Micha
I couldn't even make eye contact. This big meanie was loving every second of embarrassing me. I can't believe him! What even made him ask me that?! D-did Ronak want kids?
I peeked across the table at him, and his grin widened. I gulped and quickly looked away. "You already made me drag you here, and order for you. Are you really going to make me eat in silence?" The food's not even here. You're the one who had to say things.
I gulped again and gave Ronak a side-eye glance. "Stop grinning so smugly."
"Am I not permitted to feel amused?"
"N-not when it involves that!" I snapped.
"Isn't that a normal conversation for a couple to have?" Stop grinning! Gah! There was nothing normal about how you broached the topic! Who just casually brings up something like that while on horseback?!
"J-just stop bringing it up!" The waitress arrived with food and gave me a strange look. Don't listen in on our conversation! It was bad enough with Ronak causing problems. "A salad?"
"Is there a problem with the food?" The waitress asked with a concerned glance towards me.
"N-no." I looked away from her and glared at Ronak. "You act like I'm fat." He ordered me a salad last time. I haven't measured recently, but I'm pretty sure I haven't gained any weight.
"You're not fat, quite the opposite, actually. You definitely need more vegetables in your diet, though."
"I-I can do that in other ways besides salads," I grumbled as I jabbed around the salad with my fork. Dummy Ronak being mean and ordering me a salad. I'm not letting him order for me ever again!
"I thought you said you don't hate salads." His eyebrows bunched together in confusion.
"Ee dn't," I grumbled with a mouthful of salad. It tasted really good with whatever vinaigrette they were using, but I was annoyed that Ronak was intentionally getting me salads. He gave me quite the dull look, but I didn't care. Look who's not grinning now! Serves you right. I should just chomp away with my mouth open the entire time as payback.
I was a bit startled when Ronak leaned across the table and wiped the corner of my mouth. "You complain about my hovering, but look at you. You're a mess. I swear you're doing it on purpose." I-I might be… The gentle gaze in Ronak's eyes as he cleaned my face and looked me over, completely enraptured me. Ah… He looks rather charming right now… "Maybe try not to fill your fork so full that you're getting it all over your face." And there he goes ruining it. I let out an annoyed huff and rolled my eyes. Yes, mother hen. I know, mother hen.
"Why didn't we go to the guild first?" We could have gotten street food and toured around the stalls like we occasionally did.
"Because someone was embarrassed. I figured this would be a good opportunity for you to calm down." He wasn't wrong, but that didn't make me feel better.
"Are we going to have time to do another quest?" If I ranked up to orange, then we could go on yellow quests.
"It would depend on what's available. Red and orange quests disappear quickly because they're the most occupied ranks." While munching away on my salad, I paused to give Ronak a puzzled look. "Well, think about it." He pointed towards me with his fork full of fish. "There's bound to be a ton of red rank, and ranking up to orange isn't particularly hard if you're dedicated. Getting to yellow is where things get a bit more serious, especially for betas. I'd say most of my esquires who are starting out rank about yellow in strength. It takes a ton more effort to reach yellow, and from there, reaching green seems almost impossible for some."
"Th-then how am I supposed to catch up to blue?!"
"You'll probably always be a rank or two below me due to the time difference of when we started, but it's not the end of the world. Once we get you to green rank, you'll be able to take blue quests with me. It'll take perseverance on your part if you actually want to achieve that." I knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park, but Ronak made it sound far harder than I thought it was going to be… "Don't look so disappointed. If you really want to catch up to me, I'll make sure it happens."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ronak
Heh, well, fuck. Micha looked like a pleased puppy when I told him that I'd help him catch up to my adventuring rank. I get the feeling that it's less about him wanting to actually adventure, and more that he enjoys spending time with me outside the estate. I'll have to make sure regular dates and adventuring time are added to my schedule. Shit, who knew that having an omega would be so demanding? I have to keep track of what he eats all day, make time for him in my busy schedule, keep an eye on who he socializes with, and a whole host of other fucking stuff. I can't even imagine what it would be like if we actually did throw kids into the mix. I wouldn't have time to get any actual work done. Just missing out on today is going to give me plenty of work to catch up on for the next few days.
