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It was supposed to be a simple mission. Just a few days ago, Arlecchino gave Lyney instructions regarding the mission. It was nothing complicated or something Lyney hadn’t done before. His mission: kill “Malipo” Kinich, greatest warrior of Natlan. He just had to put on an act, get under his skin, make him fully trust him and then strike when he was least expecting.
And here was the magician, standing at Natlan’s border near two tall cliffs, ready to do what he did best: manipulate people by pretending.
Finding Kinich wasn’t hard, as the greatest warrior would not lose the opportunity to welcome their guest, especially that it was a fatui. Before Lyney stood a tall, strong boy with dark green hair and golden, sharp eyes. His gaze was deadly, as if he was threatening the magician to run as he still could. On his back rested a shiny claymore and a shiny, green vision was attached to his leg. His arms were crossed and he was watching the blonde boy’s every step like a hawk.
“Why are you here, fatui?” he asked coldly.
“That’s not such a nice way to welcome visitors now, is it?” Lyney gave a smirk, stepping closer “You’re Malipo, right? I’ve heard thousands of stories about you so I just had to come here and meet you in person.”
“Listen here, fatui. I don’t know what your intentions are, but I will find out. Until then, I won’t get my eyes off you.” he narrowed his eyes, turning around and starting to walk away.
“My my, I know I’m irresistible, but still.” he smirked wider, adding “Name’s Lyney, by the way. If you’re going to watch me, might as well know what to call me.” He didn’t turn around or stop walking.
That night, the magician lied in his tent, reflecting on the information he got about the target after today’s meeting. “ This one’s gonna be a piece of cake. ” he thought, smirking. He closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.
——
Days passed and the two boys seemed to be getting closer. Sure, Kinich kept watching the fatui’s every move, Lyney kept flirting his way into his heart, but something shifted between them. It didn’t quite feel like the very first day they met.
It all started one night, about a week since Lyney’s arrival in Natlan. He was walking through the forest alone until he found Kinich sitting near a cliff edge all alone. He was looking up at the stars, legs dragged to his chest and arms resting on the sides. The magician hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked, his usual flirty tone nowhere to be seen.
The warrior looked up at him startled, but then his eyes softened just slightly at the sight of him. “No. Couldn’t sleep either?” he asked, moving his gaze back towards the sky.
“Nope. You like stargazing?” he asked with a somewhat amused tone, sitting down right next to the warrior, eyes fixating on the sparkling dots in the distance.
“Yeah…It’s relaxing. I like looking at the stars because I feel like they never judge no matter what and they don’t get disappointed for small mistakes even when you try so hard to please everyone. They are comforting, I feel like I can just be myself here without being judged or scolded for it.” he answered, voice barely above a whisper. His gaze didn’t move from the stars reflecting in his golden eyes.
Lyney just stared at him speechless after what he had just said, unsure of what to say. Then, he answered, voice just as low and sincere “I get it. I feel like that all the time too, like people will never be pleased no matter how hard I try. Like I will always disappoint someone no matter what I choose. Like I will never be enough.” His gaze softened, the smirk on his face nowhere to be seen, but replaced with a soft, shy smile instead “I used to watch the stars all the time in Fontaine. The sky is much different here though.” He turned his head to meet Kinich’s eyes, only to realize they were sitting way too close to each other. He practically jumped up on his legs and started walking through the forest, back to his tent “S-Sorry, I should really go now. Good night! Talk to you tomorrow!”
The green-haired boy just stared at him. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling, but he knew for sure that he didn’t hate the magician anymore. Perhaps he was worth trusting? Perhaps he wasn’t lying all this time and he really is different from the others? There was only one way to find out.
Lyney reached his tent a few minutes later, lying down on his back and thinking. The confident and mischievous smirk from the first night wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Instead, he just stared up at the ceiling and thought. “ What is happening with me? What is this feeling? Why am I feeling this way? ” And that’s the first time the magician didn’t think about the mission anymore, about the reason he was in Natlan for. The only thing that could cross his mind was his one and only target.
——
Two more weeks have passed and the two were really close now—really, really close. They’ve been through a lot together these past weeks: they walked together in the city, they talked about their experiences and memories in their own nations, Lyney told Kinich about his siblings and Father , the green-haired boy’s laughed at his jokes and blushed whenever he made a flower magically appear out of thin air from behind his ear and the magician even got to see the warrior’s soft side, while he was feeding and playing with a baby saurian. All of these moments brought them closer and made the tension between them evaporate. The most important moments of all were the quiet nights where they sat together under the starlit sky, talking as if they’ve known each other for ages. Kinich even opened up to him about his past, which made the blonde boy’s heart flutter. He did not understand these feelings yet, but the green-haired boy did.
