Cepheus (BoyxBoy)

Twenty-Two

The nymph laughed as Maeve threw yet another flower at him in playful jest. The two had been chatting long enough for the sun to hide behind the clouds and the sky to dim from her absence.

Sole had given up on trying to convince the two to part for supper and left them to enjoy the last few moments before the boy had to leave.

"Why...why did no one ever tell me about Blaise?" The nymph cut into their light-hearted banter with a question that had been plaguing his mind since his conversation with his friend.

"What about him?" Maeve questioned with furrowed brows. Although Bay's unchanging expression had her confused features morphing into ones of guilt.

"Oh..." She murmured in a softer tone. "So he told you then?"

Bay stayed quiet for a moment, his hand lightly grazing the grass before her nodded sullenly.

"He was so mad at me Maeve... I feel so bad. I never knew about any of that, about how everyone thought that we would be intended—why didn't anyone ever tell me?"

His friend frowned as he spoke, and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It was all just speculation Bay. You were turning of age and Blaise had been waiting for a mate for a short while. It's what made sense at the time, but we never intended to place so much pressure on the expectation. I knew Blaise was feeling down, but I didn't know he was taking it so much to heart."

Bay shrugged, pulling a small tuft of grass from the soil to briefly play with.

"Ya, well he is. And I don't know what to do because I feel like anything I say makes it worse."

"Blaise just needs some time, Bay. It's not your fault. I think seeing you marked and happy with your mate just made him realize what he's missing out on. He wants the same thing as you—as all of us. It's just taking a bit longer for him to get it."

Maeve smiled at the boy, hoping that her words had brought comfort and had done something to cheer him up.

When the nymph slowly nodded in understanding her shoulders relaxed slightly; she would feel horrible if his visit was ruined over something that he really didn't have control over.

"I guess that makes sense. Should I still try to talk to him though? I would hate to leave things on a bad note—"

"Bay? Sweetie, the King is here!"

The nymph's eyes widened as he looked at the sky, not having realized how much time had gone by. The voice he recognized to be his mother's came from the other side of the lake that they were on, and if he lifted his chin slightly, he could just barely see her small figure looking towards him and a much larger figure that towered behind her.

"We should probably head back." Maeve murmured, the bright lilt to her tone appearing to have dimmed knowing what was to come.

"Okay" Bay responded absently. He picked up on the shift in mood from his friend but he was too distracted by the scent of his mate which still taunted him even while they were separated by a body of water.

He couldn't quite see every detail of his mate from where he was standing, but he did know that the vampire's eyes were on him, watching him and analyzing him from where he stood—he could feel it.

The two nymphs quickly swam over to where everyone else was gathered and Bay only managed to get two steps in on dry land before he was scooped up into Cepheus' arms.

"My beloved." He spoke in what seemed to be relief as he squeezed the still slightly wet nymph against his clothed chest.

"H-Hi" Bay stammered shyly, not oblivious to all the wandering eyes that were on them in their semi-intimate moment.