for kirei for being my PIC! ilu chaton!

on another note, first work of the new year

It kinda run in his family, the penchant to see the unseen and to be drawn to it. Thus, that he ended up falling for a magical princess from outer space didn't phase him much - he loved Iris way before the magical business began.

The same could be said about the red cord starting at his finger and connecting to his best friend turned girlfriend. He could see it since he could remember - then again, he knew Iris for approximately the same time.

At first he remembered being quite confused why he was connected to the little girl Aunt Allen adopted a few days prior but as small children wont to do, he threw all caution to the wind and went to befriend the new kid.

She was shy at first but warmed up to him quickly. He soon realized she was a bit strange too, like him but in a different way. She couldn't see the strange thread but funny things kept happening when she sang. He found it curious and interesting and stuck more and more with her as they grew up.

This was also how he introduced her to his grandmother.

His grandma had always been a peculiar person - half her family thought her crazy the other gifted. When she met Iris for the first time her gaze turned solemn and distant and she pulled the child in a warm embrace (something he never quite understood, it seemed as if she was sorry or apologizing for something) and told her that she must be strong for whatever challenge her future should hold (thankfully Iris was too young to make much sense of this).

When Nath told her about the string connecting him to the blonde girl the elderly woman sat him down and told how the people of his family tended to see the person their soul was closest to. When he asked if that meant he would be marrying Iris than she simply smiled a warm smile and tried to explain - as well as you can to a child - that things didn't always work this way. The thread they saw connected to their best friend - someone who would be by their side no matter what happened and supported them through the worst and best, shared both their pain and happiness - it didn't necessarily mean they would fall in love.

Nathaniel couldn't really make heads or tails of that only until much later, when he was old enough to comprehend that love expanded over what his family and friends shared with him.

But he lived, or at least tried, with this in mind - just because he could see the red thread of fate connecting him and Iris it didn't mean she was his soulmate (in the wide-known romantic sense).

But he didn't give up on hope either - not when Lolirock was formed and she had less time for him, not when Carissa and Lyna joined the girls and their time together became even lesser and not when the white haired guy came up from nowhere and tried to sweep Iris off her feet. He resolved to support her whatever decision she made - well, as long as it at least let him stay as her friend, he wasn't sure if he could take losing that too.

He pulled Iris's hand closer dropping a few kisses on her knuckles - and making sure to kiss her little finger where the string was attached - before pulling her in for a proper kiss. Being best friends with her was great, something he would never give up for all the treasures of the world. The fact that she wished to be something more was already too good to be true, yet he was still vying for more and more - to share, to give, to receive in exchange.

A heart for a heart. A life for a life.

He laughed lightly as he pulled her closer, forehead resting against hers, ring securely in hand and whispered his most heartfelt confession ever.

"Marry me?"

welp, last chap (of phase 1 anyway). hope you enjoyed :)