Micha grabbed hold of my arm as we exited the restaurant, and my complaints dissipated. I really am fucking obsessed… Why does it seem like my problems are minuscule when he's around? "To the guild?" Wasn't he worried about teleporting or-
Apparently not, because Micha snapped his fingers without a care in the world. That was until we arrived on the other side of the teleportation spell. Just like before, the moment we appeared in the guild hall, a silence befell the occupants. Micha let out an embarrassed yelp and nuzzled against me. "You forgot, didn't you?" He nodded his head, and I rolled my eyes. Oh, Micha. Sometimes you make me wonder if all your smarts are poured into alchemy and medicine because you can be such an airhead.
I let out an annoyed growl and glanced around at all the idiotic gawkers. "Find something else to stare at." I snapped. Most of the fuckers knew better and quickly diverted their attention. I was about to growl at the last few gawkers when Micha drew my attention by poking my neck.
"So grumbly." He snickered with a cute smile on his face. I'm growling for your sake, you brat.
"Do you want to keep that finger? You poked me in the butt with it a few days ago, and now you're poking my neck. I really should nibble it off." I grabbed Micha's hand and pulled it up so I could teasingly nibble on his finger. His eyes went wide, and amusement overwhelmed me. He's so easy to tease.
"D-don't eat my finger!"
"I'm not. Come on, let's go turn in those coins." Mmm, if we were somewhere private, I would have bitten him a few times as a consequence of poking my neck, but I guess he'll survive for now…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I can't accommodate that request." I let out an annoyed growl, and the girl working the front desk flinched.
"Ronak, calm down. It's really not a problem." I glanced at Micha with a scowl.
"Get me the damn guild master." I snapped. The girl nodded her head multiple times before darting off to the back. I was trying to ignore the judgmental stare Micha was giving me, but my eyes slowly drifted over to him and his puffed cheeks. "What?"
"You didn't need to be so mean!" He really didn't get it, did he… I didn't give to shits about anyone else besides him. Why would I bother being nice to them when I didn't care? Instead of responding, I elected to blankly stare at Micha like he had spoken foreign words. It was the perfect decision because his squishy cheeks inflated a touch more, and he attempted to glare at me. "You could try being nice-"
"No," I responded, cutting him off. I'm not trying anything of the sort.
"Ronak!" I had had enough and reached over to pinch his cheeks between my hands.
"Not happening." Never in a million years. I only liked Micha and his squishy cheeks. Mmm, so squishy. I should take him home and squish his other cheeks. Yeah, that sounded fun-
"Ah, I had a feeling you were the commotion when a receptionist came to me frazzled." Guildmaster Rosen appeared from the back, and my scowl deepened. He better not try giving me fucking problems. I'll kick his ass later. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Your receptionist was having a difficult time understanding that while I may have accompanied Micha, he completed the quests on his own. Henceforth, there is no reason to give me any stamps; he should receive all of them." Thorn's expression faltered for a split second before returning to neutral.
"I see where the confusion has occurred… It seems the receptionists marked you both down for the quest when only Micha has accepted the quest… There lies a problem, though. If Micha is taking the quest by himself, he shouldn't have been permitted to take an orange quest since his ranking is only red." This fucking bastard. I don't care how by-the-book you're trying to be. Just give Micha the damn stamps.
"Micha's skills far outrank those of red or orange."
"When has that mattered to the guild? A red adventurer is a red adventurer."
"Ronak! J-just let it go-"
"Shh." I reached over and patted Micha's head while glaring at Thorn. Stop throwing the damn book at me.
Thorn glanced around the lobby of the guild for a second. "Shall we take this somewhere private?" Good, you'd better do what I want.
"Fine." I snapped.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Micha
"I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, my lord." The moment we got into the guildmaster's office, Rosen turned and bowed to Ronak. It was a little bit weird to see such a rough-looking fellow act so reverently towards Ronak. It was usually just tidy noblemen who did such a thing. I mean, I had seen Rosen, or I guess he was going by Thorn at the time, treat Ronak politely, but it was so odd being in the man's office, and Ronak acting like he owned the place. Ronak completely ignored Rosen and waltzed over to the desk to lean against it. What's happening? I stood by the door feeling out of place when Rosen directed me over to the set of sofas to sit. Y-yeah… Okay…
"You did what you had to do. The real question is, are you going to do what I asked now that we are behind closed doors?" Ronak stared down at his fingers as if something was stuck under his well-kept nails. Was he trying to force Rosen into doing what he wanted?
