A groan escaped me as I opened my eyes and rolled over, but that groan quickly turned into a gasp. A red wall prevented me from rolling off the… sofa? This wasn't our bed… I looked around to get my bearings and realized that I was now in Ronak's office, all wrapped up in a blanket. Was this the spell that I used to push things back? I guess using it as a wall was rather inventive.
"Your ass might be bruised, but you don't need a broken nose to go with it," Ronak grumbled as I rolled away from the edge of the sofa and he released his spell. It wasn't fair that he could use all my spells, but I had to be transformed to use his. I know he said I'd be able to use them one day while not transformed, but I was still rather jealous.
I groaned again as I rolled backwards, applying pressure to my bottom. Gosh, he was right. I definitely had a bruised bottom. "Meanie." I blubbered sadly. He didn't need to be so rough.
"You started it, and I ended it… I might be a little sorry for taking out my frustrations on you…" He mumbled the last part, and I glared at him. Only a little sorry?! I opened my mouth to complain, but there was a knock on the door, and Gerard entered with a cart of food.
"Ah, you have awoken. What good timing." Gerard was followed by Linn, who was carrying tea that he took to Ronak's desk. He didn't even glance at me, which I preferred over the usual annoyed looks he gave me. "Here is a hearty meal to fill you up. I even had the chef prepare something I'm sure you have been missing." Gerard didn't even need to say anything. The moment he walked in the door, I was drooling at the delicious smell. He sat down an all too familiar ramekin with a brown dome peeking over the top that had steam coming off it. "Your lava cake."
I went to sit up, but pain coursed through my body, and I collapsed back onto the sofa. "Don't hurt yourself over stupid cake." Ronak glared at me, but my eyes were locked onto the chocolate cake.
"Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie!!" Gerard laughed at my outstretched arms, but instead, he handed me a plate of food. Whaaaaat?! I don't want this! I was about to set it down and give Gerard quite the stare, but Ronak cleared his throat.
"You have to eat that first." Ronak snapped before Gerard could say anything. He stood and retrieved my delicious cake from the coffee table and set it on his desk. "You can have this once your plate is clean." Evil. Completely evil. Did I say I love this guy? I take it back!
"You're as mean as always!" I grumbled. How dare he! The least he could do after putting me through so much drama was to let me enjoy the cake. Such a big dumb meanie…
"And you're a brat like usual." He didn't seem all that annoyed. If anything, it looked like Ronak was enjoying teasing me. I glared at him, then turned towards the finger foods that had been prepared for me. Ugh, spinach quiche. It's practically solid green from the amount of spinach packed inside. "What are you, five years old? Don't like spinach?"
I whipped my head towards Ronak in annoyance. "That's pretty ripe coming from the guy who doesn't like broccoli!" I snapped before shoving one of the quiches in my mouth. It tasted fine, I just thought adding so many nutrients to my diet was a bit overkill. They acted like I was malnourished or something. I was just built differently than all the ridiculously muscular alphas and betas around here.
"Touche…" Ronak watched me gnaw on the finger foods with a dull look as Gerard and Linn bowed and exited the room, leaving just the two of us. "Tomorrow you have actual plans. While I would like to spend all winter in our chambers, I have things that need to get done, and you said you'd start learning. So, Margravine Giselle will be coming in the mornings to work with you on things, and before lunch, Olivia will be taking you around the estate-"
"Am I a dog that needs to be taken on walks?" Why did Olivia need to take me around the estate?
Ronak smirked, "The cutest dog. But seriously, I want you to know where you're going in the estate so you're not constantly getting lost. While you can teleport, you need to learn the lay of the land. Speaking of exercise, you're welcome to join me in the mornings for training. You can pick and choose which days you want to come, and do what you want when you're there. That includes just sitting on the sidelines if you don't like a particular exercise."
I stared down at my healthy plate of food, then back at Ronak. "You act like I'm going to fall over dead." He wanted me to eat healthy and exercise regularly? Ugh…
"Based on the diet you ate at the academy, I'm surprised you haven't." My eyes drifted over to give him a dirty look while I munched away on my food.
"I'm an omega, dummy. I've always been slender. It's part of the reason why I get confused for a woman." When I found out I was an omega, I tried everything to bulk up and build muscle, but nothing changed. I could probably exercise every day and not look different.
"That's not a reason to eat poorly," Ronak started shifting through documents again as he sipped his tea.
"Fiiine, I'll think about joining you for training, but I can tell you it won't be for a few days. Also, training better not consist of shoveling snow either…" I looked out the window at the knights and esquires who were busy removing snow from around the estate grounds. A group of them even went into town earlier in the day and hadn't even come back. It had been nonstop work because the snow still hadn't stopped.
"Like I'm going to make my fiancé shovel snow," Ronak mumbled as he strummed his desk with his fingers. "In other news, we've had two young ladies apply to be librarians here, and one should be arriving tomorrow or the next day to be interviewed. She's an earl's daughter… I think her name was…" Ronak shuffled through a stack of paper. "Harper."
"Will she be living with us if we decide to hire her?" I didn't know all the ins and outs of hiring people, especially upper-class, so I figured that this would be a good opportunity to learn.
"If she's the one we pick, then yes. She will technically be living with us as an employee." I guess traveling back and forth in this weather would be unrealistic…
"Would she permanently live in a guest bedroom?" We did have a lot of them.
"No, we have other rooms for live-in staff. She'd probably move into the lookout room. It's being underutilized at the moment." The… lookout room? I don't think I've ever been there…
"What about the other girl?"
"Mmm," Ronak plucked another letter from his pile. "Her name is Brynn; she is a baron's daughter. She has further to travel, and if the snow doesn't slow her down too much, she should be here later this week."
"Then we should interview them both then." Might as well wait until they're both here to make a decision. "Have you started looking for talented individuals to help you?" I was very serious about him finding someone to help him with his paperwork. I didn't want to spend my entire life sitting in this office watching him work. I want to actually spend time with him.
Ronak snickered. "As my omega has commanded, I have had Thorn thoroughly look into a few candidates and plan to send them letters as well…"
"That's exciting. I'm surprised anyone meets your criteria." He's probably rather picky. I smiled as I picked around at my finger foods. I thought for sure Ronak would drag his feet about the issue. I didn't think he'd get right on it.
