Once Upon a Dream (Golden Guard x Gender-Neutral Reader)

Flower Boy

"Lovely night to look at the stars, isn't it?" You weren't surprised in the slightest. The liquid gold kept spilling from your eyes and into the stratosphere.
"You're telling me," You ran a hand through your hair, then let it dangle below you. "Moon's not too bright, sky's fairly clear, and my favorite person is stargazing with me."
His exasperated groan went from below to above as he whooshed himself to lounge in front of the stars. Something was off about his uniform, but you couldn't quite tell what.
"You never quit, do you?"
You shook your head.
"Where you heading?" The Golden Guard asked as if he'd be getting an honest answer. You let out a great yawn. "To the palace of course! My subjects need me."
"Ah, how stupid of me to ask. I could escort you there if needed, my liege-" Another drop went floating up and out of your mask. Blondie's arm shot out like a canon, making you flinch at first. The tear landed upon his palm. It swam and circled and danced like it had a mind of its own against the leather of his glove. He curled his hand and captured the dew, but when he opened to study it, it went floating past his mask, illuminating his eyes before joining its brethren in the heavens.
"... Are you crying?" Dreamboy lowered himself so that almost his entire body was resting against his staff. Another tear rolled by. It bounced off of his fingers, then away.
"No." You stated.
"Oh? Then what are you doing?"
"... Crying."
He shifted so that he was directly above you. Him on his stomach, you on your back, the two of you were face to face. He caught a splash of gold, examining it before letting it go.
"I'll admit, I'm not surprised about the floating, but the glowing? That's... abnormal. What's- what's going on with that?"
"It's a long story, Blondie."
There was a brief pause.
"So why are you crying?" The boy's voice carried a tone you had never heard from him before; concern. You chuckled and sat up on your staff. Your face was now quite close to his. Every time a tear slipped by, you could see his eyes reflecting the golden light.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you cared about how I felt."
He didn't respond, just kept his eyes trained on yours. You could feel the crowns of the trees brushing against the soles of your boots. The cricket song grew louder, the wind whispered gently, and the sound of your breath syncing with his, crashing and retreating like the boiling tide.
"My brother found out about you. He's not happy."
The Golden Guard blinked with wide eyes.
"You have a brother?" His voice warped with surprise.
"Two brothers," You corrected, thinking of King. "And a sister, and a niece as well. Believe it or not, you're not the only person that exists in my life."
You finally tore your eyes away from him, instead opting to look towards the Titan's mighty skull. You had been there before, multiple times actually. The most recent was when you were collecting some weird substance for Cas. Lucky for her, you managed to scrape the final vile of... whatever it was before it was all gone. The times before that were just for casual flies, but the first time? According to Eda, you had been there whenever you still lived near the toes. Your parents were visiting someone and she tagged along to keep an eye on you. While you had no memory of this event, Eda always burst out laughing whenever it was brought up, always too drunk on giggles to tell you what happened. Your reminiscence of the skull was interrupted by Blondie sinking into your line of sight. He had apparently decided you weren't allowed to give anything but him attention.
"You're brother doesn't like me?" He asked. You shook your head.
"Not one bit! He said if you ever showed your face around him, he'd punch you so hard your mask would be permanently dented into your head."
The boy sat frozen, his bones and veins filled with anxious concrete.
"Oh. Lovely... I actually had a really similar situation happen recently."
"You had your mask permanently dented into your head?!" You grabbed either side of his mask and examined him. He didn't appear to have any injuries. His laughter echoed in his mask as he reached for your wrists.
"No no no! One of my coworkers found out about you and was less than supportive. He said if anyone finds out how much time I dedicate to you then we'll both be in deep water." He explained while he lowered your hands. Your mouth fell open.
"That's almost exactly what my brother said! Also did someone just admit to spending most of their time thinking about me??💖"
"Shut up."
"Oh my Titan, you're so rude!"
"No, I really mean it, shut up!"
He put a hand over where your mouth should have been (as if that'd actually do anything) and pointed down into the forest. There, standing amongst the trees, were Eda and Lilith! Was Eda getting arrested again? HAD LILY ACTUALLY DONE HER JOB??? Eda didn't look like she had restraints on though. What was going on? A look was shared between you and Blondie. Even without words, you knew that the same thought was running through both your minds. The two of you silently glided past the tree limbs and down to the ground, taking extra care as to not be discovered by the witches. As soon as your feet hit the grass, you were immediately pulled into a bush by the bossy blond. Lilith's head drew in your direction at the sound of the rustling leaves.
