An.: Oh gosh, sorry for taking so long! I was working on this one and the bonus chapters together, but then I thought it would be best to finish this one first. And the other two might take a while to come out because of college and all... But I will do my best. Promise.
Also, if you do recognize the music this chapter's name is from, I highly recommend you in hearing it while reading.
Obs.: I am going to let the status as ongoing until I upload the two bonus chapters, but the main arc is officially over now.
Disclaimer : I do not own any of the Tales of games nor the music I use in here.
Three legged race
by the Emerald eyed one and the Crimson eyed one
Four months later...
A melodious tune starts playing in my room, the only single room of the campus, and I promptly take my phone and pick the call. " Yes? "
" Finally! I thought you had changed your number! " When I hear his voice, I roll my eyes and look at the sink I am in front of. I start organizing the things I need and putting them in a bag smiling a little, remembering what I am going to do now. We have been planning this little thing for three months now.
" Aster, be serious. You called me two hours ago, I couldn't have changed numbers in such little time. " I point out and the blond on the other side of the line huffing slightly, since he is excited by what we are going to do, and I know he crossed his arms.
" I know, Rata! But I really need to know if everything is going accord to the plan! " At his small whine, I chuckle and finish organizing the things into my bag as I turn my gaze to my eyes, what makes me smile gently.
" Of course it is. At my end, at least... How is yours going? " I inquire as I keep staring at my eyes and then I shake my head. Better get dressed too.
" Absolutely perfect. I just got here, so you should be off in half an hour. " He warns me and I grin mischievously. It will be nice, to see them again.
" No one discovered? " I can't hold back my urge of asking this and I hear him snickering at his end, what makes me smirk as I finish getting dressed and close the bag I am using.
" They don't even suspect. " At this, I chuckle. I trust Aster to make things like this look like they are normal.
" Alright. I am taking off now. " I warn, making a final once over to see if I hadn't forgotten anything, and he let out a small laugh, obviously one of anxiety, and I grin, also anxious.
" Don't do anything I wouldn't. " The ex-scientist warns me and, at this, I snort.
" The same goes to you. "
~| Some hours later, Pov Change |~
" Emil, c'mon. We are going to be late. " I hear someone telling me this and groan as I turn to the wall near my bed and hide myself with the covers.
" Go away, Aster... " I mumble and prepare myself to sleep again. I should be allowed to; it's my birthday after all... But it is his too.
" Okay then... " I open my eyes, startled by his answer, and sit up as he finishes his sentence. " I will warn mom you decided to not eat the cake this time. " He answers me with a rather cocky voice tone and I blink and stare at him in the eye.
... Since when is he cocky? And... His eyes... There is something strange about them today. Or maybe I am still sleepy...
" Oh, you are up. Now, get ready and let's go. " He tells me and I frown at him before I reach for his arm and grab it. When I touch him, I wake up completely as I feel a strange tingling feeling on my hand. This is strange.
" Aster, are you feeling okay? " I ask him, worried, and see him look slightly surprised before he smiles, almost grins, mischievously at me, making me stare at him again. He is scheming something... No, wait. Doesn't he full out grin at me when he is scheming something?
" Of course, I am completely fine. " He replies and frees his arm as he goes away, probably to the kitchen. I frown and look at my hand, the one I used to stop him. What was that feeling?
Shaking my head, I get up and let a smile bloom on my face. Today is my birthday. I wonder if my parents will let me go visit Rata.
Sighing and preparing myself mentally for what my brother might have done, I start changing out of my pajamas and into my school uniform. At least we won't have a test today as a birthday gift as last time he was here...
" The cake is mine! " I hear Aster cheering and I speed up the process.
" Aster! Leave at least a piece for me! " I shout to him as I exit my room, hopping on one foot, as I try to finish putting my sock.
" No way! I warned you! " He shouts back and, when I get to the kitchen, I finish putting the garment and speed to try and get at least the last piece of cake. I, somehow, manage to get to the entire cake before him and I hold it away from him as I look pointedly to his fork.
I look up to his face and raise both my brows as I slightly widen my eyes when I notice he is looking amused to me. Why is he amused? He always get mad at me when I steal a piece of the cake.
" If you don't swallow that thing, we will be late for school. " He points out, flatly, and I blink as I look at the clock and it downs on me. We only have seven minutes! I look at my-our cake, then look at Aster, then look at the clock and, at the end, I stare to the refrigerator.
... ... We can eat this later.
I hastily put the cake in the refrigerator and go after Aster, who had already gone to the door, as I grab my backpack on the way and put my shoes too. After I get out, I close the door and go to my brother, who was already waiting at the sidewalk, and we start running towards the school as soon as I get near him.
" Aster, do you know where our parents are? " I question him, since I haven't seen our parents at all today, and he shakes his head.
" When I woke up, they were already gone! " He tells me as we speed up and I barely nod. I just saw a clock and it showed we only have five minutes! Wait… So he was just joking when he said he would tell Mom I didn't want the cake!
