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Chaos took over the villages of Natlan as soon as he set foot in the nation. Everybody was whispering under their breaths about the fatui that arrived in The Nation of War recently. Lyney was used to it, he was used to being despised and hated by everyone, this wasn’t anything new. He didn’t come to Natlan to cause any trouble or on any missions, he just needed a break from Arlecchino’s possessiveness and control as it wore him down in time more than he could handle. He chose this nation simply because he’s never visited it before, and so he thought that maybe—just maybe, the people wouldn’t react like that when they first saw him, but he was wrong. The rumor of a dangerous outlander coming to Natlan spread fast, reaching even the greatest warrior’s ears. As soon as Kinich was announced of the arrival, he started following Lyney’s every move—he didn’t confront him directly because he believed that no person, fatui or not, deserved to be judged until proven guilty. Soon enough, he figured he was right. Lyney wasn’t like the others, he was kind, careful, caring—he performed small magic tricks for some children that wandered just outside the village who weren’t aware of his title, he helped an injured saurian by treating the wound and bandaging it carefully, he even watched over the village from a distance to make sure no abyssal attacks would happen when he thought Kinich wasn’t around. The warrior realized that he was starting to fall for him, slowly but surely. He always noticed the way Lyney glanced over at him whenever he thought he wasn’t looking, having the dreamiest look on his face as if he was looking at a miracle. They started to hang out more in private and get closer, everybody else unaware of their growing relationship. They even found an opening deep in the forest, near a cliff edge, that they called their secret place . That’s where they hung out together most often, because it was so peaceful, the only place where nobody could judge them, their relationship, their love, where they could love each other freely without any worries.
One night, while they were sitting together under the moonlight on the edge of their secret cliff, it all changed. Kinich’s head was resting on Lyney’s shoulder and their bodies were really close, their hands brushing each other, but none of them having the courage to intertwine their fingers together. They were admiring the stars like they were the only thing protecting them from the world, the judgment, the whispers. That was when the magician finally made up courage to ask:
“Kinich…What are we?” he said, barely above a whisper, like he was afraid that if the warrior actually heard it might shatter everything between them.
It took the green-haired boy a while to think before he could answer “I am not sure, but what do you want us to be?”
That sentence made Lyney flinch slightly, turning his head to face Kinich, eyes lit up by the countless sparkling stars. “I want us to be like this—together, all of the time. I never want to lose you, I don’t want to let go. I love you, Kinich.”
The warrior didn’t answer immediately, his eyes softened and a soft, shy smile appeared on his face, as well as a faint blush. He reached and cupped the magician’s cheek, leaning in slowly to make sure he had his permission and kissed him. It was a soft, sweet kiss, something real, something that said all the words they couldn’t.
As soon as they parted, Kinich whispered “I love you too.”
That night, their hearts officially became one, their relationship stronger and their love indestructible. They promised not to tell anybody nor show affection in public as they could not risk any soul finding out about this. They knew that if it happened, the warrior would stop being trusted and respected by his people, and the magician would further be threatened and hated to the point it could become dangerous. Their love was real and strong, but it was best that they kept it a secret.
But unspoken words gave way to fake rumors. Every person in the village quickly forgot about the fatui when a new rumor appeared—that the two of the greatest warriors in Natlan, Kinich and his best friend Mualani, were dating. It all started because they were always seen together, but the girl was always clinging to the green-haired boy a little too much to be platonic. It was true, she liked Kinich for as long as she could remember, and she always tried to give him hints, like grabbing his arm a little too ofter or laughing a little too loud whenever the boy said something she found funny. The warrior never thought much of it—sure, he did suspect his friend’s feelings for him weren’t platonic, but he didn’t want to break her heart, so he let her be. Because he knew something nobody did—his heart already belonged to Lyney and that would never change. He decided to ignore the rumor as he thought it would pass, but Mualani never seemed to deny anything whenever she was asked about their relationship by villagers.
When Lyney found out about the rumor, he chose not to make a big deal out of it. He knew, even if they didn’t see it, they didn’t know, their relationship, his and Kinich’s, was true and strong. He knew it wouldn’t change anything, so why let himself be affected by it?
Despite their secret, Lyney and Kinich didn’t stop stealing glances every time they had, wherever they were—at the market, in the cliffs, near Kinich’s house, it didn’t matter. The magician was always there, watching from afar. This did not go unnoticed by Mualani, who slowly started to realize that the fatui felt the same way for the warrior as she did—she saw it in the way his eyes sparkled and softened each time they spotted the green-haired boy, or the faint pink blush creeping to his cheeks when they accidentally brushed hands when they passed each other. That was when she started completely hating him. Not just the simple despise all the villagers had for him, but pure hatred . She promised herself to try everything in her power to make Kinich fall for her and date her, but now it wasn’t only because of her own feelings, but to show the fatui she was superior, much better than him. Her confidence didn’t last long though—she tried everything to try hinting the warrior about her feelings, but what she didn’t expect was to find out that somebody already had his heart, the person she least expected.
