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The slow thump of his heartbeat almost lulled you to sleep. Almost.
It didn’t help that you and Lucio had been stuck in this icy and cold