Chocolate Fic for hatenaimirai_e
To: hatenaimirai_e
From: krysyuy
Title: Mine & Yours
Pairing: Bem/Bela (Yokai Ningen Bem)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sometimes all you need is a little push.
A/N: This is set some time during the beginning of the drama before it obviously veers off into AU land. Big thanks to my beta for the idea during brainstorming. Dear hatenaimirai_e, I really hope you enjoy this. :) Happy reading!
When night falls and Belo doesn’t come home to their abandoned ship, Bem and Bela go looking. They find him mindlessly swaying back and forth on the swings of a deserted playground. Bela sits on the empty swing next to his while Bem leans against one of the metal posts.
“What’s the matter?” Bela asks, poking Belo in the forehead.
Belo swats at her hand. “… Nothing,” he murmurs quietly.
“Belo,” Bem says. He manages to convey all his concern in those two syllables.
Belo looks off into the distance, and Bem and Bela follow his line of sight to the window of a nearby apartment building. Lights shine on inside with a family having dinner, laughing and talking. “… It must be really nice to have parents.”
Bela raises an eyebrow. “We’re your parents, Belo,” she says, reciting the story they concocted so many, many years ago.
“Not really,” Belo replies. He kicks up dust with his shoes. “Moms and dads are supposed to love each other.”
Bela glances over her shoulder, exchanging a look with Bem. They don’t reassure him with falsities. They have rarely, if ever, lied to each other.
“Come on, let’s go,” she says, avoiding the matter at hand for now. “It’s freezing.”
Belo giggles, his sober mood lifting. “We don’t get cold,” he retorts in his ‘you’re so silly’ tone.
Bela waves her hand. “Details,” she replies. She pulls Belo off the swing and the three of them make their way back home.
Later, once Belo is tucked away, Bem moves over to sit next to Bela, his voice softer than usual so as not to wake their youngest companion. “Maybe… we should try harder?” he suggests.
“At giving Belo a proper home?”
“He really wants parents,” Bem says. Something about his tone has Bela wondering if he ever wanted the same thing too at one point in time. Though there’s not exactly anything they can do about it.
“And we all want to be human,” Bela retorts. “So?”
Bem meets her eyes, his gaze serious yet earnest at the same time. “We can give him this,” he replies.
Bem knows precisely how to persuade her when he wants to. She frowns at the thought of him knowing her so well, but then again, there are few things in the world that Bela wouldn’t do for Belo. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” she says. “’Moms ands dads are supposed to love each other’ he says. Do you know what it is to be in love?”
Bem pauses, considering her question. After a moment, he shakes his head.
“Neither do I.”
-
The next day, Bela somehow finds herself at an amusement park on the pier, surrounded by more humans than she cares to be close to. A noisy child barely reaching up to her knee crashes into her, making her stumble back into Bem. The child bows with a squeaky apology before disappearing into the sea of human activity.
Bem helps her regain her footing as she brushes off the skirts of her dress. “This is a fine start,” she grumbles. “Why are we here again?”
“We have to watch humans in order to understand them,” Bem says, repeating what he’s already said during the past hour. Sometimes Bela is convinced he received almost all the patience, which left nearly none for her or Belo.
“I got bored of your favorite hobby years ago,” she replies, but knows he’s right. She looks around at the crowd, at the lines for the rides, games and food booths. “There are so many of them though. How do you choose?”
Bem leads the way and grabs her hand so they don’t get separated. She tightens her fingers around his when they’re jostled a bit from both sides. He finds them an empty table and only when they’re both seated does Bela feel comfortable enough to let his hand go.
“I don’t know why you wanted some place so crowded,” Bela says crossly, adjusting her disordered cloak around her shoulders.
“This is a ‘date spot’.”
Bela has no idea what that means or how Bem even knows that. “I don’t want to know,” she says. Her eyes catch on to an attractive couple sitting two tables away. “How about them?”
Bem nods. “Do what they do,” he says in that husky way of his.
