#it makes my heart happy that y'all enjoy Raj

[traditional-with-a-twist]

xiv. Beauty and Her Beast

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Parallel scene: Shirayuki’s Wish from the main arc of The Beast with the Beautiful Face.

Obi was not an easy man to find.

Shirayuki left her quarters mid-afternoon, but the day deepens to twilight as she wanders the castle grounds in search of him.

At last she ventured into the thick woods, where she and Zen had reconciled once, recalling that Obi had an affinity for trees.

...

She quickly lost her way among the many branching paths. One fork divided into another, and the sun had gone, so she no longer knew which way turned west.

Hesitating at a division in the road, Shirayuki mutters to herself, “To the right... or is it to the left...”

She is about to turn left when she hears a voice in her ear: 

“The castle is that way, miss.”

...

He has been watching her for the past hour, with increasing vexation, as her random turnings carried her further and further from safety.

He swore to himself that he wouldn’t disturb her by putting himself in her way again, but his good intentions were as they had always been: useless.

...

“Obi!” she gasps. “Thank goodness it's you.”

She is the perfect picture of temptation: pink-cheeked and shiny-eyed at the sight of him. It makes his insides clench.

“It's late to be out walking alone, miss,” he says, looking past her.

...

She doesn’t take the hint.

 “Obi!” Her voice carries the ring of a prepared speech. He screws up his face, steeling himself for something unexpected.

“I am not ashamed,” Shirayuki declares, “of...being together.”

She bows.

“Please forgive me.”

...

Obi stares at her in dismay. This is worse than anything he could have imagined.

His pulse, trained to maintain a steady rhythm in mortal combat in disregard of death-defying feats, begins to accelerate.

With her head down, she adds, “I want you by my side... if that is possible.”

...

At last, the moment has arrived: He’s going to tell her no.

He has watched her misery from close-hand since his latest slip-up, and he won’t do that to her again--not even if she asks him to.

Obi folds his arms. He wills his expression to granite, his heart to stone.

“I don't think so, miss.” 

She looks up, her face pale with alarm. 

He tells himself that it doesn’t sway him, because this time he knows what she really wants, what she really needs from him.

...

Clinging to the sarcastic reserve that served him so well in his previous lives, he half-smiles. 

“Even when the master was with us,” he begins ruthlessly, “I…” 

The words hang between them. 

She is as white as her dress.

He swallows. Then, doggedly, he persists: “...and now, how can I hold back?”

...

Shirayuki takes a deep breath.

Whatever the price of being near to him, it’s not enough to stop her. She has decided; she won’t turn back now.

“I don't mind,” she whispers.

...

His eyes blaze. 

He closes the distance between them and seizes her hands, staring into her face. “Do you know what you are asking?” 

His skin heats hers. “Is this what you want?” he demands, his voice low and edged with a hardness that unsettles her.

...

She remembers now; she allows herself to remember the shape of Obi’s lips on her skin. 

Shirayuki’s eyes shimmer, but her voice is steady. “Obi...please. I can't lose you, too.” Whatever that meant, whatever would be, she was ready to face it.

She lowers her head.

His expression softens. He has smiled at threats and laughed in the face of torture, but at this gesture of simple submission, he melts.

In the space of a breath, his hands relax on hers, and he folds her in his arms.

...

The breeze stirs their hair as they stand together beneath the trees.

He would gladly spend many lifetimes like this.

After so many years of searching for somewhere to belong, how could he have guessed that he would fit in a space no bigger than the circle of her arms?

...

“Obi,” she says softly, her fingers curled against his shirt, “please stay close to me. That would...make me happy.”

The words ring with finality: a seal on a promise.

He wonders if she knows the many ways that a woman might mean that, the many more ways a man might take it.

Of course not. 

She is Shirayuki: a lady in name as well as spirit, born defender of the innocent, the mistress of his heart.

If she won’t accept no for an answer, then there can only be one way forward for them.

...

“Very well, miss,” he tries to speak with a breezy certainty, to cloak the terror that seizes him at the prospect of the words about to leave his lips. 

Like a ventriloquist with a puppet, he forces the declaration out of his own mouth: “Then I will marry you!”

It is not lost on Obi that he is wading into waters that have so far defied the best efforts of two princes, one a powerful man and the other a great one.

