Chapter Text
“I'm going— could you stop poking me!” Nufuli snapped at one of the guards. They laughed nervously and continued herding the leviathan towards the palace. Nufuli’s tail kept low to the ground, his fins fluttering with annoyance as he was led up the stairs.
The brown haired king lounged across the throne, one leg draped over the armrest, practically sunbathing on it. He held an asphodel, the flower glinting to the sunny light of the Infinites.
Kunzy looked over, his bright mismatched eyes lighting up like stars in the sky. “Nufuli!” He sprang up, basically hopping over to the tanned man. “It's been so long! Well, not really, only about 46 minutes and 20 seconds but that doesn't matter!”
“Kunzy-”
“There's no words you need to say, Nufuli, I mean, except for, ‘thank you for worrying, Kunzy, now I'll NEVER try to run off while you're giving such a nice tour again!’” Kunzy grinned, a mocking tilt of Nufuli's voice in his words.
He reached to grab Nufuli’s wrist but the other yanked it back almost immediately. “KUNZY!” He yelled, his voice almost echoing. The king seemed to wilt, eyes widening. “I'm not staying here! Okay- this place, these flower fields, they're pretty! They're amazing! But… I'm hunting Evpark and you know why! I've explained myself more than I can count and you've just brushed it off! Evpark’s power is not a joke!” Nufuli's breathing was heavy, his fingers trembling by the slightest, breaking his untouchable facade.
Kunzy stared at him, unblinking. Then, the king started laughing. Some guards looked uncomfortable, which Nufuli did too, because Kunzy looked on the brink of madness. “You can't just- just LEAVE!” Kunzy shoved at Nufuli making the other stumble back. “Kunzy- I already said, Evpark-”
“YOU WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HIM!” Kunzy screamed, his voice echoing across the Infinites. “I'LL HAVE MY GUARDS TAKE CARE OF HIM! I'll execute him MYSELF! All YOU have to do, is sit inside this palace and *stay here.*” Nufuli stayed quiet, his eyes starting to narrow.
He groaned, rubbing his face with his hands, “Kunzy, it's more than just Evpark! Yes, I need to kill him, but I also have friends outside this dimension! I have people who care about me!” His hand subconsciously went to a barrier pin on his chest.
“W-we can be friends!” Kunzy said, grabbing Nufuli’s hands and holding tight. “Cmon, I can give you your own room! What about flowers? Freesias? Dandelion? Tulips? I bet I can grab some blue flowers for you— y-you like blue, right?”
“Kunzy, you're not listening-”
“I AM LISTENING! You're being UNGRATEFUL! I'm offering so much! And you aren't even CONSIDERING STAYING! And even if you really wanted to leave?” A small giggle escaped the king, “You can't.”
The words hit like a Venus Flytrap snapping close. “... What.” The word was barely a question.
Kunzy laughed, more cheerfully this time, though the smile didn't reach his eyes nor his tone, “There's only two ways out of here. Either you kill me, or, I have to let you leave.”
Nufuli stared at Kunzy, his pupils slitting. “I'm not killing you?!”
“Okay! Then you're not leaving~” Kunzy spun on the toe of his shoe, smiling greatly like a child in a candy store.
Nufuli knew arguing more was pointless. He'd probably just made Kunzy snap again and he could tell Kunzy was down with this conversation by the way he was starting to walk back to the throne.
“Kunzy?”
“Yes…?”
“Since I, ever so rudely, interrupted your tour of the Infinites trying to kill Evpark… do you want to continue the tour.” Kunzy spun like a ballerina. “REALLY?! W-WELL, OF COURSE!”
He grabbed Nufuli's wrist and started to take him along, going down the stairs of the palace. “I'm so GLAD you came to your senses!” They landed in the grass, stretching in front of them, an endless field of blue and purple flowers that seemed, if not already did, to reach beyond the horizon.
“Oh, wait here,” Kunzy let Nufuli go as walked over to a group of people, builders, Nufuli guessed, and started talking. Not quietly, because, well, it's Kunzy.
“I'm going to need you guys to focus on one thing.”
“I'm sorry, sir?”
Kunzy snatched one of the builders notebooks scribbling words, “This is important, I need it done before I'm back.”
“Your Majesty, what we're already doing is important.”
“Well, this is MORE important,” Kunzy shoved the notebook back into the boss builder's hand.
They skimmed over it, looking up in confusion, “A room? Really-”
“It's IMPORTANT!” Kunzy snapped, making some of them flinch, “So, focus on it.” Kunzy turned before another word could be said, skipping back towards Nufuli. “Oh-kay! Let's go!” He hooked his arm around Nufuli's, dragging the other deeper into the flower fields.
Nufuli acted like he didn't hear the invisible guards behind them.
“Soooo, we've already been in Salem's dimension… Oh, let's go to the Torchflower Infinite!” Kunzy took Nufuli to one of the portals, swirling with energy and a mix of orange and yellow.
“Look out below!” Kunzy jumped, laughing. Nufuli stood at the top. He was thinking of just running, though he knew he was being watched because of that reason.
So Nufuli jumped.
𓇢𓆸
Nufuli dropped from the air, seeing that Kunzy had built a water area for him to land in. Nufuli splashed inside the water, the impact still hurting. It felt nice in the water, he nearly forgot to resurface until Kunzy grabbed his arm and dragged him back up.
“That was fun! I thought you weren't going to come down for a second!” Kunzy said, both hands holding onto Nufuli’s right hand. “Sorry,” Nufuli grumbled, already missing the water. Kunzy pulled out a towel, helping to dry Nufuli off without asking.
He was a bit rough, scratching at the scales on Nufuli’s neck, but the leviathan wasn't focused on that. He was in awe, glancing around at the new Infinite. It was a beautiful place, torchflowers spread across, like flames in the dark.
Kunzy finished and put the towel away, grabbing Nufuli’s hand again. “Come on! This place has to be one of my favorites!”
Nufuli would see why. As they walked between the flowers, they sparked, not hurting them but adding to the idea of fire.
“Oh, here's my favorite part!” Kunzy let go of Nufuli, glancing back every few seconds to make sure the other was following after. Kunzy was heading towards a tree, like a weeping willow, yet it was orange and yellow, identical to an autumn color.
Kunzy slowed down, staring at the tree. Nufuli stood beside the king, admiring the weeping willow. The brunette walked closer to the tree, sitting against it and sliding to the ground. He closed both eyes, before patting beside him and cracking one eye open to see if the aquatic hybrid would follow.
Nufuli did, sitting beside the king. It was quiet for once, the only sound being the flowers rustling from the wind. Kunzy picked a single flower, turning it in his hand. “Did you know, torchflowers are supposed to symbolize courage?” He looked at Nufuli with calmer eyes. His golden eye was gleaming with the glow of the torchflower and his green one was a perfect mix with the shine.
“Here, let me do something,” Kunzy gently grabbed one of Nufuli’s braids, going to the last parting. He gently weaved the flower into the hole of the last braid, humming what seemed like a familiar tune to Nufuli. “There. Looks pretty.”
Nufuli grabbed his braid, staring at the flower. He sighed and nodded, watching as Kunzy’s face lit up. Kunzy leaned on Nufuli, blinking gently, like he was fighting back sleep. “You should rest,” Kunzy said to Nufuli, grabbing the other's wrist and holding on tight, “You've been through so much today.”
Nufuli almost argued. He was tired, but didn't want to sleep here, it felt wrong. But he yawned sleepily before he could say anything. He let himself lay his head on Kunzy’s head, feeling Kunzy mess with one of his braids.
“Goodnight, Nufuli.”
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