Dragon Goddess’s chosen

Later that night.

“Pace yourself a bit better this time” I gently teased Max as I playfully nudged him a bit with my elbow. I ended up making the ‘brilliant’ decision to sit between Max and Kat at the bar despite what I realized earlier. ‘Best to play it as cool as possible…’

“I know, I know…I-ill just water it down with cider or something,” he mumbled.

“Good, or I'm going to have to carry you home again.”

“You carried him home?” Kat giggled.

“I don't even remember that…” he sighed as the first round of drinks was brought to us.

“Is Eris going to join us?” I asked as I claimed my cup and passed one to Max.

“No… ‘training’,” Kat sighed “She found another warrior to spar with and I think she thought he was cute. So thanks in advance for offering your room in case she brings him back... It's going to be just the three of us.”

“Guess we'll get to know her later then,” I shrugged and happily drank from my cup. Whatever Kat ordered for me certainly smelled stronger than what I had a couple days ago, but didn't taste as good. “Go ahead and get that cider too, Max, this'll already put you past your limit.”

“Oh… ok…” he mumbled and went about trying to get the barkeep's attention.

“So… Eris has red hair like Alex, and uses a sword too… Did you miss her so much that you picked a party member like her?” Max asked brazenly in the middle of our chatting after getting most of his first diluted drink in him. Kat was on her third and only just started getting flushed in the face but not acting differently yet. I was finally actually starting to feel the drinks after five of them.

“O-oh um, I did miss Alex but last time I saw her she didn't have red hair so that's definitely not the reason why I teamed up with her” Kat answered and she gave me a look. 

“U-um yeah, my hair was black before… didn't get this way until after the dragon stuff started coming in…” I half-lied ‘Somehow it hurts more to lie to him… I'll tell him the truth eventually’

“Yeah all the scales and stuff are new” Kat laughed softly and playfully nudged me with an elbow “You do look great in purple though~”

“And the white hair looks good on you" I teased back. She rolled her eyes and took another drink but I could see the redness of her face spread to her ears as she was trying to hide her face with the tankard.

‘Still can't take it when I tease her back’ I thought with a smile.

“Your hair changed too…?” Max asked.

“Yep, she was blond like you, a little lighter, though” I laughed and Kat jabbed my side.

“I don't have a convenient excuse like you” she hissed. Max didn't seem to notice this over the general noise of the dining area even with his dog ears, thankfully. I just smiled innocently at her then happily finished my drink as she tried to respond to him. “Yeah, it just kind of happened over time…” I raised an eyebrow at her.

“It… just happened…?” Max didn't seem to buy it but didn't question it further, thankfully, and he happily stole a chicken drumstick off the plate I ordered earlier. 

“Thief.” I laughed softly.

“You two are close” Kat observed as she also stole food from me. 

“Hey, get your own, both of you.”

“Hmm don't think so,” she teasingly held the fried potato slice in her mouth, way too close to my face for my poor heart to take. She did this before in our previous lives, mostly when we were younger, taking something and putting it somewhere she knew I wasn't brave enough to try to take it back like in her shirt or her mouth when it came to food. 

“Back to old habits already…” I sighed and she giggled before finally eating it.

“I don't know what you're talking about~” she giggled and quickly stole another. Max gave a small snort of laughter as he watched.

“She did pay for our drinks… we kind of owe her,” he pointed out.

“Don't take her side, you don't know her like I do,”  he just shrugged and happily resumed drinking and watching us, cutely attentive towards us now. I sighed then I noticed that Kat was keeping her coin purse on her side facing me then I glanced at my own chest. ‘... I can be a brat like that too now’ I quickly snatched her coin purse the next time she tried to take a drink and held it away from her.

“What the hell, Alex, give that back,” she laughed and tried to take it back, her longer reach nearly letting her.

“Hmm, I don't think so,” I teased with her own words back at her, then immediately stuffed it in my shirt between my breasts. She paused and raised an eyebrow at me.

“You really want to play this with me?” she giggled and playfully got close, her face inches from mine, and I felt my heart skip a beat. Without hesitation, she slipped her hand under my shirt, grazing it across my stomach, and retrieved her coin purse with a smirk. “Nice try though~”

“N-no fair…” I mumbled and looked away from her as I tried to calm down. With that, I found Max blushing really hard and squirming in his seat. When our eyes met, he quickly focused on his cup and drank more. I sighed and hesitantly followed his lead.

“Cute,” I barely heard Kat say over the rest of the conversations going on around us but at the time I swore it was just me hearing things. It didn't take long for Max and I to calm down enough to resume chatting with Kat.

Our time drinking together continued mostly without incident, though Kat was in a very playful mood, leaning against me and taking more of my food to get me flustered. It didn't help when Max decided to copy her and also lean up against me and she seemed to enjoy that he was inadvertently helping with her goal. 

Eventually I had to rouse Max when he started dozing off and help him get back home. Well, I didn't have to help him home but I didn't want him walking back in the dark even if he wasn't as far gone as last time. Kat and I were about at the same level but it was easier if I just took him alone.

“S-so… now that she's here… you're gonna leave soon,” Max thought out loud as we walked, a slight slur in his speech.

“Maybe… I'll try to delay her a bit for you to decide if you want to come with…” I replied softly, trying to give him a comforting smile. “It'll be fun though… just have to get used to Kat's playfulness and she's a great friend”

“...yeah… could be… still nervous about leaving. ”

“I understand and like I said, I'll try to get her to wait for you,” I playfully nudged him a bit “don't want to leave behind such a great sorcerer~” his ears shyly folded back as we kept walking.

“... you're so nice to me…”

“Why wouldn't I be? You're my teammate and probably the fastest friend I've made to be honest,”  I smiled more at him but he shyly looked away and paused a bit just as his home came into view from around a corner. “You alright?”

“Y-yeah um… gods…” he cursed softly then got his adorable determined look before stepping closer. He then surprised me by suddenly moving in even more and kissing me softly, pressing up against me a bit in the process. 

“Mmph?!” I gave a muffled yelp and froze in place, my mind racing to figure out what's going on. ‘What the fuck… h-he's normally so shy?? Where is this coming from??’ I quickly found myself starting to kiss back despite the confusion. I felt him eagerly press against me more along with the uncomfortable feeling of pressure in my groin as I got turned from all of this on but unable to get hard as he and my clothes were blocking that slit. He eventually broke the kiss and gave an adorable smile as he thankfully pulled away.

“Hehe… wanna try that with the real you…” he mumbled softly as he turned to start walking towards his home.

“W-what do you mean by that????” I called after him.

“This is definitely a dream~ no way you'd just let me do that … wait why do I have to explain to you…” he paused for a moment then shrugged and kept walking ahead, leaving me behind with my heart racing in my chest over that.

‘Well there goes the rest of my doubts about him… a-and he just thinks it's a dream…’ I groaned to myself, unable to bring myself to follow or go back to the guild hall until I watched him enter his house without a care. Once he was inside, I could finally turn back and head back to my room,  freezing when I saw the window to that room open and  Kat's silhouette peering out from there. ‘Shit’