[Legend of Sun Knight] fic: No Sweeter Words -Re- (oneshot)
Title: No Sweeter Words -Re-
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 2,854
Summary: Many years since Roland and Grisia sneaked out during the Sun Knight selections to buy something sweet, Roland finds himself following Grisia into the city once more. Grisia hadn't forgotten. Written for National Blueberry Pie Day!
Notes: I've been entertaining a sequel to No Sweeter Words and hoped to post it on April 28, Blueberry Pie day. Three days late (OTL), but here's the sequel to last year's blueberry pie fic.
Previous story
No Sweeter Words -Re-
Roland had been at the Holy Temple longer than he thought he should be. After reuniting with Grisia, his friend had asked for his help with a small favor. Somehow, it meant donning a mask and a leotard to disguise as the Hell Knight, and somehow, it meant remaining as the Hell Knight even after the conclusion of the three-way death match for the princess's hand.
Currently, Roland was following Grisia, making sure he was okay. Judgment had told him that Grisia had returned blind from the Kingdom of Moon Orchid. Finding out had given Roland a heavy blow. Grisia had given him a place to stay, and Roland had taken him on his kindness and stayed. Yet while Roland had been safe and sound at the Holy Temple, Grisia had been in danger and even blinded.
It was the cost of Resurrection, Judgment had told him. It made Roland glad that Grisia hadn't learned of his death until well after the fact, even though Roland had briefly wished for respite while he had been locked away. Endlessly tortured, Roland's last thoughts had been on the Sun Knight selections from all those years ago and the awe he'd felt over his friend's healing spells.
Back during the selections, the warmth from Grisia's healing spells had been so soothing and gentle that Roland still recalled the feeling, even now when holy light would only hurt him instead of heal him. In his last moments, he had considered that Grisia would have been able to heal him. He was that amazing.
But Roland also remembered Grisia as the boy who would run to him and flit behind him to hide from bullies. He remembered Grisia as the boy who would yelp even at tiny dogs and grip Roland's sleeves, wanting him to chase the dogs away. To Roland, Grisia had always needed looking after, and now, he needed it even more.
So, Roland followed Grisia. It was a harder task than he thought it would be. Grisia always seemed to know where he was, and he often tried to lose him. From time to time, he would even shoot Roland looks that made him wonder whether Grisia were truly blind. Just now, Grisia was making Roland question again. He had stopped by a wall, head tilted upward as if he were examining it with his eyes.
Confused, Roland decided to approach Grisia. He asked, "What are you doing?"
Grisia shot him a look, exactly one of those that made Roland feel Grisia could see. "You mean, what are 'we' doing."
"Huh?"
"Since you've been following me, you might as well come with me," Grisia said. "I'm craving something sweet."
If all he wanted was something sweet, Roland had just the thing. Roland dug around in his pockets and took out a small pouch given to him by Ice. It had the Hell Knight's symbol embroidered on it. Roland hadn't had the heart to turn Ice down even though chocolates would only be wasted on him. He held the pouch out to Grisia.
"Sweet!" Grisia said, taking the pouch without any hesitation. He popped one of the chocolates in his mouth and then proceeded to toss in two more in quick succession. "These are just perfect! Everyone else's chocolates are always too plain. These are great." Grisia turned toward him with a calculating expression. "Let's share next time, too."
Roland watched as Grisia tucked the pouch away, wondering how this was considered sharing when Grisia was the only one eating the chocolates, but it was true that Roland couldn't taste them, and this would appease Grisia's craving.
Or so Roland had thought.
"Come on," Grisia urged, gesturing for Roland to come closer. He then proceeded to climb the wall.
"You shouldn't be leaving the premises," Roland said, still stationary. "Judgment will get angry."
Grisia immediately said, "Don't worry, Roland. You're coming with me, so there's nothing for him to complain about. Besides, we'll be back before he knows it." After saying his piece, a slight gust of wind gathered below Grisia, just enough to give him a small boost. He easily reached the top of the wall.
He looked down toward Roland. "Well?"
"That doesn't change the fact that you would be leaving the Holy Temple..." Roland said. He abruptly paused, feeling like he had said something similar before. He tried to think back, but nothing came to mind right away. In any case, now that Grisia was already on top of that wall, Roland had to make sure to follow closely without losing sight of him.
