The rest of Lucas and Fay’s date went quite well, at least in Lucas’ opinion.

  The two spent well over an hour just talking in the small little burger shop. Their food didn’t last long at all, but the conversation flowed far more easily once the two finally relaxed. Neither of them were experienced with dating so they were both flying blind. But that didn’t stop the two from enjoying their time together.

  For the most part, the conversations were lighthearted and casual. Lucas learned that Fay’s favorite color was sky blue and that she loved a good steak. Fay, in return, learned that Lucas’ favorite food was pizza and that his favorite color was a darker royal blue. It was amusing to find out that they both shared a mutual hatred of spiders.

  Eventually, Lucas brought up a question that had been bugging him for the last few days.

  “Why haven’t you gone and signed up for the Hunter’s Guild yet?”

  He saw how Fay’s expression became more reserved and watched as she reached up to gently tug at the enchanted goggles around her neck. Even on their date, she’d refused to part with the gift. It was constantly heartwarming to see how much she treasured it. And the goggles seemed to give the blonde the confidence to explain herself.

  “I wanted to wait,” She replied.

  “But why?” Lucas was confused. “You were talking so much about how you wanted to be a hunter and join the guild. You’re eighteen now, so you’re old enough. Why wait?”

  “Because it can wait,” She said as she met Lucas’ eyes. “The guild will still be there in a month. But you might not.”

  That threw him for a loop. Lucas hadn’t expected that he would be the reason that Fay would hold off on something she’d been looking forward to for years.

  “I know we’re talking about trying this and visiting each other, but it still won’t be the same as you being here. So, I want to spend as much time with you as we can. Working for the guild might pull me away for jobs if I join. And I’m worried that, if I join, I’ll end up on a job when you have to leave.”

  The more that Lucas thought about it, the more he understood Fay’s fears and worries. The idea of not seeing her on the day he left felt like being stabbed by a dagger. Yet, at the same time he felt like Fay was holding herself back.

  “Your dad and the master of the guild seem to be pretty close. I’m sure you could just ask to not be sent on jobs for the next couple weeks until I leave,” He suggested.

  At first, Fay looked like she wanted to argue, but she stopped and actually seemed to consider the idea.

  “Maybe,” She mumbled.

  “Hey, come on. I’d love to see you manage to pass whatever test he has for you and become an actual guild member before I leave.”

  With his interest in it mentioned, Fay perked up a bit more at the idea. She wasn’t fully set on it, but it seemed pretty close.

  “I’ll think about it. I’ll let you know if I do decide to do it, though.” She partially agreed.

  “I definitely want to be there when you do,” Lucas replied.

  What Lucas didn’t voice was the idea that getting Fay back to the guild could let him try and patch up the damaged relationship that Fay had with Clara and maybe get his girlfriend another friend back. But saying something like that on a date was bound to ruin the mood.

  Soon enough, the couple chose to leave Zeke’s and head back into town. The sun was dipping under the horizon, painting the sky in beautiful shades of purple, orange, red, and gold. For a few seconds, Lucas just took the chance to admire the view as the fading sunlight streamed through the forests surrounding Helstrum.

  Then, Fay was tugging him along again. The date wasn’t over just yet and she was eager to show him her favorite place to get some ice cream as a sweet treat after dinner.

  But once the sun fully set and the various lights along the streets began to turn on, the two started to wind down their date. Lucas could still see just fine, but things were getting dark for Fay, and the night air still had a bit of a chill to it.

  As the two walked together back to the house, Lucas couldn’t deny the fact that it had been one of the best days he’d ever had. Spending time with Fay was a quick way to always brighten his day and dating her increased that feeling tenfold.

  That good mood faded when the two stepped into the house, though. Seeing Magnus sitting silently at the table and glaring at Lucas as he entered caused both teens to freeze up for different reasons.

  Lucas was sure, at that moment, that he was going to die. Funnily enough, his biggest complaint was that he hadn’t been able to kiss Fay at the end of their date, yet.

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  “It would have been nice to know that you were dating my daughter before you took her out on a date,” The man evenly stated as he stared at the teen.

  “Since when did I need to ask you before doing something,” Lucas shot back.

  He had no idea where he got the sudden courage from, but he was going to run with it. Even if it got him killed.

  Magnus’ glare intensified and he slowly rose from his seat. Once more Lucas was reminded of how much taller the man was than him as he approached.

  Fay chose that moment to get in between the two, angrily glaring back at her own father. The tension in the room just continued to get worse by the moment.

  “Stop it!” She demanded. “I told Lucas he was going on a date with me so stop trying to intimidate him.”