"Well, I don't want just anyone working under me. I don't want anyone who is set in their ways, so no one who is old. I want them to be roughly our age and in good health, simply because I don't want to train anyone else because they have died. They need to be people who are incredibly loyal, but aren't the future heads of the family… I won't bore you with all my criteria…" I'd probably be slightly horrified if I saw how long his actual list was. The fact that he found any candidates is surprising. "Anyways, by the time you apply all of my requirements, it does narrow down the list of options rather quickly." Ronak waggled his quill back and forth as he thought. "While I'm not happy about alphas living with us, they'll have to find an omega to mark because I won't tolerate them trying anything."
"Pft! You're going to force them to get married?" That seems like an odd job requirement.
"Yes, if they're not already. I'm not going to force anything on them, but I do want them to get married within a year. I will not tolerate them lingering about with the ability to smell you." Gosh… that's fast… We weren't even married yet.
Ronak paused and looked at me suspiciously. "You haven't raided the guest bedrooms, have you?"
"Wh-what?! No…" What did he think I was? A thief? I haven't touched any pillows… yet… Mostly because I don't really know where the guest bedrooms were. I knew roughly what hall, but I hadn't had time to investigate.
"You better not have. We can't employ people and have them show up to beds without pillows. You always say that we don't use the guest bedrooms, and now we will have at least five or six of them with semi-permanent guests… Also, I know he annoys you, but I'm planning to hire Benedict full-time as well. He could be our dukedom mage or something. I haven't decided on an official title… He'll have to also start looking for an omega…" I would have snickered if what Ronak said next didn't annoy me so much. "I'm telling you now so you can start adjusting to the idea of him working at the estate. Maybe you could get to know him a little during the academy year… supervised, of course. I think you'll find his magic interesting." I felt like a child, and my nagging mother was telling me to make friends with the other kids. Ugh, I didn't want to be babysat, nor did I care if I knew him. He was far too clingy towards Ronak for my taste. Ronak was mine! Mine, I tell you!
"Can I have my cake now?" I whined in an attempt to distract him from the odd play date he was trying to plan for me. "Look, I ate everything, aren't you proud?" I showed Ronak my empty plate as if it were something spectacular. Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie! I set my plate down, and like a lobster, I snapped my hands open and closed as I tried to reach for the ramekin that was obviously out of my reach.
"Oh my, are you that desperate?" Ronak sneered down at the cake and gave me a scathing look. Yeah! Obviously. I haven't had chocolate cake in weeks! I'm desperate for the good stuff!
I froze and stared at him with wide, dead eyes. "I'm about to rank chocolate cake higher than you on my list. You know the heart does grow fonder due to distance."
He sighed and unenthusiastically got up from his desk. "Is that why the two of us almost died?" He gave me a slightly sour look. "I guess you can have your reward." Ronak approached the singular chair at the opposite end of the seating arrangement as he grumbled. With his foot, he pushed the coffee table closer to the opposite sofa and away from me, making all the china rattle. Then he pulled the chair over to me. "Say aww." He scooped up a bite and lowered it down to me. I was a bit embarrassed that he was hand-feeding me, but my excitement for the cake drowned out any embarrassment.
The moment it hit my tongue, I was in pure chocolate bliss. I hadn't had this delectable cake since leaving the capital, and I couldn't even put into words how much I loved its gooey center. Lava cake was the perfect name for it! It just oozed chocolate goodness everywhere. Ack! While I was enjoying myself, Ronak leaned down and stole a kiss.
I stared at him in surprise. "I had to remind you that I'm better than chocolate cake."
A loud snicker escaped me, and Ronak pinched my nose with lightning speed. "Gah! Stooooop!" I managed to bat his hand away, but my nose was now sore. "I just thought you were being cute, you meanie! Maybe cake is better than you!" Why'd he have to go and do that?!
"Don't make me need to remind you about your favorite parts of me. Otherwise, you won't be able to walk for a few more days." His smirk was wide as he shoved another bite of cake into my open mouth. That's not my favorite thing about you… you dummy…
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"Everything is going to be fine," Ronak whispered to me as we walked down the stairs of the grand foyer. "You're just having tea and getting to know one another today." Then why am I so dressed up for casual tea?
"B-but… what if she doesn't like me?" Ronak barely told me anything about her this morning over breakfast. Besides the fact that she's Margrave Tian's wife and reads a lot, Ronak gave me nothing to go on!
"She's going to like you." Ronak was being awfully optimistic when I haven't exactly had luck in that category recently. I'd say more people dislike me at this point than they like me.
We made it to the grand parlor, and Gerard opened the door for us. Ronak might have been accompanying me, but soon I'd be left alone here. The woman sitting on the sofa looked up, and almost instantly her dark amber colored eyes drifted over to me. The dress she wore was simple, but clearly high quality, the longer you looked at it. I especially liked the little ivy leaves embroidered around the sleeves, neck, and bottom hem. The deep forest green of the dress really complemented her dark brown hair, too. She was an older woman, but not really all that older than my mother. Maybe she was in her forties or early fifties?
She rose from her spot on the sofa, interrupting my thoughts. "Greetings, Archduke Abraxos, and congratulations on acquiring your rightful title. I couldn't be more honored that you selected me to assist your beautiful omega. I promise to see to it that she is more than fit to stand by your side." I flinched slightly as I listened to her. No, it wasn't because she called me a girl. I was used to that sort of thing. No, what bothered me was that she said she was going to make me fit to stand beside Ronak… E-everyone really didn't like that he picked me… did they?
"I fear that you've read too much into my letters, Giselle. I don't need you to change and alter Micha. I like him the way he is." I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes as Ronak stressed my correct pronouns. He was so cute. "I simply want him to have enough social prowess not to be looked down upon or walked on. I also want him to learn how to manage a household and how to hold social events. By no means do I expect him to have it all learned by the end of the winter. If he needs you to return next summer or even next winter, it will be arranged." Ronak was scowling quite a bit, but Giselle didn't even flinch.
She bowed down again. "I apologize for my mistakes. It seems I'm the one who used the wrong words to get my intent across. I will see to it that both of your needs are met." Ronak nodded his head as she rose from her bow, and he guided me over to the sofa.
I thought he would have sat down next to me, but instead, he patted the top of my head and glanced towards Gerard. "Let me know if you need anything. I'll just be down the hall." His gaze returned to me, and it instantly softened. "Olivia will come get you just before lunch. I'd better head to my own meeting. Please behave." He teased as he caressed the side of my head with his thumb.
