My Journey With You: chapter.4 hot springs
Once the sun had risen, Abel woke up, laying on the ground, rubbing his eye he realized a familiar black cape that was draped over him as a blanket. He got up from the ground and went over to the blond standing over their campfire, cooking what seemed to look like mushrooms and fish.
"Richard" Asbel smiled and sat beside his friend, warming his hands by the fire.
"Good morning Asbel" Richard smiled back, putting his cape back on and pulling the food off the fire and chopping them up on a flat stone. Once chopped, he dumped them into a miso broth with green onion in a wooden bowl. He handed the bowl to Asbel along with a wooden spoon.
"Thanks" Asbel kindly took the offered bowl and despite how simple it was, the soup was heartwarming and delicious.
"Do you like it? I'm not exactly the best cook like Cheria"
"No, it's great Richard. Even better than Cheria's" Asbel exclaimed with a smile, gazing into those kind and gently warm soft brown eyes.
"Asbel...your too kind" Richard blushed a bit and smiled, looking down into his own soup. He could never deserve a friend like Asbel and yet...he could never dream of being apart from him either. Richard instinctively scooted closer to Asbel from the lonely thought of losing said man and leaned against him, feeling Asbel's body heat warm him from the cold. Asbel just smiled and rested his head against Richard's, sniffing that wonderful smell that only Richard could make and felt his heart flutter. Richard was flushed at the tickling of Asbel's nose and felt a tingle run down his spine.
"A...Asbel, we should finish our soup"
"..." Asbel loved that sweet smell of Richard.
"Asbel"
"..." It was sweet like a honeysuckle.
"Asbel!" Richard suddenly stood up, breaking Asbel from his sniffing. "Listen to your older brother when he talks!" Richard scolded, waving a finger in front of Asbel's dumbfounded face. (He may not actually be his older brother, but Asbel did once try to call his brother when they were in Barona)
"Uh...s-sorry" Asbel scratched the back of his head, slightly flushed at his own action.
"Good, now eat your soup so we can get a move on.
"Okay, okay" Asbel chuckled and continued to eat his soup.
It was at least three hours and the two suddenly felt a sharp glare piercing through them. Asbel and Richard quickly drew their weapons and with a silent nod, quickly moving in for an attack.
"Frost breaker!"
"Sword deluge!"
"Alvitr!"
"Havoc strike!"
And just like that, Richter's ax and sword clashed against Asbel's blade while Ratatosk clashed with Richard after dodging the spell. Marta wasn't sure what to do and or to say, but something told her that the two people in front of her weren't bad people.
"Who are you?" Richter asked sharply, pushing Asbel back with ease. Asbel landed on his feet and clenched his teeth a bit.
"Asbel Lhant...Who are you?" Asbel asked, keeping a close eye on the man.
"...What are you doing here?" Richter asked more of him, dodging Asbel's question.
"Me and my friend Richard came here for the hot springs..." Asbel wasn't sure if that was okay to tell his foes but saw that that seemed to have been a good choice, as he noticed Richter putting his weapons away. Richter sighed and rubbed his eyes from behind his glasses for a moment before looking back at Asbel.
"I see..."
While those two were talking, Ratatosk and Richard were still locked with their blades, staring into each other's eyes, waiting for their next move, though from the sound of it, it was okay to put their weapons away.
"...Tch" Ratatosk removed his sword and sheathed it.
"...Thank goodness" Richard smiled, thankful no one had to get hurt. Ratatosk could see it through Richard's kind eyes and stared at the man.
"You...remind me of me...of Emil, your too soft-hearted," Ratatosk said in a low voice and closed his eyes, allowing Emil to take control again.
"Hmm? your eyes changed!?" Richard couldn't believe it. How could a person change their eyes?
"U-Um, sorry for attacking you, I'm Emil" He smiled and didn't bother using his fake last name.
"Uh, d-don't worry about it...and I'm Richard" Richard smiled, confused by the boy's sudden change of behavior but somehow it reminded him of when Lemda would possess him. could it be the same thing?
