To say that Sena was nervous would be an understatement. Tonight was her date with Axton and she was having trouble believing she agreed to it, despite being able to clearly remember it. And now she was in her room, only an hour before their meeting time, and her clothes were scattered all over her bed as she desperately tried to figure out what to wear.

"You're overthinking this, you know," Kyu said in a bored tone. Kyu was her only real anchor in this group, the point of contact she had met before the others, even if it was only a short time before. And as the person who had gotten her into this mess, Sena had roped her into helping her pick out an outfit. A process that had admittedly been taking quite some time.

"What outfit you wear on a first date is very important though!" Sena replied, her eyes roving over the displayed clothes. She had managed to pack quite a few outfits into her suitcase, not knowing what she might need for the trip. Kyu's advice had prompted her to put away any of them that were especially fancy or too casual since Kyu apparently knew what Axton's plan for their date was. Not that the pink-haired girl was willing to say what those plans were.

"Of course," Kyu agreed easily. "But your date is with Axton. He appreciates a finely dressed woman, but a blue blouse versus a green cardigan doesn't really make much of a difference to him. Any of these outfits are fine." She paused, looking over them. "Well, except that one," she amended, pointing towards one of them. "Why do you even have that? It doesn't suit you at all."

Sena wilted. "It-it doesn't?" she asked. "I've worn that on several first dates though…" Memories of those dates filled her mind. Had she been making a blunder right out of the gate with them?

"Oh you poor thing," Kyu replied, only worsening her mood. "You know, I've never taken a female client before, but maybe I should have considered it."

Sena's brow furrowed as she looked at her friend in confusion. "A client?" She shook her head. "Nevermind, that's not important right now. What outfit should I wear then? Since apparently, I have no idea what looks good on me." Even Sena could hear the bitterness in her voice.

"Relax, girl," Kyu replied, walking over to the bed. "If you can't pick something, I'll do it for you. You're running out of time anyway." Kyu's eyes wandered over the assorted clothes for a few moments before she nodded.

"This dress, because it matches your eyes," Kyu said, picking up a purple dress with a loose skirt that stopped at knee level and shoving it in Sena's arms. "But then this black shrug, to help tone it down a bit. And finally, black stockings and those black heels, the shorter ones."

Sena frowned as she looked at the pile of clothes in her arms. "Isn't this a little too much black?" she asked, unsure.

"Oh wow you really don't know anything," Kyu replied without a single shred of tact. "Here's a lesson on fashion 101; black goes with everything, you can't go wrong with it." She paused. "Well, you could, but you'd really have to be trying. Anyway, the point is, don't worry about it. Plus, black looks especially good on you. Oh, speaking of which, I almost forgot the most important part."

Sena watched, slightly confused, as Kyu dug through the clothes she hadn't unpacked and displayed. Though her confusion quickly turned to embarrassment as Kyu pulled out a lacy black bra and matching set of panties. "And just in case things go well tonight," she said with a grin, adding the lingerie to the pile in Sena's arms.

"On a first date?!" Sena replied as she felt the heat of a blush crawl up her face.

Kyu shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure, why not? I mean, it doesn't have to happen, but why couldn't it?"

"That- I- it's not proper!" Sena said, struggling to put her feelings into words.

"So?" Kyu dismissed casually. "This is a vacation Sena, you're meant to relax and have fun. And whatever happens in Arcanletia stays in Arcanletia."

"What does that even mean?" she asked.

"It means that no one here is gonna judge you for putting out on the first date," Kyu explained. "And no one back home will even know. Axton might be a manslut, but he's also not one to kiss and tell. He's not gonna go back to Axel and start telling everyone that the two of you hooked up."

Sena wasn't sure how to respond to that. She didn't think Kyu was wrong. She had gotten to know Axton a little better over these past few days, mostly through watching how he interacted with the others. She had come to realize that her perception of him based on the rumors she had heard wasn't accurate, even if most of the rumors were. But…

"E-even so," Sena said. "I'm not exactly…experienced with that kind of thing. And I don't want my first time to be with someone I don't know I'm not going to be committed to."

"Ugh, gross," Kyu said. "Let me tell you; that saving yourself for someone special stuff? It's all bullshit." Sena blinked, taken aback by the sudden vitriol in Kyu's tone. "Your first time isn't special. In fact, for a lot of people, your first time sucks. Especially for a woman, and especially especially if your partner is also a virgin. It'll be awkward, painful, short, and probably won't feel very good."