"I-I will!" Gosh! I didn't need him going overboard like this, but… I didn't hate it either. Ronak hesitated for a second, and I was worried that he was going to kiss me in front of the margravine, but thankfully, he didn't. "Have a good time at your meeting," I called to him as he stepped away.
"Mmm, I'll tolerate it." Pft, yeah, that seemed about right. Ronak really didn't like meetings, but he still attended them out of obligation.
Ronak stepped out of the parlor, and I nervously turned to Giselle. I didn't know her, but she looked a bit stunned as she slowly took a seat across from me. "Never in my wildest dreams…"
"Pardon me?"
"I didn't think that boy-ahem, I guess he's not really a boy anymore, is he… I didn't think the Archduke cared about anything in life…" She stared at the doors he exited through for a moment before turning back to me. "Excuse my rambling, I was simply surprised." That's odd… She got the impression he doesn't care about anything? Ronak cares about lots of things… Not just me. "It's a pleasure to meet you. As you're probably aware, my name is Giselle Dallow. I'm Margrave Tian's wife. I apologize that I assumed your gender. In the invitation the Archduke sent me, he never used your pronouns, and when I saw you, I assumed. Your beauty far exceeds a woman's." She politely bowed her head towards me, which felt like a bit much.
"It's good to meet you, too. My name is Micha Verchiel; obviously, I'm Ronak's omega. Y-you don't need to bow to me, and it's not a problem. A lot of people get my gender wrong." I waved my hand nervously, and Giselle raised an eyebrow.
"You will be an archduke as well one day, will you not? People showing respect towards you is something that you need to get used to." I flinched slightly. I-I guess she was right, it just felt odd. "I see now why the Archduke described you as meek." He what? I'm not meek! Well, m-maybe in new social settings…
I scratched the side of my head and smiled. "It's just quite the adjustment for me…"
"Yes, I assume it would be. My husband told me that your father is a lord, yes?"
"Yes, he is."
"Then we definitely need to get you used to holding a higher title. For example, because you are a future archduke and you are hosting me, you should have sampled the tea and snacks so your guests can partake as well."
I flinched again as she reprimanded me. "Ah, I apologize. I-I just thought… because I wasn't the highest ranking noble in the room…" My hand quickly reached over and grabbed my teacup, but of course, my nerves caused the delicate china to rattle. Gah! Can't I do anything right?!
"Hmmm, we will need to spend time improving your confidence, along with adjusting you to life as an archduke." Her eyes were so calculating as she watched me take a sip of tea and nibble on a cookie. "Do tell me about yourself."
I didn't know what she wanted to know, so I decided to be rather brief. "I grew up in the Northern Dukedom. When my magic manifested, I started training under doctors, and when I was old enough, I applied to the academy and got a scholarship…" I glanced over at Giselle. She didn't seem to hate what I told her. If anything, she seemed curious.
"So you trained under doctors?" She took a sip of tea, but her gaze didn't wander from me. Talk about intimidating.
"I did. I started working under doctors when I turned fifteen. I'd go home in between internships, but I worked until I was nineteen and old enough to go to the academy."
"Have you ever attended any social events? Like balls or tea parties?" I was a little startled by her shift in topic, but I guess she needed to know this stuff more than my history with doctors.
"I've attended tea parties with my friend Terra at the academy and Ronak's birthday party…"
Giselle raised an eyebrow. "That's it? You never attended any social events before the academy?"
"N-no…" What did she expect? My father was a lord in a very, very small village. We weren't running off to parties every weekend.
Giselle's lips puckered slightly. "What sorts of hobbies do you have?"
"I like to read and garden. I also like herbology and alchemy…" She looked a bit flustered… Are my hobbies not good enough?
"Do you not know how to needlework, draw, paint, or play an instrument?" Oooh, that's what she was curious about… Omega hobbies… Which I had none of… I guess reading is a bit of an omega hobby, but I read more non-fiction than the typical fiction books that omegas regularly read. Though… I guess recently I've been rather into romance novels…
"No… I dedicated most of my time to learning to heal growing up…" This was not going smoothly at all. Gosh, how long are we supposed to chat? This feels like it's lasting an eternity. Not even the snacks were helping me.
"I see… to flourish socially, you'll need to pick up a few relatable hobbies. Reading and gardening are good starts, but I recommend adding other things to your arsenal. It's important to have things to talk about and to relate to others during social events. We'll have to utilize our time to the fullest and cover as much as possible." She paused as if to think. "Yes, I think it would be best to start with etiquette lessons while also teaching you some hobbies. From there, we'll work to improve your confidence and understanding of being a high-ranked noble. Of course, we'll spend a few hours of the morning learning about the ins and outs of managing a household…" I felt rather intimidated listening to her talk. I thought she told Ronak that she wasn't going to change me… It sure sounds like I have a lot of changing to do…
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By the time I got done talking with Giselle, I was exhausted. It was a lot less of us getting to know each other, and a lot more of her relentlessly asking me questions. She just kept adding to the list of things I needed to work on, too. I couldn't even tell if she liked me or not, but she did seem perturbed by all the large list of things I needed to work on…
"Don't look so disheartened, my little lord. Everything will work out." Olivia smiled as she walked into the center of the foyer.
"There's just so much to learn."
"That's true, but did you give up when you were learning about medical stuff?" Is she trying to make me feel better?
"Well… no…" That was indeed intimidating to start learning about. I remember when my parents purchased my first book, and I thought I'd never learn anything… "I'll try my best." I mumbled.
"That's the spirit." Olivia giggled as she pointed to the first hall on the right as you entered the castle. "We're going to start here today. I refer to this hall as the hobby hall. Come along."
"Okay." I followed Olivia down the hall. She'd stop at each door and have me enter so I could explore. There was a library and a little empty gallery before Olivia came to a stop. "This is probably the hall you got lost in," Olivia said as we paused next to a family parlor. "You're welcome to use it if you stay left, but if you turn right at the fork, you'll end up in staff areas." Oh… so that's how I got so turned around. Next up was the room I wanted to turn into my medical office, a small classroom where Giselle will be teaching me, a set of bathrooms, and Ronak's alchemy lab. "Sorry about the noise," Olivia said as we reached the end of the hall. "The lookout is being furnished for our future librarian."
