Okay so this is a short little song fanfic I've been working on. This is based on the YouTube Series, "Brony D&D: Welcome to The Show," and on my favorite ships in the series, Amber x Ivan and Faerthurin x Jalerom. The song is "If I Could Tell Her" comes from the musical, Dear Evan Hansen. I had to edit a few of the lyrics to fit the characters and the scene but that's it. I own none of the character nor the song displayed below, I'm just writing fluffy ships. Enjoy and please comment on any critique, grammar or spelling errors, or just something nice. Thank you for reading ^^ -Your author, S.E. Rowan
The tavern was loud and abuzz with carefree joy. Waitresses were handing out plates of food and drinks to his hungry buddies while Ivan the bard was humming along to a catchy tune that had been in his head all day as he retuned his lute. The group had just gotten back from another one of their adventures and it was time for a well-deserved break. Jalerom was already at the bar, trying to trade stories with Oin but the solemn dwarf was only offering the occasional grunt or nod. Rose, Jeminya, and of course...Amber, Ivan gave a wistful sigh before blushing pink, were enjoying a meal while Simula had decided to retire to bed early. Pregnancy was taking a lot more out of the princess than she had realized and she found herself resting much more often under the orders of her concerned sister. Meanwhile, Rose was trying to convince Amber the benefits of an all plant diet. But the she-dragon simply nodded her head politely before ripping into a huge piece of roasted chicken with her teeth. Jem rolled her eyes when she caught Ivan staring at them. He quickly turned away but not before noticing Faerthurin was all alone
Despite the noisy tavern, Fae was already buried deep into one of her books in a small corner table in the back. Ivan swung his lute onto his back and made his way towards her. He knew he should have left the sorceress to her literature yet he couldn't help but notice something was different about her. Instead of her usual calm, blank expression, the darting back and forth of her eyes as she carefully read each page, Fae kept gazing up every once in a while, and her eyes would immediately settle on a certain rogue trying to make a dwarf laugh. Then her cheeks would give a small blush; which given how pale she was, it was very noticeable. Ivan flashed a knowing smile in Fae's direction as he sat down and gave her a thumb up. She quickly took noticed of her friend, blushed until her whole face was a bright pink and then pushed her face further into her book.
Ivan cleared his throat to try and get her attention. Her eyes slightly shifted in his direction but quickly returned to her book. The bard leaned back into his chair, his hand went to his face. Now, how was he going to bring this up? Fae had seemed like a private person from their talks and usually with someone like her, it took a common interest to bring them out of their little shell.
Mmmmm…
Ivan noticed the worn cover of "The Outer Plains for Dunderheads" and said the first thing that popped into his head, "So anything interesting about the Outer Plains?"
Fae looked up slightly and gave an annoyed glare.
He gave a nervous chuckle in response, "So, not much, huh? You know, I've traveled to the Shadow Plains. Kinda dark and...shadowy."
Her eyes didn't even leave the page, "Wasn't that because you accidentally stepped onto a trap in Hawthorne's tower?"
Now, it was Ivan's turn to blush, "Well um...yeah…but it was still sort of interesting if you're into that-"
"Is there something you want, Ivan?"
Oh thank the gods, she stopped him. He wasn't sure how long he could have kept that up. Fae reached into her bag and pulled out a black feather to hold the place where she had stopped reading. Ivan gave another nervous chuckle as Fae raised a sharp eyebrow.
"Well," He started to rub his neck, "I...um...couldn't help but notice…how you…and my buddy, Jalerom, over there, have gotten pretty close lately."
"That's a very…specific observation," Faerthurin said calmly, "And I thought that was Oin's thing," she added under her breath before looking back at Ivan, "But yes, Jalerom is very nice to talk to. He's...intelligent in his own way."
"Oh yeah!" Ivan nodded with excitement, "Remember how he tricked those guards back in the arena?"
