Hey readers! Prepare for lots of romance! And here’s an illustration I made of Weiss and Oden… just because! Don’t stare at it too long or you’ll notice how I haven’t finished it. Anyways, enjoy the chapter!
Weiss blinked a few times. And then he grew flustered.
“What, n-no—“
“It’s as clear as day.”
Weiss hid his face with his hands. He peeked out.
“Is it that obvious?”
Oden nodded with a serious expression.
“Rael must be a dense fool to not notice it.”
Weiss groaned. He lowered his hands, staring at the table. He glanced at Oden, still shy.
“Well, does it matter if I like him?” Oden, who was sipping his milk, stopped.
“Confess.”
“Confess?!” Weiss looked horrified. Had that thought never crossed his mind? Oden had to bite to suppress a laugh. He stared at Weiss who for once wasn’t saying rude remarks.
“Yes. Confess. Then, depending on the answer, you date, hold hands, and have babies?”
“Can we even have babies?”
The two blankly stared at each other. And in unison, shrugged.
“Wait, aren’t we getting too far ahead? W-who even said he’d accept! And why are you helping me?!” Weiss returned to his flustered state, pointing a finger at Oden. Oden slapped his accusing finger away, scowling.
“Because I’m tired of watching your horrible attempts at flirting and him missing all of the signs.”
“S-still. It’s too sudden. Especially since we don’t like each other.”
Silence descended. Oden cleared his throat, not meeting Weiss’ gaze.
“I’m willing to be on… pleasant terms with you.”
Weiss’ expression turned into that of horror.
“Temporarily,” Oden stressed, growing annoyed at his reaction. Weiss sighed in relief, causing Oden to glare at him.
All of a sudden, he frowned. “Wait… aren’t we love rival?” Oden gave him a blank expression.
“Love rival? For who?”
“Rael of course!”
Oden burst into laughter. When his laughter calmed down, he glanced at Weiss’ serious expression and began laughing again. It took him a few minutes to calm down. Taking deep breaths, he wiped a tear from his eyes. He wore a huge smile.
“That was a good joke.” Weiss didn’t blink as he glowered at Oden. Oden tilted his head.
“You were joking… right?” He shook his head. The smile on Oden’s face dropped.
“You thought… all this time… I liked Rael?” Weiss watched Oden’s expression turn from joy to disgust. Oden shivered.
“Why would you even assume that? He’s a good friend, yes but…” He paused. “I like girls.”
Weiss blinked. “So you never liked him?”
“No!”
He blinked a few times, in disbelief.
“Now going back to the topic of confessing…” Oden began, wanting a reaction from Weiss. He saw Weiss’ grin falter and felt joy.
“I don’t want to.”
“Fine. I’m not forcing you. However, you might just lose your chance…” He saw Weiss whirl in his direction.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Rael has been getting quite close with Ophelia lately.”
“So?” He asked innocently.
“I saw him blush around her, Weiss. Your time is limited.” Oden looked serious, crossing his hands together like a rich CEO. Weiss put a hand to his mouth, wide-eyed.
“No way…!”
“Yes way. I can already see it. Rael tries to help Ophelia with… Ru? And then he falls for her. Ophelia realizes she doesn’t like Ru anymore and falls for Rael. And then they end up together and get married and have ten babies!” Oden said in a serious tone.
“That sounds like some kind of fairy tale,” Weiss replied nonchalantly.
“You sure are taking this easy. That can very easily become the future, you fool! That’s why you need to confess.”
“Geez, you’re more in a rush than me. What are you hiding?” Weiss said, poking at Oden. The boy scowled and slapped his hand away for the second time.
“Nothing! I merely want the game of will-they won’t-they to end.”
Weiss sighed. “Fine. I mean I’m tired of having to hide my feelings—“
“With how transparent you are, you’re not hiding shit.” He blurted out.
Weiss glared at him. Oden closed his mouth.
“Like I said, fine. I’ll do it. I-I’ll confess to him! A-and…” He couldn’t say much more, too embarrassed. Oden cooed.
“Aw, is little Weiss embarrassed? How cute.”
The said boy raised his head. “I don’t want to be called little by you.”
Oden sneered. “What’s that supposed to mean, lover boy?”
