b r e a k t h r o u g h

It Is What It Is

His parents never really taught him many things growing up, he ended up teaching those things himself with the immense curiosity he had. One of the many things they didn't have the time to teach him was about the thing he tried to understand the most, human emotions. By time, he dropped the question and shrugged it off. There was a time though, that question was almost answered, almost.

He was about eight or ten at the time, he was at his grandfather's with a bunch of other family members. It was an engagement celebration, his aunt was getting married to a young wealthy man who bought her a giant diamond ring that was then sitting still on her finger. Her red painted lips smiled widely across her face as she greeted him and the other guesses, her husband gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"What do married couples do?" He asked back then, an innocent gleam in his eyes.

She held her smile, "why, start a family of course!"

"What do families do?"

"They love each other, silly"

"So you love him?" He asked again, pointing at her soon to be husband then.

Her smile seemed tense, her breath was shaky, and a shadow was casted upon her face, "yes".

"What is love auntie?"

She put a hand to his small face, her eyes glistening under the light, "a distraction sweetheart, something we don't need".

He stopped asking questions.

He didn't think much of it then.

But then he looked around and saw what she meant. He saw what the marriage had done to his aunt. Behind all the fake smiles and jewelry, their marriage is slowly driven to ruin. Despite that, they're still together, why? For money of course.

His aunt told two lies that night. About how she loved her husband so, and that families were supposed to love each other. He has a family yet he never felt it, never felt love from them. Maybe sometimes, when they're around and being nice, he'd feel some kind of emotion from them, but other times, its just emptiness.

He started to understand his aunts words. How love was a distraction and that it was not needed. His aunt was distraught that day, she was married to a man she didn't love while the man she did love stood along the sidelines. She was bitter, and he understood her, for he was bitter too.

He never felt what it was like to be properly loved, and his family was taught to be cold and cunning. Whatever warmth from his parents normal kids should have, he did not have, despite being born to riches.

So he used her conclusion, love was a mere distraction. One his parents and he, did not get distracted on, they stayed on their paths towards their goals.

Until it pounded at his door and demanded his attention.

It was a spark that lit into a flame. It came unannounced and unwanted. It slapped him across his face and yelled for him to wake up. It was an arrow that demands to aim true. It was new and unheard of for him.

And he let it in.

He wouldn't want to call it love yet, he was just an unsure boy in new waters. It was barely love, but it felt just as strong.

His aunt told three lies that night. About how she loved her husband so, that families were supposed to love each other, and that love is something he did not need. He was in the dark without it, but now, a small candle is lit in his empty little heart. In her eyes, in her smile, in her laugh, in her tears, in her words, and on their journey. He saw it's reflection flickering back.

Much to his families dismay, Ali didn't mind the distraction.

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Something way diverting from canon and mostly narrative because school got my brain too frizzled to think of a good dialogue, rip. Its p short cause haha, I'm uncreative, sue me.

Notes:
Also the 'love flickering back' thing is not just his feelings for Raib, its also his platonic love to his friends. 

"It was an arrow that demanded to land true" is a quote from Six of Crows, good book, 100/10 would recommend.