Luneth was jealous.
He denies it, but it's been a while since he felt that irritating, weird, nagging feeling whenever he saw those two together. It's so obvious that Ingus was making moves to his best friend. Of course who would not be attracted to Arc's cute face, shy personality and the adorable freckles on his skin? Arc has always been like a brother and best friend to him, but that doesn't stop him to admire the boy for even he, himself had fall for his best friend's charm. Somewhere in his heart, he knew that there was something more than being comrades and brothers between them. But hesitation always surfaces whenever he tries to ask Arc about it and he always tend to chickened out to and to confess and accept what he truly feels.
He didn't want to spy on the two but he can't help it. Just the other day he was confronted by Ingus asking if he and Arc do have a romantic connection towards each other. He was taken aback, out of his consternation and panic he answered no. The blond asked him again if he has affection to the boy. Luneth hesitated, knowing from the very first that Arc was not too far out of earshot and was obviously listening to what they're talking about, he again answered no. That's when Arc started to avoid Luneth and began to spend much time alone with himself and was often see with the blond. It's been a week now since that incident but Luneth can't sit still and was uncomfortable to watch Ingus lingeringly look at Arc's entire being. That's why Luneth made up an excuse to gather more firewood while they were on Healing Copse so that he could stalk the two alone.
The sky was dancing in the colours of orange, magenta, blue, and indigo as the stars began to peek out from heavens.
"Hey Arc," Luneth silently watch from above the nearby tree as the golden haired knight approaches his copper haired friend. Watching Ingus bent to trace the younger man's jaw line made Luneth's blood to boil. Aside from he is not enjoying the show, he is not pretty much happy of his best friend's reaction to Ingus' touch.
"H-hey Ingus" Arc stuttered nervously, face red to the tips of his ears. "D-do you need something?"
"There's something I want to ask of you." Ingus settled down beside him but Arc moved a bit away from the blond, eyes planted on the ground. "Do you... Are you and Luneth… really not some kind of... lovers?"
Arc's eyes widen in surprise and turn even redder."N-no! We're just friends." He swallowed and blinked tightly as if he was gulping a stone before he continues, "I mean no, I-I am just a friend… to him."
Ingus smiled at Arc "But do you see him as friend?"
Arc turned away, face still red and glued his gaze to the ground again before he solemnly asked. "Why do you ask such question?"
Ingus shrugged "I don't know. Maybe I tend to ask what's obvious."
Arc lets out a defeated sigh. "It doesn't matter how I feel, he only sees me as his friend. I won't risk losing that friendship over my unrequited love. Besides," Arc pushes the image on the back of his mind, it hurts him badly by just remembering it. "I don't want to ruin what he has with Refia."
Luneth was confused for a moment but then remembered how Refia acts all too suddenly intimate towards him. He mentally kicks himself when realization dawned on him. He remembered that one merry, drunken night in Canaan, he let her kiss him... IN FRONT OF ARC. It doesn't mean anything for him, it was just a dare. Honestly a dare which Phoenix Down is the prize. He thought the hurt expression that flashed on the boy's face was only his drunken imagination. After he saw that expression, he did thought of the possibility that Arc likes Refia, and he's got jealous. That's why he let himself get wasted that night, and didn't payed much attention to anything else aside from his liquor.
'I'm an idiot.' He told to himself and lightly hit his head on the tree. His train of thought was cut off when Ingus spoke again.
"So does that means he won't mind if I do this?" Ingus placed his fingers to Arc's jaw and turn the boy's head before he closed the gap between them.
Luneth watched in shock. Seeing Ingus flirt with his best friend was enough to get on his nerve, but to kiss him? He wanted nothing more to plant his sword on the knight's chest and sweep his best friend's feet off of the ground.
Arc was frozen on his current place, letting the tall man in front of him kiss him passionately. Arc woud be lying if he said that he didn't like the way Ingus work his lips. The way the knight alternatively nips his lower and upper lip, and guide his hands up on Ingus' neck while he lowered his on a distracting pace that wander on Arc's sides and thigh. Ingus' tongue forcibly made its way inside past Arc's lips, entwining his to the others and licks the roof of the boy's mouth that making the shorter boy whimpers.
Guilt tugged deep in Arc's gut. Even he thought maybe he could forget Luneth with the help of Ingus. That maybe somehow, he deserved to be happy even just a little bit. He never wanted anything in his life than to be loved back. It's all he ever wanted.
Luneth was the first one, aside from Topapa, to love him even if he's a wimp, and though Luneth can't love him back the way he wants to, he certainly and without hesitation would die for his courageous and oblivious best friend.
Luneth was very close to jump off the tree and advance at Ingus when Arc suddenly pulled away and spoke.
"This is wrong." Arc said firmly, his eyes not leaving Ingus's.
The knight's hand stopped wandering Arc's body, He reached for the boy's hand and let it fall against the boy's thigh. He envelops the boy's hands to his. "No one will mind."
"You already have Sara, Ingus." Arc's face was stern despite the faint pink that ghosted on his cheeks. "I don't want to be anybody's replacement. Yes I'm in love with Luneth, and even he falls in love with someone else, even if he don't feel the same way as I feel towards him, and even it's a major slap in my face that I am love less, it still won't stop me from loving him. I guess you're right, no one will mind if you do things to me. But if I let you do those things, it's like turning my back on Lu, and lying to my own heart, I can't allow that. I am broken, Ingus, not desperate."
Ingus was loss at words and did nothing but watch as Arc stood and left him alone in the woods with three sparkling pond. Luneth, same as Ingus, took a few minutes for his brain to process what he had just heard.
Arc is in love with him.
Arc loves him.
The words played over and over on his head when he ran to follow where Arc headed. Luneth's heart thump with elation and nervousness, he wanted nothing more than to tell Arc that he feels the same too. That he lied when Ingus asked him if he had affection to him.
Almost half an hour later, the elation on Luneth's heart was replaced with worry and anxiety when he lost track on Arc.
He encountered dozens of Basilisk and Sting bee on the way. Knowing that the boy left his mythril sword on the temporary camp, he can't help but let the gruesome ideas fill his head. He shook those thoughts away and focused on looking for Arc until he found himself back on the Healing Copse.
Half-way from the entrance he found Arc splayed on the grass Ingus looming over the boy. He raced towards the two and shoved Ingus away. "Get away from him!" he snarled.
"Easy man, I'm just trying to help." Ingus dropped on his knee and hands half-way to the ground, "He returned back fatigued and clothes tattered. He collapsed only a few feet away from my aid."
"YOU FUCKER! You didn't even help him?!" Luneth put Arc's head on his lap. He murmured things to him, kissed his forehead and brushed his fingers on the boy's hair.
"You showed up shoving me away from him when I was about to cure him." Ingus pointed out. Luneth performed cure on Arc and let him drink on the pond's magical water.
"It's your entire fault." Luneth gritted his teeth, caressing his best friends face before glaring at Ingus.
"It isn't my fault if you're a coward to tell the truth." Ingus said before he left the two of them and set up a camp, leaving Luneth with Arc's unconscious body.
Luneth's head cooled but he can't bring himself to talk to Desch, or even Refia, who had just returned from having a stroll from the woods to look for the gnome village. He shut himself in the tent, which Ingus set up for the two of them, watching over Arc until the time ticks deeper into the darkness of the night, and his eyes fell heavy. He lied beside Arc, letting his right arm be the pillow of the boy. He watched him and wept silently for hours. Dozing off a few times, he slaps himself to keep him awake. He was about to give in to sleep when the boy stirred and opened his eyes. Luneth was wide awake all of the sudden.