Y/n couldn't run fast enough.
Her boots thumped on the forest floor, her heart beating at twice its normal speed.
He couldn't be far away now. His footfalls were silent, and Y/n could not hear him approach, but she knew he and that monstrous beast had to be right on her tail.
She smacked branches and hanging vines out of her way, looking down at the precious item in her hand, its metal winking in the sunlight. Y/n couldn't let him catch her, not when she had what she had.
With a grunt of effort, she pushed herself harder, managing to force more speed into her legs.
Y/n risked a glance behind her as she ran. He was skilled at concealing himself, however, and all Y/n could see was a flash of midnight blue that was far closer than she'd like it to be.
Okay. So maybe running wasn't a good option.
What else could she use?
Brushing a branch out of her way, Y/n heard her pursuer yelp as it hit him across the face, and she looked forwards, grinning upon noticing what was ahead.
A massive ravine sliced through the woods, tumbling down to a rocky cliff below. He was agile enough to follow her if she changed directions suddenly... but his monster probably wasn't.
She kept running, hoping that she was preventing her followers from seeing what lay ahead. The ravine's edge got closer, closer, closer-
At the last second, Y/n made a sharp turn to the right, turning a full ninety degrees. Pebbles flew over the edge, and she skidded dangerously close to the side of the cliff, but she managed to recover and sprint off parallel to the edge.
A panicked shout emanated from behind her, followed by a furious roar. She could hear the beast skidding to a halt, hear its heavy paws scrambling in the dirt, hear its companion frantically trying to get it to turn around and give chase.
She snorted. Too easy.
As she kept running, though, she noticed something strange. Though he could run through the underbrush without making a sound, Y/n could at least tell when she was being chased.
Now, though, she couldn't detect anything.
Y/n slowed to a stop. Something wasn't right.
She scanned the trees for any hint of movement, but the forest was deathly still. She took a slow step back, turning her head in a circle and searching for a sound, a footstep, a flash of blue.
Slowly, horribly, an idea began to dawn on her. What if-
Y/n's train of thought was cut off by the sound of an arrow shooting past her from above, just barely missing her hair.
She gasped and took a step back, realizing at the same second that she had just monumentally screwed up.
Another arrow flew past her, this one pointed down.
Pink smoke erupted from where it landed at her feet, and she coughed, squeezing her eyes shut.
She found that she couldn't move her feet.
When the smoke cleared, Y/n opened her eyes, first seeing her boots encased in some kind of... goo?
It was purple and sticky, and Y/n realized that she was effectively restrained.
She groaned, tilting her head up to the sky as she raised her hands in surrender, her prize dangling from one. "Fine, you win." she called out.
Y/n looked forwards in time to see a blue blur leap from a tree several yards away and land in front of her.
"I think that's seven to one?"
"Oh, shut up, Varian."
The boy only grinned, and Y/n stared him down.
Varian was short and slim, built like a gymnast. His hair was black with a single turquoise streak, and his eyes were a crystalline blue. Silver armor covered one of his arms and half of his torso, and a midnight blue cape swept down from his shoulders, fastened with a black clasp with what he claimed was his "sigil"- a circle with three lines crossing it.
He wore a blue shirt and black trousers underneath it, high blue boots reaching to his knees. A quiver was fastened in place over his shoulder, and he held his bow in his gloved right hand, his ungloved left resting on his hip. Vials of chemicals in every color were fastened to his belt, ready for him to latch to an arrow at a moment's notice.
"Do you mind, milady?"
With a dramatic roll of her eyes, Y/n surrendered her stolen treasure- Varian's bronze pair of goggles, lined with silver and hanging from a dark blue strap.
"You're the worst boyfriend ever."
He took them with a grin and fastened the modified lenses on top of his head.
They'd made a game out of it- Y/n would swipe her boyfriend's goggles and take off running, seeing if she could stash them somewhere he couldn't find before she got caught. And she would be winning if he weren't so gosh darn fast.
"Do you mind?" she replied, gesturing to the compound holding her feet to the ground.
