|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:09 pm
Takes place after At World’s End. Lovely awoke first in the medical bay within the Dark Kingdom. He remained conscious long enough to determine that he was, in fact, alive, that Jet was, in fact, unharmed, that they had, in fact, imprisoned the Calamitous Hollow, and that the Earth would, in fact, be spared almost certain destruction, before the sound of voices from other injured parties and those responsible for their care sent him back to the dark, sweet release of slumber.
He awoke for the second time as they were leaving the Dark Kingdom. They never teleported into or out of their neighborhood, so they returned to the location they’d previously left the car. Lovely’s eyes fluttered open for a few moments while Ilian helped him in. He saw nothing of note and assumed it was still dark based on the hush around them and the coolness in the air. He heard only Ilian’s mumbled reassurances and felt the seat beneath him, the seatbelt being pulled across, then the subtle vibrations of the car starting before he drifted again into unconsciousness.
The third time Lovely awoke, they were home. Ilian helped him inside, then guided him upstairs. Ilian helped him through a shower, which Lovely dozed through, relaxing beneath the warm water against his skin. Ilian helped him dry off and dress after, then ushered him into bed. Lovely could have slept again. He was exhausted and weak to an extent he couldn’t immediately remember experiencing before.
“I still can’t see s**t,” he said.
They’d said something about his eyes in the medical bay. Lovely hadn’t had the energy to worry about it at the time. He didn’t have the energy now, but he was aware enough to seem vaguely annoyed by it, even if his voice lacked its usual volume.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:10 pm
Ilian was about to move away from the bed to collect a new glass of water for Lovely when he spoke. He paused to sit on the edge of the bed, only in the lounge pants he wore to sleep in. His own skin and hair was still a little damp from helping Lovely with his shower, but he would worry about getting washed up once he made sure Lovely was resting.
“Lucky for you, there’s nothing to see,” he reassured as he brushed Lovely’s hair back from his face. He did his best to brush it after helping him dry off, but he was sure he’d be harassed about doing it wrong at some point. Well, if Lovely got his sight back before it was time for another shower.
“The power’s out in the city. Maybe more than the city. We passed a handful of houses with generators or backup energy from solar panels, but cell phones don’t work. Internet’s down. Are you hungry? I was going to try ordering some food but… I don’t think that’ll work. I can toss some tater tots into the oven and wake you up in a bit,” he offered.
The goal was to keep Lovely calm and resting, at least until they figured out what was going on. It wouldn’t help anyone if Lovely was freaking out about not being able to see.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:11 pm
Under normal circumstances, Lovely would have been freaking out already. He couldn’t see. If he couldn’t see, he couldn’t do his job. If he couldn’t do his job, he couldn’t protect Ilian. He would have to acclimate to the loss of one of his senses and restructure his entire life to compensate. It wasn’t a comforting thought.
At the moment, he was too tired to panic. One of the voices in the medical bay had claimed they could see or detect nothing to conclude it would be permanent. Lovely hoped that was true.
“Don’t,” he said before Ilian could move away. Hunger could wait. Sleep could wait. Lovely reached for whatever part of Ilian he happened to find. His hand landed on Ilian’s arm, feeling up and down the length of his forearm, seeking familiarity. “Stay.”
He felt alone enough not being able to see. He didn’t need physical solitude on top of it, even if only temporarily.
“What happened after I passed out?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:11 pm
Naturally, Ilian was obliging to Lovely’s request. He’d already thought of ways to make whatever happened work. They had Mauvians -- they had those weird Velencians. Surely they could figure out a way to restore sight, especially if there were others who had been afflicted with sensory loss.
He let Lovely touch his arm for a few moments, but then gently pulled it away. Instead, he climbed up onto the bed, carefully shifting his knees so as not to crush Lovely, but settled on his side next to him. He slung an arm over him, casually playing with the waves and curls of his golden hair.