"And a lot of guys are bad in bed too," she continued, ignoring or not noticing Sena's rising embarrassment. "They're two pump chumps who wouldn't recognize a woman's orgasm if it squirted all over their face, and they'll insist that if you didn't feel good, it was your fault. If anything, you should have your first time with Axton. He's experienced and kind, and he'll make sure it's a wonderful experience for you no matter what."

Sena was sure that if her face grew any hotter, steam would start escaping her ears. "Alright alright!" she shouted. "You don't need to keep going, I understand."

Kyu nodded smugly. "Good. Then put on the sexy underwear. And do it now so we can get started on your hair and makeup."

Sena grumbled but did as Kyu said, stripping and getting changed, uncaring that Kyu was in the room. They met each other naked in the bath anyway, so it wasn't like it mattered now.

"Just because I'm putting these on doesn't mean I'm agreeing to 'put out' as you so crassly put it," Sena stated as she put on the lingerie. She wasn't going to admit it, but it was actually a new pair she had bought after Kyu had said she was going to hook her up with someone. In her excitement before learning who it was, she hadn't been able to stop herself from getting some nice underwear in preparation, deliberately ignoring the implications of that action.

"That's fine," Kyu agreed easily as Sena pulled the dress over her head. "It was never about trying to make you do that. It's a just-in-case thing. Axton's a gentleman, he won't push further than you want him to. But if you find yourself wanting to, you wouldn't want him to find you wearing some ratty old pair of panties when he starts undressing you, would you?"

She reflexively imagined the scenario and shivered in shame. "No," she admitted. "That would be mortifying."

"Exactly," Kyu agreed. "So, just in case. But in my opinion, you should go for it. You're too stressed out, not just recently, but you're also too stressed out about finding a boyfriend. Whether or not you stick with Axton, you could do with some relaxing, and some nice harmless fun."

"That does sound nice," Sena said wistfully before widening her eyes as she realized what she just said. "The relaxing part! That part sounds fun! Not the- the other stuff."

"Uh huh," Kyu replied, sounding utterly unconvinced and all too amused. "Now sit down, I'll do your hair while you put your stockings on."

The next forty minutes mostly consisted of Kyu putting her hair up in different styles, but in the end, none of them looked as good as just having her hair down, which seemed to annoy Kyu for some reason. She made a few last-minute preparations, and then it was time. With one last encouragement from Kyu, she took a deep breath to calm herself down, and she left her room.

Sena had agreed to meet Axton at a certain time out in front of the inn. It was technically a couple minutes before that time, but the secret to being punctual was to always be a few minutes ahead of schedule.

Something Axton clearly agreed with, since she found him sitting at a table in front of the inn idly watching the people walking by as he waited. There was no way to tell how long he had been there, but the fact that she didn't have to wait for him was a good sign in her book.

He turned to her with a smile as she approached him, no doubt hearing the clack of her heels on the stones that made up the street. "Hey there," he greeted her casually. "I like the outfit. It looks good on you."

She felt the faint signs of a blush at the compliment but pushed it down. Complimenting on her outfit was just being polite, and practically required for a date. It didn't mean anything in particular, even if it did make her heart flutter. "Thank you," she said instead. "You look quite nice as well."

And he did. He was wearing a white long-sleeved dress shirt with a black vest over it tucked into a black pair of dress pants tightened with a black leather belt that matches his black leather dress shoes. He was a suit jacket and tie away from being dressed 'formally', but he looked so relaxed and natural in the outfit that he didn't seem overdressed at all.

"I try," he said with a wink as he stood up. "Well, are you ready to go then?"

Sena nodded, trying hard not to swallow. "I am. Where are we going?"

"There's a theater nearby, and I have tickets to the play starting soon."

She raised an eyebrow. "I didn't take you to be one for plays," she admitted as they walked side by side.

"I like entertainment just as much as the next person," Axton replied easily. "Though admittedly, the particular play we're going to see is something I believe that you'll enjoy more than I will, as I picked it with you in mind."

She felt a small rush of heat at the casual mention of him thinking of her, but she did her best to ignore it. "Oh? Do you think you know me well enough already to guess what kinds of plays I like?"

He grinned, his expression completely confident. "We'll have to see, won't we?"

Her heart fluttered slightly. Being so confident and being dressed so nicely was an unfair combination. "I suppose we will," she said. She was sure he had no way of knowing her interests. She kept them pretty close to her chest, after all, and there had been no discussion even slightly related to them on this trip. No matter his confidence, there was no way he could possibly guess them.

