Disclaimer: I do not own Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail, any work professionally associated with it nor any pop culture or classical references. All original plots and characters are mine.
In a land far, far away lies the kingdom of Fiore, a small, peaceful nation of 17 million, and a place filled with Magic found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most, Magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, Magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together into magical guilds, they ply their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore. But there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest, one from which countless legends have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name...is Fairy Tail.
Chibi-Nashi appears with her sunny grin. "Hi, everyone! Ready for more Fairy Adventure. Today's episode will have another spicy scene, so when you see bold X's, just know you can skip ahead until you see those same X's again to indicate the spicy scene is over! And remember! When reading on your screen, make sure you have a light on a low setting, at least, to protect your eyes!"
She waves. "See you guys at the end of this episode!"
The room was dressed head to toe and Heart's Day galore with candles lit for those they loved and lost. Red hearts and pink hearts and white hearts littered the living room with other candles staged for ambiance. Rose petals decorated the table set for two with candelabra all dolled up and pretty. The food would come soon enough, but the plates and salad plates and the forks and spoons and knives and cloth napkins were set with chalices for the iced wine. Gifts were set up, however, for this date, but one was the most important gift. It was a photo album that spelled:
TALES OF HEART'S DAY
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Here we are once again
To tell a tale of two
A tale of love
Commitment
And a tale with lesson too
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Now come close, scooch in, and let's see what's in store
For this Heart's Day weekend tale
A day of love and of more
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• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
This gift had merit, even if it was a little odd. Two halves of the same whole—it was a commemorative plate, even if it was separated. One half showed the lonesome prince as he brooded on his throne with dark feelings in his heart. The others showed the turned-back of a lonely merman, hidden from humans and unhappy about his life in the sea.
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•
Now here comes a story of a mermaid skater and a prince
Who have come to Zvonvratia
And are celebrating a win
•
But oh, this tale is reversed, so you see
It's the prince who wants a kiss
And his clueless little mermaid, well…
The prince is trying, though all his signs have gone amiss
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PACHAPACHAPACHA…!
The entire stadium had been packed with fans from across the globe with flags in support of their favorite skater, alongside flowers and other representations from the skater they had come to cheer on. The ice had been ripped up from the previous division's ceremony, but a thick carpet had been rolled out with a troupe of Zvonvratians dressed in their honorary attire and colors alongside those who would distribute the awards. The atmosphere was high energy as the crowd deliberated who would take the top three spots.
Diana and Maggie had come, of course, with Bobbie on Maggie's left. Maggie rubbed Diana's thigh as she nervously waited for the award ceremony pomp and circumstance to end to announce the winners. She reached over and held Dante's hand for support, who had a laser focus on the ice rink. Christophe, Mahalia, and Mellow had joined them as well in the stands, legs bouncing and impatience in their eyes.
The lights swirled around as an announcement came in standard Zvonvratian, then in Perench, then in Minstrish, and then in Sinnish for the audience. Everyone was on the edge of their seat as the first of the announcements came to light.
"Dame i gospodo, započet će ceremonija pojedinačnog klizanja za umjetničko klizanje."
"Mesdames et messieurs, la cérémonie d'événement pour le patinage artistique en simple masculin débutera."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the event ceremony for the figure skating men's single skating will commence."
"Damas y caballeros, comenzará la ceremonia del evento de patinaje artístico individual masculino."
A woman had the spotlight on her as she walked out onto the carpet with her aide. Kind eyes and a friendly smile, she was dressed for warmth tonight as she waved to the crowd of observers.
"Goste će predstaviti Isabella Masters, ISA potpredsjednica umjetničkog klizanja."
"Les invités seront présentés par le vice-président d'Isabella Masters, ISA Patinage artistique."
"The guests will be presented by Isabella Masters, ISA Vice president Figure Skating."
"Los invitados serán presentados por Isabella Masters, ISA vicepresidente de patinaje artístico."
The orchestra swelled with their fanfare and the trumpets and horns were left alone with another short pomp and circumstances before the music cut and all was left was the audience waiting on bated breath and the skaters ready to take their place.
"Treće mjesto… Grijeh…"
"Troisième place… Sin…"
"Third place…Sin…"
"Tercer lugar…Sin… Ramón Romero…!"
Sinnish flags raised, the audience applauded and screamed as a bedazzled young man skated out with his choice of music to a floaty orchestral piece. He surprised everyone when he flowered confetti that dispersed into harmless sparkles with that pretty smirk of his and heavy eyelashes. He conjured a red rose and kissed it before he flung it into the audience who viciously tore to see who could claim it.
⌜OLD ZAPOTE CITY – SIN
Name: Ramón Romero
Age: 21
Magic: Magician
Occupation: Figure Skater and Choreographer
Likes: no creases in his sheets Dislikes: skim milk
Special Note: Ramón is considered a triple threat as he can act, dance, and sing! He has been cast in an up-and-coming Sinnish drama!⌟
Once Ramón had shaken the vice president's hand, he stepped up onto the third-place stage with a flourish.
"Drugo mjesto…Nemi…"
"Deuxième place… Nemi…"
"Second place…Nemi…"
"Segundo lugar…Nemi…Manjeet Bhattarai!"
The second-place skater was a little on the short side, but his swished black hair drove his fans crazy. His costume choice of black and yellow stood out amongst his medium tan complexion, but his canines in his smile and his beauty mark definitely made him a fan favorite. His song of choice was a waltz from a popular animated movie.
⌜ KINCHINJUNGA CITY – NEMI
Name: Manjeet Bhattarai
Age: 23
Occupation: Figure Skater and Actor
Likes: Rubix cubes Dislikes: zip ties
Special Note: Manjeet is the first figure skater from Nemi to break into the ISA and has consistently brought home silver and bronze for his home country!⌟
Manjeet shook the hand of the vice present and bowed before skating up to his second-place stage.
A timpani started a thundering drumroll.
Dante shifted, but he felt Diana squeeze his hand.
"Prvo mjesto…Fiore…"
"Première place… Fiore…"
"Primer lugar… Fiore…"
"First place…Fiore…Carlisle Justino!"
The audience bucked-up their cheers and yowls and the stadium felt like it rocked as Carlisle skated onto the ice. Silver hair combed back, he had chosen a subtle black number with silver pieces that reflected sea-greens and violet as found in his eyes. The piece he had chosen was a whimsy number that provided both innocence and a sultry undertone. He blew kisses to his fans to thank them with plenty of peace signs and a quick toe loop before he came over the stands to hug Ramón, who whispered something in his ear with a grin, and he hugged Manjeet, playfully swiping at him when Manjeet messed with his hair. A handshake to the vice president and he hopped onto the stage just as the climax to the piece built. He waved and offered a peace sign, then—
DUN-DUN!
His arms shot out for his signature move and he smiled before his hand shot up into a cracking SNAP! that echoed through the ice rink and had fans screaming.
Dante watched Carlisle as the announcements passed by, as he applauded the other contestants as they received their honorary plushy and their medal. He really is incredible.
"I'm happy you could come."
Dante looked over at Diana, but she was watching her son with soft eyes. He humbly told her, "Thank you for inviting me. I'm honored to be here."
"And you're sure you didn't want to be down there?"
Dante shook his head. "No. I didn't want to take Aphtan spots and I know Mercer needed to be down there." He smiled as he watched Carlisle gather Ramón and Manjeet onto the first-place stage for photos. "And the view from the top is pretty great."
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
"Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for our athletes!"
Carlisle found his eyes floating up to the stands, but he knew where to look when he saw Dante sitting next to his mother. The ice rink might have been cold, but seeing the two of them… Papa… He turned back to the camera. If you were here, this would have been perfect…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
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The press conference was underway between the three who placed and what felt like an army of journalists, reporters, and photographers ready to capture every question. With all three skaters fluent in Minstrish, the moderator chose that for the baseline language as questions were placed for all three of them, camera flashing. But once the questions had been completed, the floor was open for journalists to ask a specific skater individual questions about their future, their words of encouragement, and thoughts about their own programs.
"Today, Ramón, you chose to a daring new piece for your free skate from the anime series Yoko on Ice and did the same choreography as Gary Fullbuster of Fairy Tail did back in XXX to the song from The Tale of Two Skates," the journalist stated. "Can you tell us a little bit more about your inspiration to do his work as well as your attachment to the piece? And were you aware of his name involving the Commonwealth of Bellum versus Skade the Devil trial?"
Ramón leaned forward with a saucy grin. "I'm a big fan of the Ice Devil," he revealed to the media. "I had met him on the set of Yoko on Ice five-six years ago and thought he was a talented skater. I was hoping to compete in the same ring as him, but it pained me he chose the rugged lifestyle of a hockey player over figure skating."
A few chuckles passed.
"Even so, my inspiration to take on the piece was the message he told me he wanted to convey when he skated it. The entire song is about love and loss and he had told me about his own tale of finding love and losing it," Ramón explained. "While the song can be spoken about romantic love, I think it can be thought-out to any type of love. As some might know, I lost my sister last year due to a terrible accident regarding the Faction. I wanted to dedicate this piece to her and my love and loss of her." He nodded. "But, yes, I'm aware of his name with the case, but it doesn't change anything about my respect for him."
Cameras flashed before another journalist was selected. "Manjeet, a year ago, rumors of your retirement had circulated around the community and this year is no different. Do you have plans to quell the rumors involving potential retirement or will you be continuing on after this season? What sort of impact do you hope to impart as the first Nemi skater?"
Carlisle looked a little distraught while Manjeet took hold of his microphone and said, "I am planning to retire following this season."
Shutters flew off the handle, and journalists had rapt attention to this shocking piece of news.
"I will continue to compete in the Worlds and hope to bring home gold to Nemi," Manjeet continued, "but I have already laid the groundwork at home with opening an ice rink and helping nurture young skaters to one day compete in the ISA or the Grand Skating Games. I'll continue on instructing and choreographing, but I've had a successful career during my time skating and I hope to pass the knowledge." He scooted over to give a sniffling Carlisle a side-hug. "And I want to make sure the skaters I train are ready to take this one down."
Carlisle murmured something for only him and Manjeet to hear as they exchanged a hug while ovation rang about the media.
The next question dropped in from a petite questionnaire who spoke fluent Perench and asked, "Carlisle, il semblerait que cette saison a été stable pour vous et beaucoup de gens pensent que vous allez une fois de plus prendre l'or aux Championnats du monde.Y a-t-il des patineurs en particulier que vous surveillez pour voler votre tonnerre?Et avez-vous pensé à l'avenir après les mondes que vous serez diplômé de l'école secondaire ce printemps?"
Carlisle replied in Minstrish: "In regard to any skaters I'm watching out for at the Worlds, I can honestly say I consider each and every competitor just that—a competitor." He smiled. "I'm looking forward to seeing some of my old rivals, but I did see some fresh faces, and their skating has made me want to talk to Coach and step up my games and really nail down some jumps I'm not one-hundred percent solid on." He paused and asked, "Votre deuxième question était sur mon avenir, oui?"
"Oui."
"As of now, I plan to take a gap year to make sure I know what I want to do after graduation," Carlisle informed. "I've made arrangements to do an internship, but I can't disclose the details just yet about the name of the company I'll be interning at. And, of course, I'll be lending a hand with freelance choreography for my coach and to others." He rubbed his nose. "But, yes, I've decided for a gap year after graduation." His eyes lit up in mischief. "But I do have one thing I'm quite excited about this summer following my graduation, and this will be my first time announcing it." He wriggled in his seat. "Is everyone ready?"
Manjeet muttered with a slight smirk, "You were always the dramatic one."
"Fluffy takes after me," Ramón laughed.
Carlisle jabbed a finger a Ramón. "Stop with the 'Fluffy' and don't take my spotlight, old man," he quipped. To the media, he announced: "This summer, I plan on spending my time in the Nácarlines to compete in the exhibition skate there since I already have a new program I want to attempt that might push the boundaries of the rules, but what's life without taking on challenges? As for who I'll be spending my entire summer with, well…" He pressed a finger to his lips. "He's already a little angry at me since I wouldn't let him near me these past two weeks so I could focus on the cup, so let's hope I can make it up to my Prince."
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hitori ja kowakatta yoru demo
futari de nara tasukeatte
chikazukeru SATERAITO
irodoru machi o tobikoetara
sashidashita te o tsukamu "yatto aeta ne"
futatsu no kiseki ni omedetou
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People might have wanted to vacation in Stella or Pergrande, but this coastal country was the bees-knees. Built into the shoreline with roofs made of red tile and almost all the buildings were architectural gems with their solid brick foundation as though they were mini-castles, what took the cake was the rolling hills of fresh green and the ocean painted in blues and greens so clear that it looked like art. The actual castle and cathedrals and cottages had stood against time in their majesty, which meant some newer skyscrapers put in could not compare. It was common for trollies to take you up and down alongside the electric trains that ran through the countryside and buses, but it was a treat to walk from place to place due to all the neat shops and bars and restaurants. Even in the wintertime, the city had banded together to shovel out as much snow as possible and open its doors to the influx of tourists that came here.
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« This is the Republic of Zvonvratia, a small coastal nation that shares borders with Minstrel and Desierto on the Dodola Ocean. The capital city in which this story is located is in Leonidas City, a global city and the largest city in Zvonvratia. It hosted the ISA Ishgaran Championship Cup this year. »
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The hotel room was a mess, but it was what it was. Before it had been neatly unpacked with their belongings with the bathroom stacked with both of their products, the towels folded, and everything had its place. But last night had forced this room into a whirlwind with clothes everywhere, glitter that anonymously trailed places, two bottles of wine that had been cleaned out, and some bottle of jack with some Poca-Cola cans thrown away. A bag from MgRonald's had been crumpled up onto the coffee table.
Dante was in a crumpled heap, admittedly, with Carlisle in his arms, hair a mess. As the time turned into the next hour, Carlisle's Compact lit up and it showed his victory with the Ishgaran Cup in his hands, flowers, and his honorary plushy. His gold medal hung from his neck.
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Hi! I'm Carlisle Justino, the gold medalist for the Ishgaran Cup. And that man with me is Dante, the brutish prince I'm dating. He came with my family, Mellow, Lola, and Tantan to watch me compete in the ISA Ishgaran Cup, which put me over the edge for my TES requirement to compete in the ISA World Championship or "Worlds" in March. I'm currently the defending Worlds' champion and I don't plan to be beaten out just yet.
Normally, the Medal Ceremony is held on a Sunday, but since there has been some trouble with the Faction, two months ago, Zvonvratia had shifted the competition so the Medal Ceremony was on Thursday instead. Which means we have a whole weekend for sightseeing.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK.
"Room service!" came a lovely chirp.
Carlisle groaned as he stirred and shifted. He hummed when Dante automatically tightened his hold on him, but he twisted when the knocks came again. "Nnngh… I should've known Mahalia would bring the good stuff for me to get drunk," he grumbled. He twisted free from Dante's hold to try and get out of bed when his knees failed him. A moan bubbled out while he was on the ground. "Ah… I can't feel my legs…"
That was enough to wake Dante up. A yawn was let out as he stretched. "Come back to bed then," he commanded sleepily. He did dare to open his eyes and had to smile in amusement seeing Carlisle sprawled on the ground. "Never mind. I like the view from here."
"Brute," Carlisle grunted. "You did this. You should take some responsibility."
Dante chuckled as he got out of the covers to crawl out of bed. "Already whining so early in the morning, Princess?"
Carlisle pouted when it seemed Dante had no trouble getting onto his feet. "Ugh, this is so not fair…!" he complained. "I'm supposed to be the one who tired you out, not reverse!" He was still pouty when Dante lifted him off the floor and back onto the bed. "You're like a machine."
"Not my fault you can't keep up." Dante patted Carlisle's head with a lazy grin. "But you're cute when you're pouty." He pushed Carlisle back down on the bed. "Very cute."