A small smile cracked on her face. Ivan himself remembered the rogue's swift and sharp movements in that arena's maze and how proud he felt when his buddy had completed the challenge. He also remembered Fae gripping her chair with nervous hands and the concerned words she whispered when she had thought no one had heard.
"He had you pretty scared there, huh?"
The smile disappeared. Her mouth hung open and little noises came out; like someone had just stepped on a cat.
Oops…he had said too much.
"I mean," he added quickly, "we were all pretty nervous that day but everything turned out great, right?"
"I suppose." She sighed.
"Plus, he tells great stories!" The bard went on, "Never get bored talking to someone like that, am I right? And what a great sense of humor he's got, huh? Can keep us laughing for hours. A good quality to have in...um...romantic partner. He really knows how to make a person feel comfortable."
Fae blinks and set her book to the side. She leaned towards Ivan and whispers, "Ivan Winstrummer, do you have romantic feelings for Jalerom?"
Ivan accidentally goes into a coughing fit at her accusations. Fae's eyes went wide with concern and she quickly grabbed a nearby cup of water.
"I…I'm...I...I'm f...fi...fine!" He coughed heavily as he tried to swallow some of the drink.
"I'm sorry," Faerthurin tried to apologized as she tried to clap his back, "I didn't mean to upset you. It's no big deal but I'm just not sure if Jalerom-"
"I...I...was trying to talk him...up for you!" He blurted out through coughs and then added in a softer voice, "I know you have feelings for him."
The little noises came back.
"It's okay." Ivan patted her hands, "I'm pretty sure he feels the same."
The noises got louder.
"I'm sure he thinks you're," Ivan paused as he tried to find the right words to compliment the sorceress then it came to him, "Awesome!"
Fae blinked then said slowly, "He thinks I'm awesome? Jalerom?"
"Definitely!"
"How? " she sighed and her eyes casted to the ground in disbelief. Oh no.
"Well..." Ivan hesitated. To be honest with himself, he wasn't really quite sure what Jalerom did see in Fae. Sure, she was smart and had a good heart deep down but that was only through his own eyes. Yet Ivan knew there was a spark between them. Anyone with eyes could see the joy and happiness the two friends had whenever they were near each other. Anyone could see the warmth that simply radiate from their growing love. If only there was a way Fae could see that for herself...Then suddenly an idea came to him.
"You hesitated." Faerthurin groaned and Ivan could see a gleam of a tear in one of her eye.
"W...w...wait!" Ivan reached for her hand and gently pulled her feet. He leads his friend to the makeshift stage in the middle of the tavern. "Follow my lead and watch Jalerom carefully." He whispered slowly into her ear as he pulled her onto the stage. "Don't look at him with just your eyes…but with your heart as well. My music can help with that. Just sing whatever you feel and the truth will come out."
Then he reached for his lute and tried to remember the song that been stuck in his head all day long. Fae simply stared at him with her mouth gaping open, still dumbstruck about what was happening. Ivan began to nimbly plucked at the strings of his instrument and a jumpy yet sweet melody filled the room. Jalerom was the first to turn towards them and Oin did the same. As the music got louder, the tavern grew quieter. A small crowd gather around them to hear. Even Amber had gotten up and began to sway to the rhythm as Ivan played. Soon, the lyrics began to pour out of him,
🎶He said, "There's nothing like your smile. Sort of subtle and perfect and real."🎶
Ivan picked up the tempo and Fae tried to smile.
🎶He said, you never knew how wonderful that smile could make someone feel.🎶
Jalerom smiled right away once he saw Fae. Her shoulders began to relax as her cheeks gave a soft blush of pink. But her eyes quickly went back to her hands. Ivan could already feel the warm glow of their growing love for each other coming to the surface. He found himself smiling at this revelation and began to sway to his music like Amber was.
🎶And he knew whenever you get bored,
you twist a little strand of your hair.
