Work Text:
The sky turned with a beautiful range of orange colors as the sun went down, the students finally after a long day of studies could be free for a while so they left the academy facilities, stayed in the library or went to their rooms.
Pure Vanilla is the student who stands out the best in the class, a young boy with tousled blonde hair and a smell of vanilla that only he seemed to have, or so it was thought, extroverted and endowed with a warm personality, without a doubt he was that friend that everyone they would like to have.
On the other hand there was White Lily, who was in fact the most outstanding student followed by Pure Vanilla, a young girl with extremely long white hair, her smell of lilies was unique in the whole academy, introverted and with some difficulty getting close to people, she is someone who usually wanders in solitude.
They were best friends and everyone knew it, they were together all the time or at least when they could be, however, no one thought they could be anything more, they were polar opposites, besides, Pure Vanilla used to have several girls (and boys) who were attracted to him even though he didn't seem to care.
—Quick, Vani!— Lily's smiling voice spoke, she was running with a book in hand as she held the hand of her friend who could barely keep up.
—Lily, wait!— He was screaming agitatedly, his uniform made it difficult for him to run as it got tangled in his feet, when he turned his eyes widened in surprise to notice that the librarian was still chasing them.
Soon White Lily crossed a hallway and as quickly as she could entered a room that was still open but empty, pulled Pure Vanilla in and quickly led him to hide under a desk with her. They both gasped tiredly and waited until everything was completely silent before they began to burst out laughing, incredulous that they could have outwitted the authority.
—Do you see, Vani? As long as we run fast they won't be able to catch up with us.— A tender smile was on the girl's face.
—That's right, Lily, but next time you have to be more careful because I almost fell, they could have caught us.— He sounded worried, but that excitement dissipated pretty quickly when he could see the smile on his friend's face. He decided to come out of his hiding place first, he went to the door to look outside, there was no one there so he breathed a sigh of relief, returned with Lily and with his hand to take her out of hiding.
Both now calmer walked together in the direction of the garden, they were alert to any slightest sound, but luckily for both they were able to reach their destination without problems, they passed through some bushes and advanced until they reached the greenhouse, where after entering they would close the door, finally they were in a safe space for them.
—We can finally continue with the investigation, Lily, It doesn't excite you?— Vanilla would say, breaking the silence as she tidied up the desk that they usually use to study, it was full of papers, books and inkwells.
She walked over to the desk and helped Vanilla sort out, putting the book aside for a moment. —Of course, why wouldn't I?—
—It's just that today I noticed you were more absent and... I felt like something was missing in you.— He cared deeply about Lily, he was used to her absences from classes but there were times when she seemed a little... Sad?
—That I'm missing something? No Vani, I'm fine, today there were classes that I didn't feel were important, that's all.— Sure of her words, she replied.
—Classes are more boring when you're not there.— He confessed, he had done it before but it was worth doing it again.
—You can skip the less important classes with me then, so we can spend more time together.— For her it was a pretty simple solution, they were both smart enough and so far ahead of everyone that skipping classes didn't affect them at all.
—I guess you're right, maybe we could study more about this together.— He wasn't so satisfied with the solution, but he knew Lily like the back of his hand, he knew that asking her to stop missing classes was like asking her to jump off a bridge. —But sometimes you'll accompany me to class, so I won't feel so lonely either, What do you think?— he proposed.
A heavy sigh came out of Lily, when she turned to look at him there he was and that damn smile that always managed to convince her, "Oh lord, He's doing that again... But it's so cute." Thought. —It's okay, it's okay, you want it but it won't be all the time.— Finally she accepted, seeing how Vanilla shone with happiness and the smile on her face showed what the words didn't say, it was something very tender to see for her, deep down she liked it and she knew it.
A small silence hovered between them after that little conversation, soon they both sat down in their chairs and began to study, transcribing things from books to yellowed papers with the smell of cinnamon.
Unlike Lily, Vanilla took breaks to rest her eyes, she knew that due to her genetics at some point she would begin to suffer from blindness, that worried her, however that was not the time to think about it. He would sometimes turn to look at his fellow student who was totally immersed in his research, so much so that she didn't notice when he looked at her, "She's so pretty..." Fondly he thought, there was something about Lily that no one else had, something that touched and at the same time made his heart feel warm, he always watched her and detailed every little feature of her, after all if he went blind, the face of his beloved friend was the one he wanted to remember the most.
The hours passed slowly while they were together, they were so close that even the silences were not awkward, time stopped when they could accompany each other.
Night came and with it, the moon lit up the sky, they could easily stay until midnight studying, until Vanilla tired decided to stop, he left his pen in the inkwell and got up from his chair, stretching, a slight back pain appeared due to a bad posture, "I must correct that," he thought.