"Ah, no!" Carlisle kept Dante at a distance. "No more! Mercy! This is harassment!" he cried. "How dare you treat the gold medalist of the Ishgaran Cup this wa…? Mmmm…" He shivered, face flushed, when Dante bit at his neck. "Ah… Dante…"
Dante made a low rumbling noise, but he did pull away to look down at the vulnerable expression written on Carlisle's face. "Do you want me to stop, Princess?" His thumb came down to feather Carlisle's bottom lip. "Or should I keep going?"
"Food first," Carlisle croaked. "Feed me."
"As you wish, Princess." Dante bent his head to give Carlisle a long kiss before he pushed away. He found a pair of shorts to throw on to retrieve their breakfast while Carlisle rolled over on all fours to stretch out his back.
"Last night was such a rush," Carlisle moaned. "All the interviews and everything. But it was nice to see everyone at the awards after party." He smiled at the memories. "It's been a little while since I've seen everyone. We had a few new faces, but I was happy to see Ramón, Comet, Rocker, and Manjeet. I can't believe Manjeet is betraying us like that with his retirement. Mercer's pretty pleased with all the photos I sent him for my social stuff."
Dante set down their breakfast. "Your skater friends are pretty incredible," he admitted. "I've never done anything like this, but I'm glad I did."
Carlisle shivered when he felt Dante climb on top of him, but he let Dante's hand guide him and he was sucked into another kiss. "Thanks for coming," he breathed. "I'm sorry this entire week has been pretty crazy."
"It's been crazy, but it's been amazing getting to see Zvonvratia," Dante told him. "Not only that, but I got to watch you skate, and you were beautiful." He kissed Carlisle again. "But I'm happy I get to spend the rest of our time here together. I missed you these last two weeks."
Carlisle smiled as he twisted to lay underneath Dante. "I missed you too," he said. "I promised we'd see everyone before our last night in Zvonvratia, but I'm one-hundred percent yours until then." He frowned. "But are you sure you're okay? I'm sorry I've been so busy—"
"You won gold for the Ishgaran Cup," Dante reminded him. "Of course you've been busy. I'm proud of you." He searched Carlisle's eyes as he splayed a hand on Carlisle's cheek. "I didn't really celebrate Heart's Day," he confessed. "I would have liked to, but I liked the holiday a lot more than my exes did. I'm glad I get to spend it with you."
Carlisle beamed. "Well, you're in luck. I've always had someone for Heart's Day, so I know what I'm doing," he boasted. He ran his hands through Dante's hair. "I'm happy to spend it with you too," he murmured. "Which means you better make it memorable."
"High-maintenance pretty boy," Dante teased. "I have some things planned." He kissed Carlisle's bottom lip. "But you're distracting me from everything looking like this." He tensed when he felt Carlisle's hand. "I thought you wanted to eat?"
"I do, but…" Carlisle smirked when Dante panted. "You're so fun to tease."
Before Dante could growl something back, Carlisle's Compact vibrated to make it clear his Maman was calling. He swiftly answered the call with his heavy-lidded eyes locked on Dante as he continued his coy ministrations and watched the aftermath. "Bonjour, Maman. Qu'est-ce qu'il ya?" Satisfaction gutted him to see a cheeky red flush on Dante's face when his hips jerked. "Ah, on a commandé quelque chose. Pourquoi?" Slowly, he tugged down Dante's shorts. "Sûr. Le thé a l'air bien. Pouvez-vous nous donner une heure?"
He muted himself when Dante bit his lip. "Keep quiet," he ordered saucily. "Wouldn't want Maman to hear how such a brute like you can turn into a whimpering pathetic mess, would we?" Before Dante could respond, Carlisle unmuted himself to hum. "Merci, Maman. Et quel était encore le nom de l'endroit? Y a-t-il un code vestimentaire?" A harder stroke had Dante panting into Carlisle's neck. "Ouais, je sais où c'est. On se voit bien tôt .Je t'aime en morceaux, Maman."
He ended the call and threw his Compact to stroke Dante's back. "Poor thing," he cooed. "You must be terribly in need." He pulled Dante's head up and scanned the redness of his skin and the darkness of his eyes in deep satisfaction. "Everyone thinks you're an evil brute, but you're so cute when you're like this. All glassy-eyed and—" He could not say more when Dante's hand covered his throat.
"What was the call with your Maman about?" Dante grunted. He eased up on his hold on Carlisle.
"She and Mom want us to have tea with them at a place a few streets over," Carlisle replied.
"And when do we have to be there?"
"In an hour? It takes a fifteen-minute walk to get there, though, and we have to eat and shower—"
Dante silenced him with a look that spelled making good on a promise. He lowered his head to brush his lips against Carlisle's. "Then we better hurry, shouldn't we, Princess?"
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
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Fairy Adventure 083
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Tales of Heart's Day Weekend
Tale of Carlisle and Dante
The Little Mermaid
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ハートの日の週末の物語
カーライルとダンテの物語
リタル • マメイド
•
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Dressed for the cold in a welcomed scheme of black, gray, and white, Carlisle and Dante held hands as they left their hotel through a side exit due to hopeful fans waiting outside for a glimpse of the skaters. The main street they walked down was up and running for the day as people called their good mornings to each other. Many who had come for the Ishgaran Cup would be staying in Leonidas City until Sunday since the medal ceremony had taken place on a Thursday rather than the typical Sunday. It was apparent that the natives were excited at the prospect of new business and welcomed in tourists with hearty smiles. The trolley rang its bell as it paddled down the street with a few mischievous boys rushing after it to hitch a ride to wherever they needed to go.
"So how have you been enjoying Zvonvratia?" Carlisle felt the need to ask. "Maman says you've been enduring Mellow and Christophe like a pro." He offered a sheepish smile at the exhaustive expression Dante had replied with. "I know, I know, I'm really sorry. Thanks for staying with Tantan and handling Mellow and Christophe until the medal ceremony."
Dante sighed. "It was Hell," he put bluntly, "but for you, I'd do it again." He brought up Carlisle's hand to kiss the back of it. "There were several times I thought Aphtan might kill me in my sleep."
"Tantan wouldn't do that," Carlisle barked in laughter. "But he does sleep funny; I have to admit that much." He remembered how Aphtan slept dead in the middle of bed on his back with his eye mask on and looked like a living doll.
But Dante's recollection of his stay with Aphtan was not so…pleasant… "Yeah. I'm sure that's it." Time for a topic change. "I know you and Mellow and Aphtan don't get along with Christophe, but he was kind towards Mercer and to me."
Carlisle snorted. "Please. The only reason he's kind to Mercer is that Mercer has some sort of dirt on him that he doesn't want to get out," he explained. "I honestly don't know why he's nice to you. He acts like a douchebag to everyone else in life—especially Mellow." He shook his head. "One of these days, I'm just going to let Mellow kill him and tell Bobbi she has one less brother."
"Don't do that," Dante chuckled. "I wish I had siblings, but I'm an only child." He grimaced as he remembered how extensive his family was. "Although, I have plenty of cousins and a lot of nosey aunts. And then I have all of Tesla's family."
Carlisle cocked his head. "You two have known each other for a long time, haven't you?"
"Yeah. We met each other way back," Dante recalled. "When we first met, I thought she was as shy and as quiet as me." He shook his head in amusement. "But then two hours later after our first conversation, she's bouncing off the walls and introducing me to her entire family. I had never been so overwhelmed."
"You were shy when you were little?"
Dante's eyes narrowed. "Why the tone of surprise?"
Carlisle waved a hand. "No, it's nothing! I just took you as the quiet type, but I didn't think you were shy."
"Yeah, I was that one shy kid that never had the courage to do much," Dante confessed with an abashed scratch of his nape. "I just didn't want to make trouble. My cousins never cared about my shyness and neither did any of my aunts. My parents went easy on me. But Tesla pretty much threw me into having friends." His lips twitched. "It's thanks to her and Aunt Adrienne and her cousin Diego that I know Sinnish and know how to dance."
Carlisle dead-stopped to gape at Dante. "And you didn't tell me you could dance?" He hit Dante's arm. "Rude! How dare you! We even watched that whole documentary on the history of dance and you never said a word!"
"Because we never finished it," Dante pointed out. "We got a little…sidetracked…"
Carlisle flushed and pulled them back into a steady walk. "Right. Since you're an evil man," he sniffed. "I expect to see these dance moves. It's been past a month now and I've never seen you dance outside of whenever Tesla was over and we play Just Move." He grinned. "And your dancing is terrible."
"That game is rigged," Dante growled, suddenly agitated. "Gale agrees with me too. We both hate that stupid game.'
Carlisle simpered. "Calm down, Prince, I'll protect you from the evil dancing game," he jested. He jumped up to kiss Dante's cheek. "So does this mean when we go to the Burlesque show next week, I'll get to witness you dancing? Because you know I made a deal with Justin for a little surprise with Tesla…"
"Not a chance," Dante chuckled. "I'll be fine watching you dance." He eyed Carlisle's naked neck. "Don't wear a choker."
Carlisle frowned. "What? Why?"
"Just don't." Dante leaned over to murmur into Carlisle's ear. "I bought you something better."
Carlisle flushed. "Evil man," he muttered. "Getting me excited like this when we have to have tea with my moms. Who does that?" He growled when Dante laughed. "Stop laughing at me! It's not funny!" he snapped (though, it came out as a petulant whine). "Argh, you make me feel my age sometimes, you evil man!"
"I'm the old one here, Lips," Dante teased. "Respect your elders, little one."
Carlisle blinked as though something came to him, but he was quick to snark back, "Then start respecting my underwear and stop ripping it off. That stuff doesn't just grow on trees, you know." I really am slipping, he worried. Maybe Maman has more answers for me later. Did she ever slip like this in front of Mom?
"No, I know. You cut up the underwear I did buy you after you threw a tantrum you had no underwear at home," Dante recalled, tone dry. "You have such a temper for a pretty boy. And after me running out to get you underwear after your threats you'd go commando if we left the house."
Carlisle banished his worries for pride. "And I'll do it again if you even think about buying me that disgusting underwear," he warned. "And I'll cut up your underwear too if you're not careful."
"You are such a temperamental child," Dante sighed, though mirth shone in his eyes. "Don't worry, Princess. I'll make sure I buy you the right underwear brand."
Carlisle hissed at him, pinkened, "You promised you wouldn't call me that in public!"
"No. I said I wouldn't call you that when any friends or family are around," Dante corrected. He did not care how Carlisle glared at him. He thoroughly enjoyed the blush coating Carlisle's freckled cheeks. "What's wrong? You got embarrassed when I called you 'precious'." His grin broadened when Carlisle's blush intensified. "You like 'Lips' and 'baby', but you look adorable whenever I call you 'Princess' and 'Precious'."
Carlisle swallowed. "Evil man," he mumbled.
"I'm always evil in your eyes," Dante regarded.
"Yeah, well, you are." Carlisle looked ahead to see they were close to the café his moms were at and tugged Dante to a stop. "Can I be honest with you?"
Dante nodded. "Of course."
"Okay." Carlisle held both of Dante's hands. "When…Hunter and I were together…he used to call me 'Precious'."
That hit Dante with guilt. "I'm sorry—"
"No, no, don't apologize!" Carlisle fell over himself to assure. "I-It's just…!" He sighed. "No one else called me that until you did. I thought…I'd hate it considering the memory, but…" Sea-greens specked in violet connected with darkness. "Well… I like it." He squeezed Dante's hands. "I like hearing it from you." Then he added in a mumble, "But don't say it in public, okay? It's like 'Princess'. Call me it when it's just us."
Dante stared at Carlisle.
"Well?" Carlisle shifted his stance. "Say something."
"Can our first be a daughter?"
Carlisle's eyes rounded. "Wh-Wh-What—?"
"Never mind." Dante pulled Carlisle to the café. "Let's have tea with your moms."
"Wait!" Carlisle cried. "You can't just say that and then ignore it!"
"I'm doing it now."
"Well, undo it!"
"Can't. Don't wanna."
"You're an evil prince, you hear me! Pure evil!"
Dante ignored Carlisle's melodramatic tirade of how evil and cruel he was. Now I really understand how Jaxton feels when it comes to Tesla. People this adorable need to be protected. He thought about it some more. The whole locking-in-a-tower thing is starting to make sense…
Carlisle shivered and wildly looked around. I felt a chill. Someone was planning to kidnap me again…
The café was part of the modern start-ups Leonidas was seeing from the mayor's promise to pour more funding into renovating the city due to the influx of visitors. Giant windows fed pedestrians a peek into the contemporary-met-modern interiors of polished hardwood, sleek counters, and plenty of breathing room. A few bookshelves were built into the walls filled with donations and half-priced books in order to offer guests a pleasant space to pick up a new novel and dive into it.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
« This is Cognito Café, a popular café that has expanded its location with four more cafes in Ishgar, one in Valchestria, and two in the USM. »
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Carlisle already saw his moms alongside Bobbi and Mahalia, and he beamed when Bobbie spotted him and rushed over without ceremony. He laughed as she hugged him, squealing. "Hi, Bobbi."
"You were awesome!" Bobbie told her brother. "I can't wait to tell all my friends you were on LV and your hair looked good thanks to me!"
Carlisle sighed as Bobbi escaped him to rush back to her mother. "All she did was spray on the hair spray," he muttered. "I'm so glad Mom was there to drag her out before she screwed up my hair. Mercer would have slaughtered her." He hit Dante's arm when he laughed and brought them over to the table.
Diana popped up. While the latest Zvonvratia fashion was dark colors, she simply did not care as she dressed herself in a fairy blue and silver. "Mon lutin!" She hugged her son and kissed both his cheeks before she went for Dante to embrace. "Mon gendre, bonjour!" She kissed both his cheeks with a healthy beam.
"Maman!" Carlisle exclaimed, red. "Ce n'est pas ton gendre!"
Diana merely waved off Carlisle. "He will be one day," she said with such certainty. "How did you two sleep?" Her eyes sparkled. "If you two did sleep."
Dante opened his mouth when Carlisle cut in, mortified, "Ignore her. She's foreign. She doesn't know what she's saying." He shot his mother a look when she pouted. "Arrête de lui faire peur."
"Oh, this could take a while," Mahalia muttered as she got up. She smiled at Dante and hugged him. "Hello, manugang."
Carlisle gaped. "Lola!"
"Good morning, Miss Mahalia," Dante greeted with a smile. He saw Maggie staring at him with that laser focus of hers and bowed his head. "Good morning, Miss Maggie."
"Dante." Maggie raised her cappuccino up to her lips. "How was the party you both attended?"
"It was pretty crazy." Dante held out Carlisle's chair and helped him sit before he sat next to him, the pair next to Diana. "But I enjoyed it. I can't say I've been to an event like that before. My hockey team did after-parties in high school, but it wasn't anything at that level."
Maggie pitched up an eyebrow. "A hockey player?" Her eyes went to her stepson in amusement. "What happened to you swearing off hockey players after your last experience, Carlisle?"
"I've changed!" Carlisle said in defense of himself, though he grew flustered when the three women laughed at him. "And he's not a professional hockey player. It's different."
Dante's lips twitched. "Isn't it stereotypical for a figure skater to dislike hockey?"
"I don't dislike hockey. I love hockey." Carlisle shifted as he grumbled, "I just dislike one obnoxious hockey player who stole my ice time."
"She didn't steal your ice time, Carlisle-po."
Mahalia brightened seeing Aphtan with his hair in a lengthy braid today with platform boots and a vision in black. "Ápo! Glad to see you could join us!" She patted the open seat beside her.
"Good morning, everyone," Aphtan greeted as he sat beside his grandmother. "Carlisle-po, she never stole your ice time."
Carlisle huffed and grumbled, "She did too."
"Did you attend the after-party, Aphtan?" Diana asked, curious.
"Yes." Aphtan nodded. "Carlisle-po started pole-dancing."
Mahalia and Dante tried and failed to smother their laughter behind a hand, Maggie took a practice sip of her drink, Carlisle looked both mortified and ashamed, and Diana was sparkling (Bobbi was too busy on her tablet). "Really?" Diana preened. "How was his form?"
