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myurucrie · 49 minutes ago

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"give me your daughter"

Finally, after a year of relentless training, Clyde wins his ever first tennis competition, and keeping true to his promise, he plans on gifting his hard-earned trophy to his future father-in-law.

That father-in-law namely being none other than Cael, unfortunately.

(modern!cael, cael x mc, 3rd pov, clyde, humor, mild angst, character introspection, comedy treated seriously, I bully an npc, written with cn!server cael in mind, 4.8k+ words)

"One more!"

A familiar voice thunders across the tennis court with vigor, and the little painter turns her head to see that Clyde is, once again, training as hard as ever. She sees the tennis ball fly back and forth with rapid speed, and inwardly wonders if the force of it would knock someone unconscious.

"If that ball flies any harder, it might give someone a concussion," her classmate comments with a straight face, and she has to fight hard against agreeing with her loudly on the spot.

"One more! I'll hit it faster this time!"

With force, Clyde whacks the ball to the other side of the court and the entire class watches as it shoots past the coach, narrowly missing his face before landing on the floor and bouncing off.

"Hope the coach has insurance," she blurts out.

"All right." A gentle, but firm voice captures their attention, as Professor Anselm motions for them to take their seats at the stadium. "Looking at one match won't do. Feel free to survey the rest of the court to have a good grasp on what you want to paint. I've also booked us seats for the upcoming competition in advance, so take this chance to get a basic idea of what your theme will be."

Everyone is buzzing with excitement. Not only will they have front row seats to the approaching sports competition, but for the first time in a long while, Professor Anselm had come back from his several-month hiatus to resume back his classes at St. Shelter Academy. They all know it won't last long, so they're eager to fully experience every opportunity given while he's still here.

And of course, she shares their sentiment, maybe moreso than them.

"One more!"

Even with the permission to scatter, many students linger back to watch Clyde's training. Perhaps the strange sight of the usually foul-mouthed brat working hard had compelled them to stay.

Though in her case, it would be better if she got out of here before Clyde spots her and takes a pause in his training to heckle her.

"It's kinda of endearing watching him." A male classmate states. "Though things will be different once he grows older."

"Are you seriously going to bring his dreams down? Let him enjoy his youth while he can."

"Wait, so what does that make us...? Old people?"

The conversation–while not particularly loud–catches the attention of Clyde. Thankfully, he's still preoccupied mid-match with his coach, which should give her ample time to escape. But just as she's about to bolt off somewhere else...

"A lot of people seem rather interested in this match." Cael comes up to her, keeping up his facade as a professional teacher. Unfortunately for her, keeping their relationship a secret from others means maintaining a certain distance with him in school. "May I have your thoughts?"

She ponders on it for a little while before she speaks.

"Well, if I had to say what stroke their interest, I suppose it would be the representation of youth." She shifts her position so that she's hiding behind Cael's silhouette, keeping herself out of Clyde's field of vision. He realizes her intentions, and gives her a smile that contains just a hint of mirth. But he doesn't say anything about it, urging her to continue. "And?"

Off at the side, she sees her classmates prepping up their easels and canvases. All of them approach their work differently, some sitting far off to capture a landscape view, and some deciding to have a close-up view of other courts to paint portraits.

Watching them, she continues on with her pondering. "When we're young, we think that so long as we put in effort, we'll achieve anything we work for. But sometimes, it's not that simple. As we grow older, we see that sometimes putting in effort can frustrate us more than it satisfies us."

"That's true." One of her classmates join in the discussion as she offers her opinion with a weary grin. "It took me working to the bone to meet the enrollment qualifications for St. Shelter Academy. But even then, I ended up at the bottom of the acceptance list. Not that I'm blaming the school, of course."

To them, seeing a young child working hard to achieve his goals reminded them of their old dreams from childhood.

As more students chime in their opinions, Cael continues to listen to them without a word, his smile gentle–almost understanding–as he nods along. When the discussion reaches a natural pause, he asks her, "So, will youth be a main theme in your drawings?"

