The floating restaurant was a wonderful place as if taken out of an Agatha Christie novel. 

The ancient wooden floors creaked and swayed gently under them with the never ceasing motion of the flowing river and the wind, increasing gradually, throwing handfuls of raindrops against the glass of the many brass rimmed portholes adorning the walls like pictures. They stayed sitting at their tiny round table, their legs intertwined just like their fingers, sipping wine, watching the thickening rain falling against the strong outdoors lights illuminating the steamer, casting thoughtful glances at each other, talking of the most inconsequential things.

When they finally got back home it was too late to do anything else but take a shower and then sit together on the sofa, reading, talking about their two accomplished quests as well as about the one they planned next, until the early hours of the morning, neither of them wanting to be the one to propose to separate and go to sleep. But their flights were booked for ten o'clock in the morning which meant that they would have to get up quite early, and so, when Siena finally fell asleep, her head on James' lap as was slowly becoming their routine, he lifted her up just like the other day and carried her into her room.

This time, she woke up, though, even as he laid her on the bed.

"Stay. If you want," she muttered, meeting his eyes for the briefest moment, and James nodded without overthinking it. 

He walked back into the sitting room to switch off the reading light he had left on, then lay down next to her and after he pulled the dark blue blankets over them both, he drew her into him tentatively, giving her time to protest, before he encased her in an embrace, his arms around her, his chin on top of her head. She only settled more comfortably into him, making him smile contentedly, her hands closing around fistfuls of his t-shirt.

"I'll miss you, James," she muttered just before she fell asleep.

"I'll miss you, too," he replied, bestowing a kiss on top of her head, but she didn't hear him anymore. 

He stayed awake for a long time after, holding her, surprised by finding her in his arms, like this, so soon, only to have to let her go in a few hours for so many months... He thought about her, how perfect she seemed to him, he thought about... them, them taking this mutual attraction beyond... Would it ever work...?

Luckily, Siena had forgotten to draw the curtains. Otherwise, they would have overslept. 

She was up with the first wet, silvery light of another rainy day dispersing the darkness reigning within the bedroom without haste, like a lover waking up his beloved with a gentle caress. After she revelled in James' embrace for a long while, breathing him in, realising that she had never spent a night like this with anyone, she managed, quite against her own will, to disentangle herself from him and get up without waking him up, wanting to avoid the moment of awkwardness that was bound to follow when he woke up too.

She had a pot of coffee and a plate full of warm crêpes ready when he joined her in the kitchen half an hour later.

James woke up with her scent enveloping him like a blanket, confused by not finding her at his side, as if sleeping in the same bed was something they had always done. 

He was tempted to kiss her good morning when he found her setting the breakfast on the table but resisted, seeing that she had left him to wake up alone. By now, he was certain that this, sharing a bed with a man, was something she wasn't used to, and he almost envied her her... lack of experience, and habit, so rare at her age, in their century. It set her apart from all the other women he had frequented, she intrigued him, he felt honoured by her trust, hoped to do it justice... He blinked, realising that he was staring at her, making her blush, and she was talking to him.

"Do you like crêpes? I didn't know what else to make for you, we don't have too much time left, I need to finish packing and we should at least strip our beds for whoever the Society will send to clean and supply the flat with food before we return at Christmas..."

Siena knew that she was rattling on annoyingly, but she couldn't stop herself; it seemed to be her response to his lingering looks. He was making her feel shy like no one else in the world.

She sighed and forced herself to stop talking by pressing her lips tightly together and plopping into her chair, filling their mugs with coffee, releasing its stimulating fragrance around them, while he sat down opposite of her, his hand closing around hers the moment she set the pot down again.

"They smell wonderful. You shouldn't have bothered, though, with all the other things still left to do before Jake picks us up. Thank you, Siena. For everything. These... these were the best two weeks of my life, I swear."

She beamed at him over the rim of her steaming mug, her serious features rearranging into the most beautiful smile. "For me too. And I can't wait to return, just like in that Tennyson's poem, there are still so many worlds, so much left to do for us."

James nodded, finishing his chocolate filled crêpe, wiping the icing sugar off his lips and fingers with a napkin. He couldn't let her go without asking her for at least her phone number. He smiled when she beat him to it, passing him a small piece of paper.

"I went through all the phone numbers inserted into the Society's phone, but I didn't find yours. Here's mine, so... well... we can keep in touch if we... think about the following quest or something."

Her cheeks blooming with another adorable blush, she stood up and collected their plates, filling the dishwasher for the last time.

"Thanks, Siena," he murmured, making her jump then lean into him as he suddenly stood behind her, his arm wrapped around her waist pulling her into him, not letting go until he was certain that she was sure on her legs again. 

He walked into his room then to get dressed and finish packing, and she followed his example shortly after she washed and collected all of her things from the bathroom. 

The journey to the airport with Jake behind the wheel of the dark blue car was their most silent so far, they only started to talk when the car stopped in front of their terminal and Jake helped them to carry their luggage inside. 

"Thanks, Jake," James said, shaking the driver's hand before reaching inside the pocket of his jacket, pulling out the keys of their house to give them back to Jake.

"You are to keep those, and here's another set," Jake said, passing identical keys to Siena. "Just in case you won't arrive the same day." He shrugged, letting them know that he was simply following his orders and could reply to no further questions. "It was nice meeting you, Siena, James. Take care of yourselves and feel free to call whenever you need me."

He was off then, leaving them alone in the midst of the crowd of travellers filling the large glass and steel hall flooded with light, noise, and confusion.

They didn't have much time left, and with James' plane leaving a few minutes before Siena's, there was no way for him to accompany her to her gate as he would have liked.

"I..." they spoke at the same time, then laughed. 

"I asked Alicia to book me a flight for the twenty-third of December, I'll be here sometimes that evening," Siena said, her eyes boring into his.

She looked so small and fragile surrounded by the noisy, rushing crowd that he wished he didn't have to leave her alone.

"I'll be back on the twenty-second. I'll come here to pick you up with Jake. And I'll call you before..."

Not finding anything else to say, she simply nodded, acknowledging his words, wrapping her arms around his waist when he embraced her, then leaned on the tiptoes and bestowed a kiss to his cheek before disappearing into the crowd, out of his sight.

He sighed, adjusting the backpack on his shoulder, then walked away in the opposite direction. Three months. Three months and eight days would have to pass before he would see her again. Unless... 

James closed his hand tightly around the fragment of the mysterious red stone he carried in his pocket. He had several ideas he wanted to test; if any of them worked, he might just see her before...

With a renewed spring in his step he headed towards the corridor leading to his gate, turning around once in hopes of catching one last glimpse of her golden mane within the dark-clad crowd but he didn't spot her, she was already gone.