How dare this fic not blown up yet. Oh yeah The Crown came out eight years ago. Still mad about it though.

I did not edit this. Wung it 100%

EADLYN AND KILE RENAISSANCE 3

The heated kisses between us slowed until Kile and I were just curled up next to each other, my head resting tentatively on his shoulder. His arm was wrapped around me loosely, the kind of intimacy I didn't normally allow, but today, for some reason, I didn't mind it.

It was hard to imagine that a couple months ago, Kile and I could barely stand to be in the same room. I saw him as an annoying bookworm. He saw me as…well, exactly what I was, I guess. It had all changed when I asked him- in a moment of desperation, I might add- to stage a kiss with me.

My plan had been to grin and bear it, one singular kiss for the cameras. Despite my best intentions, that one kiss had left me hooked, and it turned into stolen moments in the hallway, meet me in my room, and now, holding each other in the light of day. Somewhere along the way, Kile Woodwork had gone from nuisance to distraction to, somehow, a comfort. I hadn't totally come to terms with it, but at this point, there was no denying it. There was something between us that wasn't just friendship and wasn't just physical.

Honestly, it scared me. I'd never felt that way about anyone before, to the point I didn't think I was capable. Even now, I didn't know how to care for someone that way, but I was starting to think I wanted to.

Kile had wormed his way in, annoyingly, as he did everything. Out of all the boys, I never would have expected it to be him that earned- or, arguably, stole- the first piece of my heart.

His lips brushed the top of my head. I tensed. He hadn't done that before. That type of affection wasn't part of our unspoken agreement- kisses on the mouth, yes, his fingertips digging into my shoulders, absolutely, but that kiss on my hair felt different. Tender. Gentle. Something I didn't deserve, but apparently craved deep down.

"Eady."

Of course he had to ruin it by talking. Kile was such a talk about it guy, while I preferred to communicate without the words, or perhaps pretend everything was fine until it couldn't be denied any longer. I responded anyway. "Kile."

"You remember the deal we made?"

I flinched. "Of course." That first kiss again. It had come with a price, and I had yet to fulfill my end of the bargain.

"Have you talked to my mom yet?" Convince her to let him move out, he meant.

Slowly, somewhat guiltily, I shook my head. "No. I'm sorry; I just haven't gotten around to it. Tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow."

I didn't want to do it tomorrow. I wanted to put it off as long as I possibly could, and maybe that's exactly what I'd been doing for the past two months. I couldn't make myself say it, but I could want it so bad, and I could think it hard enough to beam into his brain.

Stay.

"That's not what I meant," Kile corrected hurriedly. "I meant you should forget about that. I want something else."

I could feel my heartbeat pounding throughout my entire body. Kile could probably feel it too, although I made an effort to keep my facial expression neutral. "Anything."

I didn't know what he was going to say. I didn't even know what I wanted him to say. There was so much I wasn't ready for, but at the same time, I was beginning to realize my fear of commitment and qualms about vulnerability couldn't compare to my fear of losing Kile. I pulled away from his arms so I could look him in the face, scanning for any hint of what might come out of his mouth.

Kile ran a hand through his already-messy hair. He was nervous too, but when he told me what he wanted, I could tell how much he meant it. "I want you to give me a chance in the Selection. Like, really, consider me. I know you, Eady; I'm sure you have it all planned to the minute, but don't count me out just because of what we used to be."

It was the kind of thing I never could have said no matter how badly I wanted it. He would have had to pry the words from my mouth, like a tortured confession. Even just hearing it from him, I felt frozen in stunned silence, because how was I supposed to respond to that?

I thought he knew.

I thought he already knew.

"I stopped counting you out a long time ago," I admitted. "I just didn't know you had changed your mind."

Then I threw myself in Kile's shoulder before I could do something embarrassing like cry. "I want you to stay. I just didn't think I had the right to ask."

"Eady, don't sound so scared. I'm not going anywhere."

Kile was the only person outside of family who could call me Eady. A side effect of growing up together. Although, I'd also grown up with his sister, Josie, but if she tried calling me that she'd be getting decked.

"Isn't that what you always wanted, though? To leave?"

I had to force myself to say it. To some degree, I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer, but if we were really doing this, if everything was on the table, I needed to ask.

Kile let out a deep sigh. "Now, that's more complicated than you might think. Growing up here, I obviously never wanted for anything, but nothing was ever really mine. My life didn't have a purpose. I thought I had to leave to find one, but-" He looked at me in a way that excited and scared me at the same time. "-turns out you were right here the whole time."

Kile Woodwork: annoying bookworm, talented kisser, and apparently, master of the spoken word.

"I don't know what to say," I admitted, my voice shaky, in a good way, I think.

"You don't have to say anything. I've seen you try to express your emotions, and it's ugly. Just try to think of me as a valued suitor instead of a pair of lips, and I'll be happy."

"You're not just a pair of lips," I smiled mischievously. "Your hands are lovely, too."

"Shut up!" Kile complained. "I pour my heart out to you, and that's what I get back?"

"Okay, you're a lot more than that," I assured him. "I like you, really, genuinely. It happened entirely against my will, but I do. You have annoyingly pretty eyes, you're funnier than everyone gives you credit for, and I think you'd make a wonderful prince."

Some of the tightness in my chest eased. I wondered if, perhaps, I should have tried talking about my feelings years ago.

Kile chuckled. "I bet you say that to all your boyfriends."

"No. Just you." That was God's honest truth. "If I had to choose right now, it would be you."

That was an awfully serious thing to say. Kile diffused it by pressing his lips to mine; I could feel his smile. "No rush. I know you can't stop thinking about me, but I wouldn't want you to make the wrong choice."

I rolled my eyes. "What, you mean, like, Henri's translator or something?"

"Ew, can you imagine?"