A/N: this might be a one shot, it might not be. idk yet so yea. but its for the book the Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black. hope y'all like it!
"Ben, Severin!" Hazel called out into the forest. She stepped over a log, her boyfriend Jack trailing behind her. The path to the clearing was well used by generations of tourists and locals alike. It used to be that everyone came to see the horned boy, lying peacefully in an unbreakable, glass casket in the middle of the woods. Now the tourists no longer came to see him, because hazel had released him a couple of months ago. Severin was now her brother Ben's boyfriend, and had declared hazel the head of his army. Now, in a new coffin, lay Severin's father. The Alderking. The parties were still held there and locals hang out there. Severin was finally free of lying, unmoving, listening to fragments of conversations and the noise the high school parties brought. Now, hazel and Jack were going to meet up with Ben and Sevein, who lived in the Alderking's palace, which was Severin's now they all supposed.
The sweet sound of a violin drifted from the top of the glass coffin and hazel sped up. She emerged in the small clearing, just big enough for the casket and a group of people. Trees were dotted around, the ground coated in autumn leaves and pine needles. Ben was sitting on the edge of the coffin, one foot on the ground the other folded under his thigh on top. Severin was stretched out on the glass above his father, with his eyes closed listening to Ben's playing. A faint smile formed on his lips as he opened his eyes and sat up to greet Hazel and Jack. Ben finished playing a couple more notes and put the violin down above the resting king. He got up and went to give Jack and Hazel each a hug.
"Hey Jack" Ben said. "how's Carter and your parents?"
"They're good. Hows my mom?"
"Eolanthe is good. Although she dosent approve if me dating Sev or being your best friend. In fact, just the other day she tried to kill me." ben said with a smile.
Jack shook his head with a look of disappointment on his face. "Hmm, well thats my mother for you." he said, running his fingers through his dark curly hair. Jack was a changeling, and while it is a long story, he had decided last month to stay with his human family in the human world instead of being with his true mother, a faerie named Eolanthe. Ben moved over a step to give his little sister Hazel a hug. He had missed her greatly, even though he'd seen her last friday. They all met up at the casket to see each other on friday afternoons after Hazel and Jack got out of classes. Sometimes Jack's human brother would come, or Hazel's friends Molly and Leonie. Today it was just Haze, Jack, Ben and Severin. Hazel knocked her brother over in one hug and buried her head in his messy red hair that matched hers. Sometimes Ben looked like a lion, with his mane of messy hair and intense green eyes.
"I miss bothering you about dates and boyfriends" Hazel smiled.
"Hmm, well i'm not a single pringle anymore, i have Sev"
"I know, that's why I said I missed it" Hazel responded as she got up to her feet with the help of Jack. She glanced at Severin, who was smiling, laughing at the constant bicker between the two siblings.
Severin got up to help Ben brush leaves out of his hair. "How is human school going?" he asked Hazel and Jack.
"Ehhh, I don't see why we need to learn algebra and geometry and literature when were all gonna just come back to Fairfold and take over our families businesses".
"Well you are going to come live in the palace with Ben and I when you graduate, right?"
"well , yeah I am. You can't have the head of your army too far away can you?" Hazel smiled and sat down on a rock. The thought of her killing the Alderking still haunted her a little, so she decided not to sit on top of his coffin.
"Well, Ben and I had an idea" Severin proposed.
"For what? Do tell!" Hazel said enthusiastically. "Does it involve danger? Adventure?"
"Well, maybe? We were thinking, since it's almost the end of the school year, we could all rent an apartment in Philadelphia and I could go to that music school I wanted to, and you all could go to college or something" Ben explained.
"That's brilliant guys! But who would take care of faerieland?" Hazel proclaimed.
"I was thinking we could leave Eolanthe the power for a little while since she does want it, and it would only be for a year at most" Severin answered.
"Yeah, i guess we could try it, if you guys are sure Eolanthe won't be too greedy and not give the throne back." Jack had told Hazel that his mother wanted to take over the kingdom someday and that worried Hazel a lot.
