By the time Zye’s eyes are cracking open, he’s unsure of just how long he’s been asleep. It feels like an eternity with how well he slept. Except there’s no way to truly tell the passage of time here. Only that there’s the barest amount of light that shimmers from the fixture in the ceiling. A soft, light orange that steadily wakes him up and reminds him of where he is.
Solis.
He’s on the bed in his room.
A warmth is pressed flush up against his back while he lies on his side. The arm draped over his waist slides away as he begins to sit up. It’s a slow movement considering how tight his body feels. He’s not sure if it’s because of all the hits he took or the amount of magic he used. Rubbing at his eyes, he glances to his left.
There in the bed are Callua and Jace. She’s next to him with lashes fluttering against her skin as she tries to not let him disturb her rest. On the other side of her is Jace with one arm bent up beneath his head. He certainly still looks asleep, much more so than Callua.
Regardless, Zye yawns as he grumbles at them. “Guys…wake up.”
“Mm, no.”
Callua flails one arm up and grabs at the back of his white t-shirt. A single yank and she has him flopping back down onto the bed. She grins wide at him as he lolls his head to the side. Opening her eyes, she yawns back at him, one hand coming up to cover her mouth.
“Hey.”
“What?” Callua grunts, already getting comfortable again.
“At least smile. We made it out.”
“Stupid. I want to sleep, not talk. Don’t wake Jay up, he’s tired too.”
Rolling over, Jace throws his arm over her and taps two fingers to Zye’s chest. “No moving unless you’re healed.”
Zye groans. If they’re both on his case then that means no one has called for them with anything important. It has relief flooding his system even as he lies there, brows furrowed at them both.
“The water already did all of that,” Zye replies while pushing himself up onto his elbows.
It gives him a better view of the two of them. A pair of purple shorts and a pink top with thin straps don her person. Jace, however, has skipped the shirt and only wears a pair of black pants. His eyes are barely open while Callua is already wide awake.
She huffs and shoves Jace’s arm off of her so that she can sit up. Callua smacks a hand down onto the bed with a glare in Zye’s direction. “You passed out the second we got you here, take it easy. Not that Jay was much better. But he did stay awake long enough to get your skinny ass dressed.”
“You’re both mean. Come on, we should go find out what happened.”
“It’s fine. Orion and Celeste can handle it. Everyone was safe when we left to get you, to begin with.”
“But—”
“She’s right,” Jace interjects, “relax.”
Callua begins to scoot down the length of the bed. Enough to where she can climb over Zye’s legs. Her feet hit the floor and she begins adjusting her clothes. “I’ll let them know you’re both up. How about that? Can we compromise?”
“I can live with that. Would rather you didn’t have to get up, too. Wait! Jay, your coat! I think messed it up.” Zye rolls onto his side, braced up on his elbow as Jace looks up at him with a bleary gaze.
“It’s alright.”
“It’s not alright! You kept it for this long and… Dammit.”
Jace lets out a breath and drags his hand up over his face. He pushes the bangs out of his eyes. “How do you know I didn’t already have to replace it? The Mark can make a replica perfectly.”
Zye stares hard down at Jace. “And did you?”
“Ah…well…no.”
“Dammit. Sorry.”
Callua strides closer and pats the top of Zye’s head. She combs her fingers through the longer tresses to soothe him. “Calm down. The important thing is that we’re all back. Smile, remember?”
“I guess, yeah. You’re right.”
She smooths out the tangles until there’s no sign that he’s had bedhead at all. She pulls away and stretches her arms high over her head with a soft groan. “Alright then. So, mind if I borrow your Mark?”
Zye glances back and pinches an eye shut. It’s something he’s not sure he’ll ever get used to. It’s the warmth that vibrates in his back while he pictures the small thing off by the closet. A moment later it slowly manifests. The second it’s tangible Callua scoops it up.
