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FIVE. Behaving like an adult.

  “How'd it go?” Sam asked as Gavin stepped back into the dining hall.

  “It went okay. If anyone wants me I'll be in the workshop.”

  He trudged out through the door, ignoring his team mates awkward glances between each other. They'd send Judy in to talk to him soon, he just wanted a minute of solitude to compartmentalise his day.

  They'd developed a way to project a mental ‘occupied’ sign through their telepathic link to show they wanted space. He'd keep it up for long enough to finish his projects then deal with the real world after.

  He'd been working on Judy's new rifle and the ammunition for an inordinate amount of time. He'd stripped the enchantment from her soulbound bow and used that as a template for the rifle then reforged her arrows into bullets. He'd reforged the rifle several times, each iteration refining and tinkering with the design to suit her updated criteria as she learned more about earth technology. He'd finally come up with something he was proud of.

  Judy's new rifle was a bullpup design that wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy tech video game. Instead of tactikool rails and covers it was a sleek shaped piece of etherium and mithril with the teams signature filigree designs etched into the surface. It was light and agile, as well as significantly quieter than any earth gun owing to the caseless ammunition running on magic instead of explosive powder.

  It came with four magazines of thirty rounds that each contained their own uniquely enchanted bullets. One set dealt radiant and force damage for maximum effect against most targets, another did arcane and entropic damage for use against magical shields and constructs. One dealt explosive and fire damage in a cone from the point of impact creating a continuous fire and shrapnel bomb at the point of impact. The last slowed and would eventually paralysed the target for use on monsters like any of the monsters they had fought that were faster than their frontline fighters.

  “It's done?” Said Sam, leaning on the doorframe.

  “Huh, yeah. You're not Judy.”

  “Observant. I do need to talk with you about her though.”

  “Not about all the other stuff that happened today.”

  “That too.”

  “Well, come on in. I'm working on the fortress defences next so I'll have a few days at least.”

  Sam closed the door behind her as she stepped inside. She hopped up onto the bench beside Gavin and paused a moment while she gathered her thoughts.

  “You've been in an odd mood since you've been back.”

  “Mmhmm.” Gavin said, acknowledging the point.

  “I haven't seen you in a genuine good mood, since we left.”

  “It's just, coming back here opened up a lot of old wounds, and we kinda have to start world war three in order to avoid risking sauron getting their hands on the one ring.”

  “It needs to be done, you can't control what other people do. Yes it's going to start a power struggle, but it'll also give your whole world access to magic powers.”

  “It's not my world. It's a place where about four people live that I like and that's it. I want to get back to adventuring, doing good for people in need and getting as strong as possible. I can't do that here.”

  “Our time here hasn't been wasted. We've learned how to control our mana a lot more efficiently, your enchanting has improved a lot.”

  “Yeah, but we've pretty much come to the end of that now. I think we start trying to figure out how to leave this world tomorrow instead of just wasting time.”

  “It's your show while we're here, we're just happy to experience new things, and it's not like it's been boring for us following you around the universe.”

  “Good. We'll stock up in the morning and put our heads together after lunch. Make sure you guys download everything you need too, because if we find a way off this rock we’re gone.”

  “When are you going to make a move on Judy?” Sam said abruptly, diverting the conversation.

  “Ahh, I'm not.”

  “Yeah, you are.”

  “No.”

  “She's been pining over you for the past six months-”

  “two months.”

  “Six.”

  “Whatever. Anyway, I'm not going to get into a relationship with someone because they want it. I don't want a relationship, and that's the end of it.”

  “Is this about-.”

  “Not up for discussion.” Gavin said coldly.

  “Gavin. I'm your friend and I want what's best for you, so please take this with all the love it's meant with, but I think it's time you start letting yourself heal. You don't need to hold on to all those feelings you've got bottled up inside. You aren't your past, you can change your path. I did. Because you showed me how.”

  “It's not the same and you know it.”

  “No, it's not the same. But that doesn't mean something that happened to you four years ago needs to hang over you for the rest of your life. What would-”

  “Don't you dare ask what Hinē would want. It's not about what she wants, or you, or Judy. It's about what I want. I want what we had before we came here.”

  “Things won't stay the same forever. What's going to happen when Judy realises she's following around a man who will never want her back? Vals happy to have little flings where she can get them, but Judy's wants to build a life with someone, if it's not you she'll find that somewhere else.”

  “This is a really shitty ultimatum you're giving me Sam. I don't think you understand how fucked up what you're asking me to do is.”

  “I- how? You already like her, love her even, don't pretend you don't.”

  “Not romantically. What you're asking is for me to ignore my own feelings so someone else can get what they want. You think Judy's going to be happy knowing my heart’s not in it?”

  “You could grow to feel the same way.”

  “Sam, I know your heart’s in the right place, but you really need to drop it. Think of it this way, hypothetically, what if Val had a crush on you and I came to you saying you need to fake loving her back for the good of the team?”

  “You know I can't- I, thats unfair Gavin.”

  “Yeah, it is, that's the point. What you're asking me is unfair in the same kind of way. My final answer is no Sam, please just leave it be.”

  “Have it your way then.” Sam said, her frown flickering to a scowl before she calmed herself down to a forced neutral expression.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Thanks.” Gavin said, showing her an apologetic look.