"Ronak works fast…" He barely mentioned yesterday that he intended for the librarian to live here, and now he has laborers in here working away?!
"Yes, when my lord makes up his mind, he is swift and decisive." Guess that's right… "Lastly, in this hall is the observatory, but I'm not going to take you there. I have to imagine that my lord will when things aren't so loud on this end of the estate." Yeah, I guess the people working in the room were doing quite a bit of shouting. "Alright, now you tell me what rooms are without peeking into them as we go back to the foyer."
"Okay…" I only messed up once, but I did feel much better about this section of the castle. I guess Olivia taking me on walks was beneficial.
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Ronak
My eyes slowly drifted from our sofa to the small dining table that sat next to the wall of windows. I noticed them this morning upstairs in our bedroom, too. They're probably even up in the lookout room… This felt awfully familiar… The same thing happened at the capital. It started with one and slowly grew like a mold…
"What's wrong?" Micha asked as he emerged from the closet, dressed and ready for the day.
"Oh, nothing is wrong. I just find you rather cute." Shit… he even put one in the closet on an empty shelf…
"What?" Micha gave me a puzzled look as he took a few steps towards me. "Why am I so cute?" Well, first off, this is fucking cute. Micha barely came up to my armpit, and it felt a bit like I was raising a baby bird when he'd get close and crane his neck back to look up at me. He didn't even hesitate at all as he grabbed the sides of my sweater.
I wanted to steal a kiss, but instead brought my hands up to rub his cheeks with my thumbs. "Because I can tell how comfortable you are in a space based on how many stuffed animals you have put out…" Micha's face turned a bit pink as he glanced over at the table set where he had a large plush rabbit tucked in his seat. You'd think it was getting ready to enjoy our breakfast.
"Y-you said I could put them out…" His golden eyes drifted back up to mine, and I had to snicker.
"Yeah, I did." It was an odd adjustment to make for me. I even heard some maids giggling as they exited our room one day. I was a bit embarrassed, but they made Micha happy, so I'll tolerate their existence. Though… if he tries to put another one in my office, I'm going to have to draw a line in the sand.
"A-are you annoyed with me?" Micha gave me a worried look, and I had to roll my eyes.
"Did I say I was annoyed?" Shit, did my emotions become too strong? I was trying to keep them in check.
"No…"
"I simply said you were cute. Stop stressing over nothing." I reached up and patted the top of Micha's head, but noticed his eyes were still trained on me.
"Soooo…" Why did I have a sinking feeling in my gut? Micha took a little step back from me and held out his hands. There was a gold shimmer in the air before he brought a familiar-looking stuffed cat out of his storage. Well, sort of familiar. It was the same cylinder shape. This one, however, wasn't red with golden eyes and whiskers. It was white with red eyes and whiskers. It was the same large cylindrical cat stuffed animal that lived in my office, but it was obviously designed with Micha in mind because it seemed to be a smidgen smaller than the other one. It was a bit funny how they both shared our features… He wasn't… basing them on what our possible children will look like, is he? "I-I know that I said that I would put this one in my future office… b-but isn't it so sad that its friend has to be a room away?" No. Absolutely not. I said I was going to draw a line in the sand! NO! Don't you dare bat those eyelashes at me!
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"PFFFFT! There are two of them now!" Blade snickered as he entered my office to deliver a report. Instead of approaching my desk, he pranced over to the sofas.
"Shut the fuck up." I glanced over at my sofa that Micha laid on the most. It now had not one, but two stuffed animals adorning it. That didn't include the pillows he brought in here, the plush foxlin blanket tossed over the back of the sofa, nor the vase of flowers he had sitting on the coffee table. He even mentioned that I should get a rug under the sofas, so guess what I've been looking at… Rug catalogs… I'm so fucking pathetic. Micha says jump, and I'm so addicted that I ask how high.
"Ha! Is this one you, and the new one is the golden pipsqueak? It's even smaller than the other one! Gosh, if only you were this cute in real life-" Blade had picked up the white Micha stuffed animal cat, and I let out a rather loud growl, causing him to drop it.
"Don't fucking touch my omega's things." I snapped.
"Calm down. I was just looking. I won't touch them again." Blade said as he took a few steps away from the sofas.
"You better not, if you want to keep those fingers." I clenched my teeth together angrily. He better not have gotten his fucking stench all over Micha's stuffed animal. If I even see Micha wrinkle his nose up, I'll make sure at least one of Blade's fingers ends up a bit shorter than the others.
"Why does he like you again?" Blade flinched slightly as I glared daggers at him.
"Just tell me what I want to know and then remove yourself from my sight."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I am. Don't get your underwear in a bind." He's so fucking lucky that he's useful…
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Micha
"How are your lessons with Giselle going?" Ronak asked as he picked up his cup of tea. It had been a couple of days since I started my lessons with Giselle, but he probably noticed my mopey attitude today.
I looked up from half-heartedly poking around at my plate of food, but my gaze ended up dropping back down to it. "They're fine," I said with a sigh. "I'm just realizing how un-archduke-ly I am…" Geselle really went about pointing out all the ways I'm unconfident and lacking today. She wasn't rude or anything, and I know she's just trying to make me self-aware, but when the list takes a few breaths to get out… it doesn't exactly make someone feel great.
Ronak snickered as he set down his cup. "Micha." I looked up from my plate to see a small smirk forming in the corners of Ronak's lips. "Please do remember that while it is important to learn things, I don't expect you to become a completely different person."
"Yeah but… I need to change a little. Otherwise, I won't be able to keep up." I had so many things that needed to be improved upon…
"It's not a race. Just like at morning training, you'll figure out how you'll fit in once you adjust." I wouldn't call that fitting in… I mostly do my own thing while standing adjacent to Ronak. "I think you'll become an excellent archduke one day."
"Yeah… one day…" I sarcastically grunted into my potatoes. That day felt like a million years away. I resumed fiddling with my fork as my eyes drifted to the window. It finally stopped snowing yesterday. Here I thought my family home got a lot of snow, but I think Ronak's dukedom might get more. "Is there an orphanage here in Ebonhold?"
"Yeah, it sits on the east side of town. Why? Do you want to visit?"
"I-I know it's not the capital one, but I would like to visit if I can. I saw the children's library today with Olivia and thought I could read the kids a book or two." I peeked up at Ronak to see him looking at me. I couldn't discern much from his expression. Come on, give me something to work with. How else am I supposed to know what's going on in your head?
