A Series of Rune Factory 4 One-shots

Liar, Liar, Horse Tail on Fire(Doug x Dylas)

Dylas used to get angry when Frey teased him about Doug. He used to feel frustrated whenever he was around the stupid dwarf, and he thought it was because he hated him.

Of course, he was sorely mistaken.

He used to be able to just grumble a bit when she said such teasing words to him. He thought he would continue to able to. And yet, when he approached Frey and complained about Doug, she said,

"Like a lovers quarrel?"

And he was no longer able to disagree. And when it came to those sort of things, he just happened to be a horrible liar.

He blushed, covered his face with his hand and then Frey was grinning at him, eyes shining with mischief and he knew that she figured it out just by looking at him.

"So," she said, playfully poking his side, "lovers, huh?"

"N-no, I—"

"You're so cute together!"

"I'm telling you we're not—"

"The way you blush just by thinking about him!"

"I don't—"

"Oh, I always knew that you were going to end up together."

"Frey—"

"Oh, that means I won the bet with Leon!"

"We're not together!" Dylas ended up exclaimed, his brain a mess due to the embarrassment and heat on his cheeks. He just wanted her to stop, and he didn't care how he did it.

"But you totally—"

"Why would I ever care about a pebble brained dwarf like him?"

Dylas was a terrible liar, but Doug just happened to be terrible at seeing lies. Both of them also happened to have terrible timing.

A sharp gasp from behind made the horse-man-who-claims-he's-not-a-horse turn around, and he spotted a red-haired man standing behind him, struggling with his emotions. He looked like he wanted to punch Dylas in the face, but he also looked like he wanted to cry and Dylas felt his heart tie up in knots. He wanted to say something, to take his words back, but Dylas had never been good at talking.

"Doug—"

The dwarf turned on his heel and sprinted away, yelling curses at Dylas over his shoulder. Among them were things like "stupid horse bastard" and "damn swayback nag."

"Oh dear," Frey said softly, patting Dylas on the back.

"I messed up, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," Frey said, nodding. He glared down at her then sighed, knowing she was right. He shouldn't have expected a different response anyway since she teased him so often.

"Do I go after him now or later?"

"Well, he'll either calm down if you give him time, or he'll be even more unwilling to talk."

He frowned.

"That doesn't help me."

"You're the one who's dating him. You should know." Frey glanced up at him, noticed the blush on his cheeks and waited for him to argue. Instead he hung his head.

"You're right." She smiled, patting him on the back again and leaving him alone. She headed straight for the inn; Leon needed to pay up.

Dylas walked in the direction Doug ran off in, wondering if it would be difficult to find him. He didn't have to wonder for long, because there was a trail of gossiping people where Doug had gone. He kept his head down while he walked by them, but he could feel their eyes on him.

Dylas found Doug sitting by the edge of Dragon Lake, sulking.

"Doug."

"What do you want?" the dwarf snapped.

"I—"

"It's not like you're here because you like me anyway. Who would like a pebble brained dwarf like me?"

"Doug, listen—"

"Well, who would ever want someone like you to like them anyway! You're just a stupid horse!"

"Doug!" Dylas exclaimed, raising his voice enough to finally get Doug to look him in the eye. He knelt down beside the angry redhead and took his hand.

"Look, I'm sorry okay? I was stupid."

"Yeah you were," Doug mumbled, but Dylas chose to ignore that comment.

"I do like you, I just..." Dylas felt a blush crawling up his cheeks as he tried to find the words. Instinctively, he tried to cover his face with his hand, but Doug grabbed the hand before he could. Dylas turned his head away.

"Why didn't you want to tell her?" Doug asked.

"It's..."

"You don't want people to know?"

"It's not that, it's just Frey is... She..." Doug frowned.

"She what?"

"She'll never let me live it down! She's been teasing me about it since I got here and she knew that she was right and I got embarrassed and just exploded."

"So... you said all that... because Frey was teasing you?" Doug glared at him, and Dylas hung his head.

"I'm sorry." Doug smacked the back of Dylas's head.

"What the hell? You really are a stupid horse bastard."

"Shut up, shrimp."

"What kind of idiot denies a whole relationship because he can't stand getting teased?"

"What kind of idiot runs off crying because he eavesdropping?"

"I was not crying, and I wasn't eavesdropping."

"Oh? Not crying? Why are your eyes red?"

"I'm just tired!"

"Liar."

"You're the liar, jerk!" Dylas laughed, wrapping his arms around the dwarf and nuzzling his face into his neck. Doug's expression softened, patting him on the head.

"... I love you," Doug whispered. Dylas leaned towards him, taking hold of Doug's chin. They turned towards each other. Dylas closed his eyes first, preparing for the sensation of Doug's lips on his, and then—

"Oh my!" An exclamation from the side. Frey was standing there, a soft blush on her cheeks as she stared at them shamelessly, her mouth wide open. Leon crossed his arms across his chest, opening his fan to cover his mouth, mirth dancing in his eyes. Doug and Dylas instantly sprang away from each other.

"Hmm. Well, you definitely weren't lying, Frey. Doug and Dylas are..." Leon paused, grinning devilishly behind his fan. "...lovers indeed." Both men mentioned were red in the face, and in their embarrassment, they lost control and said:

"What are you talking about? Why would I love a guy like him?"

~~~

Gossip spread. By the time the news of their almost-kiss got back to them, half the town believed they'd been making out for hours by Dragon Lake.

Dylas wanted to die of embarrassment. Doug, well, he punched the horse-man-who's-apparently-not-a-horse and got over it.

~~~
Well that was fun to write, haha. Thanks to the person who requested this! This story was super goofy. XD

Well, feel free to request whatever you guys want, I'm good with literally whatever. See you next time!