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"Check, mate"
Langris laughed at David who moaned with sadness hitting his face with an open hand.
Today belonged to one that was called a boring day. Nothing really interested Langris that day, he was just doing his usual work. After a fight with Spade he joined the Golden Dawn again sharing vice captain position with Yuno, who was the one that proposed it. Langris didn't even hesitate.
After completing his part of work he went to a kitchen to grab some kind of food. On his way he walked to David who wanted to play with him a few matches in chess. At first young Vaude didn't wanted to play but then he agreed with a little smile.
To be honest something changed between him and the Golden Dawn members. He started by being nicer and spending some time with them. The veterans of this squad were still healing wounds after the catastrophe that happened when Zenon attacked. Many died and Langris couldn't help but think that he could do something about it and yet he didn't.
But still, there was a good energy in this squad. Everything slowly started to be normal. A little different from how it used to be, but normal.
"Not again!" David yelled with pain. "How are you so good at this?"
"I played a lot when I was small"
"You mean smaller than now?"
"David…"
He looked at him with anger. He may be smaller than some people but he was still the second vice captain, a senior knight and a better mage than him. He should at least have some respect to don't say anything about his height.
"Sorry, sorry!" David went pale with the stare Vaude gave him. "You mean, in your childhood?"
"Yes,"
He did. He always played with Finral who was really bad at this game. Beating him was easy, very easy, but playing with his brother was always fun, even if that was an easy win.
"Well, you're really good at it. I was sure this time I'll win"
"Because you started with the right move," Langris pointed at him with one of the chess pawns. "But ended with wrong one"
"Langris beat you again?"
Letoile walked closer to them. She must've heard David yelling about his loss and came curious about what happened.
Letoile landed her whole body on the back of the chair David was sitting at. He looked at her with a smile trying to tell her something. Girl seemed like she understood and kissed him on the cheek for a "morning" despite that it was late afternoon. Langris sighed.
"Yes, he did" David looked at his senior. "You want to play another one?"
"And win again?"
"No, I don't think so, '' he said. "Since my Letoile is here I think I can win now"
"Oh, please, David," the girl glared at her boyfriend with a laugh. Then she pulled a chair to sit with them. "But I'll stay with you. Everything is better than new members talking about our vice captain"
"Well Yuno is indeed handsome, no wonder they're talking about him"
"Like his appearance is the only thing that is worth a look" Langris snorted.
"They were also talking that he went out on a date which is odd"
"It is!" David agreed with her. "I never saw Yuno going on a date"
"A DATE?!"
Langris asked loudly and stood up from his chair punching the table with his hands. Chess pieces quaked a little, one of them even fell off the table. Young Vaude was looking at them with shock. He wasn't interested in playing anymore.
But then he discovered what he did. He yelled as soon as he heard that Yuno went out on a date. That emotionless handsome brat went on a date. Langris started to feel blush on his face. What was going on with him?
Something was wrong, he felt strange with this message. Very strange, he couldn't even describe it. Why was he so upset about Yuno's personal life?
But David and Letoile seemed to know what was going on. Their second vice captain catched an illness. An illness called love.
–
Somehow Langris ended up in a tavern dressed in a cloak and hat that covered his face. At some point he couldn't believe that he actually is here, watching Yuno during his date. Really, how did he end up here? It was like some kind of crazy dream. And a horrible one actually.
Yuno. Why was he even thinking about him? That man was always some kind of arrogant person who ignored him, sending big talks about how he is going to be a captain of The Golden Dawn. And now, he was really close to that position since he was a vice captain.
And yet, he was still a little arrogant. But only a little. Vaude didn't want to admit it but that wind mage was a really good vice captain, the best one. But no, actually he did admit it. When they were fighting Zenon. Yuno really was a vice captain of the Golden Dawn.
And he, Langris Vaude, was the most powerful spatial mage in the Clover Kingdom. At least that was what Yuno said.
But Langris knew that. He knew that he was the best, that was an obvious thing. But when he heard that from Yuno he felt something strange. Something between happiness and feeling close to admiration. Those words really touched him.