Laughing, the little painter gives off a vague, "Probably."

Too absorbed in the conversation, she failed to notice the tiny blob of blonde heading her way, and the many female students scattering away in escape.

"Hey you!"

'Ah, crap.' She felt her eyes twitch in annoyance, and considers running away right then and there, clutching her sketchbook close to her chest.

But as the mini menace sidles up his way to them with his usual pompous expression, she understands that there's no escape, and can only remind herself to endure whatever cynical remark that comes out of his mouth later on.

Judging from the way he's walking towards her, her attempt to hide from him was probably a failure. How unfortunate.

"For your information..." Giving up on hiding behind Cael, she swivels out to meet Clyde head on. "I do have a name, and I wish you'd use it instead of calling me 'hey!' or 'woman!' if you could."

"Hm? Does it make a difference whether I call you by your name or not?"

"Yeah. For instance, you'd be polite to your elders for once."

But he's no longer listening to her. Instead, he's looking at Cael.

At the possibility of seeing something funny, students idle about five feet away from the scene, nonchalantly pretending to go about their business. But the little painter knows that the one-too-many glances they throw their way aren't just a coincidence.

Cael isn't put off by the attention, and addresses Clyde patiently. But his tone carries no humor or gentleness, clearly unamused from the way Clyde treated her. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I've heard about you, your name's Cael Anselm." Completely disregarding his question, Clyde scans Cael up and down, blatantly assessing him with a confident look on his face, as if he's figured out something.

At Clyde's knowing look, the little painter feels a bead of sweat drip down her forehead. Cael, on the other hand, remains composed.

'Now that I think about it,' Cael thought. 'She did say she overheard Clyde hinting that he had a crush on her.'

If Clyde knew about their relationship, it would make it seem as if he were about to declare a war of love against him, but Cael knew better. Clyde has had no opportunities to see them together, and if he had spotted them outside on their dates, Cael would have noticed his presence.

"Professor Anselm, you're—"

So, Cael doesn't bother trying to stop him, and waits for what he has to say.

Maybe he should've stopped him.

"—you're her dad, aren't you?!"

"..."

It was so silent you could hear a pin drop, and she gapes at the kid in utter indignation and bewilderment.

'Of course not! How could you think that?! For instance, we look completely different, and second—!'

She starts an angry rant in her mind, but as much as she wishes to say it out loud, to say how much she loves Cael with all her heart; she can't, lest she expose their relationship. Right now, she has to make do with seething in silence and gives Clyde a mournful glare.

"Why do you think that?" Cael questions. All emotion has been wiped off from his eyes, even as he's still smiling. At his expression, students start to leave the scene, not brave enough to find out what will happen after.

However, Clyde is thick-skinned, unfortunately or thankfully so, she doesn't know.

"Well, it's because you're her legal guardian!" Oblivious to the slight shift in mood, Clyde's figure remains as dashing as it can be for a kid his stature. "That's what they say, doesn't that mean you adopted her?"

"No, I did not."

Cael's response comes quick, cutting down Clyde's words with such sharp swiftness, she could almost see a blade pass through the air.

Sighing, Cael looks around and sees the few students left remaining trying to enjoy the drama before them. But once his gaze reaches them, they all freeze, and the final blow was delivered as he said, "All of you should get back to sketching."

The effect is almost magical, and within five seconds there's barely anyone around them. There is no need for any of Cael's usual "magic", that is simply a special ability of his to wield.

She wants to leave too, and makes an effort to sneak away. But after taking less than three steps, Clyde calls her out.

"Hey, where are you going? I'm not done with the both of you yet!"

"Ugh..."

This time, she can't stop herself from groaning, knowing that she had only herself to blame for not being able to escape sooner. From the corner of her eyes, she sees Cael give her a look of disapproval, a little disappointed that his girlfriend had planned on leaving him to deal with this kid all by himself.