After we run, turn some corners and dodge puddles of water, I fail to notice, at one closest to our school, that there was a puddle of water, from yesterday's rain. I slip on it and wince as I notice I won't regain my balance even if I try and look at the ground, which is nearing my vision in a really fast pace, and put my arms in front of me, to cushion my fall.
I let out a pain filled groan as I feel the ground connecting and grinding against my skin. This hurts, not as much as the wounds Zelos and Rata inflicted on us, but hurts anyway. I slowly sit up and wince when I look at my arms. This will take a while to heal.
Suddenly, Aster appears in front of me and crouches as he stares at my arms. When I see him frowning and inspecting them, I hear the signal. Oh no, we are late!
" I will be fine! " I protest and Aster snorts in a way I know very well, what makes me freeze, letting him take a good look at my bruised arms, and stare. No way... " Ratatosk. " I whisper and he tenses up, making my eyes well up with tears. Happy tears. " Ratatosk! " I say, cheerfully, and hug him before he can react. It has been so long! And this explains why Aster was so strange!
" ... And there goes my disguise. " I hear him mumbling, humored, and feel elated when he returns the hug. It is really him! Drying the small tears that came out, I chuckle airily and smile.
" What are you doing here? " I laugh out as we release the hug and he sits in front of me, taking out some Band-Aids, a bottle of water and an apple gel. It makes me grin. He didn't change a bit.
" Well, I was trying to surprise my boyfriend in his birthday. " He tells me nonchalantly and I gape, he knows. Before he starts tending my small scratches, he looks through his bangs at me and I stare at, strangely, amethyst eyes. With a small smirk, which I guess is because of my surprised expression; he raises his head a little. " But I don't know if he was surprised. What do you think? " He asks me with a playful glint in his eyes, making me laugh at him.
" I am pretty sure he was very surprised. " I answer and watch him start tending my scratches, with both of us still smiling.
Why do I feel that I forgot something...?
After he finishes tending my scratches and helping me get up, I remember what I forgot.
" The school! " I moan and put my head on my hands. Oh no... " Richter will have our heads! " I whisper, rather afraid, and he snorts as he takes my hand on his and start walking to the school, making me smile.
" He won't manage to touch us, I have a barrier. " My partner tells me, proudly, and I blink, remembering his powers against me in the lab...
' " Rata, are you okay?! " I ask him, worried as I see him almost falling backwards and limp on the ground, if not for my hands on his shoulders. " Rata! " I feel sick in my stomach when I see his hollow eyes, just like in my dream those many days ago, and the creepy laugh the bad guy is using right now.
" Zelos, c'mon! I won't kill you, ever! Are you hearing me? " I hear Lloyd's distressed voice and then the bad guy laughs even more, making me look at him and narrow my eyes, irritation building in me for the guy. What does he think he is doing?
" Idiots! They are my puppets now! " I get deathly pale when I hear that and then snap my eyes back to Rata's hollow ones, not believing.
" He... He is lying... " I whisper to myself and then we hear fingers snapping and Rata sits straight suddenly, making me jump startled and end up some centimeters away from him. Just as abruptly, my partner gets up and I do so too, confused and lost as to what was happening.
" Now, my puppets. Kill those worthless beings. " The guy crackles up and then I see Rata raising his fist to me and bring it down, making me defend myself automatically and wide my eyes in dread as I see his fist colliding with my blade, cutting it deeply and making blood drip on the ground near my feet.
" Zelos, stop! " I barely register Lloyd's scream before a clang of metal against metal resounds and I lock eyes with Rata, feeling empty by not seeing recognition in them.
" Rata... " I whimper as he puts more pressure against my blade and I feel anger rising when I hear the guy cackling up again. That guy... He... He is making Rata hurt himself... He is making me hurt him and ordered him and Zelos to hurt Lloyd and I! What kind of monster makes partners fight between themselves?! " I won't let you use them! " I outburst and put pressure against Rata's knuckle and manage to throw him off balance with a harsh push and then start a mad dash to the guy, with my eyes burning with anger and indignation.
Just before I get to him, a weird dark transparent thing appear in front of it and, before I can stop, I hit it with my full force and end up skidding some feet away from the hit. Groaning slightly, I barely manage to dodge Rata's kicks to me, by rolling to the side, and when I try to fake a slash to him, he snaps his wrist to the left and that weird dark thing appear again, protecting him. I gape and stare at it as I put pressure and he stares at me with his empty eyes.
" A... Barrier? " I question weakly and, when I distance myself, he snaps his wrist again and it disappears, making me sure it was him. " ... You really are incredible. " I murmur, awed, but him running to me makes me get on defensive and prepare myself to dodge and duck. This will be a harsh battle... '
" Rata, you are amazing. " I decide to tell him, showing that I am serious, and he just grins as I fall with steps besides him and we lock eyes. " But your eyes are really creeping me out... " I tell him, slightly disconcerted, and he blinks in surprise before he laughs and shakes his head. Oh, we are already at the entrance of my school.