It seems more than a little ridiculous, but Bela reminds herself that they’re doing this to learn what it’s like to be in love. The first thing she notes is that people in love like to touch each other. She starts in her seat when Bem cups her cheek. When she looks over at him, he’s not looking at her, but at them. He strokes her skin with his thumb and the motion actually comforts her.
Bela watches the girl and after a few seconds, she reaches out and combs Bem’s hair away from his face. She tucks his silver bangs behind his ear, the corner of her mouth curling up when it simply falls out of place again. When he leans into her touch, Bela is pleased though she doesn’t quite understand why.
Next, the girl leans across the table to whisper in her boyfriend’s ear, giggling all the while. Bela purses her lips and looks across the table to find Bem struggling to hold back a smile. She bats away his touch.
“I am not doing that,” she says.
Bem tips his hat down so the brim shades his eyes. “I wasn’t expecting you to,” he replies.
The couple gets up and head in the direction of the rides. Bela follows them with her eyes, unwilling to back down from a challenge. She grabs Bem’s hand and pulls him up. This time she leads them through the crowd and deliberately laces her fingers through his to mimic the couple ahead of them. The warmth and closeness is reassuring, and Bela understands a little why humans tend towards physical affection.
The male stops in front of the rollercoaster and the chirpy female suddenly looks apprehensive. After a short whispered conversation, he sighs and nods, and the female gives him a peck on the cheek, bright-eyed and relieved.
Without stopping, Bela kisses Bem’s cheek as well, slightly astonished when she pulls back to discover a faint dusting of pink on his face. She laughs.
“Don’t be so shy, Bem,” she teases.
He tries to tilt his hat down even further, but the edge doesn’t cover the lower half of his face. Bela laughs again and tugs him along, wondering what couples in love would do next. She can get used to this touching thing.
-
For the rest of the day, Bem merely follows where Bela leads. While their trip started out as research, Bela continues to follow the couple around just to find out how many ways to embarrass him, he’s sure. But he finds that he doesn’t mind at all, not when it has Bela constantly smiling.
Bela mimics the female’s every move - well, almost every - without hesitation. Bem is more fastidious in his choices. He’s not used to touching apart from the usual hug or pat on the head for Belo. He has to tamp down the surprise that Bela has taken to it so quickly. That’s the thing about Bela though. Once she decides to do something, there’s no stopping her. And over the course of the day, Bem grows accustomed to the small intimacies, even secretly begins to enjoy it.
So Bem doesn’t say a word when they switch from couple to couple, from the younger humans to the middle-aged ones to the older ones. They watch how the humans interact with each other and in some cases, their children. The myriad of human emotions is a lot to take in and Bem chooses to remember the kinder sentiments rather than the ugly ones. It makes him wistful.
Bem likes the companionship between the older couples the most. Their affection is calmer, a bit more subdued, but nonetheless genuine. He’s disappointed when Bela chooses to follow a younger couple home. They continue watching them from the roof opposite the couple’s apartment building.
The humans grow more and more affectionate with each other with their wandering hands and passionate kisses. Bem glances at Bela to find her too engrossed in the scene to even think about mirroring it. She tilts her head to the side when they start stripping off their clothes.
“Hmm… interesting,” she says finally.
Bem’s ears prick up when the first loud moan reaches them and he pointedly looks away to give the couple their privacy. “We should go,” he says.
Bela doesn’t move, rooted to her spot, eyes wide and more than a bit curious.
“Bela.”
She stands up, rolling her eyes. “Spoilsport.”
Bem waits for her to leave first, just in case. She flicks her cape in his direction and then descends to another rooftop, but not before sneaking one last glance. He shakes his head, but follows her with a small smile.
-
“I think we’re missing something,” Bela says. She lies back on the grass next to Belo, ready for another night of looking up at the stars.
“How about giving Bem a gift?” Belo says as he traces twinkling star patterns with his finger. “People in love give each other gifts! Or that’s what Yui-chan says.”