“Others weren’t so lucky. Seemed like they completely disappeared. Long enough to seem like they were gone for good. One of Ashanite’s subordinates, at the very least.”
He hadn’t seen others, but he could hear the mourning around him. “Others took damage from the lightning. And the scales caused damage, too. The spikes worked, of course. Otherwise we wouldn’t be here. It was pulled down and captured by its own energy or something. We thought we might have been stuck there, but those bracelets we got all glowed and brought us back to Earth. I bet Almadel’s gonna be insufferable about us owing him for that little bail out,” Ilian rolled his eyes, but it was half hearted. He was grateful, though not thrilled about the Negaverse owing anyone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:12 pm
Lovely listened but didn’t seem disturbed by or interested in any of it. He curled against Ilian and let out a heavy breath through his nose, closing his eyes since he couldn’t see anything anyway. His hands drifted—across Ilian’s chest; over his arm; to his shoulder—mapping out a body that’d become as familiar to him as his own.
“I kept getting flashes,” he said. “Like the earrings still worked, so I figured I wasn’t dead. But… I don’t know how to describe what I saw on my end.”
He knew it must have been the Dark Star. It was the only thing that made sense in context. What he couldn’t determine was why? Had it been an effect of the lightning? Did it have something to do with his handling of the spike? Was it another warning from some cosmic force beyond their comprehension? What were they supposed to do about it?
Lovely despised the uncertainty.
“We might be ********,” he mumbled, too tired to speak louder, though the conversation would have warranted it. “If there are more of those things out there as bad as this one was. Or worse. We don’t know what they are or how to find them, and if we have to rely on the ******** White Moon for information… Does that change things here?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:12 pm
“Then we’ll just have to figure out a way to get the information we need without having to rely on the White Moon,” Ilian said with a low growl in the back of his throat. It was something he’d been thinking about since first having to piece things together. The White Moon had access to places the Negaverse couldn’t go.
What if they changed that? What was the point of having an alliance (a generous term) with the Vanguard and the Dark Mirror Court if they couldn’t utilize their resources to get what they needed without having to play nice with their enemy?
“If we’re ********, I refuse to go down without a fight. We’ll figure something out. The Queen has a lot of information to look through to figure out our next steps.”
As he spoke, he ran his fingers through Lovely’s hair, gently pulling apart any knots he ran into. He was well aware that Lovely was usually the one pampering him, but that didn’t mean he planned on being at all inattentive. He even placed a kiss on Lovely’s forehead for good measure.
“Worst case, we wear those earrings as often as possible. I can see for you, if necessary.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:12 pm
Lovely made a sound that would’ve been a groan if he’d had more energy for it.
“Worse case is I retire ‘cause I’ll be ******** useless if I can only do my ******** job for two ******** hours a day while you do the seeing for me,” he argued, but it lacked the heat and biting derision he was capable of. Lovely shifted closer, head tucked beneath Ilian’s chin. “I’m a ******** liability now. You’d be better off putting me out of my misery.”
Lovely hated to be helpless. He hated to be useless. He could adapt, but only so far. Day to day life was one thing; the Negaverse was different. If his vision didn’t return, he wouldn’t be as efficient or as effective as he’d been before the loss of it. Not immediately. Maybe not for years. Adapting took time.
Given what may be lurking in the depths of space, they might not have time.
“I don’t mean that,” Lovely said before Ilian could chide him or console him or attempt to reassure him with other options that ultimately wouldn’t meet Lovely’s exacting standards without an effort he didn’t have the energy to entertain at the moment. “Just let me vent. I’m tired and pissed off. I don’t want to give a s**t about what happens in space. I don’t want to give a s**t about anything except you and me. ******** everything else, I don’t care.”
Ilian was perhaps the only person on Earth who knew that to be a lie.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:13 pm
Ilian remained silent as he listened. He knew Lovely was mostly just bark. At least when it came to him. Anyone else? Well, he would let them fear for their own safety if they were stupid enough to invoke Lovely’s wrath. If they were on the other end of Lovely’s ire, then they deserved everything they got.
