-Scarlet Blackwell

"That was really nice, what you did for 'er," Seras said quietly after they reformed in John's new world.

"Just the first good thing we're going to do. Mark my words, we're going to change this world! I don't care who I have to save, who I have to kill, or how many armies I have to fight my way through to-"

"Oh, you're back! Welcome home, glad to see you!"

John fought the urge to jump as his newest creation fluttered over to him, floating on a trail of glitter from the sky as she set her feet down on the grass just ahead of their group. She had done so at such speed that even Sophia tensed, though they all sort of let their guard down when they recognized the fox-woman and her adorable helper.

"You can fly?" John asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course! I mean, I'm a Star Guardian, not an Earth Guardian," Vallya said, chuckling as she covered her mouth delicately. "I'm here to protect this world! Land, sky, and sea! I prefer not to get wet though…"

Vallya grimaced as she toyed with her long blonde hair, clearly indicating why she preferred to avoid the water. John couldn't decide whether he was more curious about the woman's abilities or put off by her overly bubbly, almost superficial personality.

"No worries about needing protection yet," John reassured her, keeping his voice less skeptical than he felt. "Nice of you to check in on us, though."

"Of course! A Guardian is always ready!"

With that Vallya streaked over to the Nekos again, leaving a trail of that fading starlight behind her. John stared after the departing Kitsune for a moment before Sophia spoke up and broke his concentration.

"Father, since the stone is now in the hands of Tricia, how will we protect the denizens of this world when you are away? If Vallya turns out to be against us…"

"As I said before, if she wanted to turn against us, I doubt she'd be biding her time," John noted, shaking his head. "Even if she did know about my plans to have Seras escort as many as possible out, she's had multiple opportunities where our strongest fighters weren't around, especially during the brief window I took Seras out of here. I still don't trust her just yet, but she's at least not actively hostile."

"As you say, Father," Sophia said, bowing her head as she strode off toward the Nekos and the newborns, assuming her stance over them as the ever-watchful protector. John just sighed and turned to Seras, grateful for once that the Nekos had not attacked him personally - probably since he hadn't been gone all that long.

"Seras… would you mind taking a walk with me?" John asked, warily casting his glance toward her.

"Um, a walk? Sure, Mastah, but… you're really sure about leavin' everyone alone 'ere?"

"Vallya is… strange. But so is everything else that has happened to all of us over the last few weeks. I genuinely don't think she is trying to hurt any of us, much less all of us. Though I'll admit, I've been wrong a lot since joining the Abyss, but my gut tells me we're okay on this one."

"Sounds good. Mine's just tellin' me I'm 'ungry. I think I'm… kind of always a bit famished now though," Seras said, shrugging. "Not a bad trade for never 'avin to worry about wrinkles, gotta admit."

"Right? I wonder if Gamer's Body keeps me from aging, that'd be pretty sweet if I didn't have to spend too much time trying to keep up with your immortal ass."

"Please," Seras chuckled, slapping John's back, "you know you'd chase this arse anywhere."

"You're goddamn right I would," John agreed, a low and humorous rumble in his throat as he wrapped his arm around Seras' waist and urged her along with him, taking off across the greenery and toward the distant side of the lake. She followed without hesitation, sliding her left arm across his shoulder while idly cradling her rifle toward the sky with the other.

"Speaking of which… I had a little surprise planned for you today, until plans got changed," John admitted, glancing sideways at the vampiress. Ruby irises greeted his own, and a raised eyebrow met him in an instant.

"Oh? Sorry to hear that, what went wrong?"

"Actually, something went right… it's kind of a nice feeling. I'm starting to get used to it, which is terrifying," John admitted, laughing and pulling himself a little tighter to his lover. "See, the thing is… I mean… I was going to… I, uh…"

John stumbled over himself, realizing that confessing he was going to propose to Seras with the ring was just as intense and meaningful as actually doing so, and could definitely be taken the wrong way. Trying to figure out the right way to word things and express himself, John fell into a stuttering silence as they walked. They were nearly a third of the way around the lake when Seras finally interrupted him with a raucous giggle that could probably be heard across the sizeable waters.

