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Takiya couldn’t believe he was actually going to go through with it. He felt a bit guilty, of course… but what choice did he have?
I’m sure Faf-kun won’t mind… I’ll just destroy the pact as soon as my parents are gone, he assured himself. It would be okay afterwards. He just needed to solve this. Right here, right now. Takiya took a deep breath, steadying his growing nerves before walking into his home.
“Faf-kun, I’m back!”
The man glanced up from his computer ever so slightly, acknowledging roommate’s presence before returning his gaze to the screen. “You’re later than usual.”
“Ah, yes… I ran into a friend on the way home,” Takiya laughed. With trembling hands, he grabbed the orb from his pocket. Hiding behind the wall separating him and Fafnir, he looked at the glowing ball of energy in his grip. He truly, honestly, wholly couldn’t believe he was actually going to do this.
But it would be fine.
It’s not like it’ll hurt Fafnir, right?
With a silent sigh, he closed his eyes…
…and swallowed the magic orb.
Instantly, his eyes shot open, a surprised gasp escaping from him. He could see everything, hear everything, feel everything. And yet, everything was a blur. It was… terrifying. He could feel the blood running through his veins. He could see the tiniest print from across the room.
He felt… powerful. And yet…
“Takiya? What are you doing?”
Takiya’s eyes widened. He nervously peeked around the corner, staring at Fafnir. Thankfully, the dragon wasn’t looking at him, his gaze still fixed on the screen.
“N-nothing, Faf-kun…”
Saying that name… saying that name caused a switch to flip inside of him. He suddenly knew everything was supposed to do. He knew all about how to make a pact.
Shakily, Takiya raised a finger. He didn’t notice as the tip began to glow a bright blue… but Fafnir did. Slowly, he stood up from his chair. With a stern expression on his face, he turned around to face his roommate.
“What are you doing.”
It wasn’t a question anymore. It was a demand. Takiya’s eyes went wide, and his finger only began to glow more and more. And then… he uttered words he didn’t understand… and from the ground grew two glowing blue shackles, both instantly attaching themselves to Fafnir’s wrists.
The dragon let out a grunt of surprise, trying to fight off the shackles. “What the hell are you—?”
Fafnir stopped in the middle of his sentence. Slowly, he looked up at Takiya, his face full of…
Betrayal.
“You didn’t .”
Takiya couldn’t stop. He couldn’t stop uttering the curse as the shackles grew tighter and tighter. Fafnir let out a surprisingly uncharacteristic cry of pain as he steadily limped over to Takiya.
“Stop this now. You don’t know what you’re doing!”
“You’re right… I don’t,” Takiya whispered, his eyes wide. “But it’s okay. I’ll destroy the pact as soon as my parents are gone. It’s going to be fine, Faf-kun!” As soon as he said the name, the shackles tightened more and more, now digging into Fafnir’s wrists.
And then… something strange happened. Fafnir’s face… softened. He looked at Takiya with an expression of pure hurt . “You’re telling me… this is all because I didn’t leave the house when you told me to?” The hurt instantly turned into anger yet again as he let out another cry, yet out of fury this time. “You fool! You can’t sever a Master-Servant pact! It’s permanent!”
Oh, shit.
Takiya gritted his teeth, trying to pull his hand away. And yet, some invisible force was holding him there. Keeping him there. Forcing him to finish the spell. He looked away in pure shame, squeezing his eyes shut yet again. “I… can't stop…!
“Gh… Takiya! Look at me! Makoto!”
Suddenly, he looked back at Fafnir. They made eye contact, and Takiya’s whole world shattered. Fafnir… the most powerful man he knew… looked so utterly broken . And then… the glow faded away. The shackles melted back into the ground, and all the power once inhabiting Takiya went with it. He let out a soft whimper of pain as he fell to his knees.
“F… Faf-kun…?”
Fafnir glared down at him, rubbing his wrists. His previous pain disappeared in an instant as the anger returned full-force. “Don’t call me that. Ever. Again.”
And then, he stormed out the door.
the present.
“Kobayashi, I fucked up.”
The red-haired woman immediately spits out her coffee as she looks up at Takiya. “That… might be the first time I’ve ever heard you swear.” And yet, her slightly teasing tone instantly melts away as tears begin to form in the otaku’s eyes. “Shit! Uh, come here, sit down with me. Let’s talk, okay? What’s going on?”
Silently, Takiya sits down next to her, his shoulders trembling ever so slightly. “It’s Fafnir.”
“Damn…” Kobayashi takes a sip of her coffee, staring at him with wide eyes. “It must be really bad if you’re not even calling him Faf-kun anymore.”
Takiya can only nod silently. If he spoke, he might just burst out crying, and he was not supposed to do that. Ever.
