“Is this the one we’re looking for?” Siwon asked over his shoulder, a delicate green plant held gently between his fingers as he held it up for his partner to see.

            Eun Mi flicked her dark hair back over her shoulder from where it had fallen when she leaned closer to inspect her own patch of greenery and cocked her head to the side, dark eyes speculative.  “Close,” she nodded before she set her basket down on the ground next to the spot she wanted to remember and moved over to where Siwon was kneeling.

            “What do you mean close?” he laughed, glancing at the plant again.  He was still getting used to the shades of gray that came with herbalism and this was another of those times he was lost.

            Eun Mi placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly and knelt next to him, her legs brushing his own.  “Right plant, wrong stage of development,” she laughed lightly, generally amused by his frustration with the stages that things needed to be gathered at.  “Here,” she leaned down and plucked a slightly different plant from the same patch of greenery.  “You want the flowering ones,” she smiled sweetly and handed the plant to him instead.

            Siwon frowned in thought as he compared the two.  The only difference was the presence of a small white bud that was just starting to open.  Softly, he grumbled under his breath, “I’m never going to figure this stuff out.”

            “Sure you will,” Eun Mi reassured him distractedly from where she had resumed working, her gaze focused on the plants before her.

            It was a trait he had picked up on eventually that she offered encouragement out of habit.  Whether she believed it or not, if she wasn’t really thinking about it and someone wasn’t sure about something, she was quick to reassure them.  He figured it was the healer in her, always trying to make things better, even when there was no obvious way to do so.  Siwon didn’t really think he was cut to be an herbalist, much as she would like him to be, but he did not mind in trying to help her.

            Mostly, he spent a great deal of time asking her if he had found the right plant and focusing on it for the moment, but it rarely stuck in his memory.  Well, that wasn’t entirely true, since he knew very well which plants to avoid, such as the poison oak he eyed disdainfully climbing up one of the trees nearest him.  A particularly nasty reaction to that substance had quite assured he would never forget it.

            “Siwon,” Eun Mi called out to him, seeing he was distracted again.  She knew he wasn’t going to pick up on this as she did.  Her mother had engrained it into her since she could walk; but she very much enjoyed his company.  “I’ve only got a few more herbs to collect.  There’s a nice patch of mushrooms over there though.  Would you mind gathering some of those for later?” she asked politely, gesturing near the base of a tree close to her.  The truffles would be good in stew later and were great for drying.

            Glad to have something else to do, Siwon set the herbs back in the basket she had convinced him to carry since it made hauling herbs around considerably easier than using one’s shirt.  He thought it worked well enough, but after trying to gather the stinging nettles in such a manner…  That had been enough of a lesson for him.  Languidly, he stretched his arms above his head and leaned back, feeling a good pop in his back as he did so.

            “You’re getting old,” Eun Mi teased at the display, quick to follow his example from where she sat with similar results.

            “So are you,” he chuckled lightly before he stepped over and bent down to plant a tender kiss on the top of her head.

            Despite having been with Siwon since after he and the other Elementalists had defeated Enrhyll, she still found herself blushing like a little girl at certain times; this being one of them.  “Go on,” she urged with a delighted smile, giving him a slight nudge on his leg.

            “I’m going,” he laughed, pausing just long enough to thread his fingers through her horsetail.  She shivered at the pleasurable chill it sent up her spine and eyed him coyly.  “I am,” he added, already a few steps away from her.

            “Uh huh,” she murmured, an amused smile playing on her lips before she returned her attention the herbs she was actually looking for and not the charming and handsome man she had somehow convinced to assist her today.  It didn’t hurt that Yong-Soo had come by to visit and was able to watch the twins for them while they stepped out.  Granted, she could have asked any of the other elementalists for help but with the exception of Summer and Kyuhyun, the others had little ones to attend to already and she was well aware that the former were not exactly eager to take on the responsibility of babysitting either.