"Maman!" Carlisle cried.
Diana pouted. "I can't ask about that either? Can I ask if this means you'll join me for pole exercises during off-season? Oh, right!" She deflated. "You'll be spending your summer in the Nácarlines."
"He told us before his announcement, my love," Maggie reminded, rubbing Diana's shoulder. "You can't pout about it forever."
"Yes, I can!" Diana objected. "My son is leaving me! I haven't been separated from him in so long!" Her eyes shimmered as she took a look at Carlisle. "And the last time he left home, I thought I wouldn't see him again."
Carlisle thickly swallowed.
Dante stepped in gently, "Miss Diana, my parents plan to come up for a visit in the middle of July to the Nácarlines for a weekend. You're more than welcome to come. All of you are more than welcome to come."
"I think going would be an excellent idea," Mahalia agreed with a nudge at her grandson. "We could go see your parents as well and Imelda."
Aphtan pursed his lips.
"My love and I discussed possibly visiting the Nácarlines to see Carlisle's exhibition skate," Maggie told Dante. "Scheduling is a little bit of a mess between the two of us. Bobbi begged for us to send her to an all-summer camp, but I'm doing a few summer seminars." She brushed back Diana's hair. "And my love is doing the NBF summer intensives and helping with choreography for a collegiate production."
Carlisle held his mother's hand and murmured words too soft for everyone to understand before he leaned against her shoulder. Diana kissed his hair before she leaned her head against his and sighed, "It's only for the summer." She looked over at Dante. "Will you two be staying together?"
"I was able to get exempted from staying in the provided dorms and have a stipend instead," Dante informed. "Carlisle and I have been looking at places we could stay in Malaquíta close to campus—"
"No."
Carlisle winced. "Maman—"
Diana's eyes went cold as she looked over at a guilty Mahalia. "Alam mo ba ang tungkol dito?"
Mahalia tried to explain, "Diana—"
"Pourquoi irais-tu là-bas?" Diana demanded of her son. "Ils vous y trouveront et vous tueront." Before Carlisle could explain himself, she shot Dante a look halved between agitation and apology. "I'm sorry, Dante, but Carlisle can't come with you."
Carlisle groaned. "Maman—"
"Diana is right, Carlisle-po," Aphtan murmured. "It would be foolish for you to go to Malaquíta."
Carlisle looked dually betrayed. "Tantan—!"
"Unless I went with you."
Carlisle and Mahalia both looked taken back while Diana was unconvinced as she stared into Aphtan's eyes. "You'll go with him?"
"You'll go home?" Mahalia asked her grandson.
Aphtan glanced at a confused Dante and a beseeching Carlisle. "Yes," he decided. "I will go with Carlisle-po to the Nácarlines and will stay somewhere. Not home," he emphasized to his grandmother.
"Am I missing something?" Dante murmured into Carlisle's ear. "I thought they knew iAIM was being hosted in the capital of the Nácarlines?"
"I, um…" Carlisle could not meet Dante's eyes. "Well…"
Aphtan rose from his seat. "Come, Carlisle-po's lover," he instructed. "We should get refreshments." He left the table and did not wait for Dante to walk over to the counter.
"Go," Carlisle whispered as he rubbed Dante's arm. "I need to talk to Maman and Mahalia, so it's okay." He kissed Dante's cheek. "Do you know what I want?"
"I'll get you a small iced coffee," Dante murmured, firm, "but we'll have to watch your caffeine." He glanced at Maggie comforting a distressed Diana, though she, too, looked a little lost at Diana's reaction. "I'll be right back." He kissed Carlisle's cheek before he abandoned the table to join Aphtan in line. Silence fell between them, but Dante could not help but be bothered by it. The entire time I've seen Aphtan, he doesn't really talk to me. I can handle being ignored, but this is…
"Have you heard of the NICE?"
Dante glanced down at Aphtan and shook his head. "No. Should I have?"
"No. I suppose not." Aphtan moved up in the line, and Dante followed suit. "NICE is the Nácarlines Independent Coalition of Exorcists."
Dante raised an eyebrow. "'Exorcists'? I didn't think they existed."
"Many don't think they do," Aphtan regarded. "Many true Exorcists were wiped out centuries ago, as legends say. The Exorcists today are spiritually immature, weak Magicians, or excel at placebo. But some believe that NICE still exists in Malaquíta. Outside of Stella, the Nácarlines used to be the home of hundreds of Exorcists."
They moved up in line.
Dante breached, "Why are you telling me this?"
"What do you think Exorcists do, Carlisle-po's lover?"
Dante blinked, surprised, but he thought about an answer. "From what I've seen in movies, Exorcists help banish any sort of demonic being from someone."
"True and false." They moved up in line. They had one couple between them and the person at the counter currently ordering. "Exorcists eradicate any impure spirits according to the religion they follow, but in general, most follow the same outline. Most could banish overzealous sins from a person, but some were rumored to be able to banish Demons and any other impure creatures. Vampires, Dark Elves"—his eyes darkened—"Fallen Angels."
Dante retained the information, but it was difficult to piece together the logic behind the topic. "Again, why are you telling me this?"
"Because you make Carlisle-po happy…for now. And you are at fault for bringing him to the Nácarlines."
"He said he wanted to go since he had things he wanted to do in the Nácarlines," Dante pointed out, irked. "I understand your concern for him as his friend, Aphtan, but you have to respect Carlisle's decision on his own life."
"I respect Carlisle-po immensely," Aphtan assured with a bite in his tone. "That is why I'll be joining him. I respect Carlisle-po so much that I don't want him to get hurt. You're his temporary lover. You're powerless to protect him. You'll be much more of a hindrance than a help to him."
Dante worked his jaw over. "Please get to the point, Aphtan. Or is this another attempt to scare me away from him?" He did not let Aphtan answer. "I really like Carlisle. I'm happy he's coming to the Nácarlines with me. If he'll have me, I plan to stay with him. Nothing you do or say will change that. Forgive me for being rude, but you need to know that."
Aphtan tilted his head up at Dante to observe him. "I will have other business in the Nácarlines I'll have to attend to if I want to stay there comfortably," he stated. "Make sure Carlisle-po doesn't wander." He looked forward. "Carlisle-po tends to stray from safer places because he thinks he's safe. Make sure he doesn't."
"Carlisle's different." Bleu's words came back to haunt Dante. "And he tends to get into…trouble. I know I can't protect him from everything, but serious things are happening, and it makes me worry I'll get a call from his Maman that he's gone."
Is this the trouble Lucy talked about? Dante wondered, suspicious. And if Aphtan's mentioning it too and Miss Diana's reaction… "I'll be predominantly gone during the day due to iAIM," he told Aphtan, "but I'll make sure Carlisle doesn't stray. I'm teaching him how to defend himself."
A flicker of surprise passed through Aphtan's eyes. "Carlisle-po agreed to physical defense lessons?"
"Yes."
Aphtan slowly nodded. "I see." Three beats. "Then please teach him properly." His gloved hands clutched, and his ring shifted. "Please make sure Carlisle-po can defend himself."
"I will," Dante murmured.
They stayed in silence as they ordered their drinks. Dante paid for all three of them, though it was obvious Aphtan did not approve. By the time they came back to the table, Diana had calmed down under her wife's touch, Mahalia looked relieved, and Carlisle looked a little out of it.
"Are we still going to the Nácarlines?" Dante asked Carlisle.
"With some rules for me but yes," Carlisle replied as he stole his iced coffee. "Sorry for the trouble. Maman is just protective—"
"Don't worry about it." Dante laced their fingers together before he dressed Diana. "Miss Diana, I'll be working predominantly on campus for iAIM, but Carlisle and I will make sure we see each other frequently." He added his next words with care, "I'll make sure he's safe with me."
Diana's eyes shone hearing those words. "You are a good man." Her words floated like a melody. "Thank you, Dante. I know you'll do wonderful things." She cleared her throat. "My apologies for my outburst. I don't have a problem with Carlisle traveling since we have to for his figure skating, but when he said Malaquíta…"
"I'll be fine, Maman," Carlisle soothed.
Diana sighed. "We'll talk more later." She braved a smile. "For now, this is a weekend for us to celebrate your victory into going to Worlds." She looked around. "I had thought I told Christophe we'd be meeting here."
"Him not being here is a blessing in disguise," Carlisle muttered.
"You should be happy he came to see you, Carlisle," Maggie reminded.
Carlisle still looked unhappy. "Why? He's been a jerk this entire time to Tantan, Mellow, and me," he grumbled. "I would have been just fine if he stayed back in his little frat house instead of annoying me. Mellow's ready to murder him."
"I am too," Aphtan muttered before taking a swallow of his tea.
Maggie sighed. "Mind your brother. He'll grow out of his…bold personality soon enough."
"Yeah. When he's eighty," Carlisle grunted. He rolled his eyes underneath Maggie's forked-up eyebrow. "All right, fine. I'll try to show him the kindness he doesn't deserve."
"I won't." Aphtan dutifully ignored Mahalia's chiding look.
Mahalia clapped her hands. "Well, onto other things!"
Dante held pause mid-sip as Mahalia, Diana, and Maggie all stared at him.
"This is the first time all of us have been with you, Dante, and we have some questions for you," Mahalia purred.
Diana eagerly nodded. "Yes! Many questions!"
Carlisle whispered to Dante, "Say the word and we'll run. Tantan will distract them."
"I will not, Carlisle-po."
Dante chuckled as Carlisle looked comically upset at Aphtan's refusal. "Relax. If I can handle all my aunts, I'm sure I can handle three people." He aimed a charming smile at the three women. "I'm happy to answer questions for you all."
A predatory gleam glinted in their eyes. "Oh, that's good to hear…"
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Later…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Carlisle was highly pleased with the ragged look on Dante's face as they walked down the street hand-in-hand. "I warned you…!" Carlisle sang.
"That was nothing," Dante dismissed. "My aunties are worse because there are so many of them." He grinned over at Carlisle. "So you should brace yourself. They'll ask you every question under the sun."
But Carlisle was not fazed. "Sounds good to me! I love talking to new people!"
"I forgot you were a pretty boy," Dante muttered, shaking his head. "I'm sure you'll enjoy all the attention."
Carlisle gawked. "Hey! I don't just like to talk about myself!" He flushed. "I-I mean, I love meeting new people and answering their questions!"
"Which are always about you." Dante bumped Carlisle's shoulder. "Do you think I forgot the New Year's Eve party where you were happy enough to flex for all those girls?"
Carlisle started to sweat. "Uh…" He came up with an excuse. "That addies made me do it!"
"You are a real piece of work," Dante sighed. He glanced around as he took in Leonidas City. We said we'd do some sightseeing today. He's been so busy with the competition that he shouldn't have noticed what I bought. He kept his free hand in his pocket and gripped the gift. I just hope I'll be able to give it to him.
Just as they turned down the street, the sound of squealing fans had both of them stop. Up ahead, fans had ganged up to take pictures and get autographs of Ramón. He looked like he stepped out of a model shoot with his sunglasses and tight black long sleeve and black-and-white plaid overcoat, but he grinned as he held a rose in his teeth while his fans tried to take group selfies with their honorary roses.
Carlisle sighed with a smile. "He'll never change, will he?"
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
That man over there is Ramón Romero, a popular figure skater from Sin, and surrounding him are members of his fan-club dubbed "Ramón's Roses". Ramón entered the senior division before me and had been a back-to-back gold medalist until I came along and stole his thunder. Some people think this would make us rivals, but we're honestly pretty good friends!
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Ramón caught Carlisle's eye and drawled, "Why, Fluffy, you aren't going to get into the picture too?" He stepped out from the crowd of fangirls to come to Carlisle with a funny grin. "I'd be honored if you'd take some pictures with me." He presented Carlisle with a red rose as he knelt before him. "Would you do me the honor, Fluffy?"
The fangirls swooned. This needs to go on the blogs!
Carlisle took Ramón's rose to sniff it, only to smile. "You truly are something else, Ramón."
"Only when it comes to you, Fluffy," Ramón teased. "Care to join me today for some snacks? I was thinking about going to my favorite pastry shop I visit every time I visit Zvonvratia and having your accompaniment, Fluffy, would mean the world to me, sí?"
"Ramón…!" One of "Ramón's roses" whined. "You told us we could come with you!"
Ramón got back to his feet to smoothly saunter over to her and catch her chin with graceful fingers and purred, "But of course, mi corazón, I could never forget about you. There's enough of me to share with you, no? If there isn't…"—his free hand feathered her cheek—"you can have me all to yourself."
The fangirls swooned once again. He's so dreamy!
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
That being said, Ramón is known to have a lot of love to give to his fans…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
"You're so pathetic." Manjeet had joined as he put his shades into his hair and had donned an oversized jacket with his favorite MagiCross team's insignia on the back. His coffee settled in his other hand. "Don't you have anything better to do than to flirt with your fans, Romeo?"
Ramón was in the middle of kissing one of his fan's hands (who looked like she could faint) before he leveraged a smirk at Manjeet. "Are you jealous you don't get any of my attention, Manjeet? Maybe if you were some real competition, I'd give you a rose."
TICK!
Manjeet clutched his coffee. "You bastard…"
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Over here is my good friend Manjeet from Nemi. He was a late start into the senior men's single division, but he's also one of the few Southeast Selan skaters to have come this far in a figure skater's career. We've been pretty good friends every season we've faced each other. Hearing that he's officially retiring is pretty heartbreaking since he's been constantly in competitions with me. But I'm happy to have shared the stage with him one last time.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
"Come on now, kids, let's not fight," Carlisle soothed.
"Yes, we would not want to upset the beautiful women around us," Ramón agreed with his arms wrapped around two of his fans who were love-struck. He grinned and lifted his chin at an agitated Manjeet. "Then again, Manjeet might not understand how to treat a woman since his girlfriend left him last season."
Carlisle laughed as he held Manjeet back from attacking Ramón. "Say that to my face, you douche-bag Romeo!"
"Now, now, mi amigo, such vulgar language in front of mis hermosas rosas isn't appreciated," Ramón tutted. "They deserve to only hear words of love." He smiled down at his fans. "Like how radiant they are in comparison to the sun," he praised. "And how not even the moon's glow could compare to their lovely smiles. Qué bella."
"Ramón's Roses" were flushed and gunning for their Compacts to capture this moment. He's too perfect!
Dante could not believe what he was seeing. Saying things like that actually works on people?
STEP… STEP…
"Wow. It seems like you're all having a good time."
Dante looked over his shoulder to see a dark-skinned man with a lean build, a clean-cut box cut, and his shoes were customized to reflect his favorite superhero. On his arm was a beautiful tan-skinned Josean woman with her outfit themed to Magia as she toted around her toy poodle in its own carrier. The man showed his white teeth. "You do realize there's a thin line between love and hate, you two."
⌜KKACHI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – Josea
Name: Yoo Min-jung (AKA Rocker)
Age: 18 (Josean Age: 19)
Occupation: Figure Skater and 1st-year university student (MBA)
Likes: western reality shows Dislikes: durian
Special Note: Rocker and his girlfriend Hyuna are the co-pet parents of their toy poodle "Le Fou" and are definitely the type of pet parents to spoil her!⌟
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Rocker is a figure skater from Josea and he's a half West Andüsan. He was my rink mate when I trained for a summer in the USM for an intensive camp. He's a pretty laid-back guy and a close friend of mine, but he does like to brag about his girlfriend every chance he gets.
And don't get me started on him baby-talking Le Fou…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Manjeet sniffed in disgust towards Ramón and his gaggle of fangirls. "Like I'll ever like that manwhore."
"Hey, now, let's not insult each other," Carlisle calmed. He went back to Dante's side, but he beamed seeing Rocker. "It's good to see you, Hyung! Hi, Noona!" He came close and laughed when Le Fou got excited to see him and lapped his hand. "Hi, Le Fou!"
