Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Are you sure you don’t remember anything?” Michele asked, annoyed by the level of worry seeping through his words. He didn’t want to baby Emil, at all, the blond had been through more than him and his friends combined, he probably could handle it a lot better than Michele could. But it didn’t stop him from worrying.

“Nope,” Emil said, sounding rather chipper for someone who lost most of their memories. On the other hand, Emil seemed to be a chipper person, bright smiles, lively voice. It was fitting- the behaviour from dragon Emil to human Emil wasn’t much different, only Emil talked a lot more now he could speak. “But they surely will come back- I mean, ten years is a long time, and Mila had warned that there would be some side effects.”

It was crazy how well Emil had adapted to being human again. Almost immediately, it had turned out Emil lost a lot of his memories. Not in a sense that his entire past was a black hole, but more that the details were missing. He didn’t know his surname, for example, nor had he an idea what the names of his family members were, he just knew that he had a family. A father, a mother and an older sister. But the lack of memory made it also harder to pinpoint what had lifted the curse. It probably would be a matter of time and maybe being amongst humans would help. In the end, to find out what actually happened, they needed Emil’s memories or at least identity.

“You’re surprisingly happy for someone with memory loss,” Michele pointed out quietly, ducking his head to hide his small smile. Suddenly it had become very… awkward to be around Emil. When Emil was a dragon, things were so much easier, because he was a dragon. Human and dragons didn’t mix, nor was there anything else than personal attraction- not physical. But as a human, Emil was the whole package. Sweet, dorky, charming in his own way and, in Michele’s opinion, rather handsome.

“They will return,” Emil said shrugging. “I mean, I’m human again, I would have been happy even if I didn’t remember anything at all. I can finally walk, talk and hold things properly. Nothing to complain about.”

Michele rolled his eyes and yanked Emil back on the forest path, saving the blond from colliding with a tree. “Yeah, I can see you can walk,” he replied dryly. “Next time don’t try to walk into a tree.”

Emil’s merry laughter was going to be the death of him. “Sorry,” he said, though he didn’t sound sorry at all. “Well, at least someone is paying attention.”

It wasn’t hard to pay attention to Emil. The bright, somewhat lopsided smile that lit up the darkness, lively eyes that screamed joy, wild hand gestures when he talked. It wasn’t hard to look at Emil, at all. It was harder to look away, to ignore the personal embodiment of free-spirited happiness.

Removing his gaze from his friend, Michele let his eyes wander up the poorly lit forest path. They would enter the city in a couple of minutes if he wasn’t wrong. Usually, it would bustle with life, but at the hour the two currently were travelling, there would be barely anyone awake. It was still too early for a baker to start baking, and all the people in taverns and inns would have crashed their beds by now. It was the quietest the city ever got, and Emil’s loud voice would definitely change that.

 “Emil, could you try to be quiet,” Michele asked gently, growing flustered in the face. Usually, he would have hissed at his friends to be quiet, calling them idiots. But this didn’t feel right with Emil. “I’m trying to sneak you in, unnoticed, that isn’t going to work if you wake up the entire neighbourhood.”

Thankfully, Emil just nodded and made a zipping motion with his hands. They had decided to keep quiet about what happened. For starters, the entire city would erupt into celebrations and noise if they realised that finally, the Forest Dragon had disappeared. In addition to that, people would bombard Emil with questions about what happened. If Emil didn’t know, there was no chance the others would know. And knowing the people, they didn’t take an ‘I don’t know’ for an answer. Hence why they decided to keep it quiet, giving Emil some time to rest, adjust to a life as a human and hopefully, recover his memories.

They wandered into the deserted city. It was… weird. Oddly romantic if Michele had to admit. Maybe it was the thrill of sneaking in like a thief- or it was like two lovers who weren’t supposed to be together breaking the rules. Seeing each other, talking to each, loving each other. Though that only happened in the cheesy, romance plays that were held for the richer people.

“Take my hand,” Michele whispered, holding out his left hand for Emil to take. “It’s a maze- you won’t be able to find your way out if you’re unfamiliar around here.”

This was so stupid- not the holding hand part, the part that his heart was beating like crazy. He had done this before with Sara and other’s when they were younger, but he was never nervous around them. His heart didn’t beat like crazy, his hands weren’t clammy, and he never had the urge before to pull them close and never let them go.

Unlike Michele, Emil didn’t seem to have any issues with this. The blond grinned and happily grabbed his cold hand, not even complaining that it was clammy.

It was weird, walking hand-in-hand through the streets of his birthplace. What if someone saw them? Would they assume that he and Emil were- no, surely not, it was a common thing to hold hands in a way to guide someone through the maze of streets and alleyways. He would just sell Emil off as a traveller from Port City.

“This way,” Michele whispered, tugging Emil into an alleyway.

It didn’t take long before Michele found the stairway that leads into their apartment complex. It was quite a nice apartment complex, not anything fancy but it was clean, something he was rather fond of.

“Third step creeks,” Michele pointed out as they headed up the first flight of stairs. “And so does this one,” he said, hopping over the step with practised ease. Emil followed cautiously, not used to walk stairs and wary about the noisy steps.

A few more flights had followed before Michele dug out the keys to their apartment. It was small with two bedrooms and a shared living and kitchen space. There wasn’t much bathroom-wise, they had a communal bathroom downstairs where you could wash yourself twice a week and take a piss as often as you wanted.

“It isn’t much,” Michele whispered, unlocking the door. “But it’s home.”

Emil hummed softly and followed Michele inside, taking in the surrounding. “It’s nice,” the blond said honestly. “Cosy, homely- much better than my cave.”

“And much smaller,” Michele pointed out, taking off his boots and throwing his bag on the couch. “You can place your shoes at the door and your luggage on the couch, are you hungry?”

Doing as what Michele had told, Emil propped his boots next to Michele’s and dropped the heavily packed bag on the couch. They had decided to take as much with them from the cave as they could carry so that didn’t have to return. Emil had taken everything he had an emotional attachment to, which were mostly the nick knacks and other odd items.

“Right now, I just want to sleep,” Emil admitted sheepishly, rubbing his tired eyes. He looked almost… cute. Scrap that- he looked cute. A six-foot tall guy looked cute, great.

Michele hummed, not sure how the response, and started to strip off his armour. While not boiling hot anymore, it still was too hot to wear both his armour and the skin-tight suit underneath. Plus, as he was wearing the entire, skin-tight set of clothing, it wasn’t like he was stripping down to his birthday suit.

“Then sleep it is,” Michele answered eventually, stretching his aching limbs. This was so much nicer than the heavy armour. Gathering the pieces, Michele made his way to his own bedroom, longing to sleep in his own, decently soft bed.

Dropping his gear in a corner, Michele turned around, shooting Emil a confused look. “You’re coming?” he asked, gesturing to his bedroom.

Emil flushed bright red. “Wait, I’m supposed to sleep in your bedroom? But the couch-”

“Emil,” Michele deadpanned. “Sara doesn’t even fit on that thing; no way you can get a proper night of sleep on that thing.”

The blond chuckled nervously, hurrying over to Michele’s room. “Okay- so I’ll be sleeping on the floor?”

“No, you’re sleeping in my bed,” it was a bit awkward, inviting Emil to sleep in his bed. But it was a two-person bed, previously belonging to his parents. They would easily fit, even could sleep without touching each other, and it surely must be better than the wooden floor or the small, rather uncomfortable couch. “I mean- if you want to. It must be nice to sleep in a proper bed for once, and there is plenty of space for two so…”

Bad idea. Terrible idea. This didn’t help his case of love sickness, at all. He should just offer his bed to Emil and take the couch himself.

“Okay, I don’t mind,” Emil answered chipper, any embarrassment had disappeared from his face. “The bed looks actually cosy and much more inviting than the floor.”

Glad that Emil didn’t make it more awkward than necessary, Michele stripped down to his underwear, deciding that despite the mellow summer weather, it was still too hot to wear more than the necessary.

Gathering his clothes, Michele threw the laundry in the basket in the corner of his room. “In the drawers, you can find some clothes if you want to change,” he pointed out. “Otherwise, join me in bed whenever you feel like it, and if you change your mind, there is a bedroll in the closet.”

Hiding his flustered face from Emil, Michele crawled in bed at his side. Burying his nose into his pillow, he let out a trembling sigh. Oh dear, this wasn’t a very good idea, at all. He had stripped down to his underwear without much of a warning, though, on the other hand, this made it seems more… normal. Like if Emil was actually just being one of his friends and not the exact person Michele had fallen for, hard.

Michele wasn’t even awake when the mattress dipped, and Emil nervously laid down his side of the bed. Just like he wasn’t awake when he gravitated to the other, seeking out the contact he had gotten accustomed to since Emil’s injury.

~*~

At the rise of the sun, Sara tiredly stumbled out of her bed, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. There was still no word from Mickey, and it had been almost a week since JJ, Guang Hong and Leo had returned from the sudden ‘rescue’ mission. She didn’t know the details, they refused to tell her, but she worried about her brother. Mickey had changed so much over the span of five months, he finally had crawled out his isolated shell and start to live his life to its fullest.

Stepping into a pair of sandals, Sara wandered into the living room. Blinking, she saw that two extra pairs of boots were placed at their door- which meant that Mickey had returned home. Finally. Though, the extra pair seemed illogical, had her brother brought someone along? Maybe he had caught up with JJ, and it had gotten so late that the latter would crash at their place.

Nevertheless, ecstatic to see that her brother had returned, Sara walked over to the other bedroom in the apartment. It was still early, and probably Mickey wouldn’t appreciate it woken up so early. On the other hand, she had all the right to kick him out of his bed and demand for answers, if he hadn’t left her in the dark he could have slept in.