After years of being with Lovely, and even in the beginning of knowing each other, Ilian had rarely been phased by what was probably very off putting to others.
Or maybe it was because Ilian knew Lovely well enough to see through the facade.
“It could be fun to retire,” he cautiously suggested, a little bit of mirth in his voice. Sure, he was angry about everything. About how they had to rely on the White Moon, and how they didn’t know what was coming, but he wasn’t used to seeing Lovely acting so… not pathetic, but definitely lamenting his fate.
“You’re too smart to be a liability. I could give more reasons, like you could be an advisor-- ah, but you can vent. I know it’s garbage. Want me to tell you how much everything sucks, too? How it was stupid that the White moon has some kind of weapon similar to our own? Or what’s up with the Dark Mirror Court hiding giant arrows up their sleeve?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:13 pm
“I don’t ******** care about the White Moon,” Lovely said. His hands stopped drifting, curling up against Ilian’s chest. “I don’t ******** care about the Dark Mirror Court. Or the ******** Vanguard, before you start going on about them. There’s an entire ******** branch led by a General King who isn’t you whose entire ******** purpose is to gather information, but most of them won’t do s**t about any of it because no one ever does s**t unless it benefits them directly, which means you’ll pick up the slack, which means I’ll pick up the slack. Or I would, if I could ******** see s**t.”
Well rested, Lovely would have been raving at full volume, probably stomping around the bedroom, maybe even throwing things. Barely recovered, his swearing and complaining came in the form of quiet mumbles and what amounted to drowsy whining; even the swears he did use lacked their usual sharp edges. He had no choice but to lay there and let himself be coddled and pet.
He was so ******** tired of giving more of a s**t than he pretended to.
“I don’t want to do this anymore,” Lovely said, and though it wasn’t a lie or an exaggeration or a facade, he had no intention of laying down his sword while there was still a reason to wield it.
Ilian would know that, too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:13 pm
There were a lot of things Ilian wanted to say and do. He was angry that Lovely was forced into this state of vision loss. He was scared of what this Dark Star meant for them. He was frustrated that they had to face whatever was coming with their enemies and pseudo allies building up their own powerful weapons. What if they turned those weapons on the Negaverse? Nevermind the fact that they were using their own weapon against the White Moon, but they didn’t know that.
Lovely had settled against him, but Ilian pushed himself up, anyway. He sat up against the headboard, and he reached over to carefully lift Lovely up from where he was laying down to pull him into his lap.
Whether or not Lovely was serious about what he didn’t want to do, there was nothing that could break Ilian’s loyalty to the Negaverse. Lovely didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to. If it came down to it, Ilian would just cover for him.
Picking up the slack where Lovely couldn’t.
“You were really cool tonight,” he said instead. “Reckless... You’re spending too much time around me. But out of everyone, I trust you to understand the consequences of your actions. Just know you don’t have to do it alone if anything like this happens again. I could have helped you with your burdens.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:13 pm
“I don’t know what the ******** you’re talking about,” Lovely muttered.
He’d grunted and sighed in dissatisfaction when he’d been hauled up from his comfortable position, but he went without much of a struggle and settled against Ilian’s chest—cheek smushed against warm skin, ear pressed over the steady beat of Ilian’s heart. Lovely shifted around until he was comfortable again, then grabbed one of Ilian’s arms to draw it more tightly around himself. Their fingers twined together, hands grasping with what little strength they had remaining.
“I wasn’t reckless,” Lovely argued. “I did exactly as much as I needed to. I weighed the risks. Either I did what I could myself, knowing I could handle it, or I potentially put you and who knows who else in danger at a time when we needed the numbers against the Hollow. If I’d let you help, you would’ve found a way to take over. I was needed for the spike. You were needed for the rest. I made my choice based on which loss would cost us less, if it came to that.”