Rocker chortled. "Dude. Drop the 'hyung'," he jested. "Glad to see you made it to Worlds." He held up a fist, and Carlisle bumped it. "You better be making gold on it too."
"I'll do my best!" Carlisle went back to hold Dante's hand. "This is Dante," he introduced. "Dante, this is Rocker and Hyuna. Rocker competed in the men's singles too."
Dante shook Rocker's hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"You too. Though, you've been blasted all over Carlisle's social media," Rocker warned him. "Mercer's probably overdoing it again." He smirked over at Carlisle. "Has he calmed down from his meltdown or are you still in the doghouse?"
"He calmed down." Carlisle winced as he remembered Mercer's fire-breathing rant. "It just…took some time…"
Rocker snickered. "Yeah, I bet. Mercer doesn't have any mercy on you if you screw up his plans," he recounted. "Is he here?"
"He is, but he's staying at the hotel since he's leaving to go back to Fiore," Carlisle informed. "I tried to see if he'd come down from his room, but he pretty much threw me out and kept muttering about his workload."
"You can't say he isn't dedicated," Dante said.
Carlisle opened his mouth when a hand curled around his jaw from behind with a bountiful smile. An accented purr came along, "Just like I am dedicated to finding my perfect partner to share the stage with me. The Eve to my Adam."
Carlisle tilted his head up, annoyed, when he saw a tall woman looming over him with high cheekbones, smokey eyes, and a beauty mark to the right of her chin. Built and beautiful, she looked like quite the temptress at her one-hundred-eighty-centimeter height, but Carlisle was not enticed. "I'm pretty sure you have it backward, Mila. Now could you let go of me?"
Mila clicked her tongue as she let go of Carlisle with a lingering touch (and behind her were her entourage of avid fans who had eyes only for their idol). "Come now, Carlisle, how much longer will you keep playing hard-to-get?"
⌜STOLICHNAYA TOWN – GILTENA
Name: Mila Preobrazhensky
Age: 17
Occupation: Figure Skater
Likes: long-haired cats Dislikes: politics
Special Note: Mila is the niece of Samara, the intelligence agent on jury duty for the Commonwealth of Bellum versus Skade the Devil!⌟
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
That's Mila, the gold medalist for the Ishgaran Cup in the women's single division. Those fans behind her are dubbed "Mila's Angels", and their known to be pretty ruthless, despite their name.
It's no secret she's been on the hunt for a partner to be able to compete in paired competitions. The ISA opened up paired skating to all genders having any gender for their partner, but it's a fact Mila wants a male partner.
And she's set her sights on me ever since we started competing.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
"I'm not playing hard-to-get," Carlisle retorted. "If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. My answer is 'no'. Find someone else!"
Mila feigned a cattish growl. "You are so cute when you act like you don't want me," she cooed. "I'll have you share the stage with me soon enough. Your beauty and grace makes you the perfect Eve for me."
Carlisle shivered and hid behind Dante before he spouted, "Stop saying stuff like that and leave me alone! I'm spoken for! Go harass someone else!"
Mila looked at Dante top to bottom in curiosity. "Ah… You must be Carlisle's new lover," she deduced. "You are bigger than the last ones. I had thought Carlisle was not a fan of muscles, but now it makes sense." She sighed as she laid a hand on her cheek. "He is quite the fragile little thing who desires to be swept into someone's strong arms." Her eyes went to Carlisle. "Come now, Carlisle, I have muscle to spare." She opened her arms. "Let me embrace you, my Eve!"
"No way in heck!" Carlisle yelped from behind Dante.
Mila pouted. "You keep denying me. I am sure you will like my warmth more than your little fix," she persuaded. "I know you do not care about who you embrace, so why not make it me, yes?"
"No!"
"It's nice to meet you, Mila," Dante interrupted, eyes firm. "I appreciate that Carlisle has admirers, but he said, 'no' and the two of us are together. So I'd appreciate it if you could respect that."
Mila pinned her stare back to Dante, amused. "I will let you have my Eve for now," she supposed, "but I will make him mine. He is the only one worthy to share the stage with me." She licked her lips. "Those eyes of his are captivating. And he looks so adorable when he blushes. How could I not want him?" She sighed. "But I will come back another time." She set her sights on Manjeet who was trying to leave quietly. "Oh, yoo-hoo, Manjeet!" she trilled. "I hear that you retire, old man! Is it because your girlfriend left you?"
TICK!
Manjeet shook a fist at her, almost popping a blood vessel. "Say that to my face, you pompous hag! And I'm not that old!"
Ramón sighed as he smelled one of the roses he had crafted. "Too much vulgarity for my lovely roses to endure." He gestured down the street. "Come, mis rosas, I shouldn't let such vulgar words fall on your delicate ears, no?"
"Okay, Ramón…!" his fangirls dreamily agreed.
Carlisle peeked from behind Dante to make sure Mila was far too busy taking pleasure in antagonizing Manjeet (who very much looked like he would pop that vein in his neck any second now). He grabbed Dante's hand and whispered urgently, "Quick! Let's get out of here before she notices me again!" He flashed Rocker and Hyuna a quick smile. "You guys enjoy your time here and I'll see you later!" He forced Dante down the street as Rocker hollered farewell.
Once they were a sizable distance away, Carlisle sighed in relief. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "Mila's been harassing me ever since my debut in the junior division, but she's actually one of the best skaters I know. And Ramón's always been so…"—he waved a hand—"extra."
"It's okay." Dante readjusted his grip with Carlisle's hand. "I'm glad to have met more friends of yours. They all have their own personalities."
"You can say that again," Carlisle chuckled with a spring in his step. "I'm excited to go to Melandia for Worlds, but for now…" He stopped Dante at a trolley station that had a bundle of people waiting for the trolley to come along. "I'm just…really happy I get to spend some time with you before we have to go back to Fiore."
"Yeah?" Dante fingered the gift he had in his pocket. "I am too."
Carlisle opened his mouth to say more—
"E-Excuse me?"
Carlisle turned to see a cluster of girls with their Compacts out as they looked at him like he was a prince among men. "Hi there!" he greeted, cheery. "Can I help you? Are you fans of mine?"
"Very much so!" one girl blurted in punctuated Minstrish. "Could we get a picture with you?"
"Sure! Oh!" Carlisle pivoted to aim an apologetic look at Dante. "Wait. Is it okay—?"
"Go on," Dante urged. "They're you're fans. I'll be right here."
Carlisle brightened and pecked Dante's lips. "Thank you. This'll be quick." He turned back to the girls with his charming smile and was eager to answer their questions and take pictures with each one of them.
Dante watched Carlisle with a fondness in his eyes as Carlisle made peace signs and posed with his fans. He's a famous skater with fans from around the world. He learns the language of his fans to better communicate with them. And, sure, he might look like a pretty boy, but he gets excited over documentaries and has the temper of a little kid. He gripped the gift inside his pocket. I'll make sure to ask him tonight, but for now… He smiled as Carlisle posed with the girls. I can share him until then.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Fairy Adventure
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Whoever said "sharing is caring" must have been a mom making a difference because that motto was bullshit.
FLASH!
Carlisle winked with his peace sign between a small group of fans of his, all who blushed like no tomorrow as they took a selfie with him for Instagraph.
FLASH!
Carlisle spoke in Perench to two fans who had approached him in nervous excitement for pictures. He was more than pleased to speak with native-Perench speakers and switched to Provincial Perench due to their dialect. What he had said had both fans giggling and nodding with enthusiasm.
FLASH!
Mila had caught up to Carlisle once more, and he was strangled in her embrace while both of their fans swarmed them for a photo-opt.
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
Dante hung back as Carlisle aimed his smile as needed. Two other famed skaters who had not been able to place had collided with him, and all three were taking pictures with avid figure skating fans. Dante had finished off a water bottle he had bought during their outing, but he crushed it as he watched a girl rub Carlisle's arm. I know I shouldn't be upset. He turned away to recycle his water bottle. He's been asking me for permission every single time someone approaches him…
"Are you sure?" Carlisle had looked at him with big, nervous eyes. "I can tell them we're on a date or something!"
"No," he had said. "Go ahead. Don't disappoint your fans."
And the next time, Carlisle had reasoned, "I-I can tell them we're busy—!"
"No," Dante had grunted. "It's fine. I know how much your fans mean to you."
And the next time, with Dante in a predominantly darker mood, Carlisle hazarded, "I-I can, um—"
"No, it's fine," Dante had assured. "I'll be right here."
SWISH!
Dante sighed as he adjusted his hat. He watched as Carlisle had become overcome with joy when a father brought forward his infantile daughter. Carlisle, smitten, was happy to take her in his arms when she reached for him in pure wonderment. He really is perfect, he supposed. No matter where we go, people love him. He stands out no matter where we go… He's a people-person. He fisted the gift he hid in his pocket as the confidence he had from before slipped away. What the Hell is he doing with someone like me?
"Come on! Let's eat!"
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
The classroom was chockful of colors and patterns to nurture a warm and welcoming environment. With the teacher a Magician himself, he took no issue in enchanting his train to chug off track and craft little clouds that lazed about the ceiling. The children were enjoying their break from lessons as they chatted away. A group of girls with their friendship bracelets had decided to bring out snacks and do a mini show and tell about the gifts their mothers had given them. One of the more popular students was excited to show off to their friends about the new scar they got from helping out their older brother work on his motorcycle.
The book might have been advanced for Dante's age, but he enjoyed it in the quiet seclusion of his table. No one came to him with offers of coming outside to play or joining them for a snack. Lengthy dark hair past his shoulders, he kept to himself as he read, but he fisted his shirt as he heard his stomach growl. He peeked up from his book to see the more popular kids of the class eager to share snacks with each other as they swapped stories about their gaming.
'I want to share snacks too…' But his gaze lowered back to his book instead, and he pressed his lips to keep from saying a word. 'I can talk about games…'
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
I was never like Carlisle at all. I wanted to talk, but…I never really had the courage to talk to anyone.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
The cafeteria was a jungle as children zoomed in and out of their seats. Some were doing their honorary trades. Even though the school provided free meals with healthy options and plenty of alternatives for children with dietary restrictions, some had it all planned out how to finagle double of their favorite side for a trade of their entrée. Some students took this time to catch up with their friends from other classes. One student was boasting how their big sister had come with MgRonald's for her, and her sister dryly reminded her how much she had begged for her to stop in. One of the teachers on duty for lunch monitoring had to stop three boys from almost knocking over a paraplegic student in their powered wheelchair.
Amongst the laughter and the noise, he sat far from it with his new book. He had brought along some of the materials he had been tinkering with as he tried to apply the same logic he had been reading about, but his little invention was still a work-in-progress.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
I mainly sat alone. It wasn't like I was bullied or had a bad home life. My family was loving and none of the kids bothered with me.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
"Throw it here!"
Recess was a prime time to make new friends and unwind from the stress of lessons. Two tetherball matches had already begun while a gaggle of girls had claimed the swings and part of the playground where they played pretend or talked about their "boyfriends". Kickball happened on one of the outer fields with a pick-up game of football on the blacktop. He sat on one of the benches of the kickball game as the students grew rowdy over one of the bigger students stepping up to the plate. He sat with his book and his parts as he continued to tinker—
"Out! New game!"
He looked up as the players gathered in to line up and choose new teams. One of the ringleaders called out if anyone new wanted to join the game. A few other students had dashed forward. He went to move, but he hesitated and looked back at his book.
'I want to play too…'
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
But I never spoke up to begin with, so I didn't have any friends outside of my cousins.
I just kept to myself in school.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
"Class, we have a new student today!"
'They probably won't talk to me either,' he lamented as he yearned for his book. 'Even if they did, I don't know what I'd say."
The teacher—a spiffy young thing fresh off his master's degree—gave a kind smile down to the new student and encouraged, "Why don't you introduce yourself?"
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
…until that day…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Beaded braids shifted. "I-I…" Little hands kneaded her shirt. "I'm… I, um…"
"What is she?" one of the boys whispered to his friend. "I thought people like her only existed in LV."
"I know, right?" the friend whispered back. "What's up with her hair? It looks freaky."
Sneakers shifted, uncertain and wary. "I-I-I…"
"What's wrong with her?" one of the girls asked around. "She looks like she's gonna cry."
More whispers lifted around him as more and more became absurd, from criticizing her hair to her skin and everything in between. He listened as his hands clenched his shorts. 'No one's being nice. I'm sure she's just scared.' He lifted his head—
His eyes widened.
A frail girl stood before the class dressed in a Cinderella shirt and skirt. The beads in her braids were blue and white and stood against her dark skin tone. It made her look beautiful. But her head was down as she fisted her shirt, her chest heaving, and her bottom lip started to tremble.
'She looks really scared,' he commented.
The teacher knelt down to try and console her, but she ran from her and fled the class. Dante watched to see her run into the arms of a beautiful older woman who was hovering outside the door with clear concern in her eyes. She scooped up her daughter with an apologetic smile to the teacher.
"We'll try again tomorrow," she told the teacher as she rubbed her daughter's back. "Tesla's still adjusting."
The teacher offered a sympathetic nod. "I understand." He added in a gentler tone, "We hope to see you again in class tomorrow, Tesla." To the mother, he offered, "Please take care, Miss Greer."
"Thank you. You too.." Miss Greer turned around to walk away.
Dante craned his neck to watch, but in just a moment, Tesla readjusted herself in her mother's grasp and had to lift her head—
He was bombarded with teary steel-gray eyes.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Our teacher had said her name was Tesla Greer, and she was a special student. Our school wasn't really that diverse outside me and maybe a few other kids, but since she was darker than anyone at school, the kids were pretty ruthless in their gossip around her. I hadn't understood it. My cousins from Sela ranged from pale to black, so I wasn't surprised. But still…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
"Hi, Dante."
He looked up at his perky teacher and nearly had to squint. 'He's so bright.' "Hello."
"You know our new good friend Tesla?" The teacher pointed past Dante.
Dante looked to see Tesla huddled in her own corner away from the classroom shenanigans. While they were supposed to be having fun in the math lesson with the interactive independent game they could play on their school-assigned tablet, Tesla did not look like she enjoyed it and had a withdrawn expression.
'She looks sad and scared,' he noticed. "Uh-huh."
"Tesla needs a quiet friend," his teacher enlightened him. "She's very special, so she doesn't like to be around too many people. Do you think you could be her quiet friend and show her it's fun to learn?"
Dante fisted his shorts. "I, um… I can do it." 'But I can't talk to anyone. Why me?'
"Thank you, Dante," the teacher appreciated. "I'm sure she'll feel more at home here in homeroom with you as her first friend. Why don't you show her some of your projects you work on? I'm sure she'd like that."
"Okay." 'No, she won't. None of the other kids care.'
The teacher drummed on the table before he got up to check on the other students' progress and left Dante alone. With his work already completed, he went for the book he was working through to preoccupy himself until they moved on. As he started to read, he glanced over at Tesla. For just a moment, he thought about getting up and introducing himself like he had seen all the other kids do, but the more he thought about it, the more a weight sucked him down. 'I…'—he went back to his book, ashamed—'can't do it…'
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Dante sighed as he leaned against a lamppost and watched Carlisle shine. I guess I didn't know it back then—that she'd become my best friend. My own little sister. He sighed. I felt bad graduating high school a year ahead, but by that time, we had our friend group around us. And she had Jaxton. And now I have… His eyes softened as Carlisle showed the little girl how to do a peace sign.
LUB-DUB.
A weight expanded in Dante's chest. I know that feeling. He went for his Compact. She should be in MagiaLand today. Why is she upset? He called Tesla and waited impatiently for her to pick up. The call was about to turn to voicemail when she did.
"Hi," Tesla chirped. "What's wrong? Please do not tell me that you A—lost Carlisle—or that you B—broke up with him?"
Dante did not beat around the bush. "What's wrong?" He shifted when silence answered him, and reminded, "I know you think I can't hear you swearing, but I know that's what you're doing."
A loud sigh followed. "It's nothing," Tesla assured. "I was just being unreasonably anxious, but I'm fine now."
