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“Nozel, stop, it tickles.”
“I highly doubt that this is the reason why you always laugh when I kiss you there. And… may I doubt as well that you really want me to stop?”
Gosh, that sounded hot. Vanessa swooned a little. Well, more than a little. He was right, she didn’t want him to stop. Nozel just let a smug smile appear on his lips before he lied them back on her neck. She couldn’t help but to giggle again.
Well, it was true, it didn’t really tickle. Maybe a little, but that wasn’t the reason why Vanessa laughed. She was just happy. Happy to be in Nozels arms. Happy to see him again after three days. Just happy.
It wasn’t easy to be in a secret relationship with a royal. Even more with a Head of House, who happened to be also the captain of the Silver Eagles. Not to mention that a relationship between a prince and a witch wouldn’t be well received within royal and noble circles. That was one of the reasons why Nozel and Vanessa kept their relationship a secret for now.
One day, they will make it official and be out in the open. Face those rules and all those stupid things that were expected from royals. Vanessa might be a tiny bit sorry for all those nobles with daughters they would have loved to see engaged to the Head of House Silva. That she could understand, Nozel Silva was a catch. But at the same time, Vanessa wasn’t sorry at all. It would be arranged marriages, no place for love. Nozels heart was hers and her own was his. She refused to give that up.
But right now, Vanessa didn’t want to think about nobility and those stupid, complex circles full of bigotry. Nozel was far more important to her and his lips way more enjoyable. They made their way across her jaw before finding her lips. Nozel didn’t waste any moment, kissing her deeply. Vanessa put her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. Heavens, she missed his kisses so much!
“You should relax more often, honey. It does you good”, she giggled as they parted.
Nozel simply tucked some of her pink curls behind her ear, a soft smile on his lips. Vanessa sighed happily. She could swoon for that smile. They were together for a few months now. Getting used to see those genuine expressions on his face, usually hidden behind his cold mask, had been surprisingly easy.
“It is very easy to relax, when you’re with me.”
They kissed again, much softer, but still passionate. Vanessa was decided to savour any moments, to not miss one single second.
Three days without seeing each other, that was long. Vanessa had been on a mission at the border to the Diamond Kingdom, but most of the time, Zora, Gordon and herself had been more preoccupied to stop Luck to destroy anything. And when they came back, she just had learned that not only there was a captains meeting, but that all nine of them plus the Wizard King had been called for a meeting with King Augustus, because… well, the reason was most certainly something stupid and forgettable.
This had frustrated Vanessa quiet a lot. She hadn’t seen Nozel for three days and even worse, she didn’t have the chance to really say goodbye.
But then, a chance appeared. Noelle wanted to go to the capital to meet up with her sister, so Vanessa jumped on the occasion to accompany her.
Noelles bond with Nozel had become better and stronger, her relationship with Nebra was also on the way for betterment. Noelle was taking one sibling at the time to mend those broken bonds. After some awkward meetings, the relationship between the Silva sisters became slowly better, today Noelle and Nebra were on good terms.
Vanessa left Noelle with her sister at some noble but nice café, pretexting to go shopping at the Black Market. Nebra had made a confused face and Noelle began to explain while her squadmate let them be. But of course, instead of going shopping, Vanessa went headfirst to the Magic Knight Headquarters, determined to finally see Nozel again.
She just came right when the first meeting was over and when the captains had a bit time before the second one with the King. Surprising her boyfriend of a captain right when he was alone in a hallway, Vanessa dragged him into an empty room, where they fully enjoyed their reunion.
“Don’t you have a meeting with the king coming soon?”, Vanessa asked innocently as they parted from another kiss.
“That’s not of importance”, Nozel answered quietly, before rubbing his nose against hers.
But just as they were about to kiss again, the door to the room opened suddenly.
“Wha-… Oh, my! Oh my!”
Nozel and Vanessa turned abruptly towards the intruder, who was none other than Dorothy Unsworth, captain of the Coral Peacocks, very much awake, for once.
