It had been several days since Milo saw Corym, despite knowing full well he was around the university. That is, until one day, he caught his gaze across the dining hall. He watched, stunned as he looked away and promptly made his way out of the room.
Milo set down the cards he had in his hand, and glanced at Micheal. “Rain check? Or do you want to take the victory?”
“I’ll never stoop so low as to take an unearned win.” the halfling said, overdramatically. “Now run and go see what is up with your paramour”.
Milo raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”
“It’s called theater, Anani, I thought you knew all about it. But what are you still doing here? Go!”
It was easy to pick up his items and make his way to his boyfriend's room. It was easy to weave through the crowded halls and to knock on the door.
“Come in?”
It wasn’t easy to open the door and to see him sitting on the edge of the window, looking out at the field of morningstar lilies with his arms hugging his chest. It wasn’t easy to see him look in his direction, but not quite at him. A discarded copy of the Eviran Scroll was at his feet, ripped in two.
“I should have known you’d follow me...”
Milo softly closed the door behind him. “So you are avoiding me?” he waited for a reply, to no avail. “Corym darling what’s wrong?”
Corym looked out the window once again, his shoulders raising almost to his ears. “You read the Eviran Scroll. I…” he exhaled deeply. “We can’t keep doing this.”
“Doing what, avoiding each other? That’s not-”
“No, just... we- we can't keep seeing each other, Mi-...Milo.”
The room exploded with a deafening silence.
No, no no no, not like this, not when there was no reason.
What his grandfather told him… would the rumors have spread so quickly? What did he mean that people knew?
That’s when he noticed how pained Corym seemed to be. His nails were digging into his arms, his eyes brimmed with tears, his eyebrows tight.
Milo shook his head. “It’s your voice, but these aren’t your words, are they? Please tell me they aren’t yours…” He sat across from him on the edge of the window, unsure if he should reach out to him.
Corym shied away from him even further. “They should be… a part of me maybe wants them to be?”
“Why? What happened?”
There was no way for Corym to make himself smaller at that moment. “I-... I shouldn’t be the one taking your time and space. It should be someone that won’t make the Keepers shun you away. It can’t be someone who the authorities here try to get rid of, say should be in jail, or refuse to give the time of day to. You deserve someone who you can look at in pride, not someone you think you need to protect from others. You deserve a light, not a stain.”
“A stain..?” the word echoed through Milo's mind.
“We can’t work together, Mi… I just- f*ck, I can’t believe I fell for you in the first place, I’m trying so hard to find a part of myself that says that I only did so because of your status or something just as shallow. Might as well just... stop everything now before it hurts all the more.”
“Corym, where in the name of the skies is this coming from?”
“I- just... run-ins with the other Keepers, some friends saying things. I don’t know how, but people know now and… they are just so vocal about it, it all got me thinking… and now with the news just bashing drow again...”
Milo always knew that this conversation would surface, but he never expected Corym to try to end their relationship because of it. He finally reached out and put his hands on his arms, admiring his own golden skin tone against Coryms lavender complexion.
He knew his choice.
“Corym… I love what we have together. How my family and the other Keepers react… there’s nothing they can do to you. It’ll be only words and looks, and those will only last so long. Their anger is their problem to bear. I won’t let what we have go to waste because of other people’s judgment. You mean far too much for the blurred gaze of those drowning in gold to dim the light you are to me.”
Corym finally looked up at him then. Milo reached out to gently stroke his cheek.
“But... I hear you. If you were to look at me and tell me you harbor no feelings for me, that you never have, that all of this was just another fling for you, or even that you truly believe that we will not work… it would hurt to no end, but I would take it and let you go. But I would need you to prove it. If you can prove to me, to yourself, that you feel nothing, or that you truly don't want to anymore, then I’ll thank you for everything you brought to my days and walk away.”
Corym groaned and stood. “Milo I’m trying so hard to-”
“What? Protect me? While hurting yourself? You keep doing that, you keep putting other people's needs before your own!”
“Yes! Because if I can help others then maybe I will be someone who is worth something in the eyes of your people.”
“My people? The Holnites don't turn to me, they only respect me for my family name. Corym, how in your right mind do you think that ending our relationship helps me? You'd be doing it to appease all the people you don't care about, and only them.”
“In the long run, it would. You wouldn’t be seen as anything less than you should be. I can’t let myself be with you when it’ll hurt your chances to be taken seriously.”
Milo shook his head and stood as well. “All you’d be doing is break my heart and make me hate the title I was born with even more than I already do. I- I choose you, Corym Bloom, I f*cking choose you. But as I said, if you can prove to me that you truly want to end this, I’ll walk away. Make me walk away, Corym, break me, make me believe it was all a game for you. Make me accept that you truly believe we should end this.”
Corym looked at Milo then, his blue eyes holding his own mismatched ones.
“I-... I can’t.”
Milo exhaled deeply. "Thank the stars, I though you-"
Then, Coryms hand on his face, their lips crashing together, Milos hands holding him closer, always closer. Milo had never understood what people mean by kisses being ‘devouring’ until that moment, until they forgot about being careful and let themselves fall into a desperate mess.
Both were breathless when they parted.
“I - I don’t know what came over me...” Milo muttered, letting a smile slip.
“Please don’t walk away…” Corym whispered.
“I won’t, I promise.”
Corym sniffed and wrapped his arms around Milo’s middle, who held him as close as he could.
“I always knew it would be a difficult relationship, Corym, if only for the way people look at us. If I wasn’t ready for that I would not have pursued this. Let me protect you for once, and let people learn to live with what makes you happy. Or in this case, both of us, I guess.”
Corym nodded, trembling slightly, letting go of his nerves. “Okay.” He looked up to Milo. “Stay with me tonight?”
Milo nodded, "Of course..." before exhaling deeply. “Stars, don’t ever scare me like that again.” he sat back on Coryms bed, looking up at him. “You look exhausted…”
“I’ve been keeping this in for what feels like years… people know about us now…”
Milo took his hands and encouraged him to step closer. “It’s okay. They can know, soon the surprise will fade, right? Come here.”
Not a moment later, Milo was lying in Coryms bed, his boyfriend tucked against his chest, still trembling from the stress. Yet, it didn’t take too long for Corym to drift into a nap, finally calm.
“Corym?”
He didn’t respond, sound asleep.
Good.
“I love you.”
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