“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
Dazzle grinned, an unsettling sight with the wide mouth painted onto his face. “How eloquent. Do you want to go out with me or not?” Seemingly relaxed, he leaned against the fence next to the training area, where the Legion Commander had been practicing her skills only a few minutes ago.
Tresdin sighed. “I want to, yes. But at the same time I don’t because I don’t like tight spaces with lots of people. I can’t wear my armour and I’m supposed to leave my weapons. So a clear maybe.”
“But you want to?” Dazzle understood the Commander and he didn’t want to do anything where she was uncomfortable. Yet he wanted to go out with her, do something together. It had been an idea of his, because they almost always were here, at her home. Usually he didn’t mind, but sometimes he felt like doing something, anything. Sometimes he itched to move and this time he didn’t want to leave for a few days, this time he wanted to have Tresdin with him.
“Yes. But…”
The pink troll interrupted her. “I’ll think of something.” He tapped against her chest armour. “Something where you can wear this if you want to. Trust me.”
Trust didn’t come easily but over the time they had been living together she had learned to trust him. As he had learned to trust her. Still she seemed to be suspicious so Dazzle changed the topic. “Dinner is ready, are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
Two days later, in the evening, Dazzle leaned against the same fence and waited for Tresdin to finish her training routine. When she did, she came over and pulled the helmet from her head.
A drop of sweat ran down her temple and she was breathing heavily. Her hair was either sticking to her head, sweat drenched, or it stood in every possible direction. She braided it ever morning into a tight plait but in the evening it was always this mass of curls around her head. Understandable, since she was wearing a helmet all day long.
Dazzle loved her hair and he loved Tresdin’s expression when he told her that, pure disbelief in her eyes. When the troll had first met the Legion Commander she had used to crop her unruly hair short to the head but she had eventually stopped and had let it grow out. The troll suspected it had something to do with the fact he liked to run his hands through her hair though Tresdin would never admit that. Therefore he never asked.
“Come on, we are going out today.”
The smile fell from Tresdin’s face. “Now? I am sweaty and tired.”
“Don’t worry.” Dazzle grinned. He could see the ‘yes. no. maybe.’ on Tresdin’s features and he was amused. He ignored it and simply led her to a waiting griffon.
The flight was relatively short but when they arrived Tresdin’s sweat had dried and her cheeks weren’t all red anymore.
They hadn’t landed at exactly the spot the troll wanted to go. It would’ve taken the surprise away, if they had seen it from above. But after another five minutes of walking through a dense forest, they stepped onto a clearing. On the opposite side of them was a small waterfall that ended in a lake. Or rather a pond. The air was warm and filled with the sounds of creatures all around them, humming and singing, and the rustling of wind in the branches of the trees. The steady crashing of water onto rocks.
Next to the pond, Dazzle had prepared their dinner. He had set a table with two plates as well as food and drink.
But first, they would take a dip in the pond. The water was cold, but not freezing and the troll pulled the Commander with him.
She was still looking around, at the waterfall and the table and the clearing. “This place is nice. That is what you meant when you said you wanted to go out?”
Dazzle laughed. “Not exactly but it wouldn’t be any fun if you had no fun so I thought this might be better.” He stopped and started to take his clothes off. When he was finished and Tresdin hadn’t moved, he stepped behind her and opened her armour.
That snapped her out of it and she helped him. It took some time, she had so many layers on, but as soon as she was as naked as the troll, Dazzle ran a hand down her back. Her skin was sticky and he pushed her towards the lake.
He knew quite well that he would never be able to actually push her anywhere if she didn’t let him but she was nice enough to take step forward.
Not waiting for her, the troll ran into the water. His breath caught for a second due to the cold but then he was inside. The pond was just deep enough for the water to cover his shoulders, which meant Tresdin, being human and therefore smaller, would have to stand on her toes to be able to breathe. Now it was easy to push her and Dazzle laughed as she spluttered, trying to remain standing.
He should’ve known that this small advantage would gain him nothing. The Legion Commander narrowed her eyes, then she went for the troll. A few minutes later they were dripping wet and Dazzle suspected the paint on his face was a mess.
Usually that would’ve made him uncomfortable but he was alone with Tresdin here. It was fine.
Before they sat at the table, he wiped his face with one of the towels he had stashed nearby. Tresdin ran it across his cheeks a few more times to get the remaining specks of paint.
Then she dressed in merely shirt and pants, didn’t even bother to bind her breasts and Dazzle knew he had done this right. She was comfortable enough to drop her armour. He smiled, pleased with this idea of his. He wasn’t yet sure if it was enough for his itch to move but it might just be.
Tresdin slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. She kissed him on the cheek. “You are the cutest troll ever.”
Dazzle blushed, no paint hiding how his cheeks turned bright pink.
“Cute”, Tresdin murmured against his skin before giving him another kiss.