—Hey Lily, don't you think you should rest now?— He asked, without receiving any answer, she was still totally concentrated, again he stopped to observe her carefully, the tiredness of her face showed the sleepless nights she had spent and had hidden from him, he didn't like it when she hid that kind of things because she only told him when it was already unbearable.
Vanilla nimbly took Lily's inkwell off the table and hid it, luckily for her, she didn't notice instantly, so he surreptitiously pretended that his attention was going to something else.
Soon the sound of Lily's pen made a couple of taps to the table, looking for the inkwell that was clearly missing. —Vani, where's my inkwell?— She already had enough accumulated tiredness, that made her irritable very easily, and she didn't seem happy with the joke.
—Ah? But if you had it, have you already lost it?— He said mockingly, he was hiding his laughter as much as he could.
—This isn't fun, give me my inkwell, I know you have it.— She sounded a little annoyed.
—Oh come on, it was the one way to make you stop, you've been at it all afternoon.— he said worriedly.
—You know this research is everything to me, Vanilla, I can't stop now that I feel like I'm so close.— She sighed, she took it so purposefully that that was her meaning in life that was what she was most looking to dedicate herself to, the research she was doing was dangerous but it could lead her to do wonderful things. —Please, I'll just keep going a little longer— she asked, hoping to hear a positive response from her partner.
But Vanilla had other totally different plans, he took one of the vinyl records they had and placed it on the record player, the music began to play without delay, he tried not to let the volume be too loud and without giving himself any more time to wait, slowly but surely he began to dance.
—What are you doing?— Confused, Lily looked at him.
—I'm warming up— he would say, that smiling smile was on his face again.
—Warming up for what?" Are you ok? Don't want to go to sleep? I think sleep is already getting to you.— she said still confused.
Pure Vanilla calmly approached her, knelt down, and brought her hand closer, —My dear lady, would you give me this piece?— He acted like a gentleman, he was as kind and patient as he could be.
—But Vani... You know I'm not good at dancing...— Insecure she replied, she wasn't so convinced to dance with him, but she knew how insistent Vanilla was so he wouldn't take no for an answer.
Lily's response to the proposal was positive, she got up from her seat and gently took the hand of her companion who full of emotion calmly guided her to the open space they had, he took the first steps to start the waltz, he was slow to help Lily take the thread and in turn.
Soon they would both be dancing to the music that guided them, they made mistakes sometimes but that didn't stop them, they were so focused on them that the world around them totally disappeared. They connected in an inexplicable way because their bond went beyond the physical, there was something in them that longed for the other and being together was as if nothing in the world was missing.
They were more and more attached and with that childish excitement they continued to dance until the music ended and they were forced to finish their dance as well. Tired, they sat on the floor, side by side, gasping for breath as they laughed out loud and talked. Vanilla and Lily were always polar opposites in several things, however, they were united and they themselves said that nothing in the world could separate them, they knew each other from the first day of school and know everything about each other, find meaning of their emotions even in the smallest gesture and simply know what the other thought, It was what united them the most.
Lily looked up watching the moon shine brightly through the dusty glass of the greenhouse roof, she took Vanilla's hand, without saying anything to him and led him to the garden where they both stared at the sky attentively in silence until she spoke
—Vani, Vani, look at that constellation over there.— she said. —You can't even guess what it is.—
—Uhm... It's not hard to tell, that's Cygnus, your favorite.— Vanilla answered whit no problem.
—You were lucky... But tell me, what is... Uh... That one over there.— Lily knew Vanilla was pretty good with the stars, he loved that subject, but she loved to hear how he was happy to be asked things like that.
—Oh, you made it a little complicated for me..." But not enough, that's Canis Mayor, my dear Lily.— Proudly he say, he seemed so happy.
Vanilla used to give her dear friend nicknames sometimes, he was someone very affectionate and couldn't help but just do that, Lily didn't seem comfortable with it at first, but eventually she got used to it.
—Sometimes I think we're like the moon and the sun.— In a soft voice he murmured.
—Huh...?" What do you mean?— Lily confused replied, it wouldn't take long for her thoughts to begin to torment her as soon as silence appeared, she had too many doubts. Thought. The moon shines less brightly than the sun and has a less important role, nor is it as needy as its counterpart, did he mean that? A strange sensation apart from anxiety took hold of her heart for a small moment.
—Oh, you are like the moon, the inspiration of many and the light on the paths, even the darkest ones, including mine, besides... What would the sun be without its moon?— He gladly replied, it sounded sweet and tender, Vanilla was so enchanted with her.
—...Vani, you're a fool.— She whispered quite softly to prevent him from hearing her after that scare. However, she still couldn't explain why he thought that, she always thought he was better than her.
