One Step Closer - Attraction

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for sexual situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Rune Factory, as evidenced by the fact that Aden can't really marry Gerard and Raguna always got turned down when he proposed to guys. Such a pity!

Author's Note: No one seems to like my Rune Factory OTP, so if I wanted to see a fic for it, it was up to me to write it. So I decided that I was finally gonna try the "stages of love" themes, giving this five chapters to explore Gerard and Aden's relationship. This one starts right after the Lantern Festival. If you've never seen what happens when you wish you were married to Gerard, you should totally watch it. It's the best.

Flames do nothing but make me laugh, although I'll listen to any CC you have. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 07-15-2013

Aden awoke from his dream, sweating and panting and wondering what the hell was going on in his head.

"Was it something I ate last night?"

Probably not, and he knew that very well. He'd been joking when he'd written that his wish for the Lantern Festival was to marry Gerard, really he had. But Violet had seen it and took it completely seriously, wishing him luck in his endeavor, and he'd been so embarrassed that rather than try to explain himself, he'd run right home and gone to bed.

Then to add to his humiliation, he proceeded to dream about actually being married to Gerard. And that wasn't even the worst part, no, of course it couldn't have been that easy. No, the worst part, looking back now that he was awake, was how he had acted in his dream. Sure, he'd been sufficiently shocked at Gerard about to kiss him, but he hadn't gotten angry. He hadn't gotten even a little upset! He was just politely confused, and when Gerard tried to kiss him again…

Aden groaned and buried his face in his hands. The last part of his dream before he woke up was a man old enough to be his father kissing him, and his dream self had allowed it without protest. Oh, how glad he was that Sonja was back in her own body, or he'd never hear the end of this one…

He sighed as he straightened up and attempted to banish all thoughts of his dream from his mind. He had work to do, and there was no time for such nonsense. He wasn't in love with Gerard. He didn't want to kiss him, and he certainly didn't want to marry the man. That was really all there was to it!

Someone really hated him, Aden had decided. A higher power was obviously mad at him and cursed him to keep replaying that stupid dream ad nauseam. That was the only explanation for it. Why else would he have kept thinking about that dream kiss and made such a fool of himself in the process all day long? He was bumping into everyone and everything, tripping over his own feet, spacing out in front of everyone, generally acting more like Lily than himself… No less than six people had asked him if he was okay, and it was only noon!

Part of him wanted to just go home and pretend the day had never happened, but he knew that there were people counting on him, so off to the bulletin board he went. With any luck, someone would require something that would force him to pay attention, or at least send him far enough away that no one would see his inattentive screw-ups.

He scanned the board, looking at all the various people who needed things delivered or wanted someone to defeat monsters. But a certain request soon caught his eye: I wanted to give a gift to a certain someone, but I don't have enough materials. A certain someone…? The wording made it sound like the requester wanted to make something for a beloved person, but the one requesting was—

Aden pushed down the annoying tingle of jealousy that taunted him at the very thought. Before he could even consider that maybe he wasn't in any shape to take on this particular request at the moment, he was out the door and headed towards the church.

"Gerard…" The priest looked up from the papers he'd been reading at his pulpit. He smiled as he noticed the young man before him, and Aden had to do his very best not to look at the older man's lips. He didn't want to kiss him, dammit! "I… I heard you don't have enough materials."

"Oh Aden, so you've seen my message on the bulletin board." He was wiggling about as normal, and Aden suddenly found himself not quite as annoyed by the flamboyant behavior as he had been in the past. Well, he had been living there for almost two years now. Obviously it was just a case of him getting use to it. Obviously. "I wanted to make a present for someone, but I don't have enough materials. I need two pieces of platinum and a diamond. Could you get them for me? I'll be sure to give you a reward."

Aden couldn't help the heat that rushed to his cheeks as Gerard waggled and spoke with that flirty tone that he seemed to save just for him. He quickly left the church with a hurried, "Of course," before he somehow made a fool of himself. At this point, it seemed inevitable if he stuck around, able to see those lips or wiggling hips or flirty grins, or—

When he tripped over a loose stone and Violet nervously asked if he was okay, Aden couldn't do anything but groan pitifully.