"It's always you who's pushing boundaries." Rosen scoffed. "While it isn't the end of the world for me to do this, I must ask. Are his skills warranted of such a treatment?"
"Obviously. I wouldn't be allowing a greenhorn to receive special treatment just because I want them to." Ronak's eyes wandered over to me as I sat there with wide eyes. "While he doesn't have quite the skill set to overtake me, he does have the ability to withstand combat practice with me. If that's not testament to his skills, I'm not sure what is."
"That is rather impressive. What was Blade's longest time? Thirty seconds?" Rosen asked with a smirk on his face.
"Twenty-six," Ronak responded while looking bored. What? Even that assassin can only spar with Ronak for twenty-six seconds before getting taken out? Yikes.
Rosen approached me and held out his hand. "May I please see your adventuring identification card?"
"Ugh, yeah." I blinked a few times while trying to wrap my head around what was happening before holding my hands out. With a small sparkle of gold, my guild card appeared in my hands, and I passed it over to Rosen.
"How incredibly useful." Rosen apparently glanced at me a moment too long because Ronak let out a soft growl. "I apologize, my lord." Rosen took a quick step away from me and bowed towards Ronak. H-hey! You didn't do anything wrong! Ronak's the one being a jealous meany!
Rosen walked over to his desk and retrieved a stamp from his drawer. He pressed it against my card multiple times until it lit up and shifted to a beautiful, vibrant orange. Ooooh, so that's how that works. Neat. Rosen returned to me and passed me the now orange adventuring card back. "I-I didn't do enough to deserve this-"
"Too bad, accept it. You wanted to catch up to me, remember?"
"But… this feels like cheating."
"You were bored on that orange quest. Don't act like you weren't." I mean, you're not wrong, Ronak, but… this felt wrong.
"Don't worry about it. There are the occasional guild members who get ranked up for doing tests of strength. Just think about it as my lord attesting to your strength." Okay… I guess so… If he thought it was okay, then it was probably okay… That or he's just trying to make me feel better because he views Ronak as his boss… I-it's probably the second thing, isn't it…
"Shall we go see if there's a yellow quest that looks interesting?" Ronak asked as he approached and held out his hand.
"I guess we can…" But it better not end up in a similar situation as this…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ronak… There's not really anything good on my side…" Just a bunch of guarding quests and escort quests.
"Same. Only trash over here. That's a shame. We'll have to try again another day." I-it's probably best after all the problems we caused. I didn't really want Ronak forcing Rosen to change my guild card to yellow just because we did another quest. I flinched in surprise as Ronak grabbed my shoulder. "Guess you're all mine now-" Ronak's excited expression slowly morphed into a frown, and I stared at him in confusion.
"What's wrong?" N-not that I wanted to be hauled away to our bed by him, but his reaction confused me.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." I let out a surprised yelp as Ronak pulled me into his arms. The world around me turned red as he pulled me down into his travel spell.
"What's wrong? Talk to me." Concern was starting to grow inside of me as Ronak's frown deepened to a grimace.
Ronak glanced down at me, and his gaze slightly softened. "Aunt Bergenerie dropped by the estate." That's what he was acting so grim about? There's nothing wrong with that.
"Did you ignore her letter? She warned you that she would drop by…" Wait… does that mean she brought me a picture of baby Ronak?! I excitedly gripped onto Ronak's shirt and shimmed to sit up a bit more upright in his arms. If she doesn't have them, I'm gonna be so disappointed!
"I was hoping she would leave and forget about it," Ronak grumbled.
We appeared in our bedroom, where Olivia and Tisha were waiting for us. Olivia instantly went to Ronak, and Tisha ushered me over to the closet to start changing. So efficient. I guess being able to communicate with Olivia and Gerard through Ronak's mind was rather useful. I wonder what sort of spell he used to communicate? I opened my mouth to call out to him, and paused. My face turned a bit pink as Ronak's snarky words in the dungeon came to mind. This big meanie knew he was going to mark me when he was taunting me about becoming his omega, didn't he?!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ronak
Fuck, you know who I didn't want to deal with today? Relatives. I guess Aunt Bergenerie was tolerable compared to some of them. If I were to make a silly list like Micha, she'd probably rank second, but there would be a massive gap between him and her. She'd be much more tolerable if she weren't so headstrong. Guess that's what my mother loved about her, though-
Micha popped out of the closet with Tisha, and he was wearing a casual change of clothes, but… the moment he spotted me, he scowled in my direction. Did something happen?
