The sun was long gone, a halfmoon high up when Jakey sneaked out of his temporary living place, gently closing the doors to make as less noise as he could. He didn't know how well Lo'Pho's kitty ears could hear but he didn't want to test them just yet. He also left Oliver behind; he couldn't bring himself to wake the peaceful sleeping pet, especially if he spent the day avoiding getting blown up.

He stepped out into the open yard. The air was cool, wisps of a burnt wood smell floating in and around. He took a moment to lean on his staff, admiring the stars scattered across the sky. Each one twinkled a different brightness, some even different colors. He rested his head on the rod and sighed before heading off.

He wandered the town for a little while, trying to remember where the terrifying twins had shown them the gardens the ice mage had made. He wrung his hands together, not used to not having even Oliver to chatter at. Finally the gardens came into view and Jakey froze in his tracks.

Bryan sat underneath the biggest tree in the middle of the greenery, back against the trunk, eyes pointed up to the sky. His face was restful, the tips of his mouth pulled up into a soft smile. Jakey's grip on his staff tightened and he willed himself to take a deep breath before trudging forwards.

If Bryan heard him approaching, he gave no indication until he got closer. "H-hey Bryan."

His head snapped to attention, eyes wide with surprise before relaxing. He smiled, the edges of his eyes crinkling. "Jakey! Fancy seeing you out here."

"I couldn't r-really sleep, so I just thought I-I'd take a walk a-around."

"Well no need to keep standing there, come sit with me."

"Oh, s-sure!" Nearly stumbling on nothing, Jakey walked over to the tree and lowered himself to the ground. He set his staff beside him and settled next to Bryan. He tried to keep a respectful distance, but his fellow Protector just scooted closer.

"This okay? It's a bit cold out here."

It definitely wasn't cold. If anything, Jakey felt like he had a fever, but he just nodded. "It's f-fine. I don't mind s-sitting close to people. I mean I d-don't go out of my w-way to sit close to people; I d-don't really like sitting that c-close but I d-don't mind when it's y-you-"

Stop talking Jakey, please.

He was tempted to rewind time, but stopped at the sound of bells ringing. Except they weren't bells, it was Bryan chuckling. It was like fire-cremated bells ringing with the wind and Jakey was caught off guard.

"It's okay Jakey, I understand." Bryan patted him on the shoulder, lingering for just a second then dropping his hand between them. "I'm surprised you weren't able to sleep, seem like they worked you guys pretty hard."

Jakey shook his head, hyper aware of their hands laying only a centimeter apart. "Actually, it w-wasn't too bad. A-although they did a-almost catch me h-ahving more of my cookies." Should he move his hand? Or would that hurt Bryan's feelings? Did he want to move his hand? His entire arm was frozen in anxiety while his heart was pounding against his ribs.

"You still had cookies on you?" he asked warily. "Those Diabolus twins don't seem like the kind of guys to disobey."

"W-well me and Kayla didn't want to give a-all of them up. T-they're our f-favorite food, and Oliver's."

"Heh, I'm going to have you guys eating some kind of meat before we leave this island." He paused, a funny expression Jakey couldn't place on his face. "Speaking of which, it was nice of you to bunk with Kayla"

"Y-yeah well I feel better sleeping in the s-same room as s-someone else, especially her. She-she's like a sister to me to be honest."

Bryan straightened up at that, or was he just imagining it? Probably just imagining, there's no reason for him to, but his eyes did appear brighter.

"She's starting to become like that for me too." His smile dropped, a thoughtful frown in its place. "I worry for her a bit, for the next game. I don't think a guild leader is going to exactly go easy on her. We don't even know what kind of magic that guy uses."

"I-I'm a little worried too, but m-maybe she can learn to turn in-into Oliver! Who would want t-to attack something as cute as him"

Bryan laughed, a joyful ringing to Jakey's ears. His heart swelled with pride. He did that, he made him laugh. "You might have a point. Even if that's not the case, seeing two little Olivers would be adorable."

Suddenly, he looked away, choosing to stare at the surrounding vegetation instead. "Wouldn't be the only adorable one," he mumbled so low Jakey had to strain his ears to hear.

"W-what was that?"

Bright red to match his fire spread up his neck and across his face. "Nothing!" He shifted in the grass, moving his hand away from Jakey's to run it through his hair. "We should probably go back and get some sleep. Got to be ready to get up again at sunrise for more training!"

"O-oh right. We have to do t-that again." Jakey said nervously. Using his staff as balance, he pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand to the other boy.

Bryan blinked and Jakey started to inwardly panic. He opened his mouth to apologize but Bryan smiled and took his hand. He helped pull him up and they both stood there for a moment, still holding hands before Jakey quickly slid his out and clung to his staff.

"Shall we?" Bryan asked, gesturing towards the direction of the house. A faint blush was still present, but Jakey just chalked it up to the warm air.

"R-right."