“I don’t know anything about gifts,” Bela retorts. “Plus the only thing Bem wants is what we all want.” She thinks of Bem, always trying so hard, his faith unwavering. “I’d give it to him if I could.” Her hand creeps over to Belo before she tickles him. “And you too!”
Belo squirms, laughing, and tries to get away. Bela takes pity on him and releases her hold so he can scramble to a safe distance and catch his breath. “Yui-chan made chocolate for someone she likes! How about that?” he asks. “We can ask her for help.”
She wonders if Bem even likes chocolate, but at least Belo has an idea. She’s no good at this type of thing. “Why not?” she says. “I’ll try anything.”
-
“So, Bela-san, how did you fall in love with your husband?”
Bela pauses in stirring the chocolate, holding the mixing bowl awkwardly in her arms. “Love at first sight?” she says, wincing even as the words tumble out of her mouth. She had paid far too much attention to some of the more saccharine point-of-views from her “research” trip with Bem.
“Oh really?” Yui asks, all sincerity. For a child, she’s rather sweet. “I don’t believe in that kind of thing myself. I think you grow to love someone.”
“Maybe I exaggerated a little,” Bela replies, recalling her first meeting with Bem and Belo. They had been scared and confused, and there had been no room for such lofty ideals like love.
Bela slaps Belo’s hand when he tries to sneak a taste of the chocolate. “It’s still not cool enough,” she says, giving him a look.
Belo pouts and looks up at Yui. “Bela-san is right,” Yui says. “You have to wait.”
Belo sighs and rests his chin on the edge of the counter, watching as Yui arranges the mold and crème filling.
“Okay, you can pour it into the mold now,” Yui says, nodding after she checks the chocolate. Bela moves to do as instructed, but Yui places a hand on her wrist. “Remember to think of Bem-san as you pour. Like you’re pouring your feelings into it!”
Humans are so strange. “What purpose does that serve?” Bela asks.
“Your love and care make the chocolate more delicious,” Yui states as if it were a known fact.
Bela looks over at Belo, who nods vigorously. She skeptically glances at the mold with all the mini shapes. However, deciding to go along with it, she blocks all other thoughts out of her mind except for Bem as she starts to pour. The chocolate slowly fills all the cavities, small dark hearts appearing one by one.
It makes her think of Bem’s heart, how soft and fragile it is.
She learned to close herself off a long time ago, but Bem somehow keeps fighting, keeps wanting to believe in all things good and precious in the world. They’ve been wounded too many times to count. It’s frozen her little by little from the inside, but for Bem, the wounds heal and scar, before being torn into again. On the surface, it looks like he’s built a wall around himself, but it’s nothing more than a pretense. Just mix in persuasion and a human in trouble and he’ll be there. She protests, he helps, and Bela prepares to move somewhere new.
It should be frustrating, she thinks. Bem doesn’t bother protecting himself, so it’s up to Bela to do so. Because she knows while Bem’s heart is too soft, it is also very, very beautiful.
Bela opens her eyes, not realizing she had closed them, and finds Yui smiling at her. “Yes, that’s it,” Yui says. “That’s exactly right.”
Bela places a hand over her heart and exhales. “Oh.” The skin on her wrist cracks and she hastily hands over the bowl to Yui. “I forgot I have to pick up something from…” She mumbles the rest of her sentence and makes her escape amidst the confusion. As she rushes out the door, she hears Belo tell her not to worry, he’ll finish the chocolate for her.
She has bigger problems at the moment.
-
The display in the window is filled with reds, pinks and whites - the colors surround sparkling bracelets and necklaces. They are all things Bela would scoff at and yet Bem wanders in anyway.
“Welcome!” A cheery salesclerk waylays Bem before he even has a chance to look around at their neatly lined display cases. “How may I help you today?”
Bem stares at her blankly, not sure what to do in the face of such perkiness.
His silence doesn’t perturb her in the slightest. “Are you looking for a gift for a loved one?” she asks. “Your girlfriend? Wife?”
