A Hybrid And His God (AU)

[Dunyazade]

"Wanna bet?" Neeve shot back. But he was glad Lorcan had finally stopped backing away from him. He moved forward to meet Lorcan, and again slid an arm around his waist.

He could hear the strain in Lorcan's voice, and looked at him for a moment with searching red eyes. "Then that solves some of our problems. I can have a specific shadow attached to him, to ensure he isn't harmed."


Warmth poured along his scalp, sliding down through his hair. It settled down through his head, flowing into his body. The tenseness in his muscles eased, his stiff, frightened posture relaxing. His arms slackened around Dariian, his trembling stilling. His clouded eyes cleared, and he blinked again.

Finally, Dariian's words made it into his brain. It was okay. It was okay. His arms loosened further, and his eyes tried to look around a bit, confusion flickering through them.

[Caffeinated Nova]

"Well, there would be no way to prove it," Lorcan commented, "and I don't put any money on anything that I cannot prove." He let the arm come around him, pulling him close, and he felt himself relax very slightly.

"Thank you," he said, dark gaze searching Neeve's. "What are your thoughts? Do you think we're going to get through this?"

The calming relaxation seemed to slide through Sigma, all the way from his head to the tips of his toes. Dariian could feel it in the bond between them. He closed his eyes, letting himself relax, too. His god was safe, was relaxing.

"I love you," he said softly, bringing the comb through his hair again. "You're going to be okay, I promise. Lorcan was just being an a*****e."

[Dunyazade]

"Then I suppose I'll have to acquiesce to the ambiguity," Neeve said. He felt Lorcan relax just slightly, and felt some relief. He was thoughtful for a moment. "Honestly, I don't know. The odds are against us right now. But...I feel as though we might be able to outmaneuver them strategically."


Dariian was near him. Dariian was nearby, and the comb was running through his hair. Sigma finally moved, his gaze turning down to meet the prince's confusion in his cleared silver eyes. "Lorcan...? He was here?"

His hands were on Dariian's waist, as if he unconsciously needed to touch him. "What's going on? I thought we were in the office..."

[Caffeinated Nova]

Lorcan's gaze was fixed on Neeve, searching. "And with the possibility of the gods' imminent attack, this could well be our last day," he said thoughtfully. He was a realist, not like his brother, but his mind was torn between pressing Neeve against the wall, or making use of their time to plan. But there was only so much that they could do.

"Let's run through it again," he decided after a moment, pulling back. "From the beginning."

"What...?" Dariian blinked up at him, the comb pausing in his hair. He thought back. "No, we haven't been in the office. We've been here, in the roof gardens. I combed your hair and we drank cinnamon tea, and we laid together while I did paperwork. Before Lorcan and Neeve interrupted us. Do you... remember that?"

[Dunyazade]

Sigma's brow furrowed, and he seemed about to speak, but he held it back. He glanced away, thinking hard, the garden still kind of a blur in his eyes. "...No," he finally admitted. "I mean, it sounds kind of familiar, like it was something you told me before, but I don't. Cinnamon tea...?"

He looked almost ashamed of his amnesia, brows drawing down and shoulders slumping just a bit. "Lorcan and Neeve interrupted us...was it important? What did I say?"

[Caffeinated Nova]

Dariian stared, trying to figure it out. He tilted his head, expression thoughtful. Had he been so scared that his mind had blocked it out? But that didn't make sense, when they had been enjoying the day, and each other's company, before Lorcan and Neeve's arrival.

"They brought us bad news," he said slowly, as if expecting Sigma to either remember or freak out at any moment, "the gods are planning to attack us. They asked for our help."

[Dunyazade]

"Oh." Sigma's brow did some more furrowing as he tried to sort this out. Bad news...then maybe he'd gotten upset by it. But was he so upset he blocked it all out? He didn't understand.

"Well...if they need our help, they need our help. The gods are dangerous, and will probably hurt to kill everyone here. We should protect them." He nodded at this, as if trying to convince himself, too. He looked down at his hands, resting lightly at Dariian's waist, and then back up into the prince's blue eyes. No darkness was coming to crush him yet. They must have been making good progress.

[Caffeinated Nova]

Dariian blinked at him with wide, confused blue eyes. "You seem different," he said slowly, like Sigma might suddenly switch back again. "You were really scared when they told us, but then you decided to help. And now you're acting like you did before, like it's just another job." He tilted his head, and slid one hand down to cup Sigma's jaw, but then quickly pulled his hand away, remembering the god's reactions the other day. "Do you feel different?"

What could have happened, to make Sigma change so quickly? He hadn't just protected himself from the shadows, but had protected Dariian, too. Had they really made this much progress?

[Dunyazade]

Dariian looked confused, now, too. Sigma tried to think back, on how he had been before. Yesterday...yeah, he'd been scared and nervous. But he'd been with Dariian, who had soothed and calmed him whenever it reached a dangerous peak.

"I don't know. I can see how I was yesterday, but right now..." He looked back down at Dariian. "Well, I'm close to you, so that makes me feel good already. And I don't remember whatever it was that upset me."

[Caffeinated Nova]

"But..." Dariian wasn't sure what to do. All of a sudden Sigma seemed so much better than he had been just moments ago, but he had actually lost a piece of his memory. That wasn't normal, and it was worrying. He wanted his Sigma back, wanted to protect him, but not at the cost of his memory.

Though he wondered if things would change if he didn't have any memory of Desmond at all. The trauma had been so great. If he didn't remember, then would he be back to how he used to be...?

Dariian couldn't even consider it. There was no way he could push that into happening - and he wouldn't, anyway. The pain was a part of Sigma now, and he loved his god no matter how it effected him.

"What if you forget things while we're being attacked by the gods? What if something happens...?"

[Dunyazade]

Sigma wasn't sure what to say to that. If he was suddenly suffering from amnesia, then forgetting things when the gods attacked was a very real possibility. He didn't know what to say about it.

"I don't know. Maybe it won't happen." Sigma reached down and took both of Dariian's hand in his. "But I know I can't let anything happen to you."

[Caffeinated Nova]

Dariian looked up at him, and let out a slow breath. Their hands were warm, pressed against each other, and sparking gently with their energy, the comb still caught in one hand. He bit his lip, but his shoulders relaxed.

"Love you," he said quietly, but with feeling.

[Dunyazade]

Sigma watched Dariian, as if wondering if he were in trouble. He saw the prince's shoulders relax, and then blinked at his words. A shy smile spread over his face. "I love you, too," he said, his voice also quiet but sincere. "I really do."