The other witch looked very surprised, but had still the biggest smile on her face.
Vanessa saw Nozel turning beet red and she suspected to be a bit flushed herself. Until now, only the Wizard King and Nero knew about their relationship; as well as Gordon, but he learned it by accident. Which had been enough for now, both weren’t ready yet to go out of secrecy.
Although, with captain Dorothy here, their secret was at risk to be no longer one.
“Oh well, that is unexpected. But how cute are you two! I mean, I suspected you to have a lover, Nozel, but I’ll never would have thought this person is a fellow witch! Congratulations! Aww, did I mention that you’re both cute together?”
“Yes, you did.” Nozels voice was calm and he straightened himself, like a proper royal. But he was still blushing a lot and he didn’t let go of Vanessa.
“How… did you had suspicions?”, the Black Bull witch asked. She didn’t know what else to ask.
“Oh, it’s subtle, but I had the feeling that Nozel was more relaxed those last few months. Happier too, he smiled more when he thought no one was looking. Besides, he took much more free time, which says a lot. Did you two knew that it is a mystery my squad wonders about right now? Why would captain Nozel Silva of the Silver Eagles take more free time? There’s a few bets concerning this and it seems that I won mine.”
Dorothy babbled, chipper as always. Vanessa was blushing again, though she couldn’t help but smirk a little. The thought that some Magic Knights had running bets about Nozel being in a relationship or not was a funny thought.
Her boyfriend, on the other hand, didn’t seemed very pleased. “Dorothy, I would be most grateful if you would keep to yourself what you saw.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll wait until it becomes official, I’m patient. And you know me, Nozel, my lips are sealed. You at least asked me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, you’re actually the second secret couple I discover today. That’s way I came here in the first place, to take cover.”
But before Nozel could ask what she meant, there was a voice thundering through the hallway, “COME BACK HERE, MISS POINTY HAT, WE’RE NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!”
One moment later, a very angry Yami crashed in. Vanessa flinched. That wasn’t good. Her captain was surely one of the last persons she wanted to find out about her relationship with Nozel. Looking at the silver haired man, she just knew that he was thinking the same. She sighed. Hopefully it won’t be too difficult to continue to meet.
But then, captain Charlotte appeared just after Yami. Holding his hand.
Oh… Oh. Oh!
In that case, it maybe won’t be too difficult to continue to meet. She just needed to don’t screw this up.
“Listen well, Sleepy Hat. If you ever dared to tell anyone one single word about what you saw, I’ll personally-“
“Yami, please, you can ask her nicer.”
“Rule number 1, Prickly Princess, NEVER take any risks! I don’t want my entire squad coming after you. Or your fangirl getting overly upset every time she sees me.”
“We’re not there yet. None of our squads knows.”
“I know my brats, there’s only a matter of time until one of them finds out. And besides your fangirl, all your girlies might discover it soon as well.”
Dorothy just interrupted them with a cherry giggle, “One of your squad already knows, Yami dear and it has nothing to do with me. At least directly.”
“Dorothy!”
Nozels warning came a tiny bit late. Both Yami and Charlotte realized that Dorothy wasn’t alone. Slowly, they turned to the other couple in the room.
It was a bit an intense yet awkward silence. Vanessa didn’t know if she felt excited or embarrassed. Maybe a mix of both.
While Dorothy smiled like she had the time of her life, both couples just looked at each other, slowly trying to understand what was happening.
Silence.
Dorothy giggled.
More silence.
“What the fuck!”
That was exactly what Vanessa was thinking. Nozel and Charlotte probably had the same thought as well. But none of them would have said it out loud like Yami did.
“Hello there, captain Yami. Captain Charlotte, nice to see you.”
She had a joyous voice, but Vanessa knew that her cheeks were still burning. Hopefully, the other two wouldn’t notice it. After all, they were also flustered.