Weiss smugly smiled. “Do I have to spell it out for you?”
They stared at each other, ready to argue—
“You’re always fighting like cats and dogs when I see you.” Rael plopped down next to Oden. The two blinked.
“What?” Oden uttered.
“Cats and dogs…?” Weiss was speechless.
Rael shrugged, not explaining what he meant. He began to unravel his Caesar salad drenched with all kinds of condiments.
“What is that…?” Oden asked, pointing at the abomination.
“A healthy meal for a healthy person. My mento—Geo told me to focus on my meals so training will be easy. I skipped breakfast today so I have to eat lunch to get more energy.”
“How is that a healthy meal?” Oden said.
“It’s a soup with a side of salad.” Weiss joked, causing Oden to crack a smile. Rael scowled.
“Shut up, focus on your own meal!”
They spent the rest of the lunch speaking with the usually absent Rael. And for once, they got along with each other.
“So let me get this right…” Clance began, staring at Weiss from across the table. They’d been eating breakfast when he blurted out his dilemma. “You want to confess to R—your crush, and it began because O—a jerk told you to?”
Weiss frowned. “Yes. I don’t know why you keep pausing, but that’s the gist of it.”
Clance blinked. He had never been in a situation like this. He wasn’t the right person to ask. But…
Clance began smiling. He was thoroughly amused.
“Then just do it.”
Weiss let out a groan.
“How?!”
“First, make sure you’re alone with him. And second… confess.”
Weiss was now glaring at him. Clance shrugged his shoulders.
“Believe it or not, even with my ridiculously handsome appearance, I’m not experienced with confessions. Rather, I get them, I’ve just never confessed.” Weiss rolled his eyes.
“I thought you’d be useful.”
“And I thought you’d listen to my suggestion.”
They stared at each other. Weiss crossed his arms, letting out a heavy sigh.
“I guess I should just make it simple. But why is even the thought of it making my heart race like crazy?”
“Because it’s your first crush?”
“This isn’t my first cru—“ Weiss cut himself, looking away. Clance stared at him curiously before shrugging.
“I’m sure it’ll go well. Just be yourself.”
“Okay. Be me. I can do that. I can definitely do that.”
"I can’t do this."
Weiss kept repeating in his head as he paced back and forth. He decided that this was the day he’d tell Rael. And he simultaneously felt nervous and sick the same time. It felt as though his heart was in his throat, beating loudly for the world to hear.
He swallowed his saliva for the fifth time that minute and fiddled with his hands. It was a bad habit of his but he needed to calm down. He headed back to the classroom, having lied about going to the bathroom. Sitting down, he questioned all of his life decisions.
But he had to do this.
Initially, he wasn’t planning on it, but something that Oden said struck a chord in him. And it made the emotions he’d been suppressing for so long to burst out. He’d get flustered if Rael even stood near him. And that happened more frequently than he cared to admit.
Weiss’ raised hand shook. But it continued to move as it tapped the person’s shoulder who sat next to him. Rael turned his golden-brown eyes to Weiss. He didn’t say anything, giving him a quizzical look.
Weiss wanted to throw up. But he eventually whispered the words out; “Can… we talk privately? After this?”
Rael stared at him. He leaned in to whisper back, and Weiss wished his heart didn’t flutter just from that action. Weiss kept his gaze on his desk as he felt Rael’s breathing next to his ear. He nearly shivered.
“Why? I planned on training again with—“
Weiss sent him a serious look. “It’s important.” But he’d forgotten to be silent. So the history professor turned his heel and smiled at Weiss.
“What’s important, Mr. Reiss?”
Weiss looked abashed as he lowered his head. “Nothing, sir.”
“Are you sure? You were talking so loudly that I thought you wanted to share it with the class.”
Weiss shook his head furiously, trying to hide from the attention he’d just received. The professor left him off with a warning.
“Either be quiet or leave if you want to chitchat.”
Weiss couldn’t answer as he’d already buried his face in his arms.
How humiliating.
Rael stood up, poking Weiss. He stood up, blinking.
“What?” He said.
“What do you mean, what? Didn’t you want to say something to me?”
Weiss's face changed abruptly. He slowly nodded.
