321 Downtime 3

"Gha!"

Sending his training opponent flying across the room for the nth time, Dax breathed a shallow sigh as he centred himself again, pulling in his extended arm and returning his heartbeat to none combat levels.

"... You keep lowering your guard the same way Alice, it's really a bad habit of yours."

"Again, please."

Clearly exhausted beyond the reasonable limits for sparing, Alice nevertheless got up from the mat and put up her guard, seemingly ready to fight (and lose) until she collapsed, not that Dax would let that happen. Sitting down on the mat, Dax patted the space in front of him with a slight smile on his face.

"Nope, take a seat. You're not going to improve like this."

"... Fine."

Reluctantly putting down her hands as she started pouting slightly, Alice walked over to Dax and took a seat on the mat in front of him.

"Your heart is not in this, what's going on?"

"..."

���It's about Ke, right?"

Taking further silence as an answer, Dax placed a hand on top of Alice's head before starting to ruffle her hair.

"There's no way I'll do anything that you girls are not okay with, you know that right?"

"I know that, it's just that I'm feeling a little conflicted… On one hand, I'm really angry at her for what she did, but on the other hand, I really can't find any difference in the way she's pursuing you from the way I did, if anything she's way more honest about it than I ever was... I want to monopolize your attention, but on the other hand, I'm already sharing you with 2 other people. Then there is the fact that Ke passed Ra and Mu's test, she's basically as qualified as we are."

"... If you want me to shut her down just say the word."

Showing a smile at Dax's suggestion Alice took his hand off her head and clenched it as her words started to waver slightly.

"There's no need to do that, denying Ke's happiness like that would be condescending of me. Just promise you won't forget about us."

Sensing Alice was genuinely nervous that Dax would forget about her, Dax reassured her with a warm smile.

"There's no way I'll ever forget any of you girls, you've taught me there's more to life than just fighting meaningless wars and seeking a glorious place to die like a 'proper' qiton."

-

"Hey…"

"What's up?"

"How do you feel about Ke?"

Lazing around in his room with Lilly plopped down on top of his chest and reading, Dax was suddenly asked one of those loaded questions he had heard his subordinates talk about countless times, knowing from their experience that a wrong answer would have terrible consequences, Dax was at a sudden loss for words.

"... That's a loaded question, you know that right?"

"I am aware of that, don't dodge the question."

(Well, shit.)

Sensing Lilly's not so hidden annoyance, Dax figured he might just die with honesty.

"Looking at her tribe and the fact that they survived on Marex 4 for so long I think she's a competent although inexperienced leader with the strength to back it up. I know that's not the answer you're seeking but except for her initial strong impression I don't really know anything about her, and I'm pretty sure that feeling of distance is mutual."

"... Okay then."

Having expected some kind of reaction other than just indifference, Dax was at a loss for words until he realized that Lilly was sulking, most likely having similar thoughts as Alice did when she brought up Ke earlier.

"What? Do you think she's going to steal me from you?"

"I do, is there something wrong with that?"

Being unexpectedly honest with herself and Dax, Lilly breathed a deep sigh before falling silent, leading Dax to hug her from behind before starting to speak.

"I talked about this with Alice this morning, but I really am grateful for you girls, even though I realize I haven't really said it, I am happy being with you."

"Are you really?"

Rolling over on Dax's chest, Lilly looked into Dax's eyes with a tiny bit of uneasiness visible on her face.

"Yeah I am, before meeting you girls I really didn't care about anything in my life, I was just fighting. I joined the galactic navy as a marine before becoming a black operator without any real feelings behind it. I did some truly horrible things for the empire without really caring for it because fighting for my life was the only real way I could feel alive. Being here with you right now is more enjoyable for me than fighting ever was, even though the instinct for wanting bloodshed is hardwired into my genetics. Although I'm not able to experience the same emotions as you girls do towards me, making you happy fulfils me in the same way fighting does… It really is strange."

"Oh, i-is that so?"

Breaking out into a full on blush and breaking eye contact as she started playing with her hair, Lilly practically begged Dax to mess with her, and so he did.

"I feel like I've just bared my heart for you Lilly, don't you have anything to say to me in return?"

"T-that's!- Not right now, no. I'm going back to reading."

Hiding her embarrassment by putting the book she was currently reading between Dax's and her own face, Lilly only made Dax's grin grow even larger as he slowly trapped Lilly in place with his hand without her noticing. 

"Hey, Lilly."

"Wh-what is it?"

"I really want to hear what you think of me."

"Th-that's really not…. Are you doing this on purpose?"

"I am~"

"Wha!- You imbecile!"

When Lilly finally realized what Dax was doing, it was far too late for her to escape. 

"Let me go!"

"Nope~"

Thrashing around with a bright red face for a good while in Dax's arms, Lilly eventually surrendered as tears started forming in the corners of her eyes.

"I'm not going to forget this…"

"Yeah, I figured that was the case. It was still worth it."

After having his fun on behalf of Lilly's emotions, Dax eventually soothed her over with kisses, although it took a considerable amount to do so.