Knocking on the door, giving her brother somewhat of a warning, Sara pushed open the door. The curtains were drawn, armour pieces were piled up in the corner of the bedroom. But that wasn’t what was weird. It was weird to see someone else in Mickey’s bed. Okay- sharing the bed wasn’t the weird thing. In the past, her brother had shared his bed before with guests. This wouldn’t be the first time someone slept next to her brother, JJ had crashed their place before, just as Guang Hong and Leo. It was less awkward for two men to platonically share a bed than for a man and woman to share a room. But never before had she seen Mickey actually cuddling with their guest. And boy, where they cuddling.

Michele was curled up in a ball, head carefully tucked underneath the others man’s chin. A protective arm was wrapped around her brother’s bare chest, keeping him securely in place. Their legs, which the blanket barely covered anymore, were tangled together. This was way too intimate for just friends, way too intimate. And Mickey complained if she even looked at another man with some interest.

Clearing her throat, Sara closed the door behind her. “Mickey,” she said loudly. “You could have told me that you returned.”

There was a growling noise coming from the heap of limbs, but neither of the two men stirred. “Mickey,” she said sternly, stepping towards the bed and pressing her hands against her hips. “Wake up- I want answers.”

Her brother moved around a bit, eyes slowly opening. “It’s too early,” he mumbled, pressing his head into the other man’s chest. “Can’t the questions wait till dinner?”

“Not when you’re snuggling with a complete stranger,” she glared at her brother. “What happened to ‘no sex before marriage’ rule you insisted on.”

“We didn’t have-”

Mickey fell quiet for a brief moment, eyes growing comically wide. “Snuggling!” the brunet screeched, head-butting the poor man that was holding him. “Fuck! Shit- I-”

The other man woke up in alarm, taking only a few seconds to react and untangled himself from her brother, looking equally flustered and alarmed as Mickey.

“Sara, we did not sleep together,” Mickey said almost hysterical, wildly gesturing with his arms.

Cocking an eyebrow in an exaggerated fashion, Sara stared at her brother with a deadpanned expression. “Mickey, for starters, you bring a complete stranger home with you,” she said, pointing at the blond guy. “And then you’re snuggling with him. You don’t do snuggling, at all, especially not with strangers.”

“He’s not- I mean,” Mickey buried his head in his hands, whimpering lowly. The other guy, who had an unsure smile on his face, sat down next to Mickey.

“Uhm, hi,” the blond greeted, offering Sara a small wave of the hand. “I should have slept on the floor, shouldn’t I?” those words were aimed at Mickey, who shook his head.

“I told you that I wasn’t letting you sleep on the floor, or on the couch,” Mickey countered, a look of concern on his face. “I mean, you at least slept well, right?”

The blond male grew flustered in the face. “I did, though I should have warned you I’m a bit… cuddly in my sleep.”

Sara giggled softly. She already liked that guy, whoever he was, he at least seemed kind, and Mickey seemed to actually like this guy. After all, Mister Michele ‘I have a stuck up my ass’ Crispino was terrible with relationships, no matter whenever they were platonic or not. So returning home with what seemed a nice guy was… nice. Unexpected, but nice.

“Well, are you staying for breakfast or will you disappear as suddenly as you arrive?” Sara full-on laughed as both the blond and Mickey grew flustered, her brother even went as far as making a choking noise.

“I- uh,” the blond was stammering, staring at Mickey with pleading eyes. “I think I stay for breakfast? It isn’t like I have anywhere else to go- if you can afford it having me around. Michele mentioned your money issues so I can understand if I would be a burden.”

Wait… what? “What do you mean, nowhere else to go?” Sara questioned, not understanding what the guy meant. Was he homeless? He didn’t exactly look homeless, too young, too healthy looking. And it wasn’t like Michele to pick up random homeless people of the street, they had very little to offer.

Mickey coughed, clearing his throat. A more serious on his face. “Well, uhm, long story- Sara, this is Emil…”

Long story her ass, it didn’t make sense at all. Emil wasn’t an uncommon name, at all. She could count on her hand on how many Emil’s she knew. Eyeing her brother, she immediately noticed he wasn’t going to say much more. So, naturally, her gaze moved to Emil. A brighter, less nervous smile greeted her, eyes bright with life. Very blue, very familiar eyes. Oh.

“Wait- you’re the dragon Emil?” Sara exclaimed, staring at the blond with disbelief. If every cursed man in the world looked like that, she most definitely would get herself a sword and start searching. Because, no way that this guy, which was admittedly handsome, was the same dork that nuzzled her stomach in a manner of hugging.

Mickey sighed and pinched his nose, clearly not ready for this topic. “Can we discuss this over breakfast- I’m hungry.”

~*~

It wasn’t exactly hard to explain to Sara what happened. His sister had sat quietly, listening to each word Michele told her with a serious expression. Emil was nodding along sometimes, but was too excited about the breakfast, just plain porridge, to really engage himself into the conversation.

“So we still don’t know how the curse was broken?” Sara asked quietly, fingers nervously drumming on the table top.

Michele shook his head soberly. “No, I think it’s a matter of time before Emil get his memories back, at least Mila said that the side effects were temporary, and then the rest hopefully comes easy.”

Sara pulled a thinking face, resting her head on her now intertwined fingers. “Why does it matter though?” she asked. “The curse is lifted- there is no reason to delve deeper into it. All that’s important right now is to find out who Emil is.”

“Well…” Michele already had considered this, but it didn’t feel right to leave it all without closure. What if the curse returned? What if it happened to someone else? It was almost too easy to leave it at that. “I just want closure,” Michele eventually admitted, nervously glancing over to a blissfully unaware Emil.

Leaning over the table, Sara gently rested her hand on his arm. “I understand,” she said, a small, encouraging smile playing on her lips. “I won’t tell anyone till Emil decides that it’s safe to bring the news out to the word.”

Sighing in relief, Michele returned his sister’s smile. “Thank you, that would mean a lot to me,” purposely, he didn’t add Emil’s name to that. He wasn’t sure how Emil felt- if the blond was actually content with the vague memories, as long as he was human.

“But,” Sara added, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “You still have to tell the rest- Mila has been pestering me about Emil for way too long, she wants to know how the curse is lifted…”

Why did Mila want to know that? Yes, the redhead probably was curious, but she and Emil weren’t exactly close, nor were he and Mila. “Why does she wants to know that?”

Sara let out a loud snort and immediately muffled the following giggle with the back of her hand. “Well, she wants to know who lifts the curse. If you managed to do that… well, there goes her first born.”

Emil blinked in confusion, first eyeing Sara and then Michele. “Wait? Is offering your first born child a tradition I missed in the ten years I have been gone?”

Michele cursed himself as he started to laugh. Emil’s actual concern was downright adorable, and it seemed that Sara agreed. His sister began to laugh loudly, no longer even trying to muffle the noise.

“Mickey has weird friends, that’s all,” Sara answered between laughter, wiping away a single tear. “Offering our first born child is apparently some kind of a joke amongst us.”

“A joke gone way too far,” Michele added, his face started to hurt from laughing. “I already offered my first born, Mila did and so did Guang Hong- it’s only a matter of time before Leo starts to offer his.”

In all honestly, Michele had expected Emil to be slightly disturbed by what he was saying, but the blond just smiled brightly, eyes blazing with joy. “Wait, but there is also JJ, right?”

“Emil, dear,” Sara hiccupped, looking close to actually crying. “JJ will become a father late winter- I doubt he’s going to offer his first born anytime soon.”

“And, if he did, his wife would most definitely murder him,” Michele supplied, grinning as Emil looked slightly stunned.

It had taken a bit before the two siblings calmed down from the laughing fit. “Sorry for downright traumatising you,” Sara apologised, though she didn’t sound that apologetic. “We have an interesting group of friends I could say.”

Emil just grinned. “They sound fantastic,” he admitted cheerfully. “I mean, they all sound… interesting.”

“What else would expect from Mickey,” Sara pointed out, sending him a sly grin. “If you manage to be friends with Mickey you must be quite the person.”

“Wait? Michele is a difficult person?” Emil looked genuinely surprised.

Glaring at his sister, Michele mouthed a ‘don’t you dare’. Sara, however, didn’t seem to have an issue hating him. “Well… Mickey is pretty… temperamental. Stubborn and he’s a bit too overprotective.”

“Really? I never noticed” Emil admitted, shrugging. “But maybe I’m biased.”

Sara squealed, and Michele wished he could just sink through the floor.

~*~

Seeing Emil as an actual, full-blown brunet was… weird. For whatever reason the colour didn’t exactly suit him, the soft brightness of the man’s natural blond fitted his personality scarily well. Chipper, bright, warm- a bit like the sun, only it didn’t hurt your eyes to look at him.

“It looks weird, doesn’t it?” Emil questioned, running his hand through his hair for the tenth time.

It looked weird, but it still suited Emil. Though, to be honest, if he let Mila go wayward on Emil’s hair, whatever colour was the outcome would suit him.  Sara had, being observant and all, pointed out that there weren’t many people with light hair like Emil. Most people here were either brunets or black-haired, making blond hair rare, even if it wasn’t full-on blond. So, to avoid many questions and stares, they had decided that dyeing it temporarily would do the trick.

“Nah, Sara has done a pretty good job on you,” Michele offered his friend a small smile. “A few showers and it should be pretty much gone- and now you can roam the streets without catching anyone’s attention, well…”

Michele rolled his eyes as a group giggling teenagers waved at them, Emil in particular. After all, Emil was a handsome looking man who was a complete stranger to them. And boy, were these people nosey and curious. Though, to be honest, he was the one who caught up with Sara’s co-workers and gossiped about… things nobody had to know about.

