Author's Note: I posted this oneshot about 7 years ago though it was an idea I came up with a year before that. It's my very first Hakushaku To Yousei fanfic and more fluffy than any other fic I've posted. I've rewritten this piece to include a couple of things but it still is one of the very first fics I've posted when I was still starting out so it is still a little cringey.
Warning: Slight Lydia bashing (because Kelpie always gets the short end of the stick).
Kelpie was practically storming to his destination, having sensed someone encroach upon his territory. He expected a great many things but nothing could really have prepared him for the sight that he found. After recovering from his surprise though, he scowled at the tiny form of the young female child.
"Oi, what are you doing crying on my territory?" he demanded and she lifted her blonde head to look up at him with bright, Persian-green eyes that glistened with tears.
His question, while stopping her cries for a brief moment to process his words, ending up making her wail now. "I don't know… I don't know where my parents are… I'm all alone!"
Her wails were grating on his nerves, disrupting the peace. How could something so tiny be so loud?
"Oi, stop it."
If anything, her cries continued to grow in volume and he plugged his ears with his fingers. With her cries penetrating his makeshift earplugs, he covered her mouth with his hands. She looked at him in shock before her eyes watered even more, letting out that horrific wail once again, louder than before. He looked around, trying to see if someone was playing a prank on him or something but there was no one around at all. He stared down at the tiny fairy, contemplating the idea of kicking her off his land and leaving her to be someone else's problem.
"Mama… Papa…" she whimpered.
Who would abandon their child on his territory anyway? Even he knew that that was bad form. She was bigger than a normal fairy, almost the size of a human infant but the tiny wings protruding from her back said she wasn't human at all. A halfling maybe? Those were rare though and he had to admit that he had never seen a winged halfling before.
"Oi, stop crying already. What's there to cry about? You're in a beautiful place like this and you're crying like you're being torn into pieces."
Wide eyes stared at him and the fairy backed away a few paces in the blink of an eye, trembling. Well, at least she stopped wailing like a banshee. Fear was better than that.
"…Are you going to tear me into pieces?"
"Har? Why would I? It's not like you have that much meat on you though."
She shook like a leaf, her face turning pale and her eyes began to water again which had Kelpie panicking.
"Wait, wait! Don't cry!"
He sprinted around, moving faster than ever, grabbing a variety of things and dumping them on her, panting slightly.
"L-Look! Aren't they pretty? You- You can have them so don't cry again! Please!"
She popped out from beneath the pile he buried her in and picked up a variety of random items he had given her which ranged from leaves of various colours to flowers and even a butterfly or two. While one butterfly had the sense to fly away quickly, another landed on her nose, causing her eyes to cross as she looked at it. Kelpie was surprised as she giggled before she let out a little sneeze that startled the butterfly away. Kelpie grimaced as snot dribbled from her nose.
"O-Oi! Wipe it! Wipe it!"
She lifted her arm to wipe her nose with his sleeve and he immediately grabbed it.
"Not with your sleeve!"
"It's dripping," she mumbled, staying still and he freaked.
Kelpie grabbed her and looked around for something to wipe it with.
"Ah."
"My pants!"
A thick blob of snot had landed on his pant leg, dribbling down and forming a slimy trail. He hauled her over his shoulder, tempted to throw her away as far as he could when she began to laugh.
"You think it's funny do you? You've ruined my pants."
She only laughed even harder and he sighed, setting her back down and gave up, using his sleeve to wipe her nose clean. She sobered, staring at him with wide eyes again before they began to water.
"You look like you're about to cry. Why? Is it a child thing?"
"Where's my Mama and Papa?"
"I don't know, kid. How should I know if you don't? Did they say anything before leaving you here?"
She shook her head, the tears now sliding down her cheeks.
"Was I abandoned?"
"Probably."
A whimper left her.
"Am I all alone now?"
He sighed, squatting down in front of her and placed a hand on her head. She glanced up at him, rubbing her eyes.
"You're not alone," he said.