"What the heck am I doing?" He asked himself, hiding his face in hands.
He sighed loudly. Why was everything like this? He couldn't even think straight in this situation.
He looked up to see that someone stopped in front of him. That was a girl, just some ordinary waitress perhaps. But no, he looked again at her. It was Noelle Silva dressed as a waitress. What was going on here?
"Noelle Silva?"
"Langris Vaude?!"
"Shhh!"
Langris grabbed her arms as soon as he heard her screaming. Noelle had to lean and nearly sat on a chair near her. Finally she only squatted on one knee looking in shock at the second vice captain of Golden Dawn.
"What are you doing here?" Vaude asked her. "Is your captain not paying you enough?"
"I'm royalty, I have lots of money!" Noelle glared at him with anger. "Also, I could ask you the exact same thing!"
"Lower your voice a little"
"Wha—"
"Shhh!"
He showed her to be quiet and lean himself down to the position he was nearly laying down on a chair. Girl near him sighed quietly to calm herself down from this unexpected situation.
Yuno looked at them, distracting himself from drinking his juice. At least, he thinked that he was looking at someone, but he didn't spot anyone. To be honest he was here only because Asta asked him to come.
He was never really interested in dates, but when Asta told him that it'll be fun and will help him clear his mind he finally agreed. Of course Asta wasn't organizing this whole thing. That mixer was Finral's idea, Asta's senpai from Black Bulls.
Yuno needed to think about something. He needed to think about his feelings and about Langris. Because since they fought with Zenon that was something in his heart that he couldn't let go.
Noelle pulled herself up as soon as young Vaude sat properly again. She still didn't know why he was here.
"Can I know why you are here dressed like some kind of criminal?"
"Criminal?" Vaude repeated after her. "Are you trying to say that I'm looking suspicious?"
"Yes!" she nearly screamed. "You are the most suspicious person in this tavern"
"So you're less suspicious dressed like a waitress?"
"At least no one is paying attention to me" she shrugged a little. "Are you going to answer me or not?"
"I am… Kind of spying on someone"
"You mean Asta, his friend or your brother?"
"He's here too?"
"I'm surprised you haven't noticed, '' Noelle sighed and then pointed at Roulacase. "See?"
"So it was his idea?" Silva only nodded. "Of course, Yuno would never go on a date on his own"
"Why are you so worried about it?"
But Langris didn't answer, he just looked the other way. Silva noticed that he blushed a little. Actually, she was a little surprised. She never saw Finral's' brother acting like that, he was always proud and arrogant. Seeing him like this was a nice change.
And then, she understood why he was here. He wasn't here about his brother or Asta, he was here because of Yuno.
"Well…" she started. "If you're still want to spy on Yuno I know just the thing to help you"
–
He couldn't believe his own eyes. He never would think that Noelle is this stupid and didn't think of another way but what he expected from a member of the worst squad? Nothing good could come out of it.
"Can you tell me why exactly I'm dressed like this?"
Stealing this suit from the locker was bad enough, but getting dressed in it? That was worse, especially when he noticed that it was just not some common waitress suit for man’s. That was one for women.
And here he was, standing in the back room at the tavern dressed in the exact same uniform that Noelle was dressed in. He, the second vice captain of the Golden Dawn and the strongest spatial mage in the whole Clover Kingdom was dressed as a women waitress. Oh man, he looked ridiculous.
‘’Well, that was my idea’’ Silva snorted a little, trying to hold a laugh. ‘’I just didn’t think that through’’
‘’Really?!’’ he asked with anger. ‘’I mean, seriously?!’’
‘’Oh relax, you don’t look that bad!’’ she smiled and then pointed in a mirror. ‘’I helped you, and since I’m royalty you should at least thank me!’’
‘’Oh, no I’m not going to thank you!’’
‘’And why is that?’’
‘’Because you made me look ridiculous!’’ he shouted at her. ‘’I could stay in my cloak, in it everyone are going to look at me, recognize me!’’
