CW: overwhelmed feelings at the end, this is a long one!
Darrell yipped as he ran ahead, urging the others to walk faster.
"Wait, you impatient little fox!" Roman called, guiding Virgil, who had been blind folded, through the trees. "We can't go as fast as you, even when we're running at full speed.
"It would be easier if I could see," Virgil reminded him.
"No, it's a surprise! You're going to like it, trust me!" He held on tight to the fairy's hand and pulled him out of the way of a tree. "Oh, watch your step, that's a big root."
Virgil moved slower as he gently tapped said root with his foot. He stepped over before continuing at a slightly less slower speed. He didn't like not seeing where he was stepping, but Roman really wanted it to be a surprise so...
"We're almost there!" Roman squeezed Virgil's hand in excitement. The fairy caught the smell of several different floral odors from somewhere and it grew stronger the more they walked.
"Okay okay okay!" Roman bounced on his feet, talking fast. "Take it off!"
Virgil smiled at his excitement before pulling off the blindfold. His eyes widened at the sight of the flowers. A small field of different kinds, the trees were thinner and few in the area even though the stream trickled by. Darrell ran through a part filled with dandelions, making the white seeds fly through the air as he rolled around.
"Oh wow..." Virgil awed, taking it all in.
"Isn't it so cool! I had a lot of seeds for some reason, and was able to revive some, then I created this! Do you like it?"
"It's... beautiful." The fairy hesitantly walked through, lightly touching some flower petals. "I've never seen so many flowers. How long did this take?"
"I spent a few days on it, slowly chipping away at it." Roman adjusted the backpack strap on his shoulder.
Virgil watched as some bees went inside a bell shaped flower, and hummingbirds drank from different kinds of flowers. "Guess that's why you've had the smell of dirt and pollen on you these last few days.
Roman laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah... I wanted it to be perfect. Oh, um are you hungry?"
"Hungry?" The fairy looked back at him with a confused look.
The witch walked to the center of the flower garden, taking off his backpack. He pulled out a blanket and threw it in the air, using wind magic to lay it perfectly spread out on the ground. Then he pulled out a smaller bag, setting it in the middle and opening it to pull out some sandwiches.
"Nothing fancy, but it is around lunch time." He held out a sandwich to Virgil.
The fairy took it with a laugh, sitting down next to him. "I see you've been practicing wind magic."
The other blushed. "Yeah, I wanted to do some cool tricks with it."
Virgil looked down at their hands, though he didn't grab Roman's hand. Instead he placed it in his lap, looking around at the flowers. "This is so cool, I bet Patton would love it. He really likes flowers, and so does Miss Kayda."
"There's so many different kinds. Different colors, shapes, sizes... Then there are some that can be made into medicine, some into potions, and some poisons. None of these are poisonous of course, because I know Darrell will try to eat some." The witch glared at the fox, who already had a stem sticking out of his mouth. He yipped quietly, trying not to drop the flower.
Virgil giggled at the sight of the witch and fox staring each other down before Roman looked away. "You're going to need to tend to these flowers a lot then."
"Darrell just likes to put anything in his mouth. I put the flowers with thorns in the back in hopes he'll stay away from them because I do not want to be picking thorns out of him."
"He's a growing fox! Three meals a day clearly doesn't cut it."
"So needy." Roman shook his head playfull, making Darrell bark at him again before being distracted by a butterfly.
Virgil watched the fox chase after it as he finished his sandwich. He wiped the crumbs away before adjusting himself to lay on his stomach, one wing folding as the other stretched out onto the grass.
"I'm guessing we're not going to practice any magic today?" he asked, plucking at the grass.
"Not unless you want to, did you have something in mind?"
"No... not really. I mean I kinda want to learn more about mind magic but the idea of practicing it is scary."
Roman laid down next to him. "The mind is a delicate thing."
"Yeah, I'm surprised I didn't scramble the hunter's brains when I used it on them."
"Is it bad that part of me wishes you had?"
Virgil laughed, "I mean... I don't blame you. I do wish I didn't have to touch them to use it, but I did try not to. Maybe I'm not strong enough, but then again I don't know much about mind magic. It's definitely different from empath magic."
"How far away can you be from someone before you can't feel their feelings anymore?"
"It depends, I guess. If I'm close to them, like Patton, then I can feel their feelings from a different room. However, others that are harder to read, they have to be in the same room. Is there a way to feel emotions from someone really far away? Cause I think I remember my fairy parents were able to with each other, either that or their empath magic was really strong."
"No, there's a way, only one that I know of though." Roman nervously ran a hand through his hair. "It's called bonding, and it's when you bind your magic or soul with someone else. It's only done for people you're really close to though, like family or lovers."
"Oh," Virgil replied. He didn't say much else though because for a moment he could have sworn he felt that pink feeling again, along with a sort of aching. Was it really there or is he imagining things?
"I think it's nice. You'll always know where they are, and how they're feeling no matter how far away they are. You'll feel their feelings stronger than others though, and anyone with magic can do it even if the other doesn't have magic."