This night, they were sitting under the moonlight again, surrounded by countless, shining stars. Neither of them said anything, they were just enjoying the quiet moment of peace. Until Kinich broke that silence.
“You know, I’ve been thinking.” he started, voice low but firm. “I judged you when we first met, without actually knowing you. But now that we got closer, I know I was wrong. You are an amazing person Lyney and you are really special to me. I think…I couldn’t help but fall for you.” he turned to face the magician, who’s eyes widened
slightly and lips parted. Then, he slowly looked into his eyes. He didn’t know what this sharp pain in his chest was. “ amazing person ” he thought, trying to hide the pain left behind by those sweet but fake words. Why was he feeling like this? He should he happy his act succeeded. He made Kinich fall for him, and now he could strike. He should be proud of himself and glad that he could finally get the job done and return home, where Arlecchino would wait for him and be proud after he tells her the news. But in reality, he didn’t even know what he wanted anymore. Would she really be proud? She’s never been before, but the Natlan warrior that was supposed to be his target was, even if he didn’t fully trust him yet. Was this really the right thing to do?
“I-…” he hesitated, before plastering a soft smile to his face and answering “I like you too, Kinich. It would really be an honor to be with you.” He grabbed the green-haired boy’s hands, who was now smiling softly and blushing slightly, and kissed him. He wasn’t supposed to feel anything, he was supposed to kiss him just to lure him deeper into his trap. So why did his heart flutter? Why did he kiss with so much passion?
“I love you” a soft murmur echoed in the silent air of night.
“I love you too…” the blonde boy whispered back.
Later that night, Lyney was in his tent, really thinking about his feelings. He decided that the best thing to do was to follow Arlecchino’s order and finish his task tomorrow night. He finally realized what those feelings meant, but he chose to deny them.
——
The next night, the magician found Kinich at the same usual spot. This time however, he wasn’t about to sit down next to him and make him smile, or look into his beautiful, mesmerizing eyes lit by the starlight only. He was going to strike. He walked closer to the warrior, steps barely audible. Then, he jumped in front of the green-haired boy’s and pinned him to the ground, sitting on top of him. He then made his bow appear into his hands and stretched it, aiming an arrow directly at the warrior’s head. The latter was staring up at him, but he didn’t flinch. In fact, he didn’t seem surprised or scared at all.
“Lyney…I always expected this to be fake…a performance. It seemed too good to be true. I knew you are a fatui and you might be lying to me any time, but I chose to give you a chance and believe you. I wanted to believe you, because I knew I was falling from that very first night you saw me here.” he stopped, looking into his eyes. “But I won’t stop you from doing it. I understand that maybe this is because you want to make your Father proud, and maybe this was all just a lie, and maybe you don’t feel the same, but…”
Silence
“Before you do it, say you love me one more time. Even if it was a lie all along, I just want to hear it again.” he whispered, not breaking eye contact with the blonde boy for a second.
Warm tears started forming at Lyney’s eyes while his hands were shanking uncontrollably on the bow. He looked in Kinich’s golden eyes with pain. He didn’t want to do this. He couldn’t do this. The arrow vanished into thin air and he dropped his bow beside the warrior’s body.
“I can’t do this…I can’t. I wasn’t supposed to feel this way, I wasn’t supposed to fall for you. My mission was to kill you, but now here I am, a fool who’s deeply in love with you. I love you Kinich.”he said through sobs and tears, hands covering his face.
Kinich got up just slightly, but he didn’t pin Lyney down in return. He didn’t attack him or threaten him, he simply hugged him. A warm, true embrace. The magician immediately melted into it.
“It’s okay Lyney, I understand. You don’t have to try so hard to make her proud, just make your own choices that make you happy. And I love you too.”
And just like that, Lyney realized that this mission was much harder than he expected. He failed it because he couldn’t nor wanted to do it anymore. He was supposed to kill the only person that ever saw him for him and made him feel worthy and happy…and loved. He finally made the right choice that he knew he wouldn’t regret, he chose to embrace his feelings and live his life the way he wanted to.