“Y-yeah. J-just follow after me.”
Rael had already told Geo to cancel the training. After all, he couldn’t forget to spend time with his friends. He was curious about what Weiss wanted to say. It was important enough for him to grow so serious (which didn’t happen often).
He stared at Weiss. He was walking stiffly, like a robot trying to copy a human walk. Rael cracked a smile.
“Why are you walking like that?”
“L-like what?”
Instead of telling him, Rael mimicked his walking. He exaggerated, lifting his arms wider, whilst taking large steps. He twirled, grinning at Weiss.
“Like that.”
He saw Weiss in a daze, staring at him. Rael’s grin faltered.
“Weiss?” He waved his hand in the boy’s face. Weiss snapped out of it.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“Are you okay? Are you that stressed about the upcoming tests?”
He slowly shook his head. “No… about something else.” He lifted his head. Rael felt a hand grab his hand. He stared at the boy, confused.
“Follow me, I want to show you something.”
Weiss stopped at his destination. It was outside of the Academy. At one of the low hills, right by the training facility. They stood by one of the many violet trees. The leaves fluttered, causing a few blue leaves to fall.
Weiss stood by the tallest tree. There was a reason he’d gone here of all locations. When he’d asked Clance for locations, the boy had told him about the violet trees. Specifically, the largest one, as it was known as a hot spot for confessions. It was said that 8/10 who confessed got together.
Weiss clenched his fist. He wasn’t facing Rael as he was too scared. If he saw Rael’s face, he might blurt out what he felt. And he wasn’t sure if he was ready just yet.
“Ah,” he heard Rael say. He could hear his steps approach him, before stopping. Weiss felt something touch his hair.
“You have something in your hair.” Weiss turned to face Rael. He held a blue leaf, staring at it curiously. When he saw Weiss, he smiled.
“This is a nice location. We should have a picnic here sometime.” Rael put the leaf behind his ear, closing his eyes. His red hair gently swayed as more leaves fell around him. The small smile on his left as he enjoyed the wind made the butterflies in Weiss’ stomach flutter once more.
“It would be a perfect picnic spot. The breeze is nice, the view is good, and most of all…” He opened his eyes, his eyes curving as his smile widened. “The leaves seem to love you.” He spoke.
Weiss, unaware that a lot of leaves had fallen on his head again, was tongue-tied. It felt as though his throat was clogged and no matter how many times he opened and closed his mouth, no words would form.
Rael shook his head, causing the leaf by his ear to fall. He approached, brushing away the leaves that landed on Weiss. He let out a laugh when he watched three more leaves land on him.
“Are you some kind of leaf magnet?” He joked, brushing them off as well.
Weiss felt how close they were to each other. Unlike when they hid in the closet, this was the closest they’d been. Every time Rael touched his hair, his heart fluttered a little more than before.
He watched Rael and finally the boy noticed his gaze. Weiss felt something rise from his chest. He’d never felt like this before. He felt nauseous, happy, and nervous, and he wanted time to stop forever.
But maybe… it just could stop for a little while?
Weiss didn’t know when his hand grabbed Rael’s. He squeezed his hand, and swallowed, blinking rapidly.
“Rael?” He sounded so afraid of saying his name. Why was he so scared? The worst that could happen was… their friendship being ruined.
Weiss, realizing that, felt anxiety spike him once again. But he didn’t want to step away. Or run away. There wasn’t a moment more perfect than this.
“Yes?” Rael spoke back, his round eyes staring at Weiss. Weiss opened his mouth repeatedly. He must’ve looked like a puppet that was malfunctioning. The hand holding Rael’s had become sweaty and his heart wouldn’t stop beating.
He let out a shaky breath. He stared at Rael. Like a boy in love. And he confessed to the feelings he’d been holding for over a year.
“I like you.”
He’d envisioned this scene so many times that he’d lost count. Rael would become happy, and hug him as they laughed over their mutual feelings. Or he’d stare at him with disgust, shoving him away with a sneer, ending their friendship permanently.
Those scenes flashed past his mind as he watched Rael slowly react. And Rael’s reaction… fit none of the boxes. He looked surprised. The boy had been caught off guard.
Weiss felt his heart drop. The feelings of euphoria he’d experienced seconds ago turned sour.
