A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

The wagon was wheeled away to the side as Angus called the main members of the gang to him with his grin ever-wide and led them into the Mansion to fine-tune details of what they had to do tomorrow.

Henry pulled away from the group quickly enough and found his way down the West Wing until he was gently knocking on the door of the medical bay.

Yelena pulled the door open a few seconds later. She didn't ask who it was and when she saw Henry, she didn't look surprised to see him.

"Took you long enough," she said with a smile.

"Hmm?" Henry said with a raised brow as he edged past her into the room and then smiled when he realized what she meant,

"Ah, because I haven't been here since Yesterday."

Yelena closed the door while nodding her head,

"Bingo."

"Angus' meeting ran long. Lots to plan," Henry told her as he found his way to her desk and fiddled through the books littered on it.

He picked one up and read through it. He was hardly paying attention to it though and just wanted something to keep his hand busy.

Yelena noticed.

"And now?" She asked him with a small smile playing on her lips.

Henry looked up at her and let out a sigh,

"We leave tomorrow," he said, "At dawn. It's a long ride, you see."

"I see," Yelena said with a few nods, "Is that why you're here? To say goodbye before you have to leave?"

"I suppose, yes," Henry said.

Yelena nodded and walked over, getting closer.

"How dangerous is it going to be?"

"Quite," Henry told her honestly.

"More dangerous than anything you've done so far?" Yelena asked as she took a few more steps closer.

Henry nodded slowly,

"Probably so much more," he said.

"Have you considered not going?" Yelena asked. There was only about a foot of distance between her and Henry now.

Henry smiled,

"I have," he said, "But, I must."

"Why?" Yelena asked with her eyes searching his own.

For a minute, Henry said nothing and then he searched Yelena's eyes,

"The one item I think can help me free you from here is on Angus' Chest," he told her.

The smile on Yelena's face dropped,

"What?" She asked. Her voice caught in the back of her throat as she took a step back.

Henry's brows furrowed at that reaction and the look of fear in her eyes and was confused but continued,

"The Vinculum thing on his chest. It can break and Make bonds. I think it can break your bond to the Mansion and finally let you leave this place—"

"Please don't!" Yelena interrupted him to say before taking a solid step back while shaking her head.

"Don't worry, I'm going to make sure it's safe," Henry told her and stepped toward her to hold up his palms in placation,

"I haven't told him yet precisely because I want to make sure the separation doesn't kill you."

Yelena said nothing but her eyes were wide and she still shook her head.

Henry stepped even closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulder,

"Yelena," he called to her in an earnest voice, "I promise I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."

Yelena stopped shaking her head and her eyes were staring into his own but they were still wide with a hint of fear. Her fear wasn't directed at Henry. Just that the very mention of the 'purple thing' on Angus' chest reminded her of his threat.

Henry's grip on her shoulders grew firmer but not tight enough to hurt her. Only firm enough to assuage any feeling of fear she still had.

"Trust me." He told her.

Yelena swallowed.

She wondered what Henry would think if she told him about Angus' threat.

'What if he trusts Angus more than me? What if he sees the threat as no more than a needed incentive? What if he gets angry, attacks Angus, and gets overpowered? What if before I can help, Angus cuts my connection to the Mansion?

What if—?'

"Yelena?" Henry called out, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Hmm?" She said, suddenly unsure where they had left off in their ongoing conversation.

"Do you trust me?" Henry asked her.

Yelena searched his eyes and nodded,

"Yes," she said, "I trust you."

She shook all the what-ifs from her head.

'There's still time.' she thought firmly.

"But promise me that before you ask for Angus' help, you'll talk to me first," Yelena said.

It seemed like a peculiar request to Henry but he had no issues agreeing to it,

"Alright."

"Good," Yelena told him with a nod and a smile.

She had decided to take the time between now and whenever Henry decided to ask Angus, to think on the matter carefully. If by then she felt it was right to reveal Angus' threat, she would.

"Alright then," Henry said with a nod. He took his hands off her shoulders and stood there almost awkwardly.

'Hmm, I can't help but feel like something should be happening,' he thought and then noticed Yelena was looking down and shifting from foot to foot.

"So… You said you were going off somewhere dangerous," she said as she looked up.

"I am," Henry admitted and it was starting to dawn on him 'what should be happening'.

"Then I suppose I should give you a Good luck kiss," Yelena said and she stepped closer. Reducing the space between them to less than a foot.

"A good luck kiss?" Henry repeated with a raised brow.

Yelena blushed hard,

"I learned it's customary," she said and pointed at one of the books on her desk. Henry remembered glancing at it when he fiddled through the cluttered contents. It was a novel about medieval knights and acts of chivalry.

When Henry's face returned from glancing at the book she pointed at, he realized Yelena was already in front of his own.

Henry had grown quite a bit in the past few weeks but there was only a few inches difference in their heights. Even then, Yelena raised a hand to the back of his head and pulled him close until their lips met.

The kiss was gentle. Yelena's lips trembled against Henry's and she mostly just left it there, touching. At first, Henry waited for something more to happen and then it dawned on him, that this was as far as she knew to go.

'Those books she read must not have been very detailed,' he thought with a smile.

Yelena pulled away. Her hand was still at the back of Henry's head and her face was redder but now that she had done it, she seemed even bolder.

"You know, I think good luck kisses are on the cheek," Henry said with a smile.

"Oh— Are they?" Yelena said with a falsely innocent brow-raise, "Let me try again, then."

She moved in a second time but her trajectory did not change. Her lips fell on Henry's lips again and her arm tightened around his neck with her hand gripping his hair.

Yelena pressed her body against Henry's. As he lifted his arms and wrapped them around her waist, Henry could not —and did not bother trying to— ignore her mounds pressing against his chest. The hardness of her nipple poked well through her gown's fabric and grazed him despite the shirt he had on.

The kiss became so charged that by the time they separated minutes later, they were both breathless.

"I- I missed your cheek again," Yelena said as she struggled to catch a breath she didn't even quite need, "Sorry."

Henry shook his head,

"I'm not complaining," he said.

"You should," Yelena said jokingly.

"I could never," Henry said with a smile.

For a minute, they just stared into each other's eyes and then Yelena cleared her throat. Her face was still flushed red as she brushed at her gown as though to smooth out wrinkles,

"Well, then. Good luck, Henry," she said in an earnest voice with just the right amount of longing,

"Come back alive… Please."