A/N: What the heck is the name of Blaze's kingdom guys? I have no idea (never played Rush Adventures, shame on me) so I just made her family the rulers of Soleanna instead because it suits the Sol Emeralds lmao. Also keep in mind that my native language is not English and I didn't have a beta for this so… please bear with the mistakes. I looked for everything that could possibly be wrong and I think there shouldn't be major mistakes :'D Enjoy the cheese-fest that is this fic!
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«Silver.» – «Yeah?»
«I love you.»
The white-haired man stopped dead in his tracks. His auburn-eyed friend continued walking on the gravel path, the tiny stones crunching under her heeled boots. Her short, violet hair that she always wore half-up was swaying in the chilly evening-wind and she had crossed her hands behind her back. The two of them had gone out on a stroll in the rose garden next to the palace after being stuck in there all day long, doing all kinds of paperwork and studying geometry together. The 18-year old boy had come to visit the royal family together with his parents, as they were good friends with Blaze's father, the king of Soleanna. She had welcomed him quite cheerfully, more cheerfully than usual and Silver had been quite taken aback by the hug she had given him during his arrival. A surprising action but he had welcomed it nonetheless.
Ever since he'd been a 12-year old boy he had come to known Blaze as the quiet, reserved person who always knew their courtesies and how to behave properly. «The way a princess should behave», she'd always say with a stern look on her face. She wasn't one to talk about her feelings openly, always held them back until they were too much and she exploded. More often than not this resulted in her using her pyrokinetic powers when nobody was around, punching fireballs into the air, screaming and powering herself out until she couldn't feel anything anymore. No pain, no fear, no emotions at all. Silver had seen one of these outbreaks once and it had made his gut clench painfully. He didn't know how it felt to bottle up all the feelings he was experiencing since he usually just spoke his mind, spilling his fears and worries to people he trusted; especially to her. He wanted to help her but didn't know how and he was sure that she wouldn't want his help in that matter. Blaze was strong, smart and could handle herself. And she especially thought about everything thoroughly before she spoke.
That's the reason Silver was so surprised at her sudden words. He could feel his heartbeat quickening when she also stopped walking and slightly turned her head, revealing a quite confused face, as if she was surprised of her sudden boldness herself. The sun was setting behind her and cast a heavenly glow on her slim silhouette, her hair shimmering. He gulped and could feel a blush rising on his cheeks when she didn't start laughing, thus making this whole thing a joke. But Blaze wasn't really the type of person who cracked jokes, either.
«Y-you what?» Silver stuttered after a few moments had passed and she furrowed her eyebrows a little, now looking rather irritated. She shuffled her shoes in the gravel and stared at the ground before repeating herself.
«I said that I love you. I love you. I. L.O.V-» – «OKAY! I understand! You don't have to spell it out for me!», Silver interrupted her loudly, his cheeks now burning and his heart racing. She raised her head and looked into his golden eyes, searching for anything that could possibly give her an answer to her confession but Silver avoided her gaze, too flustered to look her in the eyes. «You're supposed to give me an answer to that», the princess muttered, still not breaking eye contact and stepping closer to him. Silver glanced at her briefly and then turned his head to the right again, staring at a tree that was slowly losing its leaves, silently announcing the cold season.
He didn't understand what was happening at that exact moment. Had Blaze really just confessed to him? Why was she saying such strange words all of a sudden? He knew that she cared about him. She had told him that numerous times before and he had told her that she was a very important person to him, too. Probably the most important person in his life but why was she suddenly saying that she loved him? Love was such a strong word for a person who rarely voiced their feelings.
«So?» She was now right in front of him, still looking into his eyes. She was chewing on her bottom lip and seemed quite nervous, her fingers fiddling with the hem of her purple jacket. The sight of her being nervous and biting on her bottom lip in front of him made his heartbeat pick up even more and for an instance he felt the urge to reach out to her and touch her slightly pink cheek, make her release that poor bottom lip of hers and run his thumb over it, but he discarded this thought as soon as it occurred in the back of his mind.
Blaze was raising her eyebrows questionably after a few seconds had passed and Silver gulped again. He had to say something. Right now! Or she'd burn his ass off.
«Eugh... well... That's quite...», he began and cursed himself for stuttering. «This is kind of out of the blue?», he continued and his voice was very thin, almost breaking. Blaze's eyes widened and she positioned herself more firmly in front of him, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at him sternly. Oh, now that was the Blaze he knew.
«What? Out of the blue? Are you serious?» She had raised her voice and Silver flinched a little when he could hear the bitterness and anger out of it. «This whole week you've been here I've been trying to get as close to you as possible and now my confession is out of the blue?», she finished and now it was her turn to blush deeply. The redness settling on her dark face complimented her sparkling eyes so well, Silver had to find his voice before he opened his mouth to answer her.