"C'mon, I don't just call you Mastah 'cause it turns me on, ya know," Seras teased, poking John in the arm in a way that probably would've hurt if he were a few levels lower. "Stop worryin' so much about me takin' somethin' the wrong way. I'll 'ear you out, I promise."

"Thank you," John said honestly, shaking his head as he glanced up at the optimistic vampiress. "What I mean to say is… I was going to propose to you today."

"O-oh! Ohhhh!" Seras stumbled over her own feet, nearly falling save for keeping her balance at the last moment by putting most of her weight on John. He chuckled a little as the blonde became, if for only a moment, the same ditzy and uncertain woman that he'd once known. She stared up into his eyes with uncertain innocence and a blatantly hanging jaw.

"Yeah… I got a ring and everything. Still have it, actually," John noted, opening up his inventory, though he didn't pull out the object yet.

"Oh wow, that's… I mean, I hadn't really thought about somethin' like that, I guess with how busy we were… but you know I would… you know I'd say yes, right?"

"I mean, I really hoped but I never would have stopped being nervous until you said yes," John said, chuckling. "But seriously, I didn't get cold feet. It all kind of started when I went to the jewelry store… I figured since the Abyss made mundane jewelry pointless and cheap, I'd buy you the biggest diamond I could, something ridiculous. But then I realized it'd just sit at home, because of all the fighting we do…"

"Kinda 'ard to pull a trigger with a stone the size'a my palm latched on to my 'and," Seras agreed.

"…and," John continued, "because we live way too weird a lifestyle for me to be valuing that kind of gaudy thing. I mean, it'd be neat for a little while… but it wouldn't really mean anything between us. There'd be no significance. And as much as I enjoy the idea of promising to be together, the actual wedding? Not sure how many people in the Abyss can do a ceremony."

"Be kinda funny to chat up Moira and get 'er to officiate a weddin' with a vampire tho, wouldnnit?"

"Damn right it would," John chuckled, imagining Moira angrily giving a sermon about the Lady while uniting John with his undead lover. "So anyway, this whole train of thought started derailing, and I figured the best way to get it back on track was to find a gift that would be more than just a symbol."

John finally plucked the ring from his inventory. Its diamond band and gemstone glistened in the light, a feat more or less unachievable by mundane means. Seras' eyes twinkled a bit as she took in the well-designed and intricate band, the flowing flat edges that wove together to form the base for a reasonably sized ring itself.

"Looks a bit big for me," Seras said, "but I can wear it around in a necklace 'til we get it resized! I love it, damn beaut' tha' one is. Makin' an entire ring outta diamond to fit a bigger diamond? The Abyss is bloody brilliant with designs!"

"See that's actually one of the reasons why I picked this one out," John said excitedly, holding the ring in his cupped palms. "This ring isn't just a normal, albeit beautiful piece of jewelry. The diamond - well, the diamond diamond - is treated to be able to store mana. Not much, but more than my little one I made back when I first got my powers. I had the shopkeeper cast an enchantment on it; the first time you wear the ring it'll fit itself to your finger perfectly. I had him start it off a few sizes bigger than I thought your hands were so that there was no worry about size issues."

"Neat trick. Might 'ave to learn that one if you're gonna keep spoilin' me with jewelry," Seras teased, though her voice was tinged with awe. Hesitatingly she slid the ring onto her left ring finger, and true to form the ring shrank to fit exactly in only a few seconds. Then, before their very eyes, the ring disappeared.

"That's the other reason I went for a ring with mana capacity," John continued explaining, his voice a mixture of nerdy excitement and genuine affection. "Well, the other reasons, I should say. First of all, the ring actually has a really powerful in-built enchantment that's permanent - it becomes invisible and intangible while you're wearing it. Once you take it off, it becomes impossible for anyone else to see, and even harder for anyone else to detect with magical abilities, so there's no chance it interferes with your shooting and it's damn near impossible to steal if you ever leave it behind anyway.

