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Lon'qu awkwardly walked from one side of the camp to the other. He'd done this well over a dozen times, yet he still hadn't managed to find what he was looking for. Rather than ask for help, he continued walking about aimlessly, stopping every so often to check inside the mess tent and infirmary. “I had no idea that anyone other than Kellam had the ability to remain unseen for so long. It's as if she's actually avoiding me.” Growing annoyed, and even a little hopeless, Lon'qu dropped down to one of the large crates and rested his tired feet. “Maybe it's for the best.”

“What's for the best?” Completely unaware of his hours upon hours of searching for you, you walked up to him with a concerned frown on your face. “Is everything okay? You're looking a little more down than usual today.”

“Where have you been?” His tone reminded you of a worried older brother. It was more than a little strange to hear him sound like that. “I've been looking for you for at least an hour. I was beginning to think you'd run off somewhere, or been kidnapped.” Lon'qu shook his head and sighed. “I was a little honestly a little worried about you.”

His words caused your cheeks to turn pink. “You were worried, about me?” Though you were actually quite flattered, you couldn't let him know that. To hide your emotions, you pressed your hand to your heart and pretended to cry. “I never thought someone like you would care about me at all. You know, since I'm a female and all.”

“I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't make a joke of this.” He pushed himself back onto his feet and rather nervously stood in front of you. “There's something very serious I need your help with.”

Since Lon'qu wasn't really one to joke around, you became solemn almost immediately. “Oh I'm sorry. What is it?”

Lon'qu's serious expression quickly changed to one of embarrassment. His words stopped completely, leaving him mumbling and stuttering. After several long seconds of searching for his voice, he rubbed the back of his head and sighed. “You've really been a lot of help to me. You're ridiculously annoying, but helpful.” Once again, he stopped talking. You weren't sure if he was actually finished talking, or if he'd just blanked out again.

“I'm not sure I know where you're going with this.” You weren't trying to be rude, but you'd been on your feet all day and were tired and hungry. “If you don't want to tell me, you can always wait. It's not like I'm going anywhere any time soon.”

“No, it would be best if I finished explaining now.” He cleared his throat and forced himself to look directly into your eyes. “As I said, you've been very helpful to me, regarding my phobia.” After taking a deep breath, he continued with a shaky voice. “I realized something however. Up to this point, you've been the only one pushing me. I haven't been pushing myself at all. I've been relying on you to keep me going.”

“It's not bad to rely on people you know.” Still confused, you tilted your head and smiled. “Actually, that's exactly what friends are for.”

Lon'qu nodded. His emotions were impossible to read. One minute he seemed awkward and embarrassed and the next he seemed confident and driven. “Yes, but if I'm relying on you for something so simple, then I won't be able to overcome my fears when you're gone.”

“Do you want me to stop helping you then? Because I really don't know if I can even do that.” Smiling a bit wider, you snuggled yourself close to him and playfully batted your lashes. “After all, you're just too fun to tease for me to stop now.”

Despite how red he was, Lon'qu didn't try to shove you away. What he did, made your jaw drop. Lon'qu actually returned your hug. Sure, he looked ready to pass out, but still, he managed to do it. “I don't want you to stop pushing me. I just need to learn to push myself. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I just don't know how to say it.”

Suddenly what he was trying to say all made perfect sense to you. “Oh, I get it. You want to use me so you can push yourself, but you don't want me to be the one pushing you?” Understanding his reasoning completely, you nodded. “I think I understand. That's probably a good idea too. I'll try to cut back on my teasing then, at least for a little while.”

Lon'qu brought his hand up to his face and rubbed between his eyes. Just this short conversation with you had worn him out. “I'm glad you understand, because I honestly have no idea what you just said.”

You gave him a little squeeze, snuggling yourself even closer to him than before. “Don't worry about it, just know that I'm here for you whenever you need me to be.”

“Good. I appreciate that much more than you know.” He nodded happily, then awkwardly shifted himself around so that he was now in front of you. “Then you'll allow me to conduct a little test on myself?”

“I guess so.” For some reason, you found yourself blushing. You weren't normally embarrassed or uncomfortable around Lon'qu, but his new found courage changed things dramatically. Before, you were completely in charge of the teasing. You could do as you wanted and he was powerless to stop you. Now, you knew things were going to be different, much, different. “As long as your test isn't anything weird, go right ahead.”

Looking incredibly nervous, he laced his fingers behind your back and pulled you too him. “This is a lot tougher than I thought it would be.”

You already knew what he was trying to do, and you knew it would be a lot less awkward if you helped move things along. If he hadn't been so adamant about doing things himself, you would have made your move already. “Everything okay?”

“Shh, I'm trying to think.” Lon'qu closed his eyes and tried to relax. No matter how long he waited, he couldn't seem to calm down. “This isn't working.” He laughed bitterly. “I was a fool to think this would be an easy task. Feeling like a failure, he tried to walk away, but you wouldn't let him. “What are you doing exactly?”

“I'm not letting you leave until you accomplish what you set out to do.” You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and smirked up at him.“So do it.”

“I think I might have stated this before, but you truly are evil.” His attempt to change the subject didn't work. You stared up at him firmly, refusing to let go. “I'm not going to get out of this, am I?” Knowing the answer without you speaking a single word, he sighed. “Then I guess I better just get over this.” Since he had no other choice, Lon'qu decided to act without thinking. He had hoped not over thinking things would help, but as he stood there with his lips awkwardly pressed against yours, Lon'qu realized he was wrong. “T-this is just weird.”

Ignoring his hot, red cheeks and obvious discomfort, you brought his lips back down to yours and kissed him. Not wanting to let him go until you had to, you twirled his messy brown hair between your fingers and lifted yourself to your tiptoes to deepen the kiss. If not for the quickly going crowd of onlookers, you would have stayed wrapped in his arms forever. Unfortunately, the addition of an audience was just too much for Lon'qu. “We should probably go somewhere else huh?”

“Yeah, that would be good.” Taking your hand in his, Lon'qu pulled you away from the crowd and hid with you in the bath tent. He was too focused on what he deemed a failure to notice he'd drug you into the males tent. “I still didn't manage to do what I wanted to do. I'm sorry I wasted your time.”

“You managed to kiss me. What else did you want to do?” Keeping your eyes closed, you sat down on his lap and cuddled him close. “You're a secret pervert, aren't you?”

Though you couldn't see it, he was blushing again. “No, that's not it at all. I just wanted to be able to do it well, without your help.”

“I think you did just fine. Especially for your first try.” Unable to keep yourself from tormenting him any longer, you chuckled. “We'll just have to practice, much, much more.”

Lon'qu joined you in laughter. “I really should have seen that coming.” Finally realizing that your eyes were closed, he tilted his head and spoke in a curious voice. “Why are your eyes shut?”

“Why, my dear Lon'qu, I thought you would never ask. We're in the men's bath tent, in case you haven't noticed yet. You see, there are things here, that I would rather not see yet. So I thought it best to keep my eyes shut.” You smiled as an all too noticeable blush took over your face. “I believe that lesson is best learned another day.”