weeeeeeeeeeeeeee I love them

WC: 5.2k (holy shit)

Jimmy was up quite early today, which was strange.

Normally, he'd protest getting out of bed, but today he had a reason for being up so early. Scott.

He laughed softly to himself as he slipped his robes on. To think, he was getting up at six in the morning for someone he'd met once. But come on, it was Scott. With his adorable little face and his sparkling blue eyes and his fluffy wings and his cute accent and...

Argh. I need to stop being gross.

He shook himself vigorously, causing a cascade of bubbles to swarm around him. He was about to leave his room when he spotted something glinting in the early morning sun on his dresser. Curiously, he swam towards it with a flick of his tail. It was a necklace, intricately detailed with a tiny golden orca, studded with diamond bubbles. He'd forgotten that he had that, and he picked it up and studied it. It was beautiful, and he wondered if he should bring it to give to Scott. He shook his head after a moment, though. That's a bit too forward. Although...I did kiss him on the cheek...and he kissed me...on the lips... He blushed at the thought that popped into his head; holding Scott there for longer than the second their lips had been connected, Scott's hands drifting to Jimmy's waist, Jimmy holding the back of Scott's neck-

He covered his mouth to cover a squeak.

"NOpE, nope, nopedynope, that never happened," he mumbled, extremely flustered. He left the orca pendant sitting on his dresser and hoped it wouldn't float away by the time he was going to get back. He pushed through the door of his room, into the maze of hallways that led to countless rooms. The shiny floors shone with fragmented shards of sunlight from the surface, and fish drifted in and out of the hallways casually. That was one of Jimmy's favourite things about the Swamp Kingdom; there were no roofs to the hallways, so the swamp creatures could come in and out as they wanted and greet the codpeople who lived in the palace.

He swam up into the open water, up to the spire that led to the surface. He swam through the balcony that led to his parents room and knocked on the heavy marble door. A second later, his mother opened the door. "Oh! Hello Jimmy, you're up early today," she said, sounding surprised. "Good morning, mother," he greeted, sweeping his tail around into a practiced curtsy. "I was wondering if I could go adventuring today? I'd like to add some amethysts to my collection," he lied, the words slipping easily off his tongue. He hated how easy it was for him to lie, but he was practiced in it. Her mother smiled. "Ah, your love for crystals. So inspiring. Well, of course, but be back by supper, please," she said, grinning approvingly at him. Jimmy smiled back, relieved. "Thank you, mother," he replied, bowing again.

He was about to swim away when his mother called him back. "Oh, Jimmy! Would you like Saldris to come with you? I'm sure he'd love to help you find and pick out some crystals-" "Oh, no, no, I'll be fine," Jimmy interrupted in a rush. Saldris was an old codperson who lived in an amethyst pocket near the palace, and he loved to shower Jimmy's mother with crystals and pendants. Now that he thought about it, the orca pendant he'd found his room was probably a gift from Saldris. Although Saldris was wise and kind, Jimmy really needed to go alone. "I'll do fine on my own," he added. "But I'll make sure to show what I find to Saldris afterwards." His mother seemed satisfied with this. "Alright then, dear. You'd better get going. Bye then!" Jimmy waved and replied with, "Goodbye, mother!"

He swam away, letting out a breath of relief. His plan had worked, and now all that was left to do was to see Scott. His heart leapt in happiness as he swam quickly towards the light. His face broke the still surface of the water, the colder air startling him. He pulled himself out of the water and onto the shore, attempting to shake himself dry. He then set off towards the spot where him and Scott had crossed paths yesterday, on the crest of a small pond.

He made a note in his head to get up earlier often. The sun wasn't fully up yet, but it was stretching dim, golden rays across the misty swamp, lighting up the water. The glow berries hanging from the weeping willows hadn't dimmed out yet, which gave the swamp this strange feeling of something like the seam between day and night; a strange limbo of quiet. It slightly unnerved him as he walked through the silence, but it also filled him with a sense of awe. Soon enough, he spotted a pond that he recognized as the one where him and Scott had met. His heart thumped in his chest as he went around the glassy surface of the water to sit on the little ledge overlooking the swamp.

