I tried something different and dear god; I have so many pent-up feelings towards Hakuryuu, and this did not help in the slightest. Please note that this is probably going to be a multi-chapter fic, I'd say the max number of chapters will probably be 5.
Disclaimer: I do not own Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic.
"And the rest is rust and stardust."
—Vladimir Nabokov
Rakushou had been in a stark grandeur in the late winter, when Midori had first arrived there. The trees along the side of the road that led back to her village had been stripped bare, their leafless branches making lacelike patterns against the calm sky. Five years ago, when she was the tender age of ten, Midori's first visit to the empire's capital was expected to be her last— for she was going to Rakushou to become a servant of the royal family.
She had started out as the servant of Hakuei Ren, and she was fine with that, because Hakuei would correct her with a motherly attitude and she wouldn't slap her like her instructors did during her training. But by the time she was eleven, Hakuei had sent her to tend to her younger brother instead; Midori couldn't fathom why at the time, but looking back on it, Hakuryuu was in desperate need of a friend and she supposed his sister had decided to give him a helping hand.
Hakuryuu was sweet, a determined and kind boy that was her senior by a year. But that kindness seemed to repel Midori and make her feel uneasy, which threw her for a loop because Hakuei and Hakuryuu honestly hadn't seemed that different to her.
She didn't begin to really 'socialize' with him until she contracted an illness, around two months after being handed over to him by Hakuei, and by then winter was in full-swing like it had been when she'd first arrived in Rakushou.
Time passed in a haze, dreams and reality blurring together. Being pulled from her sleep, forced to sit up and drink some water. Snips of muddled conversations. Shivering. Hot and sweating and kicking off thin blankets. Her hair sticking to her neck and face, but losing consciousness before it could truly begin to bother her.
She finally awoke to a dizzying assortment of sensations. A dry throat, doughy eyes that took a minute to open, and brittle lips. Itchy skin that didn't feel like her own. Bothersome hair that— Midori's hair had been bothersome in the past, but never as bothersome as it was in that particular instance.
And Hakuryuu had been there, slouched over in a less-than-princely manner in a chair that had been pulled to the bedside, fast asleep.
All she could do was watch the prince, the one with the peculiar scar that covered half of his face and those beautiful eyes that were two different shades of blue. The one that she later found out had taken care of her, or had offered to help when the other servants refused to let Hakuryuu risk catching the illness.
Of course, Midori had later ended up tending to an ill Hakuryuu who had contracted the same illness— and she had gotten rather evil glares from many of the servants who had tried to prevent such a thing from happening— but she was happy to take care of him, because Hakuryuu was a determined and kind boy.
She doesn't realize that she's become his primary confidant until it's too late, and she doesn't want him to stop talking to her, because there's something strangely enthralling about Hakuryuu.
He tells her about the high priest, Judar— and even if she's never met Judar, and she's decided she would probably dislike him if she were to ever meet him— she listens intently because Hakuryuu's days are far more interesting than her own. When he asks about her days, she tells him the same boring things, because that's all that ever happens to the servants.
They both keep secrets; like Judar trying to convince Hakuryuu to capture a 'dungeon,' and the rumors she hears about Hakuei and the first prince, or the fact that Hakuryuu doesn't seem to like talking about his mother or step-siblings.
The day comes when Hakuryuu doesn't ask about her day, and when Midori asks him about his, he says that he doesn't want to talk about it. And she worries, because Hakuryuu's never said that to her before. They sit in silence for roughly an hour, and it's unbearable, but Midori is against leaving Hakuryuu alone unless he orders her to leave, and for a minute she thinks he's going to— but he doesn't, and he had never done so before, and she thinks it's silly that she thought he would.
The next day, Hakuryuu is shaking her awake, saying that she'd fallen asleep on the floor. She begins apologizing, flustered and scared and she's not sure why. But then Hakuryuu is telling her to go to her room, a small cramped closet of a room in all honesty, and to get dressed because he's going to take her to the palace's garden.
She doesn't know why Hakuryuu decides to take her with him, but she lets him lead her there, because she didn't even know that the palace had a garden.
When they are finally there, Midori lingers on the threshold of the gazebo, vaguely aware of Hakuryuu's presence as she's overwhelmed by the scent of the perfectly pruned flowers. Her eyes are wide in awe of the colorful array of blossoms adorning nearly every tree. She can't help but want to stay in the garden, because it's a lot less crowded, a lot less noisy, and a lot more nice than inside the lavishly furnished palace she's called home for the past two years.
She takes a seat on one of the worn stone benches, and he's watching her with those mismatched eyes in a fashion similar to the way she was admiring the flora. He's never seen her look so happy, and he's able to witness the beginnings of a smile when the priest makes a sudden appearance.
Midori is finally able to say that she doesn't like Judar, because in the next moments she's soaking in water and he's laughing about it, and Hakuryuu looks angry, but neither of them snap at the Magi because he's— he's the Magi. They only spend about three minutes more in the garden, with Judar taunting Midori and jokingly asking if she was going to cry, and Hakuryuu's the one who seizes hold of her wrist so quickly that it makes her head spin when he's pulling her away from the garden.
