91. How To Love Right

"Tell me how you did it. If you were successful then I'm sure I will be too."

"Nope. You've been a sore thumb in my life, revealing my secrets to my parents and snitching on me to Yeon. How can I trust you? In fact, I don't want to help you at all."

"Please, Stan..." Elric asked desperately.

"No." Stan shook his head. "I find it strange that you're struggling to win Niel's affections to begin with. Aren't you the payboy of this campus? The crown has been yours since admission. In fact, you're the one to teach me a trick or two."

'I guess I'm all rusty after being fated. Niel doesn't seem to fall for any of my charms." Elric added while sitting down. They had come to campus to finalize their graduation formalities but not for Elric, who upon finding out Stan was planning to visit campus, requested to meet him for a brief chat.

"Sucks to be you." Stan appeared to not care much of his friend's situation. "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"Bastard. I'll be rising from this slump soon enough."

Standing up, Stan saod. "Good luck then."

"Stan...wait..!" Elric grabbed onto him by the hand, pulling Stan back down to sit once more. Luckily, there weren't a lot of people in the cafeteria however, Stan didn't want to be caught here like last time. He just wanted to leave and avoid another crowd full of interrogating questions. Hopefully, no one had found out about what had happened to Mijin.

"I really need your help like seriously. I like Niel a lot and this is not me telling you about a new crush or some passing fantasy."

"Of course you'd like him. You imprinted on him after all. I'm still having trouble staring at the change of color in eyes post your imprint. You look like a different prson. Still, it doesn't suit you at all to act this needy."

Exasperatedly, Elric asked. "Will you just fucking help me?"

"No."

"Why?" Elric frowned.

"Why should I help you in the first place? Didn't you constantly make fun of my romanticism? I'm sure you influenced Yeon too that's why he hasn't listened to the playlist I gifted him for my birthday!"

Elric grimaced. "That lousy piece of junk?"

"Hey! I made that playlist lovingly! It's one of the things you should take your time doing if you really want Niel to pay attention to you!"

"No fucking way I'm I wasting my time on such- Wait, do you think it will actually work?"

"First mock the idea and then praise it. You really must not want me to help you."

"Do you have backup of it?"

"What will you give me? I took precious time making it."

Elric shook his head and laughed. "How you won Yeon's heart still baffles me. He hates stuff like that."

"What do I get in return?" Stan insisted.

"Can't I appeal to your better nature?" Elric pleaded but Stan refused. "You really want to see me beg don't you?"

"Yes. You've been going through my stuff for years and mockng me for it."

Suddenly, Elric's facial expression changed as he looked down at the empty table. "Now I understand why you were constantly possessive of Yeon to the point of been annoying. Niel doesn't like me or love me. He is only being with me out of pity, a sense of responsibility so he won't feel guilty about abandoning his fated."

"You did fuck up big time you know, sleeping with his girlfriend and all."

"Ex girlfriend." Elric pointed out.

"Ex girlfriend or whatever who gives a shit? How many enemies do you have to begin with? Must be a long chain of exes stretching in this campus alone."

"And outside."

"You have no shame at all have you? Yet here you are begging for my help." Stan smacked Elric's shoulder, to which he jumped, flinching in pain.

"Ouch! Fuck! It still hurts like hell! Why did you do that?"

Stan looked at his friend suspiciously, wondering why he'd reacted as such a manner when they'd often treated each other as such whenever one was frustrated with the other, or just out of the fun of it. The first thing that came to his mind was the last time Niel had pulverized Elric to the point of him loosing his consciousness.

"Elric, if Niel is doing something to you that he shouldn't be doing then you better speak up."

Rubbing onto his shoulder, Elric said. "Stay out of it Stan. Are you helping me or not?"

Not wanting to meddle, Stan finally halfheartedly. "Buy him a gift. You were always good at that."

"I bought him a phone."

"Be affectionate and let him know how you feel or how you want him to treat you."

"Done already."

Hesitating, Stan asked. "Has your mother spoken to him yet?"

"Sure. She even threatened him..."

"Tough guy."

"You have no idea. Sometimes I don't know what he is thinking. He just stares at me constantly but when he starts talking, he says things that piss me off."

"I thought he'd start sensing you by now? Or maybe he is just good at resisting my scent..."

"I tell him all that everyday and night using our connection together but I hardly get any response from him. It can't be that he has outgrown his affections towards me already. I thought fated's shared a strong spiritual essence meant to last for life."