"With all the training you've done for your magic, and that you can even make barriers now, I figure it's only a matter of time before you start using magic in combat, or just wanting to have a little extra mana lying around. You've grown so much since you first arrived here, Seras. You're confident, strong, smart, can cast magic… your growth has been amazing. I want to watch you keep growing, and see how powerful you can really become. You're also beautiful, amazingly cute when you get embarrassed, and more loyal than I deserve. Marriage is 'until **** do us part', but you're a vampire and I'm a mage… I don't think that's good enough anymore. Seras Victoria, I want to spend every day of the rest of our immortal lives together."

"John… I love you so, so much," Seras breathed, throwing her arms around him and squeezing so tightly John had to fight to draw another breath after she crushed the first out of him. A faint wetness touched on his shoulders, but John could feel his own eyes were far from dry as he laid faint kisses along Seras' collarbone.

"I love you too, Seras. More than I ever thought possible."

When the two parted at length, it was not without a tight grasp on each other's hands and a step so close they very nearly tripped over the other. The rest of their trip around the lake was spent like that, mostly in silence, simply enjoying each other's company. John was in a mixture of amazement and gratefulness to again have a lover as in-tune with him as Seras always seemed to be… first with regards to the harem and the other Purified women, now with placing more significance on their relationship than their title, and of course the ever-present "fight to survive" style of his world… knowing Seras would always be by his side with a smirk and a finger on the trigger was enough to make John think he could fly just as high as Sophia and Vallya.

When they strolled back into the camp, it was without much fanfare. Vallya seem to have done an excellent job of wearing out the Nekos, both the kittens and the adults. All eight of them were piled on the grass in various states of awareness, only a couple even bothering to lift their heads as Seras and John returned to the group. Vallya offered a nod as she hovered protectively over the pile of exhausted kittens.

"Hey Vallya, mind coming inside with us for a bit? I want to show you to your room."

"I have a room?" Vallya asked, the first sign of curiosity and uncertainty John had ever seen from her.

"Yeah, it's near the back of the house, behind the staircase. Follow me."

John led Vallya and Seras through to Lunaya's old room. The table was gone; sadly, Lunaya and the butler had taken it with them. John had been hoping they would not bother to haul it across the woods… it would have been an excellent catharsis to burn it. Now only a bed matching the ones he had constructed for the others stood at the end of the room.

"It's a bit barebones, but now that I've finally finished crafting the Portal Stone, I was thinking about taking turns letting people pick additions to their room. Of course, if you want something simple I can always just go to a store and pick it up. Pink paint, maybe?" John said, chuckling at his own joke about the woman's outfit.

"Can we move the bed?"

"Oh, you, uh- I mean, yeah, sure, I'm glad to help, I just figured you were strong enough to move it on your own. Sure, do you want it next to the door, or pushed into the corner? Maybe turned to the side?"

"Oh, sorry," Vallya said, putting a hand to her mouth as she giggled. "I meant like, moved out of here. I'd do it myself, but I don't know where the storage around here is."

"Oh… do you, uh," John stuttered, not actually thinking about that. "Do you not need a bed? Do you just kinda sleep floating in the air?"

"No, silly," Vallya teased, giggling again while reaching out a tail to tap on John's chest playfully. "I don't sleep! I'm a Star Guardian, I need to be on watch, always!"

"Hold on a second," John mumbled, pinching his noise in contemplation, "are you seriously saying… you don't sleep? At all? Like not even for an hour a day?"

"Stars only shine, they never rest!"

The words weren't quite a solid yes or no, but John trusted them all the same as he planted a hand on the sheets of the untouched bed and willed it into his inventory.

"Fine, fair enough," John agreed, quirking an eyebrow at the Kitsune. "I can probably find another use for this anyway."