  He turned back to his work, eyes going blank as he lost himself back in his interface power, tinkering with various designs. He slowly slid the privacy screen around himself letting the team know he was unavailable again for the time being.

  ***

  “Fuck this.” Gavin swore, slamming a fist down on his bench several frustrating hours later.

  He'd been trialling enchantment ideas and going back and forward on different ways to organise the architecture with little success. The way enchantments were typically taught or described in books wasn't especially efficient, like how wiring diagrams just showed what connected to what but not how it worked in the real world or how was the most optimal way to run cables.

  His conversation with Sam and the past weeks of building frustration gnawed at the back of his mind like plague rats, disrupting his normally considered and methodical workflow. He sighed, releasing his pent up emotions as he stood. He took up Judy's rifle and her stacks of ammunition into his inventory and left his workshop. Muttering to himself, he trudged back down the hallway, up the sweeping staircase onto the second floor and down the hallway where the team bedrooms were located.

  He gingerly knocked on the third door, resigning himself to behaving like an adult just this one time.

  He felt Judy give her mental consent to enter as he pushed open the door. The faint smell of solvent hit his nostrils as he entered, hitting him in the face like an oily rag. The source of the smell was obvious, a freshly painted canvas sat on an easel against the far wall.

  It was a stylised rendition of their fight with the dragon in what felt like an age ago. Sam and Val stood atop the magnificent beast rending it asunder, backlit with the light of Sam's radiant sword. Judy stood off to the right, a glowing bolt of light just releasing from her bow, the tension in her posture giving weight to the action. Gavin himself hovered above them all, lunging down at the thrashing monster with his spear, it's glowing head illuminating his face in stark contrast to the inky background.

  The whole piece felt like a frozen moment in time, capturing all of them in their best light.

  “It'll take a minute to dry, I’ve just put a fixative on it, then you can have it.” Judy said from beside him.

  “Fuck yeah Jude, it's epic.” Gavin said, his sour mood dropping in an instant.

  Judy's face brightened as he stood closer to inspect the brushwork. She had a painterly style that leaned heavily on the impression of detail with thick layers of colour scumbled across the canvas. From across the room it looked almost photorealistic, but up close felt more abstract.

  “This is amazing work.” Gavin said, turning to face her with a smile.

  “Thanks.” She said awkwardly rubbing her elbow.

  “I got you something too.” He said, flourishing out her new rifle and setting the trays of bullets down on her desk.

  She took the gun reverently in both hands, turning it over to inspect it.

  [Item: Judy's wrath]

  [Type: Weapon, firearm]

  Rarity: Level 3, Epic

  Description: A weapon made for a friend to help her protect those she cares about.

  Effect: Mana cost of abilities used in combination with attacks made with this weapon are reduced.

  Users base attributes are increased.

  Confers [Hunters Mark] debuff to loaded ammunition.

  [Soulbound]

  “Hunters mark?” Judy asked, running her fingers over the filigree engraving.

  “Pings the direction of any enemy you hit, you can-.”

  Gavins explanation was cut off as Judy wrapped him in a tight hug. She was a similar height and build as him but had enhanced her strength far beyond his own. He let out a choking laugh as he muttered “death by snu snu” between clenched teeth.

  “I have watched Futurama you know.” Judy said pulling away.

  “You have? Did you like it, wait, of course you liked it. When did you watch it?”

  Judy pointed to the television propped up at the foot of her bed on a chest of draws. Her bedding was wrapped up into a nest where she'd obviously been nestled up watching the screen.

  “Oh, right. Forgot we decked the place out with all the mod-cons.”

  “Please don't use that word again. It sounds- icky.”

  “So, anyway, uhh, this is gonna be a bit awkward, but can we have a talk for a bit, like a proper talk?”

  “You're using the ‘neither of us are going to like this’ tone.” Judy said, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

  Gavin sat down beside her and let his mouth run, forcing the part of his brain that wanted to ignore all his problems to butt out.

  “So, I know that you like me as more than a team mate.”

  “This is going to be one of those ‘it's not you it's me’ chats isn't it?” said Judy, sighing.

  “Yeah, sorry. I like you as a friend and a team mate, and I'm not one of those people who thinks friends shouldn't date because they're friends, it's just that I'm not looking to get into anything romantic right now.”

  “I figured.” Judy said slumping back on her bed. “the second I saw- when we got here, it wasn't that long ago you lost them.”

  “When I think about being intimate with anyone else it feels wrong. Like I'm cheating on her. I know in my head I deserve to be happy or whatever, but the heart wants what the heart wants.”

  “Yeah, it does.” Judy said flatly.

  “So anyway, yeah, just figured it was unfair on both of us if I just kept on not saying anything.”

  “Thanks, I guess.” Judy said, still staring up at her ceiling.

  “At the risk of giving you false hope I, uhh” Gavin trailed off frowning “anyway, you shouldn't live your life waiting for me to figure my head out.”

  “I don't think that's even possible.” Judy said, smiling wanly as she propped herself back up on her elbows.

  “Yeah yeah, I get it. Anyway. Sorry to ruin your evening.”

  “You definitely should have led with the talk and followed up with the gun.”

  “I'll keep that in mind.” Gavin said , slapping his knees “anyway, good chat. see you tomorrow.”

  “Don't forget your painting.”

  “Yeah, cheers.”

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