Warning: This is an AU fanfiction!
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"It was you,"
Mafumafu looked up at the night sky, and let out a snort, white mist visible when he let his breath out into the cold air despite having a face mask on. He crossed his legs, placing his right leg on the other. He probably knew that Soraru noticed him when he was with the King. They were both pretty sharp on their senses after all.
Mafumafu only looked back down at Soraru after a while with narrowed eyes then quickly turned his head away, looking rather bothered.
"I thought you were going to leave together with your princess,"
Soraru walked closer towards the wall, where Mafumafu was, and stood below him. Not too close nor was he too far, just enough to look properly at Mafumafu. He seemed to be looking fine. He came in his usual attire, dressed exactly like how an assassin would, but Soraru hoped he was not here to cause any trouble tonight.
"I would," Soraru replied, not taking his eyes away from him.
Mafumafu looked down at Soraru upon hearing his answer. He cocked a brow at him, as if to question his presence here when he should be escorting the princess. Soraru smiled wryly up at him. He might be really good at combat, but he sure was dense when it came to things outside of that. It made Soraru want to know more about him.
"But you came,"
Mafumafu said nothing but looked away. Soraru couldn't see his facial expression very well, but he seemed to be slightly troubled by his answer by the looks of his reaction. Mafumafu leaned forward with his elbow on his knee, and allowed his head to rest on his palm as he muttered a quiet "I see," to himself.
"Mafumafu,"
"What?" Mafumafu glanced down at Soraru.
"Come down from there,"
He shook his head at Soraru as he pulled at his cloak a little. The wind blew strongly, and his hood fell to the back, revealing his silver white hair, the sight of it taking Soraru's breath away. He quickly reached back for his hood, and covered himself up again before Soraru could stare for any longer.
"... I'm comfortable here,"
"But it's cold,"
"It's fine,"
Soraru let out a sigh.
"Mafumafu,"
"... Stop that,"
Soraru paused for a moment, not really sure what he did wrong. He was only trying to get him to come down since it must be cold up there, surely this couldn't be the reason why Mafumafu was upset. Then what was it?
"Stop what?"
"... Stop calling my name,"
Mafumafu brought his legs up, and hugged them against his chest. Soraru watched as he rested his forehead on his knees before letting out a heavy sigh, sounding rather exhausted. He wanted him to stop calling his name, but it didn't seem possible since he was trying to get him down here by his side. Was he too persistent?
"Then come down to me already,"
"I said, I don't want to,"
The young lad was stubborn, but so was Soraru.
"Mafumafu,"
And being the merciless Soraru, he used whatever he had to do against this Mafumafu.
"Stop it!"
"Come," Soraru lifted his arms. He looked at Mafumafu, not allowing him to break the eye contact that they were having as he said, "... I'll catch you,"
"... I- I get it already! I'll come down now but I don't need your help!"
Soraru smiled. He finally gave in to him, and Soraru felt this strange satisfaction, the one you feel when you accomplished something. How long had it been since he last felt this way, he wondered. The last time he remembered feeling this way was when he managed to grow his first flower at the royal garden.
Mafumafu sat up, and positioned himself so that he was crouching on the roof. He grabbed onto his hood before he jumped down and landed on the ground in front of Soraru with a light thud. The young lad glared at Soraru, seemingly upset at him for probably everything.
"What is it, Mafumafu?" Soraru asked, calling out his name on purpose to agitate him but Mafumafu couldn't make a sound. He only looked down, hiding his face beneath his hood. It was making Soraru feel bad about his actions. "I'm sorry,"
"... You better be,"
"... Do you not like your name?"
"I don't, I really don't," he replied.
He went into silence, and just when Soraru was about to say something, Mafumafu beat him to it.
"... So stop calling my name or I'll end up liking it more than I should,"
His voice came out soft and weak, but the night was quiet, and it all came loud and clear to Soraru.
"... Mafumafu," he called out, softly. It was an accident. He wasn't thinking when he heard the reason why Mafumafu didn't want him to say his name, and before he realised it, his name already came out of his mouth.
"... I said, stop it..."
Soraru took in a sharp breath. He didn't know how he should feel at the moment. To think he'd be able to see this assassin's soft spot, and worst of all, it was all because of him. It was cute, adorable, and so very endearing. Heavens, Soraru didn't know what he should do with this overwhelming joy in him.
