Arylos let out a sigh as he found the perfect place for fishing. Off on the near horizon, he found a rocky cliff face hanging over the blue waters with a gentle climb up to the peak. The waters crashed against the rocks, spraying a cool mist into the air. The crashing of the water was joined by the sounds of the birds overhead. On the peak, he could see a series of trees that could act as shade from the burning sun.

It was as if the fishing spot was carved out of the land just for him; a reminder of a home long lost.

“That’s where we’re going,” Arylos told Iris with a smile while pointing towards the landscape feature.

Iris ran ahead of the Titan, tilting the brim of her hat to look at the fishing spot more clearly. “We can fish from there? I figured we would be on the beach or something,” she said with scepticism.

“Fishing from the edge of the ocean gets you nowhere; you need deep waters to get anything other than rocks,” Arylos explained while hoisting the wooden poles over his shoulder and continuing along the beach towards the cliff face.

“Whatever you say,” Iris said while still sceptical. “I guess it’s good that I didn’t wear my swimsuit then.”

Arylos chuckled as he turned back towards Iris, admiring her black summer dress with white floral patterns as it flowed in the wind. “But that suits you so nicely,” he said while keeping a smile on his face.

“Well, thank you,” Iris responded with a warm smile.

Arylos stopped in his tracks suddenly, standing as still as a statue for a moment. Before Iris could ask, Arylos burst out laughing in a laughter that sounded in the air like trumpets.

“W-What?! What’s gotten into you?!” Iris exclaimed while wondering if something was secretly wrong with the Titan or that heat stroke was setting in.

Arylos slowly calmed his laughter as he wiped away tears from his laughing fit. “Nothing. I just realised how much of a tsundere you are.”

“What do you mean by that?!” Iris asked accusingly, while grabbing Arylos by his shirt collar.

Arylos calmed himself down while gently patting Iris on the head. “If I made any kind of comment like that before, your face would be red and you would be squealing or calling me an idiot. I say that now that we’re a couple and you just thank me.”

Iris puffed up her face while tightening her grip on Arylos’s shirt. “Would you rather I hit you and call you an idiot instead?”

“It is kind of cute when you do that,” Arylos said with a laugh.

Iris growled as her face went red. A part of her really wanted to slap the Titan for his words of insanity. Even if they were together, Iris couldn’t shake the embarrassment of Arylos’s habit of putting a spotlight on her.

“And there it is; the tsundere,” Arylos said while patting Iris’s head and laughing.

Iris took a deep breath and let go of Arylos, trying not to lose control of herself. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”

“I know I am,” Arylos said while turning away and continuing up the path. “Yet you stick around for some reason.”

“Hey, I confessed to you only a couple of days ago,” Iris corrected while crossing her arms, pouting as she followed Arylos.

“Yes, but you could have left anytime after I came along,” Arylos said as he took a wide step over a fallen log and turned around to offer Iris his hand to help her. “And you and I both know you’re not sticking around for my good looks.”

Iris scoffed as she shyly reached for Arylos’s hand and he pulled her up and continued along the path. “I guess you’re right,” she whispered softly.

“What was that?” Arylos asked in a mocking voice.

“I’m not saying it again,” Iris scoffed while keeping her face turned away from Arylos.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to enjoy that in my head,” Arylos said with a noxious laugh as the two approached the area Arylos had scouted out for fishing. He let out a sigh as he set down the poles and bags against one of the trees and took in the smell of the ocean. “Now, how about you put that pout away so we can enjoy some fishing,” Arylos told Iris while walking towards the edge of the cliff face and took in the sights of the endless ocean stretching past the horizon.

“I guess,” Iris mumbled as her demeanour softened and walked towards the edge, standing next to Arylos. As she took in the vast cerulean horizon, she felt her heart loosen up a little bit. The blue ocean tugged at her as she felt a strange urge come to her and before she realised it, she was holding Arylos’s hand tight, refusing to let him go.

“See why this spot would be best?” Arylos said with a smile.

“Yeah, I can see why,” Iris said as she felt peace come over here. “Back at your homeworld, this was a lot like where you lived, isn’t it? A high cliff and a vast ocean.”

“Yeah; blame it on the dragon in me, but I love mountains and places like this,” Arylos said as he took in the endless sky.

“And so we move to a city situated at the bottom of a mountain that was also home to the resistance against dragons,” Iris said with a sarcastic voice and a wicked smile.

Arylos thought for a moment as he began connecting the dots that Iris was suggesting. “Yeah, shut up,” he said with a nervous laugh.

Iris giggled and held onto Arylos’s arm and slapped Arylos’s back. “Then hurry up and get those poles so we can fish.”

“Impatient as always,” Arylos said with a chuckle as he pulled away from Iris and went back to the tree. He quickly grabbed the poles and brought them over under another tree and sat under the shade of the tree. Before Iris sat down, he had already taken twine out and began threading it along one of the poles through various holes and tying it off in certain areas using knots Iris had never seen before.

“You know, I never did take you for a fisherman,” Iris commented while watching Arylos work. “Blacksmith is one thing, but fishing is just…out of character for you.”

“Out of character how?” Arylos asked with a chuckle. “I like peaceful things and fishing can be peaceful.”

“Yeah, but you’re also…you; it’s difficult seeing the man who beat the living shit out of a god go straight to fishing afterwards,” Iris continued while crossing her legs and watching Arylos intently.