Another group of women approached them, but instead of glaring at them, Michele offered them a small wave. In the corner of his eyes, he basically saw the group of giggling teenagers fuming.

“Hey, Mickey,” one of the women waved excitedly. Michele knew Yuuko, she worked for the same boss as Sara did and she was one of Michele’s favourite gossip partners. “Who is your friend?”

The other women said their greetings. Michele knew most of them from Sara’s work, which wasn’t really surprising. They were, after all, famously known for gossipers. If you wanted to know something, you had to go to them, or Michele till some extend. Not working as a seamstress didn’t give him the access to the direct source of gossip.

“This is Emil,” Michele introduced, his heart stuttered slightly as Emil smiled brightly. A nice smile apparently seemed to do it for him. “He’s someone I met in Port City during a job, he never had been to the capital, so I offered to give him a tour.”

It was a perfectly good lie. Michele had been to Port City multiple times, so nobody thought that it was weird. Plus, Emil was a good actor. He smiled through the whole ordeal, not even getting slightly annoyed with the girls’ never-ending questions.

“So, do you like, have a strong accent or something? I met people from Port City before, and they were barely even audible!” one of the women threw up her hands in exaggeration. “I mean; you sound pretty normal.”

To his surprise, Emil’s voice dropped, and a familiar accent greeted him. He sounded a lot like the merchants that stood on the market in Port City, a thick accent, a weird pronunciation of words. The only that was missing was the slew of curse words the men liked to throw around.

A few of the women visibly swooned over the accent, and shamefully, Michele agreed with them. Emil was going to be the death of him. His energetic and bright demeanour didn’t bother him, at all. The cuddling was… nice. It seemed no matter what they did, their limbs always ended up tangled together, not that Michele was complaining. He was loud, a trait he shared with JJ, but for whatever reason, it didn’t irk Michele as much as when JJ was somewhat obnoxious loud. On the other hand, it could be possible that he was so far gone that no matter what Emil did he considered it endearing.

While Emil was occupied by a few of the seamstresses, Yuuko had slipped out of the ground and took place next to Michele. “He seems nice,” she said motherly, smiling softly. “So, is he really just your friend or?”

In all honestly, Michele didn’t even have to answer that question. The brunette probably knew- it wasn’t hard to guess. Maybe Michele was making gooey eyes toward Emil, or Yuuko just had an amazing eye for things like this. How else did she become their non-official love-guru? She was one of the most sought out people when it came to love advice, after all, she had a steady love-life with marriage and children, something Michele couldn’t say for a lot of people.

“I want to say he isn’t just my friend,” Michele started slowly, unable to take his eyes of Emil as the latter explained things about Port City Michele didn’t even know about. “But it’s complicated.”

Yuuko shrugged. “Well, time will tell in the end,” she said, which was a bit unusual. Usually, she would dish out love advice like there was no tomorrow. “Though, should I put him on list three?” she asked out of the blue.

“Place four I would say,” Michele added, violet eyes meeting blue one. “Yes, fourth,” he confirmed.

Yuuko hummed approvingly. “Place four seems fitting, we don’t have many men with blue eyes around here, so that gives him bonus points,” the brunette took out a notebook out of nowhere and started to scribble down a few words.

“I think list six is also fitting,” the brunette added, eyes resting on Emil’s behind. Following her gaze, Michele hummed in agreement. “A bit lower though, it isn’t his best asset.”

Yuuko stared at him in quiet shock. “You just made a pun,” she pointed out, pointing her pencil at him. “You got it bad, don’t you?”

“You have no idea.”

~*~

“Long time not see, Crispino, managed to survive the heat?” the man behind the desk inspected his nails out boredom, barely offering Michele a glance.

“Otherwise I wouldn’t be here, would I?” Michele answered, annoyance and sarcasm laced thickly in his voice. He nearly had added ‘ass’, but he didn’t want to be stuck with shitty jobs for the rest of the year.

“True,” the man admitted, finally facing Michele. “So, amuse me, why are you a week later than the rest? Most returned as soon as the heat wave had passed.”

Scrap calling the women nosey, this guy was the worst. “Visiting a friend,” Michele gestured to Emil, who looked very uncomfortable. “Well, picking up a friend seemed to fit better. Port City- quite the journey, you know.”

Thankfully, the man bought his story. “I’m surprised you have friends, Crispino,” the man leered. “But nevertheless, here,” the man rolled out an addressed mission- a request. “Next week Friday, escort mission to Port City. You and Lee will be the only guards, so make it count.”

“Declined,” Michele said, pushing the piece of paper back. “Bandits had been anxious, rumours of that the dragon has disappeared are making rounds. Without the dragon, I can’t keep the bandits in check.”

The man seemed far from pleased with Michele’s answer. “And how do you know? You speak with the bandits? You’re starting to sound like Lee- I find it a small miracle the two of you aren’t best friends by now.”

“No, but I just returned from a trip to Port City, the bandits are anxious and confused. If the dragon actually disappeared to gods know where, the bandits will take over without fear, and I don’t have a death wish,” and with this, Michele turned around, flipped the bird at the man and stomped out of the room.

“I could murder him,” Michele hissed to no-one in particular. Why was everyone this stupid? Did they forget to add brains to people? Or made sword skills- not the sexual one- one more superior than people who barely could wield a sword but actually had brains?

“You can end in the dungeons if you kill him,” Emil pointed out, but his voice was shaky though. “I don’t like him, at all, he smells.”

Michele stared at his friend with confusion. “Did you sense of smell not return normal when you, you know,” looking around, Michele looked around, making sure nobody was listening. “When the curse was lifted?”

Emil shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, though, who is Lee?”

Of course, Emil was going to ask. Michele was pretty sure he rarely had dropped Seung-gil’s name, at all. He didn’t like the guy, but he respected him, so there was no reason to talk shit about him.

“Seung-gil Lee is one of the guild’s best knights, and we’ve been doing a lot of escort missions together. Seung-gil is all the skills while I just knew how to get through the forest safely,” he explained.

“But surely you’re a great knight too, right?” Emil cocked his head, looking slightly guilty for bringing up the subject.

“Not really- my swordsman skills are lacklustre. But I’m at least one of the few who has brains, only Seung-gil has both, brains and muscles,” of course, the devil himself had to arrive just right this moment.

“I see you finished your mission, Lee?” Michele kept his voice as stable as possible, but there was a certain level of relief. Like said before, he greatly respected the knight, plus the man had pulled some favours Michele never expected. Also, he still might have to ask for another favour- like to steal the missing person files.

“I returned home two days ago,” Seung-gil answered, gaze not even wandering over to Emil. “Came here to pick up the next mission.”

Michele offered the other knight a wry smile. “Good luck with that- I already declined, so you probably are out of luck.”

Seung-gil looked mildly surprised. “Oh, so I take that the rumours aren’t just rumours. The Forest Dragon disappeared?”

“Not sure,” Michele answered, trying not to look at Emil. “They are just whispers, whispers from a pretty reliable source.”

It was no surprise that Seung-gil caught on. “Bandits- well, if the dragon disappeared, it means that we should get started on getting rid of those bandits- they have been an annoyance for too long.”

With that, their conversation came to an end. Seung-gil offered Michele and Emil a polite nod. At least, that seemed to be his plan. But the knight froze on the spot when his gaze caught Emil’s, who smiled nervously back. Seung-gil was pretty unnerving, even for someone as preppy and happy as Emil.

“Have we… met before?” Seung-gil asked in puzzlement.

Emil looked equally puzzled, eyebrows pinched together slightly, nervously biting his lip. “I’m not sure- you look familiar, but I can’t place it,” Michele was so glad that Emil could act decently well, or at least play along.

“Maybe in Port City?” Michele added, hoping that he would throw off Seung-gil’s possible hunch. “There is where I met Emil, so maybe you met him there?”

Seung-gil still seemed sceptical, yet he appeared to be thrown off. “You don’t sound like you’re from Port City.”

“A good merchant can speak in more than just one dialect,” Emil quoted in a thick accent, something that probably just popped up in his mind. 

Thankfully, Seung-gil’s scepticism ultimately faltered. “A merchant’s son, of course, should have known. Have a good day.”

Seung-gil this time actually left, entering the room Michele just left.

“You know more, don’t you?” Emil questioned on their way out.

“He met you as, you know, when you were a dragon,” Michele whispered the last part. “But he’s pretty harmless. He’s was the reason I managed to sneak out those books.”

Emil grinned, any hesitation washed away like snow for the sun. “So he’s just like you, scary on the outside but a soft on the inside.”

He couldn’t believe he actually liked this guy. Did Emil seriously suggest that he and Seung-gil were actually quite alike? The two of them were nothing alike, at all. 

“I’m nothing like him,” Michele protest. All Emil was doing was laughing, alarming a few of passerby.

“Well, I think if you don't cut each other’s throat, the two of you actually could be great together,” Emil sounded way too genuine. There was no teasing, no jabbing, it was a genuine suggestion.

“Forget about that- but on another note, some memories returned, right?” Michele asked hopefully. How else did Emil know all these random things about Port City? Maybe Emil was actually a merchant’s son- it wouldn’t be too farfetched. He was easy to talk with, he was charming, had an engaging personality. Everything that made him an actual liking merchant.

“I think so,” Emil admitted. “I recall visiting Port City a lot in the past, sometimes together with my dad, sometimes with other people.”

Okay, Emil being a merchant’s son was the most plausible theory they had as of now. “Nothing else?” he asked almost hopeful. The faster Emil recalled his memories, the better.