"Let's get you inside," Soraru said after he cleared his throat, and walked towards the glazed door. He waited for Mafumafu to come to him, and when he did, he let Mafumafu enter first before him. But Mafumafu stood beside him, and refused to go in before Soraru.
Soraru reached out, and grabbed his hand by the wrist that was hidden under his cloak, causing Mafumafu to flinch at the contact. He stared at Soraru, shocked at his actions and attempted to peel his hand off of his wrist, but Soraru only pulled gently at him and led him inside before he could do that.
The moment Mafumafu stepped into the dark ballroom, Soraru let go of his wrist. The assassin started looking around his surroundings, and walked into the middle of the room. Soraru opened up the curtains to let the moonlight light up the room slightly before he followed. The young lad spun around, mesmerized at everything as if it was his first time seeing it, and Soraru thought he could see the excitement in his eyes. He knew he said he didn't want Mafumafu to be here, but he was going to take that back.
He was glad he came.
"I wish I could light a candle up for you," said Soraru as he watched Mafumafu look up at the chandelier above them. If there was light, Mafumafu could take a better look at everything, and Soraru wanted to show them to him.
"... I'll stab you if you did," Mafumafu stopped at his feet, and turned around to frown at Soraru.
"I figured you'd probably say that," Soraru laughed.
Wherever Mafumafu went, Soraru followed quietly. He would only talk when Mafumafu asks him a question. And when Mafumafu heard Soraru chuckle softly at his behaviour, he stopped exploring the ballroom.
"Are you sure?" asked Soraru.
"... I'm done," said Mafumafu as he stared at another painting on the wall. Soraru let out another chuckle. He was definitely not done exploring.
Soraru moved back to the middle of the room, and looked out at the veranda. It didn't seem like anyone saw Mafumafu during the party. The guards were probably all drunk anyway, so it was no wonder Mafumafu was able to slip in quietly without drawing any attention. Sometimes he wondered, if the assassin wasn't Mafumafu, things wouldn't have been this way, would it?
He didn't want to imagine the things that could have happen during the party if it were someone else who came tonight.
He looked back over at the assassin who was busy examining a flower vase at the corner of the ballroom, seeming a little afraid to touch it. Mafumafu stared at the patterns of the vase, and then trailed his forefinger lightly on them before he quickly pulled back, not wanting to break anything in the room.
The things that happened to the both of them shouldn't be happening. This unnecessary bond they made during their first encounter, the sharing of thoughts with each other during their second, and now they were alone, here, at the ballroom on their third.
Soraru couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from Mafumafu. He only stood there and stared at each little movement and reaction Mafumafu was making, amused at the variety of expressions he had behind his mask when he sees something unique. The sparkles in his eyes resembled a child's. When he noticed that Soraru was not behind him, he jumped a little, and turned towards him.
Their eyes met.
Soraru felt something strange run down his spine, but he chose to ignore it. He saw Mafumafu rub his hands together uncomfortably, and lowered his eyes quickly to break eye contact with Soraru.
"Don't look at me," he said then added, "... Not like that,"
Soraru tilted his head slightly to the side. He wasn't sure what he meant by that.
"Like what?"
The assassin frowned at him, and stomped towards him though his footsteps were quiet and light when his feet touched the ground. He stood in front of Soraru, and spun his body around to look at the ballroom one last time before he decided to stay still.
"... Forget about it,"
Soraru was curious, but he decided to not push it.
"Did you have fun?" he asked after a moment of silence.
"What fun is there in this?" Mafumafu crossed his arms and pretended that he wasn't interested but his eyes were still darting everywhere as if he still hadn't had enough yet. "Don't make fun of me,"
Soraru laughed, and only replied him with an "I see how it is," before he turned away from Mafumafu, wanting to see which one was it in the room that got Mafumafu's attention. Probably the chandelier, thought Soraru. It wasn't something one could normally see in houses after all. But it might also be the vase he was staring at just now, since it was gifted to his King by another royalty from a different country.
"I saw you protecting your princess just now," said Mafumafu, out of the blue.
"Oh?" Soraru mused, his back still towards Mafumafu. He decided to listen to Mafumafu, and not look at him so much. It was better for him this way, anyway. He walked slowly around the ballroom with his hands behind him. "So you did?"