"What was that?" She asked, taking a step. In an instant you grew nervous, that is until Eda grabbed her sister by the shoulder.
"Probably just some critters looking for food." Eda, you life saver! Lilith looked back at her sister and sighed.
"What are we supposed to do now?" You'd never heard Lily sound so polite before. Blondie leaned over.
"I've never heard Lilith sound so polite before." He whispered.
"That's exactly what I was thinking!" You whispered back. He paused then turned to you.
"You know Lilith?"
A grin spread across your face.
"Sweetheart, you have no idea."
By all technically, Lily was your aunt. Not a very good aunt, but still yours. To think of all the shenanigans you and Eda had pulled on her. You could hardly contain your laughter just picturing about them! The two of you turned back to the witches. They were just talking like old friends.
Like sisters who used to be so close.
"Well, we wrecked this chump." Eda pointed to a bruised creature collapsed in the leaves. "But I guess the Bloom of Eternal Youth isn't real."
Eda sighed. Lilith clasped her hands together.
"Well, if it makes any difference, I don't consider you to be a tired old bitty." The blue witch admitted.
"Really?"
"If you were, you'd be much easier to catch."
Eda groaned. You were ready to jump out of the bush if Lilith tried anything.
"Oh great, you're gonna cart me away to the Coven now, aren't you?" At her words, you went from on your knees to a get-ready position.
"Not now." Your body relaxed a bit as Lilith spoke. "Because I want to give you the chance to join on your own!"
Lilith extended her hand towards your caretaker.
"Join me in the Emperor's Coven, Edalyn-"
"'Edalyn?'"
"Be quiet Blondie!"
"-He could even heal your curse." Lilith finished. Your blood ran cold. Could the Emperor really do that? Could he really heal Eda? Your stomach dropped at the thought of her leaving you to join them... but maybe Eda's life would be better on the other side. You could feel a lump rising in your throat.
Eda lowered her sister's hand back down.
"No, I'll heal it on my own terms." Your muscles eased.
"That's my mama!" You exclaimed in a harsh hushed tone.
"Did you say something?" The boy next to you wondered.
"MichelleObama✨." You replied in a way that was definitely too fast. After what was probably a suspicious (or more likely confused) look, both returned back to the ladies' conversation.
"I don't want to owe him anything." Eda smiled. "Catch you later, sis."
"Not if I catch you first." Lilith returned with a beam of her own. Eda raised out her hand and summoned her staff.
"I'll see you around." And with that, Eda took off into the night.
Lilith stood smiling after her sister and sighed, content with the evening's events. Her moment of tranquility was gone as soon as it arrived.
"You're welcome for the chance to bond." The beaten creature interjected himself into the scene, earning a sturdy fire blast from the Coven Head. Once he was thoroughly out cold again, Lilith took off in the opposite direction. At last, you and Blondie popped out from the bush.
"Lilith should have arrested her." The Golden Guard scrutinized as he shimmied out of the leaves. "The Owl Lady should be on her way to the conformitorium, not on her way home after having idle chatter with the coven head who's her sister apparently?!"
Your face was washed blank by the absolute hypocrisy of this man. You followed him into the clearing where the witches had once stood. Your arms crossed almost automatically as you shifted your weight to one side.
"A member of the Emperor's Coven and a criminal being friendly with each other? Positively unheard of." Your voice was drier than a boomer's sense of humor.
"Exactly! Rules are meant to be obeyed! If you can't obey them then... You're being sarcastic, aren't you?"
"Ya think? Look at what we're doing right now!"
He observed the situation for a moment. A pause. The boy turned so that he was no longer facing you.
"This is different." He muttered.
"Oh? And how's that?"
"Well it.. it's because... it's more complicated than... it... it's too late or... early to arrest you- look I don't know what time it is but it's not a good one, okay?"
"The thing is there's no such thing as a wrong time to cart someone away! Police stations are open 24/7!" You placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to keep him from walking away. "Plus, if it's not too late for Lilith to arrest Eda, why's it too late for you to arrest me?"
"Do you want me to arrest you?!" He shouted over his shoulder.
"Do you want to arrest me?!" You matched his tone.
The next few seconds happened so fast that you weren't sure what was going on until it was over. The Golden Guard grabbed your wrist and whipped around, sending his leg swooping underneath your own and knocking you to the dirt. He kneeled to follow you, and with his other hand closed around your other wrist, he brought you closer to himself.
"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I WANT TO?!"