"If your schedule had more room in the mornings, you could even go to the school in town and read there…" Ronak seemed to pause as if thinking, but a loud gasp escaped me, making him look back at me.
"You don't care if I go?!" I thought for sure he'd say no.
"Micha, while it's not exactly my cup of tea, I'm not going to stop you from doing things you enjoy. I'm fully aware how much you like going to the capital orphanage. If you want to visit the Ebonhold one, you can. Olivia and a guard will go with you, though." A guard seems like a bit much…
"Can I go today?"
"I don't see why not. I have a meeting I need to attend anyway, so it works out. We'll do some spell training tomorrow instead of today. I'll have Gerard notify the guards, so they can send someone over, and I'll have Olivia ready a carriage."
"I can just walk. I can't imagine that-"
Ronak's furrowed brow and strong wave of irritation made the words die in my throat. "You are not walking there." He said rather curtly.
I nodded my head vigorously, and the irritation faded away. "O-okay."
"It's not that I think you're physically incapable, but if you're trying to be more archduke-like, then there's a good place to start. Only very rarely will I walk into town. Yes, I often use my travel spell, but not when I'm acting as an archduke. Also… I'd be a mess of worry if I simply let you walk around like that, regardless of who's with you." Oh, heh. I like hearing that Ronak would worry about me. He might have said that bit last, but I have to imagine that's the biggest reason he wants me to take the carriage.
"Alright, you've convinced me. I'll take the carriage." A little smile played in the corners of my lips as I watched Ronak become smug. Gosh, he really likes getting his way, doesn't he?
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"I'm terribly sorry, but we don't do adoptions here." The woman smiled at me politely, but her eyes looked me up and down rather curiously before drifting off to Olivia and Elise. Elise was the knight Ronak sent with me. She even drove the carriage for us. She was a beta, of course, and had long dark purple hair that she kept up in a braided bun. She seemed familiar…, but I couldn't put my finger on why…
"That's not why I'm here." I tried smiling politely, but the woman dismissively waved towards the door. Both she and the secretary gave me dismissive responses without even listening to me. Olivia told me before coming in here that I should introduce myself as Ronak's fiancé, but I didn't think I'd need to take such drastic measures… The woman opened her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it. "I just bought candy for the kids, and I wanted to read them a book. Can I do that?"
She shut her mouth and gave me a strange look as if confused. "Why would you want to do such a thing? These are children of the dukedom, not children who can be adopted and go home with you."
My cheeks turned a bit pink. I wouldn't be adopting a child even if I could. Not that I would never adopt, but I have Ronak in my life now. I needed his opinion before I did anything of the sort. "I-I just want to brighten their day… I would do this in the capital orphanage too…" Maybe Olivia was right, and I should have just told her who I was…
"If that is all you're wanting to do… then I guess it wouldn't hurt…" She didn't look thrilled, but that didn't matter! She permitted me to read!
I looked up at her excitedly. "Really? Thanks!"
"The children are in the main hall, enjoying free time." The woman beckoned me to follow, so I did. She opened some doors down the hall and revealed a large open room. It was pretty similar to the capital orphanage in that it had a large fireplace on one wall with long tables running the length for the kids to eat meals at. The biggest difference was that this place was far nicer and cleaner than the capital orphanage.
The kids were sitting about playing with toys and games at the tables, but when they saw us, most of the older children paused to look. It seemed like they even had teenagers here… I didn't account for that… Maybe I'll have to bring some books they could read while I read to the little ones.
The head caretaker cleared her throat and addressed the kids. "Children. A guest has come to visit. Please treat her with respect as she reads you a book." Whoops. Eh, I'm not going to correct her.
The kid's eyes turned to me expectantly, and I laughed. "Do you want to join me at the fireplace?" They seemed to have a rug and a nice little clearing there, so we should be able to sit there. Before I even made it to where I was going to sit, Olivia appeared with a chair. I don't even know where she pillaged a chair from, but she set it down for me in the perfect spot. Of course, the little kids were excited and curious, but the teenagers seemed a bit more leery. "Hello, my name is Micha. I was hoping you'd let me spend some time with you." It was odd seeing the kids dressed relatively nicely. This orphanage really was different, but the kids' adorable curiosity was the same, no matter how nicely they were dressed.
"But why? We're not up for adoption." A little girl who was seated towards the middle asked with a frown. A few of the kids gave her annoyed looks, but overall, it seemed like the rest of the kids agreed with her question. That's fair. I bet they never get visitors. Hmmm…
"Mmm… well you see… I might have made a mistake at the candy store and bought waaaay too much candy. Who else would I share it with other than you cuties?" My slight lie got the kids, especially the little ones, very excited. "But you've got to be a good listener to get your taffy." The kids settled down almost immediately, which was pretty cute, so I opened my first book and began to read them a story about princesses and dragons.
The kids seemed plenty engaged as they ooed and awed at all the right parts. They even cheered when the princess was saved by a handsome knight. "Again, again!" A few of the kids clamored as the story came to an end.
I couldn't help but laugh. "I brought another book, just in case," I said as I pulled the second book from my storage. Heh, I'll have to show them my bubbles sometime. My storage spell really made their eyes go wide.
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Ronak
Ugh, about time that damn deal was finalized. I don't know why the goddamn earl was dragging his fucking feet so much. He was acting like it was the end of the world to sell just one mine to me. It's not like he needed it when he has six more mines that harvest rare minerals.
"Are you headed out?" Gerard asked as he followed me to the main doors.
"I'm going to go check on Micha." Everything should be fine. His emotions have been relatively positive since arriving at his destination, and Olivia hasn't said anything. Gerard helped me draw my cloak over my shoulders, and he stepped away as I held out my hand.
I had been teleporting around quite a bit since acquiring the spell. I now see why Micha did the same thing at the capital estate. It's just so damn convenient. Guess I can't be too mad when he does it, although… I am keeping the no teleporting policy in place for him. He's so… dainty… I worry that he's going to fall over dead from poor health. Especially with how much shit he eats in one day.
With a snap of my fingers, I disappeared from the warmth of the estate and appeared outside the orphanage. It had been a while since I had been here. All the reports I had received on it were positive, so I didn't think it was pertinent to check in more than once a year. It was fulfilling the duty I wanted it to, so I figured it was fine.
