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Most of the ninja were gathered around the Monastery's courtyard and exchanging stories. Cole and Jay stood by the brick wall laughing as they retold old memories that had seemingly been reduced to only one mind just a few days ago. Nya stood near them, mostly keeping to herself, but occasionally butting in to add details in order to embarrass one or both of them, laughing as they winced and groaned at her comments. Kai and Lloyd sat at the Monastery's steps, reminding both of them of how they had first found each other. They talked in hushed voices, concerned over the return of Beatrix. Zane and P.I.X.A.L stood by the Monastery door, holding each other's hands and enjoying one another's company in silence. Meanwhile, Arin, Sora, and Wyldfyre were huddled near the center. Arin sat against the stone rim that surrounded the golden dragon while both Sora and Wyldfyre stood facing him. Euphrasia had left to the Cloud Kingdom in order to pick up stuff so she could continue training with the ninja.
No one paid any attention to Frak, who stood inside the Monastery, looking at them all through the open doors. He took a deep breath, working up the courage he needed to walk up to a certain pink haired girl right outside the doors.
He felt the bottom of his foot make contact with the wooden floor as he moved forward, almost without realizing. No turning back now, he thought.
Once Frak reached the small group he smiled at them. "Hey, guys!" he greeted. "What's up?" he asked after a short, awkward pause that made him even more anxious. He absentmindedly started fidgeting with his thumb.
Sora turned to him with a small frown. "Frak, would you please tell your friend that his ‘corrupted’ Spinjizu isn't a reflection of him being a bad person?" she said, gesturing to Arin.
Frak let out a breath of relief once he realized that her upset expression wasn't directed towards him. He scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I was wondering if I could ask you something"—his eyes darted around and he straightened himself out, putting his arms to his sides stiffly—"in private."
Sora, not expecting that as an answer, widened her eyes in surprise before quickly composing herself. "Uh, sure? I mean, yeah, I'll come with you."
Frak nodded quickly before walking towards the direction of the dragon stables. He didn’t look back to see the looks on Arin’s and Wyldfyre’s faces, nor did he turn to see if Sora was following him, worried that he would abort his mission if he did.
A second later Sora jogged up to him in order to walk in step with him. “So uh, what did you want to ask me?” she asked, clearly confused.
Frak turned his head to face her before quickly looking back down before making eye contact. “It’s just—it’s been on my mind for a while now, and I—" he let out a sigh. How was he supposed to confess his love for Sora if he couldn’t even talk to her without turning into a stuttering mess? He started scratching the back of his head again without realizing.
Sora frowned at him, brow furrowing as she tried to determine what he was thinking. She opened her mouth before Frak quickly interrupted her. “Hey, look! We’re here!” Frak said, signaling to the dragon stables before them, trying to keep the awkwardness out of his voice. Apparently, it didn’t work because Sora gave him a suspicious look before descending into the stables herself. He laughed nervously before following close behind her.
By the time they had reached the bottom, all the dragons had noticed their appearance, and were now watching them intently.
"Well?” Sora asked Frak, his attention immediately snapping back to her and away from the dragons. “What’s up?”
Frak took a deep breath. “I meant to tell you this earlier, but I could never find the ‘right moment,’ you know?”
Sora’s frown returned, deeper than before. “No, not really.”
Frak let out a nervous chuckle. Why was this so much harder than facing a giant puppet? “Yeah, I guess you won’t get it until I say this, huh?” He took a short moment to close his eyes and line up his thoughts. He was going to do this. He was going to do this. He wouldn’t let himself back out this time.
"I, I really like you Sora.” Frak started once he had opened his eyes again. He turned his head up to face her once he realized he was looking at the floor. “And I mean, really like you. You’re so smart, and, and cute and brave and everything that I wish I could be.” He looked back at the floor, shutting his eyes hard enough that it hurt. “And I would hope you feel the same, but”—he slowly opened his eyes back up, but kept looking at the ground, refusing to meet Sora’s gaze—"I don’t know if you feel like that, and I felt that, confessing my feelings would ruin our relationship, and I’m sorry if it has.” Sora had never heard him sound so... vulnerable.