" Blame Aster. He was the one who got this idea in the first place. " He explains with an airily laugh and I blink in utter surprise. Woah, what?
" Aster had this idea? " I inquire, not really believing my brother would come up with something like this just for me, and my partner snorts as he rolls his eyes, making me get suspicious. There is more to this story than Aster wanting to help Rata and I to meet up.
" Yeah. He also said something about having fun about other people thinking we were each other. " We lock eyes again and share amusement at my brother's antics before we start making our way to our class room.
" Come to think of it, it's the first time we have class together. " I wonder aloud, happy, and he chuckles at this and the grip in my hand gets stronger before he releases and we stop in front of my class room.
" Ready? " He whisper and I nod, still unsure, and he grins to me before throwing the door open and I jump in surprise, not expecting him to do that. " Morning! " He greets with a rather happy smile but one with a tint of ' I could be someplace else but I am here ' too.
" Who is- Oh. Aster. " Our teacher speak, making her voice seem annoyed at the start but she get disheartened just by seeing it was us. I do my best to not gape at Rata's knowledge as I whisper a greeting and we go to the chairs near the windows.
" How did you know Aster always entered her class like that? " I murmur to him, taking advantage that Rita already gave up in making my brother stop speaking in her class and he chuckles and gets a slightly mischievous smirk on his face, making me twist my expression to not laugh out at the sight. I think this is the only way I will see ' my brother ' smirking like that.
" We have been planning this for two months already, did you think we would be bad at faking each other's personalities? " He murmurs back and I stare before I start snickering behind my hand and do my best to not actually laugh aloud. Frowning, my partner pokes me and I turn to him, getting a very confused face as an answer. " What? " He whispers to me and I lower my hand and grin, humored.
" Just thinking of my brother trying to act like you. " I snicker out and he blinks before chuckling under his breath as an eraser passes by us, making us freezes before turning, slowly, to out teacher, who has an annoyed glare on her face.
" Will you two shut up?! " She hisses and I shrink in my seat as Rata get a rather bored look on, just like my brother would. He is good...
" But you are just passing again last week's subject. " My partner points out, making our teacher seethe slightly, before she stalked her way here and glared to him with the best pointed look I ever saw. Sighing, I tune the bickering out and laugh slightly airily. If he is going to act like my brother, what I think is the only way right now; this class will be as long as ever...
~| At break... |~
" Emil! Aster! " Are the first things Rata and I hear after we exit the classroom for the break time. Without losing a beat, we turn to where this shout came from and I smile when I see Kyle, who has his arm warped around Reala's shoulders, waving animatedly to us from the end of the corridor, where their classroom is.
I turn to Rata and he looks sideways to me, since he had also turned to see my friend, and he shrugs, signaling he didn't mind the loudness. Smiling, I, unthinkingly, take a hold of his hand and start going to Kyle and Reala, since their location right now is nearer the stairs that lead to the cafeteria. I feel Rata's hand holding mine too and feel stupidly happy. I never thought spending my birthday with... W- With my boyfriend would make me so happy.
" Uhh... " Kyle mumbles, slightly put off by something and his girlfriend raises both her brows before she turns to share a look with him as we get nearer. After we reach them, my blond friend take his arm off Reala's shoulder and link their hands as they fall on a good pace with us, towards the stairs, with Kyle to the left, Reala near him, Rata near the girl and me near my partner.
" Today is you guys' birthday, right? " The brunet girl asks, with her voice soft as always, and I nod to her in sync with Rata, making her giggle slightly before she smiles at us and then flickers her eyes at something between my boyfriend and me. I let a slightly confused look enter my face before she turns her eyes back to Rata. What was she looking at?
" So, did you guys already get any presents? " Kyle asks us, with his eyes shining in interest, and I blush, feeling stupidly happy again, as Rata chuckles and shake his head, probably humored.
" Yeah. I got the best present I could have asked for. " I answer my friend, truthfully happy, and he grins, a really bright grin, to me. Before we continue, we get at the cafeteria and start making our way to the table we usually sit.
" Hey, Birthday boys! " I smile more widely when I notice there is a person there, besides Cless and Mint, that isn't usually at lunch with us, since he is a teacher. I turn my eyes to the light brunet who just shouted and has a huge grin on his face and is besides his girlfriend, who is waving to us.
" Hey, Cless, Mint, Richter. " Rata greets them and, while the rest of us sit, Richter raises an eyebrow and stares at him with a very amused glint in his eyes, as the one who is impersonating Aster sits beside Richter and I sit beside Rata.
" How was class? " Mint ask all of us, out of politeness probably, and I sigh as Kyle starts pouring everything to her, Reala shakes her head in a fond way and Cless groans and hits his forehead on the table. Yeah, same routine as always.