He hadn’t expected this. He didn’t know Rael would react like that. Of course, he knew Rael was dense, but he didn’t know it was to this extent.
Rael had never once thought of him like that. He’d been a friend all along.
He should’ve known.
He’d been misunderstanding everything based on his own emotions. He’d been swayed by his foolishness.
Weiss felt air-headed. He let go of Rael’s hand. He took a step back. He stared at Rael for a mere second. He wanted to go back in time and never confess. He’d rather be quiet about his feelings than tell him. Or else, he’d see that facial expression.
The face of a clueless prince.
Weiss forced every muscle in his face to brightly smile. Grinning, he walked up to Rael, slapping his shoulder. He ignored how his heart skipped a beat from merely touching Rael.
“I was just joking.”
Rael blinked repeatedly.
“Wait, really? I thought that you were—“
”You fell for it!” He laughed, feeling his insides twist from discomfort.
Rael’s surprise grew into annoyance. “Seriously Weiss? You did all of this just to make a joke? I thought you were serious.”
‘What would you do if I genuinely confessed?’ He swallowed that question, still grinning. “I was sad that you kept ignoring us so I came up with this ploy so you’d be with us again.”
Rael looked at him. A silent, judging look. He shook his head. “If you wanted attention, you could’ve just asked me normally. Since you were just playing a prank, I’ll leave now. Unless you have another joke to make?”
‘I wish this was a joke.’
He continued to grin. “Sadly, I ran out of them. And I don’t want to keep you waiting.”
Rael, who was about to leave, turned to face him. “Weiss.”
“Yes?” He was still smiling like an idiot. The smile wouldn’t fall, it was stuck to his face.
“Don’t ever play with somebody’s emotions.” He spoke coldly. And then, he walked off.
Weiss froze. The fact that Rael had told him not to play with anyone’s emotions? Ironic. Because after this, it felt as though his feelings had been toyed with this entire time.
Weiss stood alone for what felt like an eternity. His smile vanished as he stared at the ground. He collapsed on the grass. And he sat for a long time. Taking deep breaths, rapidly blinking, and staring up at the sky.
He thought of happy times. That always cheered him up. But in nearly all of them, Rael was in them, smiling along with him.
Weiss took a deep, shaky breath.
He managed not to cry. He didn’t deserve to cry. Because this was all brought by him. And he had no right to curl into a ball and cry with regret.
None at all.
Like that, a few days pass. It was a Thursday, and by next week, the tests would start. The first years were busy studying and stressing over it. If you saw a student with their head buried in a book, it was a first-year.
Claus sat, studying with Al, Weiss, and Oden. Rael had gone ahead for ‘extra training’ and told them he’d be back in an hour.
Claus had a bit of difficulty remembering the different timelines. He knew the oldest was the Dark Age which was approximately thirty thousand years ago. But he always mixed up the Age of Restoration and The Age of Revelation. They both sounded the same but there were more than ten thousand years between them.
He rubbed his head. “Is it Revelation or Restoration that comes after the Dark Age?” He murmured. Oden lifted his head.
“Pretty sure it’s Restoration.”
Weiss, who’d been reading, shook his head. “No, it’s Revelation. The reason why it’s a revelation is due to the Chanis War at the end of the Revelation Age. Hence, why the next is called Restoration.”
“Because they restored several lost civilizations afterward…!” Claus' eyes lit up and he wrote it all down. Oden scowled.
“I knew that…”
Weiss didn’t respond and continued to read. Oden paused, glancing at Weiss.
After an hour of silence, they heard footsteps. They saw Rael appearing, cheeks flushed.
“God, that was torture.” He plopped down between Al and Claus. The two scooted over, even though there was a vacant spot next to Weiss and Oden. Rael pretended not to see it as he sat down.
“So, how’s studying coming along?”
“Horribly…” Al muttered.
“Not bad,” Claus said.
“I just want to be done…” Oden complained, lying on his history book.
Weiss didn’t say anything, still reading. Rael looked away, still smiling.
“Then I’ll look around for a book to borrow.” He stood up. Weiss raised his head.
“Toilet.” He murmured, leaving as well.