He nods, though categorizing Bela is difficult. Partner? Companion? She just… is.
“How would you describe her?” When he gives her a questioning look, she explains, “Her personality can help determine what might suit her best.”
After a moment, Bem says, “Complicated.”
The salesclerk laughs and shakes her head. “Men,” she says. “I suppose we’ll always be a mystery to you.” She leads him to a case filled with silver chain necklaces, all carrying different types of intricate pendants. “Here are some of our more lovely pieces.”
Bem takes one look and knows none of these are for Bela. He doesn’t know why he came in in the first place; besides having no money, he knows Bela would be happier with a flower in her hair from Belo. She loves the simple things, doesn’t wish for anything extravagant, except for maybe the desire to become human. The desire to be normal.
It’s possible. They are closer than they’ve ever been before, and he’ll do anything to make their wish come true - for himself, for Belo, for Bela. Sometimes he thinks about what would happen if they do attain their goal. Would anything beyond the surface change?
Suddenly, standing there in the middle of the jewelry store makes him uneasy. He pictures a human Bela wearing such fancy things and the picture is all wrong. He likes Bela with her hair ornament and simple braid, and with her hair down when he’s the only one with the privilege to see. He likes that she teases him, that she’s always so brave taking on every challenge, that even when she hates him going off to help as many humans as he can, she is always there to support him. He likes that she was willing to find out what it is to be in love, likes how it felt to have her touch on his skin. She’s beautiful and proud and, he thinks, magnificent.
And he’s been there at her side, quietly loving her all along.
Bem blinks and comes back to himself to see the salesclerk trying to get his attention.
“Thinking of her?” She has on this knowing smile and in the back of his mind, Bem marvels at how some humans seem to have an innate sixth sense.
Bem murmurs, “Thank you,” and goes on his way. He needs to find Bela.
-
Bela swings back and forth on the swing of Belo’s favorite playground, the repetitive action calming for her emotions. She doesn’t know what to do. She has always been so sure of herself, but she has no idea what will happen when she sees Bem again.
“Bela.”
Her feet drag on the ground, slowing her momentum, though she doesn’t turn around. “Bem.”
There are several seconds of awkward silence, which Bela detests because in spite of everything, they have never been awkward with each other. Bem is whom she is most comfortable with, but now she has no idea where she stands with him.
Love. Bah.
“This is a pesky emotion,” she complains.
“What is?” His voice is closer now, so close that Bela knows he’s standing right behind her.
She wants to say it aloud, show that it has no power over her, but it comes out as a whisper all the same. “Love.”
It’s out there, in the open, and Bela realizes she doesn’t want to take it back. She wants him to know. Something about this is supposed to be scary, but Bela has always been fearless.
She tilts her head back, ignores the jump in her chest at the sight of him with her new awareness. “I’m not quite sure…” Seeing him from the wrong side up lessens the pressure for some reason. “But I think I love you,” she states clearly and without hesitation.
Bem’s eyes widen.
Bela scowls. “Don’t just stand there, gaping like a koi fish. I said -”
Bem leans down and kisses her, upside down and all. It’s warm and soft and ends all too soon before she can fully grasp what just happened.
She looks forward again and lightly touches her lips. “We didn’t try that last time,” she murmurs. She had objected, but now she can’t remember why. “That was… nice.”
“Yes,” he agrees. Bem walks around and squats in front of her so he is now below her eye level. His gaze is quiet and unassuming and when he opens his mouth to say something else, she presses her finger to his lips. She can hear it later.
“I’m going to kiss you this time,” she declares.
Bem’s mouth curls up at the corners in a small smile. “… Alright,” he replies, his answer brushing her skin.
Bela frames his face with her hands and pulls him towards her, meets him halfway, revels in the shock of pleasure that runs through her when their lips meet again. She finds herself actually looking forward to what will happen next in this little journey of theirs.
Neither of them notices the small head peeking out from around the corner. Belo giggles as he looks away and up at the fading sunset, Bela’s box of chocolates for Bem in his hands.
