Chapter Text
The moon was slowly rising on the horizon, and dark clouds were beginning to gather along the outskirts of Bulgaria. Neolith awkwardly shuffled in place as he waited, a flower pinned to his neck fluff with a little pin that Maki had found. The mantis couldn’t be there for the big day, but he did everything he could to make Neolith feel as though he could really nail it. Though the moth had his doubts, he was trying as hard as physically possible to remain optimistic about everything. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like he was going to die, right? Kabbu wouldn’t kill him, he knew that, but he might emotionally kill him. Was that worse? Who knew?
As he stood there, his anxiety building inside him like a pressure cooker, he began to think that Kabbu wouldn’t actually show up and that everything he’d done the past few days would be for nothing. Just when he was about to walk off, he could see the faint outline of a beetle coming up over a nearby hill, and the moth felt himself relax. He quietly walked over to him, trying to ignore the constant shaking in his hands that was a telltale sign of how nervous he was.
“Hello, Neo!” Kabbu jovially said. Neolith’s stomach was twisted in knots at this point, and his mouth felt as dry as the Lost Sands themselves. He was trying to get words out, but it was very clear he was struggling immensely.
“I-I uh… h-hey Kabbu!” Neolith stared at the beetle for a moment and watched as he stared back, before standing up as straight as possible. “You… uh… excited?”
“I sure am!” Kabbu responded, before a look of concern washed upon his face. “Are you alright, Neolith? You look worried about something.”
“It’s nothing! I promise. Just… well, follow me, please.” Neolith quietly led him to the nearby area Maki had shown him the day before. It was a peaceful little area, the tall grass blocking it from the view of anyone who’d happen to be walking by. Along with the advantage of the coverage, it also had a perfect view of the sky and the stars above. To Neolith, it was perfect.
“Oh, Neo…” Kabbu started, his voice trailing off as he realized exactly what Neolith had set up for him. With Maki and Fry’s help, he’d managed to whip together a relatively elaborate picnic. Both of their favorite dishes were there, and he’d managed to set everything up in a really lovely way. To add onto that, a little record player was in a covered part of the grotto, playing a song from a show that they went to together. He’d really planned this out.
“It’s nothing, really…” He quickly responded, looking away from Kabbu’s eyes as best as he could, gently sitting down on the blanket he’d laid out on the ground. The beetle gently picked up a plate that Neolith had set down. He had a goofy smile on his face, the same way he always did when he was around Neolith. It made him feel warm, warmer than he’d been feeling the last few days, at least. The beetle sat down next to him and looked at the spread of food he’d managed to make. Lots of it was Kabbu’s favorite foods, though he had some of his own standbys as well. Neolith looked at the beetle for a moment, his face flushed with blush, though also with light from nearby fireflies that had gathered in the little grotto. He wanted desperately to tell Kabbu his feelings. He wanted to say everything he could get out of his mouth, but it was hard. It was so hard. Maki had prepared him a little bit, sure, but facing the boy of his dreams was a whole different ball game. He took a deep breath, before trying to spit it out.
“So… uh, what do you think?” He muttered, realizing that he’d absolutely need to take a different approach. He didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve, after all. Kabbu did. That was one of the many reasons Neolith admired him.
“It’s perfect, Neo,” Kabbu responded, inching his way closer to the moth. Neolith smiled again, continuing to look at the tall grass that surrounded the area. “So, what brought all of this on, exactly? I’m happy, but it’s not something you’d usually do.”
“O-oh… I… well…” He was avoiding making eye contact with the beetle now. It was impossible for him to really look him in the eyes, no matter how hard he tried. Maybe Maki was right, maybe he wasn’t ready for this after all. Did he make a fool of himself? “W-well… I just… you’re very special to me… and I wanted you to… know that I guess.”
“Well thank you, Neo,” Kabbu responded, picking up the flack from the conversation. “You’re special to me too, you know that?” Neolith gently nodded, getting the nerves to look back over at Kabbu’s face. He was smiling, but it was different than his usual smile. It was so filled with warmth that Neolith felt like he was standing on the surface of the sun. It was helpful, for sure. Especially given how cold the night was. The temperature was beginning to drop slowly but surely. He inched his way closer to Kabbu. If he asked, it was for warmth.