"You're dismissed." I waved the maids off and walked over to Micha. "Why are you scowling?" I asked as I tried to rub the wrinkle out of his forehead with my finger.
"You're a big meanie!" He snapped. Did I… do something to him? He was fine just seconds ago… Micha poked me in the chest, drawing my attention back to him. "You knew you were going to mark me when you were teasing me about being your omega in the dungeon, didn't you?!" What spurred him to think about that?
"Actually," I reached down to poke Micha in the nose. "I didn't make that decision until I brought your sleepy head to the estate for the first time, but you're the one who put the thought into my head. You said you wanted a partner who would be willing to mark you. At first, I thought that it was nothing, but shit, but the idea kept resurfacing in my mind. You avoiding me really sealed the deal." I kept teasingly rubbing the sides of Micha's head as I spoke. The best part was the dumb, baffled look on his face.
"Y-you actually listened?!" It was like every thought, and no thoughts were happening behind his wide, blank eyes. Heh.
"You do talk a lot, but I do listen to every word you say." Micha's face turned a pleasant pink color, which made me snicker. "Come now, we have to listen to my annoying Aunt."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Micha
I think Ronak said something to me as we walked down the halls, but I didn't hear him. I was feeling far too baffled to process anything. H-he's telling me that I planted the seed for him to mark me?! Whaaaaaat?! Has he lost his marbles?! I might have mentioned it, but that didn't mean he needed to run and do it! Gah! I can't believe him! What a dummy!
Gerard opened the door to the parlor for us, and Ronak guided me in. Hmmm… I think I poked my head into this room once, but I got bored and left. Sitting at one of the sofas was, of course, Aunt Berengiere. "Oh, so you two do have time in your busy schedules. I was starting to think that I'd have to sit here all evening."
"We weren't even at the estate until ten minutes ago. It's your fault for coming unannounced." Ronak snapped as he sat down on the opposite sofa with me. Aunt Berengiere was wearing a casual floral pant suit. Huh… those must be her favorite. She's always wearing one.
"Sorry for making you wait, Aunt Berengiere, ah! S-sorry! I-I shouldn't be calling you that!" I didn't even stop to think! I would probably have to address her differently because I wasn't related. I was just so used to Ronak using that name to address her that it felt completely natural.
"Oh, hush, you're practically part of the family. I'd be upset if you called me anything else." Sh-she actually wanted me to address her as Aunt?
"Micha doesn't have any aunts, so I bet he'd like that, wouldn't you?" I looked over at Ronak, who was looking so calm and collected, despite my blunder.
"Y-yeah." My face felt rather warm as Ronak reached over and patted my head. I'd like that a lot, actually.
"So why are you here?" Ronak grunted as he pulled me over to nestle under his arm. Gosh, I feel so much more comfortable like this. I-it would be even better if his aunt wasn't watching me curiously.
"I told you at your birthday party. I wanted to get to know Micha better." Gerard entered, bringing snacks and tea, which made me perk up. We might have just had lunch, but those were some tasty-looking cookies.
"You talked to him during dinner. What else is there to be said?" I started reaching for a cookie, but Ronak leaned forward, snagged a bowl of grapes, and forced them into my desperate hands. B-but I wanted a cookie- His harsh side eye made me freeze, and I happily accepted the bowl of grapes.
"Let the boy have a cookie." Aunt Bergenerie snapped while glaring at Ronak.
"He can have one after he eats something healthy." Ronak snapped back.
"I didn't realize how nurturing you'd turn out to be." The way she phrased it made it sound like a bad thing.
"I didn't realize that you were still alive-"
"Wonak!" It wasn't my intention to talk with food in my mouth, but I couldn't believe him! I gulped the grape down and grabbed his ear. "You don't need to be so mean!"