" Where is Aster? " Rata and I widen our eyes as we look at Richter, who seemed really curious about this predicament, and I look at him in wonder. How did he know this isn't my brother?
I hear a sigh coming from Rata as he relaxes, letting go of my hand and crossing his arms as he leans back on his chair, his real character coming back. " We exchanged roles for Emil's birthday. " He answers easily and Richter smiles at us.
" I see. I am looking forward to seeing how you two will pass the day. " He tells us, with a tint of interest, and my partner smirks at him as I frown slightly, with a question hammering my head.
" How did you know he wasn't Aster? " I let the question in the open and my teacher looks at me with mirth dancing in his eyes and I feel like I just asked something stupid for some reason.
" Because you and Aster don't hold hands. " The red head explains and I feel confused at his statement before I notice that I had taken a hold of Rata's hand when we got out of the classroom. I feel the heat starting to spread on my face and Rata coughing slightly, probably embarrassed too, and Richter chuckles at us. " And also because he is with Rata's bonding accessory, not Aster's. Though not many would notice it since it is hidden. " I blink in surprise at that and take a good look at my boyfriend, taking in his appearance for the first time.
He is with my school's uniform, which consists in a plain button up shirt that he decided to let his first two and last two buttons undone, a dark colored jeans and sneakers. I widen my eyes when I spot the start of his bonding accessory coming out of his pants pocket. I didn't notice that!
" Damn, you are always too observant, Richter. " Rata speaks, goodheartedly, and Richter shrugs, making his smile turn slightly into a smirk and I shake my head at them. They are weird friends.
" After sometime with Aster, you end up becoming observant. " My brother's partner replies, also goodheartedly, and I chuckle at them. I had missed those interactions. It makes me wonder how the rest of the guys are doing... The last I heard of Lloyd and Zelos was two months ago, what makes them the ones I have heard less of ever since I changed schools...
" So, are you guys going to have a party? " Reala asks us, turning her attention away from the other trio, and I turn to her with a smile and nod, happy.
" Yeah, after school at my- our parent's restaurant. " I correct myself when my partner nudges my knee with his foot and I am glad when I see Reala didn't think anything of my little slip. This will be much more difficult than I thought it would.
~| After school |~
Rata and I wait near the school's gates, since we were left out earlier by the P.E. teacher, for the others as we look at some photos in my partner's cellphone. I laugh heartedly along with Rata when we see Marta's disheveled hair and her ashamed and furious face when she notices the crimson eyed male was there when she fell on the bushes after being scared by Luke, who is rolling on the ground and pointing at her in the photo.
" That was- chuckle- the last one. " My boyfriend laughs out and I nod, snickering, as he puts his cellphone back on his pocket and we take some time to calm down. " As you can see, not much changed. " My partner speaks, fondly, as he puts his back on the wall and I do the same a few seconds later, feeling comfortable with his presence here. I missed him so much...
I barely notice our shoulders bumping before I turn my head to ask him something and freeze, when I see his face is really near mine. We look at each other, waiting for something to happen, and he starts coming near me- or is it me getting closer to him?
I can almost feel his breath caressing my skin when-
" Uh... " We jump apart, him with a startled expression and I with a very deep blush on my face. We turn to the other four, who we were waiting for in the first place, and they have weird expressions on their faces. " I don't know how to ask this without being blunt. " Reala says, cautiously, as we straighten up and they get closer to us.
" W- What? " I ask them, as I feel less embarrassed and annoyed at them, since I feel they interfered with something, but don't worry since I know it wasn't something life changing.
" When did you two start to like incest? " Kyle blurts out and I feel my eyes wanting to pop out of my eye socket as my mouth goes dry with disbelief.
" What?! " I shriek and Rata voices his confusion and disbelief too and we share a look. When we do, it's finally down on us what they thought they were seeing and we paralyze, shocked. They thought... Rata is my brother and... Oh gosh, I love Aster, but not like that!
" Yeah, you two are strangely touchy today... " Cless tell us, with a hint of suspicion in his tone and Rata starts to get out his shock as I start to try and shake mine off.
" We aren't judging you two, we simply didn't see this coming. " Mint, as gentle as always, try to assure us of something that isn't true and we snap out heads to them, probably surprising them with the urgency in our faces.
" Woah, you guys got it wrong! " Rata says, trying to still stay in my brother's character and managing, at the same time, to be himself even with the tone of the voice.
" Yeah! We aren't into incest at all! " I back him up, doing my best to not look weirded out by the idea, which never crossed my mind. The four guys share a look, not believing in us, and then look back to us.
" Really? " Reala and Mint ask us, just to make sure, and we nod our heads without missing a beat.
" Yes! " Rata and I speak in sync, doing our best to say this as firmly as possible to not look like we are covering up.
