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**
“UNHAND ME RIGHT THIS INSTANT! HOW DARE A MEASLY SCUM TRAP THE GRAND CROSS OF HIS MAJESTY'S KNIGHTS!!”
“Oh my! How amusing, how did you get all tangled up like that?”
The blonde man currently stuck in his forgotten pest trap frowns at his statement. Rui thinks he resembles a disgruntled puppy. To be completely honest, he forgot he even had a trap laid out here. He distantly remembers placing it absentmindedly one day as rumors of a bandit was flying around. He must have not bothered to pick it up afterwards.
“I WOULD LIKE IT IF YOU WOULD RELEASE ME IMMEDIATELY, STRANGER!”
Ah, right, Rui almost forgot about that. He begins to untie the knots on the rope, and after a few minutes the rope comes off almost instantly. Strange, if the trap was only a few ropes, how did the man before him not just struggle himself out of it? He decides he doesn't care enough to ponder over it, gathers the rope in front of him, and dusts his hands off. He looks up to realize the man before him is eyeing him strangely, prompting him to raise an eyebrow
“Is there perhaps something on my face, Sir-What's-His-Name?”
“MY NAME IS TSUKASA TENMA, THE LEADER OF THE KNIGHTS OF HIS BELOVED MAJESTY!”
A bit of a loud character, isn't he? Rui discards the sudden thought of wanting to pet the boy's mop of blonde hair. With a smile, he replies.
“Well, Sir Tenma, I didn't expect someone so highly ranked within his majesty's knights to be caught in one of my silly traps, but here we are.”
It was quite amusing to see the man’s expression change to an insulted one, his eyes twitching at what Rui said. The knight proceeded to list how he in fact did not get stuck in the purple haired boy’s trap and how he 'did not get trapped' but the trap 'trapped him instead'. Rui raises an eyebrow at the half put-together excuse before deciding to humor the knight and agreeing with a shrug of his shoulders. With a curious expression on his face, he asks.
“So, what brings a knight this deep into the Whispering Woods? The kingdom’s patrols don't reach this far in the forest.”
At the mention of his reason, the knight’s expression lifts and he sports a proud smile before pointing to himself.
“I, the great Tsukasa Tenma, am looking for a special flower requested to me by my darling little sister Saki! Well... she didn't exactly say outright that she had wanted the flower, but I could tell she wanted it from the way she liked to talk about it. So I, as her amazing big brother, had decided to search the earth low and high for it! AHAHAHA!”
The alchemist blinks and chuckles at how loud and boisterous the knight was. Truly an interesting person, with a cute reason. As far as Rui was concerned, there were hundreds of different flowers in the Whispering Woods, but most of them were not highly sought after, appearance-wise. There were occasional types that some nobles liked to gather, but they have been planted in the main town in abundance for a few years.
The purple-haired boy thought, since he didn't have anything that was due today, and because it was his day off, he might as well lend a few hours to search for this elusive flower that was supposedly demanded by the young knight’s sister.
“Alright, let's get searching for this beautiful flower your sister wants, Mr. Knight.”
“Ah, thank you very much, kind stranger! Although I do not know your name”
Rui chuckles at the sudden mood change, almost as if this wasn't the same person glaring holes into his head (he thinks of it as a puppy getting angry). How amusing, he thinks again. He introduces himself briefly. Rui Kamishiro, a secluded alchemist that resides deep within the Whispering Woods. He doesn't elaborate much on the reason he's living in the woods when it's widely known that only magical creatures live in the woods, but it seems that the knight doesn't mind, mouth chattering on the descriptions of the flower and how he must obtain it for his sister's upcoming birthday.
Rui finds the small smile on his lips lasting longer as he listens to this strange man ramble. What an interesting turn of the day indeed.
**
Over the next few weeks, Rui finds Tsukasa back at his house almost everyday. The blonde man, although he claims to be the head of the knights, manages to somehow stumble upon his house every time. At just around dusk, he would be greeted by the same loud voice he associates with the knight, whether it be while he's gardening or while he's in the middle of working on a potion. Said knight would then quickly give an excuse on why he's there, although Rui doubts the authenticity of these excuses each time.