“I’ll be in the bathroom getting ready. You two just…do you.” She makes it past the bed before she stops, spinning back around. “Scratch that. You’re both terrible, don’t do you. Do what I would do.”
“That’s even worse, it’d just be sleep.”
“Stupid,” Callua replies before she sticks her tongue out at him and the cheeky grin he wears.
Rolling his eyes, Zye plops onto his back at the sound of the bathroom door shutting. He stares up at the ceiling and tries to quiet his thoughts. Especially when there’s a part of him that does want to simply lay here and forget the world for a moment. He rolls onto his side, facing Jace as the man hasn’t moved from where he settled.
Not until now.
Jace reaches over and brushes the back of his fingers over Zye’s chin and then his cheek. A simple touch that has Zye unraveling so easily. Even more so than from the words. “You did well.”
“Thanks… Doesn’t feel like it.”
“Talk to me?”
“Just…thinking about all that stuff he said. And now he’s gone. You both are okay, so that’s all that matters. Well, you know what I mean. Everyone else too, of course.”
“I know. It must have been hard to cleanse him even so.”
Zye scoots forward until he’s nearly flush up against Jace. He nestles his face against Jace’s collarbones, happy to shimmy down on the bed to do so. "I promise I’ll learn and help you with everything. You won’t have to do it all alone. We can work on accessing all those cries for help because I think I’ve shut them down.”
“Of course. In time.”
“I’ll train and I won’t leave you dealing with it all. I’ll even work with Orion and not be an ass about it.”
“That’s very mature of you.”
Suddenly, Zye shoves Jace over onto his back. In one fluid motion, Zye is up, swings his leg over to straddle Jace’s abdomen, and crosses his arms over his chest. He stares down at Jace and the small smile that’s curling across the man’s countenance.
It’s the softest, most sweetest sight he could be greeted with. The love that brims over in that gaze has Zye thanking every god or force he can think of that he’s met this man. All the more reason to prove that he means every word he says. There’s not a day that’ll go by where he doesn’t want to help share the burden they now have on their shoulders.
“I’m not letting you ever feel like you have to do this on your own. You always have the two of us. So…I’m going to do whatever it takes not to fuck this up.”
Jace’s palms brush over Zye’s knees. There’s not a bone in his body that doesn’t believe those words. To Jace, everything about Zye is honest and hardworking. Even if he does know the man can overdo it no different than he does. Still, Jace can’t help but smile.
“I never doubted you, dear.”
“That’s cheating,” Zye replies softly, his brain not quite sure what to do with that little pet name. It has warmth in his chest and he’s sure some of it is flushing across his cheeks. Something he tries to prevent by not thinking about it— trying not to think about how good it sounded.
“Would you rather I use something else? I’ve figured out others. I’m not sure what I like the sound of more.”
“What?”
“My love.”
Zye watches as the corners of Jace’s eyes crinkle from the smile as Zye hurriedly leans over. His palms slap down against the bed on either side of Jace’s head. The smirk on his countenance hides how blissfully nervous Jace makes him.
They don’t have time for him to get hot under the collar and yet he wants to lie here. To never leave and stay wrapped up in the presence of one of the people he loves dearly. Moments like this make everything feel so easy— so far away that he doesn’t have to worry about what’s happening.
Neither can believe they get to spend the rest of their afterlife together. A silver lining to the unfortunate end their lives took.
“I leave you two alone for two seconds.”
Shoving himself back up, Zye turns to the bathroom door that opens. Callua strides out in her typical attire; the billowing blue shirt and the black skirt and boots ensemble. She winks at them as she heads straight for the door. The Mark follows her halfway and stops, staring up at Zye expectantly.
“We weren’t doing anything. I’m not that stupid.”
“Mm-hm. That’s news to me. I’m going to go check on Adrian. See you two later.”
Zye is off of Jace in the next second. One foot hits the floor while his other leg kneels on the edge of the bed. “Are we meeting up again?”
“Of course.”