Once all four of them (plus Marta) were all acquainted, Emil convinced Richter to let the two new friends soak in the hot springs with them...and despite how Richter felt about the idea, he couldn't say no to Emil's pleading eyes. And so they all made their way inside the bathhouse to get ready.
Emil and Marta easily seemed to get along with Richard and Asbel seemingly easy and this bothered Richter. He would glare a bit more than necessary and answered any question's gruffer than usual but why? Why was this making him feel this way though? Wasn't it good for Emil to make friends?
Everyone got dressed in their own dressing room and entered the hot springs. Richard wore a black towel around his waist while Asbel and Richter wore white. Marta, on the other hand, was on the other side of the hot springs all by herself...since she was the only girl.
Richter didn't exactly like sitting in the same pool with annoying people but tried to ignore an incoming headache for Emil's sake and speaking of said boy, Emil had yet to join the other's in the hot springs. Was he still in the changing room?
"So Richter, why did you and Emil come here?" Richard asked. Asbel looked over, curious too.
Richter sighed. "I travel around the world to find undiscovered thing's and study them." He explained.
"I see, so what can you tell us about these hot springs?" Richard was curious, as the water seemed to heal the blister's on his hands.
"It's an old spring that was blessed by Undine 200 years ago by a summoner from the hidden clan of Mizuho. It was said to have been used to heal the sick and wounded but was buried away when a Mizuho member tried to abuse the powers of it and sealed it off" Though Richter was a bit annoyed before, he kind of liked talking about stuff like this again, it reminded him of when he and Aster would go over notes with each other.
"That sounds amazing, what else do you know?" Richard's eyes almost sparkled, fascinated by such a story. Asbel didn't exactly find it to be that great of a story but he did find it a bit interesting and sad.
While Richter was forced but not entirely suffering to explain more historical and ancient subject's, Emil was indeed in the changing room still, but not alone. Marta clung to his arm with flushed cheeks, trying to convince the boy to leave the other's to their own thing while she and Emil could sneak off on her side of the spring and spend some alone time together (Kind of like what Ratatosk mentioned on the way here) Emil protested after protest with tomato cheeks, finding it hard to remove the girl's snake-like grip.
"M-Marta, let go" Emil couldn't dare yell at her nor could he do anything rough to her.
"But Emil, wouldn't you rather be alone together? I know that's how you must really feel if Ratatosk wanted too" Her voice cute and teasing, it made Emil nervous but it was mostly his arm that rubbed against her chest that bothered him, especially since she was only wearing a towel around herself.
"M-Marta" Emil couldn't deny it, Ratatosk had wanted to be with Marta, but...he was hoping to spend time with Richter.
"Please?" Continuing to plead. Emil finally lowered his head and whispered "Okay" It wouldn't be fair to himself, to Ratatosk. He might have wanted to spend time with Richter but he was very aware of how Ratatosk felt for Marta...despite her favoriting him. It hurt him knowing this.
"Really? Emil, I love you so much! Her cheeks grew a brighter red and quickly lead the boy to her side of the springs. Emil looked over his shoulder to eye the male entrance and felt his heart split in two. It hurt so much...
Once Emil and Marta were in the water, Marta continued to hold the boy's arm and without saying a word, Emil lowered his head and let Ratatosk take over, hoping to escape the pain in his chest.
"Now we're finally alone, Marta," Ratatosk said, pulling the girl closer. She gasped in response and blushed even more.
"E-Emil" Marta felt her heart race, pounding against her chest as she felt the tingling sensation of the boy's hand around her waist, his finger's giving a light squeeze. She was even more nervous with Ratatosk's playful grin that was usually planted on his face, just as it was now.
Just when Ratatosk thought he could make another move on the girl, slightly muffled voices could be heard from the other side of the stone wall. Ratatosk's expression had suddenly become grim as he glared, as a particular conversation going on behind the wall bothered him greatly.
"Richter, your so smart. Your amazing" Amazing...Amazing...Richter, your so amazing...AMAZING...Ratatosk than suddenly sat up after hearing those words echo in his head, surprising Marta as she had no idea what had caused his sudden outburst.