They exchange a few words, which were mostly Rui riling him up for fun, before the knight proceeds to help the alchemist with whatever it is he needs to do. ‘It's a lot like having an unpaid assistant’, Rui muses. Although the Tsukasa keeps denying it, Rui can tell he does enjoy their time together. They get quite a lot done together, from planting new vegetables (and the occasional flower, at Tsukasa’s suggestion) to making new potions.
He would tease the shorter boy that the reason he’s keeping him here is to trap him and test out all his weird potions, turning him into a scary slimy monster that'll terrorise the town. Tsukasa would yell out a protest that he would definitely win if he were to fight Rui and there would be no way he would turn into a slimy monster. If anything he will be turned into a magnificent pegasus and be the town’s favorite. Rui would chuckle at his response, constantly amused by the blonde.
After a few weeks of questionable excuses, one day Tsukasa just stops giving an excuse all together, appearing exactly at the same time every few days. Rui does not question it, in fact he appreciates the knight’s company in doing his measly little tasks even if it isn't something exciting that the knight is probably used to. Tsukasa’s constant chatter fills up the hollow corners of his house, somehow lighting the place up even if the sun is almost out of sight when he arrives.
Rui welcomes the blonde’s presence every time, gravitating to him like a moth would to a flame. Weeks turned into months and the time spent together becomes the part of the day he looks forward to the most, with the small chatter they share, talks about nothing and everything in between. It soon becomes a routine for the two, and they both welcome it with open arms.
**
One day, Rui discovers that his supply of healing potions has run out and quickly makes a decision to go into town to purchase his supply of ingredients. Although it is not known throughout the country, Rui is in fact the unofficial alchemist for the palace and gets occasional requests for potions by the royal family. In fact, he recently received one that requested a healing potion, inconveniently timed when he just ran out of stock.
He packs his satchel and locks his door up, checking if the traps he placed were working (and unlike the trap Tsukasa got caught in many months ago, these were made harder to get out from and alerted Rui if someone was caught in it). He leisurely makes his way out of his cottage, hat placed on his head, as he walks to the shortcut that was east of the lake.
He bypasses some of the magical creatures, saying his greetings to them and making sure to be light on his feet to not disturb them. It's known as a fact that if you do not wish to anger nature, then you must not disturb it, less you want it turning against you. Rui takes that rule to heart, being the only human living in the Whispering Woods.
After a few minutes of walking, he finds himself nearing the entrance of the town, colors of blue and white standing out among the greenery of the woods. He notes the town to be more crowded than usual, thinking that a celebration must have been in order. He quickened his pace, not wanting to get swept up in the crowd of people and the bustling vanders. He hears the chattering of a group of friends as he walks, mentioning that the king's knights were out performing a duel in honor of his birthday.
‘Ah right, his majesty’s birthday celebrations are this week,’ Rui thinks as he continues his walk towards Emu’s shop. He got acquainted with Emu via his childhood friend Nene, around a couple of years ago. He gets along quite well with her, with him being the mischievous type and Emu willing to try anything so long as it's good fun. Which ultimately leads them into dragging Nene around into their shenanigans. She says she minds it but Rui knows she loves them even if she says she doesn't. Although, he has a suspicion that her treatment of Emu is more on the romantic side than platonic (but he isn't gonna bring that up to her). It'll be fun to see when she realizes it, he muses.
He’s about to turn to the road that brings him directly to Emu’s shop, but his eye catches on a familiar head of blonde hair. Although he hears him first, the recognisable loud and hearty voice could only belong to one person. Rui decides that a little detour wouldn't kill him and moves closer to where the blonde man was, currently mid spar with another knight of light pink hair. He realizes he arrived quite late with them finishing up the spar a few minutes after he's settled comfortably at the side of the crowd, not keen on being in the middle of all those people.