“Well, we’ve been through a lot, I suppose,” Neolith responded, feeling his wings slowly wrapping around his body. “Hey, Kabbu?” Neolith asked as Kabbu was beginning to eat his food.
“Yes, Neolith?” Kabbu responded, confused. The moth, partially to be polite, also began to eat, though his appetite was borderline nonexistent right now.
“I-I… uh…” Neolith was trying as hard as he could to choke out the words. It was the perfect moment. All he had to say was “I love you.” It wasn’t hard, was it? Maybe not to most, but to him, it was agonizing.
“Neolith. Are you sure everything’s alright?” Kabbu asked, setting his plate down to comfort his friend. He knew something was up, but he wasn’t sure what.
“I-I’m sure! I’m just… well, I mean…” Neolith was barely able to choke the words out before he felt the first raindrop on his face. His eyes almost immediately grew wide as he stood up in a hurry, before looking up at the sky. He was desperately hoping, pleading that it wasn’t what he thought it was. But sure enough, another raindrop hit his face, then another, then another, until the sky was slowly sprinkling a curtain of droplets onto the world below. That was enough to break the moth. As the rain quickly became heavier and heavier, he collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees, his eyes beginning to form their own raindrops. A pained gasp left his mouth as the sobs began to escape from his chest. There was nothing he could do, and he knew it. He knew that he had failed in his goal to impress Kabbu. He knew from the bottom of his sinking heart that he had completely failed to confess. Would Kabbu forgive him for wasting his time? All he could do was stay on the ground sobbing, the little flower in his neck fluff falling to the ground. Without a word, Kabbu slowly helped the moth to his feet and walked under a leaf with him, the two resting on the ground under it without a word, tears still pouring like a faucet from Neolith’s eyes. The beetle was immensely concerned for his friend, but he decided to do little things instead of trying to talk just yet. He brushed the wet fluff from his face, trying to tidy up his neck fluff. It was impressive how quickly he could jump into the caretaker role.
“Neolith…” He muttered, causing the moth to look up at him. The beetle gently wiped the tears from his eyes, which only caused him to cry harder. “What’s wrong? You’re hiding something, I know it.” The moth just shook his head and continued to cry, watching the blanket he’d prepared get absolutely soaked.
“I-it’s… it’s nothing. I promise. Don’t worry, please,” Neolith muttered, resting his head in his hands, trying to avoid letting the beetle see his face.
“Neo… you always say that, and I always look the other way,” Kabbu softly responded. His voice was as soothing as honey and as warm as the tea you’d put it in. “Tell me what’s wrong, please. I want to help you.” That, it seems, was all it took to fully break Neolith. He started to sob again, before clinging to Kabbu without warning, letting the beetle’s shell get wet with the leftover water from his fluff.
“I had… I had such a wonderful thing planned, Kabbu. I planned everything down to the letter, and I was going to tell you something, and I knew how I wanted to do it and how I wanted to say it. But I just… I couldn’t. I couldn’t say it, Kabbu.” The tears were running down Kabbu’s back now, along with the rain. It was impossible to tell which is which, but he knew that Neolith wasn’t lying. “I just wanted this to be perfect. I wanted you… I wanted to have a chance that you’d say it back. I wanted things to be different… I-”
“Neolith,” Kabbu interrupted, keeping his usual soft voice. “What did you want to say? You can say it now. I promise I will never judge you.” Kabbu finished his sentence and began to softly rub the moth’s back, being as soothing as possible. He wanted to help his distressed friend.
“K-Kabbu I…” He knew it was now or never, but he could only just barely bring himself to force out the words. With a low, pained whisper, he rested his head on Kabbu’s shoulder and said, “Kabbu… Kabbu, I love you.” The words hung in the air for a bit, and everything seemed to freeze. The raindrops in the sky fell slower and slower as the last of his words hung in the air. For just a moment, Kabbu seemed stunned, before slowly processing exactly what the moth had said to him.
