Love Blooms

Prologue

"do you, cyno, take them to be your one and only?"

"i do," he said, smiling at his partner lovingly.

"and do you take cyno to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"i do," they said, an equally bright smile taking over their features.

"then i pronounce you both married! you may kiss," the priest said, backing away. cyno closed the gap, pressing a short but passionate kiss to his new spouse's lips. everyone stood up and clapped, cheering filling the once quiet and peaceful air.

"woo!"

tighnari looked down and saw collei cheering happily, clapping with a bright grin on her face. he could only chuckle at how pleased she looked at the outcome of this joyous day, seeing two people she looked up to the most getting married and enjoying one of their most happiest days.

cyno had combed his hair neatly, dressing in a very nicely tailored suit while his spouse wore an equally amazing outfit. both of them looked stunning.

the wedding venue was outside and decorated with very floral designs and with lots of beautiful scenery. the light smell of sumeru roses wafted through the air, a calming scent that was very pleasing to the guests.

they walked down the aisle, smiling happily and waving around to their friends and family. then, tighnari saw cyno's new spouse wave to him, a wedding band adorning their ring finger. his heart skipped a beat, flashing them a soft smile and waving back while mouthing "congratulations". they mouthed a "thank you" back and continued on their path, tighnari could feel his heart begin to break.

at first when he heard about cyno's relationship, he had felt happy for him. after all, cyno had been loving them since akademiya days. however... it did not compare to tighnari's love for the same person since the two of them met. it was love at first sight for the forest ranger, but that small boy-ish crush turned into love after he got to know them. although his love would forever be unrequited and he knew that, he couldn't help but indulge in the delusion that maybe, just maybe, they'd like him back.

but after today, he realized that this wasn't the reality.

their eyes were honey-coated as they looked at their new husband, tighnari's best friend.

as much as he prepared himself, the truth stung more than any wound he's ever gotten. there was no cure for this feeling that he felt and he recognized that.

"hey."

a voice snapped him out of his momentary sulking, seeing cyno standing in front of him. tighnari shook his head to clear his thoughts and smiled genuinely, "well if it isn't the newly wed. congratulations, cyno."

"thank you," he replied curtly. "but i'm not here to talk about that. can we go somewhere more private?"

"sure," tighnari said, pretending to act puzzled. he knew why cyno was going to pull him aside, and he took a deep breath to still his rapidly beating heart while following his friend to a more secluded area.

cyno stopped and took a deep audible breath, turning around to face his friend. "i wanted to thank you, tighnari. thank you for being my best friend and my number one supporter. i know that this wasn't easy for you."

tighnari let out a sigh. "why are you doing this on your wedding day?"

"i want closure," cyno said honestly. "i don't want you to feel sad on my wedding day either. so please, humor me."

"i always humor you," tighnari said, rolling his eyes playfully. "but if you're concerned about me, please don't be."

"how can i not be concerned," cyno replied softly. "if i had known-"

"if you did know, i would still have told you to pursue them. i had already known i had no chance," tighnari admitted. "don't have any regrets, you just tied the knot for archon's sake. this is your day, don't be dramatic."

cyno chuckled, then he looked into his friend's green eyes. "again. thank you for your support."

"of course," tighnari grinned. "i'm your best friend. make sure you tell them i said congratulations." tighnari began to walk away from cyno who looked at his friend in confusion.

"you're not going to stay?"

"i would but there's actually something i have to do," tighnari said. cyno looked at him skeptically. "my work as a forest ranger never stops, you know. i'll still be there for dinner."

"gotcha," cyno nodded, then gave his friend an uncertain look. "are you sure you'll be okay though-"

"i'm alright," tighnari said. "don't worry about me. go back and celebrate."

"if you say so," cyno said, walking over to tighnari. "i'll let them know."

"sounds good," tighnari said. "see you at 8."

"yep," cyno sighed. "i can already sense a very long day coming up."

tighnari could only laugh as he walked away with a wave, leaving the wedding venue and heading to gandharva ville to get changed so he could resume his forest ranger duties. after he got finished changing, he looked at his to-do list, deciding to go to sumeru city to purchase some things.

the truth was, he did want to be there for cyno and his now-spouse on his special day, but when cyno was marrying the person that he wanted, how could he stay? he felt like the oxygen got squeezed out of his lungs, seeing that they were now officially married. tighnari didn't want to wound his heart even more than it already had. he needed a break.

marriage.

he was so wrapped up in his own head that he didn't realize he bumped into someone. the sudden contact shook him out of his dazed state, "i'm sorr- huh?"

"no it's my faul- wait... tighnari?!"