" Could have fooled me... " Cless whisper but we hear anyway and I turn to my partner, only to see one of his eyebrows twitching in annoyance. I sigh in defeat and take a hold of his hand, which was almost turning into a fist, and he snaps his face to me and look inquiringly to me.
I lock eyes with him and give him a firm nod, what makes him soften his eyes slightly before he turns to my friends with his annoyance fully back and I put on a defeated smile on as I just watch the scene unfold.
" Look, we are dating, yes. " Rata says this and the group looks at us in utter surprise and I shake my head at them. " But I am not Aster. " He lets it out and the four look at us as if we were insane.
" What in the- "
" Do you remember when I came here some months ago, demanding for my sword back? " I interrupt Cless' statement and the four of them look at me and Reala nods slowly, recovering first.
" Yeah, to save your partner, right? " Kyle asks, recovering just after his girlfriend, and I nod and pull out my bonding accessory, which I always use under my shirt. They look at it before they turn to Rata, who also took out his bonding accessory, and they widen his eyes.
" Guys, this is Ratatosk Yggdrasil. " I introduce them to Rata and they just stare as Rata starts to put his bonding accessory back in his pocket. " My partner. " I finish and Mint smiles and come near us, offering her hand to the crimson eyed male.
" So we finally got to meet. " She speaks, happily, and I see the grin on my boyfriend's lips before he takes her hand and shakes it, making her smile slightly more widely.
" Thanks to Aster. " He answers and I feel stupidly happy again, remembering what my brother did. I really need to get him a good present after this, I wonder what he wants...
" Whaaaa? Why do you look like Emil then? " Kyle asks in utter confusion, Rata and I share a tired look before we look back at them and take in the blond's disbelieving expression.
" Why don't you come home with us? We can explain in the way. " I offer and, after everyone agrees, we start making our way back, with Rata and I finally not receiving weird looks from them because we are holding hands.
~| At Emil's house |~
" Aurgh, this is impossible! " I chuckle at Kyle's outraged voice as he slams his music book down on the table and crosses his arms, pouting slightly. Rata rolls his eyes and get slightly near him, to take a look at which question he is trying to do.
I take a glance at Rata's, almost finished, homework and deflate slightly before shaking my head and glancing at the others. Mint and Reala still have Chemistry and Music to finish, Cless is doing his best to stay awake as he finishes his essay, I still have to finish the Math work, the one Rata is almost finished, and Kyle is having difficulties with Music. I think it is funny, really. He is good at Geography but can't understand Music even if his life depends on it.
" ... You just have to say which note is which? " Rata deadpans and Kyle looks dejected to him as I start paying attention to their conversation. Well... It is kinda difficult to tell the difference of which is which note in the music sheet. At least for me it is. Sighing, Rata points at something, probably the notes, and looks to Kyle with the side of his eye, to see if the older blond is paying attention. " This is a ' Do ', this is a ' Mi ' and this one is a ' Sol '. " All of us stop doing whatever we were doing and turn our attention to Rata, looking as if he just spoke a foreign language with us, and he blinks at our expressions. " What? " He frowns, confused, and I shake my head.
" Rata, we use the other nomenclature. " I explain to him and he raises his brows in understanding before he coughs and scratches his right cheek with his right indicator finger, what shows me he is slightly embarrassed, and I smile at that.
" Which one? " He asks me and Reala reaches for her notebook and, once she opens it, she shows him and he nods in understanding before turning to Kyle again and, this time, saying it the way we understand. " So, this is a ' C ', this is an ' E ' and this is a ' G '. " He explains again and Kyle beams a bright grin at him before taking his book back and, when Rata goes back to his book, a song interrupts our study time.
" Kimi no kawari nante inai kara " At this, I perk up and look at Rata, taking in the murderous look he is with right now as his voice resounds in the room. " Kono saki ni atta ki- Okay, who the hell changed my ring tune?! " He growls at the receiver and frown as the person on the other side before he get his murderous look back and I sweat drop. I have a good idea of who he is talking to right now.
" And when did you even had the time to change it?! " He snarls and I go back to studying, feeling slightly nostalgic at this since it reminds me of when we shared a room, as the other four look surprised and slightly paralyzed by my partner's behavior. I almost chuckle at their faces, barely remembering they had only seen Rata being calm and cool thus far. " ... Wait, backtrack. You want me to WHAT?! " I glance at my boyfriend, taking in his deadpanned face, and then start closing my book and notebook and get up, earning everyone's attention and I nod at Rata, who has his left eye twitching dangerously.
" Guys, get ready to go. The party will start soon. " I warn them and turn my head to the clock, taking notice that it will be only twenty minutes until the party starts. I hear the four getting up as my partner goes away to argue with my brother and smiles at the other four, who are with either funny expressions or amused ones.
" Your partner is weird. " Cless tells me and I chuckle, as Mint looks reprovingly to him and Reala smiles softly as Kyle take a hold of her hand.
