Everything hurt when Arlan’s lashes started to flutter, aching when he tried to push them open. The pain started in his head, throbbing at the back of it, radiating down into everything else though his left arm seemed to hurt in a way all on its own. There was a strange shuffling sound he could pick up through the loud ringing in his ears though he couldn’t place what was causing it. He tried to roll his head, attempting to make out the strange shapes around him, a low groan escaping his throat all on its own. He felt a little like he’d been smashed with a bat, disoriented and confused.
His eyes wouldn’t focus no matter how he squinted through lashes that seemed eager to tangle with one another. It wasn’t that his vision was off, it was that he was swaying, back and forth, back and forth, in a steady plodding rhythm. He couldn’t stop it, there was an arm around his waist that kept him slung over a shoulder as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. A twisting to his head gave him just the sight of someone’s back, the nape of their neck, a bit of cord fastened around it. Under the clasp the skin was angry red as if it rejected the touch of cool metal against it. It looked painful.
With his eyes working a little better he looked down, watching feet move in tempo, his arms dangling uselessly down this person’s back. His one arm looked as though it might be bleeding, cut on the glass that shattered when he’d fallen to the floor unconscious. There was a trail of red drops from the tips of his finger, the sight of it making his stomach churn. He tried to speak now, his throat making a sound but his tongue refusing to form it into words. No matter what he tried he couldn’t make himself speak, the art of it lost entirely. That terrified him, his heart racing. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t ask what was happening.
After what felt like an eternity he could feel himself being set down on the ground, grass and dirt prickling at his skin. From that angle he could catch a glimpse of his captor’s face, a familiar one that very briefly filled him with hope before it vanished entirely, snuffed out as quickly as it arrived.
There was something wrong with Corwin’s face. His eyes were vacant, looking down at Arlan for a moment, looking through him. He didn’t react to the pleading sound his friend made, his body too heavy to move at all. Instead he turned away from him, doing something just out of Arlan’s line of sight, each sound worrying him more than the last. This might have looked like his friend but it was not, it was something hollow and terrifying.
The wait was excruciating. He couldn’t ask what was happening and Corwin didn’t seem ready to offer an explanation. He didn’t seem ready to speak at all. There was the sound of feet in an irregular rhythm from Arlan’s other side, too far out of the way for him to see what caused them. It was the voice that called out that he recognized, that gave him hope once more.
“Give him back.” Mies stepped into view, breathing heavily as he stared down the man that had taken Arlan from his kitchen with force. “Now.”
There was no reply, just a small snort and a shake of Corwin’s head as he turned around again, to keep working on whatever it was he was doing. Mies wasn’t having any of that, a light building at his fingertips in small flashes before he sent them at Corwin’s back with a small shout. They hit the man’s back and fizzled out, a full laugh that had never belonged to Corwin echoing in the night around them.
“That tickled. Do it again, the sun’s power will just make me stronger.” The grin on Corwin’s lips was alien when he turned around again, a symbol glowing faintly under his shirt that hadn’t been there before. The prince cursed faintly before he flicked a series of lights at the man to no avail. The light under his shirt just got brighter, the edges of the symbol growing clearer with each one until it was almost painful to look at. With a laugh that turned into a cackle Corwin flicked all of his fingers in the fae’s direction, the light that passed between them more than a little blinding.
When the spots in his vision cleared Arlan couldn’t see Mies anymore, at least not fully. There was a foot in the very edge of the field of his vision, one that he could only assume came from the prince. Corwin hummed tunelessly to himself, with a voice that wasn’t his as he kept up his work, stepping back from it when he was satisfied.
“Time to go.” He reached down for Arlan, not worried at all about him fighting back. Arlan still couldn’t move, he was trapped in his own body, watching in horror as that hand came closer and closer.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
This voice was less familiar but still it was one that Arlan knew. Elwynn wasted no time crossing the meadow to stand in front of Corwin, staring the taller man down. Unlike their twin they didn’t settle into a fighting stance, their arms limp at their sides, expression soft. They reached up to touch Corwin’s cheek, pausing when the man flinched and pulled away before skin could touch skin.
“They placed a bit of the moon inside you, to control you, to fight him. It’s okay dear one. I will make it stop burning, I will take this from you. I will free you from your bonds.” Elwynn stepped close again, reaching out with the other hand as if to trap Corwin. With both palms on either side of his face, it looked like an easy hold to escape but the human’s muscles were strained, tense as if they were fighting against some external force. He really was caged by the tender action.
His arms thrashed out to hit Elwynn, seemingly unable to actually land any of his blows. Every time he got within an inch or two of Elwynn’s body his hands stopped, frozen in place for a moment before he tried again. Curses spilled from his lips in languages Arlan would never be able to place. They were silenced only when Elwynn pressed their own to his, a strangely tender action amidst the violent thrashing. The blinding light burst to life once more between the two, travelling from Corwin to the faerie and disappearing there.
When it dimmed and faded away entirely Corwin fainted, falling to the ground to join Arlan and Mies. The weight that had pressed down on his every limb lifted and pushing himself to a seated position he could see his friend and his lover doing the same. Mies’ face looked angry until he met eyes with Arlan, mouth softening into a smile. Corwin just looked confused and scared as he tried to make sense of the night. Elwynn knelt next to him and wrapped their arms around him in an embrace that had been a long time coming.
