? Even after seeing me half-naked didn't work, you're unfazed. Is there something wrong with me?"

Yv's sudden barrage of strange questions threw Rain off. Dispelling his nervousness in the process. And so he turned to her only to find out she was already staring at him. Rain wanted to turn away from her gaze, but after seeing her resolve, he stood his ground.

"I think you're misunderstanding something, Yv. There's nothing wrong with your body. If anything, I think you have the perfect body proportion that a woman can have. You are indeed the embodiment of the word 'beauty' itself. That, I'm sure of. So to answer your question, allow me to ask you something: What do you do if you see something beautiful?"

"You take it to yourself and care of it for it to continue to be beautiful-"

"That might be in your case. Then here's mine: I leave it be. Something beautiful should be left alone and admire it from afar. Your beauty aside, there's also your status to consider. I've been holding myself back in consideration of your position but still, even without your position to consider, I still wouldn't have done anything." said Rain, smiling. "I don't want to destroy our current relationship over something so stupid since I'd be sure to regret it. Not to mention that it would be utterly disgusting having a human lay their hands on you, right-"

Rain fell silent. All he could do was look at Yv's sad face. A single tear was sliding down her cheeks like raindrops on a leaf. That was the prelude and tears streamed out of Yv's eyes.

"Did I say something wrong?" asked Rain, trying to understand his mistake.

"......" but Yv remained silent and continued to cry in silence.

Rain tried to reach out to her but stopped himself, "I'm sorry. If I said something unforgivable, please forgive me. That's just what I really thought."

That night, Rain watched as Yv continue to cry until they both finally fell asleep.