"I'm…not?" she asked as he rubbed away her tears.
"No, you can stay here with me on my territory. You won't be alone. I'll take care of you," he declared and she smiled, hugging him.
"Thank you!"
It was a moment of kindness that baffled him, but he didn't bother to question it as he held her small figure against him.
"What's your name anyway, kid?"
"Levian!" she chirped. "What's yours, Mister?"
"Kelp…"
"Kelp? Seaweed?"
"No, call me 'Cain'."
She canted her head slightly. "Cain?"
"That's right."
"Cain-sama!" she cheered, hugging him tightly and he sighed.
"You're going to wash your snot off of my clothes though."
"Eh?!"
"Cain-sama!" she called, running up to him. "Ah! You're sleeping again, Cain-sama!"
She frowned and he cracked open an eye, gazing up at the fully grown halfling whose waist-length blonde hair hung down, shielding the sun's rays. It had been more than a decade since he had first found her and he'd gotten more than used to having her around, finding comfort in it even.
He yawned. "I'm tired, Lev."
"You're always tired!" She huffed, plopping down beside him, her mauve wings with silver designs flapping behind her. "Always!"
She was a rarity among fairies. When she matured, she was like a full grown woman, not like the other fairies and her wings looked like beautiful butterfly wings with pointed edges not those childish wings like the other fairies. It surprised the heck out of him when she cocooned one day only to emerge as a fully grown woman. Despite having lived as long as he did, he had never seen such a thing. He had to pinch himself a couple of times and it took Levian tackling him in a hug, knocking him down in his moment of shock to make him realize that it really happened.
"Obviously," he mumbled as she flopped down onto her back.
"The sun is really bright today," she commented
"Which is why I'm sleeping," he pointed out, yawning once again.
"Lydia-san turned you down again huh, Cain-sama?" she murmured, turning to stare at him with a disapproving frown.
"She will accept me eventually," he stated confidently.
She grinned. "I'm sure of that, Cain-sama. After all, there's no one who can resist you. Even Lydia-san will have to give in to you persistence one day!"
He stared. "I can't tell if you're making fun of me or not."
"Hmm… Am I?" she hummed, her grin widening.
"Ah! You're making fun of me aren't you?!" He scowled, giving her a playful glare.
"Nope, not at all, Cain-sama," she chirped with mock innocence which morphed into a look of wariness when he smirked. "…W-What's with that look?"
He was on top of her in a second, tickling her and she laughed uncontrollably, bucking beneath him and twisting in hopes of throwing him off.
"Hah! That's for making fun of me," he declared triumphantly and she rolled in laughter before he let her go.
"Ah! Cain-sama! That's so unfair!" she huffed and he burst out laughing.
"Serves you right," he said, sitting up and she hugged him from behind.
"Cain-sama," she murmured and he brought a hand up to touch her arm.
"Hm?"
"All I want is for you to be happy, Cain-sama," she said softly, her chin resting on his shoulder. "Your happiness is my happiness, after all."
He smiled, leaning back into her. "Thank you, Lev."
"Oi Lydia!" he growled.
"Your father misses you, Lydia," Edgar said.
"Father…" Lydia whispered.
"So will you marry me and go back home, Lydia?" Edgar asked.
"Lydia…" he said.
"Yes," Lydia stated and he felt his heart tighten before a light blue glow appeared behind him.
"You're so unfair, Lydia-san!" Levian hissed.
"Eh? What did… Who…" Lydia trailed off.
"Lev…?" he uttered in confusion.
"Who's that? A fairy?" Edgar asked.
"Cain-sama has done so many things for you and this is how you treat him? You're so cruel to Cain-sama!" she cried, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Lydia protested immediately. "No! I'm not!"
"Lev," he tried.