"So we'll go find out about renting an apartment sometime this week" Ben confirmed. Then they all dropped the topic of the sudden decision to go to the city, and chatted about other things while ben played the violin. Severin sat on the coffin next to him and hummed along to the merry tune. It must have been a catchy song, because soon, Hazel was humming too. It started to get dark, and Hazel's phone rang.
"Hello? Oh, hi Mom...yes were here with Ben and Severin...sure...I will" she moved the phone away from her head a little and asked, "Mom wants to know if you all want to come over for pizza. She says you have to Ben, her orders, but it's up to Severin and Jack if they want to come."
"Sure" both Jack and Severin said at the same time. Hazel put the phone back to her ear.
"Yeah , they're all coming...yes...don't forget to order a bacon-pineapple pizza...ok...we'll be back by then...ok bye." She hung up and turned to the boys. "Were getting a large pepperoni, large cheese, large bacon-pineapple and a small buffalo chicken, since that's what Dad likes. And we have to be home at six-thirty, so we better get a move on."
Ben put the violin in a case that had somehow appeared or had been hidden somewhere that Hazel hadn't seen it. Severin lazily got up from his position on the casket and followed the other three on the path that went to the Evans's house. The sun was setting as they walked home, and a bush in front of them rustled. Hazel stopped and Jack ran into her, Ben into Jack, and Severin, who apparently was the only one with good reflexes called out.
"Hello? show yourself and stop stalking us. It is I, the king of Faerieland. Do not fear me I am mostly nice." it was sort of cheesy, since it was the 21 century and he was talking in a dialect similar to that of the 15 century, but it was how the Fae talked and the creature understood and came out of the bushes, head down.
"I am sorry to disturb you Your Highness," a young fae girl, about their age said to them. She looked up, and seemed familiar so Severin. His eyes widened as he realized something astonishing.
"Sister? Is it really you?" he inquired. His face shone confusion, excitement, worries, and many more unreadable emotions. He stepped forward and the girl smiled.
"Yes brother, it is me. I have returned to my previous form after mourning all of those years my husband was killed. But i have forgiven you. I have seen and listened to your talking that you have found true love for yourself, and that you would make my dead husband rise once more, a thousand times over, to make me happy. You now understand what i felt when i was with him. But, you can only guess how much pain i was in." she sighed, and a single tear made its way down her pale, youthful cheek. Severin broke down. He dropped to his knees and begged her for forgiveness. She took his hand and helped him stand up again. He hugged her and he buried his hands in her long, curling, jet black hair. "Sorrel" he said under his breath. "Sister" he said after. They stood there for a moment and then Severin pulled back, holding her an arms length away as he studied her. She had changed from her old form of a scraggly monster, with moss and dirt and bark making her up. Now she was small, maybe only 5 feet. She had the same intense gaze as Severin, except her eyes were a deep shade violet that looked like it went on forever. She had full lips and cheeks and the tips of the pointy ears just barely stuck out of the mass of straight long black hair on top of her head. Her limbs were long, but not too long, just the right length, and her hands and feet were dainty little things.
"Sorry to interrupt this...beautiful moment.." Hazel interjected. "But we have to get home for pizza. You can come to Sorrel, if you want."
"No, but thank you. I do not enjoy the greasy in-edible things you mortals consume and call food." Sorrel replied coldly. She said the word mortal as in she was disgusted by it.
"ok , well, good bye." Hazel tried her very best not to make a remark about the girls attitude towards what they liked and her lecture to Severin, who hadn't known what he was doing those centuries ago.
"Well, goodbye sister. Maybe i will see you again."
"Hopefully not with these… mortals" she said, disgusted.
She turned back to the forest and disappeared into the thick cleavage. The group then turned and continued on their way.
When they finally got home, Mrs. Evans was just pulling into the driveway with the pizza. She got out of the car and opened the passenger seat to get the pizza. "Help would be nice!" she called. They all rushed forward to help. "I only need one of you."she responded grumpily. She handed three of the boxes to Ben and got the small pizza, the two liter bottle of Coke, and the plates herself. Jack rushed to get the door for her and then Hazel followed everyone else in. Ben set the pizza down on the counter next to the stove.
"Put it on the table Benjamin," she snapped.
"What's the matter Mom?" he asked. He gave Hazel a worried glance and she returned it.
