Let's face it, I had to do something after the newest chapter added. And I've wanted to write for these two for a while.
The Askr prince let out a heavy sigh as he leaned forward against the railing of the balcony in his room. Ever since he and the others made it back to the castle after successfully freeing the Radiant Hero from Veronica's grasp, he still can feel his heart beating in overdrive. The very moment that Kiran didn't come through the gateway, he could almost feel several burly hands grasp his heart and lungs and slowly squeeze the air out of them. Memories of the day Zacharias disappeared were racing through his mind with every second the summoner was gone, fear was slowly consuming him at the thought that he had once more lost someone dear to him. But when a second gateway opened and Kiran came through, collapsing to the ground panting, He felt the grip on his immediately release, allowing him to breathe once more at the sight of his friend from another world safe and unharmed. The mention that Zacharias was the one who saved him shook Alfonse's mind, but on the trip back to the castle, the relief that Kiran was alright was the only thing he could focus on and the only thing his mind allowed him to think about.
The chill night breeze light brushed against his golden tipped blue hair and the quiet air gave him plenty of time to think. It took every ounce of him to keep himself composed around the summoner and refrain himself from breaking down.
He swore to himself that he wouldn't do this. The day Anna introduced him to Kiran, he told himself not to get close to him. To only keep interactions with him only limited to the mission and the current personal health. To keep his focus on striving for peace and growing stronger. To not befriend the summoner.
But, surely enough, as days pasts by, he found himself getting closer to him. The simplistic and straightforward conversations steadily shifted into long personal talks. Their talks regarded personal information and events the two have been through and learning more about each other's world. Though throughout their talks, Kiran had to find ways to explain certain things from his world to the prince in a way he would understand. The differences between their worlds was truly black and white. But the moment Alfonse knew he could no longer deny that he had indeed befriended Kiran was the moment he no longer referred to him as just "Summoner", but by his name.
At that moment, he knew that his promise to stay clear of Kiran had utterly failed. But as time went on, he felt a new emotion slowly build up within him. At first, he didn't really know what it was. He passed it off as just simple enjoyment at his newest friend. But much like a fire, it slowly sweltered and burned from within him. The flames grew more and more poignant, the unknown feeling he felt slowly made itself more and more clear with each little detail he noticed about Kiran.
His surprisingly gently face hidden under his cowl. The way he held himself with such maturity and his newfound grace he got from being around so many royals. His surprisingly lovely laugh. The enthusiasm he had whenever he would tell him of his world. The way he adapted himself to the role of a leader. His perseverance and bravery in the face of danger. How he would help them in anyway despite not having a weapon. How he was always there for him regardless of how miniscule his problems were. How he was able to make him smile so easily. How he's managed to lift his spirits again.
How he made him feel… whole.
With each realization, the mysterious emotion unveiled itself piece by piece. But as it became more known, it scared him. He mind seemed to want to forcefully push that emotion back into the deepest recesses of his mind, to try and tell himself that it wasn't what he assumed it was. But after today, after nearly losing him, he knew he could no longer deny it.
So now he finds himself in his room, isolated away from everyone who was celebrating another victory, questioning what he will do next. How will he be able to approach Kiran now that these feelings have overtaken him? His hands tangled in his hair as he let out a frustrated groan. His mind was reeling so much in his thoughts that he didn't hear the door to his room open.
"Alfonse?" His head quickly whipped around as the summoner entered his room, closing the door behind him, "Are you alright?"
He looked back to the outstretch below, "Yeah, I'm fine."
"I guess you must be pretty exhausted, huh? I can't blame you. That Radiant Hero put up quite the fight," Kiran walked out onto the balcony and leaned against the rail next to Alfonse. But he noticed pretty quickly that the prince was actively avoiding looking at him or even letting him stand more than 5 feet next to him, "Are you sure that you're alright?"
"I said I'm fine!" His tone came out much more angry that he wanted to and his entire body turned to face away from the summoner. He let out a sigh and was about to apologize for his outburst when the man behind spoke first.