" I don't think so. " I answer, slightly offended, and he grins apologetically to me before we hear a growl coming from the hallway, where Rata had gone to, and then something being slammed on somewhere before my partner reappears, muttering curses under his breath as he hold his right hand with some tears on the side of his eye and his cellphone nowhere to be seen.
" Are you okay? " Mint asks him worried, and he waves his left hand to her as he mumble an ' I am fine ' and I get nearer him and take his hand on mine as I look at it. I blink in surprise when I notice his skin is hot and I see his knuckle getting red, I widen my eyes and gape when I think of the only way an android can get hurt like that. He...
" We are going to get ready. See you at the party. " Reala warns us, probably sensing that we needed to talk, and the four start going away and I snap out of my thought as I warn them I was going to see them later.
After I close the door, I go back to the living room and barely notice my boyfriend had put his things away before I go and hug him tightly, feeling elated by what happened to him, and I feel him hesitating at my sudden gesture of affection before he hugs me back.
" When did you become a human? " I whisper, happiness invading my tone, and he chuckles at this before we get slightly away, at arm's length, of each other.
" Last month. I felt so weird all of a sudden that I decided to go at the infirmary, but Cheria told me I had only become human. " He explains and I grin at him, feeling happiness for him and for Cheria in managing to find another job after the lab thing.
And then, I feel that same thing as back when we were waiting for the guys at the school gates and I notice he sensed it too, since we are leaning in again, at the same time, and this time I let on a shy smile as he smirks as we get nearer. Once I feel his lips on mine, I close my eyes and, after some seconds, we separate and I open my eyes slowly, happy and slightly giddy.
" You better get ready for your party. " My boyfriend warns-remembers me and sighs defeated as we let go of each other and I notice the tired wince he has with right now. I look confused to him and he shakes his head as he puts his left hand on his hair and passes his fingers on it. " Aster didn't manage to contact Yuri and Flynn, so I have to go there flying and warn them about the party. " He explains and I get even more confused.
" But, how are you going to get a ticket to Altamira right now? Sure, it is slightly near from here, but it would take some time for the plane to... " I trail off at Rata's humored eyes and I notice there must be something I am forgetting about- Suddenly, behind my partner, a dark light appears and take a form that I have come to know well since Collet and Shinna come visit Aster and I from time to time. I stare at Ratatosk's wings and he laughs goodheartedly at my expression, making me come back from my shocked state. " Oh. "
" So, I am going now and will be back once I warn them. " He warns me and I nod before he goes to the window, opens it, and takes off, leaving me to stare at empty space as I digest that he has wings. Beautiful and dark as night wings. I groan and burry my face on my hands as I crouch and feel my face heating up a lot.
" When did things change so much? I just wanted my brother back and managed to get myself a boyfriend. " I mumble and shake my head, feeling slightly stupid for making this questions only now as I get up again and make my way to my bathroom. At least, nothing I regret happened.
~| At the party |~
" Emil! " I smile brightly at everyone's voices as they enter the restaurant with my brother and Richter, who had gone to ' scout ' the others. This can be also understood as ' scold Aster for doing this without warning him '.
" Guys, long time no see! " I greet them and they start a group hug around me, making me yelp in surprise as they squeeze the life out of me. After they let go, my brother stops in front of me with a fond smile on and I do my best to not burst out laughing aloud at him. He really looks like Rata.
" Hey, Emil. " I feel my lips tugging up, trying to grin and open to laugh, and I do my best to hold it back, what makes my lip twist into a weird kind of smile, and Aster and everyone look weirdly at me. Everyone but Richter, who is also doing his best to not blow it up.
" H- Hey. " I do my best to not laugh in that single word and Aster smiles gently to me, what is kinda normal in his face, and I manage to stomp down a little if my want to laugh.
" It has been a really long time. " My brother tries to make one of Rata's smirks and, at the sight, I crack up and have a laughing fit as Richter starts laughing too and the other look confused at the two of us. " Emil? "
" I'm so sorry, Aster! I just- laughs- can't! That expression is so wrong on your face! " I laugh out and my brother looks devastated to me and then to Richter and then back to me and, finally, at the rest of the group. Who, by the way, are all dumbstruck.
" Argh, Emil! How did you even discover?! " He whines and I simply show him my bond accessory as he widen his eyes and groan as he deflates.
" Woah, what?! That is Aster?! " Luke blurts out, in disbelief, and I manage to get my laugh under control and chuckle as I nod at him and Richter gets his composure back and starts explaining, along with Aster, the switch my partner and my brother did in our birthday.
~| Pov Change |~
" Talk about short notice. " Yuri mumbles as we descend on the city's entrance and Flynn sighs in agreement at his partner's statement and I nod, irritated, as we start to make our way to Emil's and Aster's party. We manage to make our way to the flower bed in the square before Flynn stops, abruptly, and stare with wide eyes at five people standing beside it.