He craned his neck, locating the branches and jutting stones that would make the climb up easier. Grisia had barely used any of the footholds, instead gathering magic to climb the wall. The Grisia in Roland's memories had been a terrible climber, but it seemed that Grisia had found his workarounds for that. Roland could gather the wind element too or even teleport himself up, but the skills of a death lord still felt like shortcuts to him. He reached out, grabbing hold of a branch. He gave it an experimental tug and deemed it strong enough to hold his weight. He then leaped up the wall with the help of the branch, forgetting to consider altogether that there really was something strange about climbing the wall to leave instead of using the front gates.
Before he knew it, he was on top of the wall beside Grisia, who was looking outward toward the city. Roland followed his gaze, looking at the city that lined the horizon.
Grisia stretched his hands out and remarked, "If I hold my hands out like this, does it look like I'm supporting the city?"
As Roland watched Grisia, a smaller figure with smaller hands came to mind.
He remembered.
Many, many years ago, they'd been on this same wall, looking out at the city. It was just that they were both much taller and older now, and much less carefree.
Before Roland could even answer, Grisia made to drop his hands. Without a second thought, Roland quickly grabbed them to steady them, positioning them so that they were right below several houses.
"Yes, you're supporting the city," Roland said. Grisia, as the Sun Knight, had become a true pillar of Leaf Bud City's. From time to time, Roland had seen Grisia at parades and ceremonies, smiling benevolently as he listened to the people's concerns. Grisia, that boy who'd smiled wistfully and had hoped he could stay in the Holy Temple, had truly become the Sun Knight.
While Roland, on the other hand...
Roland let go of Grisia's hands. After a moment, he held his own outward below one of the small houses, almost as if he were cradling it. "Do you think my hands could offer support, too?"
It was truly nice here. Roland wished he could stay, but the hands of a death lord could only bring harm. Even though Grisia was pretending as if Roland had always been the Hell Knight, Roland knew it couldn't last. He would only bring trouble to Grisia.
But for now, Grisia was craving something sweet. If chocolates couldn't satisfy him, then the only other solution was cake or pie. The least Roland could do was find some for Grisia.
If the Sun Knight were to walk around the city in broad daylight, he was sure to attract attention, but Grisia's disguise was perhaps not much more inconspicuous. In order to hide his identity, he'd activated Dragon's Saint Brigandine, turning his hair black. Now, he and Roland were eerily alike, two leotard-clad holy knights both with masks hiding the lower half of their faces.
The capital of the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound bustled with activity, but even then, the two masked men didn't go unnoticed. As they browsed the stalls, many people gave them strange looks. Roland followed after Grisia, making sure to keep him in sight.
As another head turned, gaze following them, Grisia commented, "Maybe they'll think we're brothers."
Roland asked, "Should I disguise as a regular citizen?" He could do so by using the heart-shaped ring Pink had given him. He didn't want to cause Grisia any trouble.
Grisia thought for a moment, but he ultimately waved Roland's concerns away. "It's not like the whole continent knows much about the Hell Knight. The Hell Knight could have a brother. Or I could be one of your platoon members who is following your example. It'll be fine. Besides, some of those are appreciative looks..."
Roland wasn't sure any of his platoon members would dress this way, but Grisia didn't seem to be worried, so Roland focused on the mission at hand instead-acquiring something sweet for Grisia.
There was a stall selling lollipops, but that wasn't what Roland was seeking. As they rounded the corner, a bakery came into view. Roland thought they'd have a better chance finding cake or pie there.
The shop indeed had an assortment of cakes and pies. The moment they entered the shop, Grisia took a deep breath and sighed in contentment. "Freshly baked bread, whipped cream, blueberries..."
Roland didn't know how Grisia was able to pick out the smell of blueberries from the rest of the scents that the bakery probably had, but as Grisia headed straight for the pies, Roland found that there were indeed blueberry pies there.
"Do you want one?" Roland asked, reaching for his money pouch to determine how much he had in it.
Grisia considered Roland and asked. "Are you going to pay for it?"
Since Grisia had led them into the city without advance notice, Roland didn't have much money on him, but he might have enough to buy one pie.
