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Bigb giggled as he followed an excited Grian through the gates of the Renaissance Faire.
He’d been going for many years now, and so had Grian, but this was the first time they were going together.
Bigb had always gone with a group- Martyn, Etho, Skizz, and… someone else? He couldn’t think of who else they might have gone with, but that group didn’t feel right. It felt… incomplete.
That incompleteness was probably why they had decided not to go together this year.
Bigb was glad to have more time to spend with Grian, though, so he ignored the voice in the back of his head, telling him that there was something (someone?) missing.
They were dressed up, of course. Grian had wanted to go with a baker theme- they were both wearing aprons over loose clothing, and hats decorated with lots of fake frosting, as well as chocolate chips for Bigb and cherries for Grian.
Bigb also had a set of wooden cooking utensils hanging from his belt. He couldn’t remember who had gotten them for him, but they were gorgeous.
They spent a lot of time running around, dashing between different shops and shows and stalls.
After a while, they separated, Grian running off to go to a bird show. Bigb took the opportunity to look through all the shops for a present for him.
There were so many shops with so many things, but nothing seemed right for Grian. He walked out of a hat shop, frustrated, and decided to take a break.
Bigb was walking down an empty path, thinking about what he would bake when he got home, when a man walked into him, and he fell to the floor.
The man had long, red-brown hair, tied up in a ponytail, and a scruffy beard. He wore baggy blue pants, with layers of fabric flowing behind him. His top was simple, a sleeveless blue turtleneck. His boots had gold buckles, and he was wearing several gold belts and arm bands. His hair also had some gold jewelry, as well as the fake elf ears he wore. He had butterfly wings, too, made of different gold fabrics, and gold flowers in his hair.
His eyes- his eyes were a deep, dark blue, like looking into the depths of a sky lit by stars. They were so familiar it took his breath away, like a sharp winter wind in the middle of summer.
“Forgive me, my lord!” he cried. “I did not see you there.” He held out a hand, and Bigb took it, getting to his feet.
“It’s alright,” he assured, dusting off his apron. “How could I not forgive someone so handsome as yourself?”
The man laughed, delighted. “You flatter me, my lord.”
“Lord?” Bigb grinned. “I’m afraid you have me mistaken for someone else. I am only a baker, you see.”
“Really?” The man put a hand to his chest. “I was sure that someone as stunning as I see before me must be a lord, at least.”
Bigb giggled. “If only.”
“You can call me Ren, if it pleases you. Your name would be?”
“Bigb.”
Ren smiled at him, teeth sharp. “Shall we walk?”
“We shall!”
Ren walked with him through the faire, looking for gifts for Grian.
Ren had a good eye for these things. They found a crown that looked like the sun’s rays, a stuffed parrot that could sit on one’s shoulder, and a set of heart shaped brooches in green and yellow and red.
While Bigb was buying the brooches, Ren spotted something. It was a pin shaped like a butterfly, pink and gold like the sky at sunrise.
Ren bought it and carefully tucked it into his pocket.
Since he still had some time before he had to meet back up with Grian, Bigb followed Ren to a secluded area, near the woods.
There was a girl there, sitting on a picnic table. She had long pink hair, with several small braids decorated with golden jewelry, and she wore a crown of golden flowers. She had large butterfly wings, like Ren’s, made of different gold fabrics. She wore a flowy blue dress with gold detailing, and she had several different layers of skirts, shimmering in the sunlight. She wore fake elf ears with more golden jewelry, and gold sandals. Her eyes were a brilliant blue, lighter than Ren’s and much colder.
Ren introduced her as Lizzie. She was eating a salad from a wooden bowl, with lots of greens and chunks of some sort of meat. She ripped them apart with her teeth, somehow making the motion seem delicate.
The three of them sat for what felt like forever and also no time at all. Ren and Lizzie were easy to talk to, despite how otherworldly they seemed. Eventually he had to run off to go meet with Grian, but he promised that they would see him again.
He met back up with Grian at the King’s Trial. He was able to give him the gifts he’d bought before the show started; Grian loved them, cooing over the parrot and carefully pinning the red brooch to his bag. The crown went away, since it didn’t match his outfit.
The show was very fun. Bigb couldn’t help but think that if Ren were there, he would have found it very funny.
Grian was dragged away to buy bread by two men in ridiculous amounts of leather, one blond and the other with green streaked brown hair.
Bigb decided to go and find Ren and Lizzie again. He wanted to talk to them again. He needed to talk to them again.
After what felt like forever wandering the faire, he found Ren again.
They walked side by side, talking about everything and nothing.
They stopped by the edge of the woods. Then Ren was holding him, then Ren was kissing him-
It was intoxicating, kissing Ren. It was like whiskey and chocolate chip cookies, like all of the best things Bigb had ever tasted.
“Come with me?” Ren asked, once they separated. Bigb nodded, unable to find his words. He followed Ren into the forest.
There was a clearing in the middle of the woods. In the center was a perfect circle of flowers, where Lizzie was standing.
Ren stepped into the circle, without a second of hesitation. He drew Lizzie into his arms, kissing her.
They kissed like storybooks, like the moment in every fairytale or folktale when the story reached its crescendo. He could almost hear the music start to swell, see the way their teeth clacked together as Lizzie took control.
Bigb- Bigb had been warned so many times- but he wanted. He wanted them so badly.
He stepped into the circle.
Immediately, Lizzie and Ren separated. Lizzie took him by the hands, kissing him delicately.
It was warm, like the sun coming up over the horizon after six long months of freezing night. She tasted a little like iron, a little like bitterness, a little like flowers.
When she moved back, she took his face in her hands. “May I have your name?”
“Of course,” he breathed.
She smiled, and then she was kissing him again. This time it was burning cold. It felt a little like the end of the world, like he was dying, like she was going to eat him alive.
They separated after what felt like an eternity. Ren took Bigb’s hand, pulling him into another kiss.
Bigb had decided. He was happy to stay at the faire for the rest of forever.