"Oh! Right, yeah, don't worry, I've got you-"
Varian fumbled to snatch a golden compound from his belt. Finding what he needed, he tossed the sphere at Y/n's feet. The goo dissolved a moment later, and Y/n took a grateful few steps forwards, shaking the remainder of the purple compound off her boots.
He was a member of the Brotherhood, an elite group of knights sworn to protect some magical stone or other. Y/n didn't really know the specifics, but she knew that he was being trained by his father, Quirin, and that his father wasn't particularly fond of the alchemical approach his son took to combat, shooting arrows enhanced with chemical compounds of his own design.
She, on the other hand, thought his science was incredible.
They'd been together for a few years. Their parents knew, and both... somewhat approved. Varian's dad thought Y/n would be a good influence, as long as she wasn't distracting his son from his training. Y/n's parents thought Varian was dangerous, but they trusted Y/n when she said she cared about him.
"You know, we should start wagering on this." he commented nonchalantly as she brushed off her gloves.
Y/n raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Aren't you broke?"
He smirked. "Well, that depends on your definition of broke."
"My definition of broke is 'not having any money'."
Varian raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, so I'm broke, but I'm rich in charisma?"
Y/n swatted at his cape. "Sure, pretty boy."
"Can't argue with you th- Ruddiger!"
The two of them looked up at the trees as a massive raccoon monster charged out of the wilderness. The beast skidded to a stop, wagging its tail at Varian like a puppy begging for treats.
"Aw, buddy!" Varian exclaimed happily, reaching up and rubbing the massive beast's ears. "You did a good job, yes you did! Who's the best raccoon? Who is it?"
Y/n smiled as the boy continued to pet his companion. Her boyfriend was pretty cute when he was with his massive raccoon-monster thing, she had to admit.
He turned back to Y/n with a smile still on his face. "Want to head back now, or later? My dad's expecting me by nightfall for training, so I've got time to hang out with the best girlfriend ever."
She strolled over to him and gave him an exaggerated eye roll, smirking. "I suppose I could make the time."
Varian slung his arm around her shoulders, the cold of his steel armor chilling her back, although Y/n wouldn't have complained about it. "What a kind soul. I feel so appreciated."
"Shush." she replied, crossing her arms and grinning up at him.
"You know, we could still bet on it." Varian mentioned, sounding smug, like he had something he wanted to say but was keeping it to himself.
Y/n laughed. "With what, exactly?"
Varian smiled, although a hint of nervousness lingered on his face. "You could kiss me?"
Y/n choked on air. She began to cough and sputter, looking down at the grass below with a furious blush spreading across her face.
"What?"
The boy's expression instantly went from confident to full-on nervous. "Sorry, I was kidding, obviously you don't have to- I mean, you don't- I wasn't serious-"
Y/n paused. "Sure."
"I'm sorry?"
She smiled. "Bet."
Varian began to stutter slightly, and Y/n turned, his arm staying around her shoulder even as he searched for words.
Y/n slowly raised her hand up to his head and took a hold of his goggles, pulling them off and holding them in front of her face. "Well?"
Despite having been together for several years now, Y/n and Varian had never actually kissed. Both of them were too terrified to actually do it. Although her exterior was confident, internally, Y/n was freaking out.
He thinks you're an idiot this is too fast this was a mistake oh for the love of Demanitus this was a mistake-
Slowly, hesitantly, Varian brought his other hand up to Y/n's hair, looking into her eyes nervously.
She nodded, butterflies swarming in her stomach.
Varian still didn't do anything, so Y/n rolled her eyes and grabbed the top of his cape, standing on her tiptoes and doing what she had been too scared to do for years now.
And, as far as first kisses go...
This one certainly wasn't bad.
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sorry for a bit of a shorter oneshot, but I got one of those sudden bursts of inspiration in between Forget chapters... you guys know how it is
kiss scenes are much harder when you don't have twenty chapters of buildup, sorry if it isn't as "detailed" as you would like :p
hopefully I can get to some more requests soon! thanks for reading
-leviathan