“You don’t need money to get me to do that!”

Ever since you left the tutorial room behind, you couldn’t stop thinking about those words. Coming from anyone else you’d think it was a joke, but everything Ralsei said and did was so sincere that he must have been serious.

You glanced to the side, catching sight of him as he walked beside you through the forest. Even now, surrounded only by trees and the constant risk of enemies, he was smiling. You had never met someone like him, someone who had so much faith in the world around him. Someone who would give you hugs, anytime, for no particular reason.

Supposedly, anyway. It had been several minutes since he had said those words, and still—no hugs. Not since the one while he taught you how to fight. But that one was your own doing, not his. The ball was in his court—his warm, fluffy court.

He finally noticed you staring at him, and he smiled wider. (He blushed too, but you had a feeling he didn’t want you to notice that.) Then he fiddled with his scarf, pulling it back up toward his face from where it had slipped down past his neck. You wished he hadn’t; the scarf may be cute, but the smile it was now covering was much cuter.

“Eep! Kris?”

It was only after you found yourself staring right at Ralsei’s glasses that you realized you had stopped walking. Apparently you were a bit more eager for a hug than you had thought you were. Well, if you were already stopped…

You took another step toward him and waited. The blush came back to his cheeks, but he still stood there, frozen. Had he forgotten already?

After a few more seconds of eye contact that neither of you wanted to break, you made your decision. Reaching for his scarf, you grabbed the end and pulled it toward you, just enough so that you could see his mouth again as he was tugged toward you.

You now had a perfect view of his eyes and his slightly-open mouth, and it was clear that he still wasn’t getting the idea. When he opened his mouth to speak a moment later, you hoped he had finally caught on. “Kris, are you okay?” he asked, placing a hand on your arm.

…Close enough.

You wrapped your arms around him properly and held him close. He hugged you back without hesitation.

“Oh…you could have said something earlier,” he muttered into your shoulder.

Eh, it wasn’t a big deal, he just needed more practice. Lucky for him, you were the best teacher around.