But he couldn't.
Because right now a whole lot of flashbacks of the past week flooded his mind and he found himself even more flabbergasted than before.
What she was saying was true. It hadn't only been the hug when he'd arrived that had seemed out of place, but the whole week she'd seemed to invade his personal space more often than usual. Hands touching «accidentally», small smiles, quite a lot of compliments while sparring together also. These had all been intentional?
«Oh. Shit», was the only thing Silver could say and Blaze snorted but it wasn't an amused snort. «Yeah, oh shit.» She sounded hurt, her voice not as strong as before and she turned on her heels. «Well, I suppose I'm not getting an answer from you», she murmured and started walking away and Silver felt a painful pang in his chest. He couldn't leave her like this after she had basically just spilled her feelings to him (a thing that rarely occurred), even though he was still absolutely confused by this whole situation. Before Silver realized what he was doing, he had already reached his hand out and grabbed her by her shoulder, making her turn around and face him.
She wasn't looking at him, her gaze fixated on her feet, fists clenched at her sides and brows furrowed deeply. She was chewing on her bottom lip again and Silver worried that she'd draw blood if she didn't stop torturing it.
«Hey, stop», he said firmly and finally reached a dark-skinned hand out to gently put it on her still flushed cheek, slowly gliding his finger down her jaw line until he reached her bottom lip which she had stopped chewing on but was biting down on instead. He traced it with his thumb, making her release it slowly and he dragged his pad across the slightly swollen, although still soft skin. The air around them had changed suddenly. It wasn't uncomfortable anymore but now filled with something electric, ready to burst into a million pieces. He could feel a shiver creeping down his spine, his skin prickling excitedly as he replayed her words in his head over and over again while slowly lifting her chin up, his thumb still on her lips.
I love you.
She was gazing up at him now, her auburn eyes half-lidded and her lips slightly parted. He could feel the tip of her tongue on his thumb and it made his heart skip a beat, blood rushing to his face. Long lashes cast a shadow on her red cheeks, the ruby on her forehead glistening in the evening-light and besides the steady rise and fall of her chest, she stood perfectly still.
She is so damn beautiful, Silver thought and for a moment his mind went blank, his other hand reaching out for her hip, pulling her closer with a swift tug. Her breath hitched and she gulped, eyes wide now. The new position made her chest press against Silvers' and he could feel her heartbeat against his own, both of them being way too fast. «Silver», Blaze whispered, her voice cracking, lips moving against his thumb. She was warm and soft against him and he could feel each of her soft curves, her chest rubbing against his every time she took a breath. It made him go crazy. It made him ache for her in every possible way because this was Blaze in front of him. Blaze, the princess of Soleanna, the girl he's known for so many years already. The girl who always managed to surprise him. She was strong, fierce, passionate and full of spirits, but also had a soft side to her, knew when she had to be compassionate and gentle. She was as beautiful and unpredictable as fire and he loved it.
He loved her.
He loved her, even if he didn't really know what love was.
His mother had told him once that if you love someone, you forget everything, your heart belongs to them, you think about them, want to give them the world, you feel their pain and you especially want to see them smile and be happy.
And Silver wanted all of this for Blaze. He wanted to make her the happiest girl in the world every damn day. He loved her bubbly laughter that was way too rare, but made his heart swell every time it fell from her soft lips. The way her face lit up when people thanked her for helping them, the smile that appeared on her face when she faced Silver afterwards, making him smile back at her in return. He loved it.
And he was sad when she was. He had cried with her after her mother had passed away because her pain made his heart ache so badly. He had comforted her, hugged her and stroked her hair, praying to SOLARIS that it should just, please, take this pain away from her! He had spent days with her in her room, wet face pressed against his chest, sobs erupting from her weakened body and hands desperately clutching at his back. «I'm sorry for being like this», she had repeated and Silver had always had to choke back a sob himself because why are you apologizing to me? I don't care if you're weak in front of me. I'm here for you. Always.
After the pain had disappeared a little, Blaze had returned to her usual self, although she had become more distant with everyone around her, even Silver.
And he had hated it.
He had hated it so much.
He had hated it so much that he'd approached her years later and angrily spilled his heart to her and he could still remember her hurt-, and especially guilty-looking face.
«I'm sorry» she had said. «I just can't bear to lov-. Not after my mother...» And Silver had understood. He had walked away from her afterwards, returning to his room and almost ending up thrashing it because he had been so mad at himself for telling her about his feelings and completely ignoring hers. It should've been clear to him. He had hated himself back then.