Roland gave a nod and pulled out his money pouch.
However, Grisia actually chuckled and said, "Well, lucky you, you won't have to pay anything today."
Roland was confused. He didn't think Grisia would offer to pay. In the next moment, however, Roland realized his error. With two slices of free blueberry pie in hand, it was clear that Grisia hadn't planned on paying at all.
"This store didn't used to give out free blueberry pie on this day, but they joined in on the tradition last year," Grisia explained. "Come on, let's head to the next store!"
"Free blueberry pie~" Grisia sang, happily leading them to several stalls and shops. Many of them were giving out free blueberry pie for the day. They soon had several slices in hand, enough to form an entire pie, despite all the weird stares they received.
Roland followed after him at a much slower pace, his arms full of blueberry pie.
"You know," Grisia began saying, "I really wouldn't mind if people mistook us for brothers."
Grisia's sentiment was perhaps why he had decided on wearing the Dragon's Saint Brigandine instead of a cloak, and why he hadn't asked Roland to choose a different disguise. Grisia placed another slice of blueberry pie in Roland's pile and asked, "Do you remember what day today is?"
If Grisia had asked even an hour earlier, Roland would have answered in the negative. But with his arms full of blueberry pie and his heart filled with more emotion than he thought he could still feel, he answered, "Our birthday."
Even though Grisia's mouth was hidden by a mask, his smile was evident in his eyes. "Wrong! It's free blueberry pie day."
When Roland stilled, Grisia laughed and said, "I was just pulling your leg. Happy birthday, Roland."
Roland relaxed. "Happy birthday, Grisia."
To two orphans who had agreed on celebrating the day together as their birthday, all those years ago before they had gotten separated, there were truly no sweeter words than hearing their birthday wishes for each other.
They'd finally made it happen, their promise to celebrate this day together again. Even though Roland could no longer taste the pies, he felt himself smiling from the bottom of his heart.
By the time they returned to the Holy Temple, it was already past dinner time, just like before. They'd gone to all of the bakeries and sweets shops they could find, so many that the Hell Knight would probably be rumored to be a lover of blueberry pie. Or free stuff. What was different was that climbing the wall wasn't much of an ordeal, even with full hands. Grisia flew them over so that none of the pies would be endangered.
Missing dinner wasn't a big deal for Roland. In fact, it made things easier for him. But it was different for Grisia.
"Maybe you can still find some food," Roland offered.
Grisia, who had deactivated the Dragon's Saint Brigandine after three hours, grinned. "Don't worry, there's plenty of pie." In fact, Grisia had already eaten so much pie that he wasn't all that hungry. He did make sure to replenish all the slices he'd eaten before they'd returned though.
"Pie really isn't food," Roland insisted.
"Roland!" Grisia said, aghast. "This is where you're supposed to agree with me, not nag at me! Having Judgment nag about what I eat is already more than enough."
"But he's right," Roland said. Surely, if Grisia had watched what he had eaten more, he too would have grown taller or built more muscle.
Grisia groaned and muttered that Judgment was a bad influence on Roland. He even snatched a slice of blueberry pie away from Roland, leaving eleven slices, which only confused Roland, since he had planned on giving Grisia all of his slices in the first place.
Still grumbling, Grisia began walking off. Roland followed without a word. Once they reached the hallway, Roland figured that Grisia was heading back to his room. Therefore, Roland was about to head to his own room too when Grisia shook his head at him.
"Don't think the day is over yet!" Grisia said. "Come on!"
Confused, Roland thought that maybe Grisia wanted the pie delivered to his room.
However, when they headed inside, Grisia revealed a hidden trapdoor that led to a cellar. The moment they jumped in, several voices exclaimed, "Happy birthday!"
Roland was taken aback.
The rest of the Twelve Holy Knights were all present, and there was food spread out on top of the barrels that were being used as makeshift tables. A colorful banner that said, "Happy birthday, Grisia and Roland!" hung across the cellar. Roland swallowed, hard, and blinked his eyes. He had never expected this...
He looked at the eleven slices of pie in his hands and knew it wasn't a coincidence that Grisia had given him that number of slices. He offered, "Would you like some blueberry pie?"
Roland gave each of them, including Grisia, a slice of their efforts. They'd taken one slice from each shop. No slice was completely the same, having come from different bakers.
