Washing my hands, I watched through the window above the sink as Vexli walked towards my cottage.

The sight of her, carrying a large basket, made me pause. She was wearing the same dress as always, and she had that typical upset frown on her face. The one that made me relax, since it told me she was actually happy. She only wore that frown when she was content.

It was that sight, that woman, for my being here. I hadn't been summoned back to this village. I simply… returned for her. The same girl who I had failed all those years ago, the same one who had thumped me over the head because I had grown depressed over failing her and her family.

Out of everywhere in the Society, the hundreds of locations spread all over the world… it was here in this little mountain village I felt truly at home. But it wasn't the location. I knew it was just her. Vexli and only Vexli made me feel this way. And I couldn't help but feel happy over that fact. As if it made everything right in the world to know so.

Wiping my hands dry, I sighed a bit as she left my sight. I knew in a few moments she'd be pushing the front door open with her butt, all the while letting me know how humbled I should be for having multiple pairs of clothes.

The door opened a bit roughly, and she strode in with her head held high. "Tosh! You really should be thankful!" she said as she entered the cottage.

"That you'd wash my clothes for me? Yes. I am," I said.

"Huh? No. That you have so many! Most don't even have any holes in them!" Vexli said as she went to put the basket down on the table in the center of the house.

Smiling at her, I nodded. Typical. She didn't care at all about the fact she was so helpful to me, like usual. "Well… clothes shouldn't have holes in them, Vexli," I said.

"That's impossible. Then you'd not be able to put them on," she said as she grabbed the clothes from the basket and went to putting them away. There was a small dresser near the bed, on the opposite side of the room. I watched her make quick work of putting the stuff away, and noted the way she neatly folded each piece as she did so.

For a people that were… not as keen about clothes as most of us, she sure was proper with mine. Like most of her people here, she only had a few sets of clothes. Most were just simple dresses, things that honestly weren't as thick or as well made as they should be for living here in the cold mountains. It rained and snowed here, a lot, making it unusually cold compared to other places. So you'd think they, being some kind of lizards, would want to bundle up in warmer outfits.

It didn't take her long to finish putting them away, since even though she always made it a point to note how many sets I had, I honestly didn't have many. In all honesty it was time I got some new clothes, since everything I had was getting slightly ragged.

My plan was to get her some too when I did. I wasn't any good at making clothes, though I could sew. Flarish had taught me how to tie knots and sew rather early, since he believed it was a good method to teach one the necessary dexterity for performing surgeries and whatnot… but I had little talent in actual weaving or crafting. Not enough to make a woman's set of clothes, at least.

Vexli turned to look at me, and her frown deepened. "Wait… are you cooking!?" she asked, finally noticing.

"Actually, I just finished," I said. It was why I had been washing my hands, all that was left was to set the table.

"You're kidding! A man's not supposed to do that!" Vexli complained as she hurried over to my little kitchen area. There was a small table built into the wall next to the bucket-like sink, and a small oven over the fireplace. A pot was currently simmering above it, and there was bread and other little foodstuffs sitting and waiting on plates.

Vexli groaned at it all. "And you cook so well! That's not fair!" she complained.

"I'm a doctor, Vexli. Not only should I be good with my hands, I should know all about nutrition and whatnot. So this is not wrong, it's proper for me," I said.

The woman I've grown to cherish groaned again, because she knew she couldn't argue. I'd long since understood her and her people's way of thinking. I knew how to properly win my points, and argue them when needed now. And that was the best way to do it.

Vexli and her people had odd customs. Even odder beliefs, in certain ways. Some of their ideas on how the different sexes had different duties weren't too… farfetched, I guess, compared to many others in the world but they also had some really odd things too. For instance she didn't wash my clothes because she felt that one of her duties, but rather because she found it fun to clean such odd clothing. Here the men were the ones who were supposed to typically wash clothes, though I wasn't entirely sure why they saw it as a manly task. Usually manly tasks involved hard labor, or creating something. Not here though.

Plus it wasn't as if she was upset that a man had made dinner. Instead she was upset that I hadn't allowed her to do it for me. To them, cooking meals for someone was seen as something romantic. And for whatever reason Vexli hated it when I took that from her, even though it was supposed to be a romantic gesture on my part when I did so.

"You should be happy Vexli, I think you're the only woman I've ever made food for," I said. It wasn't a true statement, of course, I've made food for plenty of people… but it was true when you interpreted it the way I meant it.

She's the only one I'd make food for, romantically, in this way.

Vexli crossed her arms and sighed at me. "How long have we known each other?" she asked.

Oh…? I had to stop and ponder that. At least a few years… right? "A couple years now?" I answered, a tad hesitantly.

It was actually hard to know. I haven't been here in her village this whole time. Occasionally I left, to either help Vim or whoever else needed my help. Sometimes I left for months at a time… yet it felt as if I'd been coming back her a lot lately, and staying for longer…?

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"Eight years," Vexli corrected me.

Eight…? "Wow. Really?" I was a tad shocked to learn so. Maybe I was getting old, or something. Has it really been that long already?

"You cook me food," she said with a gesture at the food.

"Which is going to grow cold. Why don't you help me set the table?" I asked as I went to do so myself.

Vexli joined me. "You bring me clothes," she then added as we quickly put aside the now empty basket, and then set our tiny little dinner table for ourselves. I was a little proud at how it looked, once it was all laid out before us.

"Um… I do?" I said as I watched the way she studied the food. She either was judging which to eat first, or what to throw at me. It was hard to tell.

After the table was set Vexli went ahead and sat down first. She gathered up her utensils, yet before taking the first bite she pointed her fork at me. "Do you know what you're known for? Hm?"