"It was disgusting how you're so all over your princess,"
It felt like something was stabbing against his chest. He was told that by a lot of people, and they often told him to calm down and to not be so protective over Lon all the time. Soraru would never be able to understand why they put it this way since he was only fulfilling his duties, and Lon was not just any normal princess. To him, she was a friend, a sister. He agreed that he was a little overboard though.
"Hey, hey... Don't you think you went a little too far there-"
"But you were really cool,"
Soraru stopped at his feet upon hearing that sentence. He did not turn around. He did not dare. He didn't want to see what facial expression Mafumafu had on his face when he said that. He didn't want to imagine it.
"You were like a knight,"
"... That's because I am," Soraru responded quietly.
Mafumafu then said something else, but it came out as a mumble so Soraru couldn't make out what it was, and he told himself to not further question him, because he was aware that this was not good for both him and Mafumafu from the start. He picked up his feet again, and took a few steps away from Mafumafu, thinking that it might give him a little bit more space for his brain to think straight.
"... I also saw you dancing,"
Soraru froze for the nth time tonight, but this time, he turned slowly around to look at Mafumafu. The assassin only stood there, with his back towards him, staring out at the ballroom.
"You were turning around together with a gorgeous lady in your arms, here," Mafumafu pointed at the ground, and crouched down. He then lifted his head to look up at the ceiling as he said, "You seemed different,"
He laughed mockingly at himself, saying how they had only met for a couple of times, and yet he already sounded as if he knew who Soraru was. Soraru heard him mutter, "How disgusting," to himself and laugh quietly again.
Soraru never thought that Mafumafu would be here so early in the party.
"I've always seen silhouettes of people spinning around like that, but it was the first time having to see it this closely," said Mafumafu. "It's strange,"
"Strange?"
Soraru watched Mafumafu curl up into a ball as he held onto himself, giving his arm a little rub to gain warmth.
"... Everything here seemed to sparkle. Back at where I live, we don't do this anymore. There was no more dancing around the fire, no more smiles on everyone's faces, nothing," Mafumafu said, quietly. He clutched onto his cloak tightly in his fists.
Soraru knew whatever he said would only come out as sarcasm or mockery to him, so he stayed quiet. He moved towards Mafumafu, his shoes tapping loudly against the ground, causing it to echo in the spacious ballroom. Mafumafu quickly turned around and pushed himself away from Soraru on reflex when he crouched down behind him.
He put out a hand at him, and waited for Mafumafu to respond.
"... What are you trying to-"
"Inviting you for a dance,"
Soraru watched as Mafumafu's eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Soraru's hand, then back up at him again, seemingly confused and bewildered at the things Soraru just said.
"Are you out of your mind?"
Soraru didn't even stop to give himself some time to think.
"I am,"
"I don't even know how to in the first place,"
"I'll lead you,"
"And I'm not a lady like the one who you just danced with,"
"I'm aware,"
Mafumafu clicked his tongue, and slapped Soraru's hand away. He pushed himself up on his feet, and Soraru followed after him. He refused to look at him after he asked for a dance with him. Soraru knew he shouldn't have. A man had his own pride, to have the ability to lead, to have control, not dance with another man and have him lead himself. But the main problem here lied between Soraru and Mafumafu.
If the both of them had further contact with each other, a difference would be made. They would have crossed the boundaries, this line that the both of them had drawn for each other, promising to no one in particular that they should never go pass it. At least, that was how things were for Soraru. Even so, he couldn't seem to hold back.
"Mafumafu,"
"... Don't..."
Soraru took a step back, with his feet together, back straight, he bowed at Mafumafu with one hand out at him.
"May I have this dance with you?"
Mafumafu hesitated. In just a matter of seconds, Soraru could see a number of emotions flash across his eyes, but the most obvious one was fear. He was afraid, and so was Soraru. They were afraid that there was no going back if they let the flow carry them like this all the time. But it would seem that Mafumafu was not in his right mind either.
Because he placed his hand onto Soraru's, and held onto it.
"You might want to take your cloak off,"
"... Do I really have to?"
"Well, it's easier to move around without it,"
He retrieved his hand from Soraru's, and Soraru almost tried to catch him, feeling reluctant to let him go. He caught his own fist just in time before he did anything weird.
Mafumafu pulled at the knot at his chest to loosen it, causing the cloak to slide off his shoulders. He caught it before his cloak fell entirely off of his frame, and folded it properly before laying it down on the ground. He had a simple white linen shirt underneath, and a pair of worn out breeches. Mafumafu fixed his collar and pulled at his sleeves, and did this one thing that was out of Soraru's expectations. He pulled his mask down to reveal the bottom half of his face.