He fiddled with the fins on the end of his tail, as he always did when he was excited or nervous, although today it was all of the above. He then began to hum, looking at his reflection in the water. He suddenly jumped in surprise as a familiar face appeared in the reflection behind him. He turned quickly to see Scott standing above him, smiling brightly. "Morning, Jimmy!" he said happily, and Jimmy grinned. "Hello, Scott," he replied, already feeling his cheeks go red. "How are you today?"

Scott seemed to think about this for a moment. "Quite all right, actually. Better now that you're here," he said, almost sounding shy. Jimmy blinked, blushing. "Oh, uh- I'm glad I could make you happy," he stammered, beaming like an idiot. Scott nodded and sat down beside Jimmy, who looked down awkwardly. "So...how long do you have until you have to be back?" he asked, swinging his legs back and forth. "Until sunset," Scott replied. "My parents think I'm collecting flower samples." The cyan-haired prince stuck his tongue out in a disgusted fashion. Jimmy chuckled. "You don't like flowers?" he asked. "Oh, no, I like flowers just fine," Scott replied quickly, waving his hands. "I just don't enjoy studying them, per say." Jimmy made a 'hm' noise. "I don't really know much about flowers, with me living underwater and all," he admitted, shrugging. "I know plenty about fish, and crystals, too. That's what my parents think I'm doing; adding to my amethyst collection." Scott laughed. "What boring things our parents think we're doing," he giggled, and Jimmy laughed too.

"What should we do today, then?" Jimmy asked, tapping his tail thoughtfully. "I have until supper, which is at about five thirty. So we have..." He took a moment to count on his webbed fingers. (not me actually having to stop writing to count on my fingers-) "Around ten and a half hours," he concluded after he'd finished counting. "I think." Scott's eyes widened a bit. "That's quite a long time..." he said. Jimmy smirked. "What, don't want to be stuck with me for that long?" he joked, and Scott shook his head quickly. "No, no, I'd love to be with you for a whole day, I just...don't know what we would do for ten hours," he explained, his brow furrowed in thought. He didn't seem to notice how his words had made Jimmy blush.

The two princes sat in thought for a moment. "What if we do some of both?" Scott suggested, and Jimmy looked over at him curiously. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Well," Scott said, his wings tilting back ever so slightly, "we could do a bit of flower collecting and a bit of crystal mining, and then do something fun." "But collecting flowers and finding crystals is booooring," Jimmy whined, and Scott snorted. "But, we have each other for company, so it won't be as bad." Jimmy smiled and went a little red. "Yes, I suppose so," he said, looking up at Scott with a small smile. Scott smiled back, and Jimmy took into account that the Rivendell prince's cheeks were a bit rosy as well.

X-x-X

And so off they went, to go flower collecting first. It turns out, Scott had a book filled with many kinds of flowers that he needed to find, so they left the swamp and quickly found a lucky flower field, to their surprise. As they roamed across the field, they talked about anything and everything, but they sort of ignored Scott's kiss from the day before.

They ended up finding quite a few flowers in Scott's book, and Scott taught Jimmy a bit about what they knew. "We grow all kinds of flowers in Rivendell," Scott had explained, cradling a baby-blue flower in his hands. "We use them to make medicines, but mostly for decoration. They're also the source of our magic." Jimmy's eyes had widened a bit. "Really?" he'd asked, and then he'd watched in awe as the flower glowed slightly and Scott's wings and eyes had lit up and shimmered like embers in a dying fire. Then the flower had dimmed again, but Scott stayed glowing. Jimmy had absentmindedly reached towards Scott's glowing wings, but then pulled back when he had realized what he was doing. Scott had smiled at him, and then continued explaining, but Jimmy would never forget the bright smile that Scott had given him, while his eyes sparkled with golden magic.