There was much to pick apart about the night but for now it was time to go home and get some rest, the oddness in the air had vanished and they were safe for now.
Everything had come to a head and crashed around them, leaving everyone with a sense of relief and for a brief moment euphoria erased the strange tensions that had settled between them all. The walk home, while uneventful, worked to undo that sense of relief and by the time they reached the apartment building their bodies ached and their hearts were tired. Arlan ended up needing both Corwin and Mies to help him back, his head was splitting from whatever had connected with it earlier, his arm half bandaged in part of Elwynn’s shirt. He thought this sort of thing would bring them all closer together but the moment Arlan was down on his bed, Corwin was back in the living room, putting distance between himself and Elwynn.
“Elwynn, hold his head for a moment please? This will hurt but I don’t want him making anything else worse.” Mies rolled up the sleeves of his borrowed shirt, sitting on one side of Arlan while his twin took the other. Elwynn’s fingers and palms were cool against Arlan’s head, their grip stronger than expected but it didn’t take long for him to figure out why.
Mies glanced out the window, letting the hint of an early dawn reach the foot of the bed before he began. The words he spoke were in a tongue Arlan had never heard before, a lilting language that he could have listened to forever if it weren’t for the pain that ripped through him next. He cried out, his skin going white hot, vision blurring as he tried to fight the hold on his head. It was as if a fire was racing through him, burning every fibre of his being until there was nothing left but a hollow shell. His shouting was muffled by a strip of fabric, his teeth tearing at it from instinct rather than any conscious decision. There was nothing but this all consuming, never ending fire.
Just as it had washed through him, the sensation was gone just as quickly, only a lingering warmth at the back of his head and along his arm left to suggest it had been there at all. There was no pain now, not even the dull thud of a headache to suggest anything had happened. Elwynn let go of his head, getting to their feet so quietly that their exit went almost unnoticed save for a small utterance of thanks from the prince who worry a worried expression.
Mies reached out, his slender fingers running along the curve of Arlan’s face, tracing his temple, his jaw, his lips, looking for something in his eyes as he did. The confused blink he got in return, along with a soft groan seemed to be enough, leaning down to kiss Arlan softer than he ever had before.
“You scared me.” Mies swung his legs up onto the bed, curling around his human like a faerie shield.
“Sorry. I didn’t know I was going to be hauled off like that. Otherwise I would have warned you.” At least Arlan’s spirits were still good about the whole situation, pleasantly surprised to find himself so comfortable in the prince’s arms. “What did you do? It felt like a thousand degree fire under my skin.”
“I’m sorry my love. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that. It’s one of my gifts. Healing. The sun makes it stronger, I guess it wasn’t strong enough yet to keep it from burning but I couldn’t risk waiting. I wasn’t going to risk losing you.” Mies stroked Arlan’s hair in a steady rhythm, a soothing action that made his eyes flutter, trying to settle into a sleep he wasn’t ready for yet.
“You weren’t going to lose me. And it’s fine. It doesn’t hurt now.” He mumbled, pressing his nose to Mies’ jaw, twisting around him in a mirror to the fae’s position. “Thank you for rescuing me.”
“Elwynn rescued you. I did nothing.” He sighed a little, clearly distraught about it.
“You just saved me from a concussion. And you tried to ride in on a white horse to save me. It was very romantic.” He kissed Mies’ cheek, or he tried to. He didn’t move very much from how he was resting, mostly getting hair and air but still the thought was there.
“So thank you.”
The prince looked as though he planned to reply, mouth opening, disagreement in his eyes but a knock at the door killed it before he had a chance to speak up. Instead he just groaned and got to his feet, shuffling over to the door reluctantly. Normally Arlan would have had to be the one to peel away but it seemed that the fae was very much planning to play nurse. From his spot on the bed he could see Elwynn was at the door but he couldn’t hear the low conversation that passed between the twins. The only thing he could make out from here was the way Elwynn’s eyebrows furrowed, small frown on their lips. It was the same look Arlan and Mies had seen so many times already, a sorrow neither of them could fix for them, centred around his best friend.
Their conversation was fairly brief, leaving Mies to come back to the bed, though he only climbed on halfway. Smoothing down Arlan's hair he kissed his forehead, more tender than usual, hands soft.
“How are you feeling my love?”
“Other than a slight headache, I'm fine. I think I'm just tired.” If the prince wouldn't cuddle him, he would embrace the prince, one arm sneaking out from under covers to wrap around his waist while he sat. The action earned him a smile and a soft kiss.
“Well, keep resting. I’m just going to go grab a drink and unlike you, I will be back soon.” Mies extracted himself from the loose grip around him, flashing a smile to prove he was only teasing.
“Hey, I came back, just… needed a helping hand.” His protest wasn’t nearly as effective as he meant for it to be, a yawn cutting off the last word. The faerie just laughed at his meek attempt, disappearing into the hallway. Try as he might Arlan couldn’t keep his eyes open, his eyelids kept insisting on meeting, heavier than they had ever been before. He was slipping into sleep long before Mies returned, barely awake at his return long enough to note that it had taken longer than he suggested it might. Arlan didn’t think about anything but the feel of soft sun on his skin and the gentle kiss he felt pressed to his forehead. Right now was a chance for a peaceful night’s sleep.
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