Dante felt that weight thicken. If she's upset, but she's speaking to me... He came to his conclusion. Are she and Jaxton still not okay? Maybe it was too soon for her to leave my place. "Em gái," he murmured in softer tones, "Why are you not comfortable being near Jaxton?"
"He said something to you?"
Dante was quick to quell her panic, "No, I know you'll speak to him if you're upset, but if it involves him, you'll speak to me. He hasn't said anything to me today outside of the video he took when you guys were in Space Adventure."
"You would have loved it."
Dante smiled hearing her smile and had to laugh. "I would have," he agreed. "That's one of my favorite Magia Movies. I remember when we both watched it when we were younger—"
"Yeah, asshole, and you'd lift me up."
Dante reasoned, "You were small." He remembered how easily he could pick up Tesla in the living room and the way she would stay still like a surprised cat unsure what was going on.
"No. You're just freakishly large."
"Agree to disagree." Dante caught Carlisle's eye, but he gave an affirming nod when Carlisle looked concerned. Still, he turned back around to attend to the gatherers.
"How's everything in Zvonvratia? Did you ask Carlisle yet?"
Dante watched as Carlisle had to bend a little bit and was lost a little in the chaos, but he stood back up when one of the skaters—a handsome man with a swimmer's body and a cut on his left eyebrow—whispered something in Carlisle's ear that had him flush. Seeing that made Dante's gut twist.
"Dante? What's going on?" Tesla fretted. "I was sure it was today you were going to ask him since the awards ceremony is over and his interviews are finished until he's home—"
"We've been having company throughout our entire trip." He could not keep the slighted bitterness from his tone as he turned away from watching Carlisle respond. "Currently, we're with two other skaters from the men's single division and they have a little crowd around them." He fingered his present. Maybe I should've planned this better…
"Ouch. I'm sure you'll have the time to ask him today. A lot of fans probably stayed to see if they could meet the skaters, but the crowd will die down, and you'll have him back."
Or maybe the crowd will never die down… And he'll have to leave me behind. "Right," Dante supposed. "I'm sure that's it." He shifted his weight again. "Anyway, I called to make sure you were feeling comfortable and safe. Do you feel comfortable and safe?"
"Yeah."
Dante's brow furrowed. "I might be in Zvonvratia, but I'm just a call away," he let her know. "If you want to leave, you know I'll buy you a ticket back home. You can come back to my place and stay with me for as long as you need."
"I'm not putting you and Carlisle out like that," Tesla dismissed. "I'm fine. Seriously. Go steal back your lover or something, and make sure you text me right after he says, 'yes', all right? I want to hear all about it."
Dante wanted to say, He might not. But he refrained. "I will."His eyes flashed over to Carlisle, who seemed to be detangling himself from the audience."Love you."
"Love you too. Bye."
The call was done as Carlisle came prancing over with a big beam. "Hey! Sorry for that!" he apologized. "I love my fans, but it gets to be something else during competitions." He held out his hand to Dante. "Are you ready to…?" He trailed off when he caught Dante's withdrawn look. "Hey…" He cradled Dante's jaw. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"
Dante stole Carlisle's hand to kiss his knuckles and gave a positive hum.
Carlisle frowned. Why can't he tell me? Is it because of the fans? He leaned close to peck Dante's lips. "Come on," he urged. "Let's catch the train. We can go explore some of the old country, and it'll be less crowded."
Dante interlaced his hand with Carlisle's. "Sure. Sounds good. You'll have to lead the way."
Carlisle did so, but a silence paved its way between them, a silence that knotted Carlisle's stomach. I don't like this. Normally, his emotions are open to me, but…it's like he put up a thick wall. But he isn't a Wizard, so how…? His frown deepened. Did I upset him? Is he mad at me? Maybe I should have told those fans we were busy. I'll have to make it up to him. Now worried gnawed at him. But how?
As Carlisle fretted over a plan to get back into Dante's good graces, Dante glanced down at their conjoined hands. Carlisle… And he gripped the gift. Maybe…I shouldn't ask…
°•°•°•°
While Sky Boats and airships were perfect to take from country to country, coast to coast, trains were the best ways to travel the countryside, if you asked the locals. Cars could get you there in a fraction of the time, sure, but when you wanted a leisurely day or just had nowhere to go in mind and you wanted to see the scenery, the electric trains were the best way to go. The stretch decided upon was the D23 route that offered views of the lakes, rugged peaks, a lush national park, and the countryside in its glory. The stops were few and far between with most who journeyed this way dedicated road-trippers or those who naturally lived far from Leonidas City.
Dante had expanded an arm on the top of the train car bench with Carlisle tucked into his side. As he looked to the side and checked out the countryside from his peripherals, Carlisle kept his head on Dante's shoulder with their hands loosely joined together. Eyes half-mast, he looked upon the passing scenery of rolling greens and cottages and the sea, but his mind traveled elsewhere.
He hasn't really said a word this entire time, Carlisle noted. From what I've noticed through our time together, he has different types of silence. When he's working hard or tinkering, he has this intense quiet. And when he's reading, his quiet is mellow. When we're cuddling, his quiet is relaxed and warm. But when he's bothered, his silence feels like an impenetrable wall. His eyes dimmed. Before, when he was pulling away from me, I could feel it, but it wasn't like this. Now, I can't read him at all. He pressed his lips together. I hate this. With previous partners, I never felt like this. I could always feel their emotions. Even Wizards couldn't hide from me. Even Hunter couldn't.. So then why…? He tightened his grip on Dante's hand. Why can he hide from me?
Dante, too, was caught up in his thoughts. I thought today would be the day to ask him. He met my parents last weekend, and they loved him. But just seeing him throughout his competition and today… He's so talented and beautiful. He's at home wherever he is. But I'm… Darkness looked at the scenery in vague. How can I make him happy? Am I enough for him? From what I can tell, he's been through a horrible experience that affected his entire family. I'm sure it has to deal with Hunter and it seems like I'm reminding him of him in little ways. Can I protect him? Can I be enough? Can I ask him if he wants…? He clenched his jaw.
And the train kept chugging along.
Carlisle and Dante ended up getting off at a countryside station with little passenger life and fielded with open land and trees. But tourists came to this place because it did not have the looming castles and coffee shops. It had ruins of a city before it that nature was slow to reclaim. Bases to brick castles with scattered walls and flooring covered the area with intertwining grass and vines and moss and the occasional trees. A tour was being given to show what remains represented what in the days of old. Well-built cottages and little shops and cafes did exist, but they were further down the road.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
« This is Carrasco Old Town known for its ruins that came from the Battle of Tipton long ago. Dark tours are given to the tourists and, in the summer, tourists can get permission to sleep in the ruins as well. It's known to be a popular spot for pictures and proposals. »
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Dante and Carlisle wandered through the ruins together and separately. They took their pictures and drank in the history such ruins presented. A few mobile vendors had swept through the ruins to provide refreshments, wine-to-go, and street food such as nut rolls, paprenjack—a traditional honeyed biscuit sweetened and spiced—börek, corn-on-the-cop, ćevapi—a plate with flatbread with grilled assortments of meat and sided with onions, tomatoes, sour cream, and other toppings—and then some. Other mobile vendors came to provide tourists the opportunity with postcards, trinkets, clothing, and more to remember their trip to Zvonvratia.
Dante had spotted both him and Carlisle for some Latorade and some sweet wine to share and Carlisle had picked out some paprenjack and Zvonvratian pizza. Carlisle had purchased a blanket and for them as a spur-of-the-moment item, and they trekked a little bit away to settle down on one of the hills to eat. Laying out their spread, they dug in with silence between them once more.
I need to get him to tell me what's wrong. Carlisle bit into his pizza. But I don't know how. I don't want to push him, but I hate that he shut me out. He looked down at his slice. Is this how Maman and Lucy felt when I…?
"Do you remember when we first met?"
Carlisle perked at the random question, puzzled but pleased. "I do," he confirmed. "You were a total brute."
"Heh." Dante shook his head. "You were being an uptight pretty boy if I remember correctly. Seeing Gale bring someone to a party was shocking enough, but he brought you."
"He didn't bring me," Carlisle felt the need to correct. "I sort of invited myself along." He sighed. "And even though I came to calm him down, I didn't do that much…"
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Back in December…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Misted in the stench of weed, liquor, sweat, and lust, the house party was hitting its climax as it played a bass-heavy song that had everyone throwing up their hands, getting down, and crooning along to such sweet vibrations. It would take a miracle to get this place clean in the morning, but the organizers of this party must have thought that through before throwing a party of this magnitude.
Carlisle could not help his own anxiety when Julia came back empty-handed and a scowl on her face. "I take it you couldn't stop him?" He shifted on his feet. 'Lucy's already going to be mad at me as is. Maybe I shouldn't have done anything…'
"No," Julia growled. "He wants to have fun, then whatever. He can have his 'fun'." She huffed and crossed her arms. "I still cannot believe he left her alone. What the Hell is wrong with him?"
"He left her with my cousin," Carlisle provided. "But"—he sighed—"I understand what you mean. He didn't exactly trust Lucy before he stormed off. He wasn't really thinking. He was too caught up in his anger." 'Then again, she is safe with Lucy. But Gale doesn't know that.'
"'Lucy'?"
"A nickname for my cousin."
Julia nodded like she understood. "I get he was angry, but for him to just leave her alone with a person he doesn't trust and knowing how strict it is with Luna…?" She shook her head in blatant disapproval.
"What do you mean?" Carlisle questioned.
Julia brushed back her bangs. "It's nothing too serious. Luna just has rules around her for her own protection. Gale knows that." Her ire was back with a vengeance. "Which makes him abandoning her even more unforgivable. Ugh, and here I was feeling sorry for him!" She shook her head. "Sorry you had to get involved like this, Carlisle. For what it's worth, thanks for chasing after him and trying to get him to think about his decisions."
"I feel like I just made everything worse," Carlisle murmured with a pained smile. "Lucy always told me I shouldn't meddle with other people's lives, but I can't help it. He just looked so…unhinged. I didn't—and still don't—want him to do something he'll regret."
"You and me both," Julia muttered. "But if he wants to get crossed, I can't stop him yet." She nudged Carlisle with a tired smile. "How about a drink? The beer tastes like ass, but we've got some good mixers."
'Without Lola's liquor, I can't get drunk, but it can't hurt to social drink. I saw a documentary that people this age recreationally drink.' Carlisle smiled. "Sure! Lead the way!"
°•°•°•°
Dante watched as Carlisle followed Julia and detangled himself from Amber, who was too buzzed to care, and shifted out from those dancing and grinding. His curiosity had been peaked seeing Carlisle, and he watched as Julia must have said something to cause Carlisle to laugh. 'He's cute. At first, I thought he was freaked out by me because of my size, but he was blushing. I wonder…'
He crossed the threshold and did not care that Jaxton was whispering dirty promises into Tesla's ear. He tugged at her shirt and murmured, "I have a twenty-three-nineteen."
Tesla snapped out of her lustful reverse (much to Jaxton's disappointment) to give Dante big eyes. "Who?" When Dante jerked his chin, Tesla followed his line of sight and whistled low as she found Carlisle. "He's your type now?" She tilted her head as Jaxton peppered chaste kisses alongside her skin. "I'm impressed. He's pretty fucking hot. Your exes have all been beefy."
"And look how that turned out," Dante muttered dryly. He tilted his head as Carlisle tried the drink Julia had made and must have liked the favor from the brightness in his eyes. "He's pretty," he found himself saying. "His eyes…"
Tesla's lips twitched into a grin. "You've never been one to do party hook-ups, hubby. I'm surprised at you." She pressed back when Jaxton hugged her midsection.
"I am too." And Dante was. The stir in his pants was not a surprise, no, but he was surprised he was pursuing the object of his desire. "They aren't my thing. But I don't know. The second I saw him…" He shrugged. "I don't know."
"I do. You couldn't take your eyes on him." Tesla sighed when Jaxton kissed her shoulder. "Poor guy looked so nervous around you too. I mean, most people get uneasy around you, but I saw him low-key checking you out too. So it begs the question, is he gay or Ishgaran?" She slid her hand onto Jaxton's arm. "Jang-ta?"
"He likes Dante," Jaxton rumbled. "It was easy to tell."
"And Daddy speaks therefore it's the truth." Tesla clapped her hands as she looked between Carlisle enthusiastically listening to Julia as she introduced him to Kat and Miles then back to an attentive Dante. "So, hubby, what'cha gonna do? I mean, first off, before you do anything, make sure he's single, and he's down. Consent is sexy."
Dante shot Tesla a withering look. "Yes, I know that." He went back to studying Carlisle. It looked like whatever he had said had earned Kat's favor as she hugged him and started speaking a mile a minute. 'He's not usually my type. It's not like I have the time for hook-ups with my degree and with work, and they aren't something I like, to begin with. Still, I can't help the feeling I got from him when he first came in.' He sunk his front teeth into his bottom lip. "Tesla?"
Tesla lazily opened her eyes half-mast, her mind melting under Jaxton's touch. "Yeah?"
"What would you do if you were me?"
Tesla hummed. "I'm the prey, not the predator. Jang-ta?"
"Ask him to dance," Jaxton grunted. "He might say, 'no'."
Dante raised an eyebrow. "Well, thanks for the vote of confidence."
Jaxton pulled away from Tesla to give Dante a leveled stare. "He couldn't meet your eyes when you were close. He looked nervous, but he checked you out a few times. He was interested. If you approach him and he looks more interested than nervous, he'll dance with you. If he still looks uncomfortable, let him go," he informed. "Let him dance. Keep an eye on him. He'll know you're watching. If he looks uncomfortable, leave him alone. But if he doesn't, approach him again. He'll say, 'yes' the second time."
Dante considered Jaxton's words. "You're sure about this?"
Jaxton nodded.
Dante sighed and looked back over at Carlisle. 'I don't do hook-ups. But I just can't shake the feeling…' He adjusted himself. "If this doesn't work, you owe me," he warned.
"It will." Jaxton had only a matter-of-factness in his tone without sounding cocky.
Tesla nudged Dante. "Go on! Shoo, shoo! Go catch your prince," she urged. "We'll just be here if you need us, but you've got this. You're rugged, handsome, and a muscle-bound genius raking in cash. Who wouldn't want to bang you?" She rubbed Jaxton's arm without knowing how tense he had gotten. "Be confident and then report back."
Dante shook his head, but he took a deep breath. 'Be confident. Easier said than done.' Still, he abandoned Tesla and Jaxton to approach the small group accumulated. He nodded at Miles, and it seemed Kat and Julia were going back and forth with Carlisle riveted. Interest hit Dante when he saw Carlisle was acutely aware of his approach when he glanced over and quickly looked away, shuffling closer to Julia. 'He really is cute.'
"Hey, Prince," Kat greeted as she paused her conversation with Julia. "We were just telling Carlisle about the scene here."
"Oh yeah?" Dante watched as Carlisle flushed further. "What about it?"
Julia took a swig of her mixed drink. "He just came out of a break-up," she explained. She nudged Carlisle who looked heavily interested in his solo cup. "What did you say, Carlisle? It's time for you to look for a new person since your ex was…?"
Carlisle mumbled, "I said he was an insult to men everywhere and that I hope he can get work done on his thing so someone doesn't feel like they're sucking a thumb next time."
Dante chuckled. "You've got a temper."
"Yeah, well, he deserves it." Carlisle roughly swallowed as he met Dante's eyes for a few seconds before looking away. 'Why is he staring at me? And why am I nervous?' A realization slammed him. 'Is he gay?' He shot it down. 'No, I shouldn't get ideas. I didn't come here for that. I should be writing my obituary. Lucy and Tantan will be so angry with me.'
"His ex dumped him over text," Kat supplied with a scoff. "Can you believe the fucking nerve? Who dumps people over text?"
Julia shook her head and bumped Carlisle. "No offense, but your ex is a total douche. Give us his address, and we're happy to retaliate."
