The Truth Goes a Long Way

"Let me make sure I am understanding everything. From the first day of the semester, you have been intimately involved with our instructor. You progressively get stronger simply by being involved with her. Now, you're asking me to join in on this 'relationship'"

Although she tried to hide what she was feeling after this discussion, Clara's discontent was evident in her tone of speech. The man that she had told her honest feelings to just the day before was, in her mind, only seeing her as the means to an end. To top it off, he was expecting her to agree to it.

"Technically you're correct but you're also misunderstanding a bit as well. I don't think either of us knows when it happened exactly, but the progression became secondary. I asked you to come here because I want Joe to be happy.

He's been struggling to find a way to not hurt you and it pained him. So, I told him to let me handle it. Until you arrived, he wasn't even aware of what I had planned. With that said, how do you honestly feel about him?"

Shianne viscously attacked the misunderstandings before they could explode into a far more aggressive emotion. Ending off with a question, she was attempting to rewire the thinking of this inexperienced woman seated across from her. Not in a malicious sense. She simply wanted to smother the embers before they could spark destruction.

After a few moments of silent deliberation, Clara met the gaze of Shianne and voiced her deepest feelings.

"At first, I thought he would just be like everybody I've met in my life. After spending so much time together I started to notice who he really is. He comes off as an ass, especially on day one of the term.

When he is putting the rest of the class through the training drills he's constructed, he seems almost sadistic. The end goal he sets is always just out of the limits of every individual. He puts the goal barely inside our limits. He understands us better than we do ourselves and everything he's done is to make us understand what we're capable of..."

Her voice trailed off near the end. A melancholic expression enveloped her entire being. She understood him this well and yet she still doubted his intensions. She knew how she felt and knew even more so why she felt this way.

"He consistently puts our classmates before himself. He even treats the campus guards with sincerity. I lost count of how many times I found him talking and laughing with them before we started our sessions.

He is the most gentle and caring person I have met and because of that I love him with every piece of myself."

Clara held nothing back. Everything she had been feeling up to this point came flooding out. Perhaps this was the first time she noticed how deep her feelings ran but she was sure of one thing after finding it.

"You love him for most of the same reasons I do. If you agree to join our unusual situation, then I'm sure you'll see all the reasons I do as well. All that's left is your answer, will you join me in loving this idiot?"

"I don't even know why I hesitated at this point. Even though I misunderstood a bit earlier, my feelings for him won't change when I've seen who he truly is."

The two women burst into laughter. They have both seen sides of him that no other has. What the future for these three will hold may be unsure at this very moment but at least they have another moment together.

"Since you've agreed then I would kindly like you to head out now. You've had this idiot to yourself since this morning and I would at least enjoy a bit of time before he heads back to his dorm room."

With a giggle and a nod, Clara came to her feet and stepped around the table that separated them. Leaning down, she gently pressed her lips onto Joe's cheek. She then turned and made her way out of the room with a smile.

Although what they all had together from this night hadn't been outlawed since humanity began to stabilize once again, it was still not a normal practice. Mostly because life was harsh to most of the population. Being involved with multiple people was too costly in the long run. Aside from those in power positions, normal people couldn't afford that kind of lifestyle.

Already, Joe's strength puts him on a track to replace the current High General of their nation. What would he be able to accomplish after this year ended? In the few short months since he discovered his 'talent', he has already surpassed the strongest man in their nation. Now, he isn't limited to an hour or two alone together.

As she made her way away from the office and back to her dorm room, Clara was already thinking of how their 'training' would change starting the following morning. They were no longer simply peers who were helping each other get stronger. They were together.

Having Joe all to herself for the time being, Shianne immediately attacked him. With his back now laid out on the couch, all Joe could do was wrap his arms around the woman that had settled her head on his chest. Feeling her nestle her face into his warmth, Joe brought one of his hands to the back of her head and began lightly brushing her hair with it.

"You should have told me what you were planning. But, knowing me, I probably would've tried to stop you. I guess all I can really say is thank you for always being with me."

With that, the two comfortably drifted off. Neither had planned to sleep in the office but they also didn't want to leave the comfort they felt with one another.