"Okay," Scott mumbled to himself, checking off yet another flower. "You bored yet?" He laughed as Jimmy let out a dramatic sigh. "Yessssss," Jimmy grumbled jokingly. Scott snorted. "But really," Jimmy continued, smiling, "Thank you for teaching me about all this." Scott's wing brushed across Jimmy's back, making Jimmy shiver slightly. "No problem, Jimmy," he said gently. There was a moment of awkwardness where their faces were so close, and they were simply looking at each other. Jimmy couldn't express in words how much he wanted to pull Scott close and kiss him; it was just so tempting. Scott then cleared his throat and stood up, his wing retracting from Jimmy's back. "Okay, you ready to go find your crystals?" he asked, offering Jimmy a hand. Jimmy smiled and took Scott's hand, which was soft and warm, and let Scott pull him up. "Yeah," he said, blushing a little. "I need to find some amethyst, because that's what I told my mom I was going to get." Scott chuckled. "The quest for amethyst begins!" he announced exuberantly, his wings flaring out. Jimmy laughed and pumped his fist in the air followed by a, "Woo!"

They trekked through the thick flower plains until they emerged into a dark oak forest, lit by the occasional glow berry strand. "Do I glow if I eat these?" Jimmy joked, taking one of the golden-orange berries off a leaf. Scott snorted. "I don't know, let's see," he said wryly, shrugging. Jimmy smirked and popped it in his mouth, and immediately spat it out. "GOOD COD!" he cried, and Scott burst into laughter, doubling over. "THAT IS SO SOUR," Jimmy continued, sticking out his tongue. "EW!" He looked over at Scott, who was practically on the ground, laughing hysterically. "YOU KNEW THEY WERE GROSS!" Jimmy accused, trying to hide his smile. Scott's wheezing told Jimmy that he was right. "YOU LITTLE BLOWFISH! I HATE YOU!" Jimmy cried, throwing his hands in the air. Scott looked up, still giggling, and raised an eyebrow. "You could never hate me, admit it," he laughed, and Jimmy blushed and looked away, flustered. "HA!" Scott crowed. "I knew it! I'm irresistible." Jimmy bit his lip. If only he knew how right he was.

"Let's just keep going," he mumbled, and pulled the still-laughing Scott along behind him. "Whatever you say, Prince Charming."

Jimmy stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Scott, who snickered. Is this flirting? he thought to himself. I think this is flirting.

X-x-X

Somehow, despite all of Jimmy's failed attempts to prank Scott and get his revenge, they managed to find a cave and clambered down into it. Jimmy noticed that Scott had become concerningly quiet after they'd entered the cave, and he was worried. He looked back at Scott, whose wings were curled around his shoulders, and he looked pale. "Scott?" Jimmy asked softly, turning around. "Are you okay-" Scott's eyes suddenly went wide and he yelled, "JIMMY, LOOK OUT!" Jimmy didn't even have a chance to turn around before a blast of gold shot past him from Scott's hand. He spun around to see an arrow only centimetres from his head, suspended in the air and glowing gold, and behind it, a skeleton. It clicked angrily at them and prepared to shoot another arrow, but then Scott made a twirling motion with his hand and the golden arrow spun around, flying back towards the skeleton and lodging into it. The mob dispersed into a puff of smoke, leaving only a few bones and a tattered bow behind.