Known for…? "Being a doctor…?" I asked. Like always it always felt like we were having multiple conversations at once. Hadn't she just been talking about food and clothes? And what was she asking? Did she mean in general? By the villagers here? The Society as a whole?

"A flirt!" she said, a little angrily.

Oh. "Well… I am?" I admitted as I sat down as well. This wasn't the first time we'd talked about this, since Vim couldn't help himself whenever he was here. He always teased me about it, especially when Vexli was within earshot. He found it particularly humorous how Vexli would glare in silence at me when he mentioned the names of women I've had little trysts with.

"You are! This is all proof of it!" she said as she gestured at the food.

Right. Cooking dinner was akin to bedroom talk to these people.

It was my turn to frown, and I wondered if Vexli was trying to tell me to knock it off. "So uh… are you telling me to stop it?" I asked. Although it sadden me a little, I'd understand it. After all it wasn't as if she and I were like that. We were close, at least I believed us to be, but not that close.

I've never even seen her naked, let alone done anything such as that with her.

She bit back a quick response and instead bit into some bread. She chewed rather angrily as she glared at me, and I wondered if maybe I'd insulted her somehow.

It wasn't impossible, after all. I'd grown to understand the culture here, but it wasn't as if I'd adapted to it. I was still… well… me. Maybe I'd done something wrong, something that was likely not even related to the meal at all.

What could it be, I wonder? If she was upset at me, and calling me a flirt, I knew it wasn't because I'd done something like that. In fact I think this was the only village I'd ever been to in my long life that I'd not bedded any of the women who lived in it! In fact I only knew a few of their names, since I spent so little time with any of them!

The thought that I'd not done such a thing kind of irked me. Why was that?

"You don't even know why I'm angry, do you?" Vexli asked with a bit of food still in her mouth.

"I'm assuming I did something rude. You normally don't get too upset with me over a lack of knowing certain customs and stuff, so what's up?" I asked. Maybe it was something as simple as me not putting flowers on the table or something.

Vexli sighed at me, swallowed the rest of her food and then visibly relaxed. "Still the idiot who wept that night, aren't you?" she mumbled.

I grabbed a fork, but hesitated. That night…? She only ever brought that up when she was actually upset. She was speaking of the night I had failed to save her younger sister and her baby.

"What'd I do, Vexli…?" I asked gently, feeling as if I'd just been hit in the gut. I thought of that failure often, but hadn't in a long time. At least a few years, I think. Lately the failure I'd been thinking of was that village that Vim and I had gone to help, but found them burnt down. By the Epoch fanatics.

"It's fine. You'll figure it out one day, though if I can wait long enough who knows?" Vexli said with a shrug as she started to eat in earnest.

Great. I did do something. Just what could it have been…? I've only been back for two days, but nothing odd had happened since. The village, like always, was safe and normal. Vexli was happy and healthy. She had even hugged me upon seeing me this time, instead of just frowning and huffing at me as she had last time.

Surely it wasn't the meal. I've cooked for her before, on several occasions. She always put up a stink about it, but it never lasted… and usually by now she'd be praising me for my tasty food, and asking about my recent adventures.

Watching Vexli eat, with a different kind of frown than usual, I wondered how I could make her happy again.

This visit wasn't going to be a long one. Although the wars were ending, there was a bunch of discord in the Society. Celine had recently passed away, and so Vim had left to take a bunch of the members somewhere across the sea. Although he should be back any day, the Society was now a little on edge thanks to his absence. I knew I had to leave soon, likely within a few days, to head to Telmik and see if I was needed anywhere. So I didn't want Vexli to be upset with me. I was only going to have a few days with her, and then I'd have to leave again… likely not returning for months, once more.

We weren't married. We weren't even lovers. But I vastly enjoyed her company. I absolutely adored her, especially that upset frown she always gave me. There were only a couple people in this whole world I genuinely loved, and enjoyed spending time with and those people were Sally, Vim, and this woman sitting across from me who was stuffing her face with stew. And with Vim off on his little excursion, and Sally building Lumen with Brandy and the rest… this was the only place, the only person, where I could rest and feel at peace.

While I traveled, helping the Society and doing whatever I was tasked with doing… it was moments like these I longed for. Sitting here at this tiny table, in this small cottage, spending time with her. These moments were my refuge.

She meant a lot to me. Everything. So…

"What? If you stare so much I'll get angry," Vexli said between bites.

I gave her a gentle smile, and decided to play her favorite game with her after dinner. The people here played with little marbles, like children, but they were rather serious about it. They held tournaments and everything. Vexli, regrettably for me, also took it seriously… and she was one of the better players at it. To the point it was difficult to play the game with her. I myself was not a very competitive person, not in that way, so it always made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

Plus she usually ran around the village telling everyone she beat me afterward, and such made others hurry over to challenge me too. And I hated that. It was one thing to play with her, making her happy, it was another entirely to entertain the rest of them.

Still… I knew it'd instantly make her happy. And for me, here and now, that was all that mattered.

"After we eat how about we have a match?" I asked.

She immediately sat up straighter. "Really!?"

I nodded, and did my best to not let my relief become visible on my face. She had brightened up as I had hoped.

"Wonderful! If I win, you have to do me a favor okay!?" Vexli asked as she grinned and pointed her fork at me, it had a piece of bread stuck on it.

Frowning at her, I nodded. "Sure…?" What'd she want, I wonder? Or rather, what did she want me to do?

Vexli's grin widened, almost to the point it made her look silly. Yet I enjoyed the sight of it… basking in it, as we finished eating and then went to play the little game.

I lost, as always, but found out by doing so I won in my own way.

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