#heeeey

Silver heard of you before he knew you.

You were like a myth on campus: whispers of a mysterious, otherworldly freshman who lived solitarily in the abandoned, haunted dorm. You- a magicless human (always joined by a beast who did possess the affinity for magic) enrolled in a magic school- were always present for the increasing number of overblots. It didn’t help that most of your friendships were with powerful students. Royalty, celebrities, affluent heirs, crime-boss-wannabes; all the most renowned and infamous students at Night Raven College were in your inner circle. And maybe, the most peculiar of all, you were friends with Malleus.

No pity, fear, or social climbing- just a genuine desire to bond with him.

You were bound to be the talk of campus. It was surprising that people didn’t talk about you more.

Despite your closeness to his Lord, your paths rarely crossed. Silver would hear affectionate stories of “my dear child of man” from Malleus, reluctant fondness from Sebek, and even the occasional doting comment from his father. You had touched the hearts of the Diasomnia dorm while never speaking to him. And although never having met you, Silver found himself already liking you.

It didn’t bother him initially. You were a first-year, he was a second-year. You weren’t in the same clubs. He kept a low profile; you were a social butterfly. It made sense why he hadn’t met you. Eventually, though, he found himself longing to meet the one who changed the lives of the most important people in his.

Maybe, if he was lucky, your schedules would align.

--

It wasn’t uncommon for Silver to nap outside. Although it wasn’t intentional, it was one of the better places to be, the warm sun heating his face, and the fauna shielding him from the unsavory dangers of nature. Despite the occasional bug crawling in unpleasant areas, falling asleep outside would always bode better than falling asleep during Trein’s lectures- saving him from the consequence of chastising from his classmates and his professor alike.

Lunch hour was a dangerous time for Silver. It always came with the risk of accidentally missing class if he fell asleep. Usually, he made sure to join his father and Sebek during lunch hour to avoid this. But when both of them had prior arrangements, he knew he’d have to try his best to keep himself awake. A challenge he typically failed.

So here he was, sitting in a secluded area of the courtyard. He was leaning against a tree, the sun shining brightly across his face. It was so bright, it should’ve kept him bright-eyed and focused for his next class. But alas, without realizing it, Silver’s eyes drifted closed, and he snored quietly in his lonesome corner.

“Hello,” the “o” is dragged out, melodic and playful. Your voice gently lulls him from his sleep, and he feels an unfamiliar grogginess creeping through his body. “There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know,” You said, poking Silver’s cheek. You almost gasped when his eyes opened, brilliant periwinkle, shining at you like stars. You try to chase away the flustered feeling in your chest with a wide grin, kneeling closer to him.

Silver shuffles his body, sitting up while you get closer to him. Despite your playful comment, you don’t intend to let him move from his spot, opting instead to join him on the ground. And despite not having seen you before, he knows you. The legend, real in front of him, tangible and visible at last, smiling at him like he was an old friend.

He understood then, why you were so loved.

“I’m so glad Grim irritated me today- funny thing to say, I know- but I wouldn’t have seen you otherwise,” you say, lying down in the grass. “I’ve been meaning to meet you, Silver.” You shift your head to face him, finding a comfortable position. “Everyone talks so highly of you, I needed to confirm you were the real deal,”

Oh. You wanted to meet him. You wanted to meet him.

“Is that so? I can’t imagine I’m that interesting,” he deflected.

“On the contrary. I’m very interested in you,” you say adamantly. “The mythical Silver, valiant and loyal knight of the Malleus Draconia. I had to meet the legend himself.”

(He almost laughed at your words. What a coincidence; thinking of each other so similarly.)

Despite his silence, you continue to smile up at him, eyes gleaming with fondness. The rumors were true; he was gorgeous. Striking silver hair and the most beautiful eyes you had ever seen. He was almost like a siren, so beautiful it was almost unnatural. You would be happy to sit and stare at him forever, happy to bless your eyes with something other than coursework and Grim.

“I see,” he says, after a beat of silence. “I hate to disappoint you though, Prefect. I’m afraid I’m just a regular knight and student. You’ve already met the legend, My Lord.”