" No way... " The blond Chosen mumbles and one of the figures turns to us and smiles widely, happy in seeing us again, seeing his expression, his partner turns too and gets happily surprised as she puts her left hand on her hip and leans on her left foot.
" Guys, what are you doing here? " Jude asks us, which makes the other three turn to us and the little girl with them to hide behind a white haired man, who had a blotch of raven hair on the right side of his face, and the weird guy with a long brown cloak grins at us. Milla turns to her partner, puzzled by his question, and frowns.
" Why are you asking that? It was Aster himself who called us to his party. " She questions and the raven haired one looks at her with a tired but humored look as the brown haired guy chuckles at that, earning a confused look from the little girl and an amused sigh from the... Other guy. Is his hair white or is it raven? Urgh...
" I think that, what Jude meant to ask, is why he is here and not in his party. " The white haired guy enlightens her and receives a grateful look from the raven haired male.
" Who are you all? " Yuri inquires, seemingly annoyed because he doesn't know the other three, Jude turns to us with a smile as Flynn puts his hand on his partner's shoulder and starts the introductions by pointing at the new faces.
" This one is Ludger, the one who took care of the food back at the labs, the girl behind him is Elle, his daughter. And the other one is Alfred, he took care of transporting the androids. " He finishes explaining and the brunet- Alfred widens his eyes and throws his hands up as the white haired guy- Ludger look flabbergasted at Flynn and the little girl look from the blond to the raven haired medic and so on.
" You talk now? " Alfred speaks in disbelief and the white haired guy just nods, backing him up in his statement, the little girl puts on a pensive face and the two partners there just share a look filled with hidden humor.
" I have been for some months now... " The Chosen answers, seemingly bashful, and his partner snorts and looks to the side as he receives a pointed look from the blond. " Don't even start. " He hisses to his partner and receives a look of fake disbelief and mock hurt from said person.
" Start what? " The long haired raven plays dumb and I can almost see the annoyance irradiating from Flynn. Before they can start an argument, again might I add, Elle shouts an ' Aaah! ' of understanding as she points at the Chosen and everyone turns to her, in confusion.
" Your voice is just like Jude's! " She states, proud of herself, and everyone simply smile at her or chuckle. Well, now that she point it out…
" So, are we going to stay standing here the entire night or are we going to that party? " Alfred asks all of us and is answered by many nods and some ' yeah ' of agreement as we join our groups and start going to the party. " Oh, and it's Alvin, Protos. " The brunet corrects the Chosen after we unite the groups and the blond simply chuckles and then smiles at him.
" And the name's Flynn now. " He corrects the other, with a joking glint in his eyes, Yuri snorts again and I turn them off as the blond Chosen starts to glare at his partner. It's incredible how they even managed to become partners.
" So, Aster, how's life going? " Alvin asks me as we make our way to the restaurant and I notice everyone is talking in duos. Milla is playing of ' I see ' with Elle, Jude and Ludger are having... a weird chat that is making both of them get slightly red and I seriously don't want to know what they are talking about, and Yuri and Flynn are arguing. Again. Though it seems it isn't that serious since they are with humored smiles, or smirk in Yuri's case, on their faces.
" Fine. But I am not Aster. " I answer, already going to the explanation when he gives me a weird look. " Aster and I switched places because today is also my partner's, Emil's, birthday, so I could spend the day with him. " At the end, Alvin gives me a sly grin and I roll my eyes as I hit him weakly on the elbow.
" So, who are you then? Another Chosen? " He asks for enlightenment once we reach the street of the restaurant and I look sideways to him and grin.
" No, I am a Summon Spirit, just like Milla. " I answer him and he raises both brows before he frowns and stops dead on his tracks as his eyes widen in horror. I scowl at this, confused, and stop too, waiting for him, and the rest of the guys keep going, not noticing we stopped because Elle and Milla just ran off towards the party.
" Are you... By any chance, Ratatosk? " He asks me with a guilt laced voice and I start getting suspicious as he makes sure he is looking anywhere but at me. There is something fishy here.
" What if I am? " I shoot it at him, with caution on my tone, and he sighs and deflates as he looks at me with a wince and guilt all over his face.
" Sorry, it was me who took you away from the labs. " Alvin whispers and I just catch it as clearly as I did because of the Chosen's upgrade I had and I widen my eyes as I feel thrown off. He...
I feel ire start to coil inside me as I clench my fists and just stop when I feel my right hand throbbing and my anger dissipates as I remember emerald eyes look into my own. I sigh and unclench my fists as I cross my arms and straighten up, looking at him with a serious expression that makes his wince worse.
" I should thank you then. " I speak and he blinks in surprise before he makes a confused noise and shakes his head slightly, as if he thought I was crazy. " Thanks to you, I met my partner and my friends. I am really glad you took me away. " I explain and understanding down on him as he chuckles and passes a trembling hand on his hair, taking in a deep breath.
