A/N: So... it's done. Man, I loved doing this. This was fun. For my first ship week, I had an ENORMOUS amount of fun writing these and reading all your guys' reviews. I'm glad that a great many of you enjoyed some of my silly and simple ideas and actually like my writing style. As an aspiring writer, I'm just over the moon about the feedback y'all have given me. Now, enough holding you up... behold, confession.

Chapter Summary: It's time Callum gets something off his chest. Something that's been bothering him ever since they entered Xadia. A one-on-one with Rayla, reveals his true feelings.

Word count: 2,173

Confession

"Oookay," Callum sighed. "You can do this."

He gave himself a hardened stare through his reflection in the lake. Taking deep breaths, Callum closed his eyes and focused. He believed he could do this. This was nothing. This was easy. He convinced himself of that enough times. But of course, that fell flat on many levels. For many days now he had gone over this. There was just so many possibilities. Too many outcomes where everything changes because of his dumb decision.

Callum shook his head and slapped his face. He shouldn't think like that. This was Rayla he was thinking about. They've been friends for months now, there was no way she'd throw it all out the window because of one little thing. Callum's face fell. He hoped she thought it was a little thing. If she just brushed over it and accepted it, no questions asked, then nothing awkward would happen.

"Oh am I kidding," he said exasperatedly. He frowned at his reflection. "This is gonna be huge! Of course she'll have something to say!"

A yip from behind dragged Callum's attention away from his annoyed reflection. He managed a small smile at the young Storm Dragon sat behind him. Zym cocked his head to the right as he gave a questioning stare over Callum's way. His tongue hung out as his tail wagged back and forth. This wasn't the first time Zym had caught him talking to himself nor looking weird. The poor dragon must've been very used to his antics at this point.

Callum's face lit up as an idea crossed his mind. Well, if he was used to it. "Hey Zym," he called, "You mind helping me with something?" He yipped a happy smile and nodded in response, bouncing off in all fours. "Great! C'mon!" Callum waved him over to a nearby rock. He patted the spot and watched as Zym sat down at an eye level with him. He smirked at the Storm Dragon's eager attitude. "Alright. Just… give me your impression."

Zym tilted his head in confusion.

Clearing his throat, Callum clasped his hands together and rubbed them quickly. He mustered up a brave smile and look Zym in his eyes. "Okay. So… okay…" he cleared his throat once more. "Rayla, I—nope, nope, that's dumb." He raised his finger in the air. "We have been travelling together for quite some time—ah! That's it!" he grinned excitedly.

Zym yipped once more, blinking confusedly at the the boy.

"Right," Callum nervously chuckled. "So… Rayla," he gestured to Zym, "as you know… we've been… travelling alone together for long time." He bit his lip and pondered. "Well, I guess two months and a half might not be long, b-but maybe it is? And, well, a small portion of that time was with Ezran and Bait. And I guess you could count all those merchants and such who gave us rides as not alone time. And, Zym has been travelling with us too," at the sound of his nickname said dragon perked up and smiled. Shaking his head, Callum cleared his throat for the umpteenth time that day. "Anyways…

"Rayla, you and I have been friends for awhile now. And, I'd like to think we're even best friends even! I mean, I know so much about you, and vice versa and all that. An-Anyways, well, as your best friend, I think I owe it to you… to… tell you things… no, everything! Just, be honest! Because, you know, honesty is one of biggest in our relationship that we focus on—well I mean…" Callum groaned as he facepalmed himself. He dragged his hand down his face and slowly blinked at the Storm Dragon before him. "Did you get any of that?"

Zym shook his head and left his tongue to hang out. Callum sighed. "Figured as much." He turned back to the lake and stared at himself. Why was this so difficult? Was he really overthinking things?

The worst outcome would be that Rayla would just stop talking to him. Callum's neutral expression fell as his mind started considering other possibilities. Possibilities where she'd be so mad and upset with him, she wouldn't even talk to him for the rest of their journey. Or maybe she would just leave him, take Zym with her and decide that this was all just a waste of her time. That he didn't deserve anything to come for doing something so brave and noble. That maybe he was just a terrible friend for even considering this. Or maybe she'd kill him.