He no longer feels that he is taking his life in his hands, or signing it away with his heart’s blood--no, he has already jumped from the cliff, and he is in free fall.

With a sound like roaring wind in his ears, he sees a new look creep over Shirayuki’s face.

Her eyes round; her forehead furrows.

She is confused.

“Wh-what?”

...

Obi laughs at her expression. He can’t help it--who else would react that way to a marriage proposal? 

Only this one, only this inimitable treasure that has placed herself in his hands and commanded him to claim her.

Despite his fears, he remembers all over again how desperately he loves her.

The past feels very far away just then; it is only the two of them together, surrounded by shadows and the soft sounds of the forest.

She hasn’t yet said no; she hasn’t hurled him from her in disgust.

The terror heightens to giddy nerves. 

He can’t resist teasing her. “You know what marriage is, don’t you, miss?”

...

“Ah - oh, yes! Of course I…” She looks away, blushing hard. 

He lays a hand on her shoulder. 

When she does not flinch, he gently takes her chin in his other hand and lifts her face to his. A warmth she has never seen before lights his eyes from within. 

“Then... marry me. I will be by your side as long as you'll have me.” 

Unable to look away, she nods. 

“You're sure?” Obi asks, quirking his eyebrows - a final salute to the absurdity, the impossibility of the situation he finds himself in.

If there’s a joke, it’s lost on Shirayuki. Her expression solemn, she nods again.

...

Obi breaks into a grin. He has felt more than once what it’s like to dance with death--never has it been so painful, or so exhilarating.

“All right!” The words burst from him. “It's decided then!”

He catches Shirayuki in his arms and spins her around, laughing like a child.

...

Branches and stars whirl overhead, blending into a hazy silver-green glow.

Everything is top to bottom, her heart pulled inside-out, yet she feels better grounded than ever since the day she first lost her way.

The promise--given in haste, without thought for the consequences, compelled by the pain of the alternative--this promise binds her now to the man laughing up at her, his eyes crinkled and cheeks wet.

It is a chain with an anchor, an unbroken link to which she can cling when the tide threatens to wash her away.

Happiness, a defiant bird with broken wings, flutters in her breast.

She starts to laugh with him.

[vertiny-main]

BOOK 2, CHAPTER 12

Masterlist here.

Tag List: @brightpinkpeppercorn​, @roonarific, @sceptilemasterr, @endlessly-searching-for-you, @irrelevanthough, @scgdoeswhat, @likethetailofacomet, @indiacater.

Reactions under the ‘Keep Reading’ cut.

- Alright, I’m back. Let’s do this!

- Welp, we’ve found the MASADA Complex. Lmao, I always go to say MAZDA instead, because at a quick glance, that’s what my brain sees it as.

- Lmao, real quick, I love how my MC is still in the dress from the New Years Eve party 😂 I know I could change it, but honestly? It doesn’t really change much now, does it?

- No, I don’t think you’re a fool for believing IRIS/your mother, but there could be traps there, Lundgren could be in there.

- If we launch an attack, it will fail because they have the higher ground, if we cause a distraction, it will fail because they can see more than we can, so they’d see some of us trying to get in. So I guess that leaves us with hiding in plain sight.

- I STILL FEEL BAD FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO HELP SEAN AND ZAHRA!

- Sean, I know you’re a tough boi, but Michelle is wanting to become a doctor, she will know this shit, so sit down and shut up. Please?

- GUYS! SERIOUSLY! I KNOW YOU’RE SCARED< BUT SHE’S STILL QUINN!

- “One moment. I seem to recall MC urging Quinn to not touch the Heart, right before she was possessed.” Uh... Whoops?

- Yeah, I knew it was gonna happen. Better to admit the truth now.

- “It must’ve been a hard choice.” So close, Quinn, it was a tough choice... LITERALLY.

- Yeah, she’s not only like that when she touches the Island’s Heart, she was like that when taming the Yeti and a small sprinkle of other times apart from that.

- “But hey, your disease didn’t give you powers to fly and stop bullets. Now look at you!” Craig, honey, you’re trying your best and I love you.

- HELL YEAH MICHELLE! YOU PUT HIM IN HIS PLACE!

- Awh, you were trying to help people, Jake, the others in your group, probably not so much.

- MICHELLE IS CRYING?! NO WHAT WHY???