"Nothing. Just a stressful day."
"Mom you can tell us. You have to. And if you don't i'll get Ben's magical boyfriend to get the truth out of you." Hazel said.
"Are you threatening me Hazel?"
"Yes" she challenged. "I am."
"Well, you can get your sassy teenage butt out of my house and take your friends with you if you are going to act all high and mighty on me."
"Fine. i'll stop. But puh-lease tell us what is going on?"
"No. it's not your business." she responded and walked out the back door to her art studio with a slice of pizza and a glass of Coke. The four sat down at the table and started eating in silence.
"Well...that was... let's go upstairs and eat." Hazel said quickly. They grabbed two of the pizzas and the coke and headed up to Ben's old bedroom. It was just as he'd left it, the covers in his bed were still rumpled and there were still leaves on the floor from that first night he'd gotten to really know Severin. Everything was basically the same except Hazel had decided to close the window. Some nights she went in there and just looked at it. She had been devastated that Ben had left and she hadn't completely gotten over it yet. Ben pushed the covers in the floor and settled in the corner against the wall. Severin climbed up next to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. Next to the bed was Ben's desk, where Jack was sitting in the spinny chair with Hazel perched on the actual desk next to the pizza.
"I wonder what the problem is with Mom." Hazel nagged.
"Hazel" Ben sighed. "Leave it alone. You don't need to know everything. If she wanted you to know she would have told you and not been so dismissive about it." Ben remarked. He scooted forward to grab the last slice of pineapple-bacon pizza. Severin grunted in annoyance, his head rest had moved him from his comfortable position.
"I think we're going to start on our way back to the palace. You guys can come if you want." Severin offered.
"Ok. can we stop at Jack's so he can ask his family?" Hazel asked. Ben nodded and slowly got up. The others followed and soon they were standing out front of Jack's house while he asked his parents. HE stepped out the front door and shook his head.
"Nope. Sorry guys." he said and went back into the house. The three turned back to the road and started walking in silence to the hill. They continued to the throne room and Severin stopped.
"I think i'm going to go to bed." he said. "Hazel i will show you to your bed chamber."
"Ok" she replied. She followed him and Ben to a large room. on one wall was a huge bed with about fifty multicolored pillows on it. The blankets were made of blood red silk with threads of gold running through it. The bed had a canopy that draped at the head and ran over the top, but not the sides. On the bed was Hazel's Faerie sword, Hearsworn. It's golden hilt was recently polished and the blade sharpened. She thanked Ben and Severin, and they left. She rang a bell, and a maid rushed in. Hazel asked for a glass of lemonade and the maid left. Hazel pulled her phone and a pair of earbuds and started listening to Panic!At The Disco. The maid came back a couple of minutes later and placed the tray with the lemonade on a bedside table, then left. A few minutes later, Severin rushed in and Hazel lifted the glass to her lips. He dived at her and knocked the glass out of her hand. It fell to the floor with a loud shatter, spilling liquid and razor sharp shards of glass everywhere.
"Hey! I was gonna drink that!"
"It's Faerie. You shouldn't drink it."
"Right i forgot about that."
"Anyways, i came to tell you that Ben and i just called the apartment people- i don't know what you call them- and we rented an apartment. We're going to move in tomorrow morning. Can you come with me to talk to Eolanthe?" he declared.
"Yes, sure. But why tomorrow? Why so soon?"
"Because….Ben was worried about the way your mother was acting and so he thinks it would be the best to get away sooner." Severin explained. Ben birst into the room, panting.
"What is it Ben?!" Hazel exclaimed. She stood up from the bed and helped Ben sit down.
"Eolanthe….with….sword…..in…..my….room…." he panted. He shook his head and added, "she was gonna kill me or something."
Severin face was grim with disappointment. They all just sat there, thinking about what to do, as now Eolanthe had broken her trust with them once again. "She obviously can't be incharge. That would mean all of my subjects lives at risk." Severin concluded. "There has to be someone else."
"Marcan. He can do it. I trust him with my life. He is my most loyal and responsible knight. You can depend on him." Hazel suggested.
"Sure, I trust him too. I will go and propose the idea to him."