And there again was the silence, however, it was more comfortable than the previous one, Vanilla being sitting next to Lily, looked at her attentively sometimes and could not help but smile like a child in love, every part of his dear friend's being left him fascinated and he had no way to explain how that felt. He took her hand gently, she didn't seem to care much, she was used to Vanilla's way of showing love.
—White Lily... I have something to confess to you.— he would say, taking her hands and placing her in his. He was nervous and it was more noticeable than he wanted it to be. —I... I love you so much!" More than anything in this world...— His voice dropped as he spoke, he needed to let go of that. —I like you more than you can imagine, I really don't know how you did it but you stole my heart a long time ago...—
Lily in shock just stared intently into her friend's heterocomatic eyes, she didn't know what to say or how to react. —Vani... It's so sweet that you're so brave to confess that...— It's the first thing she could say, the clear disappointment in Vanilla's eyes was present at the thought that she would reject him, she realized that. —Do you want me to be honest with you?— she murmured, once he saw the blonde's nod, she sighed deeply. —I love you too..." It's a weird feeling that I don't know how to express how it feels, but it always happens when you're with me...— She tried to explain.
Vanilla without saying a word totally understood what she meant because he felt the same way, he without thinking twice he rushed towards her and hugged her, not so tight but enough to show what he felt.
As they pulled away from the embrace, Vanilla for the first time was so close to Lily, he felt blessed by the witches themselves at that moment, she had never allowed him to be so close for so long and that thrilled every fiber of his being. —Lily...?—
—Yes, Vani?—
—I might... Uhm... Could I give you a Kiss? — He looked nervous again, a more than clear blush appeared on his face.
Lily's pale skin bristled at Vanilla's soft touch on her cheeks when he had his hands on that part of her face, she blushed so much that she could look like a tomato to instantly hear that question, however, she sheepishly nodded.
Vanilla took things so slowly that it was impossible not to be calm being by her side. He didn't kiss her the instant of her consent, but seemed to think about it first, then just planted a small, tender kiss on Lily's cheek.
After that scene they both sat across from each other, holding hands and without words saying more than they could ever express. They spent a long time together, sharing each other's presence as if it were a gift.
—Hey, Lily, I think we should go back to the dorms now, it's pretty late.— Vanilla hated to break that beautiful moment, but they both had to go to rest.
—You're right, come on.— Lily yawned, she was tired and the nights of bad sleep showed in the pronounced dark circles under her face.
The young people, holding hands so as not to lose each other, went into the garden to take a shortcut to reach the back of the buildings where the students' rooms were. Luckily for both of them, the guards were totally asleep so they managed to take the stairs and stealthily climb up to where Lily's room was, where she entered first through the window and then Vanilla would enter.
—Oh, you don't know how much I missed your bed.— He laughed, throwing himself on the bed of his... Beloved "friend" and sighing.
—It's been a while since we've slipped away like this.— She laughed too, sat down on the edge of the bed.
Lily took off her hat and began to unravel the braid that tied her long hair, in the process Vanilla helped her, he was the only one she allowed to touch her hair, "That's a miracle," if her family could see her, they tell her that.
After finally having her hair down she sighed with relief, a silence hung over the room, there was a smell of lilies that she hated but Vanilla loved and didn't understand why, it was bridling, to some extent, annoying. They looked at each other for a moment until Lily walked up to Vanilla and took her cheek, he seemed astonished as it was not a common act of hers, she came over and awkwardly but gently kissed Vanilla.
Vanilla felt her skin stand on end and be exaggerated, melt at the touch of the young woman next to her, being so close together and feeling his lips touch hers it was as if she were in paradise for the few seconds, It was something that made his heart race, after all it was his first kiss. As soon as she pulled away, opened his eyes and looked quite gawking at her, a whole boy in love with her could say to which she reacted with a sweet laugh, "For the witches, how I love her." He thought, as he stared speechlessly at the pale skin of Lily's face remain a beautiful reddish hue.
—Vani, you have to sleep, remember.— She said pulling him out of that trance, they both seemed so delighted with each other after that kiss that nothing else went through their heads.
After taking off their shoes, they both finally curled up in bed together, it was not the first time they shared a room, since usually in those nocturnal "getaways", they had to stay in the room of one of them to avoid being found wandering outside.
This night was the same as each of those in which they slept together, however, there was something different and they did not know how to explain what it was, but without a doubt it was a pleasant feeling that flooded their young hearts, after a couple of minutes without delay they both fell asleep.
From that night, the moon and the stars were witnesses of the apparent new idyll that would be born between them, it would be something they would keep secret while they better discovered their emotions for each other, however, it was already very obvious how in love they are.