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“I don’t understand it,” said Taion suddenly.
Lanz blinked, turning to peer over his shoulder at his bespectacled companion, who was gazing at him with an inscrutable expression on his face. “What, this?” he asked, holding up the novel he had been reading. “I won’t lie mate, I’m a bit confused myself, but Wellwell swore it was really good when he sold it to me-”
“No,” Taion cut in abruptly, and something in his voice caused Lanz to immediately shut his mouth. “No,” he repeated a bit more steadily, “I meant - I don’t understand you. You and your companions. I don’t fully- your bond doesn’t make sense.”
Slowly, Lanz set his book down on the ground next to him. He was careful as he moved to not jostle around the dark-haired boy whose head rested in his lap. Noah had been tucked into the larger boy’s side for the better part of an hour now, fast asleep since he had returned from the showers.
The party had taken a quick break in their journey to return to The City and stock up on supplies before venturing back out to Cadensia once more. They had spent the day running around the main square visiting with Ethel and Cammuravi, then completing their own errands before coming together for a group dinner at the canteen. After dinner the boys had won first dibs at the showers, and were now settled in their quarters guarding their supplies while the girls now took the time to bathe.
Although there were enough beds in the room for each member of their party to have their own, upon returning from the showers Noah had immediately curled up next to Lanz and promptly fallen asleep. The taller boy had been quietly reading his novel and running a hand through Noah’s dark hair, while Taion had been stitching closed a hole in his jacket and casting furtive glances across the room at the other two males. Now, it seemed he could no longer hold his tongue.
“What’s wrong with our bond?” asked Lanz, and though his tone was light the intensity in his red eyes was much heavier.
Taion huffed, sounding vaguely frustrated. “There’s nothing wrong with it, Lanz. It just baffles me, the extreme closeness that the three of you share. From my observations, it is quite difficult to classify the nature of the relationship which you share with both Eunie and…and Noah.”
“Classify,” Lanz echoed, casting a glance down at Noah’s sleeping form. Throughout this conversation his large fingers had not stopped moving through the dark locks, currently undone from Noah’s normal ponytail. He stilled his hand for a moment, pressed a thumb against Noah’s neck, focused on the steady inhaling and exhaling from the boy in his lap. Taion watched all this happen with sharp eyes, keeping silent as he waited for Lanz to respond.
“I dunno what kind of classification you’re looking for, bruv, but I probably won’t be able to give it to you. Noah and Eunie and me, we’ve been together since we first woke up. There’s not a way to classify a bond like that.”
“I know, and I recognize that,” Taion acknowledged, tilting his head slightly. “Your close proximity for such an extended period of time lends itself to the idea that the three of you are bonded emotionally in some way. I guess I’m just curious about how deep that bond goes.”
“What’s that supposed to mean-”
“Is your relationship romantic in nature?” asked Taion bluntly.
Lanz stared for a moment. “Is it what ?” he repeated.
“Romantic. The physical closeness you engage in with Noah leads me to believe that there is some sort of romantic aspect to the history of your relationship. The only time I’ve witnessed individuals act as physically comfortable around one another before has been when they were ‘together’, so to speak. However, I’ve also witnessed this closeness between yourself and Eunie, and even between Eunie and Noah. This is what’s throwing me off, as I’ve never encountered a romantic relationship exist amongst three individuals simultaneously, so the idea of that is-”
“Taion. Stop.”
The brown-skinned boy paused in his rambling, looking to his companion. Lanz’s expression was serious, but his eyes weren’t as wary as they had been before. In fact, something in his face almost conveyed pity. He shifted Noah slightly so he could wrap one arm around the boy’s waist, holding him close.
“I don’t think you understand,” he started, his words soft but serious. “When I say there’s no word for it, I mean that. Since the day we opened our eyes, Me and Eunie’s job has been to protect Noah. Even before we got our official squad assignments, we drifted towards one another for that purpose. Noah was always…he’s always been so good. Far too good for our Colony. He wasn’t always the best soldier, but he didn’t have to be. That’s why I was there, to defend him. And Eunie would always be ready to heal him. And then he became an Off-Seer, and it became even more important for us to be ready to protect him. It’s a job I took gladly, because nothing else in the world made as much sense as protecting Noah did.”
“Would you die for him?” Taion asked.
“In an instant,” Lanz responded without hesitation. “Spark it, I would do anything he asked. Eunie too. We came on this whole adventure in the first place just because he asked us to, right?” Lanz looked down at Noah’s sleeping form, and his hold on the smaller boy tightened. “When you say ‘romantic’, that doesn’t cover it. There’s more than that, with us. Eunie and I…we exist with Noah, or we don’t exist at all. That’s it.”
“I see,” said Taion softly. The explanation Lanz had provided didn’t fully answer all of his questions, but it painted a more complete image in his head of the situation. “One last question, then. You’ve expressed how you and Eunie feel - does Noah feel the same way?”
“Of course he does, love,” a new voice broke in. Eunie strolled into the room, still wiping down her wings gently with a towel. Mio and Sena trailed behind her, both looking a bit confused. Briefly, Taion wondered how much of the conversation they had caught.
Eunie clambered onto Lanz’s bed as well, tucking herself into the space between the two boys and the wall. She threw her damp towel at Lanz’s head and snickered at his immediate cursing before turning back to Taion. “You don’t think this dummy and I would dedicate our lives to someone who wouldn’t do the same for us, do you? Noah’s had our backs from the beginning. Not just on the battlefield, but in the smaller moments too. He looks out for us every moment he can.”
“After we lost Joran, Noah was the one who kept us grounded,” Lanz added, and Eunie nodded in agreement. “She and I were both a mess, but Noah kept us moving forward, even though I know he was hurting just as much as us. That’s who he’s always been. He’s never let us falter, not once. He does all he can to make sure we’re alright.”
“So really, there was no option,” Eunie concluded, swooping down to press a kiss to Noah’s forehead. “Life with Noah was the life we wanted to live. Anything else would be a waste. And there’s no point in putting a label like ‘romance’ on a bond like that. We’re meant to be with Noah, and he’s ours in return. Got the picture?”
The room was quiet for a moment. Sena and Mio, sensing this conversation was not theirs to partake in, finished brushing out their hair from their own beds silently. Taion seemed to be thinking over everything that had been shared, trying to come to a logical verdict.
“I think I understand,” he finally began, “and I thank you both for your insight. There are still some aspects of human connection that I am inexperienced in, so much of this is hypothetical in my mind, but - yes, I’ve got the picture.”
Lanz tilted his head back and laughed. Eunie rolled her eyes, but a smile spread across her face nonetheless. “When you find the person, or people, that you are most connected with, love, I promise you’ll understand what we’re talking about,” she offered, her words a shade less sarcastic than normal.
Taion nodded in agreement, offering a small smile of his own. Lanz picked up his novel once more and continued reading, now with Eunie tucked into his other side. Mio and Sena finished with their hair and gathered together on Mio’s bed to gossip about some of the people they had interacted with that day. Taion resumed his mending.
Through it all, Noah slept on.