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It was a calm night in Castle town. It wasn’t the calmest, especially for the prince, who had experienced the events that took place not too long ago, but it was still pretty calm.
Ralsei, who had nothing too important to do that day, decided to sit in his room and think about his friends. As usual.
His mind wandered about with potential possibilities of things that may happen in the future. Will we actually be okay? Can the prophecy really be defied? He didn’t want to lose his friends. Even the thought of it happening made him start to feel tears forming in his eyes.
The prince stood up to take a break from thinking too much. He didn’t enjoy crying. He always thought that there were more important things to do than cry. After all, crying wasn’t his purpose. His purpose was to help the lightners.
Ralsei glanced over at the plushie that sat in the corner of his empty room. The plushie that Kris gave him.
Technically, it was really the Player that gave him it. Ralsei knew that. But he still couldn’t help but feel joy when he got it. Whenever he looked at it, too, it made him happy. It reminded him of Kris.
He began to think about Kris. How they beautifully played the piano not too long ago. He missed them. Of course, he missed Susie too, but he missed Kris differently. Yet, he didn’t quite understand why.
“The cage, with human soul and parts.” It was obvious to Ralsei that the prophecy dehumanized Kris. It somewhat made sense, that was simply just their role as a hero, but Ralsei still felt bad. Bad for Kris. He cared for them as a person.
He thought back to them playing the piano again. How amazing it sounded, how cool they looked playing, how much he wanted to hear them play again. He kept replaying the moment in his head, over and over again. A small blush formed on the prince’s fluffy cheeks.
He then got an idea.
He went over to Kris’ room, the one he made for them just a couple of days ago.
He faced the darker side of the room and concentrated his magic on making a piano for them. He closed his eyes, focused hard, and—
Poof!
A piano appeared!
It was a simple upright piano. The color scheme of the instrument match Kris’ room perfectly.
For a moment, he felt proud of himself for making it, but then he pushed that thought away. It was too selfish. He remembered his friends saying that it was okay to be selfish sometimes, though. He smiled at the thought of them. It was hard for him to not feel at least a bit guilty though, since he’d gotten used to it.
He walked over to the piano and played a few notes on it to make sure it worked well. He decided to play a simple C major scale, and then the C major chord. The piano works well, he thought.
Ralsei took a step back and looked at the piano for a few seconds. He knew something was missing. What was it?
He realized that there wasn’t a chair! What pianist doesn’t use a chair! He quickly summoned a chair for the piano with his magic abilities.
Poof!
He smiled and sat down on the chair to make sure it was comfortable and stable. It worked well, so he got up.
The prince walked over to Kris’ bed and sat down, feeling the soft blanket with his fingers. The bed smelled like Kris. Ralsei wondered when they would come back to visit him. He knew it would probably be soon, but he slightly just wanted it to be at that moment.
He knew that was a selfish thought. They probably have more important things to do than visit, he thought to himself.
Ralsei looked down at the ground and then back at the bed. He let out a small sigh before he decided to lie down on his side.
He rested his head on Kris’ pillow and absorbed the scent of it as he started to feel a bit more relaxed. I wish Kris was here, he thought again as he closed his eyes. I miss them… When will they be back…?
Before he knew it, the prince was fast asleep.
He awoke upon hearing the door to the room open. He sat up and adjusted his glasses (which he accidentally fell asleep while wearing) before he realized who walked into the room.
Of course, it was Kris. Ralsei’s eyes widened as he immediately stood up from the bed.
“H-Hi—” He quickly cleared his throat. “Hi Kris,” he greeted as he felt a small blush form on his cheeks. Kris politely waved at him. “Why are you here? Is Susie here?”
“Susie isn’t here and neither is the soul,” they answered, their voice slightly quiet.
The prince’s eyes widened again from surprise as his brows furrowed in confusion. “Why isn’t the soul here?” He walked closer to Kris.
“I just wanted to see you. I didn’t want it to come.”
Ralsei’s heart skipped a beat. This was what he’d hoped for, and it happened! “Uhm,” he started. He avoided eye contact for a second, not knowing what to say in that moment. “Oh, Kris!” He walked over to the piano. “I made a piano for you,” he said with a smile on his face.
Kris softly smiled back. They walked over to the instrument and stared at it. They stared back at Ralsei. “Thank you,” they said. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“Well I—” Before Ralsei could fully respond, he felt Kris’ arms embrace him into a soft hug, their face buried into his scarf.
The prince’s heart skipped a beat once more as his cheeks blushed redder than red. “I..” He hugged them back, smiling happily. They’re just so nice, he thought.
They both hugged for a good minute or two. Ralsei didn’t want it to end. He was really happy and comfortable where he was. He was so happy to make Kris feel happy, not just the Player.
After a few more minutes, Kris decided to let go of the hug. They sat down on the piano chair. “Can I play it,” they asked, looking up at the prince. They pointed to the piano in front of them.