He can't quite make out what Tsukasa is saying as he chats with his fellow knight and the crowd, seemingly getting quite happy at the crowd's response. Rui notices the knight's hair is tousled, the normally styled and kept hairstyle now all over the place from the sparring.
He notices the blonde boy is slightly out of breath, his cheeks tinted from the physical activity, and sporting a smile brighter than the sun. He then lets out a sudden laugh at something his sparring partner said, causing the crowd to join in on his laughter as well.
His eyes crinkle and he laughs with his whole body, again emphasizing his messy hair and cheeks lightly doused with red. He seemed carved from the brightest star in the sky, putting even the sun to shame at this moment. As the two knights finish up their talk and wave goodbye to the crowd, Rui quietly has a realization. Oh . He feels something for this silly knight, doesn't he.
The alchemist blinks a few times after the revelation to himself and continues walking to Emu’s shop. He thinks he should have expected it to happen, that of course constantly comparing the blonde to the sun should have warned him of this. He decides that he doesn't quite want to deal with this new revelation at the moment, what with a due date on his healing potion coming up.
He soon arrives in front of the shop, the colorful vibrant colors a staple to the Otori apothecary. The familiar jingle of the bell comforts him as he enters, spotting Emu almost immediately by the counter. It seems Nene isn't in the shop, Rui thinks, as he waves at her. Emu perks up at the sound of the bell and cheerfully waves back, her energy bouncing off the walls.
“Good afternoon Rui! What do you need today?” she chirps, as she takes out the list of the items the shop offers. Rui smiles at her before replying, “Ah, the ones for my healing potions, Emu. I got a recent request from the king about it but unfortunately I'm out"
Emu nods at him and starts skipping around the apothecary, being intimately familiar with the layout. He remembers her mentioning helping out her grandfather who used to run it when she was a little girl. Now that he passed away, her older brothers manage the store, but she occasionally helps out whenever she can.
Rui lists out the ingredients needed, stopping in between items to tell the bright pink-haired girl about what's been happening recently. She nods in between moving around the shop to grab the stuff needed, and asks a few questions in between that Rui is happy to answer. He gets to a point where he starts talking about how he met Tsukasa before trailing off and frowning at himself.
“Rui? Is something the matter?” Emu questions from the back of the shop at his sudden silence as she picks up an orange vial. As he was about to reply, a chime interrupted him, the door of the shop opening to reveal Nene.
Decked out in fancy clothing, he presumes she just finished one of her singing gigs. Her incredible voice gaining popularity among the high class. Thus, she gets invited to their luxurious parties to perform at, which he and Emu tease her about all the time. He waves to the green-haired girl, to which she replies with a frown and a question.
“Did something happen, Rui?”
He blinks, caught off guard. He isn't sure how to respond and mulls over an answer before replying with, “Why yes of course, Nene. Why wouldn't I be?”
He didn't think anything was off with his behavior. He talked normally and his face was plastered with a smile as per usual. The green-haired girl raises an eyebrow at him before noticing Emu coming up to them, a box of the ingredients for Rui in her hands. Despite her petite stature, Emu was the strongest one among the three of them, which explains her holding the box with one hand.
Nene’s small frown morphs into a soft smile at the sight of the other girl, waving at her from her spot still in front of the store. Emu’s eyes seemed to sparkle at the sight of the singer and leisurely dropped the box on the counter before running over and tackling Nene into a hug, causing both of them to fall over.
Emu erupts into a flurry of crying out Nene’s name like she hasn't seen the other girl in years, while Nene complains that she's crushing her. Rui chuckles at the sight, surprised at how dense Nene was with the way Emu visibly brightens up every time she's there. Well it wasn't like he could say much, not with him… Ah, having realized the extent of his feelings for a familiar blonde earlier.
After a few squeezes that Emu calls hugs, she and Nene both get up, Emu still attached to Nene. It seems Nene’s gig cost her a few days away from Emu, Rui muses. With her back on her feet and managing to extract herself from Emu, Nene shoots him a look and he gulps. Right, he wasn't free from her questioning yet.