"I'll pass," Judgment said when he saw that there were only eleven slices.
Roland shook his head and said, "I've already had my share."
When Judgment merely raised his eyebrows, Roland had the thought that Judgment knew exactly what had happened. But Judgment took a slice, all the same. Roland was glad, as he didn't want any of the pies to go to waste.
To the side, Grisia pouted and said, "Roland! I took a slice to punish Judgment! He shouldn't get any."
Earth chortled. "You? Punish Judgment? Dream on."
"So you were indeed the one who took Roland's share," Judgment said.
When Ice gave Grisia a disappointed look, Grisia had no choice but to return one of the slices to Roland.
Although Roland couldn't taste the pie, he dug in at the same time as the others, not wanting to rain on their parade. Their banter was amusing, and the texture of the pie was fluffy against his tongue. They each shared their thoughts on the slice they'd received, and some even tried to guess which slice might have been made by Ice's father. After that, they broke out the wine, and Roland found himself growing tipsy.
"We'll do this again next year, all right?" Grisia said.
"Let's do this again," Judgment agreed. The rest all nodded as well.
Roland looked at all of them. When Grisia led him into the city earlier in the day, it had never crossed Roland's mind that it was partially a distraction. He had thought that he was the one looking after Grisia, not the other way around. Roland had already been over the moon being able to celebrate this day together again with Grisia. To think that even the rest of the Twelve Holy Knights wished to celebrate with them...
To someone like Roland, who had always been alone, and who had even died alone and forgotten, hearing that his friend wanted to be with him, and that his new comrades who could one day become his friends, wanted to be with him too, was even sweeter than tasting the pie that had once made him think of ripe blueberry fields caressed by the sun.
Maybe it was okay for him to stay. At least for now.
So, Roland smiled and said, "Let's do it."
the end
I hope you enjoyed the sappy story. :) (It took way too long to write) I tried to parallel the previous oneshot to show both how they changed and how they haven't. I wonder if I succeeded at all. XD;; It was interesting trying to write them during this time in canon. I'm kind of used to their post canon selves now, where they know more. It feels great to be able to finish a story! :')
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 2,854
Summary: Many years since Roland and Grisia sneaked out during the Sun Knight selections to buy something sweet, Roland finds himself following Grisia into the city once more. Grisia hadn't forgotten. Written for National Blueberry Pie Day!
Notes: I've been entertaining a sequel to No Sweeter Words and hoped to post it on April 28, Blueberry Pie day. Three days late (OTL), but here's the sequel to last year's blueberry pie fic.
Previous story
No Sweeter Words -Re-
Roland had been at the Holy Temple longer than he thought he should be. After reuniting with Grisia, his friend had asked for his help with a small favor. Somehow, it meant donning a mask and a leotard to disguise as the Hell Knight, and somehow, it meant remaining as the Hell Knight even after the conclusion of the three-way death match for the princess's hand.
Currently, Roland was following Grisia, making sure he was okay. Judgment had told him that Grisia had returned blind from the Kingdom of Moon Orchid. Finding out had given Roland a heavy blow. Grisia had given him a place to stay, and Roland had taken him on his kindness and stayed. Yet while Roland had been safe and sound at the Holy Temple, Grisia had been in danger and even blinded.
It was the cost of Resurrection, Judgment had told him. It made Roland glad that Grisia hadn't learned of his death until well after the fact, even though Roland had briefly wished for respite while he had been locked away. Endlessly tortured, Roland's last thoughts had been on the Sun Knight selections from all those years ago and the awe he'd felt over his friend's healing spells.
Back during the selections, the warmth from Grisia's healing spells had been so soothing and gentle that Roland still recalled the feeling, even now when holy light would only hurt him instead of heal him. In his last moments, he had considered that Grisia would have been able to heal him. He was that amazing.
But Roland also remembered Grisia as the boy who would run to him and flit behind him to hide from bullies. He remembered Grisia as the boy who would yelp even at tiny dogs and grip Roland's sleeves, wanting him to chase the dogs away. To Roland, Grisia had always needed looking after, and now, he needed it even more.
