Chapter Text
Chase felt over the moon. And by that, he was definitely not over his moon. Buddy, Nox, his soulmate was too prominent in mind for that.
When he returned from his homemade book last night, Silver asked how it went. Chase couldn't help but smile ear to ear and say it went well.
"So he finally told ya?" Bronze asked with a knowing smirk. Chase nodded.
"He also said he's gonna try to talk to Violet later today." Bronze grimaced.
"Good luck with that. If he needs me to put in a good word, I will vouch for you."
"Thanks!" The blond gave another smile before wishing the Keys goodnight.
Now Chase was soaring through the sky with spellcast wings. The cotton candy pink clouds beckoned him to rest. Chase always wondered what it would be like to sleep on a cloud!
With pulsing flaps from his wings, Chase slowed down and descended onto the fluffy mass below. He tentatively placed a foot down, testing the cloud for support before finally letting himself collapse onto it.
The smell of musty basement hit his nose.
"Ewww! I thought this was supposed to be like super comfy! This is so disappointing!"
Chase sat up and began trying to shape the cloud to feel less hard and lumpy on his back. A whoosh of air was all the warning he got before something crashed into him.
Chase spat out bits of disgusting cloud and wriggled in place as he was stuck halfway through the layer of fluff, which shared the texture of those blankets that look like they'd be really good, but then you touch them and it feels like they crawled out of a dark pit just to commit sensory atrocities.
"Nox! Get me out of here!" Buddy ignored him and instead let out the dorkiest laugh while watching Chase continue to squirm. Eventually, Nox's laughter subsided as he pushed Chase the rest of the way through the cloud.
The pair tussled around and play-fought through the clouds before finally settling down into a cuddle.
"You know, I like hearing you laugh. It's very adorkable," Chase commented, looking up from where he laid to meet Nox's gaze.
"Perhaps… I could find myself laughing more freely, if it would make you happy, but only for you, Starling." Chase nestled into Buddy's shoulder. The statement rang through his mind. Only for him.
"You're late, you know?" Chase teased, his voice muffled by the armor that distorted his cheek as he pressed into his human pillow.
"I had to pick something up." Chase arched a brow. Nox shifted underneath him before pulling out a small item.
A tealy blue star hung from a golden keychain. Nox held it out in front of Chase's line of sight so that he could get a good look.
"Is… Is that for me?" Chase asked in wonder.
"Hmmm, I am not so sure. I fear you might be too short to reach it!" Nox teased, holding the charm as far away from Chase as he could.
"That's bold coming from you!" Chase exclaimed while squirming to reach for the star, "I just wanna see it!"
Nox giggled before finally relenting and placing the star into Chase's palm.
"It reminded me of you," Buddy admittedly quietly, combing Chase's hair with his fingers.
"Because it's small, gaudy and useless, obviously!" Buddy tacked on. Chase laughed.
"You're so mean!" Nox rolled his eyes, or at least Chase thinks he did.
"Thank you for the keychain, Jerk," Chase's voice held no bite.
"Of course! Anything for my Little Idiot."
The pair settled into silence again. Nox continued to comb through Chase's hair. The feeling of finger nails gently scratching against his scalp felt soothing.
"I'm going to talk to Violet after this book. Give me some time before entering another book, and hopefully by then I will have convinced her to let us go with you."
"Bronze said if you need, he can vouch for us. I can take him with me if you decide you want me to come get you."
"That would be… beneficial. Thank you, Chase, for everything and for giving me a chance."
"Of course! Anything for my Moonbeam Ice-cream!" Nox's face scrunched in mock disgust.
"You are not calling me that!"
"Whatever you say, Cookieboo!" Chase laughed. Buddy shook his head. The hands resumed mapping out the hair on Chase's head.
Chase pulled out his lip gloss and began applying it. His lips were feeling a little dry.
"What is that?" Nox asked, looking down at the tube.
"It's BroBalm! It helps keep your lips from drying out!"
"It looks shiny." Something sparkled in Nox's eyes.
"You wanna try some? It's strawberry flavored!" The other boy hummed.
"Perhaps…" Chase passed him the gloss to inspect.
It filled Chase with an odd sense of warmth watching Nox fiddle the lid and awkwardly drag the wand across his bottom lip. It was cute.
"It's sticker than I thought it would be."
"Yeah, now you just gotta spread it around by pressing your lips together like this!" Chase demonstrated the motion. Buddy copied it.
"Looks good!"
"I fail to see how this is strawberry."
"It's artificial strawberry!" Chase leaned up and pressed a kiss on Nox's cheek, transferring a layer of balm with it.
Buddy gazed down at him, as if he was debating his options. Slowly, the boy leaned down towards Chase, giving the blond the chance to stop him if so desired, before angling his head to plant a hesitant kiss below the side of Chase's jaw.