"Well, whatever it is, you're responsible for her right? Legal guardian this or that..." It seems as if Clyde is convinced that he should see Cael as her father. "Whether you give it another name or not, the fact that you've been taking care of her means that you're family, so why shouldn't you be her dad?"

A child's logic is an entire branch of common sense on its own; it simultaneously sounds both illogical and believable at the same time, making it hard to argue from an adult's point of view.

Knowing that explaining further won't be possible in public, Cael dodges the accusation by cutting straight to the point. "Well, what did you come here for? I doubt you came up to us just to point out our relationship."

"Would you look at that?" Despite Cael's unfriendly tone, Clyde seemed satisfied. "This is how adults negotiate in the real world! I quite like you!"

"..."

Unable to say anything to that, she internally ponders just why Clyde was so fixated on being an adult, but doesn't get the chance to explore that thought further as the blonde kid shoves his hands in his pockets in search of something.

"Since you've asked so nicely, I suppose I could entertain you." He says as if he wasn't the one to approach them first. As he takes his hand out of his pocket, she sees two tickets crumpled in his hands.

"These," he starts proudly, "are tickets to the one and only prestigious Stellaris Cup tournament! Be sure that the both of you come and watch me win the tennis competition!"

She bit back a another groan, knowing just what Clyde had in mind. She wanted to refuse him right on the spot, not ready to deal with the whole "give me your daughter" schmuck just yet.

Cael answers for the both of them.

"Alright."

'Why?!'

Nodding his head in satisfaction, Clyde declared, "Just you wait! When I get that trophy, I'll present it to you, my future father-in-law, and get permission from you to court her!"

"How did it come to this...?"

Cael says nothing to her distraught, but the ghost of a smile is visible on his face as he looks at the two tickets clutched in his hand. He didn't need to accept them, having already booked seats for themselves, but Clyde insisted, saying, "These spots are the best place to watch me win!"

The sun sets over the horizon, and Harp Island is bathed in a glow of saturated orange and yellow. She looks to her side, sees Cael's silhouette embracing the warm hues of the sunset, and strongly wishes she could capture this beautiful scene within her canvas at this very moment.

Amidst everything, he still remains a wellspring of inspiration for her.

She contemplates on quickening the pace, wanting to return back to their home together as soon as possible. But as she continues to study him, she notices his gaze is unfocused, gaze almost melancholy as he stares off far into the distance, looking at a future she'll never see in her lifetime.

She wants to call out to him, to tug on his clothes and bring back his reality to the her of this moment, but refrains.

'If he has something he's worrying about, he'll tell me of his own accord.'

It was one of the few things they had promised to each other, to hold patience and trust in one another as they explored the ups and downs of their relationship.

Soon, Cael realizes she's staring at him, and turns to her with an almost helpless smile. "What are you looking at?"

"You," she answers simply. "I was also thinking that you'd look good in red, but making sure to accentuate the red of your outfit specifically with a sunset backdrop might be a bit of a challenge for me to paint..."

The wind blows gently, and the silver strands of Cael's hair sway in tandem, mimicking the image of fluttering wisterias. He motions for her to come closer, and she does, closing the distance between them as their hands intertwine for the first time today, finally.

Right now, she has all of him–including his hidden thoughts and feelings–to herself.

"I...was thinking that things could've been different, in some other timeline."

What brings them even closer is not the diminished distance, but the unnameable emotion that sounded almost like longing she hears in his tone.

"That if you had taken some other branch in life, I would have had to look at Clyde's declaration with a different perspective."

Above the sky, birds flock and take flight, their paths diverging to different destinations.

"Had you chosen anyone else, I wouldn't have been able to consider his demand as your lover, but as someone who had to let go of you eventually."

No matter how much effort he put in, the forever young Peter Pan would have to learn eventually that there were some things he couldn't have for himself.

Just like a young child.