            Her cousin, on the other hand, adored the twins and spoiled them rotten whenever he had the chance, though they weren’t quite old enough to take advantage of that just yet.  In the meantime, it allowed her and Siwon to grab a moment or two alone, even if it wasn’t quite what he might have preferred.  She was gratified to find that she wasn’t the only one sneaking glances over her shoulder while she worked though.

            Before she was finished with picking out the harder to discern herbs she was seeking, Siwon had made it back to her side with a basket almost completely full of truffles.  “This enough?” he grinned mischievously, the look indicating he knew quite well that it was.

            “You’re terrible,” she said as she tried to keep a straight face, but failed miserably and devolved into a fit of giggling.

            He maintained his composure a bit longer and defended himself, “No.  I just like mushrooms and someone I know is always finishing them off,” he added with one raised brow.

            Eun Mi pretended insult and gasped, “I never!”

            “Oh yes you do,” Siwon laughed while he extended a hand to help her up.

            She glanced back down at the section she was still working on and then up at him again, “But I’m not finished yet.”

            “Come on, Mi.  We can come back later,” the elementalist assured her with an easy grin, the one dimple showing irresistibly.  When he gave her that smile, it was almost always over.  With a defeated sigh and a warm smile, Eun Mi conceded that he had won again and took his hand.  Seemingly effortlessly, he pulled her to her feet and into his arms where he took the opportunity to kiss her forehead and then her lips when she turned her face up to him.

                “I can’t even argue with that,” she smiled when they pulled apart, her fingers still entwined with his.

                “Good,” Siwon nodded in satisfaction and pulled her along easily, content for the moment to simply have her by his side.  They had come a long ways from that horrible fight with her half-brother.  It had been a long road to recovery for all of them, her included, but they had all made great strides in that direction.

                Despite her mother’s requests, she had opted not to return to Corley Port to follow in her footsteps at this time.  Admittedly, Siwon needed the time away from people more than she did, but she had been more than happy to follow him.  She understood as few others how healing was not just physical and had been wholly supportive of him and the others all around.  At the thought of some of those hard times they had come through, he brought her hand up to his mouth and laid a grateful kiss on the back of it.

                Eun Mi smiled shyly and shifted a little closer, the basket swinging easily on her other side.  There had been many times when Siwon kissed her lightly in that way, or caressed her face softly, and while he never explained it, there was always gratitude in his eyes.

                In the quiet of each other’s company, they returned to the village they shared with the other elementalists.  The walk was not hard, but it was a bit on the long side and one thing she missed about the cabin near the woods.  Still, her new life was well worth the extra few steps needed to keep in touch with her old life.  Not only that, but having the water elementalist around made it incredibly easy to maintain a garden of her own.

                When they made the edge of the village, they could see a few of the residents out and about.  The day was certainly pleasant enough for it, though the others seemed to be indoors for the most part.  They took the long way around, skirting the outermost houses as they made their way to the back part of the establishment where their houses were collectively positioned.

                Their house was easily distinguishable by the large garden blooming vibrantly next to it and as they approached the door, they could hear delighted gurgling laughter as a deeper, masculine voice cooed, “Tickle tickle tickle tickle,” prompting more laughter from a set of two vocal chords.

                Siwon and Eun Mi grinned to each other before he opened the door for them and saw her cousin leaning over the two cradles, one hand in either and smiling just as hard as he could.  As soon as he heard the door open, Yong-Soo stood up, looking slightly embarrassed and laughed, “You’re back!”

                Eun Mi handed her basket over to Siwon as she stepped over to her cousin, “Thank you for watching them.  They weren’t any trouble were they?” she asked before throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a sisterly kiss on the cheek.

                Warmly, Yong-Soo hugged her back and shook his head when she stepped away.  “Not at all.  They only just woke up actually,” he shrugged with a backwards glance at the boy and girl in the cradles behind him.

