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"I'm not coming."
With that, the boy tossed the elegantly decorated paper onto the nearby table, his eyes barely lingering on the written words as it fell. It was that time of the year again; the time for yet another one of those excessively opulent parties, where various members of the family and their friends would gather. Allen couldn't say he was fond of the atmosphere, rather the opposite.
Mana searched for Allen's silver painted gaze, a troubled look taking over his face. "Are you sure, Allen?" Then, stepping closer to the young man, he let an arm rest around his shoulders, gently playing with the snow-white strands of his hair. Allen let a soft sigh slip past his lips, seemingly unwilling to give the party a second chance.
"I'm sure. It's just not my place."
At that, Mana couldn't help but frown. His mind sent him back to the time he took Allen in, with the promise to give him the loving family he deserved. He knew that some of the relatives could be eccentric at times, and their acquaintances were no different, but he saw that they were fond of Allen, just as much as he was. "It is your place," he countered, his voice still soft. "Not the party in itself, but the people who are waiting to see you there. You don't even have to pay attention to the rest."
The boy didn't look him in the eye. In all honesty, he didn't understand it either, why he disliked the idea of the party so much. It had been six years since the first party he'd attended, and even as the whole family and their guests had showed genuine interest in him, there was something that bothered him. The looks he got, the sudden attention, the overall atmosphere, they felt good at first, but slightly too much. He remembered how in just a mere week, he came from having nothing at all to having everything he could imagine and more.
"Come on. I will make sure you have the best evening of your life," Mana tried once more, refusing to accept the idea of not taking the boy with him this time. It would be the second year in a row when Allen would stay away from the gathering, and he didn't like it.
Allen followed his attempt with a long hum, carefully weighing the possibilities in the back of his mind. He didn't want to doubt Mana - or rather, couldn't bring himself to do it. Judging from the previous parties, Allen wanted to bet that he'd spend the night drowning in Road and Tricia's compliments, while Sheryl would shoot him threatening glares from time to time whenever Road got too close - Allen didn't really like that about him. Wisely would most likely drop by in the middle of their conversation, getting his full attention with a tray of doughnuts and one of his deep topics. Then there was Jasdero... and Devit. Allen flinched slightly at the thought of them getting near him with the newest one of their "toys". To this very day, the boy was still struggling to understand how anyone could allow those at a party, but going with the flow seemed like the best option in this case. He didn't want to cause a scene. Luckily for him, Lulu Bell would be there to stop any catastrophe. Oh, and Skinn. Allen remembered talking to him a few times. He was a nice company, and they shared a passion for sweets.
The rest of them were still mysteries for him to uncover, as they had barely interacted over the past years; but Allen knew they were good people. Maybe, just maybe, the real problem that he had wasn't with the family members, but with the people coming along with them. Those people never knew when to stop asking questions, and it honestly drained him. But well,... Mana said that this time would be different. It could be. If only that were the case, it would be perfect.
"I'll think about it", Allen announced, just when Katerina came into the room. His eyes caught hers for a moment and she smiled at him, nodding slightly. Allen guessed she'd heard their conversation.
"Promise?" Mana asked, looking from Allen to Katerina, and then back to the white haired boy, his gaze more pleading than anything.
The boy turned around, a bashful smile pulling at the corners of his lips as he spoke. "Promise."
What they didn't know, however, is that at the same time, somewhere in the small world, someone else was having a conversation way too similar to their own - and for all one could see, things didn't seem to make any progress in the desired direction.
"Aww, come on, Tykkiー" Road whined, clinging to the taller man, who in turn, didn't look impressed by her childish act. This has been going on for dozens of minutes now.
"There's no way I'm going back there, and you can't convince me," Tyki said for what could have been the thousandth time. He knew better, after all, what this whole thing was about. "I won't get married anytime soon, he clarified, to which Road huffed, but never quite gave up on trying to persuade him anyway.
"But it's not about marriage this time~! It's a simple family reunion. Right, father?" she insisted, looking to Sheryl for confirmation. But Tyki didn't wait for his response, and instead headed towards the huge pile of papers residing in his room. He only picked the more recent letters - most of which were from ladies he never knew, but who had seen him through various means.