“Ah, would you look at the time! I have to go and start working on my healing potion. Thank you for the stuff, Emu! I'll hand you the money next time!” He quickly exits, attempting a beeline for the box of ingredients before being caught and dragged by his wrist by Nene. He decides he isn't going to escape the Otoris’ apothecary without being questioned by his best friend from practically birth. She releases his wrist before looking at him scrutinizingly. And knowing by her look alone, she wants an answer for her question. He sighs and prays to whatever god was out there and begins lying through his teeth.
Listen, he loves Nene and will fight the world for her. But he has had only half an hour at most to deal with the realization that he's smitten with the blonde knight. He doesn't really want to admit that to his best friend when he himself hasn't accepted the reality of the situation.
After a few minutes of cooking up a story about a knight that accidentally trashed his garden, how he's been feeling upset about it, and making up some fictional orange-haired knight with a snarky attitude, she drops her unnerving stare. He apologizes to whatever poor soul is subjected to it as she nods and he finally gets his box of ingredients. He wishes her good luck on her next singing act, not forgetting to tease her like he usually does (backed up by Emu, of course) before leaving the shop, the bell clinking behind him.
The walk back to the entrance of the woods is uneventful, with the crowd dying down as shops begin closing and the sun slowly sinking into the horizon. He walks through the woods using the same shortcut he used earlier, passing by a few magical settlements. He tries his best to be quiet. And most of them don't notice him walking through, preferring to ignore him instead. Well, except one. The unfortunate timing of a tree branch under his shoe causes almost the entirety of the nymph population to turn their gaze towards him, eyeing him for disturbing their peace. He winces then bows and apologizes. Their glares linger as he continues walking before he gets snatched to the side by a familiar head of brown.
“Oh, hello Ena, funny meeting you here”
The short-haired nymph raises her eyebrow at him before stopping at a clearing near the edge of the nymph’s community. He sighs in relief as he no longer feels the eyes of all the nymphs on him. People swear the sirens are the scariest magical creature, yet they haven't been subjected to a nymph’s skin-prickling stare.
“Rui, I can't save you from getting devoured by the rest of my community every time, you know. Stop using the shortcut. I keep telling you that and you never listen to me. I swear you're turning into my brother.”
Rui winces at her tone. He’s grateful to Ena for the many times she's come to his rescue, as being the only human in the woods does come with a few disadvantages. She, along with her friend Airi are the only magical beings he’s managed to become friends with, albeit they don't meet often because Rui almost never leaves his cottage and likewise with the nymphs and their houses. Still, they appreciate his company once in a while and Rui does theirs.
Speaking of Airi, he sees her long pink hair peek out from behind Ena, her face soon coming into view. She has a small frown on her face, clearly having heard about what happened. That doesn't stop him from waving at her though and she rolls her eyes before waving back. He apologizes to Ena (and Airi) for disturbing the peace and swears to not use the shortcut (as much) anymore. He knows both of the nymphs know he’s not going to stick to his promise, but at this point they’re used to it. Ena speaks up for both of them, voicing the question that popped up in their heads at his arrival.
“But Rui, you know not to go on this shortcut especially during this time of the week. You know it's the time where absolute silence is required until sunset. How did you forget?”
She was right, usually Rui would have used the longer route if he did go out during this time of the week, but he must have been so keen on escaping Nene’s question he must have forgotten. He explains as so to both of the girls, apologizing once again. Ena hums in response and Airi nods before raising a question he dreaded hearing.
“What was actually distracting you then? You told Nene a fake story so it didn't seem suspicious but something was definitely bothering you. And don't bother lying. We can tell when you do.”
He's screwed. Nymphs are known for their ability to tell apart lies from the truth. Rui then realizes he might have dug himself a deeper hole. He sighs and tells them about what happened, and the revelation of him harboring more than platonic feelings for a boy he's known for a few months. The two listen with interest as he tells them about how he and Tsukasa meet, up until the last time he saw the boy, which was a few days ago. After he was done, Ena leveled him with a stare and let out a sigh.