He knew it.
From: krysyuy
Title: Mine & Yours
Pairing: Bem/Bela (Yokai Ningen Bem)
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Sometimes all you need is a little push.
A/N: This is set some time during the beginning of the drama before it obviously veers off into AU land. Big thanks to my beta for the idea during brainstorming. Dear hatenaimirai_e, I really hope you enjoy this. :) Happy reading!
When night falls and Belo doesn’t come home to their abandoned ship, Bem and Bela go looking. They find him mindlessly swaying back and forth on the swings of a deserted playground. Bela sits on the empty swing next to his while Bem leans against one of the metal posts.
“What’s the matter?” Bela asks, poking Belo in the forehead.
Belo swats at her hand. “… Nothing,” he murmurs quietly.
“Belo,” Bem says. He manages to convey all his concern in those two syllables.
Belo looks off into the distance, and Bem and Bela follow his line of sight to the window of a nearby apartment building. Lights shine on inside with a family having dinner, laughing and talking. “… It must be really nice to have parents.”
Bela raises an eyebrow. “We’re your parents, Belo,” she says, reciting the story they concocted so many, many years ago.
“Not really,” Belo replies. He kicks up dust with his shoes. “Moms and dads are supposed to love each other.”
Bela glances over her shoulder, exchanging a look with Bem. They don’t reassure him with falsities. They have rarely, if ever, lied to each other.
“Come on, let’s go,” she says, avoiding the matter at hand for now. “It’s freezing.”
Belo giggles, his sober mood lifting. “We don’t get cold,” he retorts in his ‘you’re so silly’ tone.
Bela waves her hand. “Details,” she replies. She pulls Belo off the swing and the three of them make their way back home.
Later, once Belo is tucked away, Bem moves over to sit next to Bela, his voice softer than usual so as not to wake their youngest companion. “Maybe… we should try harder?” he suggests.
“At giving Belo a proper home?”
“He really wants parents,” Bem says. Something about his tone has Bela wondering if he ever wanted the same thing too at one point in time. Though there’s not exactly anything they can do about it.
“And we all want to be human,” Bela retorts. “So?”
Bem meets her eyes, his gaze serious yet earnest at the same time. “We can give him this,” he replies.
Bem knows precisely how to persuade her when he wants to. She frowns at the thought of him knowing her so well, but then again, there are few things in the world that Bela wouldn’t do for Belo. “I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” she says. “’Moms ands dads are supposed to love each other’ he says. Do you know what it is to be in love?”
Bem pauses, considering her question. After a moment, he shakes his head.
“Neither do I.”
-
The next day, Bela somehow finds herself at an amusement park on the pier, surrounded by more humans than she cares to be close to. A noisy child barely reaching up to her knee crashes into her, making her stumble back into Bem. The child bows with a squeaky apology before disappearing into the sea of human activity.
Bem helps her regain her footing as she brushes off the skirts of her dress. “This is a fine start,” she grumbles. “Why are we here again?”
“We have to watch humans in order to understand them,” Bem says, repeating what he’s already said during the past hour. Sometimes Bela is convinced he received almost all the patience, which left nearly none for her or Belo.
“I got bored of your favorite hobby years ago,” she replies, but knows he’s right. She looks around at the crowd, at the lines for the rides, games and food booths. “There are so many of them though. How do you choose?”
Bem leads the way and grabs her hand so they don’t get separated. She tightens her fingers around his when they’re jostled a bit from both sides. He finds them an empty table and only when they’re both seated does Bela feel comfortable enough to let his hand go.
“I don’t know why you wanted some place so crowded,” Bela says crossly, adjusting her disordered cloak around her shoulders.
“This is a ‘date spot’.”
Bela has no idea what that means or how Bem even knows that. “I don’t want to know,” she says. Her eyes catch on to an attractive couple sitting two tables away. “How about them?”
Bem nods. “Do what they do,” he says in that husky way of his.