"Cain-sama loves you so much that he even taught you how to purify water to save the Earl and he's done so many other things that have truly helped you! You made him so happy by finally accepting his proposal after so long and then now you're leaving him and accepting the proposal of another! You don't think about how Cain-sama must feel because you're more concerned about yourself! You've made use of Cain-sama again and again and then you throw him away when you have no more need for him! I know how Cain-sama must feel right now, loving someone who doesn't return it because I love Cain-sama like he loves you!" she cried and his eyes grew wide in surprise.
"Lev…" he murmured.
She loved him?
"I will never accept Lydia-san as Cain-sama's choice mate even if Cain-sama disowns me and casts me out of this territory of his that has become my home… Every time, Lydia-san can make Cain-sama so happy and later… You just shatter his heart. You don't know how you make him feel at all! Without Cain-sama, Edgar-san would be dead from the poison! Did you ever think of that? You take Cain-sama for granted!" she cried and Lydia's eyes widened.
"That…" Lydia trailed off.
"Lev!" he called, hugging her from behind and her eyes widened.
"Ca…in-sama…" she whispered.
"I'm sorry," he murmured.
"Wha- No! Why?"
"Because I've been hurting you whenever I'm hurting," he whispered, hugging her tightly.
"Cain-sama…"
"Lydia, you can leave with him. You are no longer welcome to my territory… All of you are banned from here so go! Now! If I find any of you here, I'll… I'll eat all of you."
"K-Kelpie?" Lydia said, wide eyed.
"Come on, Lev, let's go," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and they walked off.
"What's wrong with her?!" Lydia huffed once they reached back home.
"Actually… what she said isn't wrong at all… It's not a lie. She was stating the truth. The Earl would be dead if not for Kelpie and you didn't thank him. You've never really thanked Kelpie and you're always rejecting him and the one time you accept his proposal, you accept another proposal from the Earl not that long," Nico said thoughtfully.
Lydia frowned. "Whose side are you on Nico?"
"At this time, I'm not taking sides," Nico said. "I'm not saying you're right or wrong but at the same time, I feel for the guy and it's hard to feel sorry for such an arrogant person."
"He did indeed look heartbroken when you accepted my proposal," Edgar noted. "Not that I'm not happy or anything.
"But still…" she mumbled. "Who was that girl anyway?
"I'm sorry for shouting at her, Cain-sama! I just couldn't let you get hurt once again without saying anything… You can send me away! Just say the word and I'll go," she cried, accepting of the consequences of her actions and he gave her a smile before pulling her close.
"Stay," he whispered in her ear and her eyes widened.
"Cain-sama…" she whimpered, throwing her arms around him.
"Why are you crying?" he questioned, wiping at her cheeks. "You're always crying for one reason or another. What a crybaby."
She sulked at his teasing but her lower lip trembled as she struggled to restrain her tears lest he begin teasing her even more.
"Because Cain-sama does not cry when he's sad, so I'm crying for Cain-sama," she whispered and he stilled in shock before a smile curled his lips.
"Thank you, Lev. You stood up for me and were there to support me when everyone came to take her away."
"Cain-sama..."
"Just now, when you said you love me…" he trailed off, looking her in the eyes, his gaze softening at those teary Persian-green pools that widened and she flailed, her face heating up.
"I didn't mean to admit it, I just…" she trailed off, trying and failing to come up with something or rather, anything to save her from embarrassment.
"Well, since I just banned Lydia from my territory and you don't like her as my choice, why don't you try out as my mate?" he suggested, scratching his cheek lightly and her eyes widened before she ducked her head down to hide her flaming cheeks.
It didn't help though since he could see the pink of her flush on her pointed ears.
"I…" she whispered softly, not knowing what to say.
"I'm serious, Lev… You know me better than anyone else and you care for me more than anyone else. That's all I want even if I can't have Lydia… I don't want to get hurt by her anymore and you've never hurt me, you've always made me happy," he said seriously. "Let's end this cycle between her and I and begin a new one with the two of us."
"Cain-sama…" she whispered as he cupped her cheek, looking into her eyes and covered her lips with his, causing her to blush even harder.