It was his first time seeing him without his mask, and he was speechless. His facial features were better than he had expected. The line of his jaws looked perfect. His face was proportional, perfectly symmetrical. It was as if he came out from a book of fantasy because of how irresistible he was. Mafumafu looked up into Soraru's eyes after letting his breath out slowly.
And just why was it that his eyes were this captivating? The red colour in his eyes that blended so well together with the moonlight looked so natural to Soraru, it was stunning. They just simply seem to be so bright even in this dimly-lit room. It really took a lot out of Soraru to try to look away, making his breath get caught up in his respiratory tracts.
He was beautiful.
Mafumafu lifted his hand up again, and Soraru naturally took it back into his, feeling better now as the strange heavy pressure on his chest was lifted the moment their hands came back to contact again. Soraru pulled lightly, as if to ask Mafumafu to come to him. He was unwilling at first, but still took a step forward and stood right in front of Soraru.
Soraru put out Mafu's right hand with his left, and his other on his back, right above his shoulder blade.
"Place your left hand on my shoulder,"
"... Like this?"
"Yeah,"
Soraru slid his hand down on Mafumafu's lower back, and he felt Mafumafu's grip tightening around his left hand that was put out in the air. Mafumafu leaned in closer, and Soraru could feel his back arching to a certain degree with his hand on his back. He could barely see it, but his cheeks were flushed. Soraru felt him pushing at his arm, and watched him quickly take a step back.
"Wha-What were you-"
"... I was just trying to straighten your back,"
"... Please don't do anything funny to me,"
It was interesting how Mafumafu was sensitive to his touches when they were barely even touching. But it was Soraru's fault for doing something like that out of a sudden. It could just be Mafumafu's sensitive spot right at his lower back. He apologised, his voice soft, and Mafumafu only nodded before Soraru moved his hand back up at where it should belong.
"We'll move in the shape of a square," Soraru said as he made Mafumafu stand a little to his right, getting a good hold of his body. "Take one step back with your right foot, and then move your left foot to the left,"
"... Like this?"
"Yeah, and then you close your feet up together, step forward with your left foot, and move back to your right then close your feet up again, repeat,"
Mafumafu frowned, looking at the ground as he followed Soraru's instructions. They did this for a while, and Soraru only took the opportunity to take a good look at his facial structure. He let out his breath slowly.
"Mafumafu,"
The assassin lifted his head when he heard his name. And there it was again, that strange feeling that runs down his spine every time their eyes met.
"Look at me,"
Mafumafu blinked a couple of times at Soraru as he tried to digest what Soraru just said. He wasn't sure himself, but he wanted Mafumafu to imprint the image of himself in his mind. He wanted him to look at him. Mafumafu averted his gaze away from Soraru.
"... I'll mess up if I don't look at my feet,"
"You won't,"
Soraru caught Mafumafu in a better hold in his arm, and led him, moving him into the middle of the ballroom, and spun him around. He took rather large steps, bravely, even though Mafumafu was still learning the basics of the box steps but something inside of him knew that if it was with Mafumafu, they were going to be fine.
And he was right.
Mafumafu spread his legs opened wide enough to keep up with Soraru''s steps. It was amazing how Soraru didn't have to hold back, and it became the first time Soraru found dancing fun. He should say it was as expected of Mafumafu. By the way he fights, he had good control of his body muscles and motion, making it easy to adapt to sudden changes in movements.
It was only the sound of their feet tapping against the ground that was filled in the ballroom, but Soraru could imagine a music perfect for waltz playing in his head, and he followed the rhythm of it as he moved, all the while looking at Mafumafu.
He seemed to be enjoying this dance with Soraru. When Soraru spun him around quickly, it made him let out a bubbly giggle, and it was the cutest one he had ever heard. They never once disconnected from each other throughout the dance, and it was perfect, simply wonderful.
The music in Soraru's mind came to an end, and Soraru stopped moving, so did Mafumafu. It was his cue to let go of his partner, and bow as gratitude for a good dance, but he didn't. He stood there with Mafumafu still in his hold, unable to let him go. Mafumafu took a deep breath, let it out, and smiled.
When he removed his left hand off Soraru's shoulder and loosened his grip on Soraru's hand, all ready to retrieve his hand, Soraru caught him. Mafumafu looked up at Soraru in confusion, his brows coming together again, showing how troubled he was at his doing. But Soraru just wanted some more time.