“Um… nice to see you… too… um, Vanessa, wasn’t it?”, Charlotte stuttered. She looked like she didn’t quietly understand.
“What the hell are you doing with a member of my squad, Bird Braid?”
Nozel straightened himself again. Despite the blush and the fact that he was still holding Vanessa, he looked very royal.
“Probably the same that you did with your own… girlfriend, Yami.”
“Girlfriend?”
Both Yami and Charlotte looked like their minds went blank. Which was quite a sight to see, but Vanessa was still a bit too flustered to laugh. Not like Dorothy, who couldn’t stop giggle right now.
Vanessa looked up to Nozel, a happy smile on her lips. “So… does that mean that I’m your girlfriend?”
“What else should you be?”
The captain of the Silver Eagles was still blushing, but when he looked at her, he was softly smiling. Vanessa couldn’t help but put a kiss on his lips.
She heard Charlotte gasping and Dorothy letting out something that sounded like an aww.
“For fuck’s sakes!”
The couple parted as Yami yelled.
“What is even going on? Braids is smiling and you hug him, kiss him? Did I miss the end of the world or what?”
“If it were the apocalypse, we wouldn’t be here, Yami.”
“Shut up, Birdie, I wasn’t talking to you!”
Nozel sighed, tightening his hold on Vanessa. Holding her helped him a lot to calm down.
“So… you’re together?”, Charlotte asked, a bit pale and probably still processing what was going on.
“Oh, come on Lottie, no need to ask, it looks pretty obvious, don’t you think? I mean, look how they still hold each other, even after getting caught.”
“Lottie?”
Yami forgot shortly Nozel and Vanessa to look at Dorothy, apparently stunned that she had such common nickname for his girlfriend. But Charlotte didn’t react to Lottie, she simply continued to stare at the two love eagles, who were indeed still holding each other tightly.
“Since a few months.”
“Months?”
Yami stopped to look at Dorothy to glare back at Nozel and Vanessa. Well, mostly at Nozel.
“And how long have you two been together?”, Vanessa asked, before either Yami or Nozel would say something insulting.
“Well… a few… weeks. Not as long as… you both”, Charlotte answered, with a very stuttering voice. Vanessa frowned a bit. Why was the captain of the Blue Roses this shocked?
“Oh, in that case… congratulations, captain Charlotte.”
“For you… as well, Vanessa…”
“Oh, for fucks sakes, to hell with the congratulations!”
“Language, Yami dear.”
Captain Dorothy seemed really to have too much fun right now.
“Vanessa, really? Hanging out with Braids for months? Come on, you have better taste than a wall of bricks!”
“Excuse me?”
Nozel was about to retort something, but Vanessa was faster.
“Captain, who I’m dating is my business, not yours. And Nozel is anything but a wall of bricks. Trust me, I already get countless proofs that he’s not made of stones, given how many times we-“
“Vanessa!”
Nozel put a hand on her mouth, while blushing even harder than before. But it was too late. Dorothy, Charlotte and Yami perfectly understood what she was going to say.
Charlotte blushed furiously, Dorothy giggled again and Yami looked like his mind went blank, surprisingly.
“Wait, Bird Braid. Does that mean that you’re not prude?”
Silence.
The two witches burst into laughter. Well, Dorothy already had a lot of laughs in the last few minutes, but this time Vanessa couldn’t help it, despite how flustered she still was. She didn’t even know if it was funny and why, she just laughed.
The other three captains didn’t laugh, though. Nozel simply sighed, resigned, flustered and still holding his girlfriend of a witch. He softly caressed her rosewood curls and seeing Vanessa this happy helped him to calm down a bit.
“Vanessa, would you please don’t speak about… this in front… of others? This is very… private.”
“Sorry, honey. I just don’t like that he insulted you, so I got heated a bit.”
“Not only is Bird Braid not prude, but he said please?”
Dorothy burst into laughter again. She really seemed to have the greatest time ever. All she needed at this point was popcorn and to sit down.