It happened one afternoon, when she was wandering through the forest. She spotted two figures sprinting through the trees, so fast that you’d think they were trying to outrun fate. She immediately figured it was Kinich and the fatui, so she ran after them, keeping her distance so they wouldn’t spot her. They didn’t stop until they reached the small clearing, lit by the warm sunlight that was slowly fading to give way to the night. She stood behind a tree quietly, watching and listening. She chose not to think about the worst scenario—until she saw it. Kinich got closer to Lyney and kissed him. On the lips . Her eyes widened as she instinctively stepped forward, making the two flinch at the sight of her.
“Kinich…y-you…” she stuttered, looking back and forth between them as if hoping it was a nightmare and she’d wake up from it. “With him?…a fatui?…” her voice turned into a whisper, looking down to the ground. “Are you serious? Do you not realize how much trouble you’d get in if anyone found out about… this ?” her brows furrowed, pointing at their intertwined fingers.
“Mualani, please let me explain-“ the warrior tried to speak, but he was cut off by her voice, this time sounding hurt and disappointed “How could you do this?? How could you be willing to throw everything away—your reputation, your title, the respect you receive, your life… for a fatui?!”
“I love him, Mualani. And yes, I am willing to sacrifice all of that for him. I would rather be hated by the whole Natlan than lose him.” Kinich spoke on a normal tone, as if his biggest secret hadn’t just been discovered.
The girl took one more glance at the two and then ran away back in the forest, back where she came from. Lyney and Kinich remained still, silent for a few moments.
“What are we gonna do now? She’s going to tell everybody about this, about us . Everyone is going to hate you because of me.” winced the magician, hiding his hand in his hands.
“She won’t tell.”
“How can you be so sure?” he looked back up into the warrior’s eyes.
“Because she loves me. She loves me so much it would hurt her to see me like that—miserable, hurt, hated. She’s going to keep it to herself.”
“That doesn’t mean she’s not going to use it agains us.”
“True, but there’s nothing we can do. We just have to keep on hiding our relationship, we have to be more careful.”
“Haven’t we been careful all this time?” the magician let out an airy laugh.
“We have, and nobody except for her knows.” Kinich grabbed Lyney’s waist and dragged him closer, letting him rest his head on his chest.
“I’m scared Kinich.” he admitted quietly.
And the warrior didn’t say “ don’t be ”, because even he himself was. Instead, he whispered “We’ll get through this somehow—together.” and they fell asleep together right under the tall tress in their not-so-secret-anymore place.
——
A few days have passed and everything seemed to be normal. No disappointed stares targeting Kinich or quiet whispers of judgement, just the usual busy and loud village that they were used to. Mualani on the other hand was watching Lyney’s every step and move. She acted normally towards the warrior, still her usual lovey and energetic self, but every now and then she gave the magician a death stare. Her plan changed, in order to have a chance with her loved boy, she first had to separate the two and she was going to do everything in her power to.
It started slow—just looking at Kinich more affectionately, her hands lingering on his arme just a little longer than usual, her tone was sweeter and her smile wider. The boy could tell she was up to something, but didn’t say anything so nobody would think much of it. Then she started intentionally falling on top of the warrior or stumbling so he’s catch her, but nothing seemed to be working. That’s when she realized her last and only hope was to make the magician back away from him.
One day, she followed Lyney into the forest, quiet and unnoticed. He went by himself to pick up some herbs, but he didn’t even get to pick it up when Mualani jumped from behind the tree she was hiding and cornered him.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the fatui who thinks he deserves Natlan’s greatest warrior.” she said, voice bitter.
“What are you doing here? Didn’t Kinich tell you to stop trying to drive us apart?”
“Oh, but I’m not here to do that. I just want to help you realize that you’re not good for him, Lyney.”
The magician froze when he heard those words.
“That’s right. Just think about it. You cannot keep this relationship a secret forever if it’s as serious as you claim, and what do you think is gonna happen when everyone finds out? What do you think their reactions will be? Do you think they’ll just accept a fatui with open arms just because Kinich trusts you?”
Lyney stepped back until he hit the tree trunk behind him. His eyes widened with each question.
