Red Velvet x Licorice PG Connected One-Shots

Don't let life escape your gaze, gotta read the signs

Licorice looks at him with the most pensive look strewn on his grey face. His canary yellow eyes, large and flashing, are curious, albeit nervous. He sets down his thick-spined books on the table slowly, his hands subtly shaking.

Licorice to trips over his words, stumbling over the stiff vowels. "I wasn't expecting you, Red." Licorice's gaze settles on a point slightly away from Red Velvet's own face. He seems surprised at his own rigidity, and starts to ramble anxiously. It's oddly endearing, though Red Velvet supposed he should have realized he has had that thought dozens of times over.

"Not- not that I don't want to speak with you!" He says. Red Velvet steps closer. He himself is nervous as well. He doesn't want to ruin this, much less make Licorice uncomfortable. Apprehension swirls in his stomach, made apparent in the way his face shifts.

"Are you alright? You have a weird look on your face?" Licorice's voice breaks through his thoughts.

Red Velvet nods, conceding. "It's nerves. Is it time to talk about what occurred last week?" He says, his voice a mere shadow of the thunderous boom he possesses on the tumultuous battlefield. His heart beats faster at the thought of this conversation than any war.

"Alright, fair enough." Licorice settles onto the chair, his posture just as hunched and slouched over the table as ever. Red Velvet sits at the opposite chair, and wants to put out all of his thoughts, to Licorice. However, Licorice, competitive even now, cuts him off before he can even speak.

"I should have probably asked before I kissed you. Sorry for that." Red Velvet feels his jaw slacken, and he is quickly vexed. Had Licorice thought, for an entire seven days, that his feelings were unreturned, that Red Velvet was immune to Licorice's captivating nature?

"It's really not a problem." Red Velvet says, hoping that Licorice will understand what he's getting at. The air in the room is becoming increasingly awkward and stilted.

"It's alright! You don't need to feel bad if you don't like me back." Disbelief must be shown on Red Velvet's face, because Licorice continues. "No really! I don't need pity, we can- we can forget that ever happened if you want."

Red Velvet sighs. "I don't think you understand." It's nerve wracking, finally putting his feelings into words, but he manages. "I am in love with you, Licorice, and I have been for quite the while."

Licorice splutters out unclear half-words, merged together in an incomprehensible disarray. His face blooms a dark ash grey, much like smoke billowing across an unmarred sky.

"Well, so have I. Been in love with you I mean." Licorice exclaims. "So.. ?" He trails off, uncertainty clear in his voice. "How long have you been in love with me? Not that I don't believe you, but I'm curious."

The question takes Red Velvet like a cyclonic storm. "It took me long to stop denying that I love you." He responds. His heart races, just as it did on that day, and the words spill out of his mouth.

The ground was beat down with drops of fat rain, pounding on the corse desert sand. Red Velvet took shelter underneath a precariously hung fabric, large enough to fit both him, Licorice (and his pets) along with a few cake hounds.

He didn't bring to many cake hounds, due to the annoying nature of sand. He was merely there to guide Licorice, always needy, to the Hero's gate. Strawberry Crepe, the child roboticist, needs to be reigned in occasionally, and with Dark Enchantress being occupied elsewhere, that responsibility lands on Red Velvet.

"So... Don't you have like another dog?" Licorice cuts in, his whiny voice causing his heart to palpitate oddly. Red Velvet frowns, is the rain making him fall ill. He looks at Licorice, who's staring at something in the distance.

"Yeah, there it is!" Licorice points with a skeletal hand. Red Velvet follows, and gasps when he notices Chiffon cowering under a outcrop of pale rock.

"Chiffon! I need to get to him!" Red Velvet exclaims. In his haste to get shelter, he must have forgotten to do a head count. He is almost nauseous with guilt, and he almost runs out of the the tent.

He is stopped by a hand reaching out to grab his sleeve. Its coolness is welcome in the sweltering desert heat. "You can't go out in that rain!" Licorice spits out. "You'll get soggy and then those kids will beat us to Hero's Gate!"

Wonderful. "Well, I can't leave Chiffon there by herself, you cruel idiot!" Red Velvet is almost fuming at the thought of leaving Chiffon in the rain. He notices Licorice is still holding onto his sleeve, so he reluctantly moves his arm away.

"I wasn't implying that either." Licorice says. "I can summon a larger servant that can shelter you from the rain." It's a stupidly simple solution but one that will work.

"Fine, but make it quick." Red Velvet says begrudgingly. As Licorice sets out to summoning, Red Velvet can't help but examine the subtle grace in which he performs his spells. Again his heart flutters uncontrollably, and he has to pry his eyes away. It is embarrassing how just one action can make him want to stand nearer to Licorice, maybe even grasp his hand.

He stops his thinking. Those are not normal thoughts to have. Those are increasingly romantic thoughts, in fact. All at once, everything made sense. He had a crush on Licorice. He feels his face flush heavily, and hopes it isn't to visible in the rain.

~•~•~•~

Red Velvet may leave out the parts where he used to think that Licorice was annoying, but the rest of the story is true. At some point, they have linked hands across the table.

"It's so cheesy." Licorice complains. " Why do both of our crushes start at the same time!" He says. His words have no heat to them.

"Do I need to write a ballad and sing it to you underneath the night sky?" Red Velvet says, which cause Licorice's snarky smile to grow larger. He cackles, and Red Velvet joins in.

As their laughter dies down, they both look at each other across the table. Red Velvet wishes he has a way to capture this moment, so that he can live in it forever. "Does this mean we're dating now?" Licorice asks, his smile just as bright as ever.

"Of course." Red Velvet answers.

A/N
This fic is my first time writing romance. if my writing sounds different it's because i tried a little more. i struggled to write this one a lot, especially since i read an irl book recently and i wanted my writing to be more like it. thank u all for all of the votes, i really appreciate it :D