In less than an hour, Aden found himself entering the church yet again, items from his storage in hand. Somehow he'd managed not to do anything stupid after bolting from Violet, yet he still couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't in the clear yet. He ignored the feeling as he walked up to the pulpit and held out the items for the grinning priest. Gerard took them and chuckled gleefully.

"Thank you! Now I can make the gift! I'll make it right now, so just wait!" Aden had no idea why he had to stay while Gerard made the gift, but he was curious enough to stay without question. He waited around for a while, and before he knew it, Gerard was back and smiling even wider than before he left. "It's all finished! Here, Aden, this is for you!" Gerard held out a small platinum ring studded with the diamond Aden had just handed over. Aden felt his heartbeat quicken as he starred at it, wondering if this was really happening or if he was dreaming again.

"Why are you giving it to me?" He had a good idea, but Gerard had a habit of teasing him, so maybe…

"Oh, you're the one I was making it for, Aden. This is an engagement ring. If you give it to the one you love in a romantic setting, it becomes a proposal."

Aden couldn't speak. He could barely even think clearly as his mind ran frantically at the realization that this was indeed happening. Gerard was giving him an engagement ring, in a church. Churches were a pretty romantic place to propose, all things considered. But he didn't… He couldn't…

But he did.

As much as he'd tried to deny it, tried to pretend it wasn't true, he wasn't joking when he'd written his wish for the Lantern Festival. He'd greatly enjoyed that dream, and now his secret wish was being granted. He liked Gerard—had for a long time—and while hopping right into being engaged seemed fast, how could he say no when his dreams were literally coming true?

With a shaky hand, he reached out and took the ring from Gerard. The ring was expertly crafted, though that didn't shock Aden at all. Gerard was excellent at so many things, so why not crafting too? He looked up from the ring and smiled bashfully.

"…I accept. I can't believe this is happening, but I'm really happy." He looked down at the ring again and slipped it on his ring finger; it was a bit snug, but otherwise fit just fine. In doing so, he missed the look of confusion that appeared on Gerard's face.

"You accept? Wait, you don't think I meant…?" A cold feeling of dread painfully stopped Aden's internal celebration. He looked back at the priest, not liking the expression he wore at all.

"You're proposing to me aren't you? I mean, you flirt with me all the time and you gave me an engagement ring, so you must be." He knew he must sound desperate, but he didn't care. This just couldn't be happening, not now! "Don't tell me this was just some joke!"

"N-no, of course not!" The pitying look on his face did nothing to ease Aden's fears. "It's just that I think you misunderstood. I was giving you the ring as a present so that you can propose to someone you love. I didn't mean—"

Aden didn't hear anymore. It was difficult to when he was running out of the church as fast as he could, feeling more humiliated than he ever had in his life. He couldn't believe it. How could he have been so naïve? Of course the local priest wasn't going to marry him. Why would he? Why would an ex-captain who was good at everything and was now devoted to the lord marry some insensitive guy from the past who couldn't even admit to his attraction without thinking he was getting propose to?

He wouldn't, and Aden felt like the biggest idiot in the world for ever thinking otherwise.

"Aden, will you open the door?"

There was no answer, just the same as the day before. And the past three days before that.

"I swear Aden, if you don't open the door right now, then I'll break it down! This has gone on long enough!" Still, there was no response. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

A hammer was raised, ready to bash down the door, when the soft click of a lock stopped the attacker. The door slowly inched open, revealing Aden, who looked like he hadn't slept in days. Sonja sighed at her best friend's disheveled appearance and pushed her way past him into his home.

"I guess you aren't going to make this easy and just tell me why you haven't left your house in almost a week, huh?" Aden said nothing as he walked over to his bed and sat down. Well, she hadn't expected this to be easy… but she wasn't about to coddle him either. "It has to do with Father Gerard though, doesn't it?"

"How did you know that?" The look on his face almost made her laugh, but she managed to stay composed.