From behind them both, Jace finally sits up with a small yawn. “Zye has some business to take care of back home. Did you want to go with us?”
“You can’t get rid of me so easily. Let me know if you’re going today and I’ll meet you there.” Her gaze softens as she regards them both. “Take it slow, okay?”
The flourish of her skirt signals her leave. She’s gone before Zye can think of anything to say. She’s always so put together and it only makes him feel like more of a mess. Especially with the thought of going back to Earth— back to Civicus. It might be his idea, but it still has anxiety crawling beneath his skin nonetheless.
Arms wrap around his middle with one hand brushing up to palm over where his heart would be. It does make him wonder since he can’t see for himself. He presses his hand over Jace’s. “Is that where my core is?”
“It is.”
“You can see it?”
“And feel it. The more used to this that you get, the easier I can sense it. You were worried about showing your magic since they found the cabin. But you’ve stopped subconsciously hiding it.”
“You’ll teach me everything another time, right?”
Zye pinches his eyes shut, trying to swallow down the noise that wants to leave his throat when Jace nuzzles against his neck. The gentlest brush of lips over his skin has him wishing they didn’t have any responsibilities.
He’d love nothing more than to steal Jace away for a week or two. Anything to give them time together that they didn’t have before. A thought he never used to dare tease with all he had to do. But now he can sag back against Jace’s chest and tilt his head to the side, allowing Jace to press a few more kisses to the warm skin.
“The only thing I miss is how your pulse would race when I touched you.”
“Jerk,” Zye mumbles as he pulls away slowly. A gentle tug is all he gets before he’s allowed to stand.
“Now it’s your core that shines like the sun and makes your skin hot to the touch.”
Zye bends and pokes a finger against Jace’s chest. “If you don’t get up and go with me to get all of this stuff done, you won’t be seeing that tonight.”
Chuckling, Jace pushes the sheet that’s tousled around his legs to the side. “Then we should meet with Orion and Celeste first. Lucile should be waiting for us as well.”
“That doesn’t sound too— Crap. I have to settle with Ren.”
“Must you?”
“I promised him, Jace. I don’t make them easily and I sure as hell don’t break them.”
Zye can hear the disgruntled sigh as he moves for the closet. It’s not as if he likes it much either. However, he also doesn’t see much harm in it. Sure Ren can study or use the blood and the magic that comes along with it. In the same breath, he might not be able to handle it. The last time Ren took some blood he certainly couldn’t.
“I still don’t like it. But I’ll behave.”
The Mark wobbles after Zye and stops beside him, waiting to see if it’s needed. When it’s not, it wanders to the open door and stares up at Zye. All the while Zye is pulling out a pair of dark blue jeans and a white tank top with a streak of orange across the front and back. He glances to the left to see the Mark hurry over to Jace.
Assuming that Jace is getting something to wear, Zye gets dressed. Once he’s done he steps into a pair of tennis shoes. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Zye is about to reach down to tie them when Jace stops him. He shakes his head, a smile on his lips, at Jace kneeling before him.
The man has managed to get dressed far faster than he did. Zye doesn’t know how, not with those form-fitting pants. Yet Jace has and he shoos Zye away from doing this on his own. Zye leans back on his hands and watches Jace lift one of Zye’s feet to balance on Jace’s thigh.
All so those fingers can begin working on tightening the laces and tying them into a bow.
Zye doesn’t say a word. He knows why Jace does it and he doesn’t want to take it from him. It’s nice to have someone give little glimpses of affection that he’s not used to. The simplest of things mean the world to him. Especially when Jace used to do it even when he was sick.
Jace finishes and pats Zye’s legs as he stands. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah. Thanks. So we’re going to Celeste and Orion first?”
“If they’re up and about.”
They leave the bedroom and then the living quarters entirely. The stairs are a quick descent. Jace comes off of them behind Zye and steps up beside him. As they begin to stride toward Noctis, Zye bumps his hand against Jace’s. Their knuckles brush together— faint and barely able to notice.
