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It wasn't often that Gran had a day off.
Well, more forced to take a day off. As vice-captain, Gran had plenty of responsibilities, one of which was taking care of logistics and making sure the ship ran smoothly so Djeeta could focus on leading the crew. This involved setting the schedules and missions for each crew member, and with every newcomer on the Grandcypher, his own workload increased. After seeing the long hours he was putting in, Djeeta basically demanded Gran take a break. So, given a chance for leave, he decided to head back home to Zinkenstill and work on his main responsibility.
Getting stronger to protect Djeeta.
Gran collapsed on the ground, nearly out of breath, his body aching all over. “I…I won right?”
His opponent, Grannie, was also laying on the ground, but popped back up with relative ease. “I’d say so, good work Gran. You have what it takes to start on the path of the Spartan.”
“Are you okay, Gran?” Katalina rushed over to her crewmate and checked in on him. At Lyria’s insistence, she’d also been forced to take a break, and decided to accompany Gran back to his home. “Don’t push yourself too hard now.”
“I don’t think you have any room to talk about that.” Gran laughed. He tried pushing himself up, supported by Katalina. “Right, I’m ready for the next round, Grannie.”
“No, we’re done for the day.” Grannie replied. “I’ve taught you the ways of the Berserker and Warlock today as well, and I can see you’re all tapped out.”
“I can still-” Gran tried to rush to his feet, but a sharp pain in his ribs put an end to that. “Gah!”
“Oh dear,” Grannie headed over and handed Katalina a green potion. “Have him drink this. I’ll be right back.”
As Grannie headed inside, Katalina helped Gran scarf down the potion. “You okay?” she asked afterwards.
“Better, at least.” Gran replied. Now more conscious of his surroundings, he realized he was basically being fed in the knight’s arms, and turned a bit red. “I uhh…can sit up by myself now.”
Katalina chuckled and let go of him. “Alright then.”
Grannie came back, picnic basket in hand. “Katalina, can you be a dear and take Gran back to his home, have him eat, and make him get some rest?”
“Of course, Grannie.” Gran and Katalina said their farewells and started making their way to Gran’s house. He still had some trouble walking, so Katalina wrapped his arm around her shoulder and supported him along the way. Unfortunately for Gran, the villagers saw and were eager to throw a few comments their way.
“Miss Katalina, thanks for taking such good care of Gran!”
“He might try to seem cool, but he can be just as reckless as Djeeta.”
“You want to take care of him forever? We were trying to set him up with a girl before he left!”
That last comment turned Gran red again. “Hey, cut that out!” He sheepishly turned to Katalina. “Sorry about them.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Katalina said, a light blush on her own face. “It’s nice to know that you and Djeeta are so loved around here.” It wasn’t much longer to their destination. Gran’s home was small, but surprisingly neat. “It’s much cleaner than I expected. Ah…no offense.”
“None taken. Aaron drops by to tidy up for me every now and again. Anyway, let's eat.”
The two enjoyed a nice meal, Grannie having prepared some curry for them. “Grannie’s a good cook.” Katalina said. “I should ask her for some tips later.”
“That’d be nice…and impressive if Granny could actually pull it off.” Gran muttered under his breath.
After lunch, Katalina helped Gran over to the bed, “You really overdid it today. When Djeeta trains with Grannie, she only learns one new class at a time. What made you try to go for more than three?”
Gran hesitated at first, then came clean. “I’m falling behind.” Gran’s mind flashed to Djeeta, hair turning blue and staring down some of the strongest foes in the skies. “I know she’s the Singularity and all that, but I’m the one supposed to be protecting her. The gap between us is too large.”
Katalina looked around the room, spotting all the pictures of him, Djeeta, and Vyrn, along with some of the other villagers. “You’ve been watching over Djeeta for a while, huh?”
“Kind of.” Gran replied. “We’re closer now, but back then I just thought of her as another one of the villagers to help train alongside Grannie. I knew that it was just her and Vryn, but I always figured that she was handling it fine, and didn’t really try to check up on her any more than that.” His mind went back to the times that he saw Djeeta depressed and looking lost on their journey thus far, the pain of missing her father getting to her at points. “I didn’t know she was feeling that lonely. Honestly, I’m lucky I even spotted her the day we met you and Lyria.”