"It's pretty easy to figure out when he started acting weird the same day you locked yourself in here."

"Weird? Like he doesn't always act that way?" The words seemed far too bitter to be coming from her best friend. Whatever had happened, it had obviously upset him a lot.

"Weird for him I mean," she elaborated. Honestly, there weren't many people on the island that weren't some brand of odd. "He hasn't seemed very happy, and he barely talks to anyone. I went to ask if he knew what was going on with you yesterday and he told me he was too busy to chat and all but kicked me out of the church. And since everyone knows you both like each other, well—"

"Wait a minute! What's that supposed to mean?" Aden's pale face quickly flushed as he cut her off, a panicked look in his eyes. The urge to laugh at him rose, but now obviously wasn't the time to mercilessly tease him. She'd wait until he was feeling better for that.

"Come on, I shared a body with you for how long? It wasn't hard to figure out. Every time he asked if you wanted tea or were asking him to a festival, I could feel how much you wanted to say yes. And you only improved your cooking skills so you could make juices for him! As for everyone else, well…" How to put it gently…? "You're completely oblivious to all of the girls who like you and yet you never fail to notice when Father Gerard flirts with you. I guess the others just took that to its natural conclusion. I mean, it's not like you ever told him to stop or anything, and of course I could tell that you liked the attention. I mean, you were so jealous after he joked about Violet being cute that one time…"

"You've got to be kidding me…" While his cheeks were still bright red, he didn't look like he was going to be sick anymore. That was progress in her eyes. "I've been trying to deny and hide this and you're telling me everyone already knew?"

"I suppose I am... Well, maybe not everyone. I'm guessing that Father Gerard must not have, if you're so upset." She paused and gestured to his hand. "And don't think I haven't noticed that ring. That must have something to do with this too, right?"

Aden looked sadly down at his ring finger, nodding to her question. Soon he was telling her everything that had happened at the Lantern Festival and the day after. She listened attentively, not daring to interrupt him while he was on a roll. When he finally finished, she took a few moments to think about the best thing to say. And really, it wasn't that hard to figure out.

"So, you were embarrassed and ran away, rather than staying and talking it over. That's basically the gist of it." Well, she'd said she wouldn't tease him, not that she wouldn't be blunt.

"Hey, just what are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything! I'm telling you that you're being stupid." He opened his mouth, no doubt to complain, but she didn't give him the chance. "Father Gerard likes to tease you, but he'd never do something to hurt you. I honestly think he legitimately cares for you, and judging by the way he's pushing everyone away right now, I doubt it's a platonic attraction. Seriously, think about how you've always reacted to him before. What reason did you ever give him to make it look like you returned his feelings? He probably figured that if you couldn't love him back, he could at least help you be happy with someone else. And maybe if you hadn't bolted, you might have gotten your wish after all!"

A range of emotions passed over Aden's face—annoyance, confusion, realization, embarrassment. All was silent as Aden thought over his situation, and Sonja let him do just that. She hoped he was coming up with the correct way to resolve the situation, rather than just feeling sorry for himself.

"…You really think I overreacted?" he finally asked. Sonja nodded, smiling slightly. She was pretty sure this was a good sign.

"I think there's a good chance of it, yes. But you're never going to know if you stay cooped up in here, are you?" He shook his head, a small smile finally appearing on his own face.

"No… I'm not. Thank you Sonja. You're the best friend I could ever have." Finally she laughed, happy that he'd pulled through, just like she knew he could.

"Oh, I know! Now get your butt to the church and fix this mess, okay?"

"Yeah yeah, I got it. Wish me luck!"

She giggled at his enthusiasm as he dashed out the door, not even waiting for her to say anything. She hoped he knew that she would always wish for his happiness, no matter what. And if Gerard made him happy... Well, she just hoped that for the priest's sake, he hadn't really played a cruel trick on her friend. He'd become uncomfortably acquainted with her hammer otherwise.