Just in this moment, the door opened again and Julius came in, visibly content. “Ah, there you are. Good news, I managed to persuade Augustus that the second meeting wouldn’t… Oops, did I interrupt something?”
“No, nothing at all, Wizard King. I just discovered that three of my captain colleagues are in a happy relationship and one of them even with a fellow magic knight witch.”
Dorothy couldn’t help it, it seems. She was lucky that the Wizard King knew about her and Nozel, but what if it had been someone who didn’t know? Vanessa knew that her boyfriend wasn’t eager to tell any of the captains for various reasons, especially Fuegoleon. But he had admitted that if one captain would not so much of a problem, it would be Kaiser. For Nozel to came to such a conclusion and to admit it, was already big.
Vanessa looked at Yami and Charlotte. They weren’t really disturbed by the present of the Wizard King, it seems. That might would mean, that Julius knew about their relationship as well.
Where there other captains in secret relationships he would know about?
“Vanessa, nice to see you. You’re really lucky, the second meeting won’t happen, so Nozel can take you directly on a date. Which is really less, less boring than the meetings, even for him, I’m sure.”
“Wait, Julius, you knew that Braids was dating one of my brats?”
“Yes.”
“So why didn’t you tell me?”
“They wanted to keep it secret, just like you and Charlotte.”
The Wizard King answered with a very happy smile, so that even Yami couldn’t bring himself to retort something. So, he decided to glare at Nozel again.
“Okay, but listen, Birdie, if you-“
“I know!”, Nozel replied, interrupting the captain of the Black Bulls. “If I hurt Vanessa, you are going to hurt me, no need to tell me. But it is not in my attention to hurt her. Besides, she can defend herself. She’s a very capable Magic Knight, after all.”
“Thanks, honey,” Vanessa chirped, kissing his cheek. Nozel blushed again, but he couldn’t repress that a small smile appeared on his lips.
“I can’t even threat you properly, Braids? No fair!”
Dorothy laughed again, clearly having a very fun time. This time, she was joined by Julius.
The couples, on the other hand, were still looking awkwardly at each other. That is, until the captain of the Blue Roses seemed to get a hold on herself.
“There is something I need to clarify. Vanessa, since you and Nozel are… well, in a relationship, that would mean… um, that you’re… not a rival, right?”
What was Charlotte talking ab- Oh!
Their contest at this Star Festival when the Black Bulls came in second. Back then when she and Nozel weren’t together yet, not even really acquaintances. When her crush was still lingering and given how she challenged the captain of the Blue Roses back then while she was already a bit drunk, Charlotte must have come to this conclusion.
Vanessa looked at Nozel and from his glance, she knew he understood as well what Charlotte meant. Of course he knew, she had told him about this crush on Yami. He had been a bit jealous, but he made big efforts to fight against it. After all, that crush was the past and Vanessa had countless occasion to prove him she was now his. And her feelings for Nozel weren’t a crush.
“Rival? What kind of rival?”
Of course Yami would ask. He had been oblivious to her crush on him and for someone who was able to read Ki, he had been wrong for long about Charlottes true feelings towards him. Even today, the captain of the Black Bulls seems to have no idea what his girlfriend was talking about.
On the contrary of Dorothy and Julius, who had known basically nothing about this, but still seemed to have put the dots together. The captain of the Coral Peacocks was still smiling cheerily, but now with a knowing glance. The Wizard was still smiling as well, but there was some worry in his eyes and he seemed ready to step in if something might happen.
Alright, time to put this non-existent rivalry back where it belongs.
“No worries, captain Charlotte. I’m not a rival and given the circumstances, I might never had been one. I found my luck somewhere else and I couldn’t be happier.”
Relief washed over Charlotte and for the first time since she entered this room, she smiled.
“That’s good to hear. I mean, um, well… I’m happy to hear it. And sorry that I think… that you were… well, my rival. Well, what I mean-“
“I think I get it and there’s really no need to apologize.”