And he noticed that you still love those romantic fairy tales.🎶
The rest of the crowd followed suit. A few laughs were scattered throughout the room at the lyric. Fae's ears turned pink and Ivan gave her an apologetic smile. Jalerom was moving closer to the little stage; his eyes never once taken off Faerthurin. Even Rose and Jeminya had gotten up from their seats and were watching the show. Fae finally gave a short sigh in defeat and added her sweet voice to the mix as Ivan went on,
🎶But he kept it all inside his head.
What he saw, he left unsaid
and though he wanted to; he couldn't talk to you.
He couldn't find the way..🎶.
With the last note, Amber began to stare at Ivan as if she had never really truly heard him sing before. Her auburn hair had fallen loose to her shoulders and the light of her amulet bounced off her sweet, chestnut eyes. His cheeks suddenly felt very warm.
🎶If I could tell her; tell her everything I see.
If I could tell her, how she's everything to me.
But we're a million worlds apart and don't know how I would even start.
If I could tell her...If I could tell her...🎶
Ivan tried so hard to focus on the music yet something made him pull his eyes away from his lute. His heart swelled as his eyes settled once again on Amber as she began to sway again to his music. She twirled around the little spot she and the girls were at but tried very hard not to step on anyone's toes. Ivan smiled when he caught Rose crossing her arms with a very grumpy look on her face. Jeminya had been trying to get Rose to dance with her by playfully pulling her arms. He could hear Amber's melodious laughter echoing off the walls at something Jem had probably said. Then the room was starting…to feel…warm too. He wished someone would open a window or something... His mouth then suddenly felt very dry and Ivan hadn't even realized he had stopped playing.
"Umm, Ivan?" Fae roughly tapped him on his shoulder, "Is there anything else?"
Now, his cheeks felt even warmer than before. Ivan gulped and lowered his voice so that only the elf could hear. "About you?" He asked dumbfounded, "I'm sorry I must have blanked out there for a second."
Fae's ears had turned completely pink and so did her cheeks again, "N...never mind. I don't really-" she started to get off the stage.
"No, no, no," Ivan gently grabbed her arm, trying very hard not to accidentally pierce himself with her sharp bracelet, "Just, no, no...he said...he said so many things," The room had gotten uncomfortably quiet and there were many confused looks from the crowd, "I'm just..I'm trying to remember the best ones."
He cleared his throat and went back to singing,
🎶He thought you looked really pretty, er...
It looked pretty beautiful
when you put those indigo flowers in your hair.🎶
"He did?" Faerthurin accidentally squeaked softly and looked in Jalerom's direction who waved at her. She took a deep breath before she let out another series of beautiful vocals like a meadow lark had suddenly took control of her voice. Ivan could then again feel the glow of Jalerom's feelings glow brighter.
He quickly followed her voice with his melodies, determined not to get distracted so that all eyes were kept on Fae. But then there was a flash of very familiar auburn hair flipping and twisting in the air as Amber began to spin around with one of her hands stretched upward. There was a great big smile on her face like she was the happiest she had been in a long time. She danced closer to the stage and some people were even backing away so she had more room to move (and possibly not tumble into them like she had done to Jeminya and Rose a few seconds ago.) The bard sighed at his buddy. He suddenly felt lighter and twisted his own feet into one quick spin before singing again,
🎶And he wondered how you learned to dance
like all the rest of the world isn't there...🎶
His eyes were kept locked onto Amber. Ivan had never realized how there…were little specs…of gold in her eyes, almost the same shade as her scales...Little pieces of gold...dancing around the warm browns of her iris...Beautiful…Very beautiful. And that sweet smile on her...she looked so happy...He would do anything to keep that smile on her face.
🎶But he kept it all…inside his head.
What he saw, he left unsaid...
If I could tell her, tell her everything I see.🎶
Despite her occasional clumsiness, the she-dragon was actually quite…nimble on her feet as she danced. Especially when she made those little jumps and spins in the air…like a little fairy. Her long hair was twirling around her like a scarf while her amulet caught every bit of light as she moved...like it was her own little dancing lights. Ivan felt like he was watching a star.