Ever so slowly, he turned to glare at me, but I refused to release his ear. He had taken things too far. "I'm really going to nibble those fingers off if you don't let go-" Ronak's eyes went a bit wide as I stuck a grape in his mouth. Nibble on that!
I thought for sure Ronak was going to murder me on the spot, regardless of whether his aunt was in the room, but laughter drew my attention away from the looming threat. "Oh my! I didn't know that Ronak had met his match! Here I was, thinking you were all timid. Getting pushed around easily by Ronak. To think that you actually had a spunky personality hiding underneath your timid demeanor." She should see the pillow fights we get into. That would probably really crack her up. Ronak let out an annoyed growl, which made me flinch, but his aunt wasn't having any part of it. "Oh, hush. It's about time you act your age. You'd think you're older than me half the time." Hehe, Ronak got in trouble!
"Wipe that grin off your face." The grape in Ronak's mouth audibly snapped as he bit down on it. Within a flash, he reached over and grabbed my cheeks, giving them a squeeze.
I managed to get Ronak to release my face, and my gaze caught sight of Aunt Berengiere's purse. I couldn't help it anymore. I just had to know. "Did you bring pictures?"
"Maybe." She got a mischievous grin on her face and pulled her purse over to her lap. She patted the space next to her, and I didn't even hesitate. I needed to see them!
"Micha, you brat-!" I managed to wriggle away from Ronak before he could prevent me from escaping. I did prefer sitting next to him, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I doubt Ronak had any pictures, and even if he did, he wouldn't let me see them.
Aunt Berengiere must have found what she was looking for in her purse because she pulled out a small stack of thick-looking paper. "I did warn you." She teasingly smiled over to Ronak, who looked irritated. "This one here is of the little grumpy when he was born."
I let out a loud gasp. "Your mother is so pretty!" The picture depicted a grinning woman who looked awfully similar to Ronak. She had long, black, wavy hair, and she had the same little dimples Ronak gets in his cheeks when he genuinely smiles. It was a shame that the photo was black and white. "What color were her eyes?" I was trying to determine from the shade of gray they were, but I had nothing to go on.
"Red like Ronak's. Red tones are an imperial family thing. A rather dominant trait, too. Wouldn't be surprised if your kids have red eyes." My cheeks turned a bit flushed as I listened to her, but my attention was drawn to the small bundle in Ronak's mother's arms. You couldn't see much, but it was cute all the same. I went to hand the picture back to Aunt Berengiere, but she didn't accept it. "I had someone make copies of the originals with a magic device; these are for you to keep."
Ronak let out a grunt, but I excitedly gasped. I get to keep these?! Th-then I've got to get a scrapbook to keep them in! There's no way I'll let Ronak hide them or something. "Okay!"
"Here's the little grumpy when he was about two." I inhaled sharply and let out an excited squeal. He's so CUTE! Little Ronak had a big, cheesy grin on his face and was wearing an adorable pair of dapper overalls. This must have been before his mother died because he seemed like he didn't have a care in the world… My finger brushed over the photo, and I felt a little sad. I wish Ronak could smile this warmly…, but I guess he does sometimes. I'm glad I can be his bright spot in his life.
Ronak let out a defeated grunt and slumped against the sofa. A wave of loneliness hit me from him, but there wasn't a chance I was going to return to him. I needed to claim the prize for his failure! These pictures had to be mine!
"Ah, this one should have gone before that one." Aunt Bergenerie handed me the photo, and I thought my heart would stop.
Sitting upright while attempting to hold a rattle was none other than a cubby baby, Ronak. He couldn't have been older than one. He had on some jammies with large stars on them, and his cheeks looked so pinchable. "Look how cute you are!!!!" I squealed while turning the photo around for Ronak to see. He apparently didn't think the same or was too embarrassed because he simply grunted and lifelessly slid even further down the sofa back.
"Micha doesn't need to see all that shit-"
"Yes, I do!" I snapped, cutting him off. "I-I don't have anything so precious of me… these are incredibly special."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ronak
Special, huh? I glanced back over to Micha, who had resumed staring at my baby photo like it was the best thing in the world. Guess his parents would have been too poor to have an enchanted camera… Micha was probably a fat baby with lots of little folds. Mmm, yeah. Micha would have been fucking cute.