And now she was here. In front of him, having confessed to him. Silver felt like this was a dream because he would have never in his life thought that the girl he had always yearned for would return his feelings someday. Not after she had established these unbreakable walls around her after the Queen had passed away.
He hoped desperately that this wasn't a dream.
«Silver», Blaze suddenly repeated again, this time louder and he finally returned from his thoughts to look at her. She was flustered and averted her eyes from his gaze before she finally continued speaking.
«I really love you», she began and Silver's breath stuttered in his throat. Time seemed to stop when she continued.
«I love how you always cheer me up when I'm down. I love your smile. I love your strong sense of justice and how you can't leave anyone behind who needs help. I love your eyes, the way they sparkle when you accomplish something. I love your long silver hair that you pull up into a ponytail when it gets too hot outside. I love how you grin at me when you spar with me. I love the way your brows furrow when you're deep in thoughts. I love your naivety, even if it gets you in so much trouble sometimes. I-» She took a long but unsteady breath and then leaned forward to let her head rest against his shoulder. Her heart was now racing faster than his and he didn't know how that was possible because he felt like he was going to die, from happiness.
«I love everything about you», she whispered and it came out muffled against his coat.
They went still afterwards. Birds and cicadas providing the only sound while the sun was disappearing behind the horizon and drowning the scenery in a warm, purple light. Blaze raised her head again after a while, slowly stepping away from him, starring at the ground with a deep blush on her cheeks.
And then, suddenly, everything seemed to happen very fast.
Silver quickly slid his right hand that had been resting on her shoulder behind her head, lacing his fingers through her short hair and tugging her towards him, closing the space between them and before she could realize what was happening, he had already pressed his lips to hers.
Her hands immediately came to rest on his chest, Silver grabbing one of them with his free hand to stroke her wrist while he angled her head with the other to deepen the kiss. A sigh tumbled from her lips into his mouth and the sound made goose bumps rise on his skin, the short hair at the nape of his head standing up. Silver tightened the grip on her wrist, tugging her closer to him and slowly curling his fingers into her hair. He moved his lips against hers, his tongue tracing her bottom lip that was still slightly swollen. The princess parted her lips in response and both of them sank deeper into the kiss, clutching at each other and making it less and less innocent.
They only parted to catch their breaths, a deep blush on both of their cheeks, eyes sparkling with love and also a little confusion. With a sigh, Silver leaned his forehead against hers; cradling her face in his hands while Blaze laced her arms around his back, stroking it.
«I love you too», Silver whispered after a while, his breath ghosting across her lips and making a smile appear on her face. His heart jumped at this.
«Yeah? Couldn't you tell me this five minutes earlier so I didn't have to make a damn fool out of myself?», she said softly and looked up at him. His lips curled into a smile too and he nudged her nose with his. «Nah, it's funny when you're all embarrassed.»
Before she could get offended he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his again, effectively shutting her up. Her angry words died on her lips and she returned the kiss whole-heartedly, whining when he parted from her way too soon. He looked at her, suddenly very serious and it made her heart skip a beat.
«I really do love you. I mean it. I'm sorry I was stuttering like an idiot before», he murmured and Blaze gulped, the redness on her face deepening even more. «It's okay. I mean... it was kind of out of the blue. Especially after that argument that we had after my mother-» He shushed her with his index finger, pressing it against her lips and shaking his head slowly. «It's okay. That was long ago», he said, his hands trailing down her neck and then her sides, stopping to rest on her hips. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent, pressing a butterfly kiss against her pulse and closing his eyes to relish in the moment, his heart still pumping blood way too fast.
Blaze rested her forehead on his shoulder, tightening her grip around his back and sighing softly. «I just... needed time to heal. I can love. I want to love», she whispered and the white-haired man nodded, his fingers slightly digging into the soft flesh of her sides. He could feel her taking a deep breath.
«And my mother would want me to love, too.»
*
They returned to the castle way past sunset that night, hands intertwined and a big smile on both of their faces. They both retreated into the library, resting on the chaise longue together while going over their geometry assignments again until Silver fell asleep with his head on her shoulder. Blaze snickered at him, wiped a few strands of hair behind his ear, pressed her lips to his forehead and whispered those three little words against his ear again because it felt so good to do it after so many years of suppressing them.
«I love you.»
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End Notes: I'm cringing this is so cheesy asjhakdhasjkhd. I hope you guys understood everything in this fic. Basically Blaze was too afraid to love again after her mother had passed away (they obvs had a strong bond) and it made Silver suppress his love for her too. I also hope the charas are IC? I've never really written in English before so it was quiet a challenge for me but I'm happy with the outcome! Hope you enjoyed it too