"Ok Hazel and I can start packing our things" Ben said. Severin got up and nodded to the siblings and left the room to consult Marcan. They stood and Hazel threw her scant items into a backpack and they went to Ben's room to collect his things. He had a bit more than Hazel, as he had been living there for a few months with Severin. They put all of his stuff into a bottomless bag, for easy travel. Then they started in Severin's things in another bag. Severin wandered into the room with a smile. Marcan would be incharge.
"I'm going to go to bed" Hazel informed the boys. She hugged Ben goodnight and smiled and waved as she left the room. "Goodnight" she added when she was already in the hallway. She walked to her room alone and thought about all the good times she and Ben had had pretending that Severin was their prince and they would save him. Ben had made up so many stories about it, and had gone to talk to the boy in the casket almost every day. And now all of his stories had come true. The boy in the coffin was their prince now. She got to her door and went in. she shut the door gingerly. She leaned against the closed door and shut her eyes to the welling tears. She tried to blink them back but in the end she just let them fall. She slid down the door and sat against it. Ever since Severin had been released she missed the good old days, when there were parties and her and ben would hang out with the coffin boy. She gradually got up and stretched out on the bed and drifted to a restless sleep.
The next morning Ben woke her up bright and early. He left her for a couple minutes so she could get dressed and she met him and Severin in the throne room. Marcan walked in a couple minutes later, and Severin gave him the crown to swear by that he would basically be a good leader for the time being and give the throne back when Severin returned.
"Place you right hand on the crown and your left on your heart." Severin commanded him to do. Marcan responded with completing the actions.
"I Marcan Hogslayer will do all I can to protect and lead the citizens of Faerieland." Marcan repeated. "I will be fair and peaceful, I will protect the throne of the King with my life and return it when he comes back in one years time." he finished.
"Ok , good, now we're going to leave now and just summon me if it's serious. Nothing less and nothing more. Only the serious matter of war." Severin said dimly. "Thank you, again my loyal knight. If anything happens to all of us, you might be in power longer than expected. But, nothing will happen, hopefully" Severin ended happily.
"Well, goodbye for now" Hazel added to Severin's foul thoughts. They left the palace quickly to go gather the rest of Hazel's things, and then they were off to Philadelphia.
It took about an hour and a half to get to where their new apartment was. It was close to the place where Ben and Hazel had lives as kids, and also very close to the music school Ben had gone to. When they got there the landlord was waiting in the lobby for them. Severin and Ben had chosen a decent place to live. The lobby had a Starbucks, where they could lounge and for the residents, everything was free. The complex was circular and in the massive courtyard in the center, was a recreation building, a pool and an area they could have parties.
Their apartment was on the 7th floor and was at the end of the hallway. In the actual apartment, they had a medium sized kitchen with stainless steel appliances and black granite counters. The cabinets above the counters were black with bronze handles, and the ones beneath the counter were gray, with the same hardware. The bathroom had a small single vanity and a normal sized shower. The window above the toilet looked out over the expanse of the city. They went to look at the bedrooms, one was painted a light gray color, with a beautiful, natural hardwood floor. There was only one proper bedroom, but there was an office space big enough for a bed and a set of drawers. The living room was next to the kitchen and there were two windows and a small window seat in between them under a smaller window. They got to work, Severin making furniture appear where it was needed, and Ben and Hazel organizing things in the rooms. Hazel got the officey room while the couple got the big room.
Hazel dumped the contents of her bag onto the bed Severin had magically put there, and started putting them in the closet and in the dresser. She put Heartsworn in the chest underneath the bed, along with a couple of potions and the old fae storybook.
She heard her phone start ringing and scrambled through the clutter on the closet floor to answer it.
"Jack! Oh! i miss you!... Ok, yeah, I'll text you our address….. Ok…. tomorrow. Ok bye!"
Jack was gonna come visit the next day, but his parents wouldn't let him move in with the other three. She went out to the newly decorated living room where Ben was sitting one of the couches with Severin looking at his phone, leaning over his shoulder. Ben was muttering something and then he smiled and looked up at Hazel.