"I figured you were mad at me."
He immediately turned back around, "What?"
"I noticed that you've been avoiding me since we got back here, and I don't blame you. I acted careless and I nearly got myself killed. I've been here for over a month, there's no reason for me to be that careless. So I can understand why you're mad at me."
"Kiran, I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself."
"Why yourself?" He asked confused.
"Because I saw it! I saw that you were on the other side of the gateway as it was closing, but I didn't reach out fast enough to grab you! I left you right in Veronica's grasp, completely helpless!"
"Alfonse, you shouldn't beat yourself up about that. Nothing happened to me. Zacharias saved me before she could even do anything," He reached out to grab the prince's shoulder, but he caught his hand before he could reach it.
"But still! I should have known better than to leave you completely vulnerable when we were storming the enemy! You're the one she's after and I should know better than to allow her to get to you! I'm not going to lose someone else!"
The pain in his eyes was prevalent, even as his eyes clenched shut. The grip on his hand tightened, and for a moment, Kiran was worried what might happened next.
He was surprised, all right, but not by what he expected.
Alfonse pulled him forward by his hand and he was caught in a near bone crushing hug. The prince so desperately wanted to do this the moment Kiran came through the portal, but held himself back out of pride and crumbling desperation to keep his emotions bottled up. But now, within the confounds and privacy of his room, he had no reason to hold back. So he held the summoner as tight as humanly possible, not allowing any space between them, as he buried his face in the space between Kiran's neck and right shoulder. Kiran was left in shock at the prince's sudden action, his arms remained locked at his sides, though he wouldn't be able to move them much as they were trapped under Alfonse' embrace.
He finally managed to speak up when he felt the prince shivering, "Alfonse?"
"I shouldn't be doing this…" He raised his head from his shoulder, and Kiran was taken aback at the sight of the usually firm and calm prince's face shining wet with tears.
"Alfonse…!"
"I swore to myself not to let this happen… I told myself that I shouldn't… but, I'm sorry, I can't hold myself back anymore! Please, please forgive me for what I'm about to do!"
Before he could even ask, he felt one of Alfonse' hands grab the back of his neck and pull him in for a kiss, once more leaving him reeling in shock. His hold on him was just as tight as before, making it impossible for him to pull away even if he wanted to. There was a salty taste to the prince's soft lips from the tears, but it was still so warm and pleasant. Any desire to pull away faded as he relaxed into his loving touch. His body anguished at the loss of heat when Alfonse pulled away.
"I love you, Kiran. I told myself that I shouldn't allow this to happen, but it did, and I don't regret. You mean so much more to me than I ever thought possible, and I want to protect you until my last breath!" His hold on the summoner slackened as he took half a step back, "I understand that I'm asking for so much. If this is not what you want… then, please… push me away. If you don't… I fear I won't ever be able to let you go."
His eyes closed, bracing himself to expect the worst. With his arms now free, Kiran brought his hand up and brushed away the tears that were still coming from his eyes. The soft gesture made Alfonse' eyes open and he was greeted by a gentle smile from the summoner.
"Like I could ever push you away…"
Within an instant, Kiran once more found himself in Alfonse' tight loving embrace, his hands now able to wrap around the other's back.
"Kiran… Please, promise me that you'll stay by my side… Please… Please don't leave…"
Unable to give an answer, Kiran just held him tighter, one hand lightly stroking his hair.
Both of them knew why he couldn't give an answer.
What may come in the future, when their task is completed and Kiran has accomplished his mission, could be what may separate them for good. This fated event that brought the prince his love from another world could also be what takes him away. But, for now, he didn't want either of them to focus on that.
Right now, all he wanted was to hold him.
To just hold him and not let go.
Now I'm going to be on hold for a bit since I'm dealing with some issues right know. I'll be sure to come back in style once I've sorted everything out.
Hope you'll all stick by me until then!