"How about we look at the 'us' of today?" She stops their walk, and moves in front of him to look at him directly, as she grasps his face within her hands. "Do you believe that you could accept our relationship as anything else than what we are now?"

He wants to say he can, that so long as she was happy, he could accept whatever future she choose even if it was one without him. And maybe he could've said so with absolute confidence a year ago or more, but now...

Cael is a human being. He will feel fear and anxiety at illogical futures, and he is also someone who wants happiness for himself, not just her.

"...No." His eyes curve up with his smile, raising his hands to cup hers with a need that felt as if they were the only anchor of the ship he rode across his life.

A smile blooms across her face, and he feels it more than he sees it, as she presses her lips to his sweetly.

"Then I won't let you go. You are the one that I chose, and the person I want to walk with until the end of our story, even if the ending is painful."

"People say that she has a 'guardian', whatever that is." Clyde swung his legs off the spindly chair, all while leaning to his side to make it easier for the chair to turn. "Do you know anything about it?"

Lars blinked at the unexpected question, before his face twisted into a grin. "Why so curious?"

"I said I wanted to give a trophy to her father, so I gotta know who he is, duh!"

"If you really want to know, get off the spindly chair. I bought that specifically for myself."

Scowling, Clyde listens to him, and jumped off the chair. Usually, he would be more indignant, but if he wanted to find out who his future father-in-law was, he had no choice but to negotiate with Lars on adult terms, meaning he had to be polite.

"First off, Professor Anselm was her legal guardian." Now having the spindly chair all to himself, Lars made himself comfortable as he seated himself down. "This means he was legally obliged to take care of her until the age of 18, an age where she has already grown past."

"So he took care of her when she was younger?"

Happily now spinning around like a child, Lars replied, "Something like that. From what I've heard, it was only for a few years. He's not officially considered her father, and neither of them recognise each other as a 'father and daughter' pair to begin with."

It all sounded too complicated, so Clyde decided to simply settle with the idea that Cael was her father.

"Oh, and one more thing." Lars' grin grew wider. "He's quite the scary man, so I wouldn't charge full steam ahead if I were you."

'What's the big deal?' Clyde thought.

When talking with Cael, the scary man in question had remained perfectly civilised, even as Clyde declared courting his daughter. In his opinion, that is a man of men.

"He's a little too pretty though..."

Looking in the mirror, Clyde deduces that while–indeed–his looks were nowhere close to being as beautiful, he's sure that he'll grow up into a handsome man worthy of her awe in the future.

'But if I wait any longer, she'll grow old!'

Not once did Clyde think of the possibility that she could date someone else. He fully believed that he would succeed in winning her over.

"Now then!" Slinging his tennis racket over his shoulders, he confidently walks out of the changing room and heads for the tennis court. "It's time to win that trophy!"

Jubilant sounds, ranging from cheerful chattering to disappointed groans, fill the auditorium as the final scene of St. Shelter Academy's Stellaris Cup arrives; the awarding ceremony. It is a long and arduous part of the function, but having seated themselves at the front rows, the art students do the best they can to pay rapt attention.

One by one, the winners' names are called out as medals and trophies are awarded to them.

"For a child his age, his talent in tennis is nothing to scoff at." Cael says, eyes fixed at the bottom stairs of the stage. "His competition was tough, but he must be really determined to win you over."

"Ugh..." She has a headache just thinking about the inevitable chaos that will soon follow after Clyde's awarding ceremony. "He's not even considering my opinion in the first place."

Even if she rejected him outright, he'll no doubt just brush it off with an arrogant scoff and say, "But that's because you haven't realised my unique charms yet!"

It's almost admirable how positive he can be.

"The endless stubbornness he carries is a skill some of us lose when we grow older." At the distance, the both of them see the tiny blonde arrive at the stairs of the stage, ready to have his name called out. "So it's only natural I should respond in kind."

To those eavesdropping around them, it would make it seem like Cael was a father ready to ward off the bothersome boy chasing after his daughter.