"That was amazing," Sena said animatedly after the play as they left. "I had no idea that they had made a play based off of my favorite story! And it was so well done, too! The actors were amazing and the orchestra played the most beautiful songs. They didn't deviate from the book too much, and the bits they did add only made it better. I mean, that part with Lucas and his mother was always a weak point of the book, one that fans have debated over a lot, but the changes they made to it here were perfect, and it might actually be one of my favorite parts now." She paused. "Well, my second favorite. The ending is still the best part, with Lucas and Henrick finally overcoming the social barriers between them and embracing each other." She sighed joyfully, remembering it.

"It was a very moving play," Axton agreed. She nodded in agreement before something clicked into place in her head and she froze.

The play they had just watched was titled 'Sunrise over the Mountaintop'. It was based on one of her favorite books that she had read dozens of times, wearing out the bindings on more than one copy of it. She could practically recite it by heart at this point.

And it was also a fairly steamy romance featuring two male leads. That is to say, it was very, very, gay.

She looked at Axton, who had turned to look at her with concern when she suddenly stopped walking. Axton, the playboy of Axel, had not only somehow found out about her secret love of gay romance novels, but had willingly taken her to a play about her favorite one.

"H-h-h-how did you know?!" she stammered, panicking. "I mean, no, I didn't enjoy it, I don't know the author or the-"

Her mouth slammed shut as Axton put a hand on her shoulder. "Sena, calm down," he told her. "You don't have to deny enjoying it. It's far too late for that anyway, after the cute way you gushed about it and how enraptured you were during the play."

She blushed. He was right, pretending like she wasn't into it was a lie less believable than the ones she so often heard in her job as a prosecutor, and she was sure if her normal lie-detecting bell was here, it dings at even an attempt to remain neutral on it. "But-" she started.

"As for how I knew," Axton continued, interrupting her to answer the question she was about to ask. "Well, I had no idea it was based on a book, much less one that you're obviously such a big fan of. But I had a feeling you were into the genre. I've got a pretty good sixth sense about that kind of thing."

Her brain froze again. He just…guessed? He could just tell that she was into that kind of thing, with no evidence or reasoning?

"I have to give Arcanletia credit though," Axton continued, either unaware or ignoring her internal panic. "It's probably the only city in this world where they'd openly put on a play like that, considering how homosexuality seems to be viewed by most. Which is a shame, really."

Wait, he didn't think it was weird? In fact, he seemed to support it? Sena couldn't understand it. The only people she had met like that were fellow women that she talked with about that kind of thing. Unless…

"Are you gay?" she blurted out.

Confusion flickered over his face before settling into a dry but faintly amused look. "Really?" he asked. "You've practically gotten a front row seat to just how deep my interest in women is after the past several days."

"Do you go both ways then?" Sena asked, confused.

"Do you see any men in our group?" he replied. "No, I don't like men."

"Then why are you so okay with it?!" she demanded, frustrated. "Why did you take me to a gay play?! Why aren't you judging me for my interests?!"

"Because I'm not an asshole, because I thought you'd enjoy it, and because there's nothing wrong with them," Axton casually answered as if she hadn't just yelled at him. "In that order."

She blinked, still confused, as she processed his answers. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Axton sighed. "Look, I can't say a gay romance is exactly my kind of thing. At least, I had no particular interest in the fact that the two leads were both guys. But there was more to the play than just the romance that I was able to enjoy. And more importantly, I knew it was something you were into, and since I arranged this date for you I chose the thing you'd enjoy the most. Also, I'd be a hypocrite to call it weird, considering how much I'd probably enjoy it if the leads were both women."

Sena's mind was finally starting to wrap around the situation, as unbelievable as it was to her. This kind of reaction wasn't one she had ever gotten or expected before. "So you don't think it's weird that I'm into gay guys?"

"Nope, nor do I think homosexuality is weird."

"But you're not into guys."

"I just chose a play you'd enjoy."

"And you knew I'd enjoy it because…you're good at guessing people's interests?"

"Well, full disclosure, it's more like I'm good at guessing people's fetishes."

Sena paused. "That makes zero sense, but also way too much sense." The two of them continued walking now that she had calmed down. "So…I didn't ruin the date with my interests?"

"Not at all," Axton denied. "I mean, I picked the play after all. And it was cute, watching you get all excited like that afterward."

