#irisfics

Brandon sighed, hitting his head lightly on the wall behind him. The floor felt awfully cold, but he couldn't be bothered to get up right now. His limbs felt weighed down from training today. Codatorta never went easy on his students.

Stella rested her head on his shoulder, the soft strands of her hair brushing against his jaw. He tilted his head slightly to place a kiss on her hair.

"I'm sorry," he spoke after a while, breaking the silence that had settled around them like a dense fog. "For lying to you."

Stella slapped his arm lightly, as if reprimanding him. "I told you already, I'm not mad at you."

"I know, you've said it three times now. But—" Brandon let out a groan of frustration, running his hands through his hair. "I still feel terrible that—"

"Brandon." Stella moved so that she was in front of him, and took both his hands in hers. "Tell me, if we could turn back time, would you have done it any differently? Would you have told me your true identity from the very start?"

Brandon stared at the golden eyes of his love, watching the tiny flecks of gold shimmer as she blinked at him, waiting for an answer. "No," he said truthfully. "I wouldn't change a thing."

"Exactly. So why are you apologizing? You did what you had to do."

Brandon brought Stella's hands close to his lips, and kissed her knuckles. "I still think I must . . . explain myself. I dunno, you already know what happened but I—"

"Then do it," Stella interrupted, smiling sweetly at him. "If you think you'll feel better after explaining yourself, then I'm all ears."

Brandon shifted, crossing his legs. "Sky was in danger from rebels in Eraklyeon. Erendor had run the kingdom to the ground and the citizens were very unhappy with him that they wanted to demolish the entire bloodline. And Sky needed to get out of there."

Stella squeezed his hand in comfort. She saw Brandon's face change, as if he was reliving something horrifying. "Sky was going insane, he was so depressed, so fucking tired of his father's bullshit. He needed a change of environment, he needed to get out. I was afraid that, if I didn't do something he'd— I would lose him."

Brandon's voice broke, and he let out a shaky breath. Stella placed a hand on his cheek, rubbing his knuckles with her other hand. She was trying her best to comfort him while he spoke his heart out.

"Erendor — that prick — gave us an ultimatum when we went to ask him if Sky could enroll in Red Fountain. Sky and I should switch personalities — I pose as Prince Sky and never, never break my role. And Sky gets to be me, the prince's personal guard."

"That's absolutely cruel," Stella remarked, her voice soft and soothing. She knew it had an effect on her boyfriend, for his shoulders immediately relaxed, and he leaned into her touch. "It was such a big responsibility for you."

"It was, but it was the only solution I could see. Sky needed to be away from that abusive man. And so I said yes, much to Sky's disapproval—" Brandon snorted in amusement, as if the memory was funny now. "And you know the rest."

"Mhmm. It was very noble of you." Stella resorted to holding both his hands again. She couldn't get enough of Brandon, he was so perfect. She wanted to be near him at all times.

"Stella," Brandon spoke, gazing into her eyes with such sincerity that Stella gasped slightly. "I need you to know that I love you, have loved you ever since I laid my eyes upon you. It's only that, I feel so overprotective of Sky. I don't think I'll ever be okay if something happens to him."

Stella chuckled. "Funny, I feel the same for Bloom. So I get you. She's my baby, I'd burn the world to keep her safe."

Brandon smiled, and pulled Stella on to his lap. She went willingly, putting her arms around his neck and dipping her head down to steal a kiss. He obliged, letting himself relax as they kissed slowly.

They pulled away for air, Brandon resorting to playing with the strands of Stella's long hair. "Thankyou for being honest with me," Stella spoke after a while. "I didn't think I could love you more, but here I am."

Brandon laughed, leaning in for another quick kiss, a loud one that made Stella giggle. "And thankyou for letting me honest with you," he replied, smiling at her. He took in her golden hair that fell so elegantly over her face, her golden eyes framed by long lashes, her button nose and heart-shaped lips — he was overwhelmed by love and thanked all the stars for blessing him with such luck.

"I need you to know," Stella spoke up after a while, her voice soft yet firm, laced with sincerity that grabbed Brandon's attention. "That you do not have to ever choose between me and Sky. What you and Sky have is something really special, and I would never want to be the reason for any rift between the two of you. It's not the same, but I think we both can agree on the fact that we can never think of anything more horrendous than something happening to Sky and, in my case, Bloom. So, I understand. I will always understand. And I know that you will too. What we have is special in its own way, there is no comparison."

Brandon stared at her. He was taken aback — how could someone reach out and read his soul so easily? He felt seen, he felt content. He dipped his head down to kiss Stella's hands, love and devotion radiating from his heart. "And here I thought, I couldn't love you more."