"Where should I start," he said, rising an eyebrow at the amount of letters, "esteemed Minister of Foreign Affairs?" Sheryl felt a chill running down his spine at that. Tyki knew that most of these proposals came due to his brother's social status, and also because the man in cause simply couldn't shut his mouth about his amazing family.
Sheryl only blinked at him for a few seconds, then added a resigned "Maybe there will be a few women interested in you, who knows?" Tyki rolled his eyes in return. Of all the things that existed, that was one he wasn't eager to deal with.
"I'm not coming. I promised Eeze and the others I'd stay with them that night." He hadn't promised a thing, but any excuse he could find to not take part in the family reunion was a good excuse. Seeing Road opening her mouth to make a suggestion, Tyki continued "and no, I'm not planning to invite them."
"Are you playing poker again? But it's been so many years, our parties are not the same without you~!" she protested, to no avail.
Before Tyki could find the time to counter Road's insistence once more, a seemingly bored Wisely appeared into the room out of nowhere, much to everyone's surprise. "Are you still trying to force him to come?" His question earned a pout from Road.
"They do..." But they won't manage, Tyki said to himself. He had better things to do with his life. Wisely's lips curled up in a smirk, as if he'd read Tyki's thoughts. He'd done it before, and was strangely accurate - so accurate, that Tyki found him scary.
"Mana called just now. He said we might have a special guest at the party - one that hasn't visited in over a year." And suddenly, there was silence. The others knew exactly who Wisely was referring to, only Tyki remained oblivious. "Maybe you'd like to meet him," he suggested, looking at Tyki, and, the man noticed, his tone was unusually... inviting. As if he'd known Tyki would like this one. A whole lot, even.
Tyki lowered his gaze, and for the first time, he was torn between his need to escape his family duties and the slight excitement of meeting someone new, someone that wasn't only interested in his status. But still...
"I don't know," he allowed, and Wisely felt his confident tone from before slowly melting into a contemplative one. "I'll see what I can do. But don't expect much."
*
The days passed by in the blink of an eye - so fast, that Allen couldn't believe it was real. He soon found himself in front of the tall gates of the Kamelot residence, with Mana right behind him. Katerina, too, would arrive shortly with the rest of the household members. At this point, Allen didn't even remember the moment he said for sure he would be attending the party. But he did.
He wore his usual smile, politely greeting the guests as he walked towards the main door.
"Good afternoon," Tricia came forward with a subtle bow. "Have you been well? You both look splendid!"
Allen couldn't hide the faint blush that had appeared on his cheeks. "It's been a while," he muttered shortly, "but it feels good to be back." He waited patiently for Tricia and Mana to exchange a few words, all the while looking around and shooting welcoming smiles at those who recognized him.
"I'm glad you could make it to the party. And you managed to bring Allen along- The others will be more than happy to see him!" With that, she made a gesture to Sheryl, who, in turn, gave a delighted nod and headed back inside the house, having some guests follow him closely.
"I'll guide you to the main room now," she said, and then caught Allen's gaze and whispered an amused "Our Road has been talking about you the whole morning!"
One step into the spacious room, and curious eyes all stopped to look at the white haired young man, studying his simple, yet elegant attire. The familiar figures weren't late to appear before the new guests, surrounding them within seconds, all beaming smiles and joyous looks. It wasn't difficult to recognize the two Kamelot heirs, not with Road dashing across the room to throw her arms around his neck, much to Mana and Tricia's entertainment. Wisely joined her in the next moment, his well-known smirk right on point.
"We missed you! Allenー!" They didn't seem to care that they were attracting everyone's attention, but it was fine, Allen thought to himself. The boy realized as he allowed himself to be spoiled rotten, that deep down, he had missed them too.
"Make yourself at home," Wisely added in a cheerful tone, his eyes darting expectantly towards the corner of the room once he noticed a tall figure making an entrance. "I'll let everyone know you're here as they arrive!"
And he did. Wisely did, and one after another, his distant relatives and their friends gravitated towards Allen as if pulled by a magnet. Such was the charm Allen possesed, even if he wasn't aware. He unconsciously brought people together.