She blushed and faced away from him as she felt a blush grow on her face again, stronger this time. Her core also grew a little warmer, but she paid it no mind. "I-I see," she replied.

A slightly awkward silence fell between them as they walked. Sena desperately tried to think of something to talk about that wasn't the weather, which even she was savvy enough to know that talking about the weather was a major red flag. But now that she had started thinking about the weather, it was the only thing in her mind, crowding out any other possible idea.

Thankfully, Axton cut her downward spiral short. "So Kyu said you're a Royal Prosecutor?" he asked. "What does a Royal Prosecutor do, exactly?"

"Entirely too much," she grumbled, latching on to the easy conversation topic. "Officially, we organize the evidence collected against someone who has been accused of committing a crime and are responsible for presenting it in court," she explained.

"From your tone, I'm going to assume that reality doesn't line up quite so well with that," Axton commented.

"It does in that I am definitely still responsible for that," she said. "But unofficially, the scope of my job has definitely grown. Axel's law force is woefully understaffed. The war with the Demon Lord has drawn most of the qualified individuals to the frontlines, leaving us with a skeleton crew to maintain order."

"So you guys are pulling double duties," Axton guessed.

She sighed. "Or triple, or quadruple. My duties have extended beyond just organizing the evidence, but gathering it as well, primarily through investigation and interrogation."

"That sounds frustrating."

"It is, and it isn't," she said. "It's important work, and I enjoy doing it, but it can be tiring. And the case I've been working on recently has been especially so."

"Oh?"

"I'm sure you heard what happened with Mitsurugi?" Sena continued. There was a moment where she considered it was okay to discuss the particulars of a case with Axton. But considering how much of it was already public knowledge and that she wasn't under orders to keep information about the case quiet, she saw no harm in it.

"I doubt there's anyone in Axel who didn't," he replied. "Assuming you mean how his magical sword was stolen, and something else didn't happen to him."

"That is what I meant, yes," she clarified. "As far as I'm aware, nothing else has happened to him. At least, nothing concerning the law. He wasn't very happy the last time I spoke to him though. But I was put in charge of investigating his case, and it's been nothing but frustrating dead ends."

"It really wasn't Cecily after all?" Axton asked.

"She was, of course, our primary suspect for a long time," Sena answered. "But after rigorous questioning using a lie detector, we can only conclude that she's innocent. She also lacks any motivation for it. Normally in this case we can assume greed as the motivation, as a magic sword as powerful as Gram goes for quite a bit. But there have been zero rumors about such a sword appearing on the black market, and we've kept a close eye on the two of them and neither seems to have come into any money. At least, not any money that isn't accounted for by the quests Mitsurugi performed before his sword was stolen."

"Has he not done any since then?"

"He has, but…well, I don't wish to talk poorly about Mitsurugi, but he has been struggling without Gram and without his former party members. He isn't able to complete quests of the same difficulty or at the same speed he was doing before. From what I've heard, it's had a huge effect on his morale. And his companion is not helping, as she keeps demanding he provides the same amount of funds to her as he did in the past."

"I don't envy Mitsurugi," Axton commented. "Whoever took his sword dealt a serious blow to Belzerg too, considering how much he did. Do you have any other suspects?"

"Unfortunately, no. We've had a few, but most were dismissed fairly quickly, including his former party members, Fio and Clemea. And…" she trailed off, considering her words. Should she tell him that? No, it was fine. It wasn't a secret and he wouldn't take offense, so she continued. "We even suspected you at one point."

"Oh?" he replied, sounding more amused than anything. "I don't remember being interrogated by a sexy Royal Persecutor though."

She blushed as his compliment sent a small wave of heat rushing over her. Did he really think she was sexy? No, wait. She was in the middle of a conversation, she couldn't get distracted. "Well, at the time, you and your party were out on a quest," she explained. "In truth, we only suspected you because…well, we suspected Fio and Clemea, who had a motive. But we asked around, and there were a large number of eyewitnesses that spotted you…" she trailed off, blushing. "Well, suffice to say, it was clear that the three of you were all occupied when the sword was stolen, so we dropped that angle of investigation before you returned from your adventure."

Axton hummed thoughtfully. "I admit, I wasn't the biggest fan of Mitsurugi after hearing what Fio and Clemea went through, but it wasn't really my place to confront him. Instead, I comforted the two of them and pointed them in the direction of someone who was also looking for party members. Besides, I'm not dumb enough to make my own job harder by weakening the best adventurer in Belzerg, and I'm not much of a sword user myself. No one in my party is."