“I can’t believe the reason you're so absent-minded today was because you found out you have a crush on a boy, who from your description sounds like the personification of a megaphone. ”
Well, Ena wasn't off with her metaphor. But, Rui thinks, there is something quite endearing about how Tsukasa is always so loud. He brings up the energy around him, practically breathing life into the still air. He thinks of the boy’s boisterous laugh and how it fills the quiet cottage room with light. Rui shrugs in response to her statement; He can't deny it.
“Well, I hope you at least tell him about these feelings, Rui. I know you like to internalize them a lot but some things are better said, especially things like these.” Ena concludes with a nod of her head. Rui only slowly nods and proceeds to wish them both goodbye before continuing down the path. Ena watches him and grumbles under her breath. Curious on why, Airi asks. Ena stares at her the same way she did with Rui earlier.
“You were the exact same way with the foreign princess a few months ago, Airi.”
At this comment, the other nymph’s face breaks out in pink and she lets out a stream of protests ( “And her name is Shizuku, Ena. You've met her plenty of times!”
“Sorry, you kept calling her ‘the pretty princess who offers me flowers’ every time she visits. I forgot she had an actual name”
''ENA!” )
**
After the eventful encounter with the nymphs, the alchemist luckily does not manage to disturb any more magical beings. Rui hums a little as he nears his home, enjoying the peace the woods give him even if it is a little lonely sometimes. Soon, he comes into the clearing of his house, having memorized the paths leading to it. He quietly unlocks his front door and drops the box onto his working table, arms sore.
He really should work on his arms more, he has no idea how Emu does this daily. He starts preparing his work station and begins the process of potion making. He gets so lost in the process that he doesn't notice the sun setting and the night sky stretching into view. And with that, a knock at his door interrupts his concentration. He wonders who's even in the woods at this hour and it hits him that this is the usual time Tsukasa visits him. ‘Fuck’ he mutters to himself as he puts down his utensils and walks to the door.
He opens the door to find the knight looking wrecked, leaves in his hair, armor scratched and dirty. Rui’s eyes widened and he hurriedly ushered the knight in. He allows the blonde to rest on his couch near the fireplace before a frown grazes his face.
“Tsukasa? Is everything okay? What happened?”
The knight mumbles out a response that he couldn't quite get before silence envelops them. Then Rui hears soft breathing coming from the knight, he realizes Tsukasa fell asleep and lets out a sigh before fetching a spare blanket from his closet and laying it on top of the blonde.
He shifts the boy, making sure his body isn't weirdly positioned before looking at his sleeping face. He wonders what could have happened to cause the ever-energetic boy to be this tired and come to Rui’s out of all places. The crackle of the wood burning is the only sound heard as he brushes a few blonde strands out of Tsukasa’s face.
With his face so close, Rui frowns. The boy looks tired, probably from the celebrations being held due to the king’s birthday. He moves a bit more of the blonde’s hair, making sure none covers his face. He stares at the sleeping boy, the soft light of the fireplace illuminating his face. His normally loud presence is dimmed by his sleeping figure. Rui notices the slope of his nose, the way his cheeks are full and how soft his hair is. The alchemist murmurs, “How did you even get caught in a trap like that, huh?”, before standing up and deciding to continue his work from earlier.
He works into the early morning, the candles around him now worn out. He looks at the rising sun and decides he’ll take a short nap before continuing. He ends up drifting off long enough that the sun is high in the air by the time he's woken up. He awakes to someone cursing in a hushed tone and he groggily rubs his eyes, vision focusing on locating the source of the voice.
He spots an ever familiar mop of blonde hair, holding a plate and a glass. He blinks and registers the fact that Tenma Tsukasa, head of the King's Knights, the object of his affection, is holding a plate of food and wearing his apron. Said boy places the food on the table beside him before noticing that he was, in fact, awake.
“Oh, Rui, sorry for borrowing your apron and kitchen. I woke up to you asleep and I thought I could repay you for letting me sleep here by making breakfast.” The blonde then makes a disgruntled face. “What time did you even fall asleep at? Geez. Rui, I'm not a doctor but I'm pretty sure sleeping that late is bad for your health,” he grumbles, sending a look towards Rui.