🎶If I could tell her,
tell her everything I see.
If I could tell her, how she's everything to me.🎶
Fae looked to her side and froze when she noticed Ivan's smile. It was much, much, much different than his usual friendly smiles. This one was softer and half closed like he was waking up from a lovely dream. Only the dream was real and right in front of him. She recognized it because...it was that same smile she felt on her face whenever she was near Jalerom. That dream that felt so real and so amazing that you couldn't help but try to reach out for it...Only to realize it was too far away yet it was okay so you kept trying and trying…Maybe it was the magic coming from Ivan's music but Faerthurin understood what was going on in that little bard's head, or more importantly: his heart, because something similar was going on for her. She smiled and soon, Fae found herself singing in perfect sync with Ivan.
🎶But we're a million worlds apart.
And I don't know how I would even start.🎶
Okay…now he couldn't be the only one uncomfortably warm, Ivan kept thinking, surely everyone else was feeling how hot the room had become? Fae had stopped singing and was staring at Jalerom who had not stopped smiling from ear to ear. Rose was rolling her eyes as Jeminya was now trying to get Oin to dance with her. Amber had just done a full spin on her toes and was trying very hard not to crash into anyone. Now his cheeks felt like they were almost on fire and his legs suddenly felt they were made out of the jam he had for breakfast. Oh…at least his buddies were having fun. He picked up the tempo again and went on,
🎶If I could tell her…
If I could tell her…
But what do you do when there's this great divide?🎶
Fae joined him again while her eyes locked onto Jalerom, 🎶 He just seemed so far away... 🎶
🎶And what do you do when the distance is too wide?🎶
🎶It's like I don't know anything...🎶
Ivan's chest suddenly felt tight. Amber had stopped dancing and was now staring on Ivan. His fingers scrambled across the strings of his lute as he tried to hold that last note.
🎶And how do you say…I love you? I love you...🎶
Fae gave Ivan a painful smile and then looked back to Jalerom as she echoed those last words,
🎶I love you…I love you..🎶.
🎶 But we're a million worlds apart
and I don't know how I would even start.
If I could tell her. If I could...🎶
The song drew to a soft close and then there was a roar of applause coming from everyone. Fae looked at him and Ivan grabbed her arm so that they could bow with flourish. She blushed furiously when she heard a whistle that had to have come from her rogue. Then she turned towards Ivan and gave him a very awkward hug.
"You're falling for Amber," She whispered very low into his ear, "Don't try and denied it. I saw you both. You look at her the same way I look at him. Everyone's been seeing it except you two."
There was pounding in Ivan's chest as he tried to realize what was going on. No...Amber was his friend…His dragon buddy…who laughed at his jokes and liked his music. He just liked to make her smile like he did with all his friends.
There couldn't be more to it than that?
Could it?
Then he remembered on those nights ago when she had woken up from her nightmare. She looked so scared that night. Her sweet eyes, usually so full of her fierce inner fire, were replaced with complete fear. Ivan had wanted nothing more than chase those bad thoughts away from her forever and he stayed by her side all night. He had whispered any kind of comfort he could think of to her as she tried to close her eyes again. He had hugged her gently and played his lute to bring that smile back to her face. A warm feeling had entered his heart that night as he watched over his dear friend and it was growing...Maybe...just maybe Fae was onto something…
Ivan nervously laughed as he jumped off the stage to only find Amber running toward him and catching the little bard in an excited but very tight hug.
"Ivan! Ivan!" The she-dragon giggled excitedly, "You guys were so amazing! I've never heard you sing like that before! You too, Fae!"
"Yes," Jeminya joined them and gave Ivan and Faethurin a knowing wink, "It's almost like you two had a new type of...inspiration."
Then suddenly Amber look back at her friend, "Ivan, why is your face so red?"