Kobayashi places a reassuring hand on his back, rubbing it gently. “Hey, it’s okay… you don’t have to mask in my house, alright? Let it out.”
Slowly… the tears begin to fall. It’s not long before he’s full-on sobbing. “I… I tried to make a pact with him. I-I didn’t know it… I… I didn’t know, okay?!”
“A… pact?” Kobayashi’s face turns to one of confusion… before it dawns upon her. “You didn’t.”
“I did! I did, and I feel horrible! I broke the spell a-and he just ran off after yelling at me! What do I do?!”
The woman thinks for a moment. Her face morphs into that of confusion, then into concern. “I’m… actually drawing a blank here. I don’t know much about magic stuff… but I know someone who does. Hey, Tohru!”
Within an instant, her maid walks into the room. “I, um, heard everything…”
Takiya sighs, burying his face in his hands. “Please, Ms. Tohru… please tell me what I have to do.”
Tohru sits down next to Takiya, clearly a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation. “Well… forcing someone into a Master-Servant pact is not a very kind thing… and Fafnir hates being used like that. I’d say just be fully honest with him, and apologize. Do something, and make up for it. I’m not sure if he’ll take the apology, considering how stubborn he is, but it’s really your only shot.”
“Do you have any idea where he is?”
The dragon looks at him for a moment with furrowed eyebrows. “Yes… actually, he’s here.”
Takiya immediately reveals his face, staring at her with wide eyes. “What?”
Wordlessly, Tohru grabs his arm and pulls him to his feet. He tries to fight her off, but her iron-clad grip forces him to follow along. She throws open the door to a room, tosses Takiya inside, then locks the door behind him.
And there, sitting upon the bed, is none other than Fafnir, his back turned.
“Faf— ah… Fafnir. Hello…” says Takiya. The man doesn’t move. He doesn’t say a single word. The otaku lets out a long sigh as he sits opposite of Fafnir, both of them now facing away from each other.
“I messed up. I messed up really bad. I have no idea how magic works, and I did something stupid. I don’t even know where to—“
“Humans are inherently flawed creatures.”
Takiya instantly shuts his mouth, glancing back at Fafnir as he continues to speak. “And yet… this is the worst I’ve seen in a while. To see someone I’ve placed my full trust in take advantage of me like this…”
It’s then that Takiya notices… Fafnir’s shoulders are shaking. They’re actually shaking. And not out of anger, like they usually are. No… out of sadness.
“I-I didn’t mean to…”
“No. You did mean to. You didn’t know the severity of it, but that doesn’t change the fact that you did it intentionally,” Fafnir growls. “I put my trust in you, Takiya. I expected you to be better than the rest of humanity… but it appears I was wrong. Your species is doomed, and so are you.”
And then, before he can even react, Fafnir is being hugged from behind. Takiya is now burying his head into the dragon’s shoulder, fighting back the steadily gathering tears. “I’m so sorry… I’m stupid. I never should have abused your trust like that. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I was desperate, and I gave into my desperation… and now I’ve lost the one person that actually understands me…”
“As have I.”
Takiya looks up… and is met with the sight of his life. Fafnir, the stoic and stern Fafnir, is tearing up . It’s just a few tears in his eyes, nothing he could definitely label as “crying”, but it’s enough to cause Takiya more concern than he’s ever felt in his entire life
“Faf…kun?”
Surprisingly, the dragon makes no attempt to silence the nickname. He sighs, wiping the tears from his eyes. “You’ve destroyed me, Takiya. You’ve made a weak man. You’ve made me… enjoy your human eccentricities. You’ve… you’ve made me soft. And that softness… make me feel a sort of fondness towards you. One I can’t help but feel still…”
“Faf-kun…” Takiya lets out a small laugh as he releases his grip on the man. Instead, he sits beside his friend, smiling up at him. “Well, I hope you have enough room in your soft heart to forgive me. At least… eventually.”
Fafnir stares at him with those unreadable eyes. And then… the corner of his lip curls upwards, just barely. It’s not a smile. It’s not close… but it’s not his usual stoic line. It’s a start.
“Unfortunately… I somehow already have.”
Takiya grins, cupping Fafnir’s cheek as he wipes another tear from his eye. “I promise you that nothing bad like this will ever happen again. You have my word.”
Fafnir raises a hand, grabbing Takiya’s wrist… yet he doesn’t pull him away. Instead… it seems more like a desperate kind of grip. One made to hold him there.
“Swear on your life. Swear this will never happen again, or else I will make sure you bear the consequences.”
Takiya, of course, is not intimidated. He smiles, then nods. “I swear on my life.”
Fafnir returns his nod, a determined look on his face. The two stay there for a moment, both not entirely sure what to do. And then, Takiya speaks up.