It seems more than a little ridiculous, but Bela reminds herself that they’re doing this to learn what it’s like to be in love. The first thing she notes is that people in love like to touch each other. She starts in her seat when Bem cups her cheek. When she looks over at him, he’s not looking at her, but at them. He strokes her skin with his thumb and the motion actually comforts her.
Bela watches the girl and after a few seconds, she reaches out and combs Bem’s hair away from his face. She tucks his silver bangs behind his ear, the corner of her mouth curling up when it simply falls out of place again. When he leans into her touch, Bela is pleased though she doesn’t quite understand why.
Next, the girl leans across the table to whisper in her boyfriend’s ear, giggling all the while. Bela purses her lips and looks across the table to find Bem struggling to hold back a smile. She bats away his touch.
“I am not doing that,” she says.
Bem tips his hat down so the brim shades his eyes. “I wasn’t expecting you to,” he replies.
The couple gets up and head in the direction of the rides. Bela follows them with her eyes, unwilling to back down from a challenge. She grabs Bem’s hand and pulls him up. This time she leads them through the crowd and deliberately laces her fingers through his to mimic the couple ahead of them. The warmth and closeness is reassuring, and Bela understands a little why humans tend towards physical affection.
The male stops in front of the rollercoaster and the chirpy female suddenly looks apprehensive. After a short whispered conversation, he sighs and nods, and the female gives him a peck on the cheek, bright-eyed and relieved.
Without stopping, Bela kisses Bem’s cheek as well, slightly astonished when she pulls back to discover a faint dusting of pink on his face. She laughs.
“Don’t be so shy, Bem,” she teases.
He tries to tilt his hat down even further, but the edge doesn’t cover the lower half of his face. Bela laughs again and tugs him along, wondering what couples in love would do next. She can get used to this touching thing.
-
For the rest of the day, Bem merely follows where Bela leads. While their trip started out as research, Bela continues to follow the couple around just to find out how many ways to embarrass him, he’s sure. But he finds that he doesn’t mind at all, not when it has Bela constantly smiling.
Bela mimics the female’s every move - well, almost every - without hesitation. Bem is more fastidious in his choices. He’s not used to touching apart from the usual hug or pat on the head for Belo. He has to tamp down the surprise that Bela has taken to it so quickly. That’s the thing about Bela though. Once she decides to do something, there’s no stopping her. And over the course of the day, Bem grows accustomed to the small intimacies, even secretly begins to enjoy it.
So Bem doesn’t say a word when they switch from couple to couple, from the younger humans to the middle-aged ones to the older ones. They watch how the humans interact with each other and in some cases, their children. The myriad of human emotions is a lot to take in and Bem chooses to remember the kinder sentiments rather than the ugly ones. It makes him wistful.
Bem likes the companionship between the older couples the most. Their affection is calmer, a bit more subdued, but nonetheless genuine. He’s disappointed when Bela chooses to follow a younger couple home. They continue watching them from the roof opposite the couple’s apartment building.
The humans grow more and more affectionate with each other with their wandering hands and passionate kisses. Bem glances at Bela to find her too engrossed in the scene to even think about mirroring it. She tilts her head to the side when they start stripping off their clothes.
“Hmm… interesting,” she says finally.
Bem’s ears prick up when the first loud moan reaches them and he pointedly looks away to give the couple their privacy. “We should go,” he says.
Bela doesn’t move, rooted to her spot, eyes wide and more than a bit curious.
“Bela.”
She stands up, rolling her eyes. “Spoilsport.”
Bem waits for her to leave first, just in case. She flicks her cape in his direction and then descends to another rooftop, but not before sneaking one last glance. He shakes his head, but follows her with a small smile.
-
“I think we’re missing something,” Bela says. She lies back on the grass next to Belo, ready for another night of looking up at the stars.
“How about giving Bem a gift?” Belo says as he traces twinkling star patterns with his finger. “People in love give each other gifts! Or that’s what Yui-chan says.”
