Love Blooms

Chapter 9

"h-huh?! how did you jump to that conclusion," he asked you nervously.

"tighnari... i literally heard your chair," you said. "why were you spying on us?"

"well..." he looked away, embarrassed that he got found out so easily. "i guess i was curious."

"that's a good reason, but moreover," you countered. "i think you were jealous. you know tighnari, if you really wanted to spend more time with me, then you could just say so."

"i didn't want to interrupt your work. you seemed to be quite focused these past few days."

"i know but spending time with you is why i took up your offer of coming to gandharva ville. don't hesitate. wait, you never had an issue with barging in before!"

"heh well... you insisted that you needed to finish your story so i didn't disturb you. also i got busy."

"well, now you know. but uh... how much did you hear?"

"i didn't hear all that much," he lied. "i was there for only the last 2 minutes or so."

"so... you're okay that i won't be here as often anymore? i was going to try and visit here more often-"

"well do i really have a choice," he interrupted, unintentionally snapping a little. he prayed that you'd take it as sarcasm rather than being upset. "and besides... you live in inazuma anyways."

"...have i upset you somehow?"

fuck, he thought, mentally scolding himself.

tighnari looked at you momentarily and then sighed, "sorry. i'm just getting worked up for no reason."

you patted him on the back, "it's alright. it seems like you've been preoccupying yourself these days. you should take a break and relax, at this rate you'll turn into a workaholic."

"it's not that... it's just that i wish i could just burn my heart and all its feelings," he admitted somberly. "fate brought me here and i want nothing to do with these bothersome emotions for that person."

he remembered that night when he watched the two of them embrace under the moonlight, cursing fate and all it stands for.

fate can be unexceptionally cruel.

"but fate can be beautiful too."

he waited for you to continue, giving you a confused yet understanding look. maybe you had another perspective. "fate brought you to this place one day and it's your spot now. fate brought you to your friends who you cherish and care for immensely. yes, fate can be cruel, but i've learned that it brings so many things that it makes the 'cruel' part seem like nothing."

"care to share an example," he looked at you with an eyebrow raised. "i'm curious."

"well it brought me to you," you smiled at him then looked at the scenery to try not to falter with your words. "i got reunited with someone i see as an amazing friend and upperclassman. to me, that's a beautiful thing. i wouldn't have had the confidence to reach out to you myself, so fate brought me to you instead."

a blush rose to your cheeks at your realization of how bold you were, and you could only hope that he didn't catch on to your feelings. that's the last thing he needs to know right now.

tighnari looked at you with utter amazement and bewilderment, then he could feel his cheeks tint red and his ears grow hot. his heart fluttered at your words, and he suddenly became even more understanding of what you meant. he knew what you were implying, as a scholar of course he knew. but he didn't think of it in the way you did. tighnari, in that moment, became thankful that fate brought him to you.

"well, when you put it like that, it makes a lot more sense," tighnari said, commanding your attention. "i guess i have to thank fate for our encounter too."

badump

badump

badump

it was only now when you realized how close you both were. his face was decently far away but your bodies were quite close to one another. you blushed and wanted to move away but a part of you didn't want to bring attention to it.

i'm such a bad person. control yourself, Y/N.

"Y/N," he called, then brought a hand up to cradle your cheek. "thank you."

"e-eh?! for what," you asked, slightly alarmed with how soft his touch was.

"making me feel like i'm important," he said, rubbing your skin with his gloved thumb. "for a long time, i've always put my friends over myself. i gave up a person that i cherished to another man, i nursed them back to health only to watch them run away from me into cyno's arms while everyone cheered. including myself. but... you have been one of the very few individuals who prioritize me. maybe it's because i was your upperclassman at one point, but is it selfish of me to think that you treat me the way you do out of the kindness of your own heart?"

"it's only fair for you to be treated with the same respect. i want your feelings to be acknowledged, and i don't want you to put your friends first like you've done for years."

he sighed, looking into your eyes tenderly, "there you go again, always so considerate of others."

then, both of you felt a magnetic pull, connecting your lips in a slow but sensual kiss. your heart tried to rip itself out of your chest and do laps, hands growing clammy and digging into the fabric of your pants. one of them shakily came up and held the forearm of the hand that cradled your cheek. it felt like you were on cloud 9, and you could only hope that he felt the same.

tighnari lost himself in the kiss, pouring all the anguish that he had pent up. you felt it and for some indescribable reason, he felt you return healing and care. where there was pain now was a foreign sense of warmth.

one that he hadn't felt in a long time.

time seemed to slow down for both of you, the kiss seeming like it took forever when in reality it was only 10 seconds at most. both of you seperated from one another, tighnari's eyes still lidded while you blushed from the intimacy both of you shared.

tighnari snapped out of it, and the confident and sassy scholar was no more, morphing into a shy boy after a first kiss. he moved his face back and turned away from you, face burning from embarrassment at how bold he was.

"sorry Y/N," he mumbled. "i shouldn't have done that."

your heart dropped to your stomach, did he regret that kiss?

"oh," you said, slightly taken aback by his wording. "uhm... it's okay. i'll leave you alone now."

he slowly nodded, and touched his lips with his gloved hand. my first kiss...

meanwhile you made your way back to guest room, seeing the traveler fast asleep. you smiled sadly, still very upset at what happened earlier.

"i shouldn't have done that"

tears streamed down your cheeks as you laid down on your bed, softly sobbing into your pillow that you pressed to your face.

i should have never given him my first kiss if i wasn't so delusional... of course he still loves them. ugh... this is shit...

you sighed and held back sniffles. you hiccuped into your pillow, mentally beating yourself up. it didn't matter that you'd probably get a zillion questions about why your face was puffy. you'll deal with it all in the morning, when you're going to try and act like your heart didn't just break.

i wish i never fell for him to begin with.