‘’You’re overreacting’’ she shrugged. ‘’I’m royalty and yet no one recognized me in this one. For this drunks brats I’m just a common waitress’’
‘’I’m actually surprised they didn’t recognize you’’
‘’Oh please, people coming here are getting drunk faster than anyone thinks’’
‘’But if someone recognise me…’’
‘’Then, they will think that they lost their mind!’’ she yelled. ‘’Really, you way too nervous, come on!’’
‘’But-’’
‘’I just hope they didn’t finished this date and are still here!’’
Then she literally pushed him out of the room. Langris was scared, scared for his life. He was fighting with the scariest villains, the Dark Triad, facing death million times and yet he was scared in a situation like this, when someone could recognize him as this Langris Vaude, wearing a waitress dress.
That was embarrassing but Silva was right. No one cared about how he looked, guests were only interested if their cup with bear was full enough. The only person who spotted Langris and stared at him with curiosity was the owner of the tavern, but he was dragged away when Silva spotted something at one of the tables and broke one of the plates.
Langris, surprised by the cracking sound, looked in the same direction Noelle was looking. He understood her reaction at some point. A girl asked by his brother on a mixer date, who was paired with Asta, started to flirt with him. That was a move that could kill her in one minute.
But back to the business. Something about Yuno's date seemed off to him. Bell. His wind spirit was always with its holder, screaming about how he should go on a date with him. She was always loud, she would never stop talking, and she would never ignore a situation like that.
Langris touched one of the columns hiding behind it, staring at this date. He begged in his mind for no one to notice him, to recognize him. He would die of embarrassment if someone would.
Girl paired with Yuno was extremely pretty. She had long, blond hair and red eyes and was dressed like some kind of goddess. She was wearing an elegant blue dress full of little flowers and a white cape. Even for Langris, she seemed like a potential girlfriend for anyone. And that brought him to think of eliminating her.
He clenched fists on a column moaning quietly in anger. He felt like his mana was going out of control. He can't lose it in a place like this, he can't go crazy. Not again.
"Oi, what do you think you're doing?!" Someone yelled at Yuno's table. "For now I was only watching thinking that you don't stand a chance with my Yuno but now I've had enough!"
There she was, the wind spirit Bell finally showed herself and she was not happy about this situation. Apparently the blonde girl just started to flirt with Yuno by offering him some food to eat. Until now she was too shy to even speak.
Langris glared at them with anger. He couldn't hold it anymore but he only clenched his fist harder on a column. He didn't even notice when his spatial magic made a hole in that column. He walked away from it surprised.
"Ups…" he whispered, hearing cracking sounds from the ceiling.
Ceiling after that incident with the column was so weak that it started to break. The creeks were going further and further and finally stopped above that freaking table. Then the sound stopped, provoking everyone to look at the ceiling in silence. But then it was only chaos.
Piece of ceiling broke right at the girl paired with Yuno who screamed in fear running away. Bell screamed at her in anger and then started to yell at others which scared them off. Asta didn't seem to mind but Finral went screaming after them, even attempting to chase one of them. But then he stopped because he was dragged away by someone.
"Ara, Ara!" A woman laughed, pulling a spatial mage closer to her side. "What a disaster!"
"Vanessa!" Finral yelled.
"Really, Finral" the witch blinked at him. "You're still going on these stupid dates. You don't understand that you're having someone literally under your nose, do you?"
Finral didn't answeared her. Vanessa after some time understood something she couldn't for a long time. Finral seemed to understand something too but he did not know for sure. Maybe he was trying to check it by organizing this mixer date but failed in the process.
Langris hides his face in hands. He couldn't believe that he literally ruined that meeting causing chaos in the tavern. He was embarrassed, but the worst thing was that he didn't really know what to do anymore. He screwed it up. Even if this date was a disaster he still could do something else.
Yuno wasn't interested in flirting, he never was. He never showed much emotion, he never felt anything that deep to anyone in the squad. How could Langris think that this one date was going to change something?