“I don’t know anything about gifts,” Bela retorts. “Plus the only thing Bem wants is what we all want.” She thinks of Bem, always trying so hard, his faith unwavering. “I’d give it to him if I could.” Her hand creeps over to Belo before she tickles him. “And you too!”
Belo squirms, laughing, and tries to get away. Bela takes pity on him and releases her hold so he can scramble to a safe distance and catch his breath. “Yui-chan made chocolate for someone she likes! How about that?” he asks. “We can ask her for help.”
She wonders if Bem even likes chocolate, but at least Belo has an idea. She’s no good at this type of thing. “Why not?” she says. “I’ll try anything.”
-
“So, Bela-san, how did you fall in love with your husband?”
Bela pauses in stirring the chocolate, holding the mixing bowl awkwardly in her arms. “Love at first sight?” she says, wincing even as the words tumble out of her mouth. She had paid far too much attention to some of the more saccharine point-of-views from her “research” trip with Bem.
“Oh really?” Yui asks, all sincerity. For a child, she’s rather sweet. “I don’t believe in that kind of thing myself. I think you grow to love someone.”
“Maybe I exaggerated a little,” Bela replies, recalling her first meeting with Bem and Belo. They had been scared and confused, and there had been no room for such lofty ideals like love.
Bela slaps Belo’s hand when he tries to sneak a taste of the chocolate. “It’s still not cool enough,” she says, giving him a look.
Belo pouts and looks up at Yui. “Bela-san is right,” Yui says. “You have to wait.”
Belo sighs and rests his chin on the edge of the counter, watching as Yui arranges the mold and crème filling.
“Okay, you can pour it into the mold now,” Yui says, nodding after she checks the chocolate. Bela moves to do as instructed, but Yui places a hand on her wrist. “Remember to think of Bem-san as you pour. Like you’re pouring your feelings into it!”
Humans are so strange. “What purpose does that serve?” Bela asks.
“Your love and care make the chocolate more delicious,” Yui states as if it were a known fact.
Bela looks over at Belo, who nods vigorously. She skeptically glances at the mold with all the mini shapes. However, deciding to go along with it, she blocks all other thoughts out of her mind except for Bem as she starts to pour. The chocolate slowly fills all the cavities, small dark hearts appearing one by one.
It makes her think of Bem’s heart, how soft and fragile it is.
She learned to close herself off a long time ago, but Bem somehow keeps fighting, keeps wanting to believe in all things good and precious in the world. They’ve been wounded too many times to count. It’s frozen her little by little from the inside, but for Bem, the wounds heal and scar, before being torn into again. On the surface, it looks like he’s built a wall around himself, but it’s nothing more than a pretense. Just mix in persuasion and a human in trouble and he’ll be there. She protests, he helps, and Bela prepares to move somewhere new.
It should be frustrating, she thinks. Bem doesn’t bother protecting himself, so it’s up to Bela to do so. Because she knows while Bem’s heart is too soft, it is also very, very beautiful.
Bela opens her eyes, not realizing she had closed them, and finds Yui smiling at her. “Yes, that’s it,” Yui says. “That’s exactly right.”
Bela places a hand over her heart and exhales. “Oh.” The skin on her wrist cracks and she hastily hands over the bowl to Yui. “I forgot I have to pick up something from…” She mumbles the rest of her sentence and makes her escape amidst the confusion. As she rushes out the door, she hears Belo tell her not to worry, he’ll finish the chocolate for her.
She has bigger problems at the moment.
-
The display in the window is filled with reds, pinks and whites - the colors surround sparkling bracelets and necklaces. They are all things Bela would scoff at and yet Bem wanders in anyway.
“Welcome!” A cheery salesclerk waylays Bem before he even has a chance to look around at their neatly lined display cases. “How may I help you today?”
Bem stares at her blankly, not sure what to do in the face of such perkiness.
His silence doesn’t perturb her in the slightest. “Are you looking for a gift for a loved one?” she asks. “Your girlfriend? Wife?”
He nods, though categorizing Bela is difficult. Partner? Companion? She just… is.