“Not particularly, just that I used to travel a lot, I think,” Emil’s frown smoothed out, and he shook his head. “Can’t recall more- but if this happens each time I’m outside-”

“If it takes too long, I will ask Mila, she surely knows what to do,” Michele added, slightly afraid to bring Emil out more. Seeing how closely Seung-gil had been to recognise him, the rest of his friends would surely recognise Emil in a heartbeat. Not to mention that Mila had assured them it wouldn’t take too long for the leftovers of the curse to fade.

~*~

Without a doubt, Sara felt guilty for lying. On her day off, Mila had asked her if she could help out with the whole ‘how to lift Mickey’s boyfriend his curse’ situation. It seemed that Mickey had yet to tell Mila that the curse was already lifted, and it didn’t feel right to tell her friend that herself. After all, her brother had nearly pleaded not to tell anyone about it. Nevertheless, she agreed and tried to lie her way through Mila’s well-meant questions.

“Okay, I’m looking for a book with a red spine, golden letters and it’s about this big,” Mila held her thumb between two fingers. Great, so the book was small.

The library wasn’t exactly Sara’s favourite place, mainly because she didn’t have much time to sit down and read a good book, not to mention she only recently learnt how to read. Anyway, between school and work, there wasn’t just a lot of time.

Searching for a while, Sara triumphantly found the book Mila had been searching for. “Found it!” she happily shouted, earning a few hisses from other visitors. Right, this was a library, you had to be quiet.

Mila happily took the book from her, inspecting the cover. “I feel like I’m wasting my time a little, you know,” the redhead whispered as they sought a table to sit at. “I need the missing person files- but I just can’t get my hands on them.”

Sara honestly pitied her friend. Mila had been working her ass off, helping out Mickey, but she simply couldn’t get her hands on the files she desperately needed. Once they managed that, they surely would make great progress. Maybe not in finding out what exactly the curse was, as Emil was back to human form, but they at least could figure out the blond’s past.

Looking around to find a free table, Sara saw a familiar figure hunching over a few thick, almost ancient looking books. “This way,” Sara whispered, tugging Mila along. Guang Hong also knew about Emil, maybe he could give them a lead. If not, it was at least nice to have somebody else present that knew about the dragon. Ex-dragon. Whatever. It was isolating to only talk with Mila about it.

“Hey,” Sara happily greeted, plopping down in the seat opposite of Guang Hong. The brunet jumped up, slamming the book close in a hurry.

“Sara,” he squeaked, face flushed bright red. “Uhm, what are you doing here?”

Mila patted the book. “Research, just like you. Did Mickey ask you to look into things?”

The healer seemed to calm down when he realised that Sara and Mila were in the same boat as him. “Yes,” Guang Hong admitted. “A while ago, actually. But I have been procrastinating till, well…”

“It’s okay- we all have a life aside of my brother,” Sara reassured, drumming her fingers softly against the table top. “A thanks- for, you know, doing that, helping Mickey out with Emil.”

It seemed that Michele hadn’t bothered to update Mila on what had happened about four weeks ago. “I’m missing something, aren’t I?” the redhead asked, looking slightly annoyed.

“Well, yes, about three, maybe four weeks ago, Emil was injured by wolves- Mickey basically had dragged this poor soul to the cave to fix him up,” Sara gestured to Guang Hong, who once again grew flustered.

Mila let out an ‘oh’ sound and thankfully, didn’t bother to delve deeper into the subject. “So, Mickey also roped you in to figure things out. Got any leads?”

Sara was surprised when Guang Hong actually nodded. The brunet carefully opens the book again, flickering through the pages till he found the one where he was reading. “Well, Mickey gave me a jar of ointment,” Guang Hong explained, taking out a small jar from his bag. “He had found it in Emil’s cave and said he had used it for his own injury,” the healer wrinkled his nose. “I never had seen a scar heal so well, so I guessed this stuff must be somewhat rare.”

“Let me guess,” Mila grinned. “It’s rare.”

“Very,” Guang Hong confirmed. “Well, more like it’s costly. Mainly used by the wealthy, like, duke level of rich. Plus, by the looks of it, it’s probably eleven years old, which makes no sense at all unless…”

“Emil has been cursed for a solid ten years by now,” Mila pointed out, and Sara saw the guilt on her face. It seemed that Mickey had forgotten to inform others about his newer discoveries. “Which means that the five years, seven tops, were wrong.”

Guang Hong nodded enthusiastically. “Now if I could get my hands on the missing person files- I could figure out who fits the picture.”

All the thrill of a new discovery evaporated. “Good luck with that,” Mila said soberly. “Have been trying for months, can’t get my hands on them for whatever reason.”

Before Guang Hong could respond to that, not that there was much to answer to, someone sat down next to the brunet, dropping a heavy bag on the table. “Missing person files, ranging from five years till fifteen years ago.”

Three sets of eyes, Sara’s included, move to the newcomer. The last person she had expected to sit down next to the healer was Seung-gil Lee, their old neighbour and a knight in Mickey’s guild. 

“How did you get these,” Mila asked perplexed, staring at the bag as if she could see the content. “I have been trying to borrow them for months.”

A small smile twitched on Seung-gil’s lips. “I borrowed them,” he explained. “Without permission.”

She didn’t saw that coming. “Wait, what?” Sara questioned, gaping at her ex-neighbour. “You stole them,” she added in a hiss.

“Well yes,” Seung-gil hissed back, glaring at her. “How else was I going to get them? Unless you’re their lapdog, you won’t get them.”

Sara knew perfectly well that Seung-gil added ‘and I’m definitely not some lapdog.’ After all, the knight was stubborn and strong-willed. To get him to listen would take quite a bit of effort, unless you apparently are Michele.

“Okay- aside from how you acquired them, why are you helping us?” Mila questioned, lips pressed together in a thin line. “I assume Mickey didn’t ask you to help?”

“Listen, I just wants to know, I don’t care about fame, money or anything else, I just,” the knight run a hand through his hair. “I knew that Crispino,” Sara raised an amused eyebrow. “Michele knew more. I never knew how much more till, well, last week.”

Sara felt chills run down her spine. Mickey had mentioned they had run into Seung-gil, and that Emil had looked familiar to Seung-gil, but she hadn’t expected that the knight would put two and two together, though it was more like some overly complicated math problem nobody could solve. “You know?” she asked, voice shaking slightly.

“Those eyes hard to forget, I met him once, the dragon, back in the forest,” Seung-gil, once again, ran his hand through his hair again, and Sara realised that it was a habit, the man was nervous. “I fled as soon as I saw his eyes- too human-like. It wasn’t hard to recognise them even if they belonged to a human instead of a dragon.”

Both Guang Hong and Mila shared confused looks, who also were thrown in both Sara’s and Seung-gil’s expression. “The curse is lifted,” Sara admitted weakly. “A week or two, maybe three, ago I think, maybe a little less. I promised not to tell anyone but-”

“Then why are we still trying?” Mila questioned, her face set with annoyance. “I have been working my ass off to lift a curse that’s already been lifted!”

Thankfully, Guang Hong took a calmer and careful approach. “Why didn’t Mickey tell us?”

Seung-gil shrugged, probably knowing was much as Guang Hong, and Mila was still quietly fuming. However, Sara knew. Or at least had a hunch why Michele was so… hesitant.

“He’s afraid of losing Emil,” Sara answered, feeling all the gazes turn to her. “Both of them suspect that there is some magic left, which Mila had warned them for- as Emil struggles with recalling his past, and Mickey fears that once Emil recalls everything, he will leave him and find his family again. He-”

“He is in love Emil!” Mila exclaimed. “Oh god- that’s so cute.”

Seung-gil blinked slowly. “Wait, did you say Emil?”

Mila looked surprised but nodded.

“When did he disappear?” Seung-gil questioned, already rummaging through the bag with missing person files. “I doubt it was five years ago, was it?”

“Ten years,” Guang Hong answered. At first, Sara wanted to scold him for giving away all their research. Though, she soon realised that without Seung-gil, they wouldn’t get anywhere.

Seung-gil hummed and took out the files from ten-years-ago. “Are there any other criteria, like age, background, family members? We know that he has blue eyes and is a brunet.”

“Actually, he’s a blond,” Sara supplied. “We dyed his hair to make him less… noticeable? Blonds are pretty rare around here.”

“Wealthy background,” Guang Hong added, holding up the jar with ointment. “I assume he had this with him when he… disappeared.”

With an almost triumphant smirk, Seung-gil flipped through the pages, eventually coming to rest somewhere in the middle of the book. It happened around summer, after all. At least that was their guess.

“Blond, blue eyes, about six-foot-tall, disappeared in our beloved forest. The rest of the crew was found dead, killed by magic,” Seung-gil knew who Emil was- he knew even before he had touched the book. “Emil Nekola, younger brother of our beloved queen. He disappeared ten years ago and was presumed dead.”

Suddenly, Emil being a merchant’s son seemed more appealing. Emil being the prince was, well, difficult. Knights and merchants could perfectly well mix, there was no issue with that. A knight and a prince… not very likely.

“Mickey isn’t going to like that,” Sara mumbled, eyes racking of the missing person file. There was no denying that Emil exactly fitted the description, including the fact he had an older sister, the queen, a father and mother and had spent a lot of time in Port City, picking up the dialect. As the second in line, Emil was surely raised as more of a political figure than an actual king, as the crown would be passed down to his sister.