He squeezed Mafumafu's hand lightly.
"... Just a little while longer,"
"That's-"
"Please,"
Mafumafu opened his mouth, and closed it back up again. Ah, it was that face again, thought Soraru. He didn't say anything after that. It was not a "no" or a "yes", just nothing, and Soraru took it as a "yes" on his own. Soraru held onto Mafumafu's hand tightly. They were no longer in the dancing posture for waltz. It was just simply them holding hands in the middle of the ballroom.
"... Are you done yet?" Mafumafu asked, softly.
"... No,"
"... Someone's going to come soon,"
"Just a little while longer,"
Mafumafu let out a sigh.
"Who knew a knight like you would behave like this,"
"A knight has times when he's tired and requires healing too,"
"And how am I helping you with that?"
"... I don't know," whispered Soraru.
He let his thumb run gently over the back of Mafumafu's palm, over his knuckles.
"I don't know," he said it again, this time with a troubled smile on his face.
There were footsteps outside the ballroom, from the sound of it, there was only one person outside, and Soraru could feel Mafumafu's body stiffen. He attempted to slap Soraru's hand away, but Soraru kept low and quickly pulled him to the curtains by the windows, and hid behind them.
"Sorarun?" called out 96neko. Heavens, what was she doing here? Wasn't she supposed to retreat to her room after she saw Lon to her bedchamber?
"What are you doing?" Mafumafu hissed. He placed his hand on Soraru's chest and pushed, wanting to create a distance between the both of them.
"Stop moving," Soraru hissed back.
They were both crouching behind the curtains, with Mafumafu's back against the huge windowpane and Soraru hovering over him with one arm on the window to keep himself from falling on Mafumafu. They were really close, closer than when they were dancing in the middle of the ballroom. Soraru could feel Mafumafu's breath against his neck. His lips were so close to touching his skin. Soraru lifted his head to look out at the window so that he would stop staring at Mafumafu so much
"... You're going to get spotted if you leave through the veranda,"
"That's true but why are you hiding with me?!" Mafumafu hissed fiercely at him. Great, now Soraru couldn't even take him seriously because of how adorable he looked when he was angry like this. However, Mafumafu was right. Soraru hadn't the need to hide alongside with him.
"I guess it was on reflex?"
Mafumafu rolled his eyes at him, and Soraru quickly looked away.
The door into the ballroom was opened, and Soraru could hear 96neko walking into the room.
"... That's weird, where's Sorarun? He's not at his cabinet either..."
96neko was starting to look around for him, and all Soraru could do was pray that she wouldn't come over to this particular curtain. He heard her walk across the room at the opposite direction, and opened the door to the next ballroom. She might not be here in this room, but it was still dangerous to come out from behind the curtains so they both stayed.
While Soraru was trying to think of a way to help Mafumafu escape, Mafumafu punched him lightly on the chest. He looked down at the assassin that was trapped in his arms to see that he was blushing. The assassin continued punching him as he muttered, "Idiot," repeatedly.
Soraru lowered his head, and looked into Mafumafu's eyes again, as if to ask if it was okay if he crossed the line that he shouldn't cross. He closed in, their lips only inches away from touching. Soraru could feel Mafumafu clutch onto his shirt tightly in his fist. Tears welled up in his eyes, his gaze was wavering, and it was clear at that moment that Mafumafu wanted it as bad as Soraru did.
Soraru let his lips linger over Mafumafu's, his lips trembled at how much he wanted to just kiss him, and lose himself to him.
... But he couldn't bring himself to do it.
He moved away from Mafumafu's face, and dropped a kiss on his head then he let out a sigh before he let his chin rest on the top of Mafumafu's head. He snaked his arms around Mafumafu's waist, and pulled his body to him.
"... Don't make this any harder for me, Mafumafu,"
TBC
A/N: The last time I updated in this book was on the 1st of April but hello, I'm back with another chapter this month! I got back from Thailand not too long ago, and I have to say that I was inspired by a lot of things I saw throughout the trip, and I hope that I could use them on my stories one day.
And well, it has already been ten days into May, and I had a wonderful born day, thanks to everyone around me, and the few who remembered my birthday (you know who you are <3 c;). Thank you so much!
I do hope that you're having a nice day at school, or at work. I'll see you in the next one!