Virgil stared at the grass longingly. "That does sound really nice."
"I've always kinda wanted to bond with someone, but I feel like feeling the other's feelings would overwhelm me. I don't know, I'm sure I would be fine if... if it was with someone I was really close with. It would be worth it."
The fairy frowned when he felt that pink feeling resurface again, clearly fighting to be the main emotion. He sighed and sat up, he couldn't keep doing this much longer, he needed to confirm what that feeling was because it was the same way Patton and Logan felt whenever they looked at each other. "Roman... I um... I... I think I like you? Like a lot."
"Oh..." the witch replied, and Virgil didn't turn to face him. He just hugged his knees to his chest and waited, trying to focus on Roman's emotions. He's shocked, he's not angry or disgusted, he's shocked. "L-like... more than a friend?"
Hope. He was feeling hope. Hope that Virgil likes him more than a friend or just as a friend? "Y-yeah, like that."
After only a second, though it felt like an eternity to Virgil, the fairy felt pure joy and love. He turned to Roman, who instantly took his hand.
"Really? You really do?" His eyes were bright and a giant smile was on his face. Virgil's fear vanished completely and was replaced with relief.
He smiled wide and nodded. "Yeah, an-and I've been really scared to tell you because I thought you didn't."
"Oh stars I feel so dumb now! I was trying to repress the feelings because I knew you would feel them and I didn't think you felt the same way!" Roman pulled Virgil closer, holding him in a tight hug. "But you really like me? Like romantically?"
"Yes! I do! I really do. I am so glad this didn't backfire." Tears stung Virgil's eyes but he kept them shut. "S-so about bonding? Like, when is that supposed to happen? Is that a wedding thing or...?"
Roman pulled away with a small laugh. "It's always up to the couple, it can be easily undone so some do it at the very beginning, while others feel it's more sacred and do it at their weddings. Do you want to do it now?"
"Only if you want to." Virgil took Roman's hand and held it to his cheek, letting himself feel his love for the witch. "I don't want the feelings to overwhelm you."
"I think I'll be okay, since it seems like you're just really happy right now." Roman held Virgil closer, seeing the blush form on his face.
"Well, I-I'm a very anxious person and I don't want to ever freak you out."
"I want this, a relationship with you and to bond with you. Please?"
Virgil nodded, a smile growing on his face. "Okay, just walk me through it."
"Alright." Roman looked around. He found a hard rock, a brown haze forming on his fingers as he traced on its side, cutting through it until it was sharp like an arrow head. "I'll need to prick your finger, and after we bond we'll both feel exhausted, are you okay with that? We can do it later if you're not ready for it now."
"I wanna do it! If you're ready, then I am." Virgil held out his hand.
The witch smiled before pricking his own finger, a bead of blood forming. He carefully took Virgil's hand to steady it, holding his finger out to not smear the blood before he pricked the fairy's finger. Before the cut healed, he placed his cut finger on Virgil's.
"Repeat after me," he instructed. "'I beg of the universe...'"
"'I beg of the universe...'" Virgil repeated, watching as a pink haze formed around their hands.
"'To allow my magic and soul.'"
"'To allow my magic and soul.'"
"To be binned to this fairy.'"
"To be binned to this... witch?'"
Roman nodded with a proud smile. "'No matter how far apart we may be.'"
"'No matter how far apart we may be.'"
"Virgil... I am yours."
The fairy smiled. "And I am yours."
There was a bright flash of light that Virgil had to close his eyes against, and he felt his magic being drained in an instant. The light retreated into their touching fingers, and Virgil felt Roman's emotions become stronger. The love and joy was overwhelming.
Roman put a hand to his chest, taking deep breaths as tears sprouted in his eyes. The moment Virgil saw it, worry grew.
"Are you okay? Shoot, did we do it too soon? Is it too much?" he fussed.
"No-" Roman's response was almost choked. "No, don't worry. I-I'll get used to it I just... I'm really happy. You love me."
Virgil's frown melted into a smile and he pulled Roman into a hug, letting the witch rest his head on his chest. "Of course I do."
"I can feel it." The witch let out a small sob. "It feels really nice."
"It really does." Virgil looked up when he heard a small 'mrrp,' seeing Darrell peak out of a flower bush. He saw a small rat tail sticking out of the fox's mouth and grimaced, feeling bad for the rat for only a moment before focusing on Roman. "If it's too much-"
"No, I don't want to change a thing. I really like this."
Virgil ran a hand through the witch's hair, his wings wrapping loosely around them. "Okay, then we'll just take it slow."
Darrell came closer to them, the rat tail gone as he presumably swallowed it. He crawled into the wing-hug and cuddled into Roman's chest, who grabbed him and held him tight. Virgil scratched the fox's head as he continued to hold onto the both of them, happy to feel the love from the witch and in himself.
He sighed softly, placing a kiss on the witch's head. "I love you, Roman."