Chapter Text
“I swear to the gods I think rats nests are better kept than your hair.”
Rielle giggled a little. “Oh c’mon it’s not THAT bad-“ He yelped as a knot got tugged by the brush.
Minajael tutted. “I would apologize but it’s your own fault for letting it get this bad. Especially since I’ve found about four forks-“
“Dinglehoppers…” Rielle mumbled.
“Forks. Four of them. In your hair. It’s not a handbag you know.”
Rielle tilted his head back, giving Minajael his biggest pouty eyes that always worked on his dad.
“But they’re for my collection, Min. I’ve almost got a full set.”
Minajael bapped his forehead gently with the hairbrush. Reminding Rielle that the eyes had a much lower success rate with his boyfriend than with his dad.
“I’ll get you a bag for collection things,” He said. “A nice big one. With a bottomlessness spell on it if you’re very very nice to me.”
Rielle pouted “But I have to remember the bag. My hair is right there!”
“So are your pockets,” Minajael countered, gently pushing Rielle’s face back so he could go back to brushing. “And yet all I ever seem to find in there is acorns and seeds.”
“Exactly! My pockets are full already by the time I get the dinglehoppers I need.”
He could feel Minajael rolling his eyes at that. His slender fingers joined the brush, winding into Rielle’s hair and pulling something out.
“Well I’ll hand this to you, this is the first spoon I’ve found in here.”
He brought it over to hover in front of Rielle’s face and Rielle snatched it up.
“My coundel!! I was wondering where I’d put that!”
The sigh Minajael heaved probably would have been able to move a mountain. “You didn’t even- you know what never mind. Just… enjoy your spoon and I’ll continue losing my will to live.”
Rielle paused a moment, then craned backwards again, arching until his lips met Minajael’s in an upside-down kiss. His tongue flickered out just a little, savoring the taste of his boyfriend’s juniper flavored chapstick before pulling away with a bright smile.
“Will restored?”
Minajael sighed again but this one ended in a fond smile. “Yes, alright you win. Will restored.”
Rielle giggled again and went back to his seat.
“It’s not fair. You can’t just be cute and win every time.”
“Can too! It’s my destiny. Just like it’s your destiny to always let me be cute and win.”
He pulled his hair back some and tapped the soulmark on the back of his neck. It was buried under his mountain of red tangles but he knew it was there all the same.
“Oh he is unfairly adorable” in Minajael’s flowery, flowing script. Colored teal like his favorite jacket.
He shivered a little when Minajael’s fingers joined his, gently tracing the mark for a moment before shifting downwards slightly and tracing the one below it. His smile dimmed a little and he moved to tangle Minajael’s fingers with his.
“Such a beautiful voice…” in shimmering blue.
With a matching “What is he DOING?” tracing along Minajael’s jaw opposite his purple mark from Rielle; “Ohmygods I have to talk to that guy RIGHT NOW!”
“We’re gonna find em.” Rielle promised.
“I know.” Minajael said quietly. “I just… wish that we already had.”
“Well it’s gonna happen eventually so. It’s all good. It’ll all work out.” Rielle pulled their hands forward and kissed their linked fingers. “We’ll all be together soon.”
“Chenya!”
Neige laughed and batted at the cat boy, who was hovering as half his body above Neige as he snickered down at him.
“Yeeeeess little momerath?”
“Give it back!” Neige laughed again.
“Give what a back?” Chenya twirled Neige’s hat on one finger.
“My hat, silly.”
“I don’t think your hat would look good with a back. Too flat.”
Neige’s giggling redoubled and he tried jumping up to grab it, only for Chenya’s hand to disappear.
He gasped in mock offense. “That’s cheating!”
“Says who? Who wrote our little game’s rulebook?” Chenya hummed. “There’s not cheating if the rules are all made up. Or we get to make up what cheating even is. So, who’s to say what it looks like to cheat at this, really?”
“Give me my hat back you big goober!”