Callum sighed once more. Why did he have to feel this way? Everything would be simple for him if he just never had these dumb feelings. But nevertheless, as one of the many things Rayla liked about him, he was a passionate guy. If there ever was something that irked him or made him excited he had to make a big deal out of it. And for someone who was told be to something he wasn't for so long, having a breath of fresh air like this was amazing. It was freeing to be this expressing.

Callum's eyes closed. But that was the key. Just breathe. He took a deep breath and turned back to Zym. Opening his eyes he uttered out, "Rayla." He mustered up the most confident smirk he could manage and said, "We need to talk."

"Aye? What 'bout?"

A started shriek came from the Mage as he hopped up on the spot. He immediately whipped his body around and stumbled back a few feet, landing against the rock. "Rayla!" he greeted, smiling at the smug elf before him.

She crossed her arms across her chest as she jutted out her hip. "Hiya," she smirked, "Now, uh, what'd ya want to talk about?"

Callum opened his mouth but stopped himself as he glanced back at Zym, who had wordlessly smiled back. "Uhhh, that we should get going!" he jerked his thumb back toward the forest. "I-I mean, sunset is upon us and uh… yeah…"

Rayla stared at him with a cocked head and a confused stare. "Uhh, aye, I know," she chuckled. "I just had to go to the bathroom, yeesh." She walked over to Zym and picked him up from the rock. "No need to get all impatient."

"Right, sorry," Callum apologized as he followed after her. Crisis averted, so far. But, the skeptical glare Rayla shot his way told him that this wasn't going to be the last time she asked about it.

::::

Ralya knew something was up. Callum had been acting a bit strange for the past few days. She noticed how every so often he'd just trail off into a deep thought. His brows would scrunch up and his lip would quiver down. Whatever was bothering him was something serious. Something that seemed to upset him. But he seemed so determined to stay quiet about it. Rayla could tell he was lying when he said it was nothing, or when he said he was just thinking about a sketch. She had been with him long enough to tell when he was thinking about sketching.

His face was more elated, still concentrated, but it was obvious he was thinking about something that made him happy. Things like that made Rayla all the more suspicious of how he was acting. She hoped that the time he spent sketching before bed was enough time for him to settle whatever was bothering him. But, it only seemed like it just opened up more opportunities for him to worsen his thoughts. Whatever he claimed this nothing was, it was something alright.

And the way he was acting earlier today cinched Rayla's beliefs.

It was well into the evening, and Callum had just finished setting up camp. He was patiently waiting for her return, as she had taken the liberty of gathering some more berries for the night. Zym stayed behind with Callum, and she couldn't help but feel a bit jealous at that. She was noticing how often Zym hung around the artist. But at least he was safe.

Speaking of said Storm Dragon, a sudden yip brought Rayla's attention over to the clearing. She smiled as she noticed Callum and Zym's gathered nearby Callum's possesions. "Great, ya got the fire ready!" she chirped. "Now, with a nice fire, we can enjoy lil' snack before bed." She shook the handkerchief of berries in her hand.

"About that." Callum rose up from the grass and stared Rayla with a serious look. "We need to talk."

Rayla's eyebrows rose at his sudden seriousness. This was it. He was going to talk about it. She cleared her throat and nodded. "Uhh, sure. Okay." She walked over to Callum and sat down in front of him. "Lemme just put the berries in your bag—"

"That can wait," Callum stressed as he knelt down. He placed his hand over hers, and pushed it back to her chest.

This was really urgent. "Okay?" Rayla nervously laughed. She looked at Callum's emerald eyes and was amazed at how hardened and serious they were. It was then she noticed the moonlight shining down around them, glimmering off the light grass. It was then she noticed her nerves were crackling like the fire lit beside them. It was then she noticed how his hand suddenly wrapped around her wrists, holding them firmly. "What is it?" she dared to ask.