“Still, aside from the fact that Mickey is hopelessly in love with the lost prince,” Mila seemed almost gleeful, on the other hand, annoying Mickey was fun to some extent. “I might not know a lot about our little prince over here, I was like ten, maybe eleven years old when that happened,” Sara had almost forgotten that Mila was at least four years younger than her. “But he didn’t seem to be a bad guy.”

“He wasn’t,” Sara recalled. She was fifteen at the time, which made it all a lot easier to remember. Plus, she thought the young prince had been rather dashing looking- he still does, but it didn’t make her heart swoon anymore. “As far as I recall, he was well loved by nearly everyone. No real enemies, no political wars. Nothing.”

“Maybe he turned down an engagement?” Guang Hong added nervously. “I could imagine that could piss some people off.”

Mila hummed in agreement. “Yes- that could be a reason. But Emil was just a prince, not the crown prince, or princess in our case. Marrying Emil would have little benefits. On the other hand, marrying his sister…”

A memory tugged her mind, and suddenly, everything fell into place. Her mum had told her rumours about that, about that a man of great wealth had asked the current queen her hand in marriage. She refused, there was a fight and-

“I think I know what happened to Emil,” Sara said slowly. “He wasn’t personally punished; he was just the tool to cause the most harm to the original victim. His sister. Emil and his sister were very close to one-another, and losing her brother must have been one of the most terrible punishments she could’ve faced, worse than losing her crown or marrying some creep. She lost her closest thing to home.”

~*~

Life was a strange thing. First, Michele’s life had been pretty average, well, at least before that faithful moment. Now his life was far from average. Emil’s presence alone was enough to make it interesting, a bit weird, but the brunet had expected that this was the strangest part of his life. Nothing could top meeting Emil. At least, that’s what he had thought before he opened the door of their apartment, expecting Sara to be home earlier than planned.

What he hadn’t expected was an almost kind looking Seung-gil standing on his doorstep, looking slightly uncomfortable.

“What are you doing here?” Michele questioned, there was no bite behind his words. He wasn’t in the mood to bicker with Seung-gil, Emil alone was already enough to completely drain Michele’s energy. Between the unwanted feelings, Emil’s memory loss that hadn’t changed since last week and the fact Emil didn’t like to be holed up in the house.

“You look dead,” Seung-gil pointed out, but like with Michele, there was no bite behind his words. “I expected you to be happier to see me.”

Michele threw Seung-gil a deadpanned expression. “You’re kidding me, right?” he questioned, clearly showing his disbelief. “I’m surprised you haven’t even complained to me for ruining your mission by declining.”

“It gave me time to think.”

Seung-gil and thinking were two things Michele didn’t like together. The knight was smart, not in a sly, sneaky way, he just had a good set of brains that could absorb information that most people couldn’t even comprehend, not to mention remember.

“And now what? You want money to cover your expenses?” he desperately hoped the answer was no. Michele hadn’t earned a single penny in the last month-or-so. Partly because of the heat-wave, partly because of, well… Emil. Even with having some money saved, set aside, Michele wasn’t sure if it was enough to cover an entire assignment, especially the important one they had been assigned to.

Seung-gil shook his head. “No, I have news for you,” the knight’s eyes flickered, gaze moving from Michele to the apartment behind him. “We found out who Emil is, full name, family, background, the whole thing.”

For a brief moment, all Michele could do was stare. Was Seung-gil pulling his leg? He must be, Michele hadn’t given him any information, at all. “What do you mean, we,” he hissed, narrowing his eyes at his fellow knight.

“Your sister, Babicheva and Ji- they needed the missing person files, I provided. That’s all my involvement,” Seung-gil didn’t seem to be lying, but that didn’t mean he was happy about it.

“Say I trust you,” which he didn’t. “Why are you standing at my door and not, like, Mila or my sister?”

Seung-gil’s face grew slightly sour, nose scrunched up in annoyance. “I drew the shortest straw,” he answered curtly, glaring at Michele as if trying to shut him up.

“Sucks to be you- now, what are you going to tell me? What happened or are you just the ‘announcer’ that you figured things out,” he should be happy about this, Emil finally could home, hug his family, return to his own world. That was also the issue.

Michele wasn’t stupid. Emil was a caring person, not only for strangers or his friends but also his family. The blond probably had missed his family greatly, and he evidently wanted to be with them instead of being stuck with Michele and Sara in a cramped apartment. In the end, Emil would forget about him, and maybe they would never see each other again. Michele expected that it would be easy for Emil to move on, to fit back into his life like a lost puzzle piece. Emil probably wouldn’t look back and would lose very little. Michele, however, would lose everything. The bright smiles, the exaggerated yet genuine emotions. He would miss Emil, so badly, because without realising it, his life suddenly had started to turn around Emil. Emil had become his world, while certainly, he wasn’t Emil’s world.

Emil was the first person he saw in the morning and the last person he saw before going to bed. They ate breakfast together, went shopping together. They even went as far as doing chores together, like the laundry, the dishes, and even cleaning. People liked Emil, which wasn’t surprising, Emil was very likeable. The lady next doors almost adopted Emil, the lady downstairs fought for that right. Emil easily fitted in people’s their lives, even Michele’s boring, somewhat difficult one. But that also meant the blond easily could move on and settle down somewhere else.

“While I rather not say this- I’m not the person for sentiment,” Seung-gil pulled a sour face. “Your sister told me you should have more faith in yourself,” the knight’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Emil probably cares more about you then you realise- and if not, he doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy that would just leave without pardon. But those are Sara’s words, not mine.”

As if nothing happened, Seung-gil pulled his face into his default poke-face, the only thing that looked off was the faint blush on his cheeks. “Could you fetch Emil for me? I’m sure his family is ecstatic to see him.”

There wasn’t much he could do. Michele desperately wished that Seung-gil would evaporate right here and now. He would just remain ignorant and not tell Emil what the newest foundlings were, whatever they were. Maybe he could have Emil by his side for a day-or-so longer. But he couldn’t do that- Emil had all the right to know. Despite keeping strong, a bright smile on his face, Michele knew that Emil wanted to know, know who his family was, the lost memories.

“One question, then I’ll fetch Emil,” Seung-gil thankfully nodded curtly. “How did you know that Emil was the... you know,” Michele threw his hands up in the air.

“The eyes,” Seung-gil answered triumphantly. “Plus I knew you knew more, but I let it rest. I just helped behind the scenes, out of curiosity of course, and the fact that you’re one of the few respectable knights in the guild,” as soon as he spoke the words, Seung-gil seemed to regret them. “Though, I’ll deny ever saying that. Consider it out of pure curiosity.”

Of course, it was the eyes. Seung-gil had often mentioned that the eyes were the most recognisable feature of the dragon. Not its claws, or scales or the unfitting ears. It was always the eyes, and, in all honestly, this feature was easily one of the most mesmerising features Emil had. Without a doubt Michele could drown in them, especially considering how expressive Emil’s eyes were. The smallest emotions were visible in the endless deep blue. Well, deep blue wasn’t exactly right, Emil’s eyes weren’t the same colour as the blue sky or the ocean, it wasn’t the colour people waxed poetry about. But maybe that’s why Michele liked them more because they weren’t unrealistic gorgeous, they were real, and foremost, they were Emil. If someone had to recognise Emil from one physical trait, it was the eyes.

 Accepting defeat, realising that if he kept thinking about Emil like that, he was the one waxing poetry about beautiful blue eyes, Michele gave Seung-gil a nod. Fine, they were going to see Emil’s family and hopefully, Emil would be happy. That would give him some closure, as all Michele had wanted was that Emil could get his happy ending when he started the whole thing. Only now he wanted to be included in that happy ending himself.

~*~

To his annoyance, Seung-gil kept quiet during the majority of their trip. They were heading towards the castle, Michele knew the route by heart, but it made him question who would be waiting there for them, for Emil. By now he had figured that Emil had a somewhat wealthy background, considering that the blond had been in Port City enough times to pick up the dialect and knew how to read and write. But merchants rarely stayed in the castle, most of them either stayed with their family, or the travelling ones stayed in one of the many taverns the city had to offer. The castle was usually saved for either really important merchants or politicians. Which also opened the option that Emil might be the son of some kind of politician, which would be a lot of fun. Not.

Entering the palace wasn’t much of an issue. A few guards offered them a quick nod, eyeing Emil with slight curiosity, but none made an effort to stop them. But the further they headed in the castle, the more issues they ran across. Guards giving them a raised eyebrow, there whispers amongst the men, a few staff members giving them a double take. Michele was pretty sure this part was off limits to knights, but Seung-gil just kept on going, not showing any signs of hesitation.

“Are you certain that we're allowed to be here?” Emil questioned as another staff member started at them with knitted eyebrows and a tight-lipped smile.

“I think we aren’t,” Michele admitted, leaning closer to Emil and keeping a hand close to his sword. If this were a trap, he wouldn’t be captured without kicking or screaming.

Emil, who didn’t seem assured at all, grabbed Michele’s unoccupied hand. “Just to be safe,” the blond murmured, face flustered slightly. That was, however, nothing compared to how hot Michele’s own face had become. Didn’t Emil realise that holding hands wasn’t something friends did, especially not male friends? Probably not- Emil was much more affectionate than Michele was, or probably would ever be.

It was on the third floor when things were truly odd. For starters, they hadn’t run into a guard for, like, five minutes or so. They were mainly surrounded by servants, who were too busy with their own things to even glance at the three newcomers. How they even made it this far was beyond Michele, surely a guard would have stopped them, after all, because now they definitely had entered forbidden territory.

“Seung-gil, I don’t think we should continue,” Michele hissed, tapping the knight on the shoulder. “Can’t we just send a request to see Emil’s family? It would be easier, plus the risk of ending up in the dungeons are, well, slimmer.”