"No, that's okay," Carlisle assured with a smile. "He isn't worth it." 'He really wasn't. In the end, he was just like everyone else, just like Tantan had warned me.' He sighed, eyes dimming. 'I hate feeling like this. Like Hunter was right about me.'
"Your ex might not be worth thinking about, but you're worth defending honor for."
Carlisle's eyes widened.
Sea-greens freckled in violet clashed with darkness.
Internally, Dante could see chibi-Jaxton giving him a nod of approval while chibi-Tesla gave finger guns. 'That sounded so corny.'
'That sounded…'—Carlisle sparkled—'like something that Zhōnguánese Prince in that drama I watched a few nights ago would say!'
Julia sweatdropped as she looked between the tense Dante and the sparkling Carlisle. 'I have never heard Dante sound so ridiculous, but apparently, this guy is lapping it up.' An idea came, and she slyly smiled. "Carlisle—Kat, Miles, and I were thinking of going onto the dance floor," she told him. "Wanna come?"
"Oh! Uh…" Carlisle glanced around as he thought about it. 'I should probably find Gale. He wouldn't listen to me, but maybe if I could cast a spell… Oh, but Lucy will get mad at me. And Maman said I shouldn't use Magic outside of the house…' He gave a regretful smile. "I better not," he decided. "If I can't convince Gale to calm down, I'd better call my cousin to come get me—"
"Then would you dance with me until he gets here?" Dante cut in with a question.
Carlisle forced himself to meet Dante's eyes again. "I, um… Sorry, uh… I don't think we've been properly introduced." He held out a hand. "I'm Carlisle."
"I know," Dante rumbled. "Dante." He clasped Carlisle's hand, but he did not let go. "Would you like to dance?"
Carlisle worked his mouth. He glanced at Julia for help, but he only got her nod. 'I can't feel any bad intentions from him. And he is…' He inspected Dante from top to bottom and ended up blurting, "You're not my type."
It was like an arrow shot through Dante.
"I like anyone I'm with to be shorter than me or my height."
Another arrow.
"And you look like you're pretty old. I need someone my age."
Now it was a round of shots that fired onto Dante.
Kat and Miles were silently praying for the death of Dante's pride and giving it a proper farewell.
Julia's grin turned twitchy. 'This guy is bold…'
Carlisle had three fingers ticked off. "Plus, I'm not looking for a relationship." He shrugged with a smile. "Sorry." He finished off his drink before putting the cup on the counter. "I need to call my cousin—"
"Wait."
Carlisle was stopped at Dante's asking. He lifted an eyebrow only to cower at the intensity in Dante's eyes. 'Crap, did I piss him off?' he feared. 'He looks like he could crush me with one hand! Lucy told me I needed to stop running my mouth. It's not like the guy isn't attractive, but…'
"I'm not your type," Dante said. "You're not mine." He leaned down to murmur only for Carlisle's ears, "But I find you very cute and would still like to dance with you. I noticed you kept staring at me too."
Pink heated Carlisle's cheeks. "I-I… I wasn't staring," he weakly defended. "You're just…really big." His eyes involuntarily dipped down. 'And by the looks of it, he'd be big down there too. Would he let me top him?' He tried to shake off the thought. 'No, I shouldn't think like that. I need to call Lucy.' But he gulped when he heard Dante's rumbling laugh.
"If you're worried about my size, don't be." Dante pulled back to look into Carlisle's eyes. "I'm nothing more than a gentle giant. Honest." He gave Carlisle a once-over and commented, "But you look delicate." His eyes sparkled in amusement. "I'd probably break you."
TICK!
Mini-Carlisle looked ready to a fight with his boxing gloves and anger to spare. 'The nerve of this guy!'
Carlisle's eyebrows slammed together as he prodded Dante's chest. "Brutes like you only know how to do it one way," he retorted. "And I'm not delicate. Unlike you, I don't need to almost look like I'm ripping through my shirts to have muscle. I've never had any complaints from anyone about my body, thank you." It irritated him when Dante chuckled. 'Why is he laughing at me? He's lucky I don't use my—'
"You're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed." Dante held out a hand with an amused smile. "How about one dance to show me how not delicate you are and I'll show you I'm not like all the other 'brutes' you've been with?"
Carlisle huffed, but he accepted Dante's hand. "Just so you know how this works, I'm not going to act like a girl so you can feel okay about all of this," he warned. He turned back to glare at Dante, but he was taken aback when Dante caught up with him. 'What is he—?'
"Trust me, Carlisle." Dante leaned down so his lips brushed his ear. "I want you just the way you are, pretty boy."
Carlisle blushed, both flustered and irked. 'Pretty boy'?
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Dante laughed as Carlisle flushed. "Well, you definitely aren't delicate," Dante said in good humor.
"Shut up," Carlisle grumbled. "You seduced me. It wasn't fair."
"You're the one who insulted me first."
"That was you!"
Dante cocked his head. "Calling you 'delicate' is an insult now?"
Carlisle growled. "Yeah, well…! It is when you say it!"
"Sick comeback," Dante chuckled when Carlisle muttered under this breath. "Now I know you took revenge on me when you ran out on me and left me there."
Carlisle winced. "It wasn't that bad…"
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Sloppy kisses and dedicated hands led them to lock themselves into the closest bedroom upstairs which looked like a guest bedroom from the lack of personal furnishings and how unused it had been. Their shoes had been kicked off and socks to follow. Pants had been thrown to the side and underwear lost as they lost to each other in kisses that had Carlisle blush and Dante obsessed with making Carlisle blush even more. Carlisle yelped at the possessive grip on his ass, but it gave Dante leeway to press enough deep kiss onto Carlisle's lips that rendered him woozy with want and need.
Dante pulled back and stroked Carlisle's hair when he pressed his face into Dante's neck, whimpering. "Where do you want this to go?" he rasped in Carlisle's ear. "Do you want to stop?"
"N-No," Carlisle whispered. "But I…"
Dante pulled Carlisle from him to hold his cheek with a large hand. "We don't have to have sex," he assured. "What do you want to do? And how much have you had to drink?"
X – X – X – X – X
"Barely anything." Carlisle shifted and felt himself clench when he witnessed how swollen both of them had become. "But I… I want to…" 'Why am I acting like an innocent virgin? He's just another person.' Bucking up his courage, he breathed, "I want to suck your dick."
The noise Dante made sounded like a cross between a groan and a growl. "I want to suck yours too." His lips came down onto Carlisle's neck for a biting kiss, and his fingers dug down the second Carlisle's hands flew up to his hair and raked through his locks. "You're driving me crazy, pretty boy," he groaned. He drew back and gripped Carlisle's hair to force him to meet his stare, half-lidded and glazed in heat.
"I don't normally like blowjobs," Carlisle revealed, embarrassed. "I don't normally cum from them…" He closed his eyes when Dante vibrated with mirth. "Stop laughing at me," he mumbled. "Evil man." A bone-deep shiver that curled his toes shuttered down his body the second Dante's thumb feathered his tip.
"I don't have to suck you," Dante whispered. Carlisle tried to shield his face, but Dante grabbed his chin to watch those sea-greens barely keep themselves open at his ministrations. "But it sounds to me you've never gotten a good blowjob." He brought back Carlisle's hair as he dipped his head. "Am I right?" He teethed Carlisle's nipple over his shirt with the promise more was to come.
Carlisle jerked, moaning. 'Why is he doing this? It's been so long…since someone wanted to do this to me.' "I-I…" He tried to swallow, but his throat felt dry as he found his hips bucking for a semblance of relief. "Dante…Ah…!" His eyes fell shut as a mind-numbing pleasure carried through him and a ragged cry left his lips the moment Dante had given him a promising squeeze.
"I want to hear you say my name like that again," Dante breathed. "Fuck, that was sexy." He glanced down and licked his lips when he saw the rivets of slick wash down Carlisle's cock and spill onto his own. "You're dripping." He could not help himself when he lifted his hand to his mouth and suckled on a finger to groan as Carlisle watched, heated pants heaved. "What do you want me to do?"
"Suck me," Carlisle pleaded. "Dante—Nnngh…!" He gripped Dante's shoulder the second Dante wound around his free hand to dig into Carlisle's ass. "Wait…!"
Dante had to close his eyes and take a deep breath. 'Hearing him say my name like that is going to make me cum. I don't want this to be over anytime soon.' Gathering his wits, he opened his eyes and tilted Carlisle's head to sink him into a breath-stealing kiss, but he ripped himself away just as Carlisle shakily responded. The image of Carlisle half-lidded with his lips willingly parted would stay with him. "We'll take it slow," he promised. "When was the last time you sixty-nined with a guy?" His lips twitched when Carlisle looked away. "No need to be shy."
"I'm not shy," Carlisle petulantly muttered. "I just didn't like getting blowjobs."
Dante hummed. "And now?"
"Now?" Carlisle fingered Dante's shirt before he dipped his head to kiss Dante's jaw. His teeth gave a light bite as his hands slid underneath Dante's shirt to greedily feel ropes of muscle twitch beneath his fingers. "I want you."
Dante squeezed Carlisle's ass before he let him go. "Lie on your side." He watched with close interest when Carlisle shifted off him to stretch out. He laid on his side and grabbed Carlisle's hips, lips twitching when he yelped. 'How did anyone this hot and cute get dumped? Their loss.' He rubbed Carlisle's thigh. "Are you okay?"
"You don't have to check-in," Carlisle mumbled.
"Carlisle—Fuck…!" Dante groaned when he felt Carlisle's grip his base and give him a punishing suck. His hips jerked as he whispered praise, "That's it. Nice and slow." He eyed the blaring red head before him. His hand caressed Carlisle before his head bobbed down.
The difference between giving each other blowjob versus oral with a vagina and a blowjob boiled down to gusto. You had already experimented with your own body. You learned what images to conjure, what touches to remember, as you worked yourself into a hip-jerking frenzy that had you cum in a flurry of passion that left you bone-tired. Of course, it was easier to get yourself off with a partner, but when that partner never experienced the things you had, there was a disconnect. Perhaps they used their fingers in a way that made your face pinch and you had to fake a moan as to not embarrass them or perhaps they used teeth where they should not have without realizing it. But when you both had those similar experiences of how to work yourself, how to find that passion, how to seek out those pressure points—the level of pleasure tripled.
Carlisle could barely focus as he hollowed out his mouth. Tears pressed in the corner of his eyes as he throated every inch Dante had to offer and swirled his tongue, but he could not stop twitching when he felt Dante reciprocate the favor tenfold. Never had someone taken all of him into their mouth and understood what came next. You have a tongue. Use your tongue and it would work wonders. But the tongue was not the only part to use…
Carlisle choked when he felt Dante abandon his cock to suck on his balls, but it worsened when his ass cheeks were parted and he shivered when he felt a slick finger circle his puckered entrance.
Dante pulled his mouth back to pant, "Is this okay?" He chuckled when Carlisle made a noise. "You had so much to say before. You don't have anything to say now?"
"I-It's fine," Carlisle managed to get out.
Dante hummed. 'Not good enough.' He flattened his tongue at Carlisle's base before dragging it upwards. Just as he flooded his mouth with Carlisle's cock, his finger rimmed Carlisle before teasing him. If that was not enough, Dante's free hand drifted up Carlisle's stomach to his chest to pinch his nipple—
"Ah…!" Carlisle could not focus. The pressure, the sensitivity—this was too much! 'No one's ever…!' Tears left him when he cried out when Dante's finger inched in just as he slightly twisted his nipple and deep throated him. "Dan…te…!"
Dante pulled back with a pant, but he looked over to see that cute red splashed across Carlisle's freckle cheeks. He took mercy on him as he pulled away his finger to rub Carlisle's ass. "Do you want to fuck my mouth?" he rumbled in that husky tone that meant he knew the answer.
Carlisle looked away and tried to explain, "I've never cum from it before." He closed his eyes when he felt Dante shift off him. "But…" He let Dante's hand guide him. "M-Maybe…just this once…" He let Dante sit him up and opened his eyes to stand on unsteady legs. He tried hard to follow Dante's movement, but logic was gone when his chin was tipped and he was subjected to a slow-burn of a kiss. 'Why is he taking his time with me? No one I was with before wanted to wait except for…' When they pulled away, Carlisle had to ask with a glance down to Dante's cock, "What about you?"
Dante huffed a laugh. "You want me to fuck your mouth?" His hand came up and he tweaked Carlisle's nipple. "Is that it?"
Maybe it was Dante's addicting hands or his kiss or the aroused buzz, but Carlisle sunk down with his hands sliding against Dante's powerful thighs. He breathed an affirmative before he took matters into his own hands and slowly sucked every inch of Dante into his mouth as his hands cupped Dante's balls.
"Those fucking lips of yours," Dante groaned. He fisted Carlisle's hair as his head tipped back. "You don't have to do this."
Carlisle let go of Dante with a wet pop! "But I want to." He looked up with a pout, sweat ruffling his hair, and those sea-greens aglow with flecks of enchanting violet. "Please? You don't want to cum in my mouth—?" He was forced to stop talking when Dante grabbed his chin and pressed his thumb into Carlisle's bottom lip. He sucked on Dante's thumb.
"Dirty fucking lips." Dante gently pulled away his thumb. "I won't be gentle."
"I'm not asking you to be." Carlisle gripped Dante's base as his other hand came up to spread the slick dripping from Dante's tip. At Dante's grunt, Carlisle was quick to choke back everything Dante had to offer while one hand covered in slickness teased his balls while his other played with Dante's entrance.
Those pressure points had Dante's jaw twitch. It was a reflex. Fingers tangled in Carlisle's hair, Dante thrust his hips into his mouth and repeated. For a moment, he thought he would be holding Carlisle still, but he gritted his teeth and had to watch as Carlisle bobbed his head with each thrust. "Fucking lips of yours are dangerous," he grunted. "So beautiful." He got Carlisle stroking himself and widening his legs. "Think about me fucking your ass," he commanded. The next thrust was brutal, and Carlisle gagged, drool running down the side of his lips. "You okay?"
Carlisle whimpered and nodded.
Dante was not afraid to dish another brutal thrust, and he watched as slick dampened carpet as spurts of it roped from Carlisle. "That cock of yours is a slut." THRUST! "I know you're thinking how I'll feel in that tight ass of yours, Lips." THRUST! "Or should I fuck just your mouth?" He tightened his hold on Carlisle's hair as he pulled Carlisle away and was quick to crouch down to slam him into a hard kiss. He groaned when he felt Carlisle rake his back and pulled away. "Get on the bed."
Carlisle looked down at Dante's cock. "But—!"
Dante could not wait as he lifted Carlisle onto the bed and placed him on all fours. He kissed the bottom of Carlisle's back before placing wet kisses alongside Carlisle's spine up until his nape. He slid his fingers between Carlisle's and held his hand. "You are all kinds of sexy and beautiful, Lips," he breathed. "Have you ever bottomed?"
Carlisle tried to regain his breath. "A few times, but it's been a while since I've liked bottoming." His bottom lip trembled when Dante pressed a praising kiss behind his ear. 'I don't understand. He's a human. So how do I feel so…?'
"I'm on PreP and have my prescription saved on my Com if you want to see," Dante disclosed, "but I have a condom too. I'm clean. I have my results on my Com too if you want to see them. They're from last month." His hand slid down Carlisle's chest and it was easy for him to grip Carlisle and fist him thanks to the slick. He could never get over Carlisle's blush or the pitched moan he cried. "You?"
"I'm clean in both ways," Carlisle assured. "Yes, condom. I-I-I—!" He broke into a whimper and jerked his hips at Dante's lazy ministrations.
"Good. Always use a condom even if someone says they're clean." Dante rewarded Carlisle with a firmer stroke and a nip on his ear.
Carlisle groaned. "I'm not a kid," he tried to scold. "Do you know how old I am?" More tears came when Dante stopped. "No, please…! D-D-Don't…!" 'I… I've never felt like this since…'
"You're the one who called me a 'brute' and 'old'," Dante reminded him. He pulled back to massage Carlisle's ass. "Are you ready? How are you feeling?"