- Can I hug her? Pleeeeeease?

- I would totally put them back together, but like, I’m still saaaaad.

- We have ourselves a Michelle Tough Choice, and thank the lords, I have a 100% chance of this working, so I’m gonna click it! You and Sean need to clear the air!!

- Why do I feel like Jake, Varyyn and Estela are all correct? Like the soldiers split up? Or it could be the Yeti tracks that Varyyn is looking at?

- Don’t tell me I have to choose.

- PFFFFFT! MICHELLE FOR THE WIN! 😂😂

- Uhhhh, which one do I press???? Ahhhh! Maybe the transmission one? See if it’s of any importance?

- “You want Jake McKenzie? Come get him.” That’s from Rourke, isn’t it? Frickity-frick.

- Okay, there’s the warning signal. Either grab your shit and run, or get this Humvee into driving mode!

- LET’S FUCKIN’ DRIVE INTO THESE SOLDIERS! SORRY BOYS!

- ‘...as they careen off the hood!’ Whoops?

- ES MC is a badass.

- So we took the soldier’s outfits? Please, for the love of god, tell me we at least put them inside somewhere so they don’t freeze.

- You dare to have doubted our plan? Well, it’s time to prove you wrong!

- uh, we need Zahra to come with us, game. How dare you give me the option to tell her she doesn’t have to come?

- Wooow, such optimism Sean.

- WHY IS DIEGO SAD?!

- Ah, Varyyn.

- DIEGO MY DUDE, GO GET YOUR DUDE!

- “Just because something ends tomorrow doesn't mean you shouldn’t enjoy it today.” Damn, MC, all this wisdom!

- “Dammit, you’re always right.” I know.

- ‘Friendship Up! Diego is now close to you!’ HELL FREAKIN’ YEAH, BOIS!

- KISS HIM! KISS HIM! KISS HIM!

- AWH MY BOYS ARE ADORABLE!

- FUCK YEAH! THEY KISSED!

- Raj is seriously a god-send, and I love him so much.

- I wanna take Polaris with us, but I can’t, ‘cause if he’s gonna be the next guardian, I can’t take him away.

- Thank god Sean actually believes Michelle.

- Let’s go with “I TP’d the mayor’s mansion.”

- I know we were shot forward 6 months, but they always say that time is wonky on this island, so I think while we went forward in time on the island, we didn’t go forward in time for the rest of the world.

- “I’m just glad that we survived.” 😂There were many a time we could’ve died.

- Fuckin’ trust Diego to encourage MC to thot it up. 😂

- Well, y'all know I’m gonna spend it with Sean!

- The second you get into his tent, the music changes 😂😂

- Not gonna lie, I always like this sound though, it’s a nice sound.

- Jesus Christ, he’s 6′5? Holy heck.

- These two are utter dorks.

- ...I love them

- Gods, he’s adorable!

- “Can I tell you something?” Just say it outright, but still, go for it, my dude!

- I wanna hug and cuddle and protect Sean at all times! Ahhhh.

- ‘Romance Up! Sean is crazy about you!’ BABY BOI I LOVE YOU!

- I’m crying! Sean just told MC he loves her, and I just... I don’t remember being this happy that two characters said that they loved each other since your LI in HSS said it (Don’t ask lmaooo)

- Uh, of course I’m gonna say it back! I’m not a monster!

- “Me?” MC has the same brain as me, my dudes.

- Oh god 😂 MC looks bulked af in the suit 😂

- “Hell yeah you do! You make that look good!” Why thank you, Craig!

- PLEASE REMIND ME WHY CRAIG WASN’T A LI????

- Zahra and Diego have a great friendship oml

- NOOO! I don’t wanna leave Polaris behind!!

- And who wants to bet that I’ll probably mess up on the whole remembering the fake story?

- Awhhhhh, noooo. At least we got to hug him!

- I ALREADY MISS HIM!!!

- Yeah, “Ohhhhhh crap.” is right, Craig!

- I. FUCKIN’. DID. IT. I REMEMBERED THE STORY!

- ROURE. Lemme punch yooooou! Please?

- I’m only able to get this chapter out tonight (Almost 12am and I’m dead tired), I’m sorry you guys! But chapter 13, 14 and 15 will definitely be out tomorrow.