So, Roland followed Grisia. It was a harder task than he thought it would be. Grisia always seemed to know where he was, and he often tried to lose him. From time to time, he would even shoot Roland looks that made him wonder whether Grisia were truly blind. Just now, Grisia was making Roland question again. He had stopped by a wall, head tilted upward as if he were examining it with his eyes.
Confused, Roland decided to approach Grisia. He asked, "What are you doing?"
Grisia shot him a look, exactly one of those that made Roland feel Grisia could see. "You mean, what are 'we' doing."
"Huh?"
"Since you've been following me, you might as well come with me," Grisia said. "I'm craving something sweet."
If all he wanted was something sweet, Roland had just the thing. Roland dug around in his pockets and took out a small pouch given to him by Ice. It had the Hell Knight's symbol embroidered on it. Roland hadn't had the heart to turn Ice down even though chocolates would only be wasted on him. He held the pouch out to Grisia.
"Sweet!" Grisia said, taking the pouch without any hesitation. He popped one of the chocolates in his mouth and then proceeded to toss in two more in quick succession. "These are just perfect! Everyone else's chocolates are always too plain. These are great." Grisia turned toward him with a calculating expression. "Let's share next time, too."
Roland watched as Grisia tucked the pouch away, wondering how this was considered sharing when Grisia was the only one eating the chocolates, but it was true that Roland couldn't taste them, and this would appease Grisia's craving.
Or so Roland had thought.
"Come on," Grisia urged, gesturing for Roland to come closer. He then proceeded to climb the wall.
"You shouldn't be leaving the premises," Roland said, still stationary. "Judgment will get angry."
Grisia immediately said, "Don't worry, Roland. You're coming with me, so there's nothing for him to complain about. Besides, we'll be back before he knows it." After saying his piece, a slight gust of wind gathered below Grisia, just enough to give him a small boost. He easily reached the top of the wall.
He looked down toward Roland. "Well?"
"That doesn't change the fact that you would be leaving the Holy Temple..." Roland said. He abruptly paused, feeling like he had said something similar before. He tried to think back, but nothing came to mind right away. In any case, now that Grisia was already on top of that wall, Roland had to make sure to follow closely without losing sight of him.
He craned his neck, locating the branches and jutting stones that would make the climb up easier. Grisia had barely used any of the footholds, instead gathering magic to climb the wall. The Grisia in Roland's memories had been a terrible climber, but it seemed that Grisia had found his workarounds for that. Roland could gather the wind element too or even teleport himself up, but the skills of a death lord still felt like shortcuts to him. He reached out, grabbing hold of a branch. He gave it an experimental tug and deemed it strong enough to hold his weight. He then leaped up the wall with the help of the branch, forgetting to consider altogether that there really was something strange about climbing the wall to leave instead of using the front gates.
Before he knew it, he was on top of the wall beside Grisia, who was looking outward toward the city. Roland followed his gaze, looking at the city that lined the horizon.
Grisia stretched his hands out and remarked, "If I hold my hands out like this, does it look like I'm supporting the city?"
As Roland watched Grisia, a smaller figure with smaller hands came to mind.
He remembered.
Many, many years ago, they'd been on this same wall, looking out at the city. It was just that they were both much taller and older now, and much less carefree.
Before Roland could even answer, Grisia made to drop his hands. Without a second thought, Roland quickly grabbed them to steady them, positioning them so that they were right below several houses.
"Yes, you're supporting the city," Roland said. Grisia, as the Sun Knight, had become a true pillar of Leaf Bud City's. From time to time, Roland had seen Grisia at parades and ceremonies, smiling benevolently as he listened to the people's concerns. Grisia, that boy who'd smiled wistfully and had hoped he could stay in the Holy Temple, had truly become the Sun Knight.
While Roland, on the other hand...
Roland let go of Grisia's hands. After a moment, he held his own outward below one of the small houses, almost as if he were cradling it. "Do you think my hands could offer support, too?"
It was truly nice here. Roland wished he could stay, but the hands of a death lord could only bring harm. Even though Grisia was pretending as if Roland had always been the Hell Knight, Roland knew it couldn't last. He would only bring trouble to Grisia.
But for now, Grisia was craving something sweet. If chocolates couldn't satisfy him, then the only other solution was cake or pie. The least Roland could do was find some for Grisia.
