Day 4, Part 3: Dare You
Translations
Kiga: Someone older AND higher in station. Marek is using it incorrectly when referring to Zain
Koja: Someone younger and higher in station
Really, these two just use them as nicknames for each other.
E kali...: Marek is starting to say he's scared, in his native language, but he calms down enough to say it the normal way. There is something interesting about the way he says it, but I'm keeping that a secret for later. ;)
Minor warning for creepy older boys that Zain should have just punched. Like, really, really should have.
I had an entirely different plan for this prompt, but it wouldn't cooperate. I got distracted flipping through notes and found some stuff past fidget had jotted down about kid!Marek. This just wrote itself, so here we are.
Griaria, 10 years ago
"Zain!"
At the sound of his name, the young boy spun around, peering curiously at the breathless girl in front of him. He vaguely recognised her, but not enough to put a name with the face.
"You– you are Zain, aren't..." She bent over, clutching her knees as she panted furiously. "Aren't you?"
When he nodded, her face lit up. "Come with me!" She stood and grabbed his hand, yanking him across the cobblestone street.
"Where are we going?" he questioned, tugging his hand free, because there was only one person he wanted to hold hands with, and it wasn't this girl.
"It's Marek, I... I think he might be in trouble", she explained, not slowing to even look back while she spoke to him. "Some older boys asked him to play, but they took him down to the old alter, and–"
He didn't give her a chance to finish. Didn't even thank her for coming to find him, though he probably should have. Instead, he broke into a sprint, making a beeline across the village toward the forest.
Please, be okay!
He wasn't yet in sight of the abandoned alter when he heard Marek calling out for him.
"Shut up!" The group of boys came into view – three of them, all Zain's classmates, though he wasn't exactly friends with any of them. "I told you, didn't I? We just want to play a little game."
"Do you think she's really a boy?"
"Nah, no way that's a boy. She's just lying to get attention!"
"Only one way to find out..."
"Ha! Dare you to check!"
Zain ran as fast as his feet would carry him, gaining momentum to topple the first boy, knocking him off Marek's stomach, where he'd been sitting to keep the little Ogam pinned.
He stood between Marek and the others now, a barrier to protect him from harm. He could hear Marek crying behind him, but there was nothing he could do about it until he finished what he'd started.
"Leave Marek alone! If you ever touch him again, I'll– I'll..."
"You'll what?" Despite the cockiness of his tone, the other boy backed away, along with his friends.
Zain was bigger than them. Bigger and stockier than most Griarian boys his age, thanks to his father's foreign blood. Sometimes, it got him picked on, but very rarely did anyone try to fight him.
He squared his shoulders, gathering himself up to his full height. "Marek is mine, so just stay away from him!"
The ringleader frowned, staring daggers at Zain, but he wouldn't budge no matter what. One of his friends smacked him in the shoulder, shaking his head.
"Let's just go. It's not worth it."
Zain held his intimidating stance, refusing to let his guard down until the boys were out of sight. A pair of small arms wrapped around his waist from behind, Marek's face burying into the back of his shirt, leaving a wet spot from his tears.
"E kali..." He hiccoughed, squeezing tighter. "I was really s-scared!"
Zain reached down, unclasping Marek's arms so he could turn and hug him properly. "It's alright. You don't think I'd let anything happen to you, do you Koja?"
Marek shook his head, but the tears showed no signs of stopping.
"Hey, look at me! If you're gonna be my wife someday, then it's my job to protect you." Zain's cheeks coloured with embarrasment as his brain caught up to his mouth. "I mean–"
"Did you just...?"
"Only if you want to! If not, then forget– forget I said anything, alright?"
Marek sniffled, nodding against Zain's chest. "Idiot Kiga! Of course I want to!"
With the matter settled, Zain pried himself free and grabbed Marek's hand. "Let's go home, now. I bet Mama's got a snack waiting for us already." He led Marek through the forest, back to Deerlight and the small house he shared with his mother. "You're going to sleep over again tonight, aren't you?"
Marek's soft but definite, "Mhmm", was followed shortly by, "You're hand's so much bigger than mine, Kiga."
"I said it before, didn't I? Marek's hands are perfect for mine, because they're so small. They fit right in."
"Right!" Marek grinned up at him, the tear stains on his cheeks beginning to fade. "Kiga... can we, um... When we get married, can we do it at the altar?"
Zain furrowed his brow, confused. "Why there?"
"Well, because then instead of a bad memory, I'll have a really great memory there."
Zain shook his head, amazed – as always – with how adorable Marek was. "Then let's do it now." Making a decision, he steered them in the opposite direction, back to the old altar.
"But– but, we don't have rings. Mama told me once, that pretty ring she always wears was from her wedding." Marek stalled, tugging urgently at Zain's arms. "Wait, I know." Dropping Zain's hand, he raced off into the trees.
"Wait up! What are you doing?"
When Zain caught up, Marek was already on his knees in the grass, plucking flowers off of the ground.
"We can make some, with these." He held a handful of blossoms, picked way at the bottom so the stems were still long, then separated them in half, handing some to Zain. "I'll make you a ring, and you can make mine."
Zain sat down beside him, watching Marek work and doing his best to copy the motions. His ring didn't come out nearly as good.
"Finished~" Marek sang, scrambling to his feet.
"Koja, your dress!"
The skirt was ruined, covered in green stains from the grass.
"I dont mind it," Marek surpised him by shrugging it off, even though Zain knew the gown had been one of his favourites. "I'll ask Mama to make me another one."
With their homemade rings in hand, the two boys headed back to the altar. Of the two of them, Marek was the only one who'd actually been to a wedding, so Zain let him take the lead, repeating things when Marek said the husband was supposed to.
"I now announce us man and wife!" Marek's cheeks flushed, his eyes meeting Zain's for the first time since the wedding had begun.
He somehow looked even prettier than ever. Zain froze, so bewitched by the sight that he barely remembered to breath.
"You're supposed to kiss me now", Marek whispered, pulling Zain out of his daze.
"Like... like a real kiss?"
"I think on the cheek is fine, if you'd rather–"
Zain launched forward, pressing his lips to Marek's. They were warm, and much softer than he'd imagined. He felt like his heart was going to explode, but it was fine, because Marek was really his wife now, and nothing else mattered more than that.
"Kiga!" Marek whined, pulling away. "No fair. That was my first kiss, and I wasn't ready, yet. I want a do-over!" He pointed to his pouting lips, and Zain was all too happy to give in.
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