GRINNING FOOLISHLY

Marshall had offered the half-eaten biscuit to Wyn as a joke, hoping to pull a reaction out of him. But instead of a repulsed frown or a displeased glare, the snow deity accepted it, their fingers brushing lightly.

Not only that, but he took a bite from the same place Marshall had bitten. The disciple almost gasped when he saw that.

Wasn't that an indirect kiss? Why was it so intimate? Was it all in his head? 

Marshall's chest buzzed as if someone had poked his heart. He gaped at the basin of cold water, his reflection dumbly staring back at him with a grin.

"Stop that," Marshall muttered, splashing the reflection away. "Do you have the time to think about such things?"

Still, he kept mulling over it, going as far to dig through his past experiences to compare them to what he felt now.

There was only one time he had as an example. When he was thirteen, Mei Lihua convinced him to help her 'practice kissing'.

Marshall could recall receiving a bashful peck on the lips. There was no excitement on his end. He even wiped his mouth when Mei Lihua wasn't looking. Back then, he thought romance was only exciting for girls. 

The disciple slapped a hand on his forehead, letting out an irritated exhale. So why did he have to get excited over Wyn eating a damn biscuit? Why did he have to develop these foreign feelings now? 

On top of that, there were bigger issues to worry about. Tracking down Gi Gaia, acquiring Smaragdine Lily, figuring out a way to free Sky Oriels of demons, clearing his name...

Though, in case he couldn't clear his name, he would have to become strong enough to defend himself against everyone, then move to live on top of a mountain in seclusion. And if Wyn would come along, that idea didn't sound bad at all.

Marshall scoffed, washing his face. He felt like banging his head against the wall to knock his mind empty. 

➳ ➳ ➳

Clean but tense, the disciple trailed back to the bedroom. Instead of going in, he paced back and forth in the hallway, trying to convince himself to act normal.

He was like a coiled spring that would bounce through the roof if anyone—

"Why are you not going in?" a question from behind startled him.

Marshall whipped around, finding Sun Hayden's head poking from his room with a curious look on his face.

The blond disciple squinted at him knowingly, "My intuition's telling me something's going on here," he said in a melodic voice, closing the door behind himself quietly.

"Hey, you..." the amber eyes glinted like two lanterns in the dark, studying Marshall, "I know what you're up to."

Marshall froze, mind immediately jumping to the obvious conclusion that he had been discovered. Was he too obvious? Of course, he was. He was blushing like an idiot in the kitchen, hiding from Wyn like a shy maiden.

Still, he played dumb, "What am I up to?"

Sun Hayden chuckled with a smirk, leaning to whisper into his ear, "You're pulling a prank on Chioni Wyn."

Never in his life had Marshall been so relieved to be falsely accused. He shook his head, letting out a relieved laugh.

"I'm not pulling any pranks. Not today." 

Sun Hayden did not back off easily. "Ah, please! You can't fool me," he said with a sly grin. "You were waiting for Chioni Wyn to come out to scare him, weren't you?"

"No, I told you, I wasn't doing anything. Go back," Marshall whispered, nudging the blond cloud of mischief back to his room.

"Guilty is the man who tries to get rid of witnesses!" Sun Hayden snickered, shoving back.

"Shh, you're too loud," Marshall tried to hush him, unsuccessfully.

"Let's do this: I'll run to his window from the outside and pretend to be a ghost, then you knock on the door all panicked and tell Chioni Wyn there's paranormal activity outside!" Sun Hayden soundlessly clapped his hands. "Then he'll open the window and I'll jump him!"

Marshall couldn't help but chuckle at his eagerness. "Wyn's reflexes will leave you frozen into a human popsicle. Don't even think about it."

Sun Hayden laughed maniacally, already dashing down the hall and out the main door.

Marshall bit back a laugh, chasing after the blond whirlwind. "Where are you going? Do you have a death wish?"

The ghostly plan turned into a chasing game. Sun Hayden was giggling in full throat, running away from Marshall.

After three circles around the house, the blond disciple stopped, falling into a crouch by Wyn's window. Marshall quickly caught up, putting a hand over his friend's mouth to keep him quiet.

"You'll wake Wyn before the scare!" Marshall whisper-yelled at him.

But Sun Hayden was having the time of his life, snickering and squirming while Marshall tried to keep him still. 

Unexpectedly, a sudden grab at their collars made the two flinch in sync.

Sun Hayden fell over with a yelp, and Marshall whipped his head around to see Wyn right behind them, watching from above.

The snow deity stood behind the windowsill, arching a brow at the suspicious activity going on below.

Sun Hayden stared up at Wyn, disappointment stretching across his face. "Aw, man. How did you know?"

"I could hear you two running around the house laughing," Wyn remarked. 

The blond disciple let out another drawn out groan, and Marshall couldn't help but chuckle at that. 

"Alright, come on, harmless ghost," he poked at Sun Hayden. "Get up before ants crawl into your pants."

Sun Hayden bolted up immediately, frantically brushing the dirt off his pants. "What ants?! I didn't see any!"

Marshall was fully entertained while the other desperately slapped around his thighs, fighting off invisible ants. "Really? I even saw a spider," he added. "You should check behind your ears."

Sun Hayden instantly reached up to cover his ears with a disgruntled scowl, "Augh, don't make fun of me! You know I don't like bugs," he exclaimed, stomping away. 

Catching his breath, Marshall glanced up at Wyn, who was still there, silently leaning against the windowsill. He wore a breezy nightshirt that exposed his neck and collarbones, and the expression on his face was completely relaxed with his brows curving down in amusement.

Marshall's chest did another weird flutter, and that light, fluttery feeling spread into his stomach. 

In the short while he stood there, gaping at Wyn, a mosquito bit his neck. The itchy sting snapped him out of it.

Excusing himself and grinning foolishly, Marshall hastily made his way back to the main door.