Your grin grows impossibly wide. “And humble too! You are the real deal,” you begin to stand up, dusting off your uniform pants.

“Let’s get lunch together soon. I need to know if your personality is as princely as your face,”

--

Silver replays your first encounter a lot.

He likes to tell himself it's not purposeful. Most of the time, he thinks about it before he falls asleep. Your smile, your face gleaming in the sun, your soft hands poking his face, your pretty voice and laugh ringing in the air; the memory cradles him like a mother lulling him to slumber- far more often than he’d like.

You made good on your promise, finding him more often and spending your free time with him. It became a habit; meeting with him weekly for lunch and enjoying the sun together. You usually led the conversation, filling him in on school gossip and stories of your freshmen friends (Grim was quite the troublemaker, and he made a mental note to keep him far away from Malleus) while he fought to maintain consciousness.

You were practically a saint, maintaining patience even when he fell asleep while you spoke. He always felt terrible, but every time you soothed his doubts, continuing your story from where he last remembered like nothing happened.

Your kindness rivaled that of the Princess of yore, with her fondness of the Queen of Briar Valley. It was a refreshing feeling, so unusual among the normal behavior of Night Raven students. Even among the nicer students, you were a breath of fresh air- you held a sincerity akin to a Royal Sword student.

Thus, it was only natural that he began to look forward to your weekly visits. At first, Silver tried to deny it- he was doing his job as a knight by making sure you were truly safe for Malleus to be around of course- but deep in his heart he knew it was futile.

He was truly smitten from the first moment he met you.

So, while he was technically awake, he wasn’t listening to you while you chattered on about your day, complaining about Grim yet again. Instead, he was staring at you, taking in your face, your voice, just you. You were definitely worthy of Malleus’s attention. Probably above Silver’s company. And yet, here you were, donating your time like a charitable aristocrat.

“Hey, have you learned to sleep with your eyes open, Silver?” you joke, waving your hand in front of his face. He blinks, eyes focusing again once he realizes you’re calling to him.

“My apologies, Prefect, I lost focus for a moment,” he said, hoping you didn’t notice the embarrassment in his voice. “Please continue,”

You smile at him, tilting your head at him like a puppy. Usually, you’d continue like nothing happened, but now you were staring straight into him as if you were trying to read his mind.

“Yeesh- “you blink rapidly, scrunching your face in an exaggerated show of pain. “You win the staring contest. Something on your mind?”

He thinks about telling you. Telling you that you occupy his conversations, his thoughts, his dreams. Telling you that you’re distracting him from what matters most. Telling you that he’s stealing you away from the person who deserves you more than him. That maybe, even if he didn’t want to, it was best you two broke this off, for his Lord’s sake.

And he opens his mouth to do so, because Malleus comes first, of course (“Maybe you’re loyal to a fault,” your voice rings in his head. Silver ignores it) even if he doesn’t want to.

But, as if the Great Seven were looking down on him, Grim- your mischievous, troublesome, beast- crashes into your lap, howling for help.

“Henchhuman! I’m in big trouble! Save me!” He whines, burrowing further into your lap much to your annoyance. You scoop him up with a big sigh, pulling yourself up and stuffing the remnants of your lunch into your bag.

“I’m sorry Silver, raincheck?” you ask, scrambling to hold a frantic Grim and gather your belongings. Snapping out of his reverie, Silver moves to help you, slipping the bag on your shoulder with ease while you soothe the beast in your arms.

“Yes, of course, Prefect,” No! “Shall we meet here again next week?” Wrong answer!

You grin brightly moving closer to him. Silver fights the instinct to reach for his pen, reminding himself that you are not his sparring partner. Instead, once you’re parallel to him, you press your lips to his cheek. The cheek you poked weeks ago. Your lips are even softer than your hands. And in that moment, he feels himself short-circuit, fingers twitching over his pen while he tries to understand what happened.

It’s not until Grim squirms again, complaining of “feeling squished!” that you move away from him, your eyes gleaming with mischief. “It’s a date,” you confirm with a nod, walking off.