"It's good to see you again." "I was hoping for you to come." "Feel free to drop by at any given time, really! It's a pleasure to have you around!" "I found this new sortiment of dango just for you!" "Would you like to see my new paintings?" "You've grown into a mature and responsible young man, haven't you!" "I bought a gift for you~" "I was wondering if you had a partner for the upcoming dance?" Allen welcomed all of these and more, with the same enchanting energy. The others felt at peace listening to him, and as minutes ticked by, the various conversations only sprung further.
Although he was engaged in so many conversations at once, Allen couldn't help but observe the obviously new face, and every now and then, his eyes would travel towards the man, flickering with genuine curiosity. Something about him felt intriguing, to an extent that Allen hadn't experienced in any of his past encounters. However, as much as he would have liked to approach him, Allen noted to himself that he'll allow some time to pass, for now both of them were trapped in their respective parts of the room.
"Is there something on your mind?" Wisely interfered casually, with a light pull at the white haired boy's sleeve. Allen jumped in surprise, meeting his gaze with a bashful smile. In truth, Wisely had already seen Allen's intentions, but he wanted to hear a response from the boy himself.
"Ah- I was just thinking," Allen started, searching for his words, "how it's the first time I see certain figures around here, and I'm eager to get to know them."
'Certain figures', he said, when in fact, he was referring to one person. Only one, who had sparked his interest like no other. Wisely let out a quiet snicker at that. If only Allen knew that the main reason for Tyki Mikk to appear at the party that night was none other than to meet him.
"No worries," came a reassuring reply. "I'm sure you'll get to talk to everyone tonight. You're our special guest~" Allen said nothing in return, but he allowed a silent wish for those words to be true.
*
It wasn't until later in the evening that things began to settle down for a bit. The heated conversations were reduced to pleasant silence, save for the soft sound of the piano, as one by one, the guests found their way to the kitchen. Allen stayed back, his silver eyes searching carefully for someone who was no longer in the room.
"I missed my chance..." he sighed. But well, he could say that he'd expected as much. Nothing could go perfectly well, right? He dismissed Lulu Bell earlier, when she had called out to him, inviting him to the dinning room. If anything, Allen needed some fresh air first. Then he would be able to join the others for the feast.
Small steps guided him towards the balcony with a mind of their own, and suddenly, he found himself underneath the starry sky, as the summer wind gently brushed against his pale skin. As he took in one first breath of the fresh air however, he was surprised to notice the smell of tobacco and expensive perfume floating around his nose, too.
He wasn't alone. Someone else had to be there - and indeed, the boy found someone; the very person he had been looking for in the past half an hour. Allen was at a loss for words; only a small sound escaped his throat, but it was enough to get Tyki's full attention.
And when a pair of blazing golden eyes found his own, Allen felt as if the time truly stopped moving. "My, my," a velvety voice fell like musical notes over the boy's ears, "what a pleasant surprise to finally meet you." If he hadn't known himself better, Allen could say that his heart had skipped a beat. "Are you by any chance... Allen Walker?"
"Yes...?" was all that Allen managed to reply in between his numerous attempts to silence his thoughts. Especially that one thought that lingered in the back of his mind. Their need to talk to each other had been mutual all along; or at least, that's what it looked like to the white haired boy. "Mind if I ask your name, too?" he finally added.
"How could I mind? I'm Tyki. Tyki Mikk." With that, he extended his hand for Allen to shake it. For a mere moment, he noticed, the white haired boy seemed to carefully weigh each and every sound in his name.
As he joined Tyki near the balustrade, Allen made a silent note to himself - the man was gorgeous. No wonder he was kept occupied until now. Everything from his eyes, to his dark skin, to his long curls, and let's not forget that alluring smile, everything was a little more than aesthetically pleasing to Allen. Especially now, that he was seeing him up close.
"But really, how did you know my name?" the boy asked, more curious than anything, earning himself a chuckle from Tyki.
"Let's just say I've heard a lot about you within the last week. The others insisted that I would like you, and to be fair," he trailed off, just to get rid of his cigarette, "I couldn't agree more."
