The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy



"Just bring yourself home," she murmurs, resting her forehead on his chest. He lifts his chin, resting it on her head, holding her close and silently memorizing the way she feels against him.

"Don't doubt it for a second, Daph," he murmurs, earnest in a way that he's usually not. "You'd be too pretty a widow for me to go and die now. You'd look great in black – and then someone would snap you up and you'd forget all about me – “

"A widow," she scoffs, sufficiently distracted from her worries and snapping her head up to glare at him. "What are you talking about? We're not -"

"Oh, didn't you notice?" he asks, sliding his hand from her back and slipping it against her left palm, lifting her fingers high. "I married you, last night. I mean, you were asleep, but I've been very busy and I was in a rush -"noveldrama

Daphne glances down at her hand and then bursts out laughing when she sees the little shadowy ring sitting there, in human fashion, on the ring finger of her left hand. "Oh you idiot," she growls, shoving him even as she leans herself more fully against him. "If you're going to marry me then I'm at least going to be conscious when you do it."

Jesse grins at her, dropping her hand and stroking his knuckles down her cheek. "Is that a yes?"

“Jesse don't joke,” Daphne murmurs, dropping her eyes slightly so that her dark lashes drift over her cheeks.

"I'm not joking," he sighs. "Not really. But I take your meaning, Daph, and I promise you that this whole battle tomorrow is just going to be a little exercise. That I'll come back safe and sound and we'll talk about doing that for real. You know. When you're awake."

"Are you serious?" she asks, raising her shocked eyes to his. "You want to...with me?"

"I'm dead serious," he says quietly, stroking her face again. "But I understand if you're not there yet. Still - you should know that I am." Daphne studies him for a long moment, her love for this strange and beautiful boy shining in her eyes, and then she stands on her toes and kisses him. Jesse wraps her up, warm and neat, and kisses her until they both forget all about it - forget that the war and tomorrow even exist.

Or, at least they come close. The door to the room opens and they both go quite still, hiding in the corner with Jesse's shadow cover as Tony walks past and jogs down the stairs towards his own room, his face quite serious and lost in thought.

"These are very useful," Daphne murmurs, reaching up and stroking a hand over the shadows that arch over them - a move that makes Jesse shiver. She notices and turns to him with a grin. "You can feel that?"

"They're part of me," he says with a shrug.

"So then this..." she looks down at the little shadow ring on her finger.

"Little piece of my soul for you to keep," he says with a sigh. "A placeholder while I'm gone. I'll get you a real one later."

She grins up at him but then hesitates. "People are going to notice if I start wearing a ring, Jess."

He sighs, and neither of them mention which particular person they don't want to notice - at least, not yet. Not while things are so fresh, and so new, and so good.

"Something else, then?" Jesse asks,

taking her hand again and turning it over in his palm, making the shadow around her finger dissipate in the air and then reform into a tiny kitten, just farge enough to sit in heppalm.

"Mittens!?" she gasps, laughing and looking between Jesse and the tiny cat. "I can keep Mittens while you're gone?"

"He's a good substitute, isn't he?"

Jesse asks, reaching out and stroking the cat's head for himself, "Though don't get freaked out if he disappears. I have no idea how long he can stick around when I'm gone. Orbow far away I can go from him."

“Okay,” Daphne says, still laughing a little and holding the kitten close to her chest.

Jesse slips a hand soft around the

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back of her neck and gently tugs her closer for another kiss, which she willingly gives, melting against him a little bit until the little kitten mews in protest at being squished. They both look down at him and laugh, surprised.

“I'll be keeping an eye on the horizon," Daphne murmurs, looking up into his face. “Looking for you coming back."

"I'll be there soon," Jesse promises. One last kiss seals the deal.