Sena frowned. "Darkness uses a sword, doesn't she?"

He snorted. "Darkness wears a sword. She's very good at defending, but not so much at attacking. An untrained child could wield a sword more effectively than her, and I don't think even a sword like Gram could change that."

"I-I see," Sena replied, caught off guard. In truth, she didn't know what to make of Darkness, who so easily seemed to swap between the very picture of a perfect Crusader and an openly masochistic pervert of a level that worried her.

"So, how's the case been going since then?" he asked her.

"Poorly," she answered bluntly. "We've run out of new leads and have been stuck going over the same dead ends over and over again. Pressure from the capital prevents us from simply closing the case and letting it go cold, despite the lack of actionable information we have. Though of course, as much as they want us to solve the case, they refuse to send us any support or anything to help make it happen, all they want to do is demand results that are impossible without investing anything-"

"Sena," Axton cut her off, stopping in place so he could better face her. "Easy. You're getting worked up."

Was she? She took a moment to assess herself. Her heartbeat had increased, she was breathing heavier, and she could feel the beginnings of a headache forming. "I'm sorry," she said, deflating a bit. "It's just…there's a reason I agreed to come on this trip. I desperately need a vacation."

"I'd say so," he agreed. He grabbed her by the end, the sudden action sending another thrill of excitement through her. "Here, come sit down and relax for a moment."

He guided her to a nearby bench overlooking the large lake that was the entrance to Arcanletia. It was a beautiful sight, beautiful enough that she didn't notice at first that, after sitting her down on the bench, he didn't sit next to her. But she noticed it when he put his hands on her shoulders.

"What are you- oooooh," her exclamation was cut off with an involuntary moan as his hot and sturdy fingers started digging into the muscles of her shoulders, easing the soreness and tension there with an expertise unlike anything she had ever felt before.

"Sorry," he said unapologetically from behind her as he rubbed her shoulders. "You seemed tense, and I've been told I give excellent massages."

"Uh-huh," Sena agreed absent-mindedly, her focus on the heavenly sensation of Axton's hands. Each time his fingers dug into her shoulders, she could feel herself relax more, and there was a growing heat below her stomach, like a furnace being fed flame. She had no idea a simple shoulder massage could feel so good.

"Oh yeah, you definitely needed this," he commented as his thumbs traveled a little lower, pressing against the fabric of her clothes and digging into the knots she had long gotten used to in her back. "So, while I help you out, let's talk about something less stressful."

Sena fought through the haze of pleasure. Right, they were still on their date. "How about you?" she asked. "We've been talking about me the whole time, but I still don't know much about you. Like, why is an adventurer like you, someone who has led the group responsible for the defeat of two different Demon Lord Generals, still in Axel?"

"Well, mostly because of Momo," he answered, continuing to work his magic on her shoulders. "I mean, Axel is relatively safe and we have a nice place to live there. Momo's halfway through her pregnancy, so staying in Axel is good for her. And I definitely don't want to be far from her, not for an extended period at least."

"That makes sense," Sena agreed, eyes closed and half paying attention. Wait. What had he just said? Her eyes shot open and she turned her head to look at him. "Momo's pregnant?!"

Axton blinked and stopped his hands, looking at her in confusion. "Uhh. Yeah? She has been since shortly before we arrived in Axel. She should start showing soon, I think."

"I-I had no idea," Sena admitted as she turned back to face the lake. "I knew she was your wife, but I hadn't heard anything about a child on the way."

"I guess Kyu forgot to mention it," he said as he started massaging her once more. It felt even better than before, somehow. His touch was like fire, but instead of pain, it brought pleasure. "It's the reason why we came on this trip. Momo wanted to visit before she stopped traveling, and I was more than happy to go on one last trip with her before she retired."

"So even you can be a proper husband sometimes," she muttered. She immediately realized she had said that out loud in a voice more than loud enough for him to hear. Panicking, she turned to Axton. "I mean- that's not- I didn't mean that like that!"

But to her surprise, he wasn't angry or annoyed. If anything, he looked amused. "Finally realizing my charm points?" he asked with a playful wink.

She could feel the blush growing on her cheeks and she turned away again, facing forward. She heard him chuckle behind her before he continued. "I know how things look at first glance, with how many women I'm in a relationship with. Back home, where Momo and I are from, it's not that unusual for a powerful man to have a harem of women, so it doesn't feel weird to me most of the time."

