Heart Of Stone - Male!Medusa

Loved

I could still feel the heat on my face from how much I'd blushed while Medein had pressed his lips against the palm of my hand, over and over again. Even now, as we slowly wandered our way up and down narrow walkways, I could feel his gaze stray back to me often before something new caught his eye once more.

A part of me wondered how long it would last before he realized he now had the world open to him and with it the chance to find someone else to lavish his affections upon. Someone who was less broken than I. Another part of me prayed to whatever being was listening that I would not lose the happiness I had gained during the time I had spent teaching and learning with Medein, that his eyes and heart would not wander from me.

Yet another part of myself, almost buried during the past several weeks, whispered that I didn't deserve the happiness he brought me.

"(Y/n), look! What this?!" Medein's voice broke me from my thoughts, my eyes searching out the object that had caught his interest as I took a few steps closer to him, my mind already going into 'teacher mode' as I stood beside him.

My focus on the clock/radio he had pointed out, I didn't notice as he watched my features finally relax again, the tension slowly bleeding from me as my thoughts shifted away from what had been eating at me for the past hour. I failed to catch sight of the way the worry hidden in his eyes began to ease, only barely registering the way one of his hands slipped into my own, his fingers giving a gentle squeeze as if to say "I'm here."

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Lunch passed all too quickly, Medein's soft laughter as he watched a few small children dart around the chairs filling me with warmth. That warmth spread to my cheeks when he turned to look at me, his eyes darting between me and the children before he reached out to trace his fingers over my cheek, my eyes wide as he leaned forward to whisper into my ear, "Someday."

Leaning back, he went back to watching the children play as he took slow bites of his meal, a gentle smile on his face. My own was hidden under my hands as I wondered what he meant by that, unbelieving that it could possibly mean what his actions suggested it did.

I peeked between my fingers just in time to catch his eyes as he glanced at me, the warmth of his gaze filled with something far beyond mere fondness. My heart skipped a beat as our eyes locked, my hands slowly lowered to rest in my lap.

Time seemed to freeze as whispered words filled the air before everything started moving again.

"I love you."

Even if we had only met mere months ago, those words made me realize just how much I had come to care for this man. Whether it was him or I that said them, I didn't know and it didn't seem to matter, because I realized that it was true either way. From the warmth in his gaze to the equal warmth in my heart, I had come to love Medein and he seemed to feel the same way if the joy on his face was anything to go by.

If only part of me was not scared at the thought of being in love again after the heartbreak Tomas had left me with.

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He had been trying to find the perfect time to say the words, ever since he'd finally figured them out. He'd spent hours each day contemplating those three simple but oh so powerful words, wondering how she'd react to them, hoping that she would say them back and fearing that perhaps she wouldn't. He'd even gone so far as to pray to the few gods he didn't loath outright, something he never thought he would do again, simply in hopes they might help him gather his courage together.

Not even when facing the Titan back before his imprisonment on the island had he felt such fear, his heart shuddering at the thought that (y/n) might turn him away and refuse his love. But the thought that she might somehow return his love, even if just a little, kept him from falling into despair.

However, not once had it crossed his mind that she might be the one to say it first, even if she seemed somewhat startled at hearing the words leave her lips. Medein could only sit in wonder, the joy he felt filling his features as he looked in awe at the female he had fallen so deeply in love with. She seemed so startled, he doubted she even heard his answering words of love.

All the more reason to make sure to say them again later, when she was not so lost in her thoughts, though he did hope they were thoughts of him that she dwelled within. It was nice to think that he might be on her mind as much as she was on his.

His thoughts stumbled for a moment when he felt a pulse of warmth from the bracelet, acknowledging the fact that he would have to charge it again soon. After all, it seemed either the bracelet did more than he had originally realized or something else was going on.

Not one human had turned to stone upon meeting his gaze, after all, and either it was the bracelet at work, a god or goddess playing with him, or somehow it had something to do with his (y/n). Although it was odd to think of a human having such power, it was not something he was going to deny after all the things he had seen humans do over the centuries he had been alive.

The bracelet gave another pulse of warmth before growing quiet, Medein left in thought over how he would continue to charge it once he left the island for good, leaving behind the heavy pedestal it rested on when not in use. After all, if the bracelet is what kept (y/n) safe from his gaze, he couldn't let the thing remain uncharged for long without risking her safety.

Either he had to find another way to charge it or he needed a new way to keep her safe from his gaze. After all, until he knew for certain if it was or was not the bracelet, he couldn't take any chances. And he was not about to use her as a way to test which theory was correct.