When I opened the door, the receptionist froze before spurring back to life. "A-Archduke Abraxos… greetings." She nervously glanced over to the doors that led to the main hall before glancing back at me. "What brings you here?" Why was she acting so damn odd?
"Do I need a reason to visit the orphanage I fund?"
"N-no, sir… b-but if you'd just give me a moment, I'll let Misty know you're here." She tried to slide in front of the doors I was approaching as if she could stop the likes of me. Her behavior was incredibly out of place- Wait… Micha didn't fucking introduce himself as my fiancé… did he? They think they're going to get in trouble for letting a stranger in. Heh. I'm going to make him regret that.
"No need." I snapped. "Move." The girl quickly stepped out of my way. Between the sweat starting to form on her brow and her wide-eyed stare at the ground, it was pretty obvious that she was stressing the fuck out.
I entered the main hall, and a pleasant sight befell my eyes. Micha sat in a chair with his back to a small fire as children listened to the story he told. It was pretty cute to see how into it Micha was getting. He even made character voices that differed from the narrator. Mmm, I remember this story. I read it once when I was young. It's about a girl who goes to a ball, but her evil stepmother tries to stop her by placing a curse on her. I think she turns into a cat at night or something. The kids were completely into it. Damn, Micha is adorable.
"Archduke Abraxos, I can explain-!" I held up my hand, silencing the head caretaker as she rushed over to me in a panic. She was going to fucking ruin the end of Micha's story.
I stepped towards Micha as he finished his story. He clearly hadn't noticed me yet… He's so into reading. Fuck, how can he make me so obsessed with him? "...and with a kiss from her true love, the curse was broken! The end." Micha looked up right as I stepped in close, and his eyes went wide.
"Did they live happily ever after?" A little kid asked.
"I don't know, let's check." I leaned down to where Micha was sitting and pulled his chin up. I knew it was going to embarrass him, but I didn't care. Stealing kisses from his velvety soft, unexpected lips was my absolute favorite. Even just a peck on the lips satisfied my desire for spiced vanilla tea. "Are we going to live happily ever after?" I asked as I pulled away. Micha's face went as red as my eyes as he looked up at me. I glanced over as a few of the kids squealed, some of them even covered their eyes. The funniest, though, was the look on the caretaker's face. "You know. You were stressing at lunch about being more archduke-ly. Maybe start by introducing yourself properly when you go places."
"Huh?" He squeaked.
"You should introduce yourself as my fiancé or my omega so people know who you are." Ugh, Micha had this adorable, confused look on his face, but he was hiding most of it with his book.
"Wh-what are you doing here?!" Micha squealed as he peeked out from behind the book. Guess his brain started functioning again.
"You didn't answer my question…" Micha let out a little yelp and resumed hiding. Fucking cute. "I came to see what you were doing." I glanced over to where Olivia and the knight I assigned to Micha were sitting. They were sure having a leisurely time, weren't they? Why didn't they bother to introduce Micha when he didn't do it himself?
"I'm just reading to the kids…" His embarrassment was so overwhelming that I was feeling second-hand embarrassment. Maybe I shouldn't have kissed him so boldly… No, stealing kisses from Micha's lips is priceless.
"Then you can continue."
"I only brought two books, and I read both…" Micha's face was still pretty pink, but he wasn't hiding it anymore.
"I see… Shall we go home then?" I extended my hand to him, but he didn't take it.
"N-not yet… I promised the kids candy…" His words sent an excited murmur through the kids.
"Oh, so that's where you wandered off to." My eyes drifted off to Olivia, who looked the other way. I fucking asked her why they were stopped in town, and she just said that their path was unexpectedly blocked. Since when is Olivia brave enough to lie to me? "Fine, I'll wait."
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Micha
I-I still can't believe Ronak showed up here! A-and that kiss?! What is he trying to pull in front of a bunch of kids?! I tossed the book I had been reading back into my storage and nervously peeked at the hand Ronak still had extended to me. He wasn't going to put that down, was he?
My fingers barely brushed against Ronak's palm before he grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. "Just how much candy did you buy?"
"I-I didn't know how many kids were at the orphanage-"
"Thirty-eight at the Ebonhold location." Oh right… I guess Ronak would know such a thing…
"Then… everyone can have about… three?" I held out my hands, and like a waterfall, my mountain of taffy flowed from my storage onto a table. Excited murmurs raced through the group of kids, but I was far too distracted by the judgmental look Ronak was giving me.
"What other candy do you have in there?"
"I-I don't have anything else…" We shared eye contact until I got nervous and looked away. O-okay… there might be a few taffies in there for me…
"We can have three?" A little girl wandered over to me with three of her fingers held up.
I immediately turned from Ronak's judgmental gaze and squatted down to be at her eye level. "Yep, three! Look how good you are at counting!" I giggled as I touched the tips of her fingers with one of my own.
"Yeah! Miss Misty makes sure we can read and count by the time we're eight! I'm learning to read right now!"
"Oooh! That's impressive! Do you go to school in town?"
"Yeah! I go to classroom C!" Awwww! She was so cute as she held up the letter C with her hand. It was facing the wrong way, but who cares? She was adorable!!
I couldn't help but smile and softly clap. "That's so great! What's your name?"
"Anna!" As she returned a smile to me, I couldn't help but notice her missing tooth. She was probably around five or six and completely adorable with her pigtails.
The moment Anna started talking to me, I was completely swarmed by curious kids asking me all sorts of questions. It was really fun. Especially seeing the tormented face of Ronak as the kids gnawed away on taffy. That might have been my favorite part.
"So…" She had to be about ten or eleven and was rather brave to be pointing at Ronak. "You like him?"
A rather unflattering sound escaped me as I held in a loud snort. "Yeah, I do." My gaze wandered up to Ronak, who was eyeing the little girl suspiciously.
"Like a lot?" She held her arms out wide, and I reached over to make the gap between her two arms even wider. It was pretty cute when she gasped.
"Yep, I like him thiiiiiiiis much." Of course, I liked Ronak. So much so that I'd say I loved him. "Why are you so curious?" I teased with a grin.
"Does that make him your charming prince? Like in the book? He even said you two were going to live happily ever after!" Her questions were innocent enough, but they made me blush.
