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 Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 6:45 pm
Help him with the garden? Reims stared at Yvoire. Not because he was surprised to be asked, but because…
Making a decision about what he was going to do was becoming harder and harder. He wanted to make sure Yvoire and his friends were safe, but how could he deny wanting to see Yvoire smile when those flowers begin to grow and bloom?
“Yeah,” he agreed, feeling his stomach twist because he wasn’t sure if he was lying or not. “I’d like that. We’ll make it look really nice. I bet some of the others wouldn’t mind helping too but… I also wouldn’t mind if we did this together.”
It was selfish, he knew. He knew he shouldn’t have suggested it, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to spend more time with Yvoire, he wanted to understand why he was always so sad, why he always cut himself off.
He couldn’t ask. He didn’t want to make things worse for him. One day he would. For now, he would file it away as one more thing that Yvoire cut himself off from saying.
He used to clean up flower beds with someone important, and didn’t want to do it again, alone.
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 6:46 pm
Yvoire’s smile was small and shy, too conscious of his braces to grow any wider, but it still reached his eyes.
He wanted to hug Reims in gratitude, wanted to take his hand again and lace their fingers together, share the ache in their palms from their respective injuries. He wanted to hear about all the things that troubled Reims, and maybe share his own troubles in turn. He wanted to sit here in the Sanctuary while the strange sunlight faded and the sky grew dark, so they could look up into the stars and watch the storms swirl across the face of Jupiter.
But they weren’t done yet. Before they could do any of that, they had to fix the Code piece here and find the one hidden away in the cathedral across the river.
Yvoire turned to the pedestal and the Code piece floating there. It pulsed erratically—sometimes angrily bright, sometimes depressingly dull—bobbing to and fro but never straying beyond the pedestal’s perimeter. Yvoire stepped closer and noticed cracks in the stone, rubble collecting in sad piles on the glass aisle.
“Okay, so… Focus and clear my mind, right?” he said. Yvoire glanced over his shoulder toward Reims again, sheepish. “I’ve never really been good at meditating. Sorry if this ends up really boring.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 6:47 pm
He wanted to approach. He could see inside the doors but was wary that it would just kick him out again. Besides, this wasn’t his Wonder.
Reims smiled in return and, cautiously, approached the door. He was slow so that Yvoire would have the chance to tell him to get out if he wanted to but… somehow he couldn’t imagine him doing so.
Once inside the room, he used his foot to clear a large space on the ground of glass and debris, and then shrugged off his jacket to lay on the ground in front of the pedestal.
“In case you wanted to sit,” he explained, ignoring the way his ears burned. As for himself, he took a seat close by but not on the jacket. Well… almost. He stretched out and laid his head on the tail of the jacket, and set his hat to the side so he could stare up at the sky, or maybe close his eyes while Yvoire meditated.
“Take all the time you need. I’ll stay with you.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 6:47 pm
A pink flush suffused Yvoire’s cheeks at Reims’ chivalry. Out of a sense of modesty, Yvoire almost denied the kindness, but Reims was already settling down and it seemed rude to rebuff the gesture. Besides, Yvoire liked it. It made his heart squeeze and something in his stomach flutter.
He liked being here alone with Reims. It was like they were the only two people in the world. (In a certain sense, maybe they were.)
So Yvoire sat, adjusting the fold of his legs beneath him until he found the most comfortable position. Directly in front of the pedestal, he stared first at the Code piece, frowning sadly as it continued to waver. He took a breath, let it out, and closed his eyes, forcing himself to relax.
Focus, he told himself, like the Code piece on the moon had told them. Feel the flow of its energy.
He searched deep, sensed his own power and followed it. Yvoire was his and he was Yvoire’s. The Code piece here needed his care and protection. Ellis had been hurt and bleeding and still ran to protect it, scared and a bit delirious from his wounds but still devoted, adhering to his pledge even if it meant putting himself in danger. His efforts hadn’t been in vain; the Sanctuary stood intact while the rest of the castle crumbled, the Code piece kept safe within.
Finding peace within himself when he always seemed to be in such turmoil was no easy matter, but Yvoire found his connection to the Code soothing. Even when something occurred to disrupt it, the connection remained. He hadn’t had much of a choice in what he became, but it felt right, like this power had been with him since birth (or longer, maybe, ever since Ellis had died and his starseed returned to the Cauldron), waiting for him to return here.
Ellis’ memories were fleeting. Yvoire saw flashes of them: the rolling green hills of the countryside; a dark, candlelit room; a warm breeze on his face; figures swirling around in elegant clothing, dancing to the quiet strains of music. The music stayed with him, a melody he’d never known but which grew more and more familiar the longer he sat, until he could hum it to himself mindlessly.
When it was done, and Yvoire was certain that the Code piece had calmed, he opened his eyes to find it pulsing gently, its movements no longer erratic.
Yvoire smiled and turned to Reims. He had no idea how much time had passed, but the sky had only grown a little darker and the stars weren’t visible yet. Part of Yvoire wanted to stay here, lie down next to Reims and watch for the first pinpricks of starlight, but the cathedral across the river called to them.
Before his shyness could stop him, Yvoire reached out to stroke Reims’ hair.
“I think it's done,” he said—quiet, not wanting to disturb the peace he’d brought to the Sanctuary.
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 6:48 pm
Reims wasn’t sure if he dozed off, or if he just lost track of time. The touch to his hair was nice, and he opened his eyes after a moment to look up at Yvoire.
“Oh wow…” he breathed, and then felt his ears burn because that probably wasn’t a normal thing to say when someone opens their eyes to look up at a friend.
“No, I mean. The Code behind you. It’s got, like… a glow. Uh. Your hair looks nice,” he sputtered out an excuse as he pushed himself up. It was dumb, he knew that. He wasn’t supposed to think Yvoire was cute or pretty. He was a boy! That was definitely not okay for him to think. He could just imagine how much he would be harassed by his brother if he found out that he was thinking about how nice and pretty boys were.
Not all of them! But… there were definitely a few he’d been around in the last year that he thought were pretty and… that was probably weird.
He cleared his throat and pushed himself up to his feet and held out his hand.
“You did a good job. I can feel the difference. It’s not as… sad.”
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2024 6:48 pm
Yvoire blushed again and took Reims’ hand.
He liked the compliments. He liked thinking Reims might like him—as a friend, sure, but maybe more than that, too. He liked to be the sole recipient of Reims’ attention. When they were on Ganymede there weren’t any friends to distract them or pretty girls to compete with.
“Thank you,” he mumbled, a little shy, a little embarrassed, but grateful to have Reims there with him.
Yvoire wouldn’t want to do this alone—communing with the Code piece, or being a knight in general. He would have felt guilty bugging Ganymede for company all the time when she had a life and kids. With Reims he had someone who understood. Yvoire didn’t need to explain himself. He rarely had to ask for help or company. Reims offered it, and Yvoire did the same. They were two Squires of Ganymede whose Wonders were so close it felt a bit like fate. Sometimes Yvoire let that thought settle deep. He let himself believe what he and Reims had was special, even if they were only ever friends like this.
Fingers tangling with Reims’, Yvoire stood and shifted closer, pressing a hasty, bashful kiss to Reims’ cheek.
“One down, one to go.”
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