aru shah fan fiction

assassins au: seventeen

Some people would call him an anti-romantic, but Aiden preferred the term realist. He'd seen enough of the world to know love was not ecstasy and wet kisses in the rain. Those were dreams, fantasies people conceived as reality far too often. In his opinion, trying to chase permanent happiness through romance was a futile search. But as he watched Jenny and Ethan with their hands locked together, newly-weds in dating, Aiden couldn't help but wonder why it worked out for some people, how some partners just found a way to click with each other.

Even after Aru revealed everything to them, it hadn't taken much convincing on her part for Jenny and Ethan to agree to attend the war council meeting, but that wasn't a shock to Aiden. He figured the couple had too much history with Aru to turn her down. What was shocking was the extravagance of their escort carriage to the palace.

"I think this is the same one they took me in last time," Aru commented as she climbed in. Aiden followed after her, shutting the door behind him. The pristine white walls, flawless gold trim, and strong themes of patriotism were unlike anything he'd laid eyes on before. Everything looked completely untouched, taintless and brand-new. The carriage had a foreign scent to it too, the aroma of wealth and fresh velvet. He noted the subtle outline of a door on the spotless roof, an easy escape if necessary.

"Okay," Aru clapped her hands together, squinting at Jenny. "How did this–" she gestured at her hand clasped in Ethan's. "–happen, exactly? I demand answers. And how come I didn't know about this until ten minutes ago?" Aru leaned back on the satiny couch beside Aiden, her eyes shining with a smile barely concealed on her lips. Something about her excitement sent his heart pumping a little faster than before.

"Well," Ethan started, a cheeky grin on his face. "Obviously Jenny's been in love with me forever, so she just finally worked up the courage to tell me."

"Liar," Jenny leveled a glare at him, but Aiden saw nothing but playfulness in the expression. "You were the one who finally confessed to me. And because I felt bad for you, I agreed to go on one date with you. But–" she planted a kiss on his knuckles. "–I don't mind."

Aru cast a side glance at Aiden and made a big show of internally barfing, eyes bulging and nose scrunched in a twist. "Geez, what happened to you, Jenny?" she asked. "I thought Ethan was supposed to be your punching bag, not your kissing one." Aiden snorted.

But as his gaze lurched back to the laughing couple, he couldn't help but wonder if Jenny and Ethan could find happiness in each other, could he find someone like that too? His gaze involuntarily darted to Aru–smirking, always-laughing, Aru. If Aiden was being honest with himself, he'd been feeling confused lately, unsure how to feel about the girl with the short braid next to him. He'd liked girls in the past, though he'd never been very serious about any of them. Even so, something about this felt different, Aru felt different, but he couldn't tell if his emotions were genuine or just figments of his imagination, pieces of a puzzle that never existed. For as long as he could remember, Aiden remembered prohibiting himself from finding a partner because love stories usually ended in tragedy, and he wanted to save himself from that pain. It wasn't worth diving headfirst into a relationship that you might never recover from.

But maybe, something whispered to him. It would be better if you just let go. If you fall in the right direction, perhaps you'll land exactly where you want to be.

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