But she knew better.

Rocking on her seat, she watches as they call Clyde up to collect his trophy.

"And the champion of Harp Island's Elementary Class Tennis Tournament is Clyde Rorschach! Please come up and collect your award."

His proud and triumphant look could be seen by even those several miles away, and her classmates snicker on the side. One of them pats her on the back in pity, wishing her, "Good luck."

"Yeah, you'll need it. Oh, and thanks for keeping him clear from the rest of us."

Clyde's intense training meant less chances for him to bother everyone, and was a cause of relief as a result.

She's not as happy, and does not appreciate being thrown under the bus like this. Somehow, everyone had learned of Clyde's declaration, and now watch over him with either warm, or pitiful eyes.

"Wow, thanks," she muttered sarcastically. "Really feel the appreciation here."

Maybe she'll switch out their paint water in secret the next time they paint in class.

Her demeanor quickly switches to one of grievance, as she subtly tugs at the sleeves of Cael's coat and whispers so that no one else can hear her. "Can we have sauteed fish for tonight's dinner?"

"With taro balls if you'd like."

He whispers back, indulging her the way he always does. But his eyes quickly flit back to Clyde, who was now getting off stage and heading towards them.

"We should take this somewhere else first, however. Just to spare the embarrassment."

As the both of them leave the auditorium, Cael reminds them to use the experience to work on their projects, and she feels the pitiful and expectant stares bore at her from behind, making her shoulders sag from exhaustion.

'Well, better get this over and done with.'

She half-considers sending an SOS to Lars and ask for his help to reign in his cousin. But maybe all he'd do is just laugh at them.

After several minutes, the both of them find themselves standing out on the nearest pathway to the auditorium. The trees sway softly to the spring wind as night falls, and the paved road is lit by the lamps built at the sides. The scene would have been almost romantic, if not for the current situation.

"I wish I could've just spend the rest of the day with you alone..."

On a usual day, she would have coquettishly pressed up to him and convince him to go home early with her to spend some alone time together.

Today was not one of those days.

Cael shakes his head slightly, and she sees the low ponytail he'd tied for today shake softly. "You don't need to worry from here on out."

There is no one else in sight for now, so he leans down, breath brushing against her and causing a shiver down her spine as he murmurs, "As the person who loves you the most, it's my duty to let him understand that the person you chose is me, and no one else."

Maybe it's the proximity between them, the low tone in which he speaks with, or the heat that seemed to smoulder at the edges of his eyes as he pulls away; that sparks a small flame of heat within her. It warms her ears, and the chill of the night is magically staved off.

"Okay," she responds to him in a hushed voice, unconsciously lowering her voice to match the mood. "Just go easy on him."

He lets out a breathy laugh, something that he wouldn't have done a few years ago. "I'm not some predator after him, don't worry."

"W-what are you doing?!"

'...Oh no.'

She's almost too afraid to turn around, but forces herself to anyways, and sees Clyde looking at them with a scandalised look on his face.

On the contrary, Cael seemed to have expected his reaction, and she vaguely sees a sparkle shine in his eyes.

"Um, Cael?" She calls out to him, deliberately hushing her voice this time. "Did you plan for him to see us...?"

"Yes."

'Oh, alright then. That makes a lot more sense now.' She accepted his intentions immediately, as she watched Clyde struggle over his words. From his point of view, it must have looked as if they were kissing, and considering that he had completely gotten the wrong idea of their relationship, he would obviously be more than just shocked.

'A rather brutal way of introducing our relationship, but I'll take it.'

"Clyde, what's the matter?" Cael asks him, his tone conveying worry, but his intentions speak a different story. "You seem to be rather troubled."

"Y-you...!"

She gazed up at Cael with an impressed look. "Amazing, you managed to render the most foul-mouthed kid on the block speechless."

As if her words had awoken whatever coherency he had left, Clyde shouted, "That's nasty! That's what they call—!"