“Yes!” Ralsei nodded. He took a step back, away from Kris just in case he was too close earlier. He let his hands rest behind his back like usual. “If… You want me to leave so that you can play, just let me know!”
“You can stay,” they responded with their small smile.
Ralsei smiled as well. “Okay!” He was glad that Kris didn’t mind him being in their room, since he had been wanting to hear them play again.
They started off with a little piece to warm up. After that, they then began to play My Castle Town.
Ralsei remained silent during the song. He listened to the music and watched Kris play, admiring them deeply. He knew how to play a bit of piano himself, but it was nowhere near as good as Kris’ playing.
He watched as they slightly swayed their body to the music with a tiny smile still on their face. Ralsei slightly fidgeted with his fingers behind his back. They make it look so easy, He thought. Kris is really talented.
Even with some small mistakes in their playing, it all just sounded beautiful to the prince. Everything they did was beautiful. Kris is beautiful, he thought.
Towards the end of the song, Ralsei started to feel tears form in his eyes. He couldn’t help but cry when Kris played so beautifully to him. He silently wiped the tears away as he continued to listen to them play.
Finally, the song came to an end. Kris looked at Ralsei who stood with one hand behind his back and one hand wiping away tears.
“That was… amazing, Kris..!” Ralsei sniffled and awkwardly laughed. “Haha… Uhm, Sorry I—”
Kris stood up from the chair and hugged him again. It only lasted just a few seconds, unfortunately.
“Thank you… Again,” they said. They looked up and decided to help wipe Ralsei’s tears with their finger, which caused him to blush again.
“Nonono, thank you,” he responded. “You played so beautifully just now, I should be the one thanking you, not the other way around, haha..”
Kris just smiled back. They then pulled him in for another hug. They mumbled something against Ralsei’s scarf that he swore he heard as, “…Love you.”
The prince’s eyes widened. “Hm??” He looked down at Kris.
“Nothing,” they replied as they moved their head up to look at him.
Ralsei froze for a second. “Uhm.” Did they really say that? They probably didn’t…
Kris decided to pull away from the hug. A tiny blush could be seen on their blue face. Ralsei found it really cute, which made him blush as well.
“Okay, bye.” Kris started to walk towards the door of the room.
“Huh— Wait!” The prince followed them and softly grabbed onto their hand to try to prevent them from leaving. He didn’t want them to go so soon. He wanted Kris to stay.
“You want me to stay,” Kris asked. It was as if they could read his mind (or it was just really obvious).
Ralsei paused. “Well, only if you want to! Do you have anything important to do in the light world?”
“Sleep,” They responded.
Ralsei glanced over to Kris’ bed. “You could, uhm—”
“Oh,” Kris interrupted. “Yeah I want to sleep here.” They walked over to the bed.
Ralsei quietly let out a sigh of relief. He was glad that Kris was willing to stay. He was really glad. “Okay! Well feel free to do so!”
They started to take off pieces of their armor like their chest plate, shoulder pads and boots. They left their armor on the floor next to the bed. Kris tucked themselves in and decided to give a motion to Ralsei to come closer.
“Hm?” The prince walked over to them, curious. He wondered what else Kris could need.
They scooted over a bit and patted the empty spot on the bed. “Come here,” they said.
Ralsei, being Ralsei, obeyed and immediately got into bed with them. “This is… What you wanted, right,” he asked with an awkward laugh. He rested his head on the pillow with Kris, facing them.
Ralsei examined Kris’ face since they were closer than usual. They really were just beautiful. His heart thumped loudly in his chest.
Kris nodded. “Mhm.” They reached for the blanket again and made sure that it covered Ralsei. “G’Night.”
“Uhm,” He started. “Goodnight, Kris!”
They seemed to quickly doze off to sleep.
Ralsei was unable to sleep as fast as Kris was. For one, he already took a nap earlier, and two, Kris was too pretty to stop looking at. Ralsei could not manage himself to stop staring.
He gently messed with some strands of their hair and tucked it behind their ear. He examined their closed eyes and how long their eyelashes were.
Upon staring, he realized what he was doing and felt weird. I’m just watching them sleep. I should stop. He hesitated for a moment before he decided to move a bit closer to Kris.
Ralsei rested his face on their chest as he felt his cheeks redden. He wondered why he always felt like this around them.
Suddenly, the prince felt Kris’ arms wrap around him and pull him closer. So they weren’t asleep yet? What if they did that in their sleep, he thought.
He wanted to know if they were actually awake. “Kris?”
Tiredly, Kris responded, “Hm?”
“Oh, haha, I thought you were asleep.”
“I was, for like, a second,” they answered.
“Ah.” Ralsei paused. “Did I wake you up?”
“Probably.”
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. He felt bad for waking them up.
“You’re okay, just go to sleep.” Kris pulled him closer and cuddled him. They slightly messed with his ears and smiled.
“Hehe,” Ralsei giggled. “Okay… Goodnight, again, Kris.” He cuddled them back happily.
“Night…”