At least with the spike, he’d been certain he wouldn’t die, that it would work, if they’d only gotten their hands on the last one. He’d been right. Now the Hollow was once again imprisoned and the Earth had been saved. Ilian was unharmed. They’d only had temporary losses. No one was dead, as far as Lovely had heard.
If he was fortunate, maybe his vision would return, too. If it didn’t…
Lovely would deal with it when he was a little less tired.
“It must’ve been so ******** hard for you,” Lovely said, not as taunting as he was aiming for but still more humorous than scornful. “Standing back while I handled the spike. I know how much you like to do everything yourself. Can’t ******** delegate to save your life.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:13 pm
Ilian clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth in protest.
“It’s just easier to do things myself,” he argued, but there wasn’t a lot of effort in his words. His voice was quiet, like he was trying to coax Lovely to settle into sleep, despite wanting to complain how he could have handled everything by himself.
“The Queen was there, so it’s not like I was that needed,” he rolled his eyes, but he knew that Lovely knew he would have done anything and everything in his power to help save the Earth from the Calamitous Hollow. What was the point of having power if he didn’t use it?
“Of course I would have found a way to take over. Do you think I like seeing you like this? What if I mess up and don’t pamper you as much as you’d like?”
There was also the matter of him not being able to do anything while Lovely was like this. He was already restless, but he wouldn’t leave Lovely’s side. Maybe he could work on some of his reports at the house and have Misha pick them up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:14 pm
“Right. The Queen was there. That must’ve made it more difficult. You were stuck between your incessant need to take over and your equally incessant need to defend the Queen’s honor,” Lovely said, overt in his teasing even if his voice remained low. “And don’t even ******** start with the she doesn’t need defending. You know that. I know that. It hasn’t ******** stopped you before.”
He was as surprised by Ilian’s restraint with the spike as he was by Ilian’s decision to maintain his position rather than scamper after the Queen like an over-eager guard dog. Lovely doubted Ilian would have done the latter if Lovely himself hadn’t been so preoccupied with the former. Ilian had been forced to split his attention and focus on the greater threat.
Lovely supposed he should be grateful for the outcome. The night could have gone much worse.
“At least now you’ve had a little taste of the s**t I go through when you get yourself caught up in bullshit.”
Lovely paused to yawn. More of his weight settled against Ilian as fatigue pulled him a little further into the darkness he hoped wouldn’t be permanent. His grip tightened against Ilian’s hand, then loosened slowly as his voice lowered, so quiet it could no longer be classified as mumble.
“Remember the feeling. Next time you want to throw yourself into something…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 26, 2025 5:14 pm
Ilian huffed quietly at Lovely’s ‘warning;’ whether or not he took it to heart, they’d have to wait and see. He didn’t like seeing Lovely like this. Lovely wasn’t hurt, not severely, so Ilian could at least relax on that front. But they didn’t yet know what would happen with Lovely’s eyesight.
If Ilian was being honest, he was worried. He didn’t want the loss to be permanent. Ilian relied on Lovely for so much; it wasn’t fair to Lovely, but it would be an adjustment for Ilian, too.
He’d grown with Lovely at his side, had trained with him so closely, so extensively Lovely had become a part of him. He knew Lovely’s every move as well as his own. They could switch weapons in battle without missing a beat. He knew what Lovely was thinking, and vice versa, even without relying on the earrings that allowed them access to each other's minds.
As Lovely’s hand relaxed, Ilian gave it a gentle squeeze in return, then settled back against the pillows. He didn’t plan on getting up once Lovely dozed off, so he figured he might as well get comfortable.
“I’ll remember,” he conceded, because he didn’t like this feeling. He would be careful. Delegate. As much as he could, at least. He just hoped they figured out a solution if Lovely’s didn’t actually didn’t come back.
Fin!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