"Maybe." I giggled. "He does live in a castle…"
"Then you're the pretty princess?!" She gasped excitedly. Umm… I-I don't want to pop her bubble…
"Yes, and it's almost this princess's curfew." Ronak leaned down and blew into my ear. "The clock is striking midnight. You're going to turn into a black cat." Ronak was probably getting tired of being here… and based on the smell, the kids would be eating dinner rather soon…
"I guess it is getting late. I'll see you all later." Most of the teenagers had wandered off with their candy, but the little kids all seemed very disappointed to see me go. "Don't worry. I'll visit again this winter." The head caretaker seemed a bit tense over my declaration, but she'll get used to me.
I thought Ronak was going to help me to my feet as he held out his hand, but instead, he dipped down and pulled me all the way up into his arms. "I'm reclaiming my princess." He got all the kids giggling as he hauled me away princess style, but I was pretty mortified. Wh-why is he being so charming all of a sudden?!
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"Wh-what's gotten into you?!" I asked as Ronak hauled me onto the carriage.
"You never answered my question."
"Huh?" What question?
Ronak leaned in close, and his breath was warm on my neck. "I asked you if we were going to live happily ever after, and you didn't even respond." I could feel the blood rushing back into my cheeks and heating my face. I-I was strategically ignoring that question…
I stared at the seat opposite us, but Ronak freed up a hand so he could pull my chin towards him. "O-only time will tell, right? W-we're not even married yet…"
Ronak's gaze met mine. Gah! His eyes were far too honest and piercing! "Is that what the phrase implies?" He asked as his thumb gently stroked my cheek.
"M-maybe a little… b-but isn't th-that something we b-build together over time?" He was loving every second of me struggling through my words. Even the corners of his lips were starting to curl.
"Is that why you want me to get assistants who help me with my work? I won't be busy all the time, and we can focus on living happily ever after together?" C-can't he stop saying it?! I swear my face gets hotter each time! I managed to duck my head into the neck hole of my cloak to hide from Ronak and his cheeky grin. "I'm waiting for my answer."
"M-maybe!" I nervously squealed. Ronak's arm joined his other, and he gave me a gentle squeeze.
"Mmm, guess my list has a name now." What list?!
I managed to find it in myself to pop my head out and ask my dreaded question. "L-list?"
"Mhmm, I think I'll name it… Micha's happily ever after checklist." Ronak winked, which was too much for my heart to handle. I had to look elsewhere.
Do I even dare ask? Y-yeah… I've gotta know… "What's on your l-list?"
"Simple things like meeting your parents, graduating from the academy, getting married, and having kids with you." Wh-what?! While I was distracted and refusing to look at Ronak, he struck. He quickly tugged my cloak all the way down from my face, and before I could panic, he pulled me in for a kiss. "Oh, and I plan to steal so many kisses from you." It was official. My brain had completely stopped working. H-he can't be so cute! That's against the rules!! Where's my aggressive alpha that growls and punches everyone he sees?!? "Yeah. I'd say or do anything to get to see this expression." Gah! No, no, no! My face was so red! Don't look!! Someone help!
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My eyes fluttered open, and I groggily looked around the room. The sun wasn't even up yet… Why is Ronak… Eep! It was touching my back, wasn't it…
I rolled over, and to my surprise, Ronak was still fast asleep. It was pretty obvious what sort of dream he was having, though. Not only was I woken up by his strong emotional waves of arousal, but there was quite a stiff rod poking me.
I guess we didn't do it last night, did we? He was probably feeling a bit frustrated with me… I didn't want to show up to my lessons with Giselle looking frazzled and incapable of walking, so I asked Ronak to keep it rather tame during the weekdays. His version of keeping it tame didn't slow him down in the slightest, though. We still made love almost every night. Ronak just slowed down the pace and didn't go multiple rounds, like he normally does.
That did mean that my weekends were basically spent lying around. Ronak would get all his excitement out, and I'd be left loafing around trying to recover from his overwhelming vigor.
Mmm… what to do about this, though…
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Ronak
"Please! I need your help! My stepmother put a curse on me, and the only way for you to break it is to join me in bed." The princess had awfully familiar golden hair and eyes, which drew me in. Huh… for a princess, her chest is awfully flat… not that I mind… if anything, she's really pretty…
I blinked a few times and became distracted by a rather lewd sound. Was that… slurping? I let out a pleasant grunt as something engulfed my dick. Wait… what?
I pulled the covers back to find the lustful princess of my dreams with his fingers wrapped around my dick and his tongue desperately lapping at my tip. His hair was a bit of a mess as he shyly looked up at me. It was messy from being under the covers, but some of it was also stuck to his sticky cheeks.
He returned his attention to what he was doing and opened his mouth wide as he plunged my tip into his mouth. It didn't matter to me that he wasn't able to get much into his small mouth when his tongue knew exactly what to do. Am I still dreaming?
"Fuuuck." He lapped up the little bit of pre-cum that started leaking out, and I wanted nothing more than to keep feeding him.
To my disappointment, he sat up and happily panted for air. No, you're supposed to keep going… "Did I wake you?"
"Yeah, but you can wake me up like this any day, Micha." I watched as Micha slowly crawled to sit atop me. Fuck he was so damn hot.
"D-don't get your hopes up…" He leaned down to kiss me as I ran my hands across his soft skin. Shit, everything about Micha was velvety soft. He really liked stuffed animals because they were cute and squishy, but I guess I felt the same way about him. He, too, was cute and squishy.
Micha is even better than an inanimate stuffed animal, though. Nothing was stopping him as he sat up and pressed my dick's tip into him. Damn, he's even softer on the inside. I wanted to thrust my hips up and plunge inside of him, but I let Micha do his thing. It wasn't terribly often that Micha took the lead, and I wasn't about to stop him.
There couldn't be an omega out there more perfect for me. Every curve and bump pressed against me, sending pleasure racing through my body. I didn't need any god's eye spell to know Micha's body inside and out. I had spent plenty of time exploring and learning the exact spots that made Micha go nuts. For example…
Micha still hovered above my hips a good three inches. Mmm, that's no fun… I cocked my hips at a slight angle and grabbed onto Micha's squishy thighs. With one swift movement, I plunged into him, and he collapsed forward with a moan. "You like that?"
"Yeeeeeaaaah." Micha's plush eyelashes fluttered from the pleasure as I ground against him.
"Want to do some extra special training this morning?" Just to really make it a struggle for Micha, the moment he started talking, I began to move my hips.