Carlisle buried his face in the comforter to plead, "Just shut up and hurry."
"Such a temper, little one," Dante teased. "You're making it seem like it's your first time. Don't worry…" He parted Carlisle's cheeks and got into a comfortable position. "I'll make it feel like it is."
Before Carlisle could question what he meant, his eyes widened as he shivered. An unholy squeak left him the second he felt Dante's tongue. He had expected the tried-and-true licks that wound him up but lost their luster over time. But of course that was not what he received. He dug his hands into the comforter and bit back his begging when he felt Dante tongue patterns onto him. A quick zigzag. A lazy star. A standard circle. And a dizzying spiral. 'This…brute…! I can't…focus…'
Dante pulled back. "Keeping that mouth of yours quiet?" When he did not hear a thing, he snickered. 'He's cute with his temper.' He dove back down with his tongue, but he did something Carlisle did not expect.
He bit his ass cheek.
Carlisle cried out, caught unawares, but before he could process—
SMACK!
The actual sob that left him had him heady with confusion and the intense need for more, more, more. "D-Dan…te…!"
"There's that mouth," Dante whispered. "You like spankings, pretty boy?"
Carlisle tried to hide his face to avoid answering—
SMACK!
"Yes!" Carlisle groaned in a combination of defeat and eagerness. "Dante, please!" His entire body twitched and he clawed at the bed when Dante pulled back to fist his cock. "Ah-ha-ha, yes, please…!"
Loosening your bottom was nothing about the quickest way to get them loose and to ride them once they were barely dilated. No. It was a delicate process. It was an experience. Your tongue was involved, of course, but you used your mouth and hands just the same. You delivered praising kisses and gentle kneads to reward them and soothe them. You kept them guessing if their cock would be touched or how quick your tongue would be. Maybe you would thrust your tongue into them that had their back bow and they would howl, but you would go back to light taps and tonguing and watched as they loosened for you.
Dante climbed on top of Carlisle to slide his hand back into Carlisle's, face hot, sweat dampening his messy hair, and he kissed Carlisle's neck. "How are you feeling? You okay?"
Carlisle hummed and gurgled, "Yes." He surprised Dante when he turned onto his back and took his cheeks in his hands to pull him down for a much-needed kiss. "I'm ready."
"Good." Now Dante surprised Carlisle when he hoisted him up with one arm only to go on his back and have Carlisle straddle him. "Have you ever ridden someone before?"
Carlisle gulped. "One person…"
"Did it feel good?"
Carlisle nodded.
Dante reached for his pants to pull out his wallet and get out the condom, but Carlisle stole it from him to rip the packet with his teeth and spat it away before he carefully rolled it on. But still, he looked at Dante as a bout of nerves hit him. 'It's been so long…' He blinked in surprise when Dante's hands slid up his stomach.
"You don't have to," Dante reminded him gently.
Carlisle swallowed. "No, I want. It's just been a while." He gripped the base of Dante's cock as he positioned himself. He pressed the tip of Dante into him and a burst of electricity scattered across his body. 'He's…going to be big, but…I can tell he'll feel good.'
X – X – X – X – X
"So hot," Dante breathed. He held Carlisle's waist. "So precious."
Carlisle paused and blanked. "I shouldn't be doing this right now."
The confusion was delayed from Dante's mind, but by the time he recovered, Carlisle had on his underwear and was wrestling on his pants. "What just—?"
"This has been fun!" Carlisle threw Dante a beam. "But I really need to go! I didn't come to this party to do this, I promise. But we can just stop here and say we had too many drinks, right?" Pants acquired, Carlisle was quick to put on his shirt and rolled it down. "We just fooled around. Nothing serious."
Dante raked his hair, still in both shock and confusion. "But—"
"Anyway, it's been fun, but I should really call my cousin to get home." Fully dressed, Carlisle shot him a peace sign. "Thanks! Night!" And he hurried away and closed the door behind him.
Dante sat, blank-faced. 'What just happened? Am I having a wet dream or is this reality? Did I just go through all that alone?'
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
"You left me with a serious case of blue balls, and I thought you were a major cock tease."
Carlisle awkwardly laughed, but he was sweating on the inside. "I-I-I, uh…" I thought he forgave me when he found me on Gyndr, but maybe I was wrong.
"But now I know you stopped because I said 'precious'."
Emotions compiled within Carlisle, but pain and guilt were the ones he could easily identify. "I'm sorry," he murmured. "I shouldn't have left you like that."
"It's fine," Dante eased. "I found you in the end. But now I get why you left." He sipped his sweet wine as he looked out at the scenery. "I don't want to be Hunter."
Carlisle whipped his head up in surprise. "Prince—"
"I couldn't figure out how you would want to stay with someone like me," Dante confessed, tone heavy. "You're something special. You have that it factor. It takes you minutes to become friends with someone. It took me years until I could have the friends I have now. I just…" He sighed. "I didn't think I had anything to offer you," he admitted, quiet.
Carlisle put down his pizza slice to scooch closer to Dante. "You have a lot to offer me," he assured, "and you don't even know. You have a lot to offer the world." A soft smile. "What still amazes me about you is that you just make everyone around you feel like everything's going to be all right. Whenever we'd go out, someone could tell you their whole life story, and you'd just listen to them." He pressed his hand against Dante's heart. "Your Spirit is your age, but your Soul is old," he continued. "Your heart is kind and beautiful. And your future… The sky's the limit."
Dante rested his hand atop Carlisle's. "But I don't want a future where I remind you of Hunter, where I can't…figure out where I fit in your life."
"You're not Hunter," Carlisle stressed. "And people don't 'fit' into each other's lives." He sat crisscrossed and looked at the mystifying view of the Zvronvratian countryside and the glittering Dodola Ocean. "I've traveled more than you could ever know." Words couched in remembrance. "I've seen many people and their ways of life. And if there's something that even I'm still learning, it's that you shouldn't have to 'fit' into someone's life.
"For the longest time, I was lonely. Once Papa died, Maman and I were forced to leave our home. Because I was different, I had to learn how to fit in with others and it was worse whenever I was in relationships. Looking back on it now, by me doing all of that"—a weighted sadness damped his smile—"I lost so much of myself. I tried so hard to please everyone around me; I'd do anything for them. I changed my entire appearance for them. I just wanted to fit in their life. I wanted them to love me. Even though I might think Hunter saw me for who I am…"
He sighed. "In the end, I still catered to what he wanted over what I needed for centuries, and I… I've always been doing that." He felt Dante wrap an arm around him. "I hate that I do that. I hate that I tried so hard to fit in so someone could love me. That's why I don't want you to change. Please keep being who you are. Don't worry about how you'll 'fit' into my life. I want you to keep living for who you are."
"I just wish I had more to give you," Dante explained, ashamed. "I don't go to clubs or bars or parties. I mainly work or study or do side projects. I'm not that exciting."
"Are you kidding?"
Dante reeled back at the look of wonder splashed onto Carlisle's face.
"You're one of the most exciting mortals I've ever met, let alone human!" Carlisle enthused. "I saw a documentary about Enchanters, and it's so impressive you're already certified when you're so young and some people don't get certified until they're in the mid-twenties to thirties! And I've never seen someone tinker like you too! Your projects are really cool! And your face lights up when we watch a Magia documentary too! Your cooking is phenomenal, and you smell amazing when you come home from the gym! You're the definition of exciting!"
Dante narrowed his eyes when he could have sworn he saw steam puff from Carlisle's nose. Yeah, but which way am I exciting you right now? He grew wary when Carlisle got on his knees to put his hands on his shoulders. "What are you—?"
"And there's a lot more!"
Dante was flat on his back with Carlisle on top of him. "Carlisle—!" Red fostered his cheeks. "You don't have to say anymore," he grumbled.
"But I do." Carlisle smiled as he touched Dante's cheek. "Everyone has an exciting personality. That's what I love about people. You're all so exciting and ambitious in your own ways, and you're different from each other in your thinking and feelings and processing. But what I find most exciting about you isn't one thing. Every day with you is exciting."
Dante sighed. "You're just saying that."
"No, I'm not," Carlisle murmured. "I'm telling the truth." He kissed Dante's forehead. "I always learn something new about this world but learning something with you is more exciting. I get to learn how you frown when you're tinkering and you're stuck on a problem. I get to learn you like to call on your lunch breaks. I get to learn you hate soft mattresses. I get to learn about you. And just by you being you is enough to offer me. So please don't stop. I want to learn more things about you."
Dante trailed a hand up Carlisle's neck. "I want to learn things about you too."
"Even if…" Carlisle swallowed. "Even if they're strange things?"
Dante smiled and pointed out, "You're pretty weird now."
"Evil prince," Carlisle muttered. "I'm not weird."
"Nah, you're weird." Dante combed through Carlisle's hair. "Who measures time through centuries?" His smile broadened when Carlisle froze, wide-eyed. "And we're 'mortals', huh? Something you're not telling me?"
Internally, a bunch of Carlisle's living in his mind were running around with one flipping a table and another crying. I really have been slipping! If Lucy finds out, he'll Judge me! Crap! "I-I-It's just a figure of speech!" Carlisle defended. "And we technically are mortals, right?"
"I don't know," Dante drawled as Carlisle fidgeted. "Not the first time you've said some pretty weird stuff. Plus, you always get excited over the strangest things. Like you got excited over that mosquito documentary."
"They're an endangered species and very delicate and fascinating," Carlisle tried to justify. Oh, no. This can't be happening. I'm screwed.
"You talk like you're old and you have such a weird fixation for walking everywhere," Dante listed with a raised eyebrow. "I might not call you out on it, but I've noticed it, Lips. There's no point hiding from me."
I know the procedure. Carlisle shifted his hand over Dante's heart as hurt hit him. But I… I don't want to lose him… But if he starts figuring things out, I'm supposed to… But I can't… He took a shaky breath. "Dante, I…" If Lucy doesn't know, does that mean I could stay with him? Would he accept me?
"Clearly, you're not from here…"
Carlisle closed his eyes. Maybe if I tell him, he'll stay. And if doesn't… "I wasn't allowed to say anything," he started, "but there's…" He sighed. "There's so much for me to explain—"
"I think I've got it." Dante held Carlisle's chin. "You're a mermaid."
Carlisle blanked. "Huh?"
"Well, mermaid or an alien." Dante thought about Carlisle as an alien with his antenna and him doing the infamous Spock hand signal versus him being a pretty mermaid with a shining tale as he perched on a rock just as the waves crashed. "But most likely a mermaid considering how pretty you are."
"I'm not a mermaid!" Carlisle struggled to defend amidst his perplexity. He got I was a mermaid out of that! Mermaids aren't even pretty! Has he seen a mermaid? I should be offended! Or maybe more grateful he didn't go with the alien idea…
Dante grinned. "You do like running over swimming."
"B-Because I can't swim that well!" Carlisle cried.
"Or because you're sick of swimming," Dante pointed out. "And you always say common phrases inaccurately. You even got excited seeing all my projects and called them 'thing-a-ma-bobs'."
Carlisle felt himself go red and covered his face. "Shut up," he whimpered. "That doesn't make me a mermaid!" But you wouldn't believe the real answer! Should I be thanking the Presence for giving me this naïve prince and banging my head against a wall?
"That's okay." Dante pulled Carlisle's hands from his face as he shifted. "Mermaids are pretty." He licked his lips as he witnessed Carlisle's fair blush. "Very pretty."
DING!
Carlisle felt like steam left his ears. The brute. How dare he just call me 'pretty'? I'm not just pretty! I… But his thoughts muddled when Dante closed in. I'm…
DING-A-LING!
Both stopped and looked down to see a little box had fallen out of Dante's pocket. Carlisle, curious, grabbed it. "What's this?"
"Give it back."
Carlisle held it away from Dante and stuck out his tongue. "No way, it's mine now."
How old is he? Dante exhaled loudly and dropped his hand on Carlisle's thigh. "Way to ruin my surprise," he muttered. "Here I was going to give that as a gift to you."
"A gift? For me?" Carlisle was sparkling. "I love presents! What's inside? What's inside!"
Dante swallowed as a band of nerves crept along his skin. "Give it and I'll show you."
Carlisle narrowed his eyes, suspicious, but he handed it over. "This isn't some scheme, right? You're not going to hide it again and then ignore me when I ask about it, right?"
"You have trust issues," Dante muttered.
"Because you gave them to me, you evil man!"
Dante messed with his jaw. "Look, don't take this the wrong way or anything," he grumbled. "I'm a huge Magia loyalist."
I know. Carlisle thought back to Dante's hidden collection of pop figures he stored in his basement like it was a shrine alongside the countless DVDs, vinyls, and even a Nikki-nyan themed record player. I didn't know whether it was a plus or a concern.
"When Tesla and I were little, she picked Cinderella as her fantasy she wanted. She wanted a Prince Charming." Dante scrubbed his jaw. "To be honest, I always wanted a General Shang."
TICK!
Carlisle huffed and tried to get off. "Well, sorry I'm not beefy enough for you and can only offer pansexuality and Daddy issues—!"
"Sit." Dante held Carlisle still. "I don't care about your body," he said flatly. "I don't want a General Shang anymore. And I don't think wanting that story is right for me anymore." His eyes softened. "Instead, I found a little mermaid. I remembered your voice, your face, those eyes… I'm lucky I remembered your name." He shook his head. "But it was still hard to find you." He scratched his cheek. "I did try going out and looking for you."
Carlisle perked. "You did?"
"Yeah… Tesla suggested I try gay bars."
Carlisle's face went dark as a tick mark bulged on his temple. "I bet men hit on you too," he gritted. "They saw how strong and muscular you looked and I bet they lost it seeing you. Who touched you? I just want to talk."
Dante smiled and pinched Carlisle's cheek. "You're adorable when you're jealous."
"I'm not jealous!" Carlisle bit. "But I know you got attention there! Why would you even look for me there? Just YouView my name or Goggle search me!"
Dante tilted his head. "You never told me your last name. So me trying to track you down by going to gay bars and Gyndr is your fault." As Carlisle grew nervous and sweated, Dante further pointed out, "And why were you even on Gyndr?"
"Ah-ha…" Carlisle scratched his cheek only to wink and stick out his tongue. "Finding you, of course!"
"You are such a liar."
Carlisle pouted and whined, "But it's true…!" He shifted. "I felt bad I left you high-and-dry, so I made a Gyndr account to find you."
"Bullshit," Dante deadpanned. "Your profile said otherwise, 'Carlisle-Cre'—"
"Okay, okay, I get it!" Carlisle slammed a hand over Dante's mouth as he could see a mini version of himself digging his grave and burying himself inside it. Why would he bring up my username? I was desperate and none of my dates with anyone else went my way.
Dante kissed Carlisle's palm before pulling it away. "Even so," he rumbled, "I couldn't think about anyone else until I found you and could hear you say my name again." He looked down at the box in his hand. "I know we haven't known each other long, but still… I like you, Carlisle." His cheeks reddened. "Which is why I wanted to give you this." He opened the box.
Sea-greens starred in violet widened. Oh, my…
He had beholden rings before, but he had never seen rings like this before. Both were silver bands, but they had a unique design to them. The left band was a mermaid ring with a tail that brushed past the other ended with carefully-placed diamonds. The other band twisted to create a small crown.
"Well?" Dante grunted.
Carlisle held his hands to his mouth and gaped, "I didn't realize the gay community here moves so fast with marriage."
"These aren't engagement rings!" Dante huffed. "My family isn't religious like with Christianity or anything like that. We just practice something different. And it's this whole family legend and tradition that makes us know when we've found something good with someone else. Something about us being blessed." He shook his head. "I can't understand it, but my aunts swear up and down by it. It's how a lot of them got married. Even my mom."
Carlisle hid his reaction. Was his family blessed by a god? Wait… Is that why…?
