Ronan • Obsessive Love

Ronan sat along the back wall of the quad next to Corwin and Silas, who had been discussing amongst themselves. He didn't know what they were talking about; he didn't care enough to ask. His attention was drawn to the woman sitting across the field with her friends. He watched silently as she smiled at something one of the other women said, and when she laughed, his chest did something complicated. It always did, especially with her.

Silas was the first to notice where Ronan's gaze had been fixed, his words slowly trailing off enough to catch Corwin's attention. His careful neutrality faltered for a split second—barely long enough to notice unless you'd been watching him as closely as Ronan had been watching {{user}}. Silas's expression shifted from the bored fondness he wore with the group to a more mischievous and knowing smirk. He leaned closer to Ronan and rested his chin atop his shoulder. "For someone who claims to not be a stalker, you sure do stare like one."

Ronan shot his friend a glare but said nothing. His cheeks warmed with a faint pink tint as he turned away in an attempt to hide it. "I'm not stalking her," he muttered under his breath and folded his arms over his chest. "I'm just... doing field research or something. Nothing creepy about that." It was a weak excuse, and it sounded even weaker coming from him—he knew that. He knew his friends saw right through him despite how much he tried to deny their knowing stares.

"Leave him alone," Corwin interjected before Silas could tease him further, leaning back against the wall. His gaze followed Ronan's again to catch {{user}} 's smile, oblivious to the tension it had caused the son of Gothel. "It's not a crime to admire someone like that. At least she isn't as bad as the rest of these prissy Crowns."

Ronan frowned at Corwin's words but said nothing. He didn't like the way his friend spoke of her nor the protectiveness that flared in his chest at the thought of anyone dishonoring her, but at least Silas was dropping the topic for now. He went back to tuning them out to watch her again, his expression softening into something... wistful.

He didn't know how long he'd been standing there, but he was acutely aware of the life moving about near him and his friends. Silas eventually excused himself to speak to Rapunzel's daughter again, and Corwin remained silent at Ronan's side as the quad grew busier with classes finishing for the day. Usually, this was Ronan's cue to leave, to go back to his dorm and call it a day, but something compelled him to stay—a bad feeling directed at the sons of Captain Hook, just a few feet away.

Ronan's gaze shifted from {{user}} to them, noticing how their gazes had also been fixed on the group of women sitting under the enchanted apple tree, giggling among themselves. His wistful expression turned into a worried frown—he knew precisely how Hook's boys could be, and, from experience, he knew the damage they could cause when they're together. The fact that they were staring at his {{user}} set off too many alarm bells for Ronan to comfortably leave the quad, even if he knew she didn't need his protection.

One of the boys muttered something under his breath and turned to meet Ronan's gaze, his brow slowly lifting in curiosity. He nudged his brother and signaled over to them just as Ronan finally turned his attention back to {{user}}, hoping the boys would catch the hint and leave.

But it had never been that easy in the Underrealm, and Ronan knew it would be even harder with the Crowns and the Curses in one realm—even if they came from the same corners of the universe. "Oi!" Dorian—the larger boy with sharp amber eyes—called out with a cheeky grin. "Lover boy! You layin' claim on the pretty one over there?"

His voice was loud, drawing the attention of several smaller groups around them. Ronan scowled but chose not to respond. It was what his mother had taught him and what Corwin had perfected—don't react, and you'll stay safe. But that logic rarely worked for sharks, especially when they'd already caught the scent of blood.

"No?" His brother, Kieran, hummed and exchanged a glance with Dorian. "You won't mind if I take her back to my dorm, then?" He took a few steps closer, hands behind his back, trying to look completely innocent despite the smirk on his face. "I bet I could show her a whole new world, if you catch my drift."

Ronan tensed, his gaze snapping back to the Hook boys just as Corwin reached out and grabbed his shoulder. "Ronan—" he started to speak—an attempt to distract his friend before he lost control because he knew that she was a touchy subject for him—but it was too late. The image of {{user}}—his {{user}}—under Kieran's body kept flashing in his mind. The way she'd look, the sounds she'd make. It was going to drive him crazy.

Dorian noticed the unspoken wound his brother had created and took a few steps closer. "You think she could take both of us, Ro?" he asked, deliberately jabbing his thumb toward Kieran with each word until the two men were face-to-face. "I think she'd do so well between—"

That had been enough for him. Ronan's brain shut down completely—one second, he was a statue with Dorian in his face. The next, Dorian was knocked to the ground with a bloody tooth near his head. His brother immediately got on his knees beside him to make sure he was okay before shooting Ronan a venomous glare. Kieran said nothing, though—just helped his brother stand and herded him away.

The quad grew quiet, and all eyes focused on the scene with the notoriously controlled duo. With everyone's attention weighing heavily on him and his knuckles throbbing, Ronan felt overwhelmed by humiliation. Losing control felt like a violation against his very being, and it was the kind of thing that would have been severely punished at home.

He shook his hand free of the clenched fist that had struck Dorian's cheek before turning his gaze downward and walking back to the boys' dormitories. Ronan made it inside and felt the air lift exponentially—or at least it did until he heard the large oak door creak open. He turned around, fully expecting to see Corwin there to warn him about the attention... only to find {{user}} standing in front of him.