"That can not be the case. Yeon did try to shake me off to the point of separating our scents but that didn't work either. My suggestion is you give it more time."

"I like him a lot..." Placing his palm onto his chest, Elric added. "It hurts just like Niel said it would...to expect the same feelings we feel for another."

"I think you need to start feeling like you are good enough for him and not just to fuck around, but for him to want to be with you for the rest of your life. You don't need to ask me these questions, searching for value in your fated's eyes... This is so unlike you that I don't know what to say. You might think I'm being mean but this is you Elric. You always had everything including my parents love that I don't even know how to talk to you about this topic. I can only give you suggestions as per how I won over Yeon. It wasn't easy loving someone all by myself and waiting for them to catch up to me. Additionally, people are different so what worked for me and Yeon will not work for you." Thinking to his discussion with dad Joss, Stan continued. "My parents often advice me from their own experience and so does uncle. We can only judge or speak of what we are familiar with so as much as I want to help you out, I don't think I can do much. Niel no stranger to your promisquour tendercies, neither is he a fool. You screwed around with his girlfriend before and after they broke up...damn, remember the night Yeon was kidnapped, I believe that image of you is what he sees always therefore, it will take longer for him to catch up to you. Maybe the issue here is not him noticing you the way you want him to but how he wants you to see him or to love him."

"How do you want Yeon to love you then?"

"Sadly, the truth is he doesn't do it the way I want. I'm a simple person..."

"Simple my ass!" Elric laughed.

"Do you want an explanation or not?"

"Go on." Elric urged, covering his mouth to muffle his laughter.

"As I was saying, I only want time from him. Time for us to do things together and make memories."

Elric looked surprised. "That's it?"

"Yes. I told you I'm that simple."

"How much of his time do you need them?"

"All of it, and if he wrapped himself up in a ribbon, that would be an extra I'd highly appreciate." Stan added, looking pleased.

"The heck..."

Shrugging his shoulders, Stan said. "You asked I answered."

"Then how about you Stan, how do you show your affection to him?"

Thinking to his fight with Yeon, Stan chuckled. "Nobody can upset you as much as the person you love. It hits a different kind of nerve you know. Yeon is not the affectionate type and I'm okay with that since I can do it for both of us. I tell him how I feel and that makes him uncomfortable sometimes. He may get upset if I insist and that is proof he cares for me too. I show up for him, I create time for him. I like when he is vulnerable in front of me and that tells me he trusts me enough to show that side of him to me and only me. I always try to find beauty in each of his actions and mannerisms. It is not easy sometimes since he doesn't like it when I breathe down his neck but that is what makes me love him more. I like to kiss him, hug him, tease him...these little things may seem trivial but they connect us deeply somehow. We recently had a big fight and post our communication and how he handled my stubbornness, I became more aware of how lucky I am." Pausing briefly, Stan took his time before adding. "I now understand why my dad is so obsessed with seeing dad Robin happy, even if he does things he doesn't like to please his partner. He's just contended with seeing my father happy."

"That's deep. For me to get there, I'd have to know a thing or two about Niel."

"The hell! How comes you down know? It's been what- three months since he got back yet you hardly know anything about each other?"

"He knows about me...and sometimes that frightens me. He does everything I ask for although it's annoyingly out of responsibility."

"Of course he'd feel responsible, he marked you dummy! You on the other hand are the biggest jerk in town. You haven't bothered to get to know him in the least."

"This is all new to me..."

"You can't be that stupid, or act complaisant and wait for him to just love you without putting in effort. Tell me something about him at least, anything that you haven't learned from Mijin or anyone else. You can't, can you?"

"He is great at sex..."

Stan laughed openly at Elric. "It gladdens me that you've met your match. You can't convince him with money or buy your way to his heart. You have to put in effort, something you never had to do before."

Seeing that Stan was standing up to leave, Elric stoped him once more. "Hey, you haven't helped me much. So what, I ask him what he likes and we do it? Then what? What happens after we've done everything that he likes?"

"Figure that out on your own. I for one took Yeon's transcripts so he won't have to come here for them. I anticipated his needs and I wouldn't have been able to know that if I didn't take time to know his work schedule or routine. When you love someone, you do things like this."

"You're confusing me even more."

"I pity Niel. He may be doing everything for you out of responsibility but at least he is doing right by you. As for you, you sit down spoilt, waiting for him to love you while you do nothing to win him over yet you claim to love him. Seriously Elric, I don't think Niel is the problem here. You are."