"It's not like it's unheard of here in Belzerg either," she admitted. Her voice sounded a little hesitant to her ears, so she cleared her throat and continued in a stronger voice. "It's mostly limited to the nobility and the top adventurers, which you are certainly on your way to becoming. But even in those cases, the scale is never so…extreme."

"Well, I guess I am a bit greedy," Axton admitted with another chuckle. His fingers continued to ease the soreness in her shoulders, and the hot tingling sensation in her lower stomach kept slowly growing. "Even by my home's standards, I'm seeing a lot of girls."

Sena hesitated, unsure if she wanted to ask the question that immediately popped into her head. Her hesitation didn't last long though. She knew herself well enough to know that not asking would just cause it to linger in her mind, distracting her and ruining the mood more than asking it might.

"And you don't see any problems with that?" she asked, carefully keeping her tone neutral.

"I don't," he replied immediately. But his tone had changed. Before he sounded amused and carefree. Now he sounded confident and serious. He wasn't blowing her question off, or dismissing it. "I've made my intentions very clear with each and every girl from the beginning, that I'm seeing many women and will see many more. They've all accepted that. So far, I've managed to make them all happy too, though the levels of relationship range from casual one-off nights of sex to marriage. There haven't been any incidents or hurt feelings yet, and all of us are happier for it. So no, no one is being hurt, we're all happier, and I don't care about anything else."

She could feel her heart beating in her chest like the drums they played during the Eris Appreciation Festival. She was glad she was facing away from Axton because she couldn't even imagine the kind of face she was making right now. His speech, so filled with conviction, had somehow sparked a flame inside of her and each word had only fed that fire, making it grow larger and hotter. She squirmed slightly as she felt her panties grow damp. She knew she liked such displays of manliness, but for his declaration to affect her to this extent was unusual. Maybe she was as pent up as Kyu had claimed.

"That does sound pretty nice," she admitted, her mind feeling a little hazy from the arousal coursing through her. Arousal that continued to grow as he massaged her, but she couldn't bring herself to ask him to stop.

"I'm glad you agree," he said. And, as if he had read her thoughts, he stopped massaging her, taking his hands off of her shoulders entirely. She barely managed to suppress the whine of complaint that threatened to slip out of her mouth when he did so, immediately missing the feeling of his hands on her.

"Speaking of things that sounds pretty nice," he continued as she internally debated if she should ask him to keep going. "I think I've got your shoulders as relaxed as I can. What do you say we go back to the hotel, take a nice hot bath, and I can give you a full body massage?"

She froze as the implication of his words cut through the cloud that had settled over her mind. His offer was an obvious escalation, a chance to take this date to the next step. His offer of a massage was definitely intended as the precursor to more, and she was pretty sure he wasn't even trying to hide it.

After talking to him, she was sure that he would take it in stride if she said no. Or if she accepted the massage but didn't want to take it any further than that, he'd accept that as well. He had made an offer but left it open enough that she could determine exactly how much she wanted from this.

Which begged the question- how much did she want? Before today, she wouldn't have imagined escalating so far on a first date. Not seriously, at least. Such thoughts weren't uncommon in her fantasies, though she wasn't likely to admit that. But on the other hand, she couldn't deny how horny she was right now.

And by Kyu's and Axton's words, she was in control of how far this would go. She could take Kyu's advice and relieve some of the stress and pent-up desire for release she had been building for such a long time now.

Committing to sex…no, she wasn't ready to do that. She could feel her anxiety start to spike upwards even as she just contemplated it. But just a massage? Even if it ended up being a rather sensual one? She definitely wanted that, and while she was still a little nervous about it

"A bath and a massage sound like the perfect way to end this date," Sena agreed. "But just a massage, understood?" She wanted to make it clear from the start that she had no intention of going further.

"Yes ma'am," he replied, his tone clearly amused. There was an unspoken confidence there too, like he was confident she would change her mind. Like he knew that his massage skills were good enough that she'd turn to putty in his hands, begging him for-

She cut off that train of thought and stood up, feeling a blush creeping up her face. "Come on, let's head back," she said, quickly walking in the direction of their inn so he wouldn't see the blush on her face. It didn't work though, as he quickly caught up to her, and she saw him glance at her face out of the corner of her eye. She looked back at him to find him grinning smugly.