They went in opposite directions, ignoring each other. The three remaining friends finally tackled the issue at hand.
“Did it go that badly…?” Al muttered, glancing at them.
Oden had told them about the confession when they kept pestering him about Weiss’ strange attitude. They knew something was going on but they wanted all of the details.
“I think so. Weiss didn’t even retort my previous mistake…” Oden replied.
Claus shrugged. “Maybe they need more time?”
The three stared at each other. Those two had had time to sort through the bitter feelings. But instead, they ignored each other.
“Why is Rael ignoring him though? You’d think it’d be the opposite.” Al asked.
“Maybe he did something to piss him off?” Oden suggested.
“Like what?”
“Like… k-kissing him?” Oden stuttered.
Al and Claus blinked. And then they snorted. Al was furiously shaking his head as Claus tried to suppress his laughter.
“No, no, no, Weiss is the biggest coward there is. He could never—“
“He’s too scared to even receive confessions, let alone make a move on somebody!” Claus added, with a smile.
Oden shook his head. “He acts so confident at times that it’s hard to guess. Who knew he was such a coward.”
“Who’s a coward?” Oden turned his head and saw Weiss standing there with his arms crossed.
“N-nobody!” Oden refused to look at him.
Weiss didn’t seem to believe him but he didn’t say anything more, sitting down. He continued to read, ignoring the glances from his friends.
When Rael came back, it grew awkward. There was tension in the air. But no one dared to address it. So they continued to study, even though nobody could pay attention to what they were reading.
At lunch, Rael sat with Geo, and they’d changed seats in class so to avoid sitting next to each other. Eventually, it got to Al, Claus, and Oden. It was aggravating watching two friends tip toe past each other. It was so obvious something happened but both of them refused to say anything.
“He hasn’t even told you?” Al asked Claus while sipping his drink. Claus shook his head, looking a bit down.
“He tries to change the topic every time. I’m afraid that if this continues…” They saw Rael walking past them, without greeting them. It might’ve been that he didn’t notice them as he’d been talking with Ophelia with a smile, but it stung.
It felt as though Rael was drifting farther away. He was gradually gaining new friends and forgetting them. Claus clenched his fist as Al met his gaze. They had to do something… but what?
With a sigh, they walked to their history lesson, dispirited.
Oden was annoyed. Usually, it was because Weiss decided to open his mouth and speak, but these days it’s because… he’s not doing it. He would smile and laugh but he wouldn’t speak as much.
And it pissed him off.
Oden tied his shoes with a frown. Al edged away from him, noticing his bad mood from a mile away. Al leaned close to Claus, whispering, “Uh oh, I think he’s about to snap.”
Claus scowled. “Just what we need, he’ll—“ he stopped, his eyes widening. “Maybe… maybe he’ll get Weiss to open up by snapping?”
“Do you actually think so?” Al asked with a blank expression. Claus sighed.
“No.”
They got dressed as Oden stomped out of the changing rooms. He was growing more agitated. It took him ten seconds longer to tie his shoes, and his shirt had been inside out until Al pointed it out.
He nearly bumped into Rael.
“Ah—“
He shot the boy a glare, walking past him. Rael blinked a couple of times, confused. But he brushed it off, walking out for their combat class.
The professor stood on the grass plain, waving a wooden sword. He grinned.
“It’s your lucky day today.” Half of the students groaned. It was never a good day when he said something like that. “Now now, don’t be too excited. Since the tests begin next week, today is the last day of training. I want to test all of your combat experience by having you fight another student. It’ll just be sparring. You’re permitted to use your shield, but only that. And we’ll be using swords as that’s the weapon that the majority uses.”
He clapped his hand. “Alright, clump together and walk forwards when I call your names. I’ve already made a list so don’t even think about teaming up with your friends.” More groans could be heard. The professor smiled. “Cheer up, it’s for your own good.”
“Reni Link and Houston Jan?” Reni walked out with a tall boy. They scrutinized each other before picking up a weapon and walking away far from the group. No one wanted to accidentally smack each other while fighting.
“Lara Vain and Kleo Ostia?”
“Vann Eckart and Genver Winter?”
He continued to call out names.
“Claus Knighteye and Geovanni Dranen?” The two walked out. Claus looked slightly nervous but he followed after the calm Geovanni.