"The hell!?" Ratatosk could tell from the sound of the voice that it had been Richard to have called Richter AMAZING before.
"E-Emil? W-What's wrong?" Marta couldn't understand and had hoped she hadn't done anything wrong...but then again Emil might have said something to Ratatosk and pissed him off or something. Seriously, it was annoying because you could never tell with those two.
Ratatosk put his ear to the stone wall, ignoring the girl as he tried to listen carefully. Marta, curious herself along with the boy's actions, joined next to him and put her ear to the stone wall as well, listening to the voices behind it. (I wonder if they heard Ratatosk shout just now?)
"Richard, you too seem to have a vast knowledge of things from where you come from" D-did Richter praise someone else!?
"No, no. I don't nearly know as much as you. I've never met anyone so knowledgeable before" Did he smile at Richter when he said that?
"I didn't picture you the type...I apologize for miss judging you Richard" Stop it, don't apologize to anyone else...y-you never do that, remember?
"I could say the same. I pegged you to be a lot more...cold but I was very wrong" I-Is he implying Richter is...warm?
"Before you mentioned finding a special stone. Could I see it?" No, No one's suppose to be allowed to see Richter's stuff...not even I am...
"..." Did he make an expression...? What kind?
"It's beautiful. May I touch it?" No!
"...Go right ahead" B-But I wasn't allowed to...!?
"Wow...I can almost feel the emotion's behind the carvings...Is this from the Balacruf ruins you mentioned?" W-What all did Richter tell him...?
"Yes...I'm impressed you memorized all 40 thing's I talked about" 4-40!? Richter talked about historical and mystical 40 thing's...to someone...other than...me...?
Ratatosk lowered his head and fell to his knees. He felt hurt...betrayed. Had Richter started to become closer to Richard than him? His eyes faded back to green and could almost feel himself become near to tears. Marta had heard everything and saw how hurt the boy looked. Suddenly Marta began to piece everything together...It all started back in Luin and up to this point. Marta held her chest to ease the pain and kneeled down to the boy.
"Emil...You love Richter, don't you?" she asked. Emil's eyes widen as his cheeks heated up into a bright red.
"M-Marta I...It's not...I mean" The boy stammered, looking away from the girl.
"Emil...You've loved him all this time, haven't you?"
"Marta I...I really have loved Richter-san" A painful smile planted itself on his face, as he knew...Richter would never feel the same, much less for the man who killed Aster in cold blood and stole his face...
"Emil..." Marta now could only imagen now just how much the boy must have been suffering and hugged him tightly.
"Marta...what do I do...? even if he liked me...wouldn't it be because I look like Aster?" Emil's eyes were hurt. the shine in his eyes had faded away, like a suicidal person excepting death's embrace.
"Emil...Don't think like that..." Marta may not know Richter very well but she knew he wasn't the type to do such a thing.
"..." Emil dropped his head as he didn't know what to believe. Marta had to think of something and fast.
"E-Emil, Richter, and Richard were just being friendly to each other" Marta explained, hoping to make the boy feel better but it didn't.
"Richter-san never showed his treasures to me..."
"M-Maybe because you two were enemies before" Marta encouraged.
"...He never told me 40 different stories like that before..."
"M-Maybe so but maybe he thought he'd just bore you with all of that stuff" She encouraged once more.
"..."
"Emil..." Marta hated seeing the boy like this but what was she to do?
"..." Emil couldn't help but wonder how much Richter might have been smiling at Richard.
"E...Emil" Marta could only imagine how he must be feeling and tightened her grip on him but she lifted her head when she heard the voice's behind the wall.
"I'm worried about Emil, he isn't here yet" That must be Richard talking.
"Yeah, where is he?" Asbel for sure.
"...I'll go find him" R-Richter! Marta quickly stood up from the boy, dropping him in the water.
"E-Emil, Richter's coming!" She panicked.
"W-What?" Emil regained his senses from the hitting of water to Marta's sudden warning.