It's later, when the stars are out and they should both be fast asleep, that Hakuryuu's pulling her out of her room and they're quietly making their way back to the garden. Its dark, with light pouring out of closed bedroom doors as they creep down the hallways, and if they hear so much as a floorboard creak under pressure they tense for several seconds before moving again.
Finally, they're idling in the grass of the garden, and the stars look so pretty and the moon shines like an old friend.
Midori doesn't know what's happening, or why Hakuryuu is being so friendly all of a sudden, but she thinks she likes it. Her breathing hitches when his hand encases hers, and she found herself wanting to savor the moment, the sensation of touch and warmth and this perfect smell of freedom.
"We're friends, right?"
Midori tries not to feel mortified by Hakuryuu's question, but there's a sinking feeling in her stomach and she thinks she's panicking. But she manages a word that she hadn't expected to come to mind.
"Always," She mutters, glancing over at the boy with the mismatched eyes.
And Midori doesn't mean for it to sound like a promise, but it comes out that way, and Hakuryuu's hand holds her's a little tighter.
Midori was born during the summer, and that's what she tells Hakuryuu when he asks about her birthdate. She's not sure what the exact day was, for her parents sold her for compensation early during her childhood before she could ask them. Yet, on the first day of what suspects to be summer, Hakuryuu tells her to close her eyes and hold out her hands.
This scares her a bit, for when she was training to become a servant, her instructors would tell her to hold out her hands and they would slap them.
She still flinches when he places something cold and grainy in her palms, and she doesn't dare open her eyes out of fear of angering him— though she'd never done so before, and she was beginning to think her thoughts about Hakuryuu were jumbled.
"You can open your eyes now," He states, a hint of happiness in his voice.
She discovers that he's placed a type of jewelry in her hands; something that he called an 'anklet,' which was obviously worn around one's ankle, and it was made of silver metal and possessed a small flower charm.
And then she's feeling nervous, because she'd never heard of a master giving their servant a 'present' before, and Hakuryuu is acting as if it's normal when she's positive that it's not.
"Its fine," Hakuryuu says nonchalantly, as if sensing her confusion and unease. "Friends give each other presents all the time."
With that one sentence, Hakuryuu has the pleasure of witnessing her smile and blush a bit, though she likes to think that the blush was out of embarrassment in its truest form— because she'd never given Hakuryuu a present before.
"I need to give you a present then," She insists, looking up at him. He was a few inches taller than her even back then.
He smiles, and she feels her heart flutter in embarrassment once again. "I said that it was fine, Midori—" He pauses and glances down at her, because that's the first time he's said her name as if she's of the status as himself, and she's definitely noticed because she's got that worried look in her eyes again.
The strangest thing happens then; he's putting his arms around her small figure and pulling her closer, with her face against the soft fabric of his tunic. She tenses out of instinct, because this has never happened to her before. She says his name, and he stroked her back reassuringly.
"Friends do this all the time, too," Midori can practically feel his smile when he says this, and she feels her cheeks heat up again.
She later hears Hakuryuu say that it's called a 'hug,' and she's still pretty sure that masters and servants don't typically 'hug' one another.
At night, when she can't go to sleep and she finds herself staring at the ceiling of her cramped bedroom— which she also discovered was only given to the primary servants of the family, whereas the others had to live in the maid's quarters together— she reviews her friendship with Hakuryuu.
She knows for a fact that other servants aren't friends with their masters, and for a moment she considers talking to Hakuryuu about it, but then she realizes that he might not 'hug' her anymore if she does, and the thought of discussing such a thing with him leaves her mind entirely.
The day that Midori was dreading finally comes; it's the day that Hakuryuu doesn't want to talk about his day again. For some reason, she doesn't want to accept his refusal, for Midori believes that it's the same thing that was bothering him before. He stares at her blankly for a moment, when she says no, and she's suddenly scared because it's the first time she's ever talked back to him and it could very well be the first time he's angry at her.
When he doesn't speak, she does so on a whim. "Friends tell each other about these things, right?"
And another moment passes.
She doesn't realize until he's hugging her for the second time that he's crying, and that it hurts her heart to feel his tears seep through the cheap fabric of her standard clothing. They stay there for what seems like hours, and it may have been hours, but she wasn't paying attention because she began crying as well. Hakuryuu was crying and she was sure that it was because she had defied him and bothered him, and whatever had been bothering Hakuryuu had already hurt him enough and she was only being a burden on her 'friend.'
It's the wee hours of morning, when she's half-asleep and drained from crying, when Hakuryuu finally speaks.
He tells her secrets, even though she thought that it was an unspoken agreement between them not to tell each other secrets. She wishes he hadn't, because she's crying tears that she no longer has when he tells her about the empress and the previous emperor and his brothers.
Midori doesn't know when she finally falls asleep, but she's a mess of tears with her solemn friend and she's promised herself to help him; it doesn't matter what Hakuryuu wants to do or what path he chooses to go down, she'll follow him regardless.
Because she's pretty sure friends do that all the time.