Everything was peaceful.
The sun was high in the sky, a soft breeze was blowing through Mono's hair, and the grass beneath him felt warm and comfortable. Mono felt peaceful, and that fact hasn't changed in awhile.
It's been several years now since he and Seven had found themselves in the forest they now call home. Years after Mono found Seven hidden away in a crazy hunter's basement. Years after he and Seven left together to go on a dangerous adventure that almost got them killed multiple times. Years after Mono faced his own fears and saved Seven. Mono wouldn't change a thing, he was content with the life he had now.
The once small boy had grown quite a bit, becoming more mature with height. He's also come to realize he looked nothing like he would have expected, and perhaps it was because of the way he's lived much healthier than before. His dark brown hair has grown out, though he had cut it recently. He's now able to easily reach fruits that used to hang up high in the trees, his body much taller and his stature wider. It was great, except for the few drawbacks that came with growing up, such as pimples and odor. Mono was embarrassed to admit that he still had a few voice cracks every once in a while. Though, even with all his changes, he still had his big dark brown eyes and kind nature, something that Seven was always fond of.
Seven had grown a lot too, but he was still shorter than Mono, which the other boy had no problem teasing him about. He let his hair grow out more than Mono, but didn't want it too long during the warmer months, meaning it was cut down a bit. Not being nearly as bashful anymore, Seven often sought out some sort of adventure on a daily basis, Mono being happily dragged along.
Those adventures led to finding things, such as an abandoned broken down house, which they fixed up and used as their home, making it their own. It turned out there was another television to be found in there, allowing Mono to use his powers and teleport him and Seven back and forth to the Pale City. The city has changed over the years with the now grown children.
At first, when they returned back after maybe a year, it was still covered in smog and deformed people crawled about trying to survive. They didn't go again for a while, the memories of what happened there still fresh and burned into their mind. Then they plucked up some courage and left again, finding the huge urban place more deserted. Seven insisted that they explore it more now that they were older and it was more safe. Mono only agreed after the other boy brought up that they might find something useful, and because the taller boy couldn't find it in him to say "no" anymore.
It turned out that there were some useful things, such as clothes and medical items. The two teens would return to the city countless times over the next few years, eventually coming up with a map that covered nearly the entire city top to bottom. They knew the places they should avoid, like that one messed up hospital with moving mannequins, the school, and worst of all, the crumbled signal tower sitting in the middle.
They found new places such as a huge mall with tons of clothes to pick from that they never knew could exist, a place where multiple playsets resided, despite the overgrown plants, and a library with a huge selection of books. Seven grew to love the visits he and Mono took to the Pale City, his sense of exploration being fulfilled with every new spot and place they found.
Mono had become somewhat intrigued by what the city held too, especially excited when they had found the library. He would read all the time, sometimes reading out loud when Seven asked him to, both cuddled up on a torn up couch in the renovated house they had. There seemed to be so much the world used to offer before it all went downhill, and although disappointedly Mono knew that he would never see those things, loved experiencing part of it through each and every story. It also taught him and Seven a lot about things that others weren't there to teach them, since they only had each other.
Even throughout all their time in the huge city, they have never found another normal human being there. It made Mono feel like that he and Seven were the only ones left that hadn't been twisted by the world, which Seven refused to believe, knowing that they can't be the only ones left, and that there had to be more outside the Pale City. Mono thought that Seven could be right, since the boy knew some other kids in his time at the Maw, but he didn't think about it much, already happy with just being with Seven.
If they were to ever find another person, Mono wondered what they would be like. He knew that he would probably never get attached to them as much as he did Seven, but he couldn't but think about what it would be like to have more people. Seven often thought about it too, sharing his thoughts with Mono, talking about how cool it could be if they started their own little town in the forest. Mono would hum along with a small smile, humoring those thoughts with ideas of his own.
It was always like this. Mono and Seven never went a day without talking to one another, never having run out of things to talk about, whether it was about their day at the moment or a random thought they had. They were comfortable with one another, never needing to feel like they had to hide anything from the other anymore. They told secrets from the past, sensitive memories, things that would never be said otherwise. It was nice, and everything they both wanted.
Yet, Mono couldn't help but feel like there was something more that they were missing. In all the books he read, they mostly ended up with a happy ending, or two characters falling in love. He was mature enough to know that real life didn't work anywhere near like the stories did, and that most of them were fiction, but he found some similarities between the piece of written work and himself and Seven.