"Hurry, Hurry!" Marta began to shove the boy out of the water. "You have to go!" Marta said, trying to remind the boy that they were on the girl side of the springs. Emil panicked, as he didn't know how to face Richter.
"W-What should I say?"
"I don't care! Just go before he see's me half naked!" And with a final shove, Marta kicked Emil our of her side of the springs. Emil tripped and stumbled a bit, trying not to lose his balance and suddenly came into contact with something hard, wet and very warm.
"Emil?" Emil quickly pulled away, only to realize it was Richter's extremely sexy chest that he had bumped into. He flushed brightly at the sight and all thoughts in his head melted and were replaced by a new never forgettable image of the older man.
"R-R-Richter-san, I'm sorry!" He quickly bowed, as he apologized for rudely bumping into him earlier.
"Emil, where were you?" Brushing off the urge to scold the boy for always apologizing, asked a question instead. Had it been a stranger than fine, apologize, but he and Emil weren't stranger's, so there was no need to apologize.
"I-I was...uh...I...um..u-um...M-Marta wanted me to see something, s-sorry if I worried you" Emil could feel his voice shake, the heat in his face not once cooling down as the sight of the man continued to blur his thoughts.
"...I see" Richter scoffed, annoyed by the boy's sudden nervousness.
He sighed. "Than let's head back," Richter said and began to walk back to the Richard and Asbel.
"Richter-san." Emil than reached for Richter, unable to actually touch him.
"What is it?"
"U-Um...w-will you show me your treasure's from around the world?" His head lowered, scared he might have annoyed the man.
"...Of course. Remind me later when we're done"
"R-Really?" Emil lifted his head and smiled brightly with flushed cheeks.
"Yes," Richter smiled a bit, and gently petting the boy on top of his head, ruffling his hair. Emil froze and felt his heart pounding in his chest and looked up to see that very smile for himself, almost wanting to cry...he was so happy.
Back a few hours previously to when Richter was talking with Richard. Asbel for some reason was feeling...very displeased with how Richter made Richard's eyes sparkle. His eyebrow twitched, trying not to glare down the older man.
Whenever Asbel thought about trying to be super cool and smart, he would butt in and try to explain something scientifical about something...but always failed as Richter would correct him with the proper answer while Richard would cutely chuckle at him for being so stupid about this sort of thing.
"Richard, don't laugh!" Asbel scolded.
"But it's funny" Richard continued to chuckle.
"..." Richter sighed and couldn't help but wish that Emil was here...to sit by his side.
"B-But Richard, your suppose to have my back" Asbel whined in sorrow.
"Hahaha, I'm sorry Asbel" Richard wiped the tear from his eye and tried to cease his laughter.
"..." Richter ignored the two, as the thought of how the boy's hair might smell when wet. A slight pink blush crossed his cheeks.
Once Richard stopped laughing at Asbel, he asked Richter to continue talking and even asked to see one of his treasure's. Richter kindly agreed to show him, finding Richard to be far more interesting than he had originally thought, as he appreciated someone who loved historic's and such. After enough time had passed, Richard and Asbel grew worried for Emil, as well as Richter, so Richter left them to go and find the boy, leave Richard and Asbel alone.
"Isn't Richter interesting? He's even a half-elf" Richard smiled.
"I guess" Asbel grumbled.
"Asbel, stop being so jealous" He scolded, catching Asbel by surprise.
"J-Jealous!?" He blushed.
"Yes, your clearly jealous of his superior intellectual brain" Richard explained. Asbel sighed. He wasn't wrong but not exactly right either...Asbel was jealous of how smart he was for sure...but mostly it was because, how easy he fascinated Richard.
"It's not like that" Asbel murmured, lowering his head. Richard took notice of the more serious tone and became serious himself.
"Asbel...what's wrong?"
"Richard...I...The truth is, I was jealous because..." As much as Asbel shouldn't say it, he wasn't very good at hiding his feelings or thought's, especially from Richard, so he might as well tell him now right? About why he was jealous...and maybe even more because as of lately, Asbel had wanted more than anything was to wrap his arms around the blond and keep him safe in his arms forever, making him his personal king...but was it really only lately? Thinking back on it, hadn't he always just want to hold Richard and make him smile, no matter the cost? So than...all this time he must have been in love with Richard.