“You’ll ruin him, Lyney. Everyone will stop trusting and respecting him. They will hate him and whisper each time he comes in sight, just like they do with you. He’ll be considered a betrayer, you’ll completely destroy his reputation. Is that what you want?”
The magician looked down, avoiding eye contact with the girl as he thought about everything she just said, trying to hold back his tears. He shook his head slowly.
“Then, if you truly love him as much as you say, prove it. Leave him alone, get out of his life as soon as possible. He’ll be better off without a fatui in it.” she continued, barely able to hold back her smirk. She turned around and disappeared deep into the forest, her shadow lost into the tall trees. Lyney didn’t move, didn’t speak, he just let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding and started crying. He loved Kinich more than anything and he knew he did too. He didn’t want to leave, but he also knew that everything Mualani said was true. Kinich was going to fall because of him sooner or later, and that was the last thing he wanted. He started walking home slowly, thinking about what he could say to his secret lover so it wouldn’t sting that much, but nothing came to mind.
——
“Kinich, we have to talk.” said the magician, looking anywhere but in the warrior’s eyes.
Kinich gave him a concerned and confused look as he turned to fully face him “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“I…” he stopped, taking a deep breath. “I think we should break up.” he finally looked up into the green-haired boy’s wide eyes.
“W-What?…What do you mean? Why?!”
“Well…I just realized that I am only dragging you down, and once everyone finds out about us , your reputation, your title, the trust and respect they have fir you—it all will be gone, all because of me. You deserve much better than me.” he said, voice barely above a whisper, as he could feel warm tears rolling down his cheeks.
“Lyney…I don’t care about all that, or what anyone thinks. You’re my love, my heart, my whole world, you make me happy, I feel myself when I’m with you. I love you so much and I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you.” he said, hugging the magician tightly.
“I love you too, Kinich, and I can’t lose you either.”
They stood like that for a while before Kinich broke the silence “What made you think about all that?”
“Well…You know, I went into the forest to pick up some herbs, but what I didn’t notice was that I was followed.”
“Mualani.” the warrior spat out, eyes narrowed. “I’m gonna have a word with her.”
“No, please! She might’ve done it out of her own selfish reasons, but she wasn’t wrong!”
“Yes, she was. She tried to make you feel bad so you’d be the one to leave me.”
“And she nearly succeeded…”
“Nearly. But no one can drive us apart.” the warrior said, gently brushing his knuckles against Lyney’s cheek. “I’ll make sure she won’t bother you again.”
That night, they slept cuddled under the moonlight in their secret place, unaware of what was to come.
——
The next day, Kinich and Mualani were walking in the village again, together as usual, but this time the girl was whispering things to the warrior, things that infuriated him. ‘ Did you break up with him already? ’, ‘ Come on, Kinich. You deserve so much better than that fatui. ’, ‘ He will ruin you. ’, ‘ He probably doesn’t even love you, he might just be using you. ’
That last one was the final straw. Kinich turned around to face her and said “Enough.” with a powerful, intimidating tone. This made the villagers nearby drop every activity and turn their gazes toward the scene. “I am sick of your constant endeavors to separate us. I am sick of hiding.” he added, voice raised but not a yell.
“K-Kinich, please don’t-“
“You want the truth? Here’s the truth.” He took a deep breath before continuing “Me and Lyney are dating, Mualani, and we love each other deeply. He’s the kindest, most caring, prettiest and bravest person I’ve ever met, and I don’t care what you—any of you think. I am not going to break up with him just because you all can’t see him the way I do. I love him so much and I will never leave him, no matter what.”
By this point, all the people stopped walking and whispering and they were all sitting in a crowd to watch the whole scene take place—some shocked, some disappointed, some disgusted, some afraid. Mualani was absolutely speechless, eyes wide and frozen in place. Lyney was also standing among the people, just as stunned.
“W-What have you done…” she whispered.
As soon as the green-haired boy realized all pairs of eyes were targeting him, he made his way through the crowd, grabbed the magician’s wrist and they both ran and didn’t stop until they reached their secret place.
“That was…insane.” mumbled Lyney, still trying to recover from the shock. “Now your reputation’s gone. Everybody’s gonna think so low of you…”
“I don’t care. I would much rather be with you than keep that stupid title and keep being praised by some people that don’t even care about me and my happiness.” He chuckled, then added “At least we don’t have to hide in public anymore.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
And for once, Kinich followed his heart—he chose his happiness over everybody else’s.
——
A few more days passed, but this time nothing was normal at all—the villagers started avoiding Kinich and ignore him, whispering whenever he was around and even give him glances of disappointment. It was pretty much to take in, but at least he had Lyney by his side.
In the evening, they were approached by no other than Mualani.