It didn't feel like it had been almost a week since Aden had been standing before the church doors. It felt like only yesterday that he'd last been there, making an utter fool of himself, and… And he really needed to stop thinking like that, or there was no way he was ever going to get the nerve to open the doors.

"Here goes nothing…" He took a deep breath to calm himself—though it hardly helped—then pushed his way inside. Absolutely everything seemed normal… Right down to Gerard standing behind the pulpit.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I'm not seeing anyone right n—" Gerard stopped short as he looked up and saw who his guest was. "Aden. You're finally leaving your house. To what do I owe the pleasure?" His tone was drier than normal, but Aden refused to back down now. He was here for answers and he was going to get them!

"Don't give me that. You know very well why I'm here." He lifted up his hand for emphasis. "I have some questions, and I'm sure you have the answers." Gerard stared intently at raised hand, a strange expression on his face that Aden couldn't quite place.

"You're still wearing it, even after I told you I wasn't proposing…"

"Of course I am," he sighed, letting his hand fall. "Did you even listen to what I said that day? I really like you! I've had a crush on you for a long time, and you always seemed to feel the same. Even if you don't, I still… I just want to think that maybe…" He trailed off, wondering if Sonja had really been right. Maybe Gerard didn't really mean all the flirting. Was he just wasting his time and embarrassing himself?

"Oh Aden, I think this talk is long overdue. Come, let's go somewhere a bit more private." The words didn't fill him with anymore confidence. Feeling too defeated to protest, he obediently followed Gerard until they were in his room and Gerard had locked the door behind them. "You want to marry me then." It wasn't even a question.

"Yes!" He knew that had sounded far too eager the moment he said it, so with his face flushed, he coughed nervously and tried again. "I mean, I wouldn't mind it. I thought it was going fast, but I'd rather do that than never get the chance later."

"I'm assuming you spoke to Sonja?" He nodded, wondering what she had to do with anything and why Gerard was just ignoring his confessions. "She wasn't the only one who came to me. Violet told me about your wish at the Lantern Festival. Taking the situation into account, it was rather odd timing."

He almost groaned at the very thought. He knew Violet must have been worried for him, but still! How could she tell Gerard something like that? Of course, if everyone around seemed to think they already had something going on… Maybe she hadn't seen it as anything worth keeping as a secret in the first place.

"…Yeah. Especially after that dream." He hadn't told anyone about the dream, not even Sonja when he had explained everything to her. But what did he have to lose at this point?

"Dream?" Gerard looked curious at the thought that a dream he had could tie in with the situation. Aden finally felt a bit of confidence come back. If he hated the idea of Aden liking him, he wouldn't care about something like that, right?

"Uh, I had a dream that night that we were married. You even kissed me in it. I really, really liked it." Gerard was positively beaming at that, and Aden couldn't help but smile a little too.

"Oh my Aden, you naughty boy! Dreaming such scandalous things!" The teasing tone was finally back in Gerard's words, and Aden felt much more at ease, despite all that was happening. "Would you care to try it out in reality?"

"What, really?" It just seemed too good to be true, and the last time he'd felt like that, it was what got him into all this in the first place. "But I thought—?"

"Silly boy," Gerard interrupted, stepping closer to him, "I merely said that I wasn't proposing to you right then, not that I wasn't ridiculously attracted to you or wouldn't mind marrying you in the future. Which you would have heard if you'd stayed put and listened." To say Aden felt more foolish than he somehow had all week was an understatement. If he'd just kept a cool head, he could have avoided all of this! He had a hard time chastising himself further though. Not when Gerard was before him and putting his hands on his hips to draw him closer. "But there's no use living in the past. Now, what do you say?"

"Y-yes!" Gerard chuckled at his enthusiastic response, and Aden didn't think he'd ever been so happy to hear the familiar sound.

"Very good. Well then, let's see if I can live up to your dreams…"

So, fine, he wasn't getting married. But as Gerard's lips met his, he couldn't help but wonder how long it would be until the proper romantic setting popped up and he'd be the one proposing to Gerard.

Because he had a very good feeling that his Lantern Festival wish would come true yet.