“Weiss Reiss and Yula Ander?” Weiss emerged but he stood alone. He looked around but Yula didn’t appear. The professor sighed.
“It seems that Yula is absent today. Please wait Weiss, either you train with me or somebody whose partner is also absent.”
Weiss nodded, standing behind the professor. He was lost in thought as the professor kept talking. His ears perked up after a few minutes when the teacher repeated the same name.
“—and Lora Pam…?” The professor looked happy now. “It seems that there’s another student without a partner. You can partner up with him, Weiss.”
He looked up and saw… Oden.
Weiss tried forcing a smile but he was greeted with a sneer from the latter. Dropping his smile, he picked up a sword, glancing at the annoyed Oden.
He looked around the field which still had a lot of space left. He wanted to be at the very corner though. He turned to Oden and—
Found him missing.
Oden had walked off the moment he picked his sword. He walked in the direction of the forest that was right by the field.
He was so far away that all of the students looked like dots. He didn’t care if Weiss followed him or not. He just needed to calm down. If he didn’t take it easy, he might do something he’d later come to regret.
“Hey, why did you run off all of a sudden?” He saw Weiss running towards him. He hugged himself, glaring at the ground.
“No reason.”
“You could’ve told me.”
‘Like how you’ve told me about what happened that day?’ He wanted to snap but he held himself. He had to be a better person. He couldn’t let his temper get the best of him. Not again.
He closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath. It was a habit he’d developed to calm his nerves. It worked almost every time. He inhaled and exhaled. Inhaled and exha—
“Hey!” Weiss shouted. “Don’t ignore me.”
Oden’s eyes snapped open. “Shut up.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
“Weiss, shut up or I swear to gods that I’ll make you regret it.”
Weiss raised his sword, wearing a cocky grin. “Oh really? Prove it.”
Oden ran. And he rammed his sword into Weiss’. Weiss was surprised, nearly falling down. But he regained his balance, letting out a laugh.
“A surprise attack?”
“You—!” He let out.
Weiss pushed him away with his sheer strength. He tilted his head upwards, smirking.
“Do your worst, shorty.”
Oden saw red.
They were in a stalemate.
Oden’s shoulders hurt and he was panting loudly. Weiss felt nauseous from Oden’s previous sneak attack on his stomach. Their shields had long ago disintegrated, their mana empty. But they still held their swords against each other, preventing the other from attacking.
Oden narrowed his eyes. He was still furious. His temper had gotten the best of him. Finally, he asked Weiss the questions that had been brewing for nearly a week.
“Why…why do you act like this?” He pushed Weiss back, and the boy leaped back. He glared at him.
“What do you mean?”
“Pushing everyone away and ignoring the problem at hand. You keep on running away all the time. Even though we’ve tried asking you, you avoid the question repeatedly.”
Weiss' eyes widened. He stabbed his sword at him and Oden barely dodged it. “It’s none of your business—“
“Are you that scared to face the truth?!”
“Don’t act as if you know me.”
Oden sneered at him. “I’ll never be able to get to know you if you keep pushing me away, you idiot! Whenever I try to be nice, you call me names to get on my nerves! Of course, I dislike you because of it! I don’t even know why you do it to me!”
Oden counterattacked, slicing at Weiss. Weiss tried dodging but he tripped. Oden placed his sword right by his throat. “It’s like you’ve hated me since day one! You never once took the time to get to know me and yet you’re angry that I don’t know you? You egotistical bast—“
Weiss gritted his teeth. “So what? I never wanted you to be here in the first place. Had it not been for Rael, I would’ve ignored you!”
“I’d rather you ignore me than treat me like your enemy! And you keep going on and on about Rael, is he the only thing you think about?!”
“Shut up! He’s not! I don't care about him anymore!“ Weiss shoved the sword away from him and Oden lost his grip on it.
The match was reaching it's end. Both of them were disarmed.
“So you were rejected?” Oden wore a mocking smile. “I guess you couldn’t face the truth and you’ve been pretending to be fine with it? Because you’re too afraid to face the truth, like a coward—”
Weiss froze for a single second. Then he leaped forwards and tackled Oden to the ground.