She turned away, blushing stronger now, and heard him chuckle softly. He didn't say anything though, so neither did she, and the two of them walked towards the inn in silence. Erotic fantasies of her and Axton played in her head, making sure her blush never went away and her arousal never decreased. And the more she tried to push such thoughts out of her head, the larger they grew.

But she wouldn't let such flights of fancy dictate her actions. She wasn't the kind of woman to just hop in the bed of such a womanizer. This was just her accepting a kind offer from a friend who had just taken her out on a nice date. Nothing more.

"Oh Gods, yes! Fuck me harder!" Sena's cries of ecstasy echoed through the bath, accompanied by the sound of flesh slapping flesh and Axton pumped his girthy dick inside of her. She had long lost the ability to form a conscious stream of thought, her mind dominated by a storm of pleasure.

The tiles of the bathroom floor were cold against her back, but everything else about her was hot. The air was hot, filled with the steam of the bath and the subtle smell of sweat from their exertions. Her hands felt hot against her breasts, where she was playing with her own nipples. Axton's arms around her legs, holding them up and spread out, were hot as well. But the most heat came from his length inside of her.

She spread her boobs enough so she could look down at where they were connected. She watched as Axton rapidly thrust his dick into her. She felt it as each push spread her insides, stretching beyond what she believed was possible, bringing her to heights of pleasure she had never experienced before. She even swore that she could see the faint hit of a bulge in her stomach every time he thrust into her, though it was hard to tell with how much each of his thrusts rocked her entire body and sent ripples through her flesh.

It was also hard to focus even on that, as each time Axton thrust his dick into her the head of it slammed into her deepest part. And each time it did so, another explosion of pleasure rocked through her mind.

The storm inside her reached a crescendo as she came, her back arching and her inner walls clamping down even harder on Axton's dick. She heard her moans of pleasure echoing off the bathroom walls as she orgasmed, her body spasming.

As if he was waiting for it, or her own reaction had simply pushed him over the edge, she heard Axton grunt and he slammed deep into her aching pussy, the head of his penis pressing hard against the entrance to her womb. His dick twitched inside of her, and for the second time, an incredible heat filled her as he came inside of her.

Her mind went white with the pleasure that came with being filled with his seed, pushing out all thoughts of risks of pregnancy or the hesitation she had felt earlier.

At first, things had been exactly as Axton had promised. A simple massage. His hands may have strayed a little bit, but she certainly hadn't been complaining. Every time they had, his touch sent thunderbolts of pleasure through her, and her arousal quickly climbed.

By the time he had worked over every inch of her body he could without it being sexual, her mind had been filled with nothing but a cloud of ecstasy and a desire for more. A desire she voiced out loud, and one that Axton had been more than happy to grant. Things quickly escalated from there.

Seemingly determined not to give her a break, before she managed to even catch her breath from her climax, she felt him grab her by the wrists and pull her up close to him. He shifted so he was sitting down, with her in his lap, and the movement jolted him inside of her, pressing harder against her womb and causing her to let out a yelp as a burst of pleasure shot through her.

He grinned at her and lifted her up a few inches, seemingly effortlessly, and then dropped her down again. She let out another noise and reflexively wrapped her arms around his neck, needing to hold on to something, as he impaled her on his cock.

He did this a few more times, sending white-hot sparks through her each time, before he did something that caught her off guard. He leaned forward and kissed her, capturing her lips with his own. And he didn't stop with just the lips. Soon, his tongue was pushing its way into her mouth. And to her even greater surprise, she found herself kissing back just as fiercely.

An unfamiliar feeling welled up inside of her as Axton continued to fuck her. No, as he made love to her. Because that was what this was. The kissing, the way he pulled her closer to him and she pressed herself against him in turn, and the way they hadn't needed to speak to each other, outside of her desperate cries for more, were all indicators of just how intimate this moment was.

Before, Sena had been washed away by the pleasure. But now, finally, she gave in to it completely, floating serenely in the currents of ecstasy that carried her to unexplored lands. All that mattered was Axton's heat, against her and inside of her, and the waves of pleasure that filled her.

She climaxed twice more and was approaching her third by the time Axton sped up his pace, dick once more twitching inside of her. She clung to him tighter as he once again filled her with his seed, pumping it directly into her deepest depths. She came just from the sensation of it, mind filled with bliss.

