Lana stuck to his side like glue. Every so often she’d speak with him. “I’d like to request… that we stop so I may rest.”

I’d like to request…

She had been making fun of him the passed couple of days. She had said it every so often, usually for the same few things like asking to rest, or for him to pass something whilst he ate. Very few people understood why Ares winced and cringed, turning tomato red whenever she would say it.

She was also so close to him, often somehow managing to press some part of her body against him. Often she’d hold onto his arm and then rest her head against his shoulder.

Ares rubbed his face and then shook his head. She was driving him crazy, not in a bad way, but in a way that made him want to commit sudoku. When she was so affectionate in public, he wished he could hide. Technically he could just summon earth around them so they had their own private booth, but he felt as though it would give her reason to do so much more, and he wouldn’t be able to handle that.

Finally someone approached the pair. It was a boy that was perhaps no older than ten.

“A-Ares-kin, uh, tailors would like you and Lana-kin to come to them for the clothes.”

Ares nodded his head and smiled. “Thank you, young man. We’ll be there in a moment.”

“Ares-kin, I’d like to request… another couple of moments.” Lana seemed to be unable to help herself in embarrassing Ares in front of the child.

Ares rubbed his face again and then nodded. “Very well, my dear…” Ares said softly.

The child left them be as Ares continued to hide his face. Eventually Lana stood and then wrapped her arms around his, walking further onward.

“You will be the death of me,” Ares said.

“Better than what you are trying to do at the moment.”

Ares threw her a look, as though he were offended, though quickly smiled and then leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I won’t mind if you’re the death of me.”

“A queer man,” she said.

They finally appeared at the tailors. They had done nothing, save for some light walking up until noon, so Ares felt a little antsy as he was changed into his outfit. It was similar to the design he had created for the uniform that was to be given to all Riveans, yet more ornate. There were buttons made of some kind of metal that been smelted down and then pressed with what he saw to be six wings, three on the left and then three on the right, with a circle in the middle where the threat went through.

It was almost pure white too, though there were bits and pieces of yellow too. The boots were leather, but with wooden chips all over, and they were white somehow too. They were comfortable enough, but that wasn’t their goal. They looked weird, but he assumed this was the style of the people so he was fine with it. There was also a cloak made of some kind of cloth which had feathers lining it on the edge that was entirely red.

Ares wasn’t sure if he looked like a clown or a ruler of some kind, but often the pair were near synonymous so he assumed that he was both. He smiled to the tailors, rather enjoying his new outfit. It wasn’t a style he ever expected to wear, but he also didn’t expect to be travelling in a new world either.

“How do I look?” he asked the tailors.

They showered him with praise in many different ways.

“What of my soon to be wife, does she look good?”

“She looks amazing, Ares-kin, but we cannot yet show her to you.”

Ares nodded his head towards the tailor and smiled. “We’ll keep that a surprise for now.” Ares couldn’t help but smirk at the tailors, who smiled in return.

“Are there any other… requests you’d like to make?”

Ares winced at the word, but he shook his head. “No, no, I think it’s all great…” He tried to think of something. “Though…”

Ares summoned a bit of the human’s armour, only the shoulder pauldron. He then began to ask whether or not they could have it connected to the cloak or the shirt. Eventually though, they settled on using it as a clip for the cloak ahead of him, and Ares was glad with that.

Once he was done with that, Ares stepped out and stretched, waiting for Lana. When Lana did appear, not moments later, she wore something that was light and airy, something very different than her usual heavy furs.

Ares noted something somewhat peculiar. His eyes fell across her entire body, but not in a way to leer at her. He noted the slightly rounded form of her stomach as he then pulled back, staring at her confused.

“Lana?” Ares said quietly.

“Yes?” she asked as she raised her brow at him.

“Lana,” Ares said once more, and yet was unable to say anything more. He blinked at her as she waited. He looked back at her stomach and then up at her. “Are you pregnant?”

“It has been confirmed I am with child, yes?” Lana replied.

Ares raised his brows in… well, not quite surprise. This was of course something that was going to happen after all they had done, but…

“Oh…” Ares said as his stomach became a flutter. “Right…” Ares said as he stared into her eyes.

Lana remained a little confused. “Are you not pleased?” she asked.

Ares reached over to hold her hand, squeezing it gently. “No, I’m fine.”

Ares did not say anything else as the pair walked. He was getting an odd sense of dejavu, as though he had already been told she was pregnant, and yet it hit him like a truck anyway.

‘Huh, okay.’