Such as how whenever Seven hugged him now his heart would pick up and his stomach would swirl, which never happened until recently. He could also find his thoughts being focused on the other boy, his brain having trouble focusing on other things, especially if Seven was around. Whenever Seven smiled or laughed, Mono couldn't help but grin stupidly. He thought it was incredibly endearing when Seven was confused or super excited for exploration. All of these things were getting increasingly worse too.
Mono didn't understand what was happening at the beginning, when his stomach started to swirl when Seven gave him all his attention, but when all his thoughts were on the boy, he sort of had a realization. If all the books were correct, then Mono had fallen in love with Seven.
It scared Mono at first, and he tried to hide the fact he was starting to love his best friend more than he should. He didn't want to have a chance to lose Seven, as he was the only person Mono truly cared about, more than his own self. He tried everything that the book characters did, such as distancing himself with Seven. That obviously didn't work, since him and Seven were practically attached to the hip. Then he tried to tell himself that those feelings were all in his head, that he was just going off of a book. That couldn't be farther from the truth.
Mono knew that he couldn't keep his growing feelings for the other boy to himself forever, as he was bound to accidentally spill something eventually. Which came to the next thing Mono felt, acceptance. He accepted the fact that he loved Seven more than just on a friendly status, and that there was a slim chance that Seven actually liked him back. By slim, Mono meant practically nonexistent, because there was no way that a boy like Seven could ever want to become anything more with somebody like Mono. Sure, they got along well, but that didn't mean Seven liked him.
This made Mono become slightly curious, if not a bit hopeful, and he started to try and pay more attention to Seven, trying to see if he saw the same signs of love that Mono had.
This didn't help much, and maybe had made his crush for Seven even stronger. Seven was never as physically affectionate as Mono, but when he did hug or cuddle with Mono, it made Mono struggle to keep his cool. All the while Seven seemed unbothered by it, even becoming more physically touchy recently. About the increased heart rate and constant thoughts on the other, Mono couldn't tell. Although he did notice how Seven asked him about his day more often, which was odd considering that they spent a majority of their day together.
All in all, Mono was conflicted on whether or not to tell Seven what he truly felt. He didn't want to lose this precious friendship but he also knew that he didn't want to keep this secret, it felt wrong to do. Mono told Seven everything, surely he could tell Seven this.
That's why when Mono saw Seven not too far away, picking their favorite red berries off a bush, he decided he might as well tell him. He took a deep breath and called out to the busy boy. He could do this, Seven would never hate him, right?
Seven turned his head towards Mono, slightly tilting it as he looked at Mono with a confused look. His dark stormy blue eyes sparkled a bit in the bright sun, and after a second he gave Mono a small smile. All of Mono's confidence dripped out of him as he stared at the other boy, almost hypnotized by how amazing he looked in the sun's rays. He caught himself staring like an idiot at Seven, and became flustered, trying to do some damage control by saying he forgot what he was going to say. Seven, being the good person he is, only giggles a little bit before getting back to picking the fruit.
Yeah, Mono needed to do something else, there was no way he could get himself to confess. It was almost ridiculous too, how nervous Mono was. He wasn't even this worried when he was fighting the Thin Man, and Seven was a whole lot nicer! He was also prettier, smarter, funnier, and-
Mono shook his head, trying to get back on task and to get his face to stop being so red. He needed another plan, something that would definitely work. Then Mono thought of the perfect idea, something he has also seen in books. He should try to get Seven to fall in love with him too, that way there was no reason he would say no. It was incredibly good, except for the part that Mono didn't really know how to get Seven to fall in love with him.
Mono searched through multiple of his books, mainly the more romantic ones, and found a few things that could work. This shouldn't be too bad.
It went almost horribly.
The taller boy first tried to use flowers, which seemed like a common thing to do in most of the books that he read. He picked the most beautiful ones, dark blue and big, reminding him of Seven's eyes. He was going to hand them to the other, but couldn't figure out how to make a bouquet, ending up messing up half the flowers. Seven found the wilted flowers outside the house, where Mono had left them in defeat, and asked Mono what happened. The poor boy panicked and said he was trying to make flower crowns, and Seven giggled a bit before asking how Mono forgot to do so when he's done it a hundred times. Seven spent the rest of the day teaching Mono how to make flower crowns again, which Mono had to pretend like he didn't already know how to.