His mind went back to that fateful day. While patrolling, Gran saw Djeeta and Vryn rush into the forest. After leaving a few other people in charge of watching the village, he followed after them. He searched through the forest for a while and only came across some Empire soldiers. He was in a long, losing battle against their numbers, but was bailed at the last second by Katalina. The moment he saw the knight, he was in awe, and it didn’t take long for him to agree to team up with her to find their respective charges.
What happened next still haunts him. They found Djeeta and Lyria safe, only to be confronted by a Hydra. Gran never forgot the despair he felt when he saw it slash at Djeeta, killing her. He went into a rage, rushing at the beast ready to throw his own life away, only to see Lyria revived Djeeta. Afterwards, he accompanied them to Katalina’s escape ship, and, upon learning that Djeeta wanted to go with them to find her father, decided to tag along as well, not wanting to fail Djeeta again.
“It’s been a while since that day, huh.” Katalina asked.
The vice captain nodded. “Yeah, and a hell of a journey it’s been too.” He stared up at the ceiling. “Sometimes, I wonder if I’m doing as good a job as I should be.”
“You’re doing just fine, Gran.” Katalina answered, bringing his attention back to her. “I know you think there’s a power gap, but you’re just as good a fighter as Djeeta, and I know the crew wouldn’t run half as smoothly without you. If anything, I’m the only one not pulling my weight. It took me so long to catch up to Rackam and the others, and even with Ares, I can’t help but feel outclassed by some of the others in the crew.”
“You might not be as strong as someone like Sandalphon or Lucio but…” Almost involuntarily, Gran placed his hand on top of Katalina’s. He paused and was about to pull away, but a soft look from Katalina stayed his hand. “I’d say you're amazing, Katalina.”
“Amazing?” Katalina said with a giggle.
Gran nodded. “I really thought it was over for me back when I was against those soldiers, but you saved my life. And you’ve saved me so many times since. And not just in fights. Whenever I’ve been lost, or felt overwhelmed, you’ve been there for me. All it takes are a few words from you, and I get my second wind.” He looked deep into Katalina’s eyes. “I don’t think I would’ve lasted as long if you hadn’t been by my side all this time. You inspire me, Katalina.”
Katalina stared at Gran wide-eyed, and Gran realized the extent of what he was saying. “Oh uh…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things awkward like that.” He tried to finally pull his hand away, but Katalina held onto it.
“Not at all.” Katalina said. “In fact, I’m happy you told me. Because you’re just as inspiring to me, Gran. Ever since I met you, you’ve done your hardest to help protect Lyria, a girl you barely knew.” She smiled. “And not just her. You care for all our crew.” She tightened her hold around his hand. “Especially me…”
Now it was Gran’s turn to be surprised, and it took him a moment to notice Katalina slowly inching towards him. He felt himself following suit, and the two shut their eyes, letting their lips meet in a small, chaste kiss. They pulled away after only a few seconds, slightly opening their eyes to judge the other’s reaction. Gran gave a small, slightly nervous nod, and Katalina smiled into their next kiss. She leaned forward more, placing her hand on Gran’s stomach to push him onto the mattress, only for him to break the kiss.
“Ah…still hurts…” Gran said, embarrassed.
“Heh, sorry about that.” Katalina helped Gran slowly lie down, and then laid beside him. “Better?”
“Better…” Gran whispered. He reached to the back of Katalina’s head, and slowly caressed her hair, taking in the beautiful knight in front of him. Katalina let out another chuckle, and then leaned forward to kiss him again.
A little while later, Djeeta, Lyria, and Vyrn dropped by Zinkenstill to pick up their two crewmates. They stopped by Grannie’s house first, where Lyria and Vyrn were quick to accept her offer of a meal. “The two of them should be over at Gran’s house right now.” Grannie mentioned as she laid out plates in front of them.
“Got it!” Djeeta headed out the door, letting her friends enjoy their meal. “Lyria, Vyrn, you stay here, I’ll get them.” She made her way towards Gran’s house and knocked. “Hey Gran, Katalina, you in there?” The door ended up being unlocked, so she let herself in. Heading up to the loft, Djeeta took a quick peek at Gran’s bed and saw Gran and Katalina blissfully asleep side by side. She smiled to herself and quietly tiptoed back out of the house.
She let Lyria and Vyrn know that it might be a while before Gran and Katalina rejoined them.