We are back, baby, and it's time for your daily dose of Baleyns fluff!I hope y'all have been liking it so far, because these next few chapters I edited a lot more than the other…6? 7? Everything from Ch7-Ch9 I obsessed over in an "am I doing this wrong" way.

I'm still upset because of last week's stone rotation, where the nat5s were Rica, Taranys and Chow. I had, like, a thousand stones? I was aiming for either Rica or Taranys. I got one lightning. Arang.

…Aaaaaanyway, if you like the fic so far, why not leave a like, bookmark it, comment about what you liked about it, all that stuff? Every little bit that you may do, I'll notice, especially because of how small the Summoner's War fanfiction community is. But hey, with Summoner's War: Chronicle slated to come out sometime in 2020, maybe we'll get some more people here!

(It is lonely being the only Summoner's War writer out there…)

Moment 7
Got Jealous Over My Boyfriend's Ex

Would it be wrong for Taranys to say he's never been so happy before than he has been ever since that kiss?

If it is wrong, though, then Taranys doesn't want to be right. Being with Baleygr romantically is such a wonderful treat. Holding him, kissing him, bringing him on dates… it's all just so perfect. Baleygr seems just as happy as Taranys is, too; it's not uncommon for Taranys to hear the Lightning Emperor say that he couldn't wait to get off work and see him again.

Sure, he's still a little nervous – it is his first relationship, after all – but right now, everything seems like it's going to be okay. The thought of how fondly Baleygr talked of Tesarion still lingers in his mind, but only as a faint memory. Not like he stays up at night, wondering if he's treating Baleygr as well as Tesarion apparently did; nope, not at all.

When the Summoner announces there's going to be another Ifrit summoning, it snaps both Taranys and Baleygr out of their comforting haze.

"They're doing another one?" Taranys raises an eyebrow, chuckling softly. His legs dangle over the edge of the Surveillance Tower, and he leans on Baleygr, only somewhat paying attention to the flower crown he'd been weaving together for him.

Baleygr looks up from his sketchbook and takes the pencil out of his mouth. "Whaddya mean another?"

"Oh, it's practically become a running joke amongst us all that the Summoner can never complete the Ifrit family," He leans back, untangling a stray vine from the crown. There are tiny daisies springing up in between the vines. "They've got everyone except the fire Ifrit. They've been working at getting one for… I'd say a solid half a year now."

Baleygr's silly little grin warms Taranys's heart like words cannot describe. "Bet they'll get another water one."

The snicker that works its way out of Taranys's nose makes him feel just a tad guilty for laughing at the Summoner's misfortune. "I wouldn't be surprised at this point."

"Poor Summoner, though. They've been trying so hard." Baleygr flips around his sketchbook to show Taranys the scene he's been working on, "What do you think?"

Taranys looks it over before kissing Baleygr on the forehead, "The texture on the grass is perfect."

"You really think so?" He gives the drawing of the island in front in him a once-over.

"I know so."

All that praise forms into a warmth in the tips of Baleygr's ears. Deciding to take his mind off of it, he sets the sketchbook down and squints at the Summonhenge somewhere in the distance. He can see the Summoner standing there, preparing for a summon. If he were any closer, he'd be able to hear them mumbling "Come on, come on, come on…!" over and over again.

Lightning's spat from the Summonhenge, causing the both of them to have to shield their eyes. Taranys can't help but be reminded of how he first met Baleygr all that time ago, having to block his eyes from the lime-green lightning being spat out from the Fusion Hexagram.

Summon Successful!

The Ifrit's skin is red this time. The Summoner's finally done it. Wow. Taranys raises both eyebrows up in surprise. He's not sure what he expected out of this summon, but he knows that this isn't it. Baleygr's slouched posture suddenly straightens, and the slightest gasp comes from the back of the Lightning Emperor's throat.

"That- that's him."

"Huh?" Taranys turns to look at his boyfriend.

"That- that's Tesarion!"

With this newfound information, Taranys looks back at the Summonhenge, where the Ifrit (oh, he might as well start calling him Tesarion now) was being helped off the platform, the Summoner's hand in his. It's around now that he realizes just how gorgeous Tesarion looks, and not even from the perspective of someone attracted to him, either.

Tesarion's a very well-sculpted man; his hair's a vibrant yellow and goes down to his back – Taranys hates to admit it, but it reminds him of Baleygr's locks. Two large horns curve up from the top of his head, encased in a hard shell the same color as a sunset. Muscles bulge out from his arms and chest; not too much, mind you, but just about the right amount to be nicely toned. Oh, god, Tesarion's in a suit, too; a mostly black suit with a red coat layered on top of it.