In her mind, she finishes his sentence off for him.

Due to his lack of vocabulary, he fumbled with his words once again, completely forgetting about the shiny trophy in his arms. The trophy tips dangerously, looking as if it could fall down at any moment with Clyde's negligence.

"Be careful." Cael warned him. "If you drop that trophy, it'll probably make a dent."

Freezing, Clyde realized that the trophy he held was close to falling. Contemplating between yelling at Cael or saving his prize, he choses the latter.

He didn't like the fact that this adult was toying with him as if he were a child; which he was, but in Clyde's eyes, this was a huge disrespect to him. The way he sees Cael now is a far cry from his initial impression of him.

His scowl was heavy as he shouted at them. "I thought you said you were her father! What kind of father—!"

"When did I ever say that?"

Cael stops smiling altogether, and the visual difference between his usual gentle demeanor finally gets past Clyde's thick skull.

This man wasn't playing around.

"When we talked at the court—!"

"I don't recall giving a verbal confirmation."

"But you didn't deny my words! When adults don't answer questions, it's because they just don't want to say yes to begin with!"

"You have a point. However..."

Cael brings back his smile, but this time, it is anything but friendly.

"When adults refrain from confirming something, it may also mean that they have intentions to confuse the other party on purpose."

"Y-you didn't say anything on purpose?!"

"Yes."

At that, Clyde gasped, horrified. Clearly, the way of adults was more than just difficult—it was downright terrifying, especially if your opponent was someone as skillful as Cael.

That's what Clyde believes anyways, not knowing there was more to it than that, and that Cael could be even more terrifying if he wanted to be.

But hey, ignorance is bliss.

Instead of a well-groomed man, what he sees instead is a predator approaching him slowly and steadily, as Cael doesn't give Clyde the opportunity to speak. "Seeing as how you have gotten the completely wrong impression of our relationship, it is only right that I explain it to you thoroughly."

He gestures for her to come closer, and she does. But as much as she wants to drape herself over him the way they do in spy dramas, she holds herself back and settles for taking his hand instead, knowing that this was enough to get the idea across.

But Cael has other ideas. Not content with just holding hands, he brings her hand up to his lips fluidly without pause the moment their fingers intertwine. As he presses his lips against her fingers, she sees him stare at her, and only her.

"The one whom she chose to stay with is me, above all others, and no matter what, I shall not lose to this affection."

'So much for going easy on him,' she thought.

But when she turns around, she sees an unusually determined look on his face, eyes practically blazing as he faces Cael with a certain defiance to him.

'...I knew it wasn't going to be that easy.'

From here on out, Clyde's perception of Cael shall now switch from "father" to "rival".

"...Okay, fine. I see."

Dropping his hard-earned trophy to his feet, he glares at them with as much force as his baby face could muster, and declares;

"Fine then! I accept your challenge....and steal her away from you!" The statement was rather outrageous, yet Clyde continued on with pulsating conviction. "Just you wait, she'll come running for me one day and leave you in the dust all by your lonely self!"

To an extent, she had expected this. This kid was the type to become more audacious the more you interacted with him.

"Alright then." Cael answered smoothly. "I look forward to seeing how much you'll grow within the next few years."

Beneath seemingly kind words of encouragement, was a snide to Clyde's age—and height.

Completely missing the hidden meaning behind the message, Clyde continues to declare his determination loudly into the night, ready to charge ahead to a new goal, and leaving behind his old one.

And thus, the one-sided battle begins.

Eventually, Peter Pan will grow up and learn that not all wishes will stay with him. But it's okay, new wishes can be made.

All he has to do now is treasure them to the fullest.

Late happy birthday @myurucrie , so instead think of this as a random gift.

#I would say poor kid but tbh said kill will laugh at this as an adult #lovebrush chronicles #for all time #cael anselm #ye xuan #THANK YOU FOR THE GOOD FOOD CERIZE

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