Chapter Text
"You know, child, even I didn't think you could surprise me as much as you have." The old man's voice was gravelly and low, and it sent a shudder of worry through Buddy.
"Sir?" Buddy asked, thrilled that his voice sounded steady.
"I didn't believe you could disappoint me as much as you have," the old man clarified, Buddy's heart sinking. "I had such low expectations, and yet you've surpassed them."
"I'm sorry, Sir. I really have been trying to get the keys back."
"Yes, well, we'll need to move on to other options." The old man turned away from Buddy. "I might just go into the story myself."
"No!" Buddy couldn't stop himself from crying out. The old man was ruthless, and he wouldn't wish his presence on the brat and his friend.
"No?" The old man's voice was deadly calm. "Who are you to order me around?"
"I'm sorry, sir," Buddy bowed his head to show respect. "It's just...the Rogue has just gotten used to me. I really think I could get him to crack!"
"Do you, now?" the old man turned back, standing in front of Buddy.
"Yes!" Buddy said hurriedly. "Violet has been so overworked recently-"
"Violet?" The old man looked confused.
"Uh...the Villainess Key." Buddy corrected.
"Don't name them," the old man commanded. "They're not humans."
So? Buddy thought to himself. They still have thoughts and feelings.
"Right, sorry sir." Buddy said aloud. "She...the key has been tired, I was thinking we could maybe use a different key."
"Most of them have gone missing," the old man reminded him. "All we have left is the Mentor Key, and the Lover Key."
"I think the Mentor Key would be perfect!" Buddy said quickly. "Ch- the Rogue would trust me more if I mentor him, and divulge his location to me."
The old man looked thoughtful, turning on his heel and walking away, barking a quick command of "follow."
Buddy hastened to catch up, trailing behind the old man as they made their way through the winding labyrinth of Ex-Libris. Buddy had been stuck here for years, and had seen nearly every part of the fortress.
Every part but this room, Buddy thought as they came upon an old, wooden door. It was where the elders met, where the keys were stored. And where they kept the-
"Enter," the old man said, and Buddy obliged, his eyes widening when he saw the vast amounts of Narritonin, bathing the room in an eerie silver light.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" The old man said as he took a seat in a comfortable looking chair in the middle of the room. An ornate black box sat on a table between the old man and the other chair. "There's almost enough for me to make my wish. We just need the Keys back. Sit."
Buddy sat in the opposite chair, wondering why the old man brought him in here. He watched as the old man opened the box, two Keys shimmering in the silver light as they were revealed.
"Tell me about the Rogue." The old man said, beginning to remove the keychains that were leaving the keys stuck in their inanimate form. "What have you learned about him?"
"Oh," Buddy frowned. "Well, he's very stubborn. He doesn't like to read, and never seems to know the plot of the stories he's in, and he always quits right before the prince kisses him."
The old man hummed thoughtfully, stroking his long beard. "And he doesn't like you very much, does he?"
"Not at all," Buddy confirmed. "But if I had the Mentor Key, I think-"
"No," the old man interrupted. "I want you to take the Lover Key."
"The-" Buddy felt like he was choking on air. "That would never work!"
"Think about it, the Rogue doesn't like you," the old man reasoned. "It would take too long to form a mentorship strong enough to get him to divulge information."
Chase is far too trusting, Buddy thought to himself, It wouldn't take long at all.
But he didn't want the old man to know that. As far as he knew, Buddy knew nothing about him. He wasn't sure why he was withholding the information, but it felt important.
"But how would the Lover Key be any better?" Buddy asked thickly. "Are you expecting me to seduce him?!"
The old man laughed uproariously, which Buddy took offense to. "Of course not, that is not a task I would expect you to be able to complete! I would get one of our other interns to perform that assignment."
Rude, Buddy thought, his face flushing with embarrassment.
"No, this boy..." The old man continued, his chuckles fading. "the Rogue. He dislikes you, and doesn't like kissing the Princes. As someone from the outside world, you have a little more sway in the stories. If he is forced to complete the story by kissing you, he might just hand deliver the Heroine Key right to our door!"
Buddy nibbled at his lip as he thought, watching as the old man finished pulling off the keyrings, the Keys becoming humanoid after being cooped up for so long. It wasn't a bad plan, per se, but something about it didn't sit right with him.
He thought about Chase looking up at him with disgust when he had to kiss him, and suddenly he felt nauseous. Why, he wasn't sure, and wasn't willing to unpack that in front of the old man.
"Very well, sir," Buddy said, his voice low.
"If you succeed at getting the key back, maybe you'll get a promotion," the old man said, scooping up the Lover Key, who shouted a muffled complaint. "You've been an intern for so long...perhaps we could make you an associate?"
Perhaps you could let me leave, Buddy thought fiercely.
"Thank you, sir," Buddy said instead, allowing the Lover Key to be placed in his hand. "I won't let you down."
Buddy was eternally grateful that Chase had not picked Sleeping Beauty or Snow White as his next story. He was pretty sure Chase would have murdered him right then and there if he woke up to find Buddy kissing him. He was a bit confused as to why he woke up soaking wet, laying on a sandy beach.
