All For Love [Reth x OC x Jel]

Assumptions

"Have you seen Azu today?" Reth asked with a furrowed brow as he wandered into Jel's shop with dinner in hand, coming to join the tailor at the counter.

Jel couldnt stop himself from smiling a bit too wide, vivid memories of the night before flashing in his head before he could focus on Reth's question. "I havent since last night, no."

Reth's brow rose curiously at him, even as his stomach sank a little. "Last night?"

The taller man could tell that Azu hadnt given Reth his confession yet just from the way he was reacting; but he couldnt contain the giddy feeling in his chest even if he'd tried to. His smile was uncontrollable, and he couldnt help but laugh breathlessly, letting his gaze fall to the floor. "She came to see me at the lagoon.."

The way Jel reacted only made Reth's heart sink too, swallowing at the sudden cold feeling in his body even as he forced himself to smile, for Jel's sake. "Oh?" he forced a chuckle, quickly setting their food down and shoving his hands into his pockets before they could start shaking. "The way you're smiling makes it seem like it was a little more than seeing you.."

Jel's gaze finally settled on the cook at the sound of his half-hearted joking tone, furrowing his brow understandingly. There was a smile on his face, but it didnt reach Reth's eyes; and Jel's concern only seemed to make it worse, as his jaw tensed just to keep up the facade. He debated for a moment if he should say anything; he didnt want to ruin the surprise, Azu hadnt told him what she'd planned for Reth after all, and he didnt want to spoil their moment by asking; but he didnt want to see Reth break his own heart before he even knew Azu's intentions either.

The fact that Jel didnt answer was enough of an answer for him to already be doing exactly that, though; forcing himself to breathe through the twinge of pain in his chest when he came to the conclusion that Azu had made her choice; and it wasnt him. Not that he'd ever expected it to be, honestly. To him it made perfect sense; sure, he might be a cute face; but compared to Jel, he was..

"She gave me a Heartdrop Lily.." Jel finally broke the silence, meeting Reth's eyes and frowning a little at the way he looked ready to run.

Reth knew better than anyone that words could cut as deeply as knives, but he didnt think a knife could rip his heart out. He'd told himself too many times that he was prepared for this, but in the face of it, he felt like a cornered animal. He barely steeled himself in place as Jel furrowed his brow back at him; making him sure that the laugh he forced out sounded as broken as he felt. "Congrats.. I'm happy for you-" he swallowed, shifting his eyes to the floor as he reached up to run a hand over his hair.

"Reth-"

"I'm okay." he stopped the tailor, forcing himself to look up again. "Its okay."

Jel frowned at him, watching his eyes lose their usual playful lilt as he detached himself from the situation; he didnt think he'd ever seen Reth so-

"Hey guys~!"

In an instant, Reth's plaster smile was forced back onto his face as he turned to welcome Tish, opening his arms in greeting to hug her like he always did; and in an instant, Jel realized that Reth used that smile a lot more often than either of them knew. Jel only barely managed to collect himself and smile when Tish turned to him, trying to focus as she started to mention something about their day.

"Oh, nothing too unusual," Jel managed to cover up his mixed up emotions with a half chuckle of his own, closing his eyes so that his smile seemed believable; a trick he'd learned after one too many uncomfortable conversations in upper class parties. "Ive just about finished the next seasons line up."

"Ooh, can I see the final drafts? I've got a couple of concept sketches for a bedroom set that I wanted to go over with you, too!"

"Of course." Jel chuckled as he pulled out his sketches for Tish to flit through; keeping her from asking about anything else in the meantime as he began to discuss their upcoming designs as they always did..

Reth told himself that Jel only avoided the topic to spare him the pain; but even if thats all it was, he was thankful for it by the time he'd managed to finish his meal, barely tasting it. As soon as he'd finished he stood up, forcing a smile onto his face so Tish didnt worry as he lied through his teeth. "I'll leave you two to it, I gotta head back early today; Ashura's gonna lecture my ears off again if I dont go catch up on work around the Inn." he laughed a little as he gave Tish's shoulder a squeeze, before turning to look at Jel. "I'll come back and pick up the dishes later, okay?"

"Alright. Thank you, Reth." Jel nodded back; but only because he thought it cruel not to let the man have room to breathe, even if he couldnt explain. He would explain later, if he still needed to.

There seemed to be a silent understanding between the two of them, to keep Tish out of it; even if she didnt quite understand why they both seemed to be acting a little off, she could tell that Reth needed the extra rest today; so she turned to give him another hug, smiling even though she wished he could have stayed for a little while longer. "Oh, okay..! Have a good night then Reth!"

"Good night, Tish.." Reth managed to keep his smile up long enough to avoid any suspicion as he left; but it fell as soon as he'd made it down the stairs under the inn, and he had to stop and rest against the cool stone wall for a moment, slowly sinking down as he tried to drown out his thoughts with the sound of the water flowing by..

"Hey, Trouble~"

"You're lucky you're cute."

"Only because its you."

"I'm not going anywhere, Reth."

It didnt work. Reth choked on a whine as his eyes filled with tears, sucking in a breath as her voice echoed in his head. He couldnt go into the storeroom right now. Not yet. Not when last time he was there with her..

"I just want you to be okay."

"Fuck..!" he cried under his breath as he leaned forward to hold his head in his hands, desperately trying to block out the memories in his head. He took slow, deep breaths, but it didnt stop the tears this time, and soon enough he felt the palms of his hands begin to dampen with them. "This is why you dont make assumptions, Reth.." he scolded himself, wiping his eyes and bringing his knees up to rest his arms on them. He stared at the water for awhile; muffling his sniffles against his arms, crying as quietly as he could as he tried to come to terms with the changes that would come, now. As he tried to tell himself that it was never going to happen anyways; that he shouldnt have gotten his hopes up..

He didnt know what time it was when he finally worked up the courage to pick himself up, heaving a few deep, shaky breaths as he finally looked at the door to the storeroom. He furrowed his brow, the sting of dried tears melding into fresh ones making him reach up to rub his eyes, letting out a frustrated groan.

"Dont be a baby." he tried to scoff; but his voice came out as little more than a whisper, and he winced at the sound of it. This hurt..

But he couldnt avoid his life because of it, either. He needed to sleep for work; now more than ever.

So, he steeled his nerves, telling himself that he needed to do this, and finally walked over to walk into the store room. "Just dont think about it, Reth.." he whispered to himself; but he knew, when his hands shook as he turned the doorknob, that it was wishful thinking..