Finally working up the courage to look back up at Sora, Frak met her eyes and saw surprise in them. She blinked a few times before morphing her expression into something more empathetic. She gave a small smile, which made his heart jump until he realized it was laced with what appeared to be sadness and pity. He felt his heart sink down and into his shoes, melting into a pile of pathetic mush.
"Frak," Sora started, "I'm sorry, but I don't—feel like that, too. I'm just, not into guys." A nervous chuckle left through her mouth, and Frak wished he couldn't feel his heart leap with joy and the sound of it.
"Oh, uh yeah, I'm sorry," Frak said, stuttering intensely. His eyes widened a second later once he processed the second part of her words. "You don't like guys? I mean, you're a—uh, loosebian?" He desperately tried to come up with the name, unable to remember. "No, that's not right. Lestbian? Lessbean? No, uhh—"
Sora cut him off. "Lesbian, that's what it's called."
"Oh! Right! Yeah, it was on the tip of my tongue!" Frak scratched the back of his head again. He really hated his nervous habit.
"Well, no, I'm not a lesbian. I'm aroace, so I'm not really for any gender at all."
Frak cocked his head to the side that reminded Sora awfully a lot like dog. "Aroace? I can't say I've heard of it." He tapped his chin
Sora smiled at him. "Yeah, not too many people know about it. It stands for aromatic asexual. It means that I don't experience any sort of romantic or, ah, intimate attraction if you will."
Frak found himself blushing at that. "Oh yeah, of course not. I wasn't"—he sighed—"I think I'll stop talking before I dig myself an even bigger hole."
Sora smiled at that. "That might be good. Anyway, aroace. The full meaning is having little to no romantic or intimate attraction, so you could be an aroace lesbian, but for me it's nothing, so I don't identify has anything else. Any questions?"
Frak thought for a second, eyes drifting to focus one of the dragons before looking back at her. "How long did you know?"
Sora frowned for a short second. "I honestly had no idea that you liked me—"
"Not that," Frak quickly said, interrupting her. He didn't really want to focus on the rejection at the moment, right now he would be here to support his—hopefully still—friend. "I mean, how long did you know that you were aroace?"
"I guess I always knew? I mean, when I still lived in Imperium, I felt that something was a bit off. Everyone else would talk at lunch about their crushes, and I just thought that it would take a bit longer for me to find someone I liked." Sora's eyes were a bit unfocused, like she was recalling something from the past. "Then the Merge happened, and I still didn't feel that way towards anyone. Once me and Arin went to our first Crossroads Pride Festival, I finally figured out why I didn't feel that way." She let out a laugh, apparently remembering something she found was funny. "For a bit I thought I had a crush on Arin before I realized it wasn't romantic love and instead philia love. Honestly, I'm glad I figured that out because the thought of dating Arin is a bit weird to me." She thought for a second. "Well, the thought of dating anyone is a bit weird to me." She realized what she has said and focused back on Frak. "I'm sorry Frak, but I just can't reciprocate any feelings towards you." She let out a sigh.
"I get it, really. I can't force you to love me, and to be honest it feels a lot better now that I've gotten this off my chest." Frak locked his eyes back on Sora, trying to stop them from darting around. "If it's alright without, do you think we could continue being friends? I could keep teaching you how to make pies!"
Sora laughed at that. "Maybe I should leave you and Arin to the baking, but yeah," she smiled at him, making sure he knew she appreciated his offer, "I would like to still be friends."
Frak let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He smiled, "thank you, Sora."
They heard what seemed to be an explosion coming from the Monastery, taking both of their attention as they stared in the general direction of it.
"Come on," Sora said. "Let's head back before Wyldfyre burns down the Monastery. Kai and Lloyd have gotten lucky with keeping her in line, and I don't want it to run out while we're not there."
Frak nodded and chased after her as they bolted towards the building. He thought about what he had learned about his friend and smiled. His heart still hurt from the rejection, and some part of him still hoped that Sora would change her mind, but he would be happy for her. He would defend her throughout her journey and be by her side.
He would always be supporting her.