Axton stopped his movements, and Sena felt herself grow limp. She had been riding the high the entire time, but now she felt drained of energy. The next few moments were a blur, the fuzziness in her mind only increased by her sudden fatigue. But she felt it when Axton's lips left hers, and when he pulled his cock out of her. She could tell when he picked her up and moved her, but it wasn't until she felt warm water that she realized that he had put her in the bath.

She wasn't sure how long it took for her to recover, but eventually, she did, becoming more cognizant of her situation. She was in the large private bath they had originally come here for, sitting between Axton's legs as he ran his fingers through her hair. It was an extremely relaxing sensation, and she leaned back into him.

Now that her mind was clear of the intense arousal that had been building up since their date began, she was able to look back on what had just happened. There was a moment of intense embarrassment and shame, but it died quickly as Axton's hands continued to gently play with her hair.

It felt good and it was relaxing, just as Kyu had said it would be. She was sore and tired, but in a deeply satisfying way, and it was a small price to pay for having all of her pent-up stress just washed away like that. She knew her work would still be frustrating when she got back home, but she felt ready to face it once more, her morale restored.

And Kyu was right about another thing; for her first time, it was amazing. She talked enough with the other women of Axel that she knew that sex wasn't like what she read in her books. She knew that the first time was often not very enjoyable for the girl.

But that hadn't been the case at all here. There wasn't a single moment she was in pain. Not when he had fingered her, not when he had started fucking her as she lay face down on the ground. In fact, the whole experience had been fantastic, going above and beyond even her steamiest romance novels.

She closed her eyes and relaxed. She was still pretty tired, and being in his arms in the bath was extremely comfortable. She shifted her hips slightly and felt Axton's dick against her back, still hard despite the number of times he came. That wasn't normal for men, right? "I see what you meant earlier by being able to keep a lot of girls happy," she said in a soft voice, breaking her silence.

"Even with their superior numbers, I still outlast them all," he replied in a joking tone. She liked the fact that she could feel his response reverberate from where her back pressed against his chest. Her awareness began to fade as she felt the pull of sleep take her.

"You could be one of those girls if you want," Axton offered.

Could she? That did sound nice, but there was still a part of her that was hesitating. But she was too tired to unravel why that was right now. "I'll think about it," she said instead. Deciding later, when she could think again, sounded nice. Yeah, that sounded nice.

She felt him chuckle and say something, but the words slipped past her ears as sleep finally took hold of her and she rested safely and comfortably in his arms.

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AN: At long last, I return! Okay, so maybe not that long, it's only been about six weeks. Which, honestly, isn't so bad, considering the reason for my break is that I got tendonitis in both of my wrists. I had to force myself to stop writing entirely so I could let it heal. Which was hell. Turns out, I've gotten pretty addicted to creating content. Weeks on end of not being able to do more was not fun. In fact, I wasn't able to stop myself completely, and those creative juices had to be directed somewhere. So, with the help of my Subscribers over on my discord, I ended up coming up with several new really good story ideas. Which is rather problematic, as I already have way too many story ideas to feasibly write. But they're really good, and I'm excited for when I can start them.

But I'm back to this for now. Mostly. My wrists have healed, and I've taken some steps to prevent them from being injured again, but there are some lingering effects. I'll be limiting how much I write a day as I build up my wrist strength again. Right now that limit is 1k words, though on days I work, I'll likely write far less than that. I'll increase it as I feel my wrists are up to it and decrease it if I feel I've pushed too far. It'll slow things down, but it's necessary for my long-term health and ability to write.

Now, on to the chapter notes!

Sena got her date! Not last, but for reasons, Aqua had to be last. Sena doesn't have a lot of information about her in the main novels, so I had to dig up her love of yaoi from the Dust spinoff novels and make use of that. Considering the Axis Order is known for accepting all sexual orientations, I figured Arcanletia is the one place with an openly gay environment.

That being said, I'm not really fond of how the canon lumps in all of those things under the same umbrella, treating homosexuals as the same level of 'deviance' as some of the more fucked up interests of its members. It's not something that comes up in more than passing in the novels, but it never sat right with me. I don't plan on delving into it, but I'd like to give the Axis Order a bit more nuance, and not outright villainize gay people.

A note about some of the things that Axton said while talking to Sena. You might notice a few inconsistencies with what we know and what he says. Just so there's no confusion- Axton lies. He does so as naturally as breathing. Don't assume everything he says to Sena, even things that seem relatively innocuous, are his completely true thoughts. Sena is someone he's trying to seduce after all.