"I sure hope so! I'd hate for a part of this world to go to waste," Vallya swore, giving John a salute as she glanced around. "Now for the room itself… what to do…"

The Kitsune began to pace around the room on her own, examining each and every corner. Whatever designs were flying through her head John could only guess at, but it wasn't something he needed to be involved in. Gently curling his fingers around Seras' waist he pulled them both into the hall again, back toward the outside.

"Flyin' around, never sleepin'… I mean, I guess I don't technically need to either anymore, but still," Seras shook her head. "The things you pop out are gettin' weirder and weirder."

"Tell me about it," John groaned. "Doesn't matter. I just had a great idea for what to do with this bed."

"Oh, somethin' good I 'ope," Seras said, grinning at him widely.

"Maybe… how would you feel about expanding the bedroom? And… maybe adding a couple new bedmates?"

"You were right. This was a good idea, Mastah."

"I could not agree more, Father."

"Nyaaaaaaa…"

John just chuckled and continued running his hands through the dazed hair of his Neko lovers. They were each serving as half of a little spoon, turned at a 180 degree angle from each other so that their heads were both within easy patting and petting distance of John, and his constant attentions had turned them into little more than piles of liquid cat. The kittens were comfortably secured in their stroller near the end of the bed, splayed out over its sizeable interior. John had thought of asking Lerianna to babysit them again but figured it was easier to just keep them in their carrier for now. He was definitely going to have to see about making something larger for them, though; they already seemed larger than the day they'd been brought home.

Seras was directly behind him, one arm wrapped around John's waist and her face tucked right into his chin. Sophia laid behind the Nekos, wrapped just a bit awkwardly around their balled-up forms, stroking Maera's back idly as she glanced lovingly at the others.

John had found the perfect use for his now-spare bed, and with the Nekos in the room next door and a quick conversation with everyone, it was decided pretty quickly. John used his Build and Craft skills to knock down the wall between his room and the Nekos' bedroom, then combined both of their original beds and the new spare into a massive bed, a size for which a name either didn't exist or John didn't know it. It took up the entire back wall of John's room, especially impressive since it was the Master Bedroom of the house, and stretched out so far two people could almost lay end to end.

Thankfully neither he nor the Nekos had much in the way of furniture aside from a couple dressers he'd made a while back, which were easily pushed up against the opposite side of the room. With the two bedrooms combined, it still left plenty of space to walk around the room, and now he had a mattress so large that even with the five of them piled on it, they took up maybe a third of the bed when they weren't cuddled together. Unfortunately John didn't have much extra cloth lying around after the sheets, so they were using some hilariously undersized blankets for such a massive bed. He was grateful he hadn't decided to implement seasons after all; waking up without a blanket in winter would've been a much more annoying thought.

"I just thought it'd be nice if we could all sleep together. The more time I get to spend with all of you, the better," John said, smiling as he reached under Maera's chin to scratch at her. Maera cooed adorably and tucked her head further against his chest, forcing his hand up and back into her ivory locks.

"Sounds like a damn good plan to me. I even getta be the big spoon for once," Seras chuckled.

"Shall we rotate sleeping arrangements, or will this be our standard, Father?"

"Huh?" John hadn't actually thought about that; their current positioning was mostly just him getting in after the Nekos immediately leapt into the new bed to test out its fluffiness. "Oh, I mean… I don't have much of a preference as long as we're all together."

"Whatever's comfy. Just 'ope none of ya snore. Just cause I don't need to sleep doesn't mean I wanna listen to tha' all night either!"

"I don't care if anyone snores or if we sleep in a new position every night," John laughed, shaking his head and giving both of the Nekos one final, gentle headpat as he relaxed his body and tucked his head into the pillow. They pleaded for a few moments in frustration at the sudden lack of petting, then nuzzled into each other and began purring once more.

"I just want us to be happy. I want us to be like this forever."