Blood Oath (O/O CLOSED)

I was struggling to keep from burning up, battling and pushing the heat back, trapping it inside of me. I didn’t want to hurt him—especially now, that he was kissing me. That I knew he liked guys. That I knew he liked me.

Pulling away, I rested my forehead against his, breathing heavily.

“God, you have no idea how much this makes me happy,” I whispered, breathing harsh.

I opened my eyes and looked into his—they were so dark, so beautiful in comparison to mine. Exhaling shakily, I offered a weak, wobbly smile. “I didn’t know—I didn’t think—I didn’t know you were—“

"Gay?" I finished for him, my cheeks slightly pink, my lips burning. "Yeah, I honestly thought you were straight, too. What a surprise, huh?"

“Y-Yeah,” I stammered, cautiously slipping my arms around his waist. “What a surprise.”

I kissed him on the head, sighing softly.

"I'm glad," I murmured. "Now I can say this without being dubbed as crazy. I like you, Andreas."

My cheeks glowed red—literally—at his words.

“I—“ Swallowing, I bumped our noses together. “I like you, too.”

I grinned before resting my head on his shoulder.

“I’m glad,” I mumbled. “Really, really glad.”

Gingerly, I pulled him into a tentative touch, careful not to let my burning cheeks hurt him or singe off any hairs. "This is all very… new to me," I said finally, nervousness trickling into my voice. "I–I've never done this before."

I noticed his hesitancy and smiled, hugging him tighter, paying no mind to the heat.

“You and me both,” I answered with a chuckle. “So we can try this together.”

Together. The word brightened the timid smile on my face, so I tried it out on my tongue. "Together… I really like the sound of that."

“So, I guess I’m your boyfriend now, huh?” I mused. “I like the sound of that, too.”

"Boyfriend.." I said it slowly, turning it over in my mouth. "I have a boyfriend. I'm a boyfriend."

I laughed a little. "Whoah."

I laughed with him, shaking my head.

“Yes,” I turned pinker. “We’re boyfriends.”

Then my face fell a little.

“We’ll have to keep it a secret, won’t we?” I sighed. “I don’t want to keep you a secret.”

"I'm good at keeping secrets," I promise, carefully lifting his hands and lacing our fingers together. Though the idea of having to hide made my heart pang and my stomach twist, I knew that it was the only option. "I'm–I'm happy as long as I have you."

I tightened my hold on his hands, a sad smile on my face.

“I wish I could show the world that I have a boyfriend,” I murmured. “That you’re my boyfriend. But I guess we have to make do with what we’ve got.”

The idea that I was having this conversation with someone seemed so far-fetched, even to me. Especially to me.

"I guess we will," I nodded, successfully keeping the stammer from my voice. "But I should come with a warning label—I'm the world's most oblivious, clumsy, dorky boyfriend."

I laughed, rubbing our noses together.

“I don’t mind,” I grinned. “I adore oblivious, clumsy and dorky boyfriends. I’ll make you flustered a lot, though, so be sure to not burn me.”

"No promises," I mumbled, trying to tease him despite how flustered he'd already made me. "I'll try my best."

“Do you want to sit and play a game?” I suggested. “Or we could talk.”

I was honestly dying to tell him about my discovery—the fact that I thought Elliot had a huge crush on the Prince. I was hoping Andreas thought that, too, but if not, I was sure he’ll notice, too.

"Let's talk," I agreed, staring down at our interlaced fingers before inclining my head in the direction of my room. "I've got caramels… but I don't think–I don't think they're my biggest weakness, anymore."

I quirked an eyebrow before following him to his room.

“Oh? Then what’s your biggest weakness now?” I teased.

I slapped a palm over my face, which had suddenly begun to let off curls of smoke.

"You, idiot," I mumbled, closing the door behind us. After a second thought, I locked it, afraid of having Elliot burst in.

“You’re my weakness, too,” I smirked when I saw him lock the door. Good. He was careful. “So don’t worry about it.”

I blushed deeply and sat down on the edge of my bed, reaching behind the mattress and pulling out a huge paper bag filled to the brim with caramels wrapped in white wax paper.

I flopped down on the bed with him, taking a caramel and popping it in my mouth.

“Hey… I know this is the biggest taboo… but what do you think about the laws against women?”

"I think that they're moronic and misogynistic," I said bluntly, slowly peeling the wax paper off my sweet. "And that the King is a murderer for condoning them. I don't know what actually happened thousands of years ago, but it makes no sense. And I hate it."

I nodded with a scowl.

“I think so, too,” I sighed. “It’s completely bullshit. So two women lost control and wrecked havoc while one got swallowed by the creature she was going to bond with. That happens with males, too, so why just women? This doesn’t make any sense.”

"Exactly!" I threw my hands into the air, immensely relieved that he agreed. "And I bet it was a coincidence that it happened with only two women. I bet that those particular creatures were defective or something and dark magic could have just as easily leaked through the Oath and into our world because of a guy."

I sighed heavily, running a hand through my hair.

“I don’t think the ban will ever lift, to be honest,” I murmured. “These people believe women can never bond. My sister always wanted to have a partner, and she can’t.”