The knight looked back, a glare on his face. “If it were that easy, I would have done it- but if I can’t get my hand on something as simple as missing person files, I definitely can’t arrange a meeting with Emil’s family. You have no idea how many favours I pulled to even get this far.”

A lot, probably. It seemed that people owned Seung-gil many favours.

“Then who’s his family?” Michele snapped. This was getting out of hand. Who in heaven's name was Emil’s family if a meeting was not doable?

Seung-gil was about to respond when a small figure dived from around the corner, coming to a halt in front of them. It was a young girl, maybe five years old, six tops. She had strawberry-blond hair and a freckled nose, which was paired with a brilliant bright smile.

“Oh wow,” she breathed, looking up at Seung-gil with amazement. “You’re pretty,” she said boldly, her grin not even wavering. “And you too, sir,” she added happily, now looking up at Michele.

Her eyes shined as bright as her smile, excitement and happiness pooling in a familiar shade of blue. She had exactly the same eyes as Emil. What if Emil had a kid? They didn’t know anything about Emil’s life beforehand, so maybe he had been married and had a child before he disappeared. But that would’ve meant the kid must be around ten years old, which she definitely wasn’t. Maybe it was just coincidence, blue eyes weren’t some that were exclusive to Emil after all.

“And I’m not pretty?” Emil teased, crouching down, so he was about the girl’s height.

Her pale skin easily grew flustered, a shy smile on her face. “Yuck,” she said, sticking out her tongue and scrunching her nose. “You could almost be my uncle, no thank you.”

Michele knew she was teasing, but it did send a wave of excitement down his spine. Maybe Emil was actually her uncle. After all, Emil recalled he and his sister looked an awful lot alike so it wouldn’t be weird if his sister’s daughter looked a lot like Emil, which she kind of did.

“Thank kind of hurt, little lady,” Emil teased, ruffling the girl’s hair. “So, does lady ‘you could be my uncle’ also has a name?”

“Emilie!” the girl exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together. “Named after my actual uncle,” her smile faltered slightly. “He passed away before I was even born, mum said I would like him a lot, but it’s okay,” the familiar, bright smile returned. “I never met him, so there isn’t anything to miss. What’s your name sir?”

Emil seemed to be stunned for a while, eyes blown huge in surprise and Michele understood why. Her uncle was dead, and she was named after her dead uncle. Also, her uncle must have passed away before she was born, so at least ten years ago.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Emilie,” Emil said slowly, shaking her outstretched hand. “I must say, I like your name.”

The girl looked confused, cocking her head slightly. “Why?” she questioned.

When Emil just laughed, the girl looked up at Michele, eyebrow pinched together. “Why does he likes my name, sir?”

Unable to contain a smile, Michele crouched down next to Emil. “Because his name is Emil.”

Before the girl could comment, a young, tired-looking lady rounded the corner. Unlike Emilie, she was completely out of breath, her face resembling the colour of a tomato. “Princess,” the woman hissed, sweeping a guiltily looking Emilie of her feet. “What did I told you about annoying guests?”

“That guests should be left alone,” Emilie grumbled, but Michele was no longer paying attention. Princess. She was the first daughter of their queen. Which meant, if Emil was actually the girl’s uncle, which seemed quite likely, that meant…

“Sorry that she bothered you, sirs,” the nursemaid apologised once Emil and Michele stood full height again. “She’s a bit energetic, got that from her uncle apparently.”

“It’s fine,” Seung-gil waved off, offering the maiden a surprisingly charming smile. “Emil is good with kids, so she was no issue, at all.”

First, the nursemaid looked at him, but Michele smiled apologetically and gestured to Emil. “This guy is good with kids,” he said. “Apparently,” it wasn’t much of a surprise though. Was there anything Emil was bad at?

“He looks a lot like the painting of Uncle Emil, doesn’t he?” Emilie asked cheerfully.

The nursemaid sighed, shaking her head. “Emilie, dear. Your uncle passed away ten years ago- if he were still alive, he would be thirty-one.”

Emilie looked severely disappointed, and after a slew of apologies, the nursemaid escorted the pouting princess away.

“Are you telling me,” Michele asked slowly, turning towards an astonished looking Emil. “You’re the Emil Nekola, the little brother of the queen?”

Emil, looking paler than a ghost, let out a shaking sigh. “I think so?” he asked, voice shaking. “I mean-”

“Yes,” Seung-gil was smirking slightly. “You’re the presumed death prince Emil Nekola, you were the only person fitting the picture, the name, the appearance, the money.”

Michele and Emil shared a confused look. “Money?” Michele questioned. “There wasn’t any money in Emil’s cave, at all, and I doubt bandits stole it.”

“This,” Seung-gil said, tossing Michele a familiar jar of ointment. “Is something people with money can afford.”

He did recognise the jar. He had taken it from Emil’s cave after the first visit, as he had considered it as a possible lead. Plus, it had seemed handy. But he had all forgotten about it after giving it to Guang Hong.

“It’s from your cave,” Michele whispered, pressing the jar in Emil’s hand. “Do you recognise it?”

Emil nodded slowly, fingers gently brushing the faded letters on the label. “My sister always gave this to me if I went travelling,” Emil’s voice was uncharacteristically small, probably trying to understand what was going on. “I guess I had it with me before, well, that happened.”

“Well, that answers that question,” Seung-gil looked slightly impatient. “Ready to reunite with your family?”

Emil shot Michele an unsure look. “I-” he mumbled, fidgeting with the jar.

“Go,” Michele whispered. “Then we finally can give you your fairy tale ending.”

~*~

“Why didn’t you just tell Emil who he was?” Michele grumbled, glaring at Seung-gil. They had managed, partly thanks to Emilie, to get Emil to meet the queen, his sister apparently. Maybe they weren’t related, at all, but with all the signs pointing to the fact he was prince Emil, the chance was slim.

“Because we would never have gotten a chance,” Seung-gil answered as if it was the most logical thing in the world. “Listen- the reason they didn’t stop us from roaming the castle was that I pulled some favours here and there, remember?”

Michele wondered how Seung-gil managed to pull that many favours. On the other hand, he had a feeling that a lot of people were in debt with the knight, Michele included. Maybe it was for the best not to question it too much- Seung-gil was a dangerous force to work with, not to mention against. If someone could single-handedly overthrow a kingdom, Michele would put his money on Seung-gil.

“Plus, Emil isn’t the first one claiming he’s the lost prince,” Seung-gil explained, sounding exhausted. The knight probably talked way more than he liked- and probably regretting pulling the shortest straw. Things would’ve been so much easier if Guang Hong explained everything. “Everyone wants to become a prince, the money, the fame, the girls.”

Pulling a face- Michele almost burst out in laughing as he saw Seung-gil copying him. He had forgotten that Seung-gil wasn’t particularly… fond of women. Definitely in a romantic sense.

“I see,” Michele answered, willing away an amused smile. “And by not telling anyone, you gave people the opportunity to lay the link themselves. The fact even the princess thought Emil looked a lot like her uncle was more validating then Emil proclaiming he was the long lost prince.”

“Exactly,” Seung-gil nodded approvingly. “Eventually, you’ll get there, Crispino,” the knight added, a faint sneer tracing his features. And they were back to their old selves, which felt more right then the awkward friendship-like relationship they had for the past hour or two.

“And, are you going to tell me the details about how Emil ended up cursed or didn’t you guys get that far?” he doubted that Seung-gil didn’t know. The fact they had figured out who Emil was probably made it a lot easier.

“Easy, big sister was asked for her hand in marriage. She says no, the prince is angry, plots revenge and hit the sister where it hurts the most. Her precious little brother,” Seung-gil explained, literally reducing a page-long story into three sentences.

Vaguely, Michele recalled the stories his mum had told. Or, better said, rumours. Rumours about a declined marriage, a threat and suddenly, a year later, the disappearance of the prince, the rest of his crew found dead. “Okay- and how was the curse lifted?” in all honestly, Michele hadn’t expected an actual answer. It wasn’t that interesting, especially considering that the caster was dead and Emil’s memories had fully returned.

“Well,” Seung-gil almost looked amused. “The curse was love-based, according to Babicheva.”

That made sense. Considering that the prince was angry about a declined propose, using a love-based curse made sense. Though, as far as he recalled, there were many love-based cursed. In fairy tales alone there was quite the list, true love kiss, kiss of a princess, true love. There were plenty more, considering that the curse could result in all kind of different circumstance, eternal slumber, becoming mute, turning into a monster.

“That isn’t saying a lot,” Michele mumbled. “Wasn’t she move concrete about it, or was that all.”

There was what best could be described as an ‘evil glint’ in Seung-gil’s eyes. “La Belle et la Bête,” the knight said in a choppy accent. “That’s all that she said.”

Michele was convinced that Seung-gil knew what the story was, how it ended. How true love turned the cursed beast back into a prince. Which also meant that Mila was convinced that true love lifted Emil’s curse. While hoping, hoping desperately that someone else lifted the curse, Michele knew almost for sure that he was the one who lifted the curse. After all, he had even admitted to himself, he was in love with Emil. Not that it mattered much, with Emil being a prince and all. A prince and a commoner didn’t mix. Maybe in the fairy tales, but life wasn’t a fairytale.

Feeling ill, Michele decided that he just wanted to leave. It wouldn’t matter much if Emil said his goodbyes once he was done with reuniting with his family or later. Actually, later was easier because Emil might just forget about him and move on with his life, living the happily ever after Michele had promised him. Why did he have to fall for Emil? Being friends would make so much easier.