Buddy sat up, feeling as though he had swallowed a gallon of seawater. He glanced around, trying to figure out which story the Lover Key had put him in. He had gotten a bit acquainted with the Key as he made his way to his tiny room, admiring the pink-gold sheen of the little man.
"The name is Rose Gold, if you must know." He had responded when asked, eyeing Buddy warily. "My siblings call me Ro."
"It is very nice to meet you," Buddy had said politely. "I'm friends with your sister, Violet."
"Humans aren't our friends," Ro had argued, but he had made Buddy look fantastic in tight, dark pants, and a loose white shirt, so Ro must not hate him too much.
Buddy stood up, brushing sand off his damp clothes before glancing up at the ocean, startling when he saw Chase staring back at him from the water.
"Ah, Little Mermaid," Buddy said, walking to the edge of the water. "I thought you didn't like water, brat."
"I don't like boats," Chase argued, pulling himself out enough to reveal his tail. "Why are you here?"
"I told you, I'm here to get the key back." Buddy rolled his eyes.
"No, I mean, why are you here," Chase said again, looking frustrated. "Why aren't you Ursula, the Villainess?"
"So you do know how to read a story," Buddy smirked. "And here I thought you were illiterate."
"It's my mom's favorite movie, jerk," Chase bit out. "Explain why you're not all...tentacly."
"I swapped keys," Buddy said. "I have the Lover Key, so to finish the story, you'll have to go through me."
"Dude, what the hell?!"
"Not my idea, but it is rather genius," Buddy continued. "You see, it's easy for you to reject the default princes, because they're not expecting a rejection. But how will you fare against a prince that can think for himself?"
"Are you serious?" Chase asked, face flushed in anger. "You're gonna try and make me kiss you?"
"Well, I won't force you to," Buddy said nonchalantly. "You could always give me your key instead."
"Ugh," Chase cried in frustration. "You're the worst."
And without another word, Chase splashed back into the water, presumably swimming as far away as he could.
At least he'll lose his voice soon, Buddy thought with a roll of his eyes. I don't think I can take him complaining about how awful it will be to kiss me the entire story.
And it wasn't as if Buddy wanted to kiss Chase either, right?
Buddy found Chase several hours later, looking like a grumpy, drowned cat in the white sail that he had wrapped around his body.
"I figured you would have quit when you realized I was the love interest," Buddy said, earning a glare from Chase. "That does seem to be your signature move."
Chases mouth moved, and though no sound came out, it looked suspiciously like 'fuck off'.
"None of that now," Buddy teased, "you're supposed to be wooing me, remember?"
Chase leaned down, tracing something in the sand. Buddy glanced at it, rolling his eyes when he saw it read 'JERK'.
"Very mature," Buddy sniffed, turning on his heel. "Come along, we'll find you some clothes at the castle. Can't have you walking around looking like that all day."
They made it halfway to the castle before Buddy felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned around to see Chase looking annoyed and flustered behind him.
"What did you want?" Buddy asked, raising an eyebrow.
Chase bent down to write in the sand once more.
WHAT NEXT?
"For god's sake," Buddy groaned, "I thought you knew this story."
Chase rolled his eyes, writing more.
NEED TO TALK. PAPER?
"I'll get you a writing slate with chalk," Buddy rolled his eyes. "Happy?"
Judging from the happy glint in Chase's eyes, he was.
It turns out that Chase could write just about as fast as he could talk, and Buddy could hardly keep up with what he was trying to say.
After getting Chase some proper clothes, they made their way to the dining room to eat.
Why did you choose the love interest key? Chase had scribbled down as he ate.
"I didn't choose it, my...superior did." Buddy said, taking a bite of food. "But it makes sense. You're too stubborn to leave with a bit of light bullying-"
Light?! Chase scribbled out in indignation.
"-so this is the next best thing."
Forcing me to kiss you? Chase raised an eyebrow at him as he showed him his slate.
"Force you?" Buddy scoffed. "I may be a villain, but I'm no monster. I wouldn't force you to kiss me. No, that you'll have to do of your own free will."
Chase gave him an unreadable look, before erasing and writing once more.
If I kiss you, I get my voice back, right?
"Yes, that is the plot of the story," Buddy said mockingly. "Ariel needs to be kissed to-"
Buddy was promptly cut off when Chase's hands cupped his face, forcing Buddy to let out an involuntary gasp. His heart thudded in his chest as he looked down at Chase's determined brown eyes.
"What are you doing?" Buddy asked, his hand coming up to clutch at Chase's ornate suit. He didn't push Chase away, surprising himself, but held him there, waiting.
Chase stared at him for a moment before pulling Buddy in and pressing their lips together. Buddy gasped, his brain short circuiting as Chase's lips moved against his own. Without realizing, Buddy arms moved to wrap around Chase's waist, pulling him closer and he returned the kiss. And, oh god, was that Chase's tongue swiping against his bottom lip?
Just as fast as the kiss started, it ended, Chase pulling away to glance up at Buddy.