"Can I ask you what that was?" Noelle asked him and sighed.
"I panicked…"
"Yeah, we need to talk"
She grabbed his arm pulling him to the room at the back at the tavern. With that move she brought a little bit of attention to herself. Someone finally spotted her and Langris. He even recognized them and he thought to himself that he needed to do something with them.
—
"I messed up"
Langris sighed, pulling off the band on his head. He clenched fist on it and then sat on the floor. Noelle looked at him and sat near him.
"I can't hide it, you did"
"If I just stayed quiet…" he started. "There's something wrong with me"
"It is. But maybe it's a good thing"
She smiled a bit at him. Langris looked at the girl in shock. He would never think that someone like her would say something like that to him. Despite her status and usual loud personality she was actually very nice.
"On one side you're a proud and arrogant Vaude son, the second vice captain of the Golden Dawn" she started. "But on the other you're a very nice person, even if you're a bit weird"
"Hearing this stuff from someone like you…"
"Hey, I'm royalty, you should be thankful for what I sa—"
"To think I was led by emotion back there" he said before she could finish. "My emotions were always a bad thing and that? I destroyed a column, ruined a ceiling. I'm a grown up man, the second vice captain of The Golden Dawn, the best spatial mage in this kingdom and yet I can't even control my own emotions!"
"There's nothing wrong with not controlling your emotions"
He looked at her in silence. He couldn't believe a single thing he was hearing right now. He really didn't expect that. He was always thinking that emotion was a bad thing, something that he had to get rid off. That he needs to be emotionless for someone to actually love him.
But no, it wasn't like that.
"You're a human being, Langris," she said with a serious face. "There's nothing wrong with having emotions. We all have them and we all show them. There's nothing wrong with that"
Vaude didn't answer her. He just looked at her with shock. She smiled and then stood up giving him a little blink.
"Besides, you're not the only one who thought they're emotion was something wrong"
At some points they were a little familiar. So familiar yet so different.
Then she left him in this room saying that she wanted to check if anyone needed her help. She also told him to change his clothes. He was dressed in that waitress dress for long enough.
Langris looked around to finally find his stuff in the corner of the room. He sighed with relief, noticing that it was untouched. He started to change clothes and when he was about to pull out his cloak someone walked into the room. At first Vaude thought it was Noelle.
But it wasn't her. It was Yuno. He stood at the door looking at Langris with his usual face although there was something different in his eyes. And that was something that no one, even Bell, couldn't notice.
"Yuno?"
"Care to explain why you were dressed as a waitress?"
He saw that?! Langris asked himself. He went pale with the question that the younger member gave him. Now he wanted to hide somewhere far away from here. Far away from Yuno.
Langris clenched his fists on a dress he was holding. He didn't know what to do but then he reminded himself about that little speech Noelle gave him. He chose to not hide his feelings, to finally face them.
"I will explain," he said. "But not here, okay?"
Yuno only nodded. Bell showed up again floating between them. She looked at Langris, then at Yuno, and again on Langris. Then she covered her mouth. She noticed. She really noticed something that she didn't think she would notice.
'Yuno and Grumpy Face?!' she asked herself and went pale.
–
Langris was calmer when he came back to the headquarters. He sat on a bed with a loud sigh and then looked at Yuno who was standing near the door. He was waiting for an explanation about that waitress dress. Bell was sitting at his arm looking at young Vaude with something between contempt, anger and shock.
"So, you're going to explain this to me?"
Yuno pulled a chair from a desk and sat on it. Bell flew at the desk and started to walk from one place to another thinking about something.
"You know, I can't really focus when there is this wind spirit judging me"
"I have a name you know!" She yelled.
"Bell," Yuno said calmly, stopping Langris from starting an argument. "Would you care to leave us alone for a few minutes?"
"Few minutes?! That's way too long!"
"Bell"
He glanced at her, giving her the most serious look in the whole world. Sylph sighed loudly and then disappeared in Yuno's grimoire.
"Thanks"
"So?" Yuno asked. "I'm listening"
"I was…" Langris sighed again. "Kind of spying on you"
"Spying?"