Jimmy's heart was racing, and he turned to look at Scott incredulously. "Oh my cod, thank you!" he exclaimed. "Those were some amazing reflexes, I gotta say." Scott let out a shaky breath and gave Jimmy a weak smile. "Anything to save you," he said quietly. Jimmy's heart skipped a beat at Scott's comment, but his brow creased in worry. "Scott, are you okay? You've been very quiet since we came down here," he asked gently, taking a step towards Scott. Scott sighed shakily. "Yeah- I'm fine," he replied unconvincingly. Jimmy sighed a little, looking Scott in the eyes. The other prince refused to make eye contact; instead he stared at the ground. "Come on, Scott, you can tell me. I won't judge. Are you scared of the dark?" he said, setting a hand on Scott's shoulder. Scott seemed to hesitate, but then sank down against the wall and curled his wings around him. He finally looked up at Jimmy, his normally sparkling blue eyes misty and scared. "It's the cave," he admitted quietly. "Elves of Rivendell are claustrophobic, it's in our blood." He gestured to his wings. "It's because we're part avian." He looked down with a slight sigh. "I'm sorry, I thought I'd be fine, but I guess not..."

Jimmy felt a pang of sadness. "Scott, you don't have to apologize," he said, sitting down beside Scott. "It's not your fault. And it's totally fine to be afraid of something. I'm afraid of storms...and sometimes you if I'm being honest." Scott smiled a little. "But it really is okay, Scott. Do you want to leave?" Jimmy continued. Scott bit his lip. "But then I'd be ruining it for you," he said softly. "I don't want to ruin it for you." Jimmy shook his head, smiling gently. "You wouldn't be ruining it at all, Scott. I have plenty of crystals." A determined look shone in Scott's eyes briefly. "No, I won't ruin it. We can keep going, I'm fine," he said stubbornly, getting to his feet and brushing himself off. Jimmy caught his hand, though, and Scott looked down at him. "Are you sure?" Jimmy asked, and Scott nodded. "You bore with me through getting flowers, so I can get through this," he insisted, smiling bravely. Jimmy returned the smile, going a little red. I swear, I fall more in love with this man every second. "If you're sure," he said, getting to his feet as well. Scott nodded and started walking down the slope, pulling Jimmy behind him.

Their hands never broke apart.

X-x-X

"There!"

Jimmy pointed towards an oddly-shaped lump of deepslate, and Scott let out a celebratory cheer. "Good eye, Jimmy!" he said, beginning to bridge across the lava pool that separated them from the geode. Their hunt for crystals had been very entertaining as they roamed the caves, and Jimmy noticed Scott's fear dissipating more every second. He'd made sure to try to keep Scott occupied with thinking about other things than the many meters of stone above their heads.

He watched Scott leap across the bridge he'd just made, making use of his wings in the small space. "Just gotta break through the outer layer, right?" Scott hummed to himself as he swung his pickaxe at the deepslate. Jimmy hopped across the makeshift bridge, careful of the fizzing, sparking lava, and helped Scott break through the stone. Deepslate, calcite...and then the bright purple of an amethyst. Jimmy let out a "Yessss!" and broke a small hole for them to crawl through. He went through first and then offered Scott a hand, which the other prince took and crawled through. "Oh, wow..." Scott breathed, gawking at the gleaming purple crystals. Jimmy smiled at the wondrous look in Scott's eyes; it was a raw, pure emotion that Jimmy didn't often see on someone's face. "It's pretty, isn't it?" Jimmy said, brushing his hands across one of the clusters. It made a magical clinking noise, and Scott gasped in awe. "They jingle!" he squealed softly, stomping his feet a little and laughing at the singing crystals, which Jimmy found adorable. "Yeah, they do," he laughed. "I only need a little, and then we can leave the cave." Scott looked up from the crystals, smiling slightly. "Thank you, Jimmy," he said, stepping forwards. "I wouldn't have made it through the caves without you, y'know." Jimmy smiled, going red in the face. He was about to take Scott's hands in his own, but he stopped himself, pulling back. Scott seemed to notice this, and smiled gently. He reached forwards and held both of Jimmy's hands, and Jimmy blushed a quite violent shade of red, as did Scott. "You're welcome, Scott," Jimmy said, nearly inaudibly. He couldn't help his gaze flitting down to Scott's lips for a split second, his mind racing. Cod, he's beautiful...and great, and sarcastic, and funny...and...a little scary, but I love him. I've only known him for two days, and I love him.