"Did it work?" Chase asked, joy spreading across his face when he heard his own voice. "Alright, it worked!"
"That..." Buddy gaped at him, his hand coming up to touch his lips. "You..."
"Alright, so what's next?" Chase asked, completely ignoring Buddy's shock. "Can we skip the boat scene? Because-"
"You just kissed me!" Buddy interrupted, his face feeling hot.
"Uh, yeah." Chase said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"You just kissed me," Buddy repeated.
"Dude, are you okay?" Chase asked.
"No," Buddy said, an odd source of panic setting in now. "You don't like men. Why did you kiss me?"
"Where did you get that dumb idea from?" Chase asked, looking both baffled and amused. It was cute.
Cute?!
"Because you never kiss the prince!" Buddy said, pacing in front of Chase now. "You look completely disgusted when they even come near you."
"Yeah, cause they don't ask for consent," Chase snorted. "Also, they don't want to kiss me, just their princess. I don't like being used like that."
"But then why did you kiss me?" Buddy asked, whirling around to look at Chase once again. "You don't even like me, and I was here to bully you into giving up your key in place of having to kiss me."
"Yeah," Chase shrugged, "but you weren't actually going to force me to kiss you, which is my main issue with princes."
"Oh my god," Buddy couldn't function. Was he having a heart attack? Why else would his heart be pumping so furiously?
"Seriously, are you okay?" Chase asked, his voice laced with concern. "I get that you probably don't like men but I-"
Chase's voice faded in the buzzing of Buddy's brain. Did Buddy like men? He hadn't had the luxury of thinking about relationships or romance since he got caught up in Ex-Libris at the age of 6, so he had never really considered who he would be attracted to. Thinking back, he did realize that he admired the male form of the storybook characters, but them not being real took away from any beauty they had.
And then Chase came along. He was impulsive, stubborn, fiery. He made Buddy feel things that were long buried.
Buddy assumed that the odd sort of nausea that he felt the moment he laid eyes on Chase was hatred or disgust. He had never felt that way about the old man, or any of the other members of Ex-Libris, but he assumed that it was because he was used to them. That the clenching of his heart was disgust for someone new, and that the squirming in his stomach was annoyance.
Buddy glanced up at Chase, icy blue eyes meeting warm brown.
Oh.
"I like men," Buddy blurted out, and he could feel the blush spreading across his face. "I mean, in theory, I suppose."
"Was I your first kiss?" Chase asked, looking surprised.
Buddy nodded, feeling rather embarrassed, turning away so he wouldn't see the pity in Chase's eyes.
"No wonder you were so mad at me!" Chase said. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't realize...my first kiss was pretty crap too. I was fifteen, and this guy-"
"It wasn't crap," Buddy interrupted without thinking.
"What?" Chase sounded surprised, and Buddy turned to look at him. He didn't appear angry that Buddy interrupted, and if he wasn't mistaken, a pleased little smile was on Chase's lips.
Lips that he just kissed.
"It wasn't a crap kiss," Buddy repeated. "It was...passable."
"High praise," Chase snorted.
"I mean, it was the best kiss I've ever had, if that helps?" Buddy offered weakly, which made Chase burst out laughing.
Oh no.
"I have to say, it was my best kiss too," Chase chuckled. "So, where do we go from here?"
"In the story?" Buddy asked, "or are you talking about kissing?"
"The story," Chase said. "Though you have my full permission to kiss me. For the plot, that is."
"Right, for the plot." Buddy agreed.
"Because like, I'm sure I'll get loads more Narritonin because we kept the kiss in the story, you know?" Chase said, cheeks going a lovely shade of pink.
"Naturally," Buddy replied.
"And not because we wanna just like, kiss each other," Chase said. "But because the story requires it, obviously."
"Obviously," Buddy repeated.
He definitely didn't want to kiss Chase right now.
Not at all.
"So, what happens next?" Chase asked again.
"Well, you've already gained your ability to speak," Buddy said. "So, I think we're done with the story."
"Oh." Chase sounded disappointed. "Well, I'll see you in the next story."
And before Buddy could react, Chase was gone in a silver flash, and all that was left was confusion.
Oh, this was very bad.
"This is the most Narritonin I've ever seen anyone gather from one story,'' the old man said when Buddy returned. It really was an excessive amount, and Buddy didn't realize the story could even produce that much at once. "I'm assuming the rest of the story was a success?"
"Yes sir," Buddy replied, and it wasn't exactly a lie.
"And the Rogue?" the old man asked.
"He was not happy I was the love interest," Buddy replied. "I think we'll have his key very soon."
"Good." The old man sounded pleased. "Keep the Lover Key for now. A few more stories, and he should break."
Buddy watched as the old man swept out of the room, turning to look at Ro, who was shining prettily next to him.
"So, what's the plan?" Ro asked, a smug look on his face. "Because I know the difference between love and hate, and there was a lot of strong emotions happening in that story."
"I don't love him," Buddy said snipply.
He just knew he needed at least one more kiss, that's all.