"It's been a while," Zein did not bother with glib and addressed the Goddess directly.
Well, it was through Her proxy, but same different.
"Indeed," the Goddess smiled through Her proxy; the pale blue eyes gleamed beneath the dimming Sky Garden. "I have been drowning in anxiety for the past two years."
"You are?" Zein raised his brows in surprise--not for the fact that the Goddess felt anxious, but because She said it so blatantly.
If it was meant to make him more relaxed, it worked.
"Is there a need for pretense between us anymore?" the Goddess shrugged. "It's not like you're going to ever change your mind and become my Saint in the future."
"True," Zein chuckled and crossed the last border.
This time, Frejya did not invite him to sit on the boulder, but on a proper picnic blanket with a chees and fruit board. A bottle of wine and two glasses were there too, one of them already filled and refilled.