Scott raised an eyebrow at Jimmy in an unspoken question, and Jimmy nodded slightly. Jimmy's heart thrashed in his chest as Scott leaned forwards slightly. Holy cod, it's gonna happen, what do I do-

He shook his head and tried to silence his head, and instead focused on Scott, whose face was bright red. Jimmy's heart thrashed wildly in his chest as Scott landed his lips against the codboy's. He let his hands drift to cup Scott's face, fingers tickled by Scott's wispy blue hair. He felt Scott's hands rest on his waist, feather-light. They held each other for a long moment, but eventually pulled back. Scott's face was a rosy-red colour, and he was smiling shyly. Jimmy chuckled sheepishly. "Well, uh, we found the crystals!" he stammered, and Scott laughed softly. "Yeah, yeah we did," he said, plucking one from his feet. His eyes met Jimmy's again for a second, and they both laughed giddily.

Jimmy didn't know what to feel while they silently collected amethysts. On one fin, he felt like he was floating on air, his heart beating a million miles an hour. But on the other fin, a deep-rooted sense of fear and tradition was worming its way into his joy. That wasn't right. It wasn't supposed to happen at all. I'm supposed to have a girl, not Scott. He looked over at the Rivendellian across the cave.

Scott's prettier than any girl, though.

Jimmy sighed softly and decided to put his mind off it, tucking his crystals into his leather pouch that he always kept at his hip. He turned tentatively to look at Scott, who luckily had his back turned. Jimmy took a moment to compose himself before saying, "I think I've got all I can carry. How about you?"

Scott turned around, his arms full of crystals. "I'm gonna have a hard time getting these out of here," he laughed sheepishly, and Jimmy chuckled. "Well, I'm sure I can fit a few more in my bag," Jimmy giggled, opening the flap to his bag. Scott hopped off the purple ledge he was on and stepped closer to Jimmy to put his crystals carefully into the bag. Jimmy couldn't help but go a bit red at how close they were again, and he held his breath until Scott stepped away again. "Right, done. Was this all you needed?" the elf asked, stretching his wings slightly. Jimmy nodded. "Yup, that's it. Now we can leave this cave," he said, and he saw Scott breathe a quiet sigh of relief, his shoulders and wings sagging lower. As much excitement that Scott seemed to have about the amethysts, it still didn't seem to totally conquer his fear of the caves.

As they stepped out of the amethyst geode, Jimmy felt Scott gently slip their hands together, and Jimmy looked over at him with a smile, giving the elf's hand a reassuring squeeze. Their hands staying linked together all the way, they found their way out of the cave. Scott let out a gasp when he spotted sunlight, and he dropped Jimmy's hand and ran to the opening of the cave. Jimmy ran after him, laughing. "Ohhhh, the sun! It's so much better out here," Scott exclaimed, stretching his wings out fully. Jimmy chuckled. "It does feel nice to be out in the open again." He looked at the sun. "We have a little yet. Do you wanna make something to eat? I know a great berry patch near here." Scott made an 'ooo' and nodded.

Jimmy led Scott to the patch, where they emptied the amethysts from Jimmy's pouch onto a big rock to instead fill it with berries. Jimmy then impressed Scott with his fishing and swimming skills, and soon after Scott just had to show off his flying skills as well. Jimmy had to admit, it was mighty impressive. Scott then collected firewood while Jimmy created a makeshift spit out of a few sturdy sticks and his spear for the fish.