Chase's breath seemed to escape his lungs as heat rose to his face. Just as slowly as his approached, Buddy backed away.
"Was that okay?" Chase nodded eagerly. Nox glanced at the castle off in the distance.
"We should probably start the story. I am sure Freckles and the child are waiting." Chase groaned.
"Yeahhhh I guess." Nox laughed softly before helping Chase stand.
"See you soon, Star," Nox said before planting one last kiss on the top of Chase's head. The pair took to the skies and flew their separate ways.
~~~~~~~
The Sky Trials were going to begin soon. Chase was pretty sure Prunella wasn't going to forgive him for showing up late, but he couldn't care less. Nox might be his soulmate, but that would not make him immune to being absolutely demolished in this competition.
He and Nox were exchanging friendly banter when Deacon dragged him away.
"Okay, listen, I get it. You're bonding with him cause that's what you're fated to do or whatever, but Chase, you gotta remember Buddy is the enemy. We don't know anything about him! He literally threatened us about taking Silver and Bronze away!"
"That's not true! I know a lots about him!"
"Chase! Just because he's your soulmate, doesn't mean you should just trust him!"
"I- since when did you know he's my soulmate?" Deacon pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
"I saw his mark back in the book Bronze had me playing his henchman in. Chase, I know you have always wanted a soulmate and I know you might think you love him-"
"I do! I do love him, Deacon. You have to trust me! N-Buddy is not a bad guy!"
"Things aren't adding up! How come your mark didn't show up until you started doing books? How come it still only shows up in stories? Something is wrong here!"
"I know! Buddy and I have already talked about this. I know why I haven't had a mark my whole life. I know why my mark only appears in stories!"
"You do? Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's not my secret to share, but I promise it's nothing bad! Ex Libris isn't trynna trick us or anything. If everything goes to plan, it'll make sense soon! Trust me, Deacon!"
His cousin stared at him, trying to make sense of what Chase was saying.
"Chase, I trust you. I just don't want you getting yourself in danger."
"I know, but I promise I know what I'm doing. Things are gonna be okay."
"I really, really hope so. You've been happier recently. I just don't want it to blow up in your face."
"Thanks for looking out for me, Deacon," Chase said, giving his cousin a pat on the shoulder, "we should probably get going, I think I'm supposed to be winning here soon!"
"I don't need to warn you about your competitiveness, right?"
"Yep! Don't worry about it, Dorkin!"
The cousins walked off towards the arena.
~~~~~~~
The book had ended in disaster. It appeared that wings Silver had crafted for Chase was not compatible the book. The arena was coated with rubble, but the worst part was the child's tears being shed over Nox and Chase getting too carried away.
Thankfully, after talking with and apologizing to Prunella, the child seemed to be in better spirits by the time the book ended, sending Nox back to the library.
"Does the human ever grow tired of children's books?"
"Goldie's holder had chosen it. It was one of her favorites if memory serves me correctly."
"Right, the child. How irresponsible of them for allowing one of their young into books."
"We make sure she doesn't get hurt."
"'We'? Are you implying that you were also watching her?"
"She's a child, Vi. I am not going to let something happen to her."
"Yes, a human child! She will grow into selfish, lint covered monster just like the rest of them!"
"That's not true, Violet! Not all humans are like that!"
"When has a human ever been nice to us? Been nice to you? You said it yourself that they treated you like scum! And you were even one of their own kind! When has a human ever acted outside of their selfish wishes?"
"Chase isn't selfish." Violet straightened up and looked Nox in the eyes.
"What?"
"Chase is not selfish. He might have his dreams and desires for fame, but he is not selfish. He… his wish is to heal his mother. Violet, this whole time Chase has been trying to help his family… to help Silver, not for his own gain, simply because he wanted to help.
"He has no ulterior motives. He is not manipulating me. Silver, Goldie, Bronze, they all trust him. And… and I trust him too.
"Violet, aren't you tired of being in this dingy basement? We could work with them. We could make a plan to satisfy both our wishes. Our siblings, they clearly care about their keyholders. It would be in all of our favors to cooperate. We could be with our family again."
Violet's expression became pained.
"We've come so far, Nox! We escaped! We are gathering Narratonin! We cannot throw everything away just for some human!"
"He's not just some human, Violet. He's my soulmate, and more importantly he is the kindest human I have ever known. Now, I know that soulmates mean nothing to you, and at first, it meant nothing to me either. Violet, I love him, and I want you to give him a chance."
"Why should I? Need I constantly remind you of what happened the last time you trusted a human? You're delusional for thinking a human could ever love you! We're different from them, Nox!"
"Violet, listen to me. I tried so hard to not let him in, to take everything he's done with a grain of salt, but time and time again he has proven to be a good person.