"Y-yes, ngh! C-can we? Mfph!" His eyes were trying to escape up into his head as he sat on the edge of orgasming.
I guess since he made me feel so good, I can let him off easily once. "Of course we can. This is physical exercise too." I slammed my hips into Micha as hard as I dared, and he let out a loud moan as his body contorted and froze. Just to help make the orgasm even better, I wiggled my hips around. Like a reward for my efforts, Micha burst against my chest, sending a small load of cum splattering across me. I didn't even have time to admire my efforts before Micha let out a loud gasp, drawing my attention to him. "Mmm, who's a naughty little omega?"
"M-me! Ngh!" Micha cutely rubbed his brow and nose against my chest as his body gently shivered. Heh, he's so lucky I have meetings, and he has to meet with the margravine. I want to make him incapable of walking for the next few days, but I'll resist the urge.
"Very good. You deserve a reward." I chuckled as I rolled to the side, placing Micha underneath me. Fuck, I loved seeing the expressions he makes as I rearrange his internal organs. I started swinging my hips, and Micha started panting. Moan more. I absolutely love it. I bit my lip as I stared down at his bond mark. It was like the gods were trying to make him even prettier than he was. My gaze darted up to Micha's face as he started to constrict his insides. "Are you squeezing on purpose?" I asked as I leaned down to steal a kiss from Micha.
"M-ngh! M-maybe." Leaning down was nothing but a trap because Micha wrapped his arms around my neck as our lips met, and he pulled me close. His heart was beating like crazy, and getting to be so close as he moaned was almost too much for me. I wriggled my head around for a better position and sank my teeth into his soft neck. The cry he let out was music to my ears and only made me bite him over and over again. He'd whine about the mess I made of his skin later, but I loved seeing my bite marks on him. Yes, I painted his pale, delicate skin with a golden bond mark, but knowing that I could leave behind even more marks that smelled like me was really pleasing. I wanted Micha to be mine and only mine.
Micha was starting to get worked up again, so I sat up and grabbed hold of his legs. I tossed his small feet over my shoulders and pulled him up slightly so I could press even further into him. Instead of holding out, I let myself get worked up alongside Micha. The faster he panted for air, the faster I swung my hips. He made himself far too easy to read. I knew exactly how close Micha was getting from how much he squirmed, and holy shit, it was as if there was a worm on the bed.
A slightly muffled moan escaped his lips as his back popped up off the bed. Because Micha was an omega, he was capable of orgasming, and fucking hell, it was hot. I didn't think much of it besides it feeling good, until we bonded, and holy shit, it was as if every nerve in his body was going crazy. Because I was able to read his emotions so well, I was able to understand just how good it made Micha feel, and it made me even more pleased knowing how much he liked making love to me.
I pressed his knees down against his abdomen as I leaned over him. I couldn't hold on any longer. With a rough slam of my hips, I released what I had been holding back. A big wave of pleasure passed over me from Micha as I worked on filling him to the brim. Fuck… I really let myself get too worked up. Micha's legs fell to my sides as I grabbed his armpits. I knew this feeling all too well. I rolled back to our original position and held Micha against me as my dick swelled, locking him in place. I… was ever going to ask that fucking doctor about why I knot almost every time, but he'd probably give me some shit answer I don't want to hear. How my uncle keeps him around is a mystery. I'd get rid of the useless bastard.
"So… full…" Micha said between breaths, drawing my attention back to him.
"Yeah?" I managed to grab hold of our comforter and pull it back up over the two of us. My hands instantly gravitated to Micha's soft skin. It was pretty cute how much he liked me rubbing his back. "Do you like feeling full?"
"M-maybe…" Heh, he's gotten so much more confident in the bedroom. It took months to get him to talk to me, and now look at him talking dirty. Thank fucking hell, I can tell what he does and doesn't like from his emotions. Otherwise, if I had to rely on him talking to me, we'd be in a bad way. I was, admittedly, a little rough at the beginning of our relationship. I… didn't know what to do with all the feelings of arousal I got from being around Micha, besides to satisfy them… I still satisfy myself, but I now ensure that Micha finds each experience satisfying as well.
"Good. I'll fill you up whenever you want." I teased. Micha let out a funny, muffled yelp as he buried his face into my chest. "If you keep getting me riled up, we're going to be stuck here all day."
"Y-you're the one saying things!" Micha squealed. His face was a beautiful shade of pink as his golden eyes peeked up at me.
I couldn't help but grin. "It's not my fault. There was this beautiful princess in my dream." Just like I had thought, the moment I mentioned a 'princess', Micha's brow furrowed. "They had this pretty golden hair and eyes." I tugged on Micha's hair and twirled it around my fingers as I watched his brow relax. Pft, did he really think I was talking about a woman? He should know the only person I've ever felt feelings for was him. "They were so bold and asked me to sleep with them. I was about to tell them no because I have this beautiful little omega that I like, but when I awoke from the dream, the pretty princess was under my blankets, being rather naughty."
Micha's face turned even pinker, and he looked away from me. "I-I was just trying to help…"
"Help?" Help with what? This wasn't the first nor will it probably be the last time that Micha gets me riled up in a dream. Though… if his version of helping was to give me a blowjob while I slept, then he can be my guest.
"I-I just thought… that you were feeling a little pent up… because of me…" He must have noticed my slightly raised brow because he kept trying to explain himself. "B-because of Giselle, y-you have to be more gentle… I-I thought that… you were feeling frustrated with me…"
I let out a rather loud scoff, making Micha flinch slightly and grab hold of my chest as he wobbled atop of me. Ah, whoops. I forgot that he's as light as the stuffed animals he has. A strong breeze could blow him away. "Me frustrated with you? How ridiculous, I'm not frustrated. Yeah, we can't get as wild as we have been in the past, but it's not the end of the world." Micha's blushing face was starting to hide from me again, so I grabbed hold of his squishy cheeks and forced him to look at me. "I still enjoy every second we spend together, no matter if it's wild or not."
Micha nodded his head, and I went about squishing his cheeks since they were within my grasp. His lips slowly turned into a frown, and he eventually whined, "Stooop it!"
I snickered softly this time, so as not to topple Micha from my chest. "Micha," I called as I released his face.
"Wh-what?"
"I love you," I said with a grin.
"I-I love you too." He responded before hiding his face. Fuck, that's never going to get old, is it?