He knew the answer to that question. If he hadn’t fallen for Emil, the blond would still be a dragon, so there was that. So, it was either someone else had fallen for Emil or he himself, so there wasn’t much choice left.

“I- uhm, I’m heading home,” Michele murmured. “Dinner.”

It was a lame excuse, but Seung-gil didn’t protest at all. Actually, the knight looked somewhat sympathetic, like he had a faint idea what kind of demons were plaguing him.

“I’ll tell Emil,” Seung-gil said curtly, offering Michele a polite nod.

He honestly didn’t want to see Emil, because it meant farewell, but he couldn’t run forever. “Thanks,” Michele offered his not-a-friend-but-neither-his-enemy a small, grateful smile.

~*~

“Hammer?” Leo asked, holding out his hand. Familiar with their work pattern, Michele picked up the hammer and gave it to the carpenter.

For whatever reason, Michele always had found it very therapeutic to sit in Leo’s workshop. The smell of wood probably did it for him, explaining why he had enjoyed his stay in Emil’s cave so much.

“So, what’s it this time? Sara?” Leo questioned, slamming a nail into the wood with ease. “You only come here when you’re distressed.”

Wrinkling his nose, Michele let out a deep sigh. “How do you two do it?” he questioned as he handed Leo a piece of wood with a hastily scrawled number on it. “Living with each other despite not acting on your feelings.”

“Suffer,” Leo mumbled, measuring the wood. “We have little choice- Guang Hong struggles already with his job, being one of the very few males within the craft. A husband would to more harm then wanted. Also, you know who are the majority of my customers.”

Young, single women who enjoyed nothing more than ogle at Leo’s muscles. Thankfully, while being clearing into men, Leo never had been his type. Otherwise, things would’ve been very awkward for the two of them.

“So, I guess this is boys troubles? You know that I’m terrible with love advice-” Leo paused briefly, frowning at the board he was cutting. “I’m terrible with advice in general, let’s keep it at that.”

Leo wasn’t terrible at giving advice. He wasn’t the greatest either, but the brunet was a good listener and wasn’t as easily flustered as his housemate, who got flustered by the drop of the word ‘love’. Maybe that’s why the two were so grossly in love with each other or at least could get along very well.

“Well, yes, I know that, but you’re the only one I dare to talk with. Guang Hong, Sara and Mila already know, JJ is… well, he’s JJ and Isabella is somewhat scary because of her hormones,” Michele summed up, growing rapidly flustered. Sara knew about his stupid crush on Emil, heck, even Guang Hong knew. The brunet was probably traumatised for the rest of his life. After all, Michele sort of had been crushing on a dragon… that sounded wrong in so many levels.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about Isabella’s pregnancy,” Leo threw his project a dead look. “I still have to figure out a present for them. You know them better, any suggestions?”

Michele threw his friend a deadpanned look. “I’m clueless. A crib? Maybe some toys? A mini bathtub?”

Leo blinked, a contented smile appearing on his lips. “I’ll save the idea for a bath for later,” he said, sounding relieved. “But, boy troubles. Finally found someone you actually like and is, well, into men?” Leo asked cheekily, probably expecting a no. It wasn’t the first time this topic was discussed between the two.

“Yes,” Michele answered, seeing the world end slowly.

“What!” the wood snapped with a loud crack. With a soft thud, one of the two, obviously not well cut pieces fell on the ground. “You’re serious?” the disbelief in Leo’s voice was strong.

Soberly, Michele nodded. Yes, he was serious. It was fairly obvious he liked Emil- love always had seemed a bit farfetched, but still plausible. But true love was just, too much. It was confusing, especially considering the fact that Emil would never return his feelings. In all honestly, even if he did their backgrounds were too different, a prince and a commoner didn’t work.

“Who?”

Michele forced a wry smile on his face. “Emil.”

The brunet hummed, picking up the splintered piece of wood. “Emil. Yeah, that’s really ringing bells.”

The sarcasm in Leo’s voice was sharp. “Leo, I only know one Emil. You met him like three weeks ago.”

“Oh,” was all that escaped Leo’s parted lips. “That Emil. So, you’re having a crush on a dragon?”

Michele rolled his eyes. “Crush isn’t precisely the… right term to use for my feelings.”

“Then what? Interest?” Leo suggested, inspecting the wood to see if it still was usable.

Pulling a thinking face, Michele shook his head. “I fear I have to say that’s love.”

With a loud thud, the wood fell on the ground again. “Love?” Leo croaked. “You’re in love with a dragon?”

“Well, technically, Emil is human again,” Michele pointed out. “Forgot to mention that.”

Leo’s expression changed from ‘oh god’ to ‘thank god’ in a fraction of a second. “You gave me a near heart attack here,” the brunet said slowly, carefully patting his chest.

“I also forgot to mention that Emil is, apparently, the lost prince,” Michele pulled a sour face, still not liking the way it tasted on his lips. He would have been happy with everything, except anything that was completely out of his league. Like a prince or a politician's son. Of course, it had to be one of the two.

“I don’t envy your love life,” Leo admitted, sending him a genuinely sorry expression. “And I thought my romantic life was difficult.”

“Yours is perfectly difficult- with me it's just being unlucky, I guess, I mean, the only thing that stops us is that Emil doesn’t return my feelings, probably, and is a prince,” well, he wasn’t entirely unfortunate, at least Emil was into men.

For the first time as of knowing the carpenter, Leo actually stopped working all-together, sitting down opposite of Michele. “You know- in all honestly, I don’t know Emil,” Leo admitted, fiddling with a piece of wood. “But he seems to be nice, and he probably genuinely cares about you, hearing your stories. So, maybe you should tell him about your feelings. If he decided that a relationship wouldn’t work out, he surely would let you down gently. You get your closure and hopefully, can move on, become friends, but if he reruns your feelings…”

The next words were unspoken, but Michele knew what Leo was going to add. You both can be happy. Michele would also get his fairy tale ending, how sappy it sounded. But the chances that Emil would ever return his feelings was slim- he wasn’t particularly likeable, and the city has so much more to offer. Why would one want to be stuck with him for all people? Nearly everyone was more likeable than him and, foremost, they were better off financially.

“I wish it were that easy- I doubt he returns my feelings like that,” way to be optimistic.

Leo offered him a rare, actually soft smile. “Life isn’t easy, but that makes in interesting. Life without a challenge isn’t very exciting to live.”

“Do you also say that about your relationship with Guang Hong?” Michele asked bitterly. “Because I don’t see that work out well.”

It seemed that Leo had been prepared for that question. “It makes every second even more worth it,” the love was almost sickeningly sweet- but in the end, Leo had a point. “Love isn't loving without its hardships, but you never can start tackling those difficulties without sharing your love in the first place. It’s a struggle for us, but the few moments we have together are worth it. It’s easy to love your best friend because barely anything changes. It isn’t awkward, it isn’t all new. Maybe your friendship with Emil isn’t as strong as others, but the two of you aren’t complete strangers.”

“Still…” it was true they were friends, no doubt about that. But it still felt wrong. What if Emil felt forced into a relationship with him because he broke the curse? The stories never said that the feelings were returned- just that one side loved the other.

“Okay- remember that JJ came knocking at your door, when you were still training him, stressed out because suddenly, he had these weird feelings for his best friend,” of course Michele remembered that. JJ had been a knight-in-training back then, under his wing.

“Of course I do,” Michele smiled at the memory. “My parents weren’t home- so Sara invited all our friends over to play cards all night, JJ wasn’t exactly our friend back then so I wasn’t expecting him.”

Leo hummed approvingly. “Yes, and remember what you told him when he spilled his worries?”

Michele froze when he recalled his own words. Great, Leo was using his own advice against him. “Hold her tightly and never let go,” he whispered softly. “After all those years, she’s still your friend, best friend. It would be sad if she says no, but it would be even more heartbreaking if the two of you could be something but because you kept quiet, she eventually found someone else. The possible heartbreak is worth the chance of eternal happiness.”

“Well, that’s my advice,” Leo smiled. “The possible heartbreak is worth the chance of eternal happiness, and maybe, in two years you’ll be married.”

He should have never given that advice- on the other hand, JJ and Isabella might never have gotten together.

~*~

Michele was glad that Sara wasn’t home yet. Mila had dragged her off somewhere around nine in the morning, and the two of them had yet to return. Usually, he wouldn’t be happy about that, but as of now, he wanted to be alone.

Maybe you should tell him about your feelings.

Yes, as if he wanted that. If he and Emil would never see each other after today, which was very likely, their friendship should at least end on a happy note. Not with tears, a broken heart and a guilty feeling Emil. Though, on the other hand…

The possible heartbreak is worth the chance of eternal happiness.

Curling up on the couch, Michele snuggled into his blanket, ignoring the fact that Emil’s scent still lingered. He was going to mope around till Sara returned home, would drag his ass off the couch and cook up some shitty dinner. Hopefully, Emil would spare him the heartbreak and don’t show up. That would be pretty neat actually.

~*~

A loud knocking on the door jolted Michele awake. He couldn’t believe he had fallen asleep on the couch like some moody teenager- though that was exactly how he felt. It probably was just Sara who had forgotten her key.

Untangling himself from the blanket, Michele walked over to the door and opened it, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with his free hand. Blinking slowly, Michele realised he was staring straight into a pair of blue eyes on eye-level. That wasn’t Mila, that was Emil.

“Emil,” Michele squeaked, face growing rapidly flustered. He should have expected Emil to come by, the guy was way too kind hearted to just forget all about him. But that didn’t make it any easier.

The blond- now actually blond again after a thorough washing- was staring right back, face slightly puzzled. “Seung-gil said you already headed home,” Emil said, sounding like his usual chipper self. “Not feeling well?”