"I just invited a couple of old friends over that live around here from my old school" he informed her. He was truly happy and Hazel wondered what was so exciting about a bunch of used to be kid music prodigies coming over. Suddenly, a horrible memory flashed before her eyes for a brief second. Ben, his head in the table, crying, a boy kissing Hazel while Ben watched from a doorway, Ben's purple, misangled fingers cradled in his lap. She stepped back and breathed hardly.
"What? What's wrong Hay?" Ben said with a now worried tone. His eyebrows were knit together and he got up and helped her sit down on the plush gray couch.
"Nothing...nothing. Just a bad memory." she said, closing her eyes as if a migraine was blooming.
"What memories?" Ben asked. He had been happy to see his old friends, but now he was worried about his sister, family first. Hazel shook her head, like she didn't want to share what she had remembered, that it might offend him. "Hazel, tell me. I won't be offended, or hurt, or any of that sappy stuff. Just. Tell. Me" he pushed.
"I can leave if you want" Severin added. Hazel nodded and he smiled and went to organize more things in Ben and his bedroom.
"It was…. Well, remember when we lived here, and you fell for that jerky kid who kissed me after he broke up with you? Well I had a flashback of that whole dealio and well, it scared me." Hazel was now crying, big fat tears rolled down her face. Ben regretted everything he'd done to make her reluctant to tell him this. He took Hazel's hands in his and squeezed. "Please tell me you did not invite that wretched boy. Kerem Aslan. That was his name and I will resent him for the rest of my life." She swore. Seeing his sister like this scared Ben. A lot. She had always been better at hiding her emotions, she had always been the strong one, Ben's crutch in his hardest times. And now Ben was watching her fall apart in his hands. "Hazel. You don't need to resent him. He seems nice now, and he's coming over. Hopefully we can get past what he did and be friends once more, and just know that you don't have to hesitate to tell me anything. I won't judge you. I have more problems." he whispered the last sentence, "I love you" and turned around and went to find Severin. He went to bed with the thoughts of his sister crumbling occupying his mind.
The next morning Hazel woke to the sound of a loud CRASH in the boy's bedroom. Then she heard a phone ringing and Ben's voice answering. She huddled back under the warm blankets until she saw Severin go into the kitchen (there was a glass door to her room)to make a breakfast of toaster waffles and english muffins. She got up and slipped her feet into a pair of old slippers. She sat at one of the four seats at the island in the middle of the kitchen and waited for a waffle. Ben walked into the room with his hair was like a mane and his shirt falling off his shoulder a little. "That was Jack. he said you forgot to text him our apartment number with the address yesterday." he said with his mouth full of Hazel's waffle. "You also forgot to tell us that he was coming." he said, this time with his eyebrows raised at her.
"Heh, heh, heh, sorry" she grinned as she took her waffle back from her brother. A minute later there was a knock on the door and Hazel jumped up to get it. When she opened it, Jack barely had time to step in and close it before she tackled him with hugs and kisses.
"I missed you!" Hazel exclaimed. They walked over to the kitchen counter and Hazel sat down on the top of it and finished her breakfast.
"I was thinking we could go to dinner then the movies"hazel said. "There used to be this really good burger place near here and i think its still there."She kissed jack once more and then took a sip of orange juice. Severin was now frying eggs somehow, since they didn't have any… Ben had disappeared probably to get coffee since that seemed to be the only thing Severin couldn't make very well.
Ben got a text from one of his old friends, saying something had come up, and that he couldn't come. Welp, it would just be him, and two other people. Severin had decided to stay out of the way since he had horns and that wasn't exactly normal in the city. The first boy showed up a little bit early, Alexander Storr. Kerem Aslan was just on time, like he actually wanted to make a good second impression on Ben.
"Hey Kerem. It's good to see you." Ben said with high hopes. Kerem looked somewhat the same, dark hair, tan skin, amber eyes, except he was taller and he had more freckles.
"Good to see you to" the boy replied with a wide smile. They had a good time together, going to the club house area and playing pool and getting takeout from a chinese restaurant a couple blocks away. After a few hours Alex had to leave to get his sister from the airport, leaving Kerem and Ben alone. When Alex left Ben got a bit nervous for what might come.
"Let's play chess or something" Kerem said, eyeing the beautiful wooden set.