"I have to say," Scott said as he emerged from the forest, "finding dry logs in a swampy forest is fairly difficult." Jimmy started and turned towards him, laughing. "I'd expect as much. But it seems you've found some," he replied as Scott dumped the sticks and logs on the ground. "Yup. I think it'll be enough; if not I can go find more," Scott said, clapping the dust off his hands. Jimmy nodded and started arranging the wood inside the circle of stones they'd created. He stepped back after he was done and was just about to say he would go find some flint, when Scott flicked his hand at the wood, flames dancing across his palms. The wood burst into flames, and Jimmy let out a surprised shout. "What the- you can do that?!" Jimmy exclaimed, gawking as Scott patted out his hands on his robes. Scott chuckled. "I can do a lot, Jimmy," he said vaguely, smirking.

They roasted the fish and ate the berries mostly in silence, watching the sun sink lower and lower in the sky. Jimmy heard Scott gasp slightly as all of the glow berries began to switch on, creating magical spots of light throughout the swamp. "Woah," he breathed. "That looks so cool." Jimmy nodded, smiling. "Oh!" Scott exclaimed, his eyes going wide with realization. "Those were the lights I was following!" Jimmy gave Scott a confused look. "What do you mean?" he asked, and Scott replied, "Remember the day we met? I had seen what must have been the glowberries from the top of my favourite mountain, and I was curious as to what they were but I got lost looking for them. That's when you found me."

Jimmy made an 'ohhh' sound as he realized. Then he snickered. "Can start a literal fire with his hands, but can't find a ton of glowy lights," he chuckled, and Scott sent him an angry glare. "Hey, shut up! Says the guy who literally thought I was asking him out on the first day we met!" Scott shot back, and Jimmy blushed a bit. "Oh yeah? Well, says the guy who kissed me on the first day we met!" Jimmy snapped jokingly. Now it was Scott's turn to go red in the face, but he didn't stop there. "Well says the guy who kissed me on the second day we met!" he shouted, and Jimmy scoffed. "That was NOT me! That was you!" he declared, and Scott shook his head. "You initiated it! Don't blame me!" Scott replied, crossing his arms. Jimmy put a hand over his chest in mock-hurt, gasping dramatically. "What do you mean, "blame"? Are you telling me you didn't like kissing me?"

Scott went quiet after that, his eyes going a bit wide. Jimmy regretted his words almost immediately, his mind racing. Oh no...I shouldn't have said that. That was a bit over the top; he shouldn't feel pressed to explain his feelings...shoot. Now I've done it. "I- I mean...I mean I didn't not like it," he said softly, looking a bit sheepish. Jimmy blushed and smiled a little. "Me neither," he replied quietly.

The talking died off after that, and they both sat silently and looked out at the swamp as the sky donned new shades of orange and red. "It's sunset," Scott said finally. "I have to be home now." Jimmy nodded, getting to his feet and helping Scott do the same. His heart did a little flip in his chest as Scott gently kissed the back of Jimmy's hand, before stepping back. "Thanks for today, Jimmy, I had a wonderful time," he said, smiling. Jimmy nodded in agreement. "Me too, Scott." He watched as Scott's eyes and wings glowed gold again, and a shower of sparks shot from his hands and enveloped his body. "Goodbye, Jimmy!" he yelled just as he vanished, leaving a shower of golden sparkles on the ground and Jimmy alone.

The codboy sighed, flicking his tail slightly. He needed to get home as well, so he turned and slipped soundlessly into the water, powering away from the shore with his strong tail. He weaved through the weeds choking the shallow water, sometimes having to jump over small patches of mud blocking his way through. Soon enough, he made it home. It was nice to be in open water again, and he did a little flip in the water just for the purpose of nothing. He made his way to the dining hall, where his parents were sitting at the long table and waiting for him. "Jimmy!" his mother exclaimed, a smile on her face. "Hello, dear, how was your crystal collecting?" Jimmy smiled back, taking his place at the table. "It was quite lovely, actually," he said, hoping that his cheeks weren't red (or at least red enough to not be noticeable). "Good, good," his mother said, still smiling. "What crystals did you collect this time?" Jimmy tensed a little. "Oh, uh, I was running low on amethyst and I thought I would get a bunch, so I did," he replied, and his parents seemed to buy it. "You should show Saldris after dinner, I'm sure he'd love to see those," his father chimed in. Jimmy nodded.