"Asbel...?" Richard desperately wanted to know his friends' troubles and help him in any way he could.
"Richard, I-" Before Asbel could finish, the voice of Emil interrupted him.
"-Sorry we're late" Emil smiled sheepishly, still flushed, just being so close to Richter.
"Emil" Richard smiled, relieved to see him and somehow seeing the boy stand next to Richter made him...happy.
"E-Emil, glad you could finally join us" Asbel smiled, deciding to tell Richard another time.
"Y-Yeah" Emil rubbed the back of his head. Richter walked past him and took a seat. Emil continued to blush at the sight of him and followed, sitting next to him.
"So Emil, Richter told me you're really good at cooking?" Richard asked.
"H-He did!? I-I mean, yeah...er...I-I'm not that great though" Emil blushed madly, glancing up to gaze upon Richter's stoic expression. For a moment, Emil's eyes sparkled and even turned red for just a moment.
The four of them continued to talk and discuss various thing's until they had finished soaking, feeling warm and refreshed as they all got dressed and headed out to meet up with Marta and had Ratatosk use Ignis keep them warm again while they decided what to do next.
"So what are you and Asbel going to do now Richard?" Emil asked.
"Well, now that the hot springs are opened up, I can tell the people of Zavhert about it"
"Maybe we could come with you" Marta suggested, reading Emil's mind.
"Yeah, it might even help if I use my monster's to get us there faster" Emil added.
"Ah...Richter mentioned you being a summon spirit and being lord of monster's" Richard mentioned.
"H-He did?" Emil blushed, feeling the butterflies in his stomach. Knowing Richter talked so much about him was so embarrassing. It made Emil really happy that Richter talked about him and wondered if he did it with a smile.
"So are we going together then?" Asbel asked but turned his head when he heard Richter sigh.
"I have other things to do" He scoffed.
"I see...that's unfortunate" Richard frowned a bit. Asbel twitched a brow with intense anger as if Richard seemed sad that Richter would be leaving.
"B-But Richter-san" Emil pleaded.
"...Emil" Richter tried to keep his expression serious.
"...Please, Richter-san?"
"..." Fuck. He sighed and rubbed the upper bridge of his nose. "Fine."
"You mean it!? "Emil grinned happily with pink cheeks. Richard smiled and found it quite cute that Richter had given in to Emil's puppy eyes.
"That's great! When we finish, let's head back to Richard's castle for a bite to eat" Asbel suggested.
"C-Castle!?" Emil and Marta both blushed. Both were aware he was a king but didn't really think about where a king would live up until now at least. (even though they had met with the king of Meltokio)
"We'll have Emil cook us a meal right?" Richard smiled, turning his gaze towards the boy.
"Y-Yeah" Emil nodded with a smile.
And so, the five of them would be traveling together a bit more...despite Richter obviously being dragged into something once again. While on their way to Richard's castle, Marta ended up talking with Asbel a lot more than Emil. Richard happily listened while in and behind them was Emil, sharing his journal for Richter to read, smiling and blushing and apparently making it very clear to not look at one of the pages (being the one with his hair stuck to it) Richter chuckled a bit at Emil 's adorable protest and continued to smile with the boy. If Richard had to guess, Emil was in love with Richter while Richter was unaware of his feelings towards the boy.
Richard turned his gaze from Richter and Emil to Asbel and Marta, reminded that Cheria would soon be Asbel's wife. His gaze fell to the ground and his smile faded, feeling like he would lose Asbel forever if Cheria were to marry him...leaving him with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Author's Note: Hey so, I hope this didn't feel rushed or anything. I did my best and I'm trying not to forget Marta and am doing my best to make Richter and Emil's relationship develop slowly, as well as Asbel and Richard's
(I didn't plan on making Asbel and Richard but playing the game, I was recently slapped in the face and was told to ship it...so I guess I have to ship it now or the game might slap me again )