Gunter lifted his head again and looked out over the mountains. The truth was, he could stand here for the rest of the night, thinking this over, and never come to an actual conclusion. He didn’t know how Nikki felt. He could only speak for his own emotions. So what did Gunter want?
Nikki.
How did he acquire Nikki? How did one even start to really win them over?
No clue.
This emotion business was tougher than it looked.
Gunter gave up thinking about it for tonight. He lifted both hands toward the open sky, a single fuck escaping his fingers, soaring gracefully into the air. “Fly,” he whispered. “Be free.”
Gunter’s last fuck had gone.
He had no more left to give.
As if to immediately prove him wrong, he could clearly hear Nikki’s voice in the hallway outside his front door, coming closer. And swearing as they came.
“Damn things are torture inventions. Why women like to wear these damn things so much is—oww. You know what, fuck it, I’m not wearing you anymore. I don’t care how pretty you are. You are banished. I will find a volcano to throw you into, so help me god.”
What was this about? Gunter quickly crossed from balcony to door, poking his head out.
Nikki was coming up the stairs—or had been. They were in a pencil skirt and a rather lovely red, silky tank top that flattered Nikki’s figure. Balanced on one foot, they yanked off a red high heel shoe, scowling darkly at it as if the thing had tried to put a curse on their soul. Even from here, Gunter could smell the faint tang of blood.
“Have you hurt yourself?” he asked in concern, moving in a fast walk toward Nikki.
Nikki looked up, still braced with a hand against the wall, a shoe in the other. “It’s these shitty shoes. I bought them cause they’re so pretty but they’re mangling my feet. I thought maybe I just needed to break them in? But they’re going to break my feet before they give any.”
Gunter saw the problem once he was close enough to get the right angle. The shoes had rubbed the back of Nikki’s heels raw, to the point that one of them was lightly bleeding. He came in closer, putting an arm around Nikki’s back to help steady the mage before they toppled backwards on the stairs. “Here, come into my room. I’ve got a healing balm that will put your feet back to rights.”
“Okay.”
Testing the waters a little, Gunter slipped another arm under Nikki’s thighs and lifted them into a bridal carry. Was this okay?
Apparently, as Nikki immediately put both arms around Gunter’s neck and batted eyes at him in an outrageous way. “You’re so good at coming to the rescue. My hero.”
Gunter snorted. “I’d say it’s my pleasure, but let’s get you shoes that aren’t going to kill your feet. This castle requires far too much walking. There’s no need to torture yourself with bad shoes.”
“Amen.”
Gunter carried them into the room, gently setting Nikki down in his favorite chair near the fireplace, only to retreat to the bathroom for a warm, wet washcloth and a jar of Sora’s special balm that could cure anything short of a dismembered limb. Gunter had no idea what was in the jar, to be honest. Just that it seemed to be a cure-all for a lot of things.
He swiftly carried it back to Nikki, who had already cast off the other shoe as if it was set to poison them. They were banished to the inside of Gunter’s fireplace.
“Is that a hint?” Gunter asked as he set everything down on the small round table next to Nikki.
“I know it’s not really the weather for it, but those things deserve to burn.”
Gunter cocked his head but had to agree; no point in keeping ill-fitting shoes. He turned his head, shifting just enough that he could spit fire at the grate, burning the shoes to cinders in a few seconds.
Nikki clapped, beaming at him. “You’re seriously my hero. Good job.”
“Your wish is my command,” Gunter deadpanned. Kneeling at Nikki’s feet, he carefully washed both heels, getting any grit or germs out, then applied the balm with gentle fingers.
“Oh! That feels good. What’s in it?”
“No idea. Sora makes this up by the batch and practically everyone has a jar of it. It’s good for cuts, scrapes, rashes, bug bites, you name it. It feels cool. Let it air and harden, and don’t peel it until morning. Your heels will be perfectly healed by that point.”
“Good to know.” Nikki caught his face with both hands and leaned in, kissing Gunter with a light caress of lips. Pulling back only an inch or so, they murmured, “Isn’t that the usual reward for the dashing knight? A kiss.”
“So it is,” Gunter responded huskily. His lips tingled under the impression of that kiss, and it bolstered his confidence a little. Because while teasing, Nikki had still chosen to kiss him a second time. And Gunter could only take heart in that.