"Yes," he nodded. "It was weird to me that you went out on a date and I felt strange about it so I wanted to check something and… I think I know what exactly I wanted to check"
He clenched his fists on a blanket looking at him. He was sure this time. The thing that was going on between him and Yuno was something different than just a common relationship. He finally understood that.
"I wanted to check this weird feeling I started to feel. Because I know something has changed between us, I know from a long time. I just didn't know what it was"
"And to check that you dressed like a waitress?"
"Don't mention it, it wasn't my idea!"
"I know it wasn't," Yuno smiled. "You looked ridiculous"
Langris blushed and looked the other way. Yuno pulled himself up from a chair and then sat on a bed near him. He felt Langris moving a little, like he didn't expect that Yuno would sit here.
But Yuno understood something too. And that was why he gently touched the hand of the second vice captain of the Golden Dawn. Langris went pale a little and then glanced at him. He was blushing and to Yuno he looked beautiful.
"But also stunning," he finished.
"Don't talk to me like that, you handsome brat"
Langris laughed, hitting him with a pillow. To be honest he didn't notice when he grabbed that thing, it just happened. He dropped it immediately looking at Yuno. He destroyed his messy hair a little giving even a messier look. Yuno started to laugh. He was never laughing before.
"You think I'm handsome?" He smirked at him.
Yuno gave him that look again. Langris snorted and then shrugged. He grabbed another pillow and hit him again. They started a real pillow fight.
Langris after some time tried to run away from Yuno who was helping himself in a fight with his wind magic. Vaude opened a door from his room running in the corridor. It was night, there was no chance they would meet someone. And even if, did they care? No, not at all.
Bell flew out of the room looking at them. She didn't understand anything but then she noticed something: Yuno was happy.
Yuno was running after him with tears of joy in his eyes. Langris was laughing too. They were like this for the first time. These two were always known as calm people and yet they were running around the Golden Dawn courtyard during a pillow fight. Like children.
Langris wasn't playing like this in a long time. He remembers his brother walking into his room with a pillow trying to provoke a fight. He did that always when Langris was in a bad mood and that was the only time he truly smiled in his childhood.
Now he was smiling like that again. But not because of his brother. He was smiling like that because of Yuno.
Yuno remembered fights like that from his childhood at the church. Asta was always the one who provoked fights like this. And it was always a fun thing. Now Yuno felt like he was stuck in the past but now it was a different person with him. A person who he would never think of.
They finally stopped fighting, landing on the grass at the courtyard. Langris was laying on the ground breathing heavily, looking at Yuno who was leaning above him smiling. He pulled himself closer to the young Vaude face kissing his lips gently.
Langris at first was surprised a little but then he only shrugged and grabbed his lover's neck, kissing him harder. He would never think he would do something like that. But that moment was something different. He felt truly happy. He wanted it to never end.
During the kiss Yuno fell on the grass pulling Langris with him. It was something magical. He never kissed anyone before and he had to admit: That was an interesting feeling. Interesting and wonderful.
They ended the kiss a minute later looking into their eyes. They both blushed. Langris changed his position so he was now laying on his right side. Yuno was laying on his back looking at the stars. He sighed finally.
But then he felt something on his chest. Not something, but someone. The second vice captain changed his position again, choosing to lay on his lover's chest. Yuno smiled and raised his right hand a little. He touched Langris' hair and started to rub it.
Langris felt so safe laying like that that he almost fell asleep.
But… Was it okay? Was that a proper way for him to act? He was from a noble family, he wasn't supposed to act like that, right?
"Yuno," he said quietly.
"Yes?"
"There's something wrong with me…" he dropped. "Us, right?"
"Is it bad? You're seemed happy"
Langris giggled a little.
"No" he shaked his head a bit. "I guess it isn't".
Langris closed his eyes and started to breathe slowly. No, it was nothing with him, there was nothing wrong with being a little crazy. He was happy. Finally.
And Yuno was happy too. Happier than ever actually.