“Why are you here?” the warrior raised a brow, giving her a tired look.
“I am not here to fight, promise. I just wanted to apologize. I realized that what I did was wring, I shouldn’t have tried to break you two up, I had no right to. And I also realized that you really love him, a lot. He makes you happy, and even though I know I have no chance with you, I still love you. And all I want is for you to be happy, so…” she paused, looking Kinich in the eyes “I will defend you, your relationship, from everyone who tries to do what I once did, and for everyone who insults your name.”
The lovers gave each other a surprised and confused look, and then Lyney spoke “Well I sure didn’t expect you out of all people to help us.”
“Don’t get cocky, fatui. Just because I’m willing to do this for Kinich doesn’t mean I like you. I still despise you and don’t expect to have my trust.”
“Didn’t even think about it.” the magician answered with a playful tone.
——
Ever since that moment, Mualani kept her promise. Each time a villager gave Kinich or Lyney nasty glares or whispered behind their backs whenever they passed, she stepped in and faced them. But it wasn’t long until the Pyro Archon herself heard of the news. She summoned the couple in an instant, determined to talk to them.
“She’s surely going to be mad.” said the warrior, walking towards Mavuika’s chamber reluctantly.
“Hey, whatever she might say, we’re gonna go through this together.” the magician assured, reaching for the other’s hand.
They slowly walked inside the fire-lit room as the big, heavy doors opened.
“Welcome. I was expecting you tao, come in.” said the archon, voice strong and intimidating but nowhere near disappointed or mad.
“I suppose this meeting is about the news spreading around the village?” whispered Kinich, clenching his free fist and squeezing Lyney’s hand harder.
“It is indeed. I summoned you here because I refuse to believe rumors. I want to hear it from you.” she turned to face them, standing near the big, bright flame.
“Yes, we are a couple. We love each other and we are willing to face the consequences for that.” the green-haired boy looked down, waiting for a lecture or scolding.
“That is true. I love him and I swear I will not hurt him, ever. If I do so, I wish to be punished for it.” the magician looked to the ground, expecting hatred coming from the archon.
Mavuika however smiled faintly and looked at the with soft eyes. “I am not mad, I approve of your relationship. Who says that just because he is a fatui he should be labeled without even getting to learn his purpose? And if Kinich got to trust you, then I am more than happy to give you a chance. You are welcome to stay in Natlan for as long as you want.” she opened her arms to embrace the boys. They both ran towards her smiling.
“Thank you so much, Mavuika! It means a lot.” whispered Kinich.
“I am so grateful for your kindness, Pyro Archon.”
“Please, call me Mavuika. And don’t worry about the villagers, I am going to have a word with them about this. Hopefully, with time, they will learn to accept your love the way I do. You are free to go now.”
The boys left the chamber smiling, not once letting go of each other’s hands. The archon watched them with a warm smile on her face.
“We were just like them once, but our duties and people made us separate. Our love was forbidden and that made us follow separate baths. There is not a day passing that I don’t think about and miss you, mi amor . I will make sure to protect their love and not let anything or anyone make them end up like us. I know you would do the same.” she said to herself, smile growing with a tint of sadness and nostalgia as she remembered the beautiful moments of her past. “Isn’t it ironic? You are the God of Love and yet you are forbidden from loving.” she turned around and walked out of her chamber, glancing back to the flame one more time.
——
“She said she accepts us, our relationship, and that she’ll talk to the villagers about it.” said Kinich, a faint, rare smile tugging at his lips.
“That is good news, means your reputation will come back eventually. I am happy for you, Kinich.” Mualani smiled, a small and sad smile appearing on her face. “I am sorry for acting that way. It wasn’t fair towards you. I was so blinded by my feelings for you I didn’t stop to think I could lose our friendship, you . I hope we can still be friends.”
“Of course we can. I don’t want to lose you as a friend either. You have always been there for me when times were hard. You know I’ve always seen you as a sister.” he smiled, offering her a hug.
“Thank you, Kinich. You’re the best.”
——
Lyney and Kinich were finally alone in their secret place. They were looking at the stars as usual, mesmerized by their beauty—each other’s beauty really. The warrior finally broke the silence.
“I am happy we don’t have to hide anymore, and that she supports us.” he whispered, not looking down from the starlit sky.
“Me too. I am glad she is on our side too. And she is also going to talk to everybody, your reputation is saved!” the magician smiled, looking to his right to lock eyes with Kinich, who was now looking at him. They shared a kiss—long, lingering and sweet, full of love and truth.
“I love you.”
“I love you more.”
Now their love wasn’t forbidden anymore. Not adored by most people either, but they were finally happy and no longer hiding.