“I wasn’t always a monster,” Arylos said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“You’re not a monster,” Iris insisted in a stern voice while shaking her head.

Arylos sighed as he finished setting up one pole and set it down while reaching for the other one. “And who are you lying to; me or you?”

Iris lowered her head, losing herself in thought as she wondered about Arylos’s question. No matter how she felt, she couldn’t shake the reality of his question. Was she lying to herself to make herself feel better for loving a creature like Arylos? Or was she lying to him to make him believe he could be something different?

“The world,” Iris answered in a soft whisper.

Arylos stopped working on the pole and turned his gaze to Iris, staring at her with his burning red eyes. “What?” he asked as he tried to process what she said.

“I’m lying to the world,” Iris answered, having more faith in what she was saying. “There are people out there who are afraid of you or worship you. I’m trying to tell them otherwise; that you’re normal like the rest of us. But deep down, I know what you are and that you deserve that fear and that worship. But none of that matters to me.”

Arylos thought about Iris’s words before cracking a warm smile and a soft laugh. “That’s awfully philosophical of you,” Arylos said while continuing to thread the twine on the other pole.

“Are you saying I’m not capable of that?” Iris asked, feeling embarrassed by being called out.

“No, but you’re normally very pragmatic and to the point,” Arylos responded while finishing up the pole and handing it to Iris.

Iris took the pole and examined it closely, trying to make sense of it as well as what she was thinking. “Is that a bad thing?” she asked softly.

“It means you’re growing,” Arylos said with a smile as he rested a hand on Iris’s scalp. “You’re learning that the world isn’t black and white, but full of various beautiful and sometimes horrifying shades of grey. That makes you a better person; a more compassionate person.”

“But what if it gets confusing?” Iris asked softly.

Arylos sighed and rubbed Iris’s scalp to make her feel better. “Life is confusing and complicated; that’s what makes it beautiful. It’s how you understand that complexity that makes you who you are. You see me for the monster that I am and yet also see that I’m trying to be better than that. You’ve developed your own set of ideals and beliefs and how to comprehend them.”

Iris blushed as she felt Arylos warm her core with his words and gestures; his praise telling her exactly what she needed to hear. She sniffled and reached up for Arylos’s hand and pulled it close to her chest. “Careful there; you’re sounding less like my boyfriend and more like you’re my dad,” she warned in a sarcastic voice and a loving smile.

“Someone has to look out for you,” Arylos said while laughing under his breath.

Iris laughed as Arylos stood and pulled her up with him. The two approached the edge of the cliff and Arylos picked out a spot just under some more shade and sat back down. “Now then, we’re going to start with some simple bait. No competition or anything; just fishing, okay?”

“Aww, I kind of wanted to see if I could catch a bigger fish than you,” Iris said in a pouting voice, trying to goad Arylos.

“One thing at a time, girl,” Arylos said with a laugh while taking a series of colourful looking lures out from his bag and began tying them to the rods. “With a lure, you can cast out the line and wait for bites; you can also mimic the lure to try and attract more fish, but don’t worry about that now.”

Iris watched as Arylos loosened some of the twine and pulled back the pole behind his head. In a fast and sudden movement, he swung the pole forward and the lure went flying through the air as the twine rapidly ran through the pole. Arylos gauged the feel of the twine until the line went slack suddenly and began moving slowly. After some internal counting, Arylos caught the spinning twine and made a knot to lock the twin in place.

“Okay, could you do that again but slower?” Iris asked while trying to comprehend Arylos’s movements.

Arylos laughed and set the pole down into the dirt to hold it securely. He then reached for Iris and pulled her into his lap. Iris blushed as Arylos wrapped his arms around from behind her and began moving Iris’s hands to where they needed to be and working with the twine.

“First you draw back with the loose line and then you let the lure fly until it hits the water,” Arylos instructed with his growling voice right in Iris’s ear. He lifted up the pole and pulled back while preparing the twine.

Like before, Arylos shot the pole forward and the lure went flying until the twine loosened. “Once it hits, let it sink a little further before securing the line,” he continued while letting the twine continue to loosen for a few seconds before tying it off. He then held Iris’s hands to the fishing pole, guiding her to where she needed to be. “Now you hold and wait for bites,” Arylos finished as his growling voice continued to send shivers down Iris’s spine.

“You’re cruel, you know that?” Iris grumbled softly while squirming, her face going blood red in embarrassment. “You didn’t have to get this close and personal.”

“It’s best to show you how rather than explain it,” Arylos said with an entertained laugh. “And it’s fun watching you squirm.”

“You know you don’t have to tease me anymore,” Iris said softly as her heart pounded loudly.

“But you’re just too cute,” Arylos said while holding Iris close in a tight embrace.

Iris sighed as she relaxed in his arms, slowly beginning to wonder just what this new chapter of her life would lead to. As she held the fishing pole, she leaned back against Arylos and let out a comforted sigh, wondering if she would be able to fall asleep in his arms.

She remembered what she said about Arylos’s fishing habit; how out of character it was for him to seek this peace. Yet she slowly began to understand his side of it as she felt her eyelids go heavy and the warmth inside her heated her up. She took in the comfort of the Titan’s arms as she felt an emotion stirring deep inside her chest.

She gave a quiet prayer to the woman who came before; who tamed the monster that is Arylos before Iris came along. She mentally thanked Aralym for showing Arylos the peace Iris could feel when held tight in his arms.