They rolled around before stopping. Weiss delivered a swift punch to Oden’s face, causing the boy to cry out in pain. Weiss grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him close as he stared at him with a gaze filled with rage.
“You don’t know anything…! I—!”
“Then tell me,” Oden said, ignoring the blood running down his nose. Weiss gritted his teeth. He let go of Oden’s shirt.
“I never confessed.”
“Wha—“
“I told him it was a joke.” Weiss wore a mocking smile as he spoke. “He believed me and grew angry. That’s why we’ve been ignoring each other.”
There was silence. Weiss who was still pinning Oden to the ground looked down. He saw Oden’s fury boil to a peak. Oden pushed Weiss off of him, reversing their position.
“You—!” He snarled as drops of blood fell on Weiss’ shirt. Weiss was in shock as he stared at Oden. Why was he so angry? Because he hadn’t confessed?
“You did all of this… just because you couldn’t confess?” Weiss felt his heart sink. He knew it. Oden probably wanted to punch him as well. He saw the boy raise his fist and he closed his eyes, bracing himself for the punch.
But it never came.
Weiss cracked an eye open. Oden still looked livid, and his hand was still raised. But he hadn’t punched him. Oden used his hand to grab Weiss by his shirt, pulling him up. They were face to face as Oden spoke.
“What an idiot! He’s such an idiot! I knew Rael was dense but this is on a whole new level.” Weiss opened his mouth but he couldn’t say anything. He was speechless. “Your feelings, no matter how small or big they are, they’re real. And he’s such a fool for not realizing it.”
His purple eyes widened as he raised his voice. “You fell in love with an idiot, Weiss.” Weiss felt his ears ring as he was struck in a daze. His lips trembled.
“But you’re an even bigger idiot for not telling any of us. And keeping quiet about it.” Oden glared at him. Finally, he let go of Weiss. Weiss lay on the ground, staring up at the sky.
The words that Oden had just spoken echoed in his head. And something in him cracked. The facade he'd wearing for the past week cracked. And his shoulders trembled. He sat up, hiding his face. He tried suppressing it.
But damn it, he was upset.
Oden was trying to wipe away his nosebleed so he didn’t notice Weiss sitting up. But he heard the sniffling. Oden immediately tensed up.
“W-what!?” He raised his arms. “D-did I make you sad? Was I too mean? I-I—“
Weiss didn’t raise his head, still crying silently. But he spoke, his voice shaky. “No, you were right.”
“About falling in love with an idiot?”
“About not telling you guys.”
“Oh.” He said lamely.
Oden had overreacted but he wasn’t good with people who cried. He calmed down, glancing at Weiss who kept wiping the tears off his face. Weiss continued to cry for a few minutes, letting the rejection and negative emotions to consume him. Because pretending like it didn't hurt him caused more damage. So he cried, ignoring Oden who looked conflicted on what to do.
And once the tears stopped flowing, he felt better. He took a deep breath and raised his head, the only traces of the tears were his reddened eyes whites.
“Thank you.” He softly smiled at Oden. It was the first genuine smile he’d given Oden. Usually, he smirked or gave him a mocking smile. Weiss realized he had never smiled at him without hostile intentions. It filled him with a bit guilt.
Oden blinked, not expecting it. Neither did he expect his heart to skip a beat. His face reddened. “It’s nothing! I-I was just telling the truth!”
False alarm, it had to be a false alarm. Maybe the warmth was causing his heart to malfunction?
Weiss' smile grew bigger. At the spur of the moment, he thought of a way to cheer Oden up.
He walked to Oden, and—
Hugged him.
“I’m sorry for acting the way I did. I’ll make sure to properly apologize to everybody else.” Weiss murmured. Oden couldn’t reply. His heart was beating too loudly. Weiss let go quickly, walking away.
“Come on, let’s go back.”
Oden stared at the ground, in a daze. His heart was still leaping out of its chest and he was blushing like crazy. Not to mention the zoo of animals jumping around in his stomach.
Wow, it must be really hot for him to be reacting like this. With shaky steps, he caught up to Weiss. The boy turned to give him another smile. Oden felt his heart backflip again.
Yeah, he’ll never get used to seeing that smile.