Aunt Berengiere moved on to show him different photos, and I couldn't help but feel my cheeks get a little warm. "Look at Ronak in his little swim trunks!!" Micha squealed. Oh, those must be from when I went to the ocean with Aunt Berengiere…
Kids have been getting brought up a lot today… I haven't actually put a lot of thought into it. Micha being pregnant was only a fleeting thought I had one day as I watched him consume chocolates like the golden void he was.
While I think Micha would make an excellent parent… I just don't think I would… I wouldn't even know where to start… My childhood is nothing to go off of, and I sure fucking hope that our kids don't have to go through hell like I did…
Our kids, huh? That's a strange thought to have… I wasn't joking when I told him I swore not to have kids, and now look at me sitting here thinking about it… Goddamn fucking strange. That's what this all is…
Micha made a particularly cute sound, which drew my attention. "I can't believe you punched a hole in the wall!" Micha was all giggles, but I remember that day…
My magic had recently appeared, and while visiting the palace, the vile duke hauled me into a room to kick the shit out of me for talking back in front of the emperor. The bastard always left marks where they weren't visible. He wouldn't want to actually get in trouble for his vile actions. Afterwards, I got sent to play with Elyas, and I remember feeling so frustrated and powerless. That's when I sent my fist through the wall, and Aunt Bergenerie made me stand by it to get a picture. She thought it was a hoot, just like Micha does. She didn't ever stop to ask why I put a hole in the wall… She probably just thought I was acting out…
Yeah… I'd probably make a terrible father…
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Micha
We were almost done looking at the photos, which I found disappointing. I liked getting to peek into Ronak's past and getting to see him when he was little. It did make me sad to see all his upset, and angry scowls though… Those sent a twinge of sadness shooting through me.
"And lastly, here is a photo of the brat before he started training under Artus." Aunt Berengiere handed me the last photo, but before I looked at it, I blinked a few times in confusion. I-I really need to learn Ronak's family's names…
"That's Uncle Hemonnet's first name," Ronak grunted, saving me from having to ask. Ooooh. I see…
I glanced down at the photo curiously. "Whaaaat?! Look how skinny you used to be- N-not that you're not skinny now… You're just thick-" My eyes went wide as I realized what I said. "I ugh… I-I mean-!" Ronak leaned up to give me a scathing glare. Eep! "V-very muscular!" I managed to blurt out. Someone please make me shut up!
Thankfully, Aunt Bergenerie snickered. "Will you stop giving this cutie a hard time? Had you relied on your uncles to find you an omega, you would have ended up with some hag who wouldn't have cared about you in the slightest. Instead of giving him a hard time, you should be grateful that he likes you and wants to be a part of your life." Aunt Bergenerie patted my head as she talked. I didn't hate her patting my head, but it wasn't the same as when Ronak pats me.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ronak
This old hag. First, she brings photos, and now she's trying to nag me? She doesn't know about half the shit that I do for Micha. Not only do I constantly protect him from jackasses, but I've made sure he lives comfortably, he gets proper nutrition, and is cared for. I have even shifted my working schedule to accommodate living with him. Saying that I'm giving him a hard time only pisses me off. I only gave him a hard time once, and it was before I knew he was an omega. I've been bending over backwards to fucking make up for that.
"Keep your damn opinions to yourself." I glanced over to Micha, who was still admiring his new stack of pictures, completely oblivious. I grunted, and Micha peeked up at me with a smile. Just like I was hoping, he stood and transferred back to sit next to me. I wrapped my arm around him and pulled him close. Ugh, he was staring at the picture of me holding a rattle again. I guess… I didn't hate knowing how much he thought I was cute….
"We're going to have to get a scrapbook…" Micha mumbled under his breath. I don't think he even realized he was talking out loud. Hmm… I guess we could go buy one…
"Alright, I've heckled the young couple long enough. I'll be taking my leave." Aunt Berengiere said with a sigh.
"About time." Had I been within reaching distance, she definitely would have clamped onto my ear like the damn crab she was.
"If that's how you're going to act, I'll just write to Micha. I'm sure he'd actually respond." Aunt Berengiere rose from the sofa and dramatically shrugged like she was actually offended. Oh, you whiny old hag-
"Okay!" Micha excitedly chirped.