“Neolith. May I tell you a secret?” Kabbu asked. Neolith, in his haze, was only just barely able to nod. Kabbu gently gave the moth a squeeze, before saying what he needed to say. It was simple, really, but it was as effective as it needed to be; “I love you too, Neolith.”
“I… you…” Neolith gently and quietly said, before bursting into tears again. He thought it had stopped, but they kept flowing and flowing, just like a river, they never seemed to stop. Kabbu gave him a tight squeeze as he cried. “R-really?” He asked, shaking from a combination of both the cold and the emotions he was feeling.
“Yes Neolith, really. I have for a very long time.” Kabbu responded, which caused Neolith to laugh.
“How long?...” Neolith asked, feeling his body gently relax in Kabbu’s warm grasp. He’d never been hugged by Kabbu before. It was nice, extremely nice.
“Oh, the moment you walked into my room at the Lost Sands’ Inn.” He said, quietly giving Neolith a kiss on the head, which caused him to laugh, before doing the same back to Kabbu.
“Really?...” He asked, a huge, stupid smile on his face.
“Yes, really,” Kabbu responded. “Now then, am I allowed to ask you a question, Neolith?” The moth slowly nodded, before watching Kabbu wander back into the rain, grabbing Neolith’s flower off the ground and presenting it to the moth, a goofy smile spread across his face once again.
“Well then, Professor.” He said, pinning the soaking flower to the moth’s neck fluff. “Will you be my boyfriend?” Once again, the moth began to cry, taking the beetle’s hand in his own and squeezing it as tight as he could, never wanting to let it go.
“Yes. I do. More than anything,” Neolith said, looking into the beetle’s eyes. For several minutes, they stayed like that, hand-in-hand, the rain falling down all around them. After a minute, the record player’s music snapped him back to reality. He’d forgotten that he left it out, though it was protected by the rain, obviously. Considering it was still going. “Well, this isn’t really the procedure I wanted, but… I got the same result, yeah? It’s a shame the picnic was ruined, though.” Kabbu was quiet for a moment, before looking up at Neolith, his now-boyfriend.
“Well, it doesn’t need to be, does it?” Kabbu said. Neolith was a tad confused at first, before he felt Kabbu tugging on his hand, pulling him out into the rain. He nervously followed, a tad confused at what was going on.
“What’re you doing? We’re gonna get wet,” The moth quietly said, before Kabbu put a finger to his lips. The rain was coming down hard now, but the beetle didn’t seem to care.
“It’d be a shame to waste the music, you know,” Kabbu quietly said, wrapping a hand around Neolith’s lower back. “May I have this dance?” Neolith could feel his face getting red as he nodded. He was sure he wasn’t exactly pretty right now, with his fluff soaked through with water and his eyes puffy from crying, but he wrapped an arm around Kabbu’s back as well, taking his hand in his own, before slowly beginning to dance with him to the music. The water continued to pour down around them, but neither of them really seemed to notice or care. They stayed like this, for as long as either of them could muster, before slowly gathering Neolith’s things and walking away from the little grotto, hand-in-hand. Neolith turned around to face the grotto as he was leaving, before looking back over at Kabbu.
“Hey, Kabbu?” Neolith asked. The beetle looked up at him, his other arm occupied with a blanket and a record player. “I think I’m gonna remember this for a while.” Kabbu smiled in response, standing on his tip-toes to give the moth a kiss.
“I am too. Now come on, let’s go home.” Neolith nodded and began to walk with Kabbu, back to the Ant Kingdom. Neolith gave Kabbu’s hand a squeeze as he walked through the gates to town, sighing a little bit as they began to approach Team Snakemouth’s shared house.
“You first,” Kabbu said. “I’ve got some explaining to do to Lief and Vi.”
“You never told them?” Neolith asked, a bit surprised. According to Maki, everyone in the palace knew about his little crush.
“Never said a word to anyone but you,” Kabbu responded. “Now come on, let’s get out of this rain. We’ve got a whole night ahead of us.” Neolith nodded and opened the door to Kabbu’s house. For once, he wasn’t anxious.
He was happy.