Flower Amongst Thorns [Boy x Boy]

Chapter 19

What just happened...?

He remembered falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but what he just saw hadn't felt like a dream. At least not the ones he usually had.

It had felt so real...

The swordsman dug into his pocket to reassure himself that the Regiis Fortitudo was still there, however instead of the stone, he fished out two wooden keychains by mistake.

They must've been kept amongst Ivy's other possessions that had been accidentally left behind in the little pouch.

If the swordsman remembered correctly, these were...

"That'll be three gold coins sir." Artios heard a woman at one of the stalls sing sweetly, as he realized Ivy had disappeared from his spot beside the swordsman and wandered off while the man was in thought.

He could hear the greed in her voice from a mile away.

"Sure thing, lemme see what I have..." Ivy dug into the pouch that was hanging off the side of his belt to pull out the exact amount, the lady's eyes instantly widening to the size of marbles.

"Wait!" The swordsman yelled.

He saw the little keychains in the boys palm before moving his gaze to the chalkboard in front of it, and then calmly stated, "The price written here says two coppers."

"Oh...I'm sorry, that was my mistake." The woman laughed, trying (but failing) to hide her disappointment, "I'm getting old, my eye sight isn't as good as it used to be. That'll be two coppers."

"Sure, here. Thank you." Artios hastily placed the money in her palms before Ivy could reach for his pouch, and show the entire world his money.

He then grabbed the platinum haired teen's hand and pulled him away from the stall as quickly as he could.

"Thanks." The boy smiled shyly.

He dangled the little things on his two fingers, observing them listlessly while using his other free hand to feel its smooth ridges.

The swordsman hadn't bothered to notice before, but they were bobble heads of some sort.

They looked really ugly.

Definitely something only that dumb ass would pick up out of all things.

One of the small figures had spiky white hair with a brown cloak, and shirt with a pink flower drawn onto it.

The other bobble head had darker red hair, dressed in a vest and fitted trousers decorated with shoulder and knee pads along with a little sword.

Wait a second.

It kind of looked like Ivy and him... It wasn't exactly the same, but the few similarities were clear as day.

"What are you doing idiot? Go to sleep, tomorrow is gonna be a long day." Artios creeped up from behind Ivy, startling the small teen.

He had been fidgeting with the two little wooden things he had bought, carving something behind it with a small rock he found while climbing up the hill a few hours ago.

Once over his initial shock, Ivy instantly covered the keychains with both hands in a protective manner and said, "It's a secret."

He was laying on the hard mattress of the single bed in the cheap Inn they were crashing at for the night, his trusty blanket draped over him until his waist.

"Okay, well go to sleep soon. I don't wanna hear you whining about being tired tomorrow." Artios warned, before heading back towards his own bed.

He had finally gotten to take a shower today after such a long time, it felt nice...

Ivy had been pretty happy about that too, though for some reason even after all that traveling and sweating he never once smelled bad.

It was like he had a permanent scent that stuck with him no matter what. It was sweet, kind of like vanilla or some kind of flower. Artios could never pinpoint it.

"W-wait, aren't you even a little bit curious?" Ivy asked with his large puppy eyes.

"Not really."

"Not even a teeny tiny bit?" The small teen insisted.

"I already said no." Artios scowled with an annoyed groan.

"Fine. Since you're insisting, I'll show you once we reach the top of Tate Mountain." The younger gave Artios a toothy grin, ignoring his unenthusiastic response.

It could just be his imagination, but there was a slight pink tint on Ivy's cheek as he went back to carving the keychains.

"Like I said, I really don't care..."

Artios may have lied at that time. He might've been a little bit curious. Just a little bit.

Guess he could just take a peek now, after all technically Ivy was the one who gave it to him.

He turned the two figures around to the area where he had seen Ivy carving with the rock.

Huh?

He looked closely to see that the bobble head that resembled the swordsman had a shaky 'Art' carved behind it with a weird line around it, and the same for the bobble head resembling Ivy.

That was weird. What was the secret?

Was it just their names...?

No, even Ivy wasn't that stupid.

The swordsman fidgeted with the wooden keychains, spinning them around, throwing them in the air, tapping them against the table and simply doing anything and everything that came to his mind, but he couldn't figure it out.

After a while of playing around, he got frustrated and slammed the two on the bed-side table when suddenly, his eyes widened.

Art + Ivy

Those two lines weren't just some fancy pattern. The two connected from both sides to form a heart.

Ivy liked him.

That was the secret.

The younger had probably planned to tell him once he had found the Luna.

Once he had been cured...

"Worry you say?! I don't care what you do to yourself, but now your blood will be staining my hands! What in your stupid little brain made you think this was a good idea?!"

"Fine! Go off on your own and die for all I care!"

Clank! Clank!

"Artios open up. It's me." A low voice called out. A soft banging against the door followed right after.

Shit, Celyn.

It had already been an hour since they parted ways. It was the decided time for the sale...