"I thought they were just speaking about stories, but…" Dante struggled to put it into words. "When I first met you…"
"You don't have to say anything more." Carlisle's expression considerably softened. "I understand." His emotions are open to me now. I can feel every word he can't say. He's so young, but his emotions… They're beautiful and mature and honest.
Dante nodded. "These are promise rings," he explained. "I told you I see this long-term. I don't just date because. I might get things wrong. I might not get into documentaries as much as you or want to go out to clubs. I'm not that social. And I'm going to make you stick to your diet and train your ass off to defend yourself." His lips twitched under Carlisle's glare, and he laid a hand on Carlisle's head. "But if that's all okay with you, I'd like to be your boyfriend." He lifted the box. "And give you this to make that a promise to you."
"You really are a prince," Carlisle mumbled. "But are you asking me or telling me about being my boyfriend?" He lifted his chin underneath Dante's flat stare. "Well? I'm waiting…!"
"You're such a brat." Dante took Carlisle's hand.
Carlisle spluttered. "W-Wait! You didn't even ask!"
"I wasn't going to." Dante slipped the mermaid ring on Carlisle's middle finger on his leg hand. "There. Now I'm your boyfriend."
Carlisle's eye twitched. He makes me feel like a child all over again. He calls me 'pretty boy' and won't even cave when I give him my cutest face. And he just puts on my ring like a brute. His eyes softened. But still… "Then I guess I should return the favor." He stole the box to pluck out the ring. He was careful sliding it onto Dante's left hand's middle finger. "There. Now you're my boyfriend."
"You can't even say the reverse, can you?" Dante dryly asked.
Carlisle puffed his chest. "Nope! You're all mine!" He hugged Dante close. "You really are now mine, Dante." He closed his eyes and tightened his hold. I've learned how fragile mortals are. I can prevent him from getting sick, but I can't keep him from aging. He'll grow old like the others and leave. He'll have to move on. But… He buried his face in Dante's neck. I'll protect him until that happens. I want to stay here with him for as long as I can.
"Lips?" Dante straightened himself, but he hugged Carlisle back. "You're shaking. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Carlisle mumbled. "You're just not being a useful heated blanket like normal."
Dante sighed. This brat. "Let me just try to do better, then, to keep you warm." His chest rose and fell as he watched the water. I always thought my parents were crazy to talk about their legends until I met him. He's a strange one. There's so much I don't know about him…and so much I can guess… But when he's shaking like this, I know I can't ask. I'm sure he can't tell me. But…
"I'll be ready for you to tell me everything when you're ready, Carlisle," he breathed. "I promise I'll listen. I won't run. I'll listen to every word you have to say." He stroked Carlisle's hair. "But for now, I'm okay like this too. Every day with you is exciting. So keep showing me you."
Carlisle's eyes widened.
Tears filled them.
Dante smiled when he heard Carlisle sniffle and bit back his cries. I'll just learn about you more and more every day until you're ready, he promised. "I hope those are some happy tears," he teased. "Or should I give you something to cry about?"
"Evil prince," Carlisle muttered, sniffing. "You shouldn't willingly make people cry." He pulled away to rub his cheeks. "It's unbecoming."
Dante wiped away a few stray tears wandering down Carlisle's face. "You cried when we were first in bed together."
"Why would you bring that up now?" Carlisle grumbled. "So you surprised me. Big deal."
Dante hummed as he leaned close to kiss Carlisle's chin. "Then why don't get go back to the hotel room for more surprises?" He grinned when Carlisle gulped. "Ones that hopefully only make you cry happy tears."
"You horny prince," Carlisle whispered. "Consummating a relationship so soon? You're in a hurry." He barely held in his whimper under Dante's touch.
"Yeah, I am." Dante watched the blush spread across Carlisle's face. "Come to bed with me, Princess?"
Carlisle ducked his head. "You saying 'Princess' means I know what's going to happen." He crawled off Dante, and both were quick to pack everything up and throw out their trash. The train came only twenty-minutes later, and the two huddled close with Dante amused as Carlisle shielded his face into his chest with the folded blanket on his lap. The journey back to Leonidas City was quiet and intense with Dante keeping Carlisle close to him and they actively avoided letting Carlisle's face be seen.
When they snuck into the hotel, Carlisle could not take it and ended up desperately kissing Dante the moment the elevator doors closed. But he whined when Dante chuckled and pulled him away. "Dante…!"
"Shhh, Princess," Dante murmured. "We're almost there."
DING!
Dante had to help Carlisle to their hotel room, but it amused him when Carlisle shakily got out his keycard and swiped up. He pulled Dante into the hotel room and was impatient, but Dante would not allow him to be. He shut the door and sat down the blanket before he kissed Carlisle and picked him up with ease.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
I can't tell you why Lucy thought this could be a new home for Maman and me.
I can't tell you what I am…what I can do…
…why I'm even alive when I shouldn't be…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Shoes off and coats shed, Dante backed Carlisle down on the bed with a dragging lick down his neck that had Carlisle shivering. Carlisle tried hard to return the favor, but Dante would not allow him. He took off his shirt in one clean move before he came back down to worship Carlisle. Their hands met and latched on as though to be each other's anchor, to show the other I'm here and I want to feel every moment of this with you.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
You wouldn't believe me if I told you. You'd laugh and say it isn't true. I might have come here to live with free will, but I stayed because…
…there's a boy that I need to meet again…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
"I understand. Thank you again. I'll be quick!"
SLAM!
The driver sat back and watched as that vivid pink hair hurried off into the convenience store. A long sigh escaped them as they leaned a cheek against a propped window with a soft smile on their lips. You haven't taken any of my time. A call came through, and a hand touched the touchpad. "Yo. How are things progressing?"
A grunt. "Fine. But her emotions are all over the place, Wolverine, so you better make her smile ten times for every tear she sheds over this."
A slight chuckle. "Don't worry."
A car with its brights on passed by.
Cerulean gleamed.
"I only ever want Angel to smile."
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
…there's a girl I have to protect…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Create-A-Creature was packed with children and adults all eager to build their own beast of any magnitude. The sharp contrasts of yellow, red, and blue would have killed someone's eyes, but everyone was too busy fawning over which sort of creature they wanted to make, what sort of stuffing, and even if they wanted to purchase certain charms and enchantments for it.
Pretty in pink, she was in near tears of joy when the Lacrima machine was able to produce a wolfish creature that resembled his own. She ranted a raved to her dressed-in-black companion, who might have looked like he wanted to be anywhere else, but he listened to her every word.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
…and now…I have you…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Tears streamed down Carlisle's cheeks, but he could not help it. His cries came out in a mixture with his moans as he and Dante moved with their hands joined. Dante's eyes shone in affection before he let go of Carlisle's hands to bring him down for a placating kiss.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
I'll protect you from everything I protect Maman from. I promise. I won't let go. I won't run.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Underneath the darkening sky filled with oranges and violet, Aphtan's face pinched in displeasure due to him being underneath Mellow's arm. Mellow, however, was too busy to notice as he argued with Christophe as they sat at the bar, but a different sort of heat filled Christophe's eyes. Still, Aphtan paid no heed as he looked down at the budded cross on his ring.
His eyes went cold.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Because I…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
By the time darkness and moonlight had infiltrated the moon, several condoms had been disposed of, and exhaustion swept them both. A thrum, however, burned in their chests and Dante kissed away Carlisle's last tear as he curled him into his side.
Carlisle stirred, much to Dante's mirth. "Thought you passed out on me," Dante jested. "How are you feeling?"
Carlisle hummed. "Fine," he croaked. He cracked open his eyes and let out a deep breath. "You made me cry again. Evil prince."
"I'm sorry."
"No, you're not." Carlisle curled further into Dante before he looked at the promise ring on his finger alongside Dante's. "I can't believe you gave me a ring." He dramatically huffed. "Now Maman and Lola really will mistake you for a son-in-law."
Dante placed two fingers around Carlisle's ring. "I could take it back—"
"Hands off, it's mine now!"
Dante rolled his eyes Heavenward when Carlisle snatched back his hand with a scowl. "Brat."
Carlisle lifted his hand to admire the mermaid ring. "You really are trying to domesticate me," he complained. "First, you track me down and kidnap me from my house and make me wait hours for your return. Then you treat me like your little sex object. And now you've put a ring on my finger."
Dante laid an arm over his eyes. "Not an engagement ring." He pinched Carlisle's waist. "Not happening for another five years, if you survive."
"Are you saying I'll die within the next five years?" Carlisle gave Dante a sour look. "Maybe you're a cold prince instead…"
Dante snorted. "Survive me." He turned on his side to squish Carlisle's cheeks with just a hand. "I told you. I don't like dating if it isn't long term. Before, I didn't push my exes when they wanted to break up. It's different with you."
"You'll keep me chained to your side even when I want to run," Carlisle teased. "Brute."
Dante snickered. "Not chained. You'll be willing." He laid his forehead onto Carlisle's. "I've never met anyone like you, Carlisle," he confessed, voice quiet. "I thought it was only Tesla I could tell when she's upset or lying, but… I can feel when you're bothered. I can tell when you're lying. And I want to make sure you feel comfortable enough with me to relax and not have to lie."
"There's just so much you don't know," Carlisle whispered. "It'll change how you see me."
"Not a chance," Dante promised. "I already see you. Even if you dyed your hair or got contacts, I see you for who you are." He feathered Carlisle's cheek. "And I like you for that."
Carlisle hmphed. "Just like, huh?"
"No." Dante searched Carlisle's eyes. "Not just like. But I didn't want to scare you off." He added in good humor, "Though, I'd still bring you back to me."
Carlisle laughed. "Possessive prince," he teased. He placed his hand over Dante's heart. It's funny. With people I was with in the past, I didn't feel them like this. I could feel their emotions, but…it was never this intimate. And with Hunter—the memory pained him—it was forced. I was desperate to please him. But Dante's so genuine that I don't mind him feeling me like this… I want to feel more of him.
A hook anchored his chest.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
I… I want…
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Dante felt something in his chest and how it warmed him from his head to his toes. He pulled back, confused. "Carlisle—" His breath caught when he saw a shine in Carlisle's eyes. Carlisle…
"Hey, Prince, can I tell you something?" Carlisle splayed his hands on Dante's cheeks. "I love you."
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
LUB-DUB
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
Dante's eyes gleamed in surprise when Carlisle kissed him. What the…? I had that feeling with Tesla…when I knew she was family to me… But this… He drew back when he saw tears slip from Carlisle's eyes, and it was like everything clicked. The worries he carried with him—his own private anxieties and repressed fears and insecurities—decided to leave him for that feeling of being full. That feeling that it just made sense.
"You brat." Dante slid his hand into Carlisle's. "You said it before I could."
Carlisle laughed through his tears. "Then don't keep me waiting, you evil man."
Dante smiled. "I could never." He looked down at this young man beneath him, vulnerable and adoring and perfect. "I love you too."
And under the controlled moonlight, as Dante drove Carlisle into a kiss that spilled over their honest passion, that hook in their chests expanded and expanded. Their hands locked together, and the promised rings between a prince and his odd little mermaid glinted as though to say I love you.
The commemorative plate, once halved, became whole once more. The lonesome and brooding prince had shed his crown as he stood in the water while the unhappy merman happy latched onto his prince for a well-earned kiss.
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
•
As the story goes, and you know it well
The prince and the mermaid kissed
And all was well
It's normal to feel insecure, to doubt, and dismay
But it's important to remind your partner that they are yours and yours alone
In every single way
•
Do you remember the tale of Peter Pan?
Of Wendy, lost boys, Captain Hook—Neverland?
With no Peter Pan quite yet, we will meet the girl who told him stories
As she wrestles with her choices
With her desires and her own feelings
But we bid your farewell and end this story tonight
Happy Heart's Day to all
And to all a good night
• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •
•
kore wa 75 oku-bu no hitori to
hitori ga deatte koi ni ochi
soshite atarimae no yō ni kisu suru
arikitarina hanashi sa
hitori wa deki no warui otoko de
mōhitori wa otenbana purinsesu
otoko ga iu "kimi to deau tame ni boku wa umarete kita"
•
Baby stand by me
I will stand by you
•
TO BE CONTINUED…
Next time
On Fairy Adventure
Episode 084
TALES OF HEART'S DAY WEEKEND
PETER PAN
Voices of Characters in Order of Appearance
— • — • — • —
Narrator – Kelsey Grammer
Diana Justino – Kristin Hvan
Dante Princeton-O'Neill – Adrian Petriw
Ramón Romero -
Manjeet Bhattarai -
Carlisle Justino – Eric Scott Kimerer
Barbara "Bobbi" Justino -
Mahalia Ángel -
Magdalena "Maggie" Justino – Anatasia Muñoz
Aphtan Ángel – Adam Gibbs
Yoo "Rocker" Min-jung -
Mila Preobrazhensky -
Tesla Greer / Hylia Lynk – Galena White
Julia Fullbuster – Michelle Ruff
Yang "Jaxton" Jang-ta – Eddy Yeung
Katherine "Kat" Knight -
Nashi Dragneel – Lauren Landa
Gary Fullbuster – Griffin Burns
Býleistr – Jose Tomar
Scarlet Warlock – Robert McCollum
Hunter – Daman Mills
• — • — •
Additional Voices
Opening Narrator – Mary McGlynn
Description Narrator – Mary McGlynn
Closing Narrator – Melissa Fahn
— • — • — • —
⌜OPENING SONG
⟪ Prism ⟫
ClariS & GARNiDELiA
Lyrics by
Ryosuke Shigenaga⌟
•
⌜ENDING SONG
⟪ Stand by me, Stand by you. ⟫
HIRAIDAI
Lyrics by
HIRAIDAI⌟
CRASH!
No one could control him. He was a whirlwind of black rage, and anyone who dared tried to stop him would meet their demise. The guards who had tried laid as sacks of dead meat in their spliced uniforms with nothing to show for their efforts other than spilled blood.
STEP-STEP-STEP.
The Scarlet Warlock entered the clinical domain with his own assistants close-by and a team of guards. He assessed the destruction before he assessed the one behind it. He shoved his hands into his pockets and commanded, "Give us some space."
His entourage bowed and backed away without question.
The Scarlet Warlock dug into his lab coat to pull out a smoke as he watched the ongoing destruction through his good eye. "So." He took out his lighter, lit up his cigarette, and took a drag. "Anything you want to tell me?"
"He broke it." Unhinged tangerines could not fathom it. He felt empty. Emptier than he had been before. "He broke it. He wasn't supposed to break it. He was supposed to be mine."
The Scarlet Warlock tucked his lighter back into his pocket before he took a long puff. "So what's the plan?" he drawled. "You want us to triple our search efforts? Bring him to you just as we agreed?"
Three beats.
"No." Slowly, Hunter straightened out with his head tilted at an odd angle and his eyes too far gone. "That Wizard brought in. The unbroken one." Hands clenched. "Break him faster." His cloak fluttered as he turned to stalk out of the destruction he had caused.
The Scarlet Warlock bowed his head as Hunter passed him. "Of course." His hand brought back out the lighter to bring about a flame. "We'll make sure he's your perfect puppet before you know it." His eyes stared at the lighter "He'll serve you well"—his good eye glowed to see the true symbol listed on the lighter, a skeleton of a Wizard's head with their honorary hat and well-grown bead—"Sinful."
CLICK!
Chibi-Luna peeks out from beneath the credits with a sheepish smile, a wink, and a finger for quiet. She whispers, "Hi, everyone! Just a friendly announcement that consent is attractive, checking in is crucial, and that episodes connect! Fairy Lessons will return in the next arc Caracole Island, but that won't be a few more episodes. We hope you got some of the references!" She waves. "See you next episode! Oh! And the reader who commented about their interest in interviews..."
Chibi-Luna grins. "We just might be releasing some more WIRELESS Autocomplete Interviews with some Fairy Tail members, Do You Really Know Each Other?, This is the Story, and a special interview, but!" She slips away. "You didn't hear it from me...!"