If the Sun Knight were to walk around the city in broad daylight, he was sure to attract attention, but Grisia's disguise was perhaps not much more inconspicuous. In order to hide his identity, he'd activated Dragon's Saint Brigandine, turning his hair black. Now, he and Roland were eerily alike, two leotard-clad holy knights both with masks hiding the lower half of their faces.
The capital of the Kingdom of Forgotten Sound bustled with activity, but even then, the two masked men didn't go unnoticed. As they browsed the stalls, many people gave them strange looks. Roland followed after Grisia, making sure to keep him in sight.
As another head turned, gaze following them, Grisia commented, "Maybe they'll think we're brothers."
Roland asked, "Should I disguise as a regular citizen?" He could do so by using the heart-shaped ring Pink had given him. He didn't want to cause Grisia any trouble.
Grisia thought for a moment, but he ultimately waved Roland's concerns away. "It's not like the whole continent knows much about the Hell Knight. The Hell Knight could have a brother. Or I could be one of your platoon members who is following your example. It'll be fine. Besides, some of those are appreciative looks..."
Roland wasn't sure any of his platoon members would dress this way, but Grisia didn't seem to be worried, so Roland focused on the mission at hand instead-acquiring something sweet for Grisia.
There was a stall selling lollipops, but that wasn't what Roland was seeking. As they rounded the corner, a bakery came into view. Roland thought they'd have a better chance finding cake or pie there.
The shop indeed had an assortment of cakes and pies. The moment they entered the shop, Grisia took a deep breath and sighed in contentment. "Freshly baked bread, whipped cream, blueberries..."
Roland didn't know how Grisia was able to pick out the smell of blueberries from the rest of the scents that the bakery probably had, but as Grisia headed straight for the pies, Roland found that there were indeed blueberry pies there.
"Do you want one?" Roland asked, reaching for his money pouch to determine how much he had in it.
Grisia considered Roland and asked. "Are you going to pay for it?"
Since Grisia had led them into the city without advance notice, Roland didn't have much money on him, but he might have enough to buy one pie.
Roland gave a nod and pulled out his money pouch.
However, Grisia actually chuckled and said, "Well, lucky you, you won't have to pay anything today."
Roland was confused. He didn't think Grisia would offer to pay. In the next moment, however, Roland realized his error. With two slices of free blueberry pie in hand, it was clear that Grisia hadn't planned on paying at all.
"This store didn't used to give out free blueberry pie on this day, but they joined in on the tradition last year," Grisia explained. "Come on, let's head to the next store!"
"Free blueberry pie~" Grisia sang, happily leading them to several stalls and shops. Many of them were giving out free blueberry pie for the day. They soon had several slices in hand, enough to form an entire pie, despite all the weird stares they received.
Roland followed after him at a much slower pace, his arms full of blueberry pie.
"You know," Grisia began saying, "I really wouldn't mind if people mistook us for brothers."
Grisia's sentiment was perhaps why he had decided on wearing the Dragon's Saint Brigandine instead of a cloak, and why he hadn't asked Roland to choose a different disguise. Grisia placed another slice of blueberry pie in Roland's pile and asked, "Do you remember what day today is?"
If Grisia had asked even an hour earlier, Roland would have answered in the negative. But with his arms full of blueberry pie and his heart filled with more emotion than he thought he could still feel, he answered, "Our birthday."
Even though Grisia's mouth was hidden by a mask, his smile was evident in his eyes. "Wrong! It's free blueberry pie day."
When Roland stilled, Grisia laughed and said, "I was just pulling your leg. Happy birthday, Roland."
Roland relaxed. "Happy birthday, Grisia."
To two orphans who had agreed on celebrating the day together as their birthday, all those years ago before they had gotten separated, there were truly no sweeter words than hearing their birthday wishes for each other.
They'd finally made it happen, their promise to celebrate this day together again. Even though Roland could no longer taste the pies, he felt himself smiling from the bottom of his heart.
By the time they returned to the Holy Temple, it was already past dinner time, just like before. They'd gone to all of the bakeries and sweets shops they could find, so many that the Hell Knight would probably be rumored to be a lover of blueberry pie. Or free stuff. What was different was that climbing the wall wasn't much of an ordeal, even with full hands. Grisia flew them over so that none of the pies would be endangered.
