Some Wings Must Bleed

Chapter 20 - Kenta's Kiss

"Kenta, hey." I said, shaking my wet hands off and smiling to the man.

He walked closer and sat next to me, gazing into the water. "The sunrise looks quite beautiful on the lake, doesn't it?" He asked.

"I suppose it does. What brings you here?"

"I went to your house to see you, but was told you weren't there. I figured you'd be here, so here I am." Kenta replied, both of our eyes glued to the water.

"I see."

"... Listen, (y/n). I'm really sorry about slapping you. I know I never should have but I just take my anger out like that, you know? My dad says that's what makes a good warrior, you know, aggression. I just- I really like you, (y/n). I've liked you my whole life, since even before we were to be married. I keep trying so hard to win your affection, but you never even try. You're marrying me whether you like it or not, so won't you just give me a chance? I promise I'll make you happy."

I turned my head to Kenta, who had already turned to face me.

'so won't you just give me a chance? I promise I'll make you happy.'

Angela likes him, maybe I should give him a chance...

I smiled at Kenta and leaned towards him, closing my eyes. Almost immediately after I did so, he took the invitation to kiss me. My heart skipped a beat, and for a moment I thought that maybe I could be happy with Kenta. Then he popped into my mind.

Kurapika. Why am I thinking of Kurapika while I'm kissing my fiancé?

Kenta shoved his tongue into my mouth and I made a surprised noise, to which he smiled into the kiss and put one of his hands onto my back.

This doesn't feel right.

I kissed him back weakly, letting him lead the kiss and disconnect from me when he felt fitting. A few moments passed and I placed my hand onto his chest, gently pushing him away from me and breathing hard when we disconnected so that he would think I separated for air. He looked like he was about to go in for another kiss when a voice cut in. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but (y/n), your father has requested to see you before the fitting."

It was the voice of my hunter. My head snapped to him immediately and my face flushed as I wiped my mouth with my sleeve. "Yes, of course." I muttered, standing up and nodding to Kenta.

I was about to walk away when he grabbed my hand and stood up, kissing my cheek. "Have fun at the fitting. Get something pretty." He said, smiling to me.

I smiled back and nodded once more, clicking my tongue and watching as Katashi came trotting towards me.

I mounted the horse and rode over to Kurapika, who was on Rod and looking at me with an expression I couldn't read. I couldn't pinpoint why, but I felt guilty, or rather embarrassed that the hunter saw me kissing Kenta.

He's my fiancé, after all. I shouldn't feel bad about kissing him, right?

We rode in silence for a while, our horses side by side and our eyes avoiding each other. Kurapika was the one to break the silence, his eyes still on the scenery. "You made up with Kenta?"

"Yes. He apologized for mistreating me."

"... Good for him."

"Yeah, I guess so."

. . .

We made it back to the house around half an hour before the dress fitting, the rest of the ride back spent in silence that was less comfortable than usual. As we walked up the path so that I could speak to my dad, I felt the familiar feeling of pain rise in my heart once more. It felt like the same pain I had felt when Paya came to our village.