"You should have always come first. From now on, you'll always come first," he murmured against those petal smooth lips of her, pulling her against his chest and tears welled up in her beautiful eyes.
"Hai, Cain-sama."
"Ah, Lydia's calling me," he commented, while they were lazing about on the grass with Levian in his arms.
"Are you going, Cain-sama?" She asked and he looked down at her before grinning.
"Nope. I'm staying right here with you," he murmured, pulling her even closer and snuggling against her.
"Will you regret this decision?" she asked and he met her gaze
He smiled, declaring and easy, "No."
She grinned, unable to hide it and he laughed, stroking her hair. He felt free now… He didn't have to answer Lydia's calls because of his feelings anymore. He felt comfortable and happy here with Lev. He didn't feel the littlest bit of regret.
"Cain-sama?"
"Hm?"
"Are you happy?" she asked and he paused.
"No," he said and her eyes widened in hurt. "I'm more than happy."
She grinned.
"Cain-sama's happiness is my happiness," she murmured and he smiled, letting out a little sigh of satisfaction as he enjoyed her warmth.
"What's wrong, Lydia?" Nico questioned, seeing her storm in.
"Kelpie," she stated simply.
"Kelpie?" Nico said with a raised brow.
"Kelpie's not responding to my calls," she explained.
"And?" Nico asked.
She frowned. "He always responds to them."
"Hmm. Maybe he's busy with that fairy," Nico pointed out.
"Who is that fairy anyway? She's not like any fairy I've seen," she said.
"Her name's Levian. Kelpie found her on his territory a long time ago, long before you two met and took care of her instead of chasing her away. They've been companions for a very long time," Nico informed.
"Oh," she uttered, not knowing what else to say with the new information she received.
"What do you want, Lydia?" Kelpie demanded, appearing from the water with his handsome features scrunched in annoyance.
"You finally appeared! I've been calling you every day!" she huffed.
"I'm not at your beck and call, Lydia, and I've been… busy," he stated, ending it off with a grin.
"With that fairy who insulted me?" She scowled, still annoyed by that incident.
"Don't say that about her, Lydia. I may have loved you once before, but I will still eat you if you insult her," he growled, surprising her.
"You've changed..."
"Yes, I have and I feel great. I'm actually happy, Lydia."
"Kelpie," she whispered.
He sighed. "What do you want, Lydia? I have to get back to Lev."
"Why? Is she forcing you to not answer my calls?" she asked and he smirked.
"No. Actually those were my own decisions and this, well, I told her that I wouldn't be long even though she doesn't mind," he replied.
"Okay, look. I… I just wanted to say that I hope things don't change between us and that we can still see each other. You are still a friend to me, Kelpie…"
"Everything between us has changed, Lydia, and I accept that. You should too. My world no longer revolves around you. It's not any fault of yours. I let my feelings for you control me into doing anything and everything for you but Lev… Lev lets me live my life the way I want. Our relationship is stronger and more intimate than ever before... Actually, I only just realised it, but I love her... I love Levian, more than anything. You just helped me realise that."
"K-Kelpie?"
"If that's all you want to say, I'll be going back to my mate now. I have to tell her I love her," he stated and went back into the water where he found Lev sitting and humming to herself.
Her face lit up as always upon seeing him.
"Welcome home, Cain-sama!" she chirped and he smiled, walking on the water to her and he lifted her up in his arms, causing her to blush as he pressed his lips against hers.
"I'm home," he murmured.
"Is something wrong, Cain-sama?"
"No. Nothing's wrong at all. In fact, it's the total opposite," he replied and her brows furrowed in confusion.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and looked into her eyes.
"I love you, Levian," he declared and her eyes widened as it was the first time he said it with tears filling those beautiful orbs of hers.
"I love you too, Cain-sama. More than anything."
"My happiness is your happiness, right?"
"Hai!"
"Well, you're my happiness now so take responsibility and be my mate forever."
"Hai, Cain-sama," she chirped and he kissed her once more, sealing the vow forever.