Welcome to Gaia! ::

He had been on his way to see Gabby when it all started, and as he crossed through the Amityville gates, it was still the only thought in his mind. He had looked around for his dragon at the entrance, wondering if maybe they’d simply existed on different planes in that strange place, and their paths had simply never crossed. But he caught no sight of white hair or curled horns of the tops of the other students’ heads. Gabriel wasn’t here… But Efflo was determined. He quietly pushed his way past the group congregated at the entrance before he broke into a run, headed towards the ghost dorms.

Of course Gabby wouldn’t have been at the gates. He hated mingling. And maybe, Efflo thought, he’d been spared. Maybe he had never had to go to that dark shadowy place at all. His heart was anxious, yet hopeful, as he swung through the dorm doors, much to the surprise of the ghostly student who’d been walking through them. Efflo didn’t pause to apologize, intent on one thing and one thing only.

He reached Gabby’s door, and without hesitation, pounded on it with both fists.

“Open up, open up, open up!”

There was a split-second pause when Gabby opened the door. Efflo stood still for that one second, and so did his world, his gaze travelling over every single inch of the dragon. Darkness… Darkness had been everywhere but the very memory of the tall boil standing in front of him had been bright and shining. It had kept him going, and it had brought him home. And when that second was up, and Gabby whispered those words, the sound Efflo made was unintelligible, every emotion welling up into his voice and out of him as he tackled Gabby, knocking them both to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

Efflo was shaking as he wrapped himself tightly around Gabriel. He buried his face against the boil’s neck, refusing to let go. He didn’t know how to describe the feeling of not knowing if he’d ever see him again, or if he had even ever existed at all. All he had had were the memories they’d made together but as he breathed in the icy air that was his boilfriend, everything was okay, everything was right.

“I’m home,” he breathed softly.

The familiar coolness of Gabby’s hands settled over him and soothed his aching heart. Yet it still thumped so hard in his chest he thought it might burst, and he coiled even tighter around the dragon, squeezing him with every fiber of his being. Nothing could tear him away from Gabby again, not anything or anyone. He wouldn’t let it.

Gabby’s fingers held his head, and lifted his face until their eyes met, and Efflo was home all over again. Gabby had claimed his lips before he could answer, but Efflo didn’t care, sinking into the dragon’s kiss and eagerly losing himself in it. He would promise a hundred times over to never leave again, he would promise over and over until it was the last words he ever spoke.

His eyes were wet suddenly, and he wasn’t exactly sure why, except that he’d been so lost and alone but now they were together, and Gabby was real, and alive and here and nothing else mattered. He’d left the darkness behind, and there was only Gabby now, and he was overcome with happiness.

He broke the kiss, only to smother Gabby with more, pressing his lips over every bit of Gabby’s face, as if he’d never get enough. He had missed this face so much.

Efflo didn’t stop.

“After.”

[END]

Efflo was content to be settled against Gabby, curling as close as he could possibly manage. There was, after all, no place he’d rather be. The tasks he’d faced had been dark and scary, especially when he found himself alone, but none of it mattered anymore, it didn’t bother him. He nosed at Gabby affectionately, a small smile playing across his lips.

“Well, I don’t know about saving it… We’re still here, I guess. I’m glad to be back, with you, it was so lonely there. I… I missed you!”

He had been about to say that he hadn’t been sure if he would ever see Gabby again, but that thought had nearly overwhelmed him before and there was no reason to dredge up those awful, heart crushing feelings again. Because he had made it, and Gabby had been waiting for him. Efflo sighed, sinking against him. He definitely wasn’t going to be letting Gabby out of his sight anytime soon, not for any reason.

He was still smiling when Gabby pulled his lips away, a soft sigh of a breath escaping him.

“I don’t want to go away again,” he countered, nuzzling the dragon’s cheek. “Don’t let me. It was… Well, the only thing that scared me was the fact that I might not ever see you again. That scared me a lot. But otherwise it was just… Really awful. It was all dark and foggy, and I was stuck in this gross city place with rain that hurt, and I had to stay there until with the others until we finished the Goddesses tasks but the thing was we didn’t have any memories… I didn’t even know I was me, I didn’t… Remember you at first. I think that was the most frightening part, being in a world where you didn’t exist.”

Efflo tucked himself in closer, as if it were possible that he hadn’t already filled every possible empty space between him and his boilfriend. He wrapped his arms around Gabby, and tilted his head so he could look at him properly.

“But then I did remember you, and it was like every light that had gone out in the world was back, and I wasn’t alone, because I remembered who I was, and that I loved you and that you were here waiting for me. Nothing else mattered.”

It was entirely true; when he’d realized what exactly he was fighting for, everything else had fallen away, unimportant. It didn’t matter that his heart had been torn out not once, but twice, or that he’d had to brave fiery traps that burned him, or that he had been alone. Because the simple fact was that he wasn’t, and he was glad he’d held onto his hope. He felt free, and light-hearted suddenly, reveling in how good it felt to be home. Then he remembered something particular that he’d wanted to share.

“I grew a dragon! Well, I grew a tree, and a dragon came from it! It was just a little wyrm, but it made me think of you… I was proud to have made it.”

He grinned, then leaned forward and nibbled affectionately at the end of Gabby’s nose.

“What did you do while you were here? Was it a long wait? It felt like an eternity in there… It’s so good to be back… Say, can we go for a walk?”

He’d been cozy and almost dozing before, but he was suddenly awake after having gotten all that off of his chest. He was awake and happy and he wanted to go for a walk with his boilfriend.

“And I’m not going anywhere without you,” Efflo grinned against Gabby’s hair, hugging him close. He even let the playful n** pass, giving his boilfriend’s head only a gentle nudge in rebuke when Gabby kissed his nose, before he climbed over him and off the edge of the bed. He had quietly snuck his hand into the dragon’s, and he pulled him towards him, refusing to completely let go.

“Good, ‘cause we’re going,” he laughed, though his cheeks had turned that familiar shade of red. Gabby was proud of him… It was something he’d never really considered before. After all, he hadn’t really done anything to necessitate being proud of. But as flushed as it made him, it was a nice feeling and he smiled, squeezing Gabby’s hand with the warmth of his own.

“Thank-you.”

He squirmed in Gabby’s arms, but it was only a good-natured show, he really did intend on never letting go of the boil again. Gabby set him down, and kissed him, which did nothing to lessen the warmth pooling in Efflo’s face. But as Gabby turned him around, Efflo simply turned right back with a shake of his head, latching himself onto Gabby as he tried to get dressed.

“Okay, you have a minute, but you also have me.” He grinned cheekily, his own clothes still haphazardly strewn at his feet. Pants only took a second to put on, but even a second felt like too long. Even though Gabby was right there, and Efflo could see him, he didn’t want to let go, for fear that if he did, it might all slip away again. He wasn’t supposed to think of those things, he told himself, but still, he was reluctant to let go, at least right now. But pushing the doubts and what-ifs from his mind, he smiled broadly, a mischievous look on his face.

“I can help!”