He had exhausted his breath, and frankly, you were too speechless to do anything except breathe along with him. The wind sighed, chilling the places that your jacket had once covered. Now it was hovering around your shoulders, much like most of the other things around you. Leaves, flower petals, loose strands of grass, even Blondie's cape and dumb little hair thingy were swaying in the air. Looking past the mask, past his eyes, you could see his mixed emotions swirling around. He exhaled sadly and closed his eyes. His mask clanked against yours as he let his forehead slump forward. His hands flew from your wrists faster than you could blink, a sharp gasp accompanying the movement.
"I- I'm sorry." Blondie's voice was surprisingly clear. With his staff he summoned forth a glowing orb of light. He approached your hand with his own, much calmer, much slower this time, and let your fingers rest in his palm. With his other hand, he pushed away your sleeve and tucked back the hem of your glove. He grazed his thumb over your wrist, only letting it apply slight pressure. Once he had done that on one side, he flipped your hand and repeated it on the other. At this point, your heart was beating so ferociously that you were afraid he'd hear it. What the fuck is happening?
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Blondie switched to your other hand.
"Since when do you care about me getting hurt?" You thought aloud.
The boy lifted his head and looked you dead in the eye. You could tell by his far away stare, he was recalling something. At first when he leaned back, you drew further in to follow him, though you quickly came to your senses and retreated. You almost thought that you'd heard him laugh. Him, laughing at me. Oh, how the night changes.
"Can I be honest with you?" The Golden Guard, still resting your hand in his, fiddled with your glove. You nodded.
"Of course, I'm a very trustworthy criminal, you know!"
Dreamboy moved seemingly without thought. He fell onto his back and groaned. One of his hands was combing through his hair while the other one was barely clinging on to your glove's pinky.
"I shouldn't be this friendly with you. Every time you're away, I tell myself that I'm gonna get you next time, then next time rolls around, and I just let you go... It's bullshit! I'm starting to think that I don't even want to arrest you! I know I'm trying to, but I don't know why! I thought it was because I wanted to prove myself to Uncle Belos, but I'm not sure anymore! Is it my ego? Am I just super embarrassed? Am I actually trying to make a-" He cut himself off.
Your mind was clogged with the words "Uncle Belos." Uncle Belos? UNCLE BELOS?!?! THIS BITCH WAS RELATED TO THE EMPEROR?! Oh Titan! OH TITAN! THAT'S WHY HE WAS CALLED "LITTLE PRINCE," DEAR LOOOOOOOOOOOOORDDS!!! You were dead. You were actually dead! Emperor Boolos was gonna find out and both of you would be fucking flayed! Jenner was right, JENNER WAS RI-
"It's not fair." Your mind quieted. You looked down at his hand, and consequently, yours. His fingers had folded in the gaps between your own. He was holding your hand. HE was holding YOUR hand! Your face felt red hot, your knees were off the ground, and Blondie was skimming over your knuckle with his thumb.
"That's not fair to you. You're just a teenager. A person with a family that needs you. The weirdest thing about this is we've only met like three times in person, and yet I feel like I know you, like the you in my dreams and the you here and now are the same."
Dreams.
Dreams.
D
R
E
A
M
S
He didn't know. He hadn't figured it out. He was clueless and it was killing him. What were you supposed to do? He wanted answers for his feelings, but feelings don't have answers, only motivation. He knew the ripples, but he wanted to possess the pebble that set them in motion. The pebble that you had watched sink into the pool's depths. You knew where to look, you knew where to lead him, you just had to push past the surface.
And you had an idea of how to do it.
"Blondie?" You questioned as you floated over him. You could see the muscles in his face raise his eyebrows. He made sure to keep a good hold on you. "Yeah?"
"I can't control your feelings, you can't control your feelings, feelings can't even control themselves! But what we can control is how we work out these emotions." You explained. His thumb tapped repeatedly against the bed of your own.
"Go on..." Dreamboy encouraged, sitting up. You took a deep breath. Your weight started to return to you. After a few seconds, you were back on the ground. The land around you felt cool with the night. Removing your glove, you flattened your hand to the grass, searching for something sprouting out of the soil.
"One way I like to handle my emotions is by..." You summoned forth the thing that you wanted from the earth, harnessing the emotions you associated with it. It crept out of the soil like a snake. It braided itself together and budding to life all at once. A bouquet of tenderness, adoration, maybe even something stronger.
Baby's breath.
"Making flower crowns." You looked up. His eyes filled with a familiar sense of shock, the tips of his ears went red, and his hand (that was still holding yours) locked up. His gaze moved from the flowers to your eyes.
He was beginning to figure it out.