“But when I believed it, I thought kinda badly about you and I was afraid that you would take… well, I’m sorry to have believed it.”
“Well, sweetie, you won and I’m really happy for you. Although I don’t consider myself as a loser, on the contrary”, Vanessa smirked while looking at Nozel with a wink. He smiled again softly, but not without getting flustered.
“Wait, Prickly Princess, what kind of rivalry did you had with Vanessa? Who’s the better knight or what?”
“Yami, for someone who reads Ki, this could sound rather stupid coming from you”, Charlotte sighed, slightly blushing and now holding his arm. Dorothy and Julius burst into laughter again.
Vanessa felt Nozels arms tighten around her. Oh, he must still feel a bit jealous, maybe. She grinned, leaning into him. She wasn’t mad, he made such efforts to come over it, even though it was in a Silva way. And even better, it would give her one more reason for staying at his place this night and prove him again that she was now his, only his. Something she loved to do.
“Don’t worry, honey. Even if he finds out today or another day, it will be not such a drama. I’m sure of it. Consider it something that you know and he ignores.” This made Nozel smile softly. “And I’ll show this night that I’m yours only.”
“Your place or mine?”
“Yours, we’ll clearly need some privacy after this.”
“Good, but let me take you out on a date first.”
“I’d love that, honey.”
“Oh, sweet love eagles, what are you whispering over there?”, Dorothy called out, causing Yami, Charlotte and a very grinning Julius to turn back at them.
“Just sweet nothings, captain Dorothy,” Vanessa chirped, leaning more into Nozel.
“Ugh, gross- Ouch! What was that slap for, Prickly Princess!”
“You never find it gross when I say sweet nothings to you, so stop being so contradictory!”
“I’m not contradictory, since it comes from Braids, after all. It doesn’t suit him!”
“It doesn’t suit you as well on the first glance, but you’re still doing it when we’re alone, my dear Dark Knight.” Somehow, captain Charlotte managed to sound angry and flirtatious at the same time.
The captain of the Blue Roses seemed more confident now. Was it because of the relief that after all, she didn’t have a rival to Yami’s heart? Vanessa couldn’t help but smile. She was really happy for them.
And she had something to use in case Yami would made some difficulties about her dating someone he respectfully didn’t like. After all, Vanessa loved Nozel, she wanted to be with him and she won’t let anyone take this away from her, not even her squad.
“So… who knows about those juicy little secrets? Besides me and Julius dear, of course,” Dorothy asked, with the biggest grin on her face.
“Well, Goldie Guts knows. He might have even known before Charlotte and I did. And that fat, winged Blue Rose there. Molly Something, I don’t know.”
“Yami, please, don’t call her fat! And her name is Puli, not Molly. Puli Angel! And don’t you dare whatever me, she was a great help for our relationship and still is.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Vanessa, Dorothy and Julius burst into laughter again at the couples bickering. Even Nozel was smiling a bit.
“In our case, it’s Nero. I don’t know how she find it out, though. And Gordon, he stumbled on us by accident, when Nozel visited me at the Hideout.”
Vanessa still had no idea how Nero found out, but she was glad that this dear, silent girl did. Nero’s own story with the first Wizard King was heart breaking. Even more that the black-haired girl wanted to help Vanessa with her own prince. Her words. Vanessa has been very touched by Nero’s story, so that she offered her to be there whenever she needed to talk about her lost love.
As for Gordon, it had been an accident. He basically caught them in a heavy making out session while they were in one of the rare, not so crowded places of the Hideout. But it didn’t cause any problems. Vanessa couldn’t imagine if it had been Gauche, Magna or especially Noelle. Gordon at least was a silent guy, even genuinely happy for them. After giving them his congratulations, he had promised to keep the secret and left them alone. The next day, Vanessa got a glimpse of a new doll in Gordons collection.