"Ok, i'll be black" ben said as he set up the pieces on the coffee table. They sat across from each other on the carpet against the couches on either side. They started playing in silence and then Kerem brought up that dreadful topic of their past experience together.
"I'm really sorry about what I did when we were….umm… in school together." he looked uncomfortable as he said it. It made Ben feel a little better to know that he was sorry for the shame and regret and heartbreak he cast upon Ben.
"It's fine. I've gotten over it. Forgive and forget, right?" Ben regretted inviting Kerem over now.
"Listen, I made a lot of bad decisions in middle school. I didn't know how to deal with a lot of things. But I...I was hoping we could be friends again." he said. There was hope in his voice and he smiled at Ben as he looked longingly into his eyes.
"Yes. that would be great, I was kinda hoping that too." Ben also grinned now. Kerem moved over so he was next to Ben. He suddenly lifted his lips to Ben's for a brief second before Ben realized what was happening. He pushed Kerem into the coffee table and punched his jaw so hard there was an instant bruise on his hand. Kerem stumbled backward towards the door.
"GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY APARTMENT YOU IMBECILE! GET OUT AND NEVER COME BACK!" Ben screeched at the boy's face. Severin came rushing out of the bedroom at the sudden commotion. Kerem looked at him strangely and then turned back to Ben. "GET OUT! I FORGAVE YOU AND YOU GO AND TRY TO MAKE THINGS YOUR WAY! I CANNOT FORGIVE YOU AGAIN!" Ben tried to punch him again but Severin held him back. "GET OUT!" Ben was hysterical by the time he pushed Kerem Aslan out the door and slammed it on his face. Ben collapsed against the corner of the wall and put his head in his knees and cried. Oh god, oh god. I should never have forgiven that piece of …Gahhh Ben thought. Severin sat down next to him and put his arm around Ben. they sat there for more than a half hour and eventually Ben rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. He fell asleep with tears dried on his cheeks and Severin fell asleep with him. Around eleven the door opened and woke up Severin. Hazel and Jack came in and Severin put his finger to his lips to signal to them to be quiet. He picked Ben up and turned to the other two.
"He had a rough night. I'll explain in the morning." he whispered. Ben stirred a little and adjusted his head on Severin's chest, not aware he was being carried to bed. Severin placed him as gently as he could on the bed and pulled the blankets over him. Then he crawled into the bed next to Ben. The instant he did, Ben snuggled up to him. He buried his head in Severin's shoulder and the horned boy reacted by wrapping his arms around the seemingly smaller boy. He nuzzled Ben's hair and drifted off to sleep with the boy he loved.
Sometime during the night Ben had woken up to find he was in bed with Severin snoring next to him. He glanced over at the boys pale face, his sharp features softened by the darkness of the room. He leaned over and planted a kiss on Severin's lips and when he did the other boy kissed him back. Severin's lips were warm and soft and tasted like mint. A soft sound came from his throat that made Ben want to kiss him forever, just to hear that sound. Severin pulled Ben on top of him and as he did so, he kissed Ben's neck. Where ever Severin's lips touched felt warm and made Ben melt inside. He tangled his hands into the horned boy's soft hair at the nape of his neck. They rolled over so Severin was on top and Ben wrapped his hands around his waist pulling him down towards him. Their bodies fit together perfectly, and after a couple minutes, they slipped back into sleep, tangled together.
In the morning Ben woke up to the weight of his boyfriend who had fallen asleep on him gone. He heard soft chatter in the kitchen and th sizzle of a skillet. He untangled himself from the blankets wrapped around him and went to the kitchen. Hazel was attempting to take over the job of making pancakes while Severin went to the bathroom and Jack sat on one of the stools st the island eating the chocolate chips. There was batter everywhere. Including his sisters hair. It was all over the counter and the floor. There were battery hand prints on the fridge, the oven and a bunch of the cabinets. It looked like an explosion went off. Hazel greeted the groggy boy with a happy smile. She took the bag of chocolate chips away from Jack (who had spent the night)and offered some to Ben. He passed and she dumped a ton on the now burning pancakes. Severin came down the hall and when he saw the kitchen his jaw dropped.