“Well, yes,” that wasn’t even a lie, he felt ill, but not because of a stomach ache. “So, you’re here for your stuff, right?”

Emil looked downright confused, eyebrows slightly pinched together. “What do you mean?”

“You’re returning home, right?” Michele said, trying to keep his voice controlled. “I mean, I assume this is goodbye, maybe even farewell.”

“What do you mean, farewell?” Emil sounded hurt and genuinely confused. “You want me gone?” that cut deeply.

“Of course not, but you have a family to return to, right? Why would you stay here?” this time his voice cracked, panic seeping between the words.

Emil shook his head, eyes set in determination. “They believed me- and I’m happy I remember who I am, but-” a sad smile painted Emil’s face. Sadness didn’t suit him. “I actually wanted to use this as an opportunity to start over again. Not being prince Emil but just Emil, that tall, dorky guy that is too nice for his own good.”

He did not understand. Michele honestly couldn’t add two plus two together. Was Emil insane? Did the blond actually want to give up a life of wealth, luxury and good health for life as a commoner, a commoner who ate stale food most of the time, had to work six days a week and usually were known for living short, not very fulfilling lives.

“You’re an idiot,” Michele said curtly, glaring at the other man. “Why would you give up something like that? You have a sister; you have a cousin. You’re just leaving them behind like that. They’re your world, you aren’t-”

Emil snapped. “What do you know about my world,” the blond looked furious. “You don’t get it- this is my chance to live an actually happy life. I’m no king, no politician. I never belonged to that world. It was that I was born to the royal family, which made it kind of my world. But I didn’t fit in. And after living a forest for ten years, do you really think I want to return to that. An unfulfilled life with duties that bore me, people I don’t care about trying to win favours and arranged marriages between women I could never love. Really, Mickey? You think I want to go back to that?”

No. He understood. That was a very unfulfilled life for someone like Emil. The blond was someone who strives on human interaction, equal interaction, none of them was lesser than the other. Emil was charming in a polite way; he would be the kind of guy your grandmother wanted you to come home with. Next to charming Emil was kind, far from as cunning and cut-through as other people of power Michele had met in the past. Never, for a second of knowing Emil, had Michele penned him for a prince.

“Still,” he voice was shaking- he hadn’t expected Emil’s outburst, at all. “Why not ask if you could lose the title, fewer responsibilities, maybe you could be there as an adviser, or someone who takes care of Emilie, you’re good with kids.”

Emil threw him a look of disbelief. “Mickey… do you really want me gone that badly?”

“Yes. No, I-” he wanted Emil to be gone so that he never had to confess his feelings. But he also didn’t want to lose Emil, it was almost worth burying his feelings deep inside of himself. “Just go, please,” he was on the verge of tears, great. If Emil didn’t leave soon, he probably would start to cry.

“No,” Emil answered firmly. “Listen, if you want me gone, that’s okay. But surely Sara wouldn’t kick me out. Also, good luck with driving me away, I doubt there is anything you can say that makes me leave.”

Stupid Emil. Stupidly good willed Emil. “You don’t understand, the sole reason you’re standing here is because of me,” hastily rubbing the tears away, Michele forced himself to meet Emil’s gaze. “I lifted that curse, I’m the sole reason you’re human again and-”

A sob broke his ramble. Fuck, now he was actually crying. “I’m so sorry,” Michele sobbed. “For breaking the curse and all- I tried not to but-”

Emil would hate him. Hate him from falling in love with him. After all, who wanted to have some lame excuse of a knight falling for them. Michele had nothing to offer, especially to someone as amazing as Emil.

The blond seemed to be startled by Michele’s sudden crying fit. Stepping forward, Emil gently took one of Michele’s hands between his own, blue eyes set with worry. “What do you mean?” he asked with a shaking voice. “How did you break the curse? Don’t tell me you did something dangerous,” the words were laced with worry.

Wiping away a few tears, Michele shook his head. “No- I,” there goes nothing. “I fell in love with you,” the words were a quiet whisper, almost entirely muted by his sobs. But there they were, the confession that has been laying on the tip of his tongue for way too long. “That’s how the curse was lifted. You were cursed out of revenge for a declined marriage- a romance-related curse. Having someone to fall for you for your personality and not your looks or wealth, just in like that story Mila mentioned.”

Like expected, Emil looked stunned. “You what?” the blond asked, voice trembling.

“You heard me, Nekola,” Michele sniffed. The man’s surname tasted like venom on his tongue, but it also made him feel better. The first step of getting over Emil was distancing himself. “I’m not going to repeat myself.”

Emil’s bottom lip trembled, eyes growing slowly wet. It seemed that he was about to cry too. “But, Seung-gil,” Emil stammered. “Aren’t you in love with him- the banter between you two, I thought-”

A broken laugh escaped Michele’s lips. “Are you kidding me!” he shouted almost hysterical. “Me and Lee aren’t even friends. Our relationship is complicated- the only reason we get along somewhat is that we both aren’t completely brain dead like the majority of the knights in this city!”

A weak smile formed on Emil’s lips, but that did little to soften his expression. Emil was, without a doubt, crying. Crying was a terrible thing- Michele hated crying, but seeing his loved ones’ cry was even worse. It was heartbreaking to see Sara cry, and back in the cave when Emil found out he had turned back into a human. His heart still ached. Seeing Emil with tear-stained cheeks, bloodshot eyes and a running nose were suffocating in the worse way possible.

“Hey, Mickey,” Emil almost whispered, slowly letting go of the hand he was still holding. “Would you believe me if I could fit the entire world in my hands?”

What was Emil doing? They were having a heartfelt moment, Michele was spilling his emotions, and Emil was asking a dumb question. “You can’t fit the entire world in your hands, dumbass,” a small smile crept up his lips. Why was this such an Emil kind of thing? Asking a dumb question in an emotional situation.

“Why not? I mean, I’m convinced I can fit my entire world in my hands,” Emil seemed almost offended, as far as someone could look offended when they looked like they just had cried for hours, which it actually felt like. How much time had passed anyway?

“You are an idiot,” Michele hiccupped, furiously wiping away tears. It seemed as soon as he wiped them away, new ones had arrived to replace them. “Nobody can fit their world in-”

Michele fell quiet as two, calloused were placed against his cheeks, tipping his head back slightly. “I told you my world fitted in my hands,” Emil whispered.

He was Emil’s world. Just like Emil was sort of his world- scrap that, Emil was his world. He had crushes before, he liked other men romantically before, but never before it had felt this terrible to part ways, to force himself to fall out of love. Emil meant so much to him that it was stupid.

“What does that mean,” Michele laughed between his tears, face on fire because of the contact. “That you love me back?” it was too good to be true. Emil probably thought about him as a best friend, or maybe a brother.

“Yes,” Emil whispered. “I love you so much- but I thought you liked someone else. I mean, I assumed you were just being kind and returned for me out of guilt, out of guilt because I saved your life. Not to mention you told me so much about other people- I thought there was at least one person that you might like romantically, Seung-gil in particular.”

“You’re a moron,” Michele whispered, carefully thumbing away the tears that still streamed down Emil’s face. “Falling in love with you was probably the easiest thing I have ever done and forgotten about you probably would be the hardest thing I’ll ever do.”

Emil smiled tiredly, taking one of Michele’s hands on his own. “But you don’t have to,” he whispered. Confused, Michele shot Emil a quizzical look.

“I told you,” Emil laughed shallowly. “I was serious. I told my sister I was in love, in love with you and that I rather would remain death on paper and live a happy life outside of the castle walls, hopefully with you,” a tense pause followed. “I want you in my fairy tale ending.”

What the fuck. What the actual fuck did you happened. Did Emil just confess that-

“You’re saying,” Michele started slowly. “That you have given up your old life to start a new one with me?”

Emil’s smile was almost blinding. “Partly,” the blond admitted. “I mean, I wanted to leave my old life behind for a while, but I was scared. But you made me feel brave, give me a reason to try over again, because you are here to catch me if I fall.”

It was all tough to progress. His ears were ringing, his heart was going crazy, he felt ill, but it was in the best way possible. Emil liked him- no, loved him back. The feelings were mutual, even if it took a bit to get there. But this also meant that-

“Will you be staying here?” Michele whispered, almost afraid to ask it. Maybe Emil would still be staying in the palace, or maybe his family would give him an apartment as a ‘welcome home’ gift. An apartment was nothing for someone like the queen.

“Only if you take me,” Emil whispered back. “I haven’t made plans yet- my sister offered me a home, but I declined. If I want to make it out here, I probably have to start to take care of myself and not depend on a family heirloom I care very little about.”

Michele wasn’t even sure if he was still crying or not, the only thing he knew was that yes, his answer was a thousand times yes. “You can stay, but there is a price,” Michele muttered, feeling his face grow rapidly hot. “One kiss? If you’re comfortable with it, of course- we can wait if-”

Emil’s lips were rough, wet and fiery hot against his. It was a strange feeling, his stomach coiled with heat, his hands trembled as he grasped Emil’s shoulders for support. Kisses were supposed to be gentle and soft, at least, that was what Michele always had assumed. But maybe that was a kind of kiss that happened on lazy mornings and not after two passionate, almost heart-wrenching confessions.

“That was terrible,” Emil sobbed, burying his face into Michele’s shoulder. “I want my first kiss back.”

Smiling tiredly, Michele followed Emil’s example and buried his head in the crook of Emil’s neck. “Sorry, we don’t have a return policy.”

“That’s a shame,” Emil mumbled. “I guess that means I have to kiss you as many times as it’s needed to forget about it.”

“I don’t think I would mind.”