Dinner didn't last too long, and Jimmy was glad; it gave him less chances to accidentally slip something about Scott. He left the dining hall quickly enough that he was leaving early but not too early as to be suspicious. He swam towards Saldris' geode, knocking on the boulder that blocked the door. "Saldris?" he called, and the rock slid open. "Ah, Prince Jimmy! Welcome, welcome, come on in," Saldris said with a smile. Saldris was a little smaller than Jimmy in size, and his scales were a deep brown speckled with black. "So, what have you here for me today?" he asked, swimming back to his workbench. The inside of Saldris' geode was littered with shelves and boxes of neatly labelled rocks and crystals, and the desk was filled with scrolls. His workbench contained several different brushes and hammers for small geodes and such. "I've brought some amethyst today, from a geode in the forest bordering the swamp," Jimmy replied, hoping he sounded sure of himself. Saldris looked up from his workbench with a lifted eyebrow, and said, "That's quite far." Jimmy simply nodded, his hands subconsciously twisting together in nervousness.

His breath caught in his gills as Saldris floated towards him, his eye seemingly trained on something. "Young man, there's golden sparkles in your hair," he said thoughtfully, not so much accusing and more so curious. Jimmy tensed, his heart hammering. "And on your lips, too," Saldris continued, a laugh hinted in his voice. Jimmy froze and blushed, his eyes going wide.

"Rivendellian magic, if I'm not mistaken," the old cod concluded, lifting his eyebrow again at Jimmy. Jimmy opened and closed his mouth several times, not knowing how to try and explain it. "I- I, uh-" Saldris held up a hand to quiet Jimmy. "I want no excuses, just tell me who it is, and I'll help cover for you," he spoke with confidence. "Which of the princesses?" Jimmy looked down at his fins, blushing a deep red. "It's actually..not...one of the princesses..." he mumbled. "It's...the prince." Saldris made an unsurprised 'ah' noise and smiled. "Prince Scott, if I'm not mistaken?" he asked grinning widely, and Jimmy nodded with a sheepish smile. "Ah. He's a handsome young chap, isn't he?" Saldris cackled, and Jimmy laughed a bit. "Yeah, yeah he is," he said softly.

He cocked his head at Saldris, slightly confused. "Saldris, why aren't you...I mean, why don't you seem surprised that I...uh..." He trailed off, flustered. "What, that you've seemingly fallen in love with the Rivendellian prince?" Jimmy nodded shyly. "Well," Saldris continued, setting to work on a small geode, "your sexuality and who you fall in love with is none of my concern, but I just wanted to make sure you told me so I could help you with your parents. I'm assuming you don't want them to know?" Jimmy shook his head immediately. "Especially not my mom. The whole kingdom will know in two seconds if she knows," he said, shivering at the thought. Saldris chuckled and nodded. "I'm inclined to agree with you, young prince."

There was silence for a moment, only bothered by the sound of Saldris tapping on his geode. Jimmy floated awkwardly near the door, still flustered. "Does he make you feel happy, Jimmy?" Saldris asked, turning to Jimmy with a serious glint in his eyes. Jimmy blinked in surprise; Saldris hardly ever called him just 'Jimmy'. "Uh- yeah, he does," Jimmy stammered, and Saldris nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Then I have no problem with helping you," he concluded, turning back to his work. Jimmy smiled. "Thank you, Saldris," he said, and he genuinely meant it.

He left Saldris to his work and swam off to his room, where he sat down on his bed, exhausted and overwhelmed. So much had happened in the last two days, and his mind was having a hard time compensating for how many emotions it was dealing with. He flopped back on his bed, sighing. A slight smile crept onto his face, though, as he was falling asleep.

"Oh, Scott," he murmured, laughing a bit. "This is crazy."

we love Saldris here