Next, he tried to take Seven stargazing, only to realize that he didn't know anything about the stars. Mono asked Seven if he wanted to look at the stars with him right before they usually go to bed, the sun finally settling down completely, and of course Seven agreed. Seven laid down on the grass beside Mono, and they stared at the stars, but without knowing anything about them, they found it could be sort of boring. At least Seven seemed to enjoy their natural beauty, pointing out ones that seemed to shine brighter than the rest.
After both of those failed attempts, Mono was having a hard time to convince himself to try other common practices of courtship. Though there was this tug in his chest for Seven, and he knew that he wanted to keep going.
He asked Seven to dance, but he didn't know how to dance, only making Seven laugh whenever he accidentally stepped on the other's feet. He tried making something that would taste sweet, which didn't turn out too bad, except for Seven not liking sweet things too much. Then, for his last attempt, and the only other thing he could think of, Mono managed to make a television play some sort of movie, and showed Seven. This one was probably the best idea, because Seven was really amazed by the movie, excited by the moving people and story. There was only one thing wrong, Mono had somehow picked a horror movie to play without realizing it, and ended up clutching to Seven for dear life in the scarier parts. Not exactly the image he wanted to portray to Seven, but at least Seven had fun.
Now Mono had done everything he could think of, and was willing to do, but he still couldn't tell if Seven even remotely felt the same way as he did. Feeling a little discouraged, he went to the bush he and Seven first hid under to sleep when they got here, and sat next to it. He liked this spot because it was quiet and the sun almost always shone on it, making it warm and comfortable. It was easy to get lost in his thoughts here, to relax in the background noise of nature. Sometimes Seven would join him, and they would both sit in silence for a while. Every so often, they would fall asleep, taking a nap together.
Thinking about Seven only made Mono more downhearted. He felt like there was little chance that Seven would see him romantically, or anything more than a platonic friend. He knew he could live with that, and he would most likely get over it, but a part of him didn't want to. He liked this feeling he felt when he looked at Seven or the spark he felt when they touched. It was nothing he's ever felt before, and it was exciting and breathtaking, but scary all the same.
The shaggy hair boy sighed and leaned back, falling into the bush, glad for its support. He would get over it, and it'd probably take time, but he'd be fine. Perhaps he should just tell Seven, without knowing if the boy liked him back, to make this heavy feeling go away. Seven wouldn't cast him away because of what he felt, he wasn't like that.
As soon as those thoughts entered his head he heard rustling from behind, and he whipped his head around to see Seven shaking the bush.
"What's got you down?" Seven asked, sitting down next to Mono.
Mono, who was not ready to tell Seven the truth yet responded with something simple. "Nothing really, maybe it's just the day." The taller boy cringed inwardly, hearing how fake that sounded, feeling terrible for lying.
Seven only hummed, nodding his head a little. "Just the day? It is a little cloudy, though I feel like that couldn't get you upset like this." Mono was nervous now, guilt written all over his face, and he had to look away. Seven couldn't help but giggle a bit, finding it amusing how Mono's face always showed how he was feeling. The poor boy couldn't lie even if his life depended on it. His amusement died down as he continued. "You can tell me anything, you know I'd never judge you."
Although this made Mono feel a bit better, he couldn't but think that this was something that Seven would most definitely judge him on. "I don't know, it's nothing bad, it's..." He trailed off, not really knowing what to say. There was nothing he could describe about his feelings for Seven without accidentally telling him.
"Does it have anything to do with the weird things you've been doing lately?" Seven inquired, smiling a bit when Mono blushed and looked down. It was almost too easy, getting the truth out of Mono.
"What weird things?" Mono decided that perhaps if he played dumb, then Seven would be confused. Too bad the other was too observant to believe Mono's facade.
"I don't know, maybe the flowers or seeing the stars that one day. Or perhaps even the dancing?" Seven listed off, smirking when he saw Mono grow more flustered, obviously trying to sputter out some sort of excuse. Before he could do that, Seven continued. "Actually, making me a pie and then fixing up a television to watch a movie is something you don't usually do. Does any of those things count?"
Mono sighed, and deflated, feeling defeated once more. He knew he couldn't lie himself out of this one, even if he tried. He knew that Seven could tell something was up with all these random things he asked, but he didn't know it was that obvious. Seven probably already knew that Mono liked him more than friends, and Mono would have no choice but to confess if Seven asked. He looked away, ready to hear the thing that was making him anxious the last few days.
Seven, noticing how nervous Mono was getting, decided to try and make the boy feel better. "You know, I did enjoy hanging out with you and the gifts you made me, even if some seemed a little silly." His voice was laced with amusement at the end, but came off fond like he wanted, and he could visibly see Mono relax a bit.