Chenya paused. “Hm… well. Alright. I suppose I can’t deny my princess’ demands.
He disappeared completely but Neige only had to wonder for a moment before a pair of grinning lips manifested on his. The rest of Chenya followed, hands securing Neige’s hat back on his hand and tail winding it’s way around his knee.
“Gotcha again.” He said smugly as he pulled back.
Neige giggled and leaned up, pecking Chenya’s nose with a kiss of his own.
“And I got YOU!”
Chenya’s sly smile softened and he chuckled a little. “Yes, I suppose you did.”
Neige tapped Chenya’s nose again before pulling back, smiling wide. Chenya disappeared again, rematerializing with his arms wrapped around Neige’s shoulders from behind. Neige continued on, unbothered as Chenya has only manifested half his body. The other half was probably lounging around somewhere.
“Plans for the day, tulgey between my eyes?” Chenya purred.
“I have classes today, silly!” Neige giggled. “Plus I’ve got new Housewarden duties and stuff to work on.”
“Oh phooey.” Chenya pouted. “If I’d known you were going to be pulled away center, right, and left I wouldn’t have told you to go for that silly job.”
“Oh but it’s my honor!” Neige gasped delightedly. “I mean to serve my classmates, being their voice to the headmaster and helping them when they need it most? I feel like it’s what I was born to do! Not to mention it puts all the dwarves in a better position and cuts down on their being bullied just by virtue of my position. Altough-“ he paused to giggle. “They have been SO overprotective as of late! I think Gran is one step away from making them all my personal bodyguards!”
“Don’t they know you’ve got one already?” Chenya purred. He reached over and tapped a finger over Neige’s forearm. “Proof is right here. …Well… One guard already here and two more on the way.”
“You make it sound like I’m having babies.” Neige laughed.
“Not babies no, but I bet they are total babes. They’d have to be to be matched up with you.”
Neige’s smile dimmed a little. “…And you’re sure it doesn’t bother you? Absolutely positive?”
Chenya huffed a little, disappearing and reappearing in full in front of Neige. “Positively absolutely definitely positronly absotively. Didn’t bother me when you first bandied my path and it hardly bothers me now that you’ve snatched my bander.”
He touched a hand over his heart, his shirt coming loose and the very tip of his soulmark with Neige peeking out. Only the curly C of “Curiouser and curiouser” in Neige’s favorite shade of blue. It’s pair: “Today just got interesting” was twined around Neige’s forearm. And it wasn’t alone. Two more soulmarks were practically braided together with it. Legible mostly by the different colors: Teal, purple, and Chenya’s pink.
Having three of them brought Neige as much delight as it did fear. Mostly and especially after meeting Chenya and learning he only had the one.
Neige absently rubbed at the spot. “It still feels… greedy? Somehow?”
“Whyever for?” Chenya tutted, reaching over to poke Neige’s cheek. “Your heart is simply too big and too sweet to love only the one person. If I took it out of your chest I think it would be bigger than your head and taste like fine honey.”
Neige huffed a small laugh. “…Sorry. I know we keep having this talk.”
“I’ll have it a thousand times more if you need it. Though if we reach one thousand and one I really ought to cap it somewhere.”
Neige laughed again, a bit more genuinely. Chenya softened again, cupping his cheek.
“Being as I am, I can hardly imagine asking you to cage up your heart. I would rather never use magic again than even try.”
“…thank you, Chenya. I’ll work on believing you.”
“Tut tut little rose. What you need to work on is believing in yourself as much as I believe in you. So… Believe in me believing in you believing in you so that you can believe in you.”
Neige blinked at him, trying in vain to parse the sentence.
“…Alright. I’ll try.” He settled on saying. “…we really ought to get to class now, though!”
“Oh class?” Chenya shrugged with a grin. “I’m already there.”
He disappeared inch by inch until Neige was alone in the hallway. He sighed a little, brushing his fingers where Chenya’s hand had been. Already missing him.
He jolted. “Oh! IM LATE!”