" ... Well, if you put it that way... " Alvin whispers and starts coming towards me, what makes me tense up before he stops besides me and patches my shoulder, giving me a reassuring grin. " Alright, then. Let's party now. " He tells me, much more relaxed, and I grin at him mischievously as I slap his hand away and run towards to party, leaving him staring dumbly at empty space as I scream over my shoulder.
" Race you! " I warn him, when I am some good meter of his location, and he look at me in understanding before he puts on a humored and slightly outraged grin on his face and comes after me. At least he understood this is my way of breaking the bad mood that came over us.
" Just you wait, kid! I am so winning! "
" Not a chance, old man! "
~| Pov Change |~
I watch as Richard is almost asphyxiated by Asbel's hug and Hubert does his best to pry his brother from their half-dead best friend, though the three are elated to see each other again. I never got to know why Richard's parents forbid him from meeting his best friends, but I know that, since we discovered that, we invited the three to our birthday parties without Richard's parents knowing. It's always worth it.
I take a look around, smiling at the festive feeling the place is emanating, and sit tight as I wait for Rata and Alvin. Zelos came with Mithos and the others and is now harassing Lloyd relentlessly, even though he is the one wearing pink, as Mithos cheers Genius on as the silver haired boy stutters and does his best to talk to Presea, who came with Regal, who is talking to Refill, Aster, Richter and Marta. Kratos and Yuan are to the side, speaking with my parents as Cless and Mint sit at the table, eating sweets, and Kyle and Reala approach the spiky haired brunet and the red haired Chosen. I also register that the guys who just got here are sat near Cless and Mint and are eating the sweets too, though Jude and the white haired male seem to be discussing something about the food they see in the menu.
When I hear the door opening, I turn to greet my partner but freeze when I see him and an older man, Alvin I suppose, struggling on the ground, because my partner just tackled the guy, just before entering through the doorway and I tilt my head to the side slightly at the scene.
" ... What are you doing? " I ask them after getting near the place they just stopped struggling and started laughing and they stop and look at me, the older man with a humored grin and my partner with a lopsided smirk.
" Race. " They answer and I chuckle at them before they do get up and Rata's smirk get a mischievous glint as he takes a step in the restaurant, making the brunet gape and look at him in disbelief and I laugh at his face as my boyfriend crosses his arm and smirks smugly, because he probably won their little race.
Sighing, Alvin shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders in a defeated motion before he steps inside, messes up our hairs and goes to the table the others who came with him are sat around.
" Hey, hang in there for a few minutes, okay? " I turn to my partner, confused, he gives me a quick kiss on my lips before he goes away, leaving me beet red at the doorstep. I just manage to get out of my shock when I hear my brother yelping and everyone from our school group shouting his name as hasty footsteps go away.
" Emil, let's start the games! " I turn my head to look at everyone and smile when I notice they have paper and a pen, which means we are going to play killer or something close to that. I close the door behind me and go play with them, taking notice that my boyfriend and my brother aren't here.
" We will eat the cake after the game ends, okay? " I look at my mom and nod to her before Marta starts writing the roles of the game on the paper.
" Luke, you have to get it right! Seven people died already! " Genius protests as he makes the X signal with his arms that means he is ' dead ' too and Luke is sweating buckets because he is feeling pressured since Tear's and Guy's ' deaths '. I look around, trying to see who the killer is, and widen my eyes when I notice the only one that isn't really tense is Zelos. When he notices I noticed, he gives me a malefic smirk and winks, what makes me groan in frustration as I, too, make the X signal and Luke looks in horror to me and Zelos puts his face back at a fake tense one.
I glance at Lloyd, who is grinning from ear to ear, and I finally know why he was the first one to die. Only he knows for sure when Zelos is faking his reactions or actions.
" Wow, you already died? " I hear my partner's cool voice and turn to see him and my brother, with the right eye color and clothes this time, and sigh as I nod and he comes to sit beside me, eyeing something on my hand and I smile at him before I look down and to the ring he gave me before I left.
" Thanks. " I whisper and he smiles widely to me before he turn his eyes back to the game and I see Zelos wink to Mint and Cless before they make the X signal and Luke closes his eyes and points to Mithos, making me sweat drop as the blond Seraph shakes his head and shows his paper, that has the V of victim. Luke deflates and starts mumbling something under his breath.
" I am glad you liked it. " He whispers back and I feel the bridge of my nose get slightly hotter by what I thought to answer and look at my partner, locking eyes with him and send him a soft smile.
" I- I am pretty sure I will like anything you give me. " I force it out of my mouth and he widens his eyes before he gets an embarrassed expression on his face and hold his hand out to me, what make me smile as I take it, making my arm get down and out of the X signal.
This is definitely the best birthday I ever had.
" It's Ludger then! "
" What?! No, it's not me! "
But it could be better if Luke got the killer right so we can eat the cake at once...