"I was gone for three minutes! How did this happen?!" he said running his hands through his ebony hair. "I told you not to touch anything! Jack why didn't you stop her?" he glared at Jack and then turned around and noticed Ben. He planted a kiss on Ben's lips and went to take over again.
After Severin and Hazel cleaned up the mess and finished cooking(only Severin did that part), they all sat down to a feast of pancakes and bacon. Ben was quieter than usual and he didn't eat very much either. Severin knew it was because of what happened last night and he was worried about Ben. Usually he ate a lot and talked a bit, not much because he wasn't very social, but still, more than the grunts that they were all getting right now. He glanced across the table at his silent boyfriend and caught his eye. Severin raised his eyebrows at him and the boy shook his head. Later, Severin supposed he meant. He offered Ben a small smile to try and cheer him up and the boy blushed at the gesture.
After Jack had left, Hazel went to the grocery store, leaving the other two alone again. "Do you want to talk about it?" Severin asked the boy curled up in his lap. Ben groaned but after a couple seconds nodded. The horned boy rested his chin in Ben's soft hair and rubbed circles with his thumb on Ben's hand. "Just so you know, he kissed me. I didn't kiss him" the boy whispered softly. He turned around to see Severin's face. Severin reached over and tucked a stray lock of hair behind his boyfriends ear and nodded. He knew that Ben loved only him, no one else in the same way. "I know" he whispered back. He kissed Ben's forehead and Ben buried his face in the other boy's t-shirt and cried. Severin rubbed his back and played with his hair, comforting him while the sobs racked his body. After a while Hazel came home to find the two boys asleep on one of the couches in the living room. Severin dreamed of his sister and himself when they were children.
"Brother come here and see this!" she said. There was a happy light in her eyes and her warm smile glowed. He got up from what he was doing and got up to see what his sister had done. On top of the rock she was on there was a puddle and in the puddle there was an image. It showed a little boy in the mortal town walking with a girl. Sorrel reached into the puddle and pulled the girls braid, causing the girl to yelp. A couple of the towns people looked at her with concern and her face was as red as a tomato. Severin's sister burst out laughing while Severin looked at her with disapproval and disgust.
The image in the puddle shifted to the boy, older and a new girl with him. This time the girl was not a mortal. She was fey and she looked at the man adoringly. A boy came up behind the happy couple. And brought a sword down on the man and then poofed away. Himself.
Severin realized and opened his eyes to end the dream before his past could haunt him any further. Ben was still on top of him but he had woken up when Severin's heartbeat had gotten faster in a matter of minutes. He was resting his chin on his hands staring at Severin. His glasses were crooked and he offered Sevein a concerned look. It won't happen again. It wont. I have learned. I will not take the love from another person, he thought. He wrapped his arms around Ben's neck and Ben kissed his neck and then pulled back to look at Severin's face.
"What did you dream about?" he asked. He looked genuinely concerned.
"I dreamed about my past. When I killed my sister's lover. It still haunts me." he shook his head. He was worried Ben would reject him for the rash decisions he made in the past.
"Don't worry. I still love you. I don't care what you did before you woke up. You learned what not to do, and you won't do it again. I know you. Your a different person now" he smiled and Severin found hope in the small reassurance. But it withered when he realized he knew Ben, but the other boy didn't fully know him. Ben had been able to tell him everything about himself every day for 18 years. But Severin hadn't been able to talk. He had been in a magical coma. He hadn't been able to tell Ben anything. Reassure him in his times of doubt. He felt bad, that he knew the boy so well. A tear threatened to roll down his cheek but he blinked it away. Ben planted a small kiss on his rigid frown and another one in his jaw. He then sat up, still straddling Severin. He stood up and took Severin's hand and tried to drag him off the couch, he didn't succeed, as his hand was not completely healed from the battle at his father's palace. The old hag had cut and broken all of the fingers on Ben's left hand. There were scars on it and it haunted Severin. It had been his fault that they were there. He hadn't listened to his father and almost gotten both of them killed, as well as Hazel. Although she would have lasted much longer than either of them. She was one of his trained knights, the head of his army.
A/N" ok, so idk if im going to add more still. i might just keep your eyes out