"You've read Silver's letter. He is kind to our family! I tested him time and time again, reminded him over and over how much power he could hold over them, over us! And every single time, he assured me that he would do no such thing. He was revolted at the mere idea of treating us Keys with an ounce of cruelty!"
"He may be kind to our siblings, Nox, but would he ever truly love you if he knew the truth? Do you think a human can truly love a Key in the way you love him? I am merely looking out for you. I do not want your heart to get broken."
"Violet, he loves me. I know he does. He has accepted me for who I am, for all my flaws, just as I have accepted him." Violet's eyes widened.
"YOU TOLD HIM?" The Villainess shrieked. Silver's emblem lit up once again. Violet looked terrified.
"Does he know where we are?" Nox shook his head.
"I was hoping to convince you to trust him before giving him that information." Violet looked up at the book then back at Nox.
"Do not tell that human anymore! We must not derail our plan!" Violet switched into her keyform, falling into Nox's arms.
"I'm not trying to derail anything. I'm trying to help. I hope you will see that someday." Nox disappeared into the book.
~~~~~~~
Nox stared down at the uncomfortable fabric Violet had put him in. Clearly, she was not happy. He was only going to be here for a short while.
Nox spotted Chase on the other side of the hallway and ran to him. As soon as he reached the blond, he pulled him into a hug, burying his head in Chase's shoulder.
"Hey! Are you okay? Buds? Did she not believe you?" Nox nodded.
"She refused to believe me. She said I was falling for your trap."
"I can bring the Keys with me to try and convince her. I'm not gonna force her to live with us if she doesn't want to. She has no reason to trust me."
"Do you remember the library where you found Silver?" Chase's eyes widened in realization.
"We are there in the Lost and Found. Top shelf against the wall across from the door." Chase let out a noise that was somehow both ecstatic and frustrated at the same time.
"THIS WHOLE TIME YOU WERE THAT CLOSE?"
"How… How far away are you from the library?"
"About a ten minute drive!" Ten minutes. It would only take ten minutes for Chase to meet him, in real life, outside of their fictional little universes.
"You should have enough time before the library closes. Would you care to meet me after this book?" Nox gazed lovingly down into Chase's eyes.
His star smiled so brightly he seemed to glow.
"I would love to, Moonbeam!"
"No ice-cream this time?" Nox asked with a smirk. Chase chuckled.
"Why? Did you want there to be?"
"No! Moonbeam by itself is nice." Chase smiled and panted a kiss on Nox's cheek.
"Chase, please know that if Violet wants to stay at the library, I will stay with her. I do not want her to be left alone."
"Understood! I'll see you in a little over ten minutes then?" Nox pressed a kiss on Chase's knuckles, then lifted his arm to press one on his soulmark.
"I look forward to it, Starling." Chase squeezed his hand before reaching for Silver and disappearing in a flash of light.
Nox took a breath and braced himself for Violet.
~~~~~~~
The library storage room was coated in tense silence aside from the hum of the florescent lights and the tick of the clock. Violet refused to speak to him. She was focused on trying to figure out a way out of this 'mess' that Nox had created.
About fifteen minutes passed, maybe twenty, before Nox heard shuffling at the door.
"Hey, Moonbeam! You're never gonna believe it. They straight up just gave me the keys to this room!" Chase's voice filled the quiet storage room. Nox ran to the edge of the shelf.
Lovestruck eyes and a warm smile greeted him from below. Chase opened his bag and stuck his arm in.
Bronze, Silver, and Goldie appeared from the bag, climbing up onto Chase’s shoulder. Nox walked over to where his sister was currently making a fuss of how she could transport her makeup pallet.
"Violet, we have guests," Nox calmly informed her.
"Oh, you did not bring that filthy human here!" The three other Keys were now standing next to Nox.
"I think Chase uses too many hygiene products to be classified as filthy," Bronze stated.
Upon hearing her brother's voice, Violet turned around.
"Bronze?"
"Hello, Violet. I believe you and I need to have a nice little chat."
~~~~~~~
Chase yawned and stretched. Today had been a long day, but it was totally worth it. The blond walked into his bedroom, having just finished brushing his teeth.
"You good if I shut the light off?"
Nox looked up from where he sat on Chase's pillow.
"That is fine." Chase flicked the switch before pulling back the blanket and sliding into bed.
"Hey, Buds?"
"Yes?"
"I'm glad you're here."
"As am I."
Chase felt the weight on the pillow shift as Nox stepped towards him. A cool metal boot stepped onto his collar bone, followed by another. The cold sensation shifted until Nox was comfortably nestled between Chase's jaw and shoulder.
"Good night, Moonbeam."
"Good night, Starling."