The alchemist blinks at him before letting out a sudden laugh, surprising Tsukasa. Really, this boy, he was going to be the death of him, the alchemist thinks. Thinking the older boy isn't taking him seriously, the blonde crosses his arms before suddenly tackling the alchemist. Rui lets out a surprised ‘oof’ at the action, looking up to see Tsukasa’s smug face before being subjected to the most horrifying tickle session of his entire life. He laughs until he's close to tears and by the end of it Tsukasa is wearing a big grin. He shoves the blonde boy for his expression and they skuffle for a few minutes before catching their breath, laying beside each other facing the ceiling.
With the knight beside him, cheeks cherry-colored from the physical excretion, tousled hair, and small smile on his face, Rui stares at him and realizes yet again. Oh. He really is so fond of him.
Said object of his affection notices his gaze and turns so that he's lying on his side, facing Rui. He raises an eyebrow, indicating he noticed Rui staring. Rui doesn't know what to say in defense, so he doesn't. Tsukasa frowns, tilting his head.
“Rui? Is there something on my face? I swear if you managed to get something on there while we were fighting-”
“Tsukasa, can I kiss you?”
The knight’s face turns the most beautiful shade of red Rui’s ever seen before he yelps out a squeak and shoves a pillow at Rui’s face. Ah, well, he guesses he deserves that for suddenly asking. He blinks before the weight of the question then hits him and he curses internally. He removes the pillow from Tsukasa's face and sees the younger boy with a still-red face mumble to himself before burying his face in his hands. Rui swears he can see steam emit from the blonde’s head. Worried he’d upset the knight, Rui asks.
“Tsukasa? Hey. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I-I had no idea where my sudden confidence came from,” he stammers out. ‘Damn it’ he curses internally. How is he stuttering now out of all places? Tsukasa turns to him, and with a face still red, he murmurs out something. Rui, with an equally red face, lets out a ‘what?’ causing Tsukasa’s face to redden even more.
“I said yes, yes you can kiss me,” the blonde says, covering his face again. Rui didn't know his own face could get even more red, but apparently, he was wrong. He slowly approaches the blonde boy using his hands to remove the knight’s own from his face. He’s met with the endearing face of the boy he’s gotten to know for months.
He lets out a small chuckle at Tsukasa’s embarrassed expression before holding the blonde’s face in his hands. He wears a soft smile, musing how he somehow managed to catch a star in his hands. He must have been staring at him for a bit too long, because the next thing he feels is Tsukasa pulling him by his collar and their lips meeting. There are no fireworks, nothing like the tales of magical true love kisses from fiction. It's a little clumsy, both of them not really knowing what to do. But Rui feels happiness swell in his chest as he separates from the kiss and look at Tsukasa’s face with an equally big smile.
They don't say anything as Tsukasa leans in and they embrace each other in a familiar hug. He remembers the first time Tsukasa hugged him, it was after he successfully managed to successfully grow a small seed into a sprouting flower. He was so overwhelmed with happiness, that he tackled Rui into a hug and immediately apologized afterwards.
Although Rui didn't know what he was apologizing for, being hugged by the embodiment of warmth was something he never wanted to forget. They continue to hug for a bit more before the rumble of Rui’s stomach breaks them out of their daze. Tsukasa looks up at him from being spooned, an amused expression on his face.
He breaks free of Rui’s hold and helps the taller boy up, talking about how good his cooking is as it's praised around the world for being the best (he knows when the boy refers to the world, he's referring to his younger sister). He entertains the knight and falls into the comfortable atmosphere of the boy's presence as he eats his late breakfast. He unknowingly lets a soft small appear on his face as the other boy rambles on, causing the blonde to look up to him and raise an eyebrow. Tsukasa then proceeds to tease him by saying,
“What, do you want to kiss me again, Rui?”
“Why yes, Tsukasa, i would love to kiss you again,”
For this, he receives a pillow to the face.
**