  Magnus almost entirely ignored his daughter and continued to glare at Lucas. And Lucas held his gaze and returned a glare of his own. He barely even noticed when Fay slipped her hand into his and squeezed it.

  “You don’t get to tell me what to do. And whether I date Fay or not is up to her, not you,” Lucas snapped.

  “I think he passed your little test, don’t you, dear?”

  Lissa’s voice cut through the tension like a knife and both Fay and Lucas’ heads snapped towards the woman as she walked around the corner into the kitchen.

  “Mom?” Fay seemed just as confused as Lucas was.

  Then Magnus snorted and drew their attention back to him. The man rolled his eyes, no longer glaring at Lucas.

  “Yeah, I guess so. He passes,” The older man replied.

  “Passes? Passes what?” Lucas asked.

  “Well, I wanted to see if you’d be brave enough to stand up to me. I’m not going to let some coward date my daughter. If you’d backed down or run off, I never would’ve been a fan of this relationship. But, because you did…”

  He trailed off and began to grin.

  “You showed real backbone, so I approve.”

  Rather than the gleeful excitement that the man might have expected, instead he endured a hard smack to the back of his head from Fay as a gust of wind blasted from her feet. Much to Lucas’ shock, he watched as Fay blasted off towards her father and then pushed off the air itself to reach high enough to smack the man upside his head.

  “That’s for doing this stupid test,” She said with a scowl.

  “I did tell you it was a bit silly, dear,” Lissa chimed in, getting a betrayed look from the man.

  “I just can’t win,” He mumbled.

  Lucas couldn’t help himself and had a bit of fun. He raised a hand and mimed flicking a whip. And with a small flex of his mana, he used the first bit of what Wren had begun teaching him that morning. Sound based illusions.

  As he made the gesture, the sound of a whip cracking sounded out, and Magnus sent an annoyed glare his way. Fay and Lissa, on the other hand, both began to laugh.

  “You want to be a funny, huh? Alright then. Tomorrow you’re fighting me for real. Go all out and fight me as best as you can. I’m going to drag you through the dirt and leave you as one big bruise.”

  The whip joke might have been a bit too far, Lucas realized. But if he was already screwed, then why not double down.

  “Bring it on, old man,”

  Lissa’s laughter grew louder as Magnus’ glare grew more intense.

  “One. Big. Bruise,” He intoned ominously as the man walked off towards his bedroom.

  At his side, Fay looked like she couldn’t decide whether to be horrified at what Lucas had done or laugh like her mother. In the end, she chose both as she wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her head into his chest, and began to laugh.

  “He’s going to kill you,” She mumbled into his shirt.

  “Can I get a kiss before I die, then?”

  Lucas had no idea at all where the sudden confidence was coming from, but it was doing him wonders that night. Pissing off Magnus had definitely not been a bright idea, and he was bound to regret it.

  But as Fay leaned in and kissed him again, he was pretty thankful for that burst of confidence.

  What was only a few seconds felt far longer for Lucas as his arms wrapped around Fay and held her close to him. It was every bit the kiss he was hoping for at the end of his date. It would have likely gone even longer if it hadn’t been for Lissa loudly clearing her throat.

  Both teens immediately separated, their cheeks quickly going red as older blonde grinned.

  “I wouldn’t recommend doing that in front of your father,” She joked playfully. She seemed to relish how her words made Fay blush even more. “But I am happy for you both. You make a cute couple.”

  Luckily for the two teens, Lissa didn’t tease them any further. Once she’d said her piece, she slipped away to go and join her husband.

  “You really dug your own grave tonight,” Fay said as she turned towards Lucas.

  “I’m gonna regret it tomorrow, yeah. But… I kind of want to fight your dad again. Seriously, I mean. I think I can hit him this time.”

  Lucas hadn’t been training for very long, but what he lacked in practiced skill and physical might, he made up for with creativity and cunning. And with his Darkness affinity, Lucas had some ideas he thought might work.

  “Think we can train a bit tomorrow? I have some ideas that I want to try,”

  “Considering how your last idea worked out,” Fay teased as she hopped into the air and boosted herself a couple inches further. “I think I’d be interested in that.”

  Lucas sighed in relief. “Thank god. I need to practice.”

  Fay’s laughter was music to his ears as she smiled at him. That smile softened a moment later and she leaned in to press a quick kiss to Lucas’ cheek.

  “I did have fun tonight, by the way. Up until my dad’s ‘test’,” She admitted.

  “I did too,” Lucas agreed. “Maybe we can go on another one, soon?”

  The memory of Fay’s face lighting up with one of the biggest grins he’d ever seen was one that Lucas would never forget. The extra kiss on the lips before they split up for bed just helped reinforce the memory.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~