"Really?" Mono's voice was quiet, as if he was scared of Seven's answer. If the other boy actually did like his ideas, maybe he did have a shot. He didn't want to seem desperate, but at this point, he kind of was.
"Yes, Mono, I really did like your gifts." Seven laughed softly at the end before continuing. "Although I'm a bit confused on why you started doing all that." The smaller boy turned to look at Mono, who was currently picking at the grass, trying to distract himself from the swarm of butterflies inside himself.
"I'll tell you if you can promise me that you won't be mad or scared and start hating me." Mono said, his voice still low, and he could feel his heart pick up to unsettling speeds.
"Why would I need to promise you that? I couldn't ever hate you Mono." Now Seven was a little worried, if not more confused. Surely the gifts couldn't be because of something wrong?
"Please just promise me..."
Seven leaned down a bit to try and search Mono's face, to see if it had answers, but for once, the other's face was tightly guarded. "Alright, I promise you."
Mono let out a shaky breath, and finally lifted his head up. This wasn't exactly how he wanted to confess, but it was now or never, and he didn't want to upset Seven by changing his mind at the last second. He hesitated, looking at Seven's face, his eyes traveling up to his eyes. The dark stormy blue was more vibrant, the sun making them sparkle like sapphires. Mono felt a little more confident looking into them, and he stopped overthinking.
"Seven, we've been best friends for a long time, and I like you..." Seven's face was confused, and Mono knew he would have to explain it more. "A lot, more than a friend should. So I've been trying to get you to like me too, with the, um... gifts." Gosh, why was this so hard? "I really want to date you, and I know it's a little silly and maybe even weird, and I'm surprised you didn't already figure it out, with how obvious I am, like-"
Mono stopped his anxiety driven ramblings abruptly, his face growing hot as he looked back towards the ground, debating on whether or not he should make a run for it and pray that they would both forget that this ever happened.
Just as he was about to make a decision, Seven spoke. "Yeah, sure, I think I'd like that." His voice was so quiet, that Mono thought he was hearing things for a second.
"Really?" Mono exclaimed, his heart beating faster, but this time from excitement, then his nerves kicked back in. "You don't have to though, or, well, don't feel like you have to. If you're just saying that because you don't want to make me upset, then don't worry, we can stay friends and I'll get over it-"
Seven stopped Mono's long rambles this time by covering his mouth with his hands. Mono's eyes grew wide and the red returned full blown into his cheeks, embarrassed once more by his bad talking habit whenever he grew nervous. "Yes Mono, I really do want to date you. I've been feeling the same way for a while, I was only scared that you wouldn't return them." Seven took a deep breath, since when did he become the more outspoken out of the two? "Though when you started giving me those gifts and hanging out with me a lot more, I was hopeful, which is why I bothered you about it today. I honestly couldn't believe you would feel that way towards me."
Then Seven's hand was caught by Mono's as he was lowering it, and Mono held it close to him. "Of course I would feel the same way, you're so amazing. You're smart and funny, and somewhat sarcastic when you want to be. When you're around, everyday is fun! I love your messy brown hair and deep blue eyes, I swear I get lost in them sometimes. I could compliment you more, but I feel like I might explode."
Seven stared, shocked for a second, before laughing hysterically. Mono after a second, joined in, and they both laughed. Whether it was amusement or pure relief, they laughed for a while, still holding hands.
Now they knew this wasn't a dream, and they couldn't be more happy. All that wishful dreaming paid off in the end.
-
Welcome to the last chapter! I hope this was a good way to end this, you know, by fulfilling the ship marked in the tags, and I also hope I didn't disappoint anybody. (I haven't been in a relationship since way back in middle school, or every romantically interested in someone, so it was hard for me to try and capture the feels) I honestly can't believe I made it this far, since I did question if I should just abandon this fic multiple times while I was writing it. I'm glad I didn't though, because I love these two boys. I'm going to wait a while before I take on any more big fics, because this took a lot out of me, fanfiction or not. At least I can now say that I'm part of like 1% of the world's population that has ever written a completed book, if fanfiction even counts lol. I might add bonus content every once in a while, who knows. I want to thank everybody who supported me while writing this, because it was a journey. I started this as practice and now I can confidently say that I am making good progress with my writing, but I still need a lot of practice. I hope everybody has a good day or night wherever you may be! <333