Astien sighed. "And that's why we ended it. If only it hadnt been something so big."
Andres stood up and pulled Astien to his feet. "Yeah. A shame. Hug goodbye?" Astien nodded. After a heartfelt hug, they parted ways, Astien heading to the gym to meet up with his own friends. "See you at your wedding!" Andres called over his shoulder.
Marius was just finishing up when Astien arrived. "Hey Babe." He smiled and kissed Astien's cheek. "Where's your friend?"
"We did some catching up, and now he's going to see his own friends." He traced a finger along Marius' musculature, smiling.
"He didn't put any moves on you did he?" Marius asked as he took Astien's hand and kissed it.
"No. He was very reminiscent of our old days, but that's it."
Marius nodded. "Sorry if I was an ass earlier. I do trust you not to run off with ex-boyfriends and such."
"It's okay. He was hardly very nice to you. Besides," Astien giggled, "it was cute seeing you all jealous."
"Annoyed was more like it. I think he was the jealous one." He kissed Astien's lips.
"That's possible too." He smiled. "I wish I could have seen you lifting weights. I bet that would have been a show." He chuckled.
"Maybe some other time perhaps. I went easy today since it's been a while." He chuckled. "Usually swinging a sword at wolfkin or bandits would cut it."
Astien pouted. "Okay. So listen, now that this whole hearing thing is over, I think we should leave for Crescent Bay soon, so we can start planning the wedding."
"Sounds like a plan to me. I'll send letters to my family today so they can meet us there. Is that alright?"
"Sounds great. I can't wait to meet them." Astien smiled and gave Marius a kiss. Delas came walking over, sweaty and red-faced. "Can we go home now? I'm sweaty, and people are looking at me because I smell so bad. Or maybe cuz I'm raceless..."
"Alright," Marius said.
"I'm good to go," Cormac said as he came up.
The group went back home, an Astien set to making lunch while the others took a bath to wash away their sweat and stench. Delas was the first to finish bathing, and sat in the dining room playing his guitar as he waited for lunch to be ready.
Cormac and Marius both quickly bathed and went to the living room. Marius began writing out short, simple letters for his family members.
"Lunch is done!" Astien called.
"Grilled cheese!" Delas happily cried, and he began eating his sandwich. "Mmm, buttery."
Marius set aside the ink and paper and went tot he kitchen. "Nearly done with the letters. If everything goes smoothly, then they should meet us there a few days after we arrive."
"Sounds good."Astien said as he handed Marius his plate. "That's another thing, we need to find a place that can make a decent set of save-the-dates. I've got a lovely gothic frame in mind."
Marius nodded and bit into his sandwich. "Sounds good," he said after swallowing the bite. "I'm sure we can find a printer."