“How would you describe her?” When he gives her a questioning look, she explains, “Her personality can help determine what might suit her best.”
After a moment, Bem says, “Complicated.”
The salesclerk laughs and shakes her head. “Men,” she says. “I suppose we’ll always be a mystery to you.” She leads him to a case filled with silver chain necklaces, all carrying different types of intricate pendants. “Here are some of our more lovely pieces.”
Bem takes one look and knows none of these are for Bela. He doesn’t know why he came in in the first place; besides having no money, he knows Bela would be happier with a flower in her hair from Belo. She loves the simple things, doesn’t wish for anything extravagant, except for maybe the desire to become human. The desire to be normal.
It’s possible. They are closer than they’ve ever been before, and he’ll do anything to make their wish come true - for himself, for Belo, for Bela. Sometimes he thinks about what would happen if they do attain their goal. Would anything beyond the surface change?
Suddenly, standing there in the middle of the jewelry store makes him uneasy. He pictures a human Bela wearing such fancy things and the picture is all wrong. He likes Bela with her hair ornament and simple braid, and with her hair down when he’s the only one with the privilege to see. He likes that she teases him, that she’s always so brave taking on every challenge, that even when she hates him going off to help as many humans as he can, she is always there to support him. He likes that she was willing to find out what it is to be in love, likes how it felt to have her touch on his skin. She’s beautiful and proud and, he thinks, magnificent.
And he’s been there at her side, quietly loving her all along.
Bem blinks and comes back to himself to see the salesclerk trying to get his attention.
“Thinking of her?” She has on this knowing smile and in the back of his mind, Bem marvels at how some humans seem to have an innate sixth sense.
Bem murmurs, “Thank you,” and goes on his way. He needs to find Bela.
-
Bela swings back and forth on the swing of Belo’s favorite playground, the repetitive action calming for her emotions. She doesn’t know what to do. She has always been so sure of herself, but she has no idea what will happen when she sees Bem again.
“Bela.”
Her feet drag on the ground, slowing her momentum, though she doesn’t turn around. “Bem.”
There are several seconds of awkward silence, which Bela detests because in spite of everything, they have never been awkward with each other. Bem is whom she is most comfortable with, but now she has no idea where she stands with him.
Love. Bah.
“This is a pesky emotion,” she complains.
“What is?” His voice is closer now, so close that Bela knows he’s standing right behind her.
She wants to say it aloud, show that it has no power over her, but it comes out as a whisper all the same. “Love.”
It’s out there, in the open, and Bela realizes she doesn’t want to take it back. She wants him to know. Something about this is supposed to be scary, but Bela has always been fearless.
She tilts her head back, ignores the jump in her chest at the sight of him with her new awareness. “I’m not quite sure…” Seeing him from the wrong side up lessens the pressure for some reason. “But I think I love you,” she states clearly and without hesitation.
Bem’s eyes widen.
Bela scowls. “Don’t just stand there, gaping like a koi fish. I said -”
Bem leans down and kisses her, upside down and all. It’s warm and soft and ends all too soon before she can fully grasp what just happened.
She looks forward again and lightly touches her lips. “We didn’t try that last time,” she murmurs. She had objected, but now she can’t remember why. “That was… nice.”
“Yes,” he agrees. Bem walks around and squats in front of her so he is now below her eye level. His gaze is quiet and unassuming and when he opens his mouth to say something else, she presses her finger to his lips. She can hear it later.
“I’m going to kiss you this time,” she declares.
Bem’s mouth curls up at the corners in a small smile. “… Alright,” he replies, his answer brushing her skin.
Bela frames his face with her hands and pulls him towards her, meets him halfway, revels in the shock of pleasure that runs through her when their lips meet again. She finds herself actually looking forward to what will happen next in this little journey of theirs.
Neither of them notices the small head peeking out from around the corner. Belo giggles as he looks away and up at the fading sunset, Bela’s box of chocolates for Bem in his hands.
He knew it.