Baleygr says to the left of Taranys, "Damn. I mean this in a completely platonic way, but he's aged really well since I last saw him."

Taranys is feeling very self-conscious about his own looks all of a sudden.

"C'mon, let's go talk to him!" Baleygr stands up, placing his sketchbook off his lap and onto the cool rocks of the Surveillance Tower. "I can introduce him to you, too. It's been forever."

"Wh- huh?" Taranys is jolted out of his musing, and without even a warning Baleygr takes him by the hand, pretty much forcing him to scramble up to his feet and nearly drop the crown he's working on.

"Man, it's really been forever since I last saw him," Baleygr hums as he then proceeds to let go of Taranys's hand and drops down to the soft grass of the island. At this point, Taranys can't really help but follow his lead.

He's happy for Baleygr being reunited with an old friend; he really is, but… something about him getting so happy over an ex just puts him off. Sure, not every relationship has to end with tears and completely cutting people out of lives, that much he knows, but why does this feel so weird to him?

Soon (much too soon), Taranys finds himself standing awkwardly next to Baleygr as he waves and calls out to the man.

"Tesarion, hey!" Baleygr cries out.

Tesarion briefly turns his head – much to the Summoner's complaint as they try to attach runes to the back of his neck – and a light blinks on in his eyes.

"Oh, Baleygr!" His voice is deep and rumbling; slightly deeper than Taranys's and has wildly different inflections. "I don't suppose I ever expected to see you again."

"I know, right? God, it's been so long."

The two fall into an easy conversation that Taranys doesn't know how to slot himself into, or whether or not he even should. Thankfully for him, Baleygr seems to remember Taranys's existence and changes the subject, putting an arm around the Druid's shoulders.

"Oh, yeah, Tesarion, I should introduce you," He says ever so casually, "This is my boyfriend, Taranys. Taranys, that's my first boyfriend ever, Tesarion."

Taranys bites his tongue and stops himself from making some unnecessary response.

"Pleasure to meet you," Tesarion holds out a hand, and it takes Taranys a couple seconds for him to realize what he wanted to do.

"Ah, you too," He smiles as naturally as he can and grasps it. Tesarion's grip is firm, but not uncomfortably tight. If he weren't feeling insecure before, he sure is now.

Just keep smiling; act like everything's okay.

He's pretty sure that, if nothing else, Baleygr's noticed that something's wrong by now, but he figures it's best to keep the peace, even if his insecurities are glaring at him.

"So, how long you two been together?" Tesarion breaks Taranys's internal breakdown about he will never be as good a boyfriend as the Ifrit in front of him was.

"Not- not for long, I guess," Taranys gulps. "We've been official – uh, more like actually dating, I mean – for – uhh, for a month, maybe two? I mean, we knew each other for a couple more months before that, though."

"Huh, cool." Tesarion shrugs.

Baleygr's next words seem to appease Taranys's worries a bit, "Yeah, he's been great to me this whole time."

Aww, that's sweet.

"Reminds me a bit of you, y'know."

And there's his anxiety again, burning its weird holes in his chest, and he still can't figure out why.

By the time Tesarion and Baleygr finally wrap things up for the moment and Tesarion decides to go scope out the place he'll be staying at, Taranys's really not feeling so good. Maybe he's just being silly, or he's under the weather, but the one thing that's for sure is that he really has the urge to puke. Or scream. Honestly, either one works.

And frankly, he only feels this bad whenever he thinks of Tesarion, and how Baleygr used to press his lips against his, just the way he does with Taranys now.

He's not sure why it took so long, but Baleygr finally seems to notice Taranys's discomfort by the time they open the door back to his apartment. "…Hey, what's the matter?"

"N- nothing, it's just… Oh, it's nothing, Bay, really."

"Is it about Tesarion?"

Damn, he really knows him well.

No use lying now, Taranys assumes. "…Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't know, Bay, but whenever I think about how you used to be with Tesarion, I just… feel so odd. And now that he's at the island, I…"

He trails off. Oh, he just revealed himself to be a whiny and insecure loser, didn't he?

"Mm," Baleygr hums. "If it helps you any, I really do see him as just a friend now. Zero non-platonic feelings whatsoever."

It doesn't do a lot, but it's enough to ease his mind for an hour or two, he guesses.

"…Thanks, hun. I really do mean it."