Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby - Cigarettes After Sex

Charlie's POV:

As soon as I'd seen the wolf about to harm Levi, rational thought left me. I sped up before crashing into the wolf that posed a threat as it leapt through the air, maw wide open. I was surprised to find little remaining of said wolf when the dust cleared, only an area of grass, stained crimson red.

This gruesome sight wouldn't look very good. Luckily, it seemed that Levi had been too dazed to see anything yet, but I wanted to keep it that way. I raised a dust cloud around Levi to obscure his view before setting my focus on the remaining six wolves. They had taken the time to surround me, each showcasing an aggressive stance.

I'd make quick work of them.

—

After blasting the six wolves with fire until they didn't fight back anymore, I decided to obscure the scene. The surrounding area was coated in blood, shredded viscera, scorch marks and of course, six large wolf corpses.

It would be impossible to erase my presence entirely so I settled with flipping the top layer of ground, burying all evidence of the fight. Of course, the ground was now devoid of grass which was suspicious but Levi would know either way that I'd defeated the wolves, I just didn't want him to see the gore.

I released the dust cloud surrounding Levi before approaching his still dazed figure. I had made sure that the wolves wouldn't be able to approach him by circulating the dust at high speeds that resulted in a highly abrasive effect. It was a good thing that Levi hadn't tried to walk through the cloud. He was now laying on the ground looking up at me with a faint smile but I couldn't accept it with all the guilt I felt. If I had been paying attention, we never would've been separated.

"Are you okay Levi?" I asked while crouching beside him. "I'm okay now" he said a little louder than normal, likely due to temporary hearing loss. Levi patted his right ear with a groggy expression on his face. I thought I'd been a bit loud when I landed but was it enough to cause physical damage? Levi getting hurt sent my guilt into overdrive; I'd been the one to hurt him, not the wolves! I should've been more careful.

I wished with all my being that I could make Levi feel better. Surprisingly, this worked. I'd seemed to have subconsciously activated some mana which now glowed faintly in a golden halo around Levi. I realized what was happening when I inspected the mana. Much like how spells worked, the mana was flowing to Levi and dissipating upon contact. As a result, Levi started to look healthier, sporting a healthy complexion that only improved with time. Levi had stopped patting his ear to inspect the light that surrounded him. It felt warm and pleasant, like a bright ray of sun.

As Levi's expression resolved, so did mine. I hadn't given the implications of healing magic any thought before pulling the recovered Levi into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry" I breathed into Levi's ear. "It's okay now, I'm okay" Levi replied while wrapping his arms around me as well. We stayed like this until I felt comfortable letting him go which took some time.

"We should return now, our parents are probably worried" Levi said. I agreed, now seeing the inferiority of the conflict I'd run from. Levi readily pulled himself into my arms, explaining that it'd be quicker if I flew. I agreed with his thinking but thought it was strange how quickly he'd thought of it.

Seeing no reason to argue the point, I lifted us into the sky, encased the both of us in a thin layer of air and began flying back to the house. Our bodies were parallel to the ground with myself on top while Levi wrapped his arms around my torso tightly. I'd wrapped us in a condensed layer of air so holding on wasn't really necessary but when I brought it up he said he wanted to hold on. I guess he was scared of heights?

The flight only took a few minutes but the sun was setting when we returned. The sky was painted in beautiful warm tones, stretching up from the horizon as the sun passed underneath. It was a beautiful sight.

I was broken from my reverie when I saw the house far in the distance. Being seen flying would be problematic so I slowed before lowering us as close to the ground as I'd dare to go. We landed a short distance from the house, still in the hills, on our feet. Levi's face had been too buried in my chest to notice our landing so he stumbled slightly when I released the layer of air. His face was flushed a bright red but I didn't think it was that embarrassing, he'd only stumbled.

I didn't want to make Levi feel more embarrassed so I started walking to the house, waving for him to follow.

—

We'd rounded the corner of the house to see the once lively party had been reduced to the individuals sitting at a single table. There were four aggrieved adults and an amused little girl. Despite the girl's expression, the adults looked upset. My parent's eyes had flashed with relief for a moment when they saw us but they quickly recovered frowns. Only Frieda and Ahren still showed their relief.

I of course, understood their feelings and didn't give them a chance to lecture me. "I'm sorry for running away" I said, willing my eyes to water. If I were to rate my acting skills, I wouldn't rate them very high but apparently it did the job. My parents still saw me as a child so showing remorse was already very effective at lowering their defences. I was a bit embarrassed to be acting like this in front of Levi but I was prepared to make that sacrifice.

After some slight reprimanding, my parents lost the struggle and hugged me tightly between them. I'd not been forced to actually cry which I saw as and absolute win, minus the fact that Levi was now staring at me with a strange expression. I guess it must've looked weird to suddenly start tearing up, especially after knowing that I'd just killed seven wolves. Oh well.

—

The party had ended some time ago so my and Levi's parents were preparing to leave. My grandparents had come outside to bid us farewell which revealed that this was their house. I'd thought they'd went home. I really was out of the loop.

Soon, everything had been prepared for our departure. There were two carriages on the dirt road, facing opposite directions. The adults were exchanging remarks while the children stood together on one side. While Madelaine was physically close to us, she didn't interact and instead waited patiently to leave.

I knew that me and Levi would be separated once again. I'd known it from the moment I saw him at the party but now I felt as if leaving would be the same as cutting a piece of my body off. Levi had soared in terms of importance to me today and it seemed Levi felt the same way. While I was able to keep my true feelings inside, Levi was tearing up. I understood his expression entirely and pulled him into a tight hug to comfort ourselves. But it couldn't last.

Our families pulled us apart, seeing that we wouldn't separate by ourselves and took us to separate carriages. Levi was crying when I left and I felt like crying too. I only kept it in because I wanted my parents to treat me as an adult as soon as possible.