Until Zye’s finger curls out and rubs against one of Jace’s. A nearly hidden sign that Jace would never miss. It means more to Jace than the larger gestures. From it, the smile on his face is infectious as he glances at Zye from the corner of his eye. Despite those that walk by, Zye will knock their hands together now and then, all the way to the mirror in Noctis.
There isn’t anyone they know wandering about. No Keepers whatsoever and that tells Zye they’re all in their rooms. He nudges his shoulder against Jace’s, leaning in close. “Get in touch with any of them yet?”
“Orion is upstairs with Celeste and Sigil if you’re ready.”
“Sounds like a party. Let’s crash it.”
Jace chuckles and begins up the stairs with Zye close behind him. He opens the door once they’re at the top and is sure to shut it once they’re both inside. There on one couch are Celeste and Sigil while Orion stands off to the side, pacing.
He stops when he notices them enter and turns to them. “Glad to see you’re both up and in time.”
Zye raises a brow as the two of them stride over. They sit on the couch across from the others while Orion moves closer. He gestures to the broach and the ring that they’ve recovered from Soren and Ayre. To Zye, they do seem a bit different.
Orion crosses his arms over his chest as he speaks. “We’ve already had Sigil destroy the magic placed in them. They’re trinkets now, nothing more. However, I do think Jace should keep his.”
“I disagree. If we’re destroying them then we should do them all,” Jace quickly retorts.
“No,” Orion replies with a curt shake of his head. “Please, keep it.”
Celeste nods in agreement. “It doesn’t mean you have to use it, only that you’ve done so with the best intentions and we trust that you won’t be handing it out to others.”
Zye slips his hand down between them and curls his fingers against Jace’s. “You should. Keep it in your room and if we ever need it, we have it.”
Jace’s brow furrows at that. “We shouldn’t need it. Everything is—”
“Just in case. If you change your mind I’ll go find a world and chuck it off a bridge. Or into a volcano. Maybe a really, really deep hole.”
A chuckle slips from Jace’s lips as he bows his head, trying to stifle it and failing if he looks at Zye. The smirk on the man’s countenance has Jace coughing into his hand to try and regain his composure. As he does, Zye leans over and scoops up the ring. He turns it over a few times, realizing it really is only a piece of jewelry now.
“Liked the image of that idea that much, huh, Jay?” The ring clicks against the table as he sets it back down. “So, what else is on the agenda?”
Orion glances between them all and finally unfolds his arms. “Before we get into everything else. Sigil, have you made a decision on what we talked about?”
The young woman squirms underneath the way all of their gazes fall upon her. In hopes of diminishing the nerves for her, Zye leans back against the cushions with a grin. “See, told you we’d get to the bottom of that one. He’s not so scary, right?”
A minuscule smile touches her lips as she shakes her head. “Right. And I have… I don’t have anything or anyone to go home to.” She lifts her eyes to lock onto Orion. “I know you said you’d all make it happen if I want to, but…I don’t. I want to stay here. I have friends here.”
Orion nods slowly. “This is a one-way decision and we don’t make it lightly. You’re a special case. You can’t change your mind and go back there. You’d have to usher your soul onward to the next life.”
“I know. It doesn’t scare me. I’m…excited.”
Celeste lifts a hand, patting Sigil on the shoulder. “Then we’ll take care of that later. For now, Iris is in her room waiting for you to return.”
Sigil, seeing the writing on the wall, stands and slips around Celeste’s knees. She hurries to the door while Orion takes her spot on the couch. Once the door shuts, Celeste speaks up once more.
“We’ve been discussing expanding the realms now that they’re connected. Of course, we might have to run it by the Divine. Otherwise, we think a few new roles would be good for those who don’t have fighting capability. It’s been far too easy to continue as the way things were set up than evolve.”