Missing dinner wasn't a big deal for Roland. In fact, it made things easier for him. But it was different for Grisia.
"Maybe you can still find some food," Roland offered.
Grisia, who had deactivated the Dragon's Saint Brigandine after three hours, grinned. "Don't worry, there's plenty of pie." In fact, Grisia had already eaten so much pie that he wasn't all that hungry. He did make sure to replenish all the slices he'd eaten before they'd returned though.
"Pie really isn't food," Roland insisted.
"Roland!" Grisia said, aghast. "This is where you're supposed to agree with me, not nag at me! Having Judgment nag about what I eat is already more than enough."
"But he's right," Roland said. Surely, if Grisia had watched what he had eaten more, he too would have grown taller or built more muscle.
Grisia groaned and muttered that Judgment was a bad influence on Roland. He even snatched a slice of blueberry pie away from Roland, leaving eleven slices, which only confused Roland, since he had planned on giving Grisia all of his slices in the first place.
Still grumbling, Grisia began walking off. Roland followed without a word. Once they reached the hallway, Roland figured that Grisia was heading back to his room. Therefore, Roland was about to head to his own room too when Grisia shook his head at him.
"Don't think the day is over yet!" Grisia said. "Come on!"
Confused, Roland thought that maybe Grisia wanted the pie delivered to his room.
However, when they headed inside, Grisia revealed a hidden trapdoor that led to a cellar. The moment they jumped in, several voices exclaimed, "Happy birthday!"
Roland was taken aback.
The rest of the Twelve Holy Knights were all present, and there was food spread out on top of the barrels that were being used as makeshift tables. A colorful banner that said, "Happy birthday, Grisia and Roland!" hung across the cellar. Roland swallowed, hard, and blinked his eyes. He had never expected this...
He looked at the eleven slices of pie in his hands and knew it wasn't a coincidence that Grisia had given him that number of slices. He offered, "Would you like some blueberry pie?"
Roland gave each of them, including Grisia, a slice of their efforts. They'd taken one slice from each shop. No slice was completely the same, having come from different bakers.
"I'll pass," Judgment said when he saw that there were only eleven slices.
Roland shook his head and said, "I've already had my share."
When Judgment merely raised his eyebrows, Roland had the thought that Judgment knew exactly what had happened. But Judgment took a slice, all the same. Roland was glad, as he didn't want any of the pies to go to waste.
To the side, Grisia pouted and said, "Roland! I took a slice to punish Judgment! He shouldn't get any."
Earth chortled. "You? Punish Judgment? Dream on."
"So you were indeed the one who took Roland's share," Judgment said.
When Ice gave Grisia a disappointed look, Grisia had no choice but to return one of the slices to Roland.
Although Roland couldn't taste the pie, he dug in at the same time as the others, not wanting to rain on their parade. Their banter was amusing, and the texture of the pie was fluffy against his tongue. They each shared their thoughts on the slice they'd received, and some even tried to guess which slice might have been made by Ice's father. After that, they broke out the wine, and Roland found himself growing tipsy.
"We'll do this again next year, all right?" Grisia said.
"Let's do this again," Judgment agreed. The rest all nodded as well.
Roland looked at all of them. When Grisia led him into the city earlier in the day, it had never crossed Roland's mind that it was partially a distraction. He had thought that he was the one looking after Grisia, not the other way around. Roland had already been over the moon being able to celebrate this day together again with Grisia. To think that even the rest of the Twelve Holy Knights wished to celebrate with them...
To someone like Roland, who had always been alone, and who had even died alone and forgotten, hearing that his friend wanted to be with him, and that his new comrades who could one day become his friends, wanted to be with him too, was even sweeter than tasting the pie that had once made him think of ripe blueberry fields caressed by the sun.
Maybe it was okay for him to stay. At least for now.
So, Roland smiled and said, "Let's do it."
the end
I hope you enjoyed the sappy story. :) (It took way too long to write) I tried to parallel the previous oneshot to show both how they changed and how they haven't. I wonder if I succeeded at all. XD;; It was interesting trying to write them during this time in canon. I'm kind of used to their post canon selves now, where they know more. It feels great to be able to finish a story! :')