“Don’t tell me you invited Braids to our Hideout?”
“Alright, I won’t tell you.”
Dorothy giggled.
“Did you never invite Charlotte at your place?” Nozel asked, as calm as possible. He was probably trying hard to not start a stupid fight. He was really trying so much and Vanessa was ready to generously reward him tonight, as thanks.
“Sometimes, but… well, it needs acrobatic measures to have some privacy back there.” Yami looked like he was himself trying to not start a fight. The fact that Charlotte was holding his arm tightly might helped.
“I have to agree on that.”
“Hey, don’t you dare insult my Hideout, Braids!”
“I swear, I didn’t mean it as an insult.”
“Leave my boyfriend alone, captain!”, Vanessa pouted. “He was just stating a fact and I agree on it as well!”
“Me too, actually,” Charlotte added and that made Yami close his mouth.
“How amazing! Nozel, Yami, what a treat to see you agree on something!” Julius exclaimed, clapping his hands.
Nozel and Yami just looked at each other, not sure how to react about that statement. Vanessa sighed, those two might never change in their opinion about each other. At least, they respected one another and that was a lot already.
Charlotte looked at Vanessa, who looked back. There was some resigned acceptance and understanding in their eyes, probably due to their respective partners. But also a new affection. Maybe now that this non-existent rivalry question was out of the room, maybe they could become friends. Vanessa would be happy about it.
“So, um… We agree to not tell anyone about our little secrets? At least, until we’re ready,” Charlotte suggested.
“Yes. I love my squad, but I’m not ready for them to learn about my relationship with Nozel yet,” Vanessa giggled. Oh yes, she definitely wasn’t ready for that. Well, Nozel and Vanessa were talking lately about to finally tell Noelle about it – a topic that Nero and Gordon were coming up as well from time to time – but they were still postponing. Noelle was surely going to have a shock learning this and well, she might overreact a bit like the Silva she was.
“Yep, you can count on me, cuties! I won’t say anything!” Dorothy added, making a peace sign. She was having so much fun, obviously.
Nozel only added in agreement. Yami said nothing, glaring at the captain of the Silver Eagles, but at the end, he nodded as well.
“Okay, I won’t say anything. But I’m not over with you two!”
Vanessa sighed. Like every Bull, she appreciated that Yami was protective of his squad. But sometimes, like now, she was maybe slightly irritated by it.
“Captain, please worry about your own captain. And just in case, leave Nero and Gordon out of it.”
Yami gagged a little. Either he didn’t even think about Nero and Gordon or he might had thought about scolding them as well. One day.
Nozel sighed, before he straightened and turned to the Wizard King. “Since the meeting with Augustus is luckily cancelled, Vanessa and I will take our leave. Have a nice evening.”
He took delicately her arm and lead her out of the room, like she was a real princess. Vanessa smiled happily. Nobody else treated her that way and she came to enjoy it a lot since she started dating Nozel.
They were out of the room, when Vanessa turned one last time. “Oh, captain, just so you know, I might not coming home this night, so don’t wait for me. Good night, everyone!”
“Bye, love eagles, have a good night!”
This undertone in Dorothy’s voice. She was really having too much fun. Vanessa was ready to bet that was going to tease Nozel, Yami and Charlotte endlessly during the future captain meetings.
Charlotte and Julius waved, the first with a small smile, the second happily grinning. As for Yami, he shot Nozel a warning glare, before sighing and giving them a nod. The door closed and they both were now alone in the hallway.
“Can I borrow one of your pigeons, please? To warn Nero and Gordon, just in case.”
“Of course.”
Oh, what a sweetheart. Vanessa really considered herself lucky with that boyfriend. She might have won the lottery. As thanks, she went on her tiptoes and kissed Nozels cheek quickly.
The silver haired man blushed a bit, but a small smile appeared on his lips. Yes. Charlotte has Yami while Vanessa has Nozel and tonight, she’ll will show him how happy she was to be with him.