Realizing that you are in love with your best friend is an an ordeal that Slate never imagined he would ever have to go through. They had grown up together, they had fought together, trained together, they were as close as two people could ever possibly be but he never thought that their relationship would ever develop in a romantic way. Now, Arachna's Claw didn't know much about love but he always believed that you would have some feeling, some inkling, some idea of when you were starting to fall. He never thought it could happen to someone out of the blue.

It had been a late night and so he, Igneous and a few other knights had difficulty stirring the next morning. Slate had been the first to rise, and was in the process of making breakfast when Igneous finally stumbled out of his room. His hair was a riot of tangles and curls, there were massive bags under his eyes, and his pajamas appeared to be oversized and almost hanging off his body. He yawned, and sat across from his friend, opting to wait a moment before he got anything to eat.

"Morning sleeping beauty." Slate teased, and reached across the table to flick a large curl out of his friend's eyes. "Sleeping in late? What will the prince think?

"Lumen sleeps roughly 23 hours a day. He'll never know." Igneous replied with a laugh.

It was then that Slate fell, and by the oracle he fell hard. Igneous' nose always scrunched up when he laughed, in a way that was youthful and adorable. His eyes, a moss green color that had quickly become his favorite color, seemed to sparkle in the morning light. He smiled, the very smile that had won the hearts of the girls' of Arachna, and Slate found himself nibbling on his lower lip nervously.

Oh hell...this wasn't good...wasn't good at all... What was he doing? Igneous was practically his brother! They used to play when they were little for Oracle's sake! He wasn't supposed to feel this way for his best friend!

"Excuse me." He mumbled and bolted up from his seat. "I'm feeling rather ill all of a sudden. I think I'm going to go lay down for a bit."

"Oh." Igneous frowned, but there wasn't much he could do. "Alright. I hope you feel better."

Slate nodded and walked casually towards the door but once he was sure Igneous could no longer see him, broke into a run and didn't stop until he was held up safely in his room again. He felt weird, so it wasn't a total lie that he had just told Fang. His stomach was twisting up and his head was swimming. His mouth was dry and everything seemed...fuzzy.

How long had he been in love with Igneous? Had it been all this time and he'd just not realized it? Or had it been as sudden as it seemed? Slate supposed it didn't matter. All that mattered was that right now he was facing a huge problem. One that had to be dealt with swiftly and efficiently. ...by hiding out in his room for the rest of us life.

3 hours into his attempt to become a shut-in, there was a knock at his door. After spending the past 45 minutes staring mindlessly at the ceiling and doing nothing but thinking it was a welcome change. He forgot, for just long enough to make a critical mistake, why he had even been hiding.

"It's open!"

The door opened and Slate saw his best friend, now completely composed with hair perfectly in place, standing there holding a bowl. He smiled a bit, and entered the room. "You didn't get much to eat at breakfast so I thought you may be hungry," he explained, and set the bowl down on the table beside Slate's bed. "It's your favorite. I know how your mom would make it for you when you were sick when we were both young."

Beef stu, a delicacy that Slate had tried numerous times over the years to master and failed at making repeatedly. Something that he would eat each and every day if only he could. He sat up a bit, took hold of the spoon and tried a mouthful.

That, ladies and gentlemen, was the clincher that made Slate realize how screwed he was. It was the best beef stu he had ever tasted! His mother's didn't even compare to this! And Igneous had clearly been so worried about him, so concerned, to go through all this trouble just for him! How could he have not seen this coming before?! He wanted to go back in time and smack himself upside the head for being so clueless towards his situation. He, Slate Grey, was absolutely and beyond any doubt, completely and totally in love with his best friend.

"Do you like it?" Igneous asked, "I know Monnie tried to teach us how to make it and to be honest I never tried before but-"

"It's brilliant!" Slate insisted, and started downing the stu like he was a man on his last meal. "This is absolutely incredible!"

Igneous laughed, "You're so easily swayed by food. It's a good thing you're not more of a politician than a knight! A couple of good sandwiches and you're putty in anyone's hands!"

Slate laughed himself, knowing this to be true. It is said that the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach...and well they weren't lying. Slate was living proof that the statement was true. "Well, I want you to know, that your concern is widely appreciated, as is your food preparation skills."

This all felt awkward. Slate didn't want to talk like this, he wanted to tell Igneous about how he felt. He wanted to make his feelings known, to see if his affection towards his friend was returned. And at the same time, he knew it would not be. And worse yet, this could change everything. What would happen if they were to date then break up horribly? What is something was to happen and he lost his best friend for good? He felt sick again.

"Is something wrong?" Igneous asked. "I don't mean with an illness of course, I mean with...with you. You seem rather strange today, an issue I do not attribute to an illness. Is there anything you want to tell me? You know whatever is troubling you, I can help you."

Slate paled, and forced himself to avert his gaze. He hated how Igneous could read him like a book, how he stood out in such a manner. This wasn't going as smoothly as he hoped...even if he had only spent the morning thinking about it. He was a romantic at heart, so what?

"Actually...yes," He said slowly, trying to tread as carefully as he possibly could and kept his voice both steady, and confident enough to be heard. There was the sound of a carriage approaching outside, causing caught a stir. Most likely Lumen's newest investment. "Iggy...Fang...Igneous I have something really important to tell you and I don't know how to say it..."

He sighed, ignoring the sound of footsteps approaching down the hall and Hunter's excited babbling. No doubt he was counting on a ride from this new royal asset.

"Fang...This morning I realized something I had been oblivious to before. I...I'm in-"

The door to Slate's room was flung open and an overly excited Hunter appeared in the doorway, bouncing up and down like a child on a sugar-high.

"Guys come outside quick! You're not going to believe who stopped by to attend the peace festival Prince Lumen is throwing!"

"Who?"

"Queen Illuma! She and Solan came all the way from Numa to see us! You got to come greet here! Come on! It's rude to leave royalty waiting!"

Slate watched in amazement as Igneous' face went completely blank, then turned the brightest shade of red Slate had ever seen, followed by a grin that quickly spread across his face. "Illuma!" Igneous declared happily, and bolted for the door. He could lie to everyone as much as he wanted, Igneous had yet to get over her. He fell for that woman hard, despite the fact of her being at least ten years his senior.

Hunter remained in the doorway, "You coming Slate?"

Arachna's Claw shook his head. "I'm still feeling a bit ill. I'll be down soon, don't you worry."

That was enough to get Hunter moving again, and faster than Slate could blink he was gone, no doubt running to join in the celebrations. The knight sighed, and flipped back onto the bed. Falling in love with your best friend was hard, but falling in love with your straight best friend who was completely and utterly in love with someone else was the absolute worst.

Being in love sucked.