Orion’s shoulders deflate a bit at that and Zye notices the way those green eyes flick over him. “We have many souls that have a variety of abilities that are better at things than cleansing Nether and locations. This should be a home for them instead of pushing them away to find a way to live in the worlds they came from again.”
“That’s cool and whatever you need we’re here. But, uh, what about Soren’s hideout?”
Zye’s question has Orion’s gaze hardening. He glances at Celeste, who shakes their head, before returning his eyes to the two of them. “We collected anything we could in terms of notes on what he was doing. We didn’t find anything else and have dealt with destroying them as best we can. Ilista is overseeing it at the moment. Nothing else has been found and no one else has come forward.”
“Dammit… What about that Nether?”
“I didn’t get a good look at it I’m afraid. Regardless, we haven’t had any reports.”
Sitting up, Zye clutches at the edge of the couch. “It was the opposite of what they usually are. White with red eyes and insanely tall. We have to find it. It’s dangerous!”
“I’m sure it is, however, we have to get our own affairs in order first and—”
“You don’t get it. It took so much out of me when it touched me. And it didn’t even grab me.”
“I’m sure it’s because you were already tired.”
Zye huffs and shoves himself to his feet. He marches around the table, towering over Orion. Lifting his hand, he barely grazes his thumb over Orion’s cheek. The man stares up at him the entire time, confused yet doesn’t flinch.
“That’s how light the touch was or well…as close as I can mimic it. The thing felt like it sucked out as much as when I gave that one Rank One some in that fight. Remember that?”
“Zye,” Jace starts. “Come sit back down. I have an idea.” Once Zye is situated back beside him, irritated but sitting, he continues. “We need to get the best trackers and monitor the worlds for it. A team of both of our kind. They’re to identify and notify, never engage without one of us there.”
Celeste nods, crossing one leg over the other. “I agree. Can you tell us anything else about it?”
Zye sighs, “It ate the other Nether that was there. Devoured, absorbed. Something like that.”
“I see… That’s certainly out of the norm.” Celeste stands and gestures for Orion to do so as well. He seems to know what they want him to do and begins to leave. “We’ll reconvene in the coming days. I’ve begun taking suggestions on what our Stars would like. I suggest you both do the same and we’ll compile it together later to begin renovations.”
Jace rises to his feet, seeing that this is where they’re going to part for the time being. “I’ll put it out when we get back.”
“Ah, also, please think about promoting a Dark Star. You should have at least one Keeper if not two to help you both with all of your duties. You don’t want to spread yourself too thin like we did.”
Nodding, Jace steps away from the couch with Zye right on his heels. The taller man is already following Orion out the door while Jace lingers. He smiles at Celeste and holds out his hand to them. “I want to thank you again, for everything.”
Celeste’s hidden gaze turns to the hand and slowly cups one of their smaller hands against his. “I don’t think I’ve done anything, Jace.”
“More than you think. I don’t think either of us want any of that to happen again. It’s nice to know that we’re all on the same side and I look forward to working with you.”
A soft giggle leaves their lips as they sit back down. “I should be thanking you. You carry Charmilla’s convictions and morals well. Now go, he’s already left. Enjoy your time together.”
“I promise I won’t let it get in the—”
“We should have spent more time with each other and now Orion and I are left alone. Please, please, don’t push them— us— aside. Oh, and you still owe me those treats you promised. I look forward to our tea time.”
Jace can’t help but smile wide as he turns away. “I won’t keep you waiting long. Just need to tie up the loose ends first. Make sure Iris gets the tea ready.”
Hurrying down the stairs, he finds Zye standing off to the side trying not to draw attention to himself. Something that’s hard to do when he’s tall and everyone can tell he’s an Infernal from the markings down his arm. Coming up beside Zye, he places a hand on his lower back.
Zye looks over at him. “Where to next?”
“Ren if you’d prefer to get that over with. Then we can find Callua and go meet with Lucile before heading to Civicus.”
“Haaa… Fine, we can deal with Ren. Wait, where even is he?”
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