A Story To Be Told (Croo short stories)

Of Swords and Diamonds

[YA IT'S ALITIA AGAIN]
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[Rune x Helena crackship bois, taking place around about the chapter of 'Rune'. I mean it's literally an au of that so...]
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Rune patted Helena awkwardly on the back, not used to being hugged. He had just saved her life from the hooded man, Helena having just gained her Isolis.

Helena pulled away and looked down at Rune's ankle. "You had a limp earlier... is it okay?"

"I should be asking you the same thing," Rune replied, avoiding the question. He was putting more weight on one of his feet, his injury being hard to hide. "Isolis doesn't... start out great. You'd best find yourself a healer."

"I will," Helena nodded, "But... I really want to give you a reward. Please... since you are a knight and all."

Rune tilted his head. "A... a knight? You don't need to give me a gift-"

Helena moved closer to him and lifted up his mask ever so slightly. Before he could react, Helena brushed her lips against his, them being... surprisingly softer than she would've thought.

Out of curiosity, she lifted up his mask a bit more during the kiss. It was getting in the way, anyway, she thought. Rune didn't stop her from taking his mask off.

They both opened their eyes once Helena dropped Rune's mask to the floor. Helena gasped; his features being more different than what she expected.

"P-Please don't tell anyone what I look like." Rune stuttered, a blush in his cheeks. "I, um..."

"I thought you would've been hiding some scars, but you look... normal." Helena noted, "Why do you wear a mask, anyway? You look quite pretty without it... i-if you don't mind me saying-!"

"I can't afford my enemies to recognise me." Rune told her. "I... I promise I'll explain myself once you're safe. But, um... wh-what was that kiss about? We barely know each other-"

Shouts echoed from the trees behind them. Rune scrambled for his mask, shoving it onto his face.

"P-Please don't go-!" Helena grabbed his arm as he formed another portal. "Um... if you really have to, why don't we meet tonight? There's a balcony outside-"

Rune nodded and jumped into his portal, just as the others showed up. Helena didn't know why he rushed off so suddenly. Now that he was gone, her injuries were starting to come back to her again. Luckily for her.

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Later that evening, Helena sat face-down on her bed, desperately trying to escape the pain in her back. She hadn't forgotten about Rune - Iris wouldn't stop talking about him. She certainly had a lot to talk about with him.

A knock on her balcony door made her jump up in shock. Before anyone else could answer, she rushed outside, almost crashing into Rune.

"S-Sorry-!" Helena yelled, closing the door behind them. "Um, I just wanted to continue to talk to you, that's all..."

She looked up to see that Rune wasn't wearing his mask. He was already blushing. "I picked a nice spot for us... care to join?" He held out his hand, gesturing to the portal in front of them.

Helena smiled and took his hand. Once they had stepped through, they were on a cliff, overlooking Alitia. They both sat down, Rune avoiding eye contact.

"Rune... can I ask you something about your namesake?" Helena asked first, wanting to leave the kiss until later. "Iris was talking about it, you see."

"Iris?" Rune tilted his head, facing her. "Let me guess... she assumed I was a resurrected version of my namesake, huh?"

"H-How did you guess-?" Helena gasped, "But, Yes... you do look very much alike. Is this your cosplay or something? It's very... um..."

"I-It wasn't intentional, I promise-!" Rune quickly defended himself, "I just... I'll explain it later. When this is all over."

"You do have a lot to explain..." Helena sighed, "... I don't really know much about you. Why don't you tell me about your hobbies? And... don't say sword fighting."

Rune chuckled, looking back at his sword. "Pity. I was going to say that. If you must know... I, um... I enjoy... reading. Reading's good. I like it when the... the words... work."

Helena frowned. "I hope you're not making this up. I might start to regret that kiss, you know."

"Th-The kiss..." Rune muttered, "... Helena, that... that was my first kiss. And that's a truth."

"It was mine, too!" Helena nodded, "I'm glad that I can boast about kissing a mysterious knight that has a habit of saving me... ah, it's exactly like your namesake! You'll save me, marry me, and... child... within a year..."

"N-No-!" Rune suddenly shot up, blushing heavily. "I-I mean... that's not to say I don't want a child, it's just... I-I, um, it's just a story-! We don't actually... you know... h-have to do that-!"

"I'd prefer it if you'd take me out to dinner first, actually." Helena chuckled, "Come sit back down. It's... it's kinda cold, actually..."

Rune removed his scarf and wrapped it around Helena. "Sorry... you're not exactly wearing a coat. I really didn't think this through."

Helena's eyes wondered to Rune's exposed neck, where a necklace with an expensive-looking diamond sat. Even Carys wasn't allowed to wear diamonds. They didn't trust her enough.

"Where did you get that from? It looks expensive...!" Helena exclaimed, touching the diamond for herself. Rune flinched at her touch.

He was about to cover it up again, but he stopped once he realised that it was pointless. She had already seen it, after all. "It's... it was my great-grandmother's..."

"Oh, there's an inscription!" Helena grinned, examining it closer. "Let's see... Le-"

Rune pulled away suddenly, falling backwards into a portal he accidentally created. Helena held in a scream and fell in after him, the two of them landing back onto her balcony.

"I-I... didn't realise there was an inscription...!" Rune chuckled nervously, obviously lying. Helena didn't mind, though. She had him pinned down underneath her.

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heh
- hatty