Allen felt the shadow of a flirt in that last addition, but didn't want to let anything show. "Well, I'm glad I left you with a good impression at least," he voiced, and as much as he wanted to tell Tyki that he had wanted to meet him just as badly, he decided to keep that little detail to himself. For now. His actions would eventually reveal that anyway. Instead, he dared to ask yet another question.
"How come I've never seen you before? You're related to Road and the others, and yet..."
For a brief moment, Tyki allowed his gaze to travel away from Allen's own, as if to look back into a distant past. "I think I wanted a break from these parties for a while," he admitted, lowering his voice just in case. Allen's eyes widened slightly before he gestured for Tyki to continue his idea. "They're not my style. Not with the current turn of events."
The boy only nodded, surprised at how similar their thoughts on this particular topic had been. "I won't condemn you. One week ago, I was thinking the exact same way. And if it weren't for Mana's efforts, I wouldn't be here today." Allen paused, leaning onto the balustrade to enjoy the wind better. "But you know? I don't regret being here right now."
"I agree," Tyki replied, not bothering to hide the fond smile that now adorned his face.
'It's because I met you that I don't regret coming,' was the genuine response that rested on the tip of their tongues, yet none of them allowed it to find voice.
"You know what I think, boy?" Tyki barely held back his laughter in his attempt to share the revelation he'd just had with Allen. "I think they did this on purpose to have us meet." And by 'them', he meant Wisely and Road, maybe even Tricia. It couldn't have been Sheryl - Tyki knew that for sure.
"They surely did!"
"I'll thank them later, I guess," Tyki said, grinning in anticipation. Then he added, his voice down to a mere whisper, "I told them I would go and play Poker with some close friends tonight... but that Wisely somehow managed to convince me to-
Tyki stopped mid-sentence, glancing at Allen, who now wore a rather intrigued expression on his face. "You said poker."
With a head tilt, he continued, "Yes. Do you want to learn?" But little did he know that Allen's next reply would threaten to obliterate any form of confidence he'd built over the years.
"No, I want to test your skills," the boy said, and the tone he used felt way too sweet for the situation. "I'm a bit proud of my own, you know." Tyki could swear that the wind had gotten several degrees colder as he looked Allen in the eyes. Even so, he couldn't ignore the adrenaline of a new challenge either.
Their conversations continued for hours to no end, as if the world as they knew it had faded away, and the more they opened up about themselves, the more fun it all became. For a long while, there was nothing but the two of them and the cloudless night sky, and that was fine. It was amazing how easily they could talk to one another, how each of them spilled thoughts and dreams they never wanted to share with anyone before. And that was just because being with each other felt natural, and rewarding in many ways.
"Oh- A shooting star!" Allen exclaimed at some point, his wide silver eyes darting towards the sky.
"Should we make a wish?"
Tyki suggested it, although he couldn't really think of a thing to wish for - not when Allen was there, keeping him company. And not when he was sure that it was going to last forever.
*
If it weren't for the others coming to look for them and remind them of the dance party, they could have spent the whole night on the balcony, talking about everything and nothing at the same time. Tyki let out a groan at the idea of having to dance now, but his expression brightened again when a certain thought crossed his mind.
"Say, boy. Won't you be my partner this time?"
"What- Me?" Allen tried to protest, but the blush on his cheeks served as a proof that he was actually looking forward to the whole thing.
"Yes, you," Tyki clarified, deciding to play along with Allen in his little act.
Wisely and Road exchanged a few amused glances behind them. Not only because the family was whole again, but also because those two were having a cute moment right in front of their eyes. It was nice to see them both smile like that.
"I'll do it, with one condition." Allen's decision came after a moment of silence. "You'll have to call me by my name for the rest of the night."
A series of laughs followed shortly, as Tyki had grown visibly flustered. There was no doubt that this boy could turn into a little devil whenever he judged the moment to be right; but to Tyki, that could very well become an addiction. He was grateful to himself for following Wisely's more or less aggressive "suggestion", for it led him towards a meeting that he had no idea he had been avoiding for so long. A fated encounter, a precious new bond, as well as dozens of treasured memories.