                As if on cue, they both started to cry softly and Eun Mi walked over to them to kneel beside their beds.  “Aww.  It’s okay,” she cooed softly as she reached down to comfort them.  Being seven month old twins, the pair were sometimes difficult to tell apart but her son, Jae-Sun tended to be more energetic with his father’s eyes and her daughter Hyun Ae was a bit quieter, except when hungry, and had her mother’s mouth.  Both had fine, black hair that curled around their faces and lighter brown eyes that watched everything.

                While she attended to the twins, Yong-Soo stepped over to Siwon who had set the baskets down on the kitchen table and pulled the nearly equally as tall man into a firm embrace.  “It’s good to see you again,” Siwon greeted.  “How are things in the city?”

                Yong-Soo waved the question away and grinned wryly, “The same as always.  Your mother sends her regards by the way,” he turned back around to inform Eun Mi.  The young woman managed to give him a smile back and then focused on the babies again.  “She keeps trying,” Yong-Soo chuckled.

                “That makes sense,” Siwon agreed with a fond look at Eun Mi.  “She learned a lot from her mother.”

                “Siwon, could you give me a hand here?” Eun Mi asked pleadingly, lifting one of the babies up and out already.

                Siwon grinned and hurried over, reaching down to retrieve Jae-Sun as Eun Mi handed him up and then retrieved Hyun Ae.  “They’re hungry,” she explained with a laugh.  “Will you be staying for lunch, Soo?” she asked her cousin as she bounced her daughter on her hip with practiced ease.

                Yong-Soo looked over at Siwon who had Jae-Sun raised above his head in a very gentle flying position, a delighted grin on the baby’s face as he kicked his feet excitedly.  “I would love to,” he bowed politely.  “What can I do to help?” he asked, eyeing the basket of mushrooms speculatively.

                “Here,” Siwon laughed as he deposited his son into the other man’s arms.  “I can at least get things started,” he winked with a glance back at Eun Mi who smiled gratefully.

                While Eun Mi fed the babies one after the other, Siwon prepared the mushrooms and got the food ready to be cooked.  Yong-Soo helped to provide a distraction and when the prep work was done, Siwon helped him to entertain the children and Eun Mi prepared deer steaks with a mushroom sauce and some of the bread from yesterday.  The children were returned to their cribs so the adults could eat and they exchanged the most recent news.

                Yong-Soo was seeing a young woman in Corley Port who assisted her mother in a tailoring business.  With a thoughtful glance at the babies, Eun Mi filed that away for future use and Siwon and her listened intently.  They had little else to report upon except for what he may well have already known.  Eleanara and Leeteuk were expecting another child, their second, and all in all, the others were doing well.

                When the food was cleared away, Eun Mi packaged a deer sandwich with some of the mushrooms on it to send with her cousin before he headed out.  They retrieved Hyun Ae and Jae-Sun before seeing him to the door and his own horse, a much grander creature than Glory had ever been.

                “Give mother my regards,” Eun Mi smiled at last as she stood at Baron’s tan shoulder and looked up at her cousin.  Hyun Ae waved her tiny hand at the horse in a vain attempt to touch him, to the general amusement of the rest.

                “Take care, Mi,” Yong-Soo nodded and looked up to Siwon.  “Good luck to you, Siwon.  You might need it,” he chuckled with a glance at the twins.

                “Safe travels,” Siwon called instead, waving with Jae-Sun’s hand to see Yong-Soo off.

                Easily, Yong-Soo turned Baron around and nudged him out of the village.  Eun Mi and Siwon saw him off and waited until he was out of sight before they smiled at each other contentedly.  Without another word, Siwon put his free arm around Eun Mi’s slender waist and pulled her close, laughing when their son reached to grab a stray lock of hair that had escaped her horsetail.

                She laughed and grabbed his hand, kissing it playfully before winking at Siwon and heading back inside, Hyun Ae resting sleepily on her hip now.  Siwon followed close behind her, taking one quick look around to see if any of the others were out and about.  With a shrug, he retreated indoors content in knowing they would be around, sooner or later at any rate.