I'd Give Up The World For You

Daisy didn't have anybody she could trust out here aside from Leo. It would be so nice to have someone—anyone—to talk to about her romance problems but she couldn't. Everyone thought her marriage was real.

Talking to him about it wouldn't help because it would go in circles the way it always did. Plus she didn't want to hurt him. He already knew she wasn't in love with him and didn't need a reminder of that. Where was a Dear Abby column when you needed one?

If she had the internet, asking for advice on Reddit or something would be the easiest thing to do but they didn't even have anonymous advice columns in the newspapers here. She supposed that was too radical a concept for a fantasy world.

She continued wondering what to do about her situation until Leo got home. He gave her a hug and a kiss before going off to get out of his uniform completely at ease.

Daisy on the other hand was a blushing mess. But if he was going to act like this was a normal development so was she. He really was too casual though! He was acting like this was any other day where they happened to kiss each other.

She watched him carefully as they played cards and he looked the same way he always did. His poker face was in full effect. If he had actual poker skills he could have struck it rich back in her world. But since she didn't know how to play herself she couldn't teach him.

Right now they were playing Go Fish. She had tried to teach it to Ira as well but he hadn't liked it so she wasn't able to play for years until she met up with Leo again. He took it very seriously, which was pretty cute.

Go Fish wasn't something Daisy was used to see people taking seriously but Leo always had. He took all the card games she showed him seriously. He didn't get competitive the way most people she had known back in her world did. When he lost the worst he did was frown with a deep divot between his brows.

Leo briefly scrunched up his face when the game ended and set his cards down calmly. "You won again. We should play Spit instead."

His reaction to losing was so cute that she couldn't help but laugh, feeling more comfortable than she had earlier because of the familiar sight. Fully displaying his affection or not, Leo was Leo.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing," Daisy said as she began reshuffling the cards. "We can play Spit."

This was fine. Everything was normal aside from a few extra displays of affection here and there. She could totally handle this! Nothing else had changed; she was still with the person she cared about and enjoyed spending time with most.

She felt herself relaxing as they played Spit, laughed, and talked the evening away like usual. The only thing that was different was when they sat on the couch he had his arm around her and played with her hair casually as they talked. It was a bit distracting at first but she was able to ignore it as they continued talking.

At the end of the night when they went upstairs to get ready for bed Leo kissed the top of her head, softly told her 'goodnight', and closed his door behind him. She could handle this much to make her best friend happy.

Who knows? With enough time she might not only get used to it but enjoy it. That was the goal.

===

Rukelion's plan might be going down in flames without him even knowing about it because of the delayed messages from the front in Zel but he had one thing going right. Daisy was finally, FINALLY giving him a real chance!

He was too happy to care that her heart wasn't in it. The one kiss so brief it hardly counted before he went to Aveleen had helped sustain him through some dark days but this was so, so much better.

He came home every day and was able to do what he usually did with the benefit of being closer to her as he did it. He planned on starting small and not pushing his luck. Anything more than that he could wait until she initiated it so he didn't freak her out.

Knowing Daisy was willing to work with him meant more to him than he could say. It was a long time coming but he could wait longer. Goodness knows he knew how to be patient.

His patience was being stretched very thin at work though. If she hadn't agreed to try and act like his wife he would be having a much worse time right now. The timing couldn't have been better.

Struggling through his paperwork knowing there was something to look forward to at the end of the day made a world of difference. He could slog through just about anything thinking about the way Daisy would welcome him home.

Rukelion was in the middle of more lovely paperwork when Colonel Brees barged into his office. "Major May! Your presence has been requested at the front."

Finally! It would be so much better to be there himself, keep his allies alive, and get this whole mess taken care of. He had been waiting for this but couldn't deny that he didn't want to leave Daisy when she had barely started warming up to him. He took back what he thought before about good timing!

"I assume I need to leave at first light."

"Yes. You'll be accompanied by the messenger who came to deliver the latest news. You've been requested because of your skill against mages. We've already lost three captains and countless more soldiers so the officers down at the Zelish border want to get this over with," the colonel said.

Rukelion's blood boiled. If they hadn't stuck with their stupid, pointless pride for so long! Asking for his help sooner would have saved lives but they didn't because they wanted to prove they could handle things on their own despite their inadequacies.

"I understand," he said in a hard voice. "I assume the preparations are already being made?"

"Yes. All you need to do is show up tomorrow morning. In the meantime go home. I'm sure your wife will want to see you before you head out."

Daisy. She hadn't reacted well the first time he went off to war. What was he supposed to tell her? She thought he was supposed to be safe as an officer. He had no doubt he would make it back to her but he knew she worried.

Rukelion sighed and stood, straightening the paperwork he had been doing before handing it off to Colonel Brees. "I'll do that. Thank you, Colonel."

When he made it home his wife wasn't there yet. How was he supposed to tell her what he needed to do? She was probably going to cry again and the last time she had done it really wore him out…and made him furious. Not the fact that she was crying but the reason behind it.

People had treated his lovely Daisy so cruelly in order for her to react that way to being treated with affection. He wanted to go to her world and destroy every person who ever made her feel like that but had no idea how to get there.

Since that wasn't an option he would have to settle for treating her so well she would forget all of them existed in the first place. It was the least he could do for the woman he loved.

A couple of hours later she bounced through the door in a very good mood until she saw him and frowned. "What are you doing home this early? Are you feeling sick? Do you have a fever?"

Daisy reached up to lay a cool hand on his forehead and he ended up peeling it off and pressing a kiss to it before holding it against his cheek. "That isn't it. I…I got sent home early today because I'm leaving in the morning and they wanted me to be well-rested and be able to say my goodbyes."

Her expression quickly grew horrified as the implications set in. "You don't mean they're sending you into battle, do you?!"

"Yes. They specifically requested my help so I don't have a choice. I'll be fine though. I seriously doubt I'll be gone more than a month since they're bringing me in with the intention of ending this."

This did not placate her. "Why you? Why couldn't they send someone with more experience? You're an officer! You aren't supposed to have to deal with things like this anymore! What if something happens to you?"

"Daisy, nothing is going to happen to me," Rukelion said firmly. "I'm a fire mage, remember? A strong one. I can handle whatever they throw at me.. I'm going to make it home just like last time."