Callum took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Rayla," he opened them, "We've been friends for awhile now, right?" She silently nodded. "And well, I know how important it is… for… our relationship," her brows went up, "that we're completely honest with each other." Callum brought his hands over Rayla's folding her fingers over the berries in her palms. He caressed her hands softly. "So… I… I think I owe it to you to be honest." He released another deep breath and smiled at Rayla, sincerely. "I've been mulling over this ever since we entered Xadia and well… I think my feelings are dead set serious."

Rayla nodded. "Callum, ya can tell me." She grinned encouragingly.

Callum nodded back. "Okay." He took a swallowed hard. He removed his fingers, slowly unfolding Rayla's and softly said, "I don't like Moonberry juice."

Rayla's brows went up as she tilted her head. "What?"

"I don't like Moonberry juice," he repeated, more confidently.

Her brows furrowed as a frown fell on her face. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I-I know, it's very resourceful fruit in Xadia and it's practically everywhere," Callum rubbed the back of his neck, "But I just can't stand the flavour! It-It's too bitter and sugary. And it's so thick! Like, pancake syrup but worse! And the smell is just like grape juice, it's too strong!" He shook his head and looked at Zym. "I-I've been giving my drinks to Zym when you're not looking and actually eating a secret stash of Sunberry bread from that town we stopped by a few weeks back."

Rayla rolled her eyes. This idiot. "Oh my gosh," she groaned. "I thought this was something serious! The way ya've been acting recently had me worr—wait, ya've had a secret stash?" she questioned.

Sheepishly, he nodded. "Yeah…"

"What? Why!" Rayla bundled up the berries in the handkerchief and with a free hand, grabbed Callum's bag. She rifled through it and gasped when she found two loaves of Sunberry bread. "I can't believe ya!"

Callum shrugged as his face winced. "I'm sorry!" he shouted. "B-But you just kept getting more every night and I could at least enjoy the berries, but you made every batch into juice! I-I—"

"And ya gave it to Zym!" she pointed aggressively at said dragon, who just yipped excitedly. "Ya said ya liked it!"

"I know! I lied! That's why I'm being honest!"

"Ugh, what kinda boyfriend lies about liking a drink?"

"I didn't want to upset you!"

"Oh but wasting money on bread and secretly keeping it to yourself for weeks is better?"

Callum shut his mouth as a weak finger lifted. "Ah… that sounds worse when you phrase it that way—"

"That's 'cause it is."

"—but I don't think it's as worse as the juice, so I'm fine."

Rayla gasped. "Oooh, that's it!" she shook her head. She grabbed a loaf of bread from his back and smashed her entire pile of Moonberries onto it. Callum gasped in horror as he watched his light coloured bread darken with maroon. "Now ya've got to deal with it!" she shouted, shoving the bread toward him.

Callum frowned miserably at the sight of his bread and sighed as the juice dripped down his hand. "Why…" he whined quietly. "It was so good."

"Then maybe next time ya can think 'bout sharing it with ya girlfriend!" she said haughtily, turning her chin away. She stood up from her spot and walked over to the campfire. "Oh, and ya can forget about being lil' spoon tonight."

"Okay that's too far!"

A/N: I think at this point none of you are surprised I didn't go the route most expected. I mean, angsty true feelings reveal? Naaaaah. Funny enough, I was actually thinking about making this a confession fic because I realized I haven't done a one-shot for that yet. But, I decided against it because I wanted to keep the mood of this ship week series to be overall fun and upbeat. I don't know why I think a confession story would be angsty and touchy, but I think it's also 'cause I'm not confident I can do something unique there. At least not yet.

ANYWAYS. We're done. Ship week is finished and all that effort is behind me now. It's been a blast. As I said earlier, I appreciate all you've said and love how many of you started to pic up on my series and get into this. Rayllum shippers are a great bunch, thank ya kindly!

That said, I mentioned in my Tumblr, blehblarghblah, that I probably won't update this for a while. I'll still write, don't worry about that. I've got tons of ideas to write about. But, my other ongoing series needs attention too so I need to focus on updating that. It'll be awhile, but I'm going to try hard to make sure this won't go without attention.

Thanks for everything once again.

Until next time,

- Bleh