“Would you hate me if I did something stupid?”
“You just did the stupidest thing possible, and I don’t hate you. So no.”
Takiya smiles at him. His face turns a light shade of pink as he speaks. “You mean a lot to me, y’know?”
“Go on…” Fafnir murmurs, clearly intrigued.
The otaku lets out a small laugh at this. “I mean… I’ve known you for so long, I can’t help but feel… ah… I’m sorry, I suck at putting these kinds of things into words, but I want to tell you…”
“Actions speak louder than words.”
Takiya raises an eyebrow at this, clearly perplexed at the dragon’s confidence. “You sure?”
“Positive.”
“Okay then… you asked for this.” The otaku takes in a deep breath. He tucks a stray strand of hair behind Fafnir’s ear, smiling at him with a newfound softness. And then, slowly, he leans in and presses his lips to the dragon’s.
It’s short. Fafnir doesn’t even have the chance to respond before Takiya is already pulling away, his face bright red. Being the overthinker that he is, he takes Fafnir’s blank expression as a negative response.
“Don’t tell me I just ruined everything again… heh,” he laughs nervously, trying to hide the looming fear he is experiencing.
Fafnir stays silent. And then, slowly, he raises a hand to his own lips. He lightly brushes his fingers against the surface, as if he was processing what just happened. And then, his eyebrows raise just slightly, his eyes lighting up in the tiniest way possible as he finally realizes the event that occurred. It’s a small movement, one that would have gone completely unnoticeably to a stranger. But not to Takiya. And then, he speaks.
“You… have cursed me.”
Takiya can’t help but laugh. “What? I didn’t curse you. What are you talking about?”
Fafnir lets out a ‘tch’, his expression darkening in something oddly similar to embarrassment. “You did. You’ve placed a curse upon my lips, and that is why my heart is beating so fast. You have betrayed my trust yet again, you evil creature.”
“Faf-kun… that wasn’t a curse. That was a kiss .”
Fafnir pauses. “A… kiss?”
“Yes,” Takiya says, fighting back his laughter. “It’s a human ritual… one typically done between lovers.”
The dragon furrows his eyebrows, his confusion more and more evident by the second. “But… we are not lovers.”
“I know.” Gently, Takiya takes his hand, interlocking their fingers together. “But I’d like to be. The events of today made me realize just how much you mean to me… just how awful and empty my life is without you in it. You bring me so much happiness, y’know?”
The strangest thing happens then. Fafnir, the cold, heartless Fafnir… blushes. It’s faint, just a light pink on the highest point of his cheeks, but it’s enough to make Takiya burst out into a smile.
“A kiss… lovers,” Fafnir whispers, as if he was trying to wrap his mind around his friend’s words. “So if we were to kiss again… we would be lovers?”
The otaku nods, letting out another laugh. “Yes, I suppose that’s how it wor—“
He’s unable to finish his sentences as he feels Fafnir’s lips upon his yet again. Takiya tenses up for a moment, then when he notices Fafnir isn’t pulling away, he begins to reciprocate.
It’s a bit funny, just how inexperienced the dragon is. He’s clearly never kissed anyone before, yet he’s trying his hardest, and Takiya can appreciate the effort. Slowly, the otaku angles his head to the side, making the kiss a bit more comfortable for both of them. His hand cups Fafnir’s cheek once again, the other resting in the crook between his neck and shoulder. It’s comfortable. It’s soft. It’s sweet… and it’s so, so them.
They pull away after a short while, both a little breathless. Fafnir’s face is just a tad pinker now, as he stares into Takiya’s eyes, breathing heavily.
“Damn you.”
They’re already kissing again before Takiya can respond. Fafnir’s hands make their way to his shoulders, pulling him closer. The man can’t help but smile into the kiss, when—
“You guys done yet or— eugh , I said make up , not make out!”
Takiya immediately pulls away, his face a bright red at the sound of Tohru’s voice. He turns to her, laughing nervously. “Heh… at least it worked out in the end, right?”
Tohru rolls her eyes, opening the door all the way. “Good. Now get out of my house and go kiss in your own damn room!”
The trip home is awfully quiet. Surprisingly, Fafnir is willing to change back into his dragon form, allowing Takiya to ride on his back. It’s a pleasant experience for both of them, yet neither of them say a word as they land. As soon as they enter the house, they naturally gravitate towards the couch, picking up their controllers.
“Our first game as boyfriends!” Takiya exclaims, pushing his glasses up onto his nose.
“ Tch. Your mortal terms for companionship have no effect on me!” Fafnir growls. “But… if it makes you feel better, then fine. Boyfriends it is.”
The otaku let out a satisfied laugh as he used a finishing move on Fafnir, who scoffed in response.
“What did I say about instakill combos?”
“Don’t care!”