A massive grin formed on her face as she looked down at Micha. "Maybe I'll dig through my old stuff at my estate, and see if I have any more cute pictures of your grumpy alpha." That really got Micha excited. He sat up and flashed her a wide smile.
"I'd like that a lot." You can't just- eh, you know what? I don't particularly care as long as Micha doesn't run and make plans without talking to me first. He'd probably enjoy getting some mail of his own besides the letters from his parents, and it would make it so I don't have to respond…
"Okay, then it's a plan. I'll write to you. Try not to frown so much, Ronak." Aunt Berengiere flashed me an obnoxious smile, to which I rolled my eyes. Worry about your own damn face.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Micha
"Would you like to go purchase a scrapbook this evening?" I wasn't paying too close attention to where we were going as I followed Ronak through the halls of the estate. As I looked around, it seemed like we were nearing his office.
I gasped excitedly. "Can we?!" I wanted to make sure the pictures were well taken care of, so getting a scrapbook sooner rather than later was the best option. "Ack!" Ronak stopped as we walked, and I ended up walking directly into his back because I was distracted.
Ronak had a slight smirk as he turned around. "You wouldn't run into my thick back if you were paying attention."
My face almost instantly turned pink, and I held the stack of photos up to block my face. "I-I just meant that you were muscular! N-nothing else!" It wasn't my fault that he was so muscular, and it's not like I disliked it at all! It was so strange seeing Ronak look slender. I was so used to the hulking beast that he was that it felt like I was looking at someone who stole his face in the picture.
Ronak snickered slightly and held out his hand. "Can I see the pictures?"
"Wh-why?!" He wasn't going to take them away, was he?
"You can have all of them back, but one. I don't really want it ending up in the scrapbook." Ronak's eyebrows knit together slightly, and a mixed wave of feelings hit me.
I didn't like knowing that one of them upset him this much, so I nervously agreed to let him see the pictures. "Which one is it?" I asked as I held out the pictures for him. He thumbed through them a bit and pulled the one of him and the hole-in-the-wall out of the mix. The moment he held the photo in his hands, the irritation he had been feeling spiked.
"I only want happy memories to be in the book. I hope that's not a problem." He frowned at the picture in his hands, and I looked up at him with wide eyes.
"It's not a problem at all. I'm sorry I laughed when I saw it… D-do you want to talk about it?" Gah! I can't believe my first reaction when seeing it was to laugh! I didn't even stop to think about what could have happened to make him do that…
I was a bit startled as Ronak really rubbed the top of my head with his hand. H-hey! You're going to mess up my bangs! "You don't need to feel guilty. How were you supposed to know that this would remind me of that bastard?" His inky black flames appeared in his palm, completely engulfing the photo within seconds, leaving only ash that gently drifted to the ground. Ronak let out a little sigh and pulled me over to him. "Based on how much it hurt afterwards, he probably broke a rib after kicking me across the room. The most frustrating part was the door was cracked, and the empress definitely saw, but didn't say a word…" So that's why he doesn't like her… I had guessed that something must have happened… "I shouldn't have said anything." Ronak pulled me away from him, and he started rubbing at the corners of my eyes. "I knew you would cry."
"I-I'm not c-crying!" Despite me trying to convince myself otherwise, a big tear fell from my eye and slid down my face.
"Oh my. You have so many emotions, and they're all oh so big."
"Th-they are n-not!" I knew what Ronak was saying was the truth, but I didn't want to agree with him. I had a normal amount of normally sized emotions. Clearly, he was upset too, otherwise he wouldn't have burnt the picture. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
"How are we supposed to go buy a scrapbook when my sunshine has rain clouds blocking it?" I let out a big sniffle and tried to control my crying. It didn't help much, though, and I ended up leaning forward to snuggle my head against Ronak. How can he be so strong after going through so much? I-I could never! "Come on, my little sunshine." Ronak pulled me up into his arms and started walking towards his office. "I'll have Gerard bring those cookies you didn't eat."
A small hiccup escaped me as I lay my head on Ronak's shoulder. "C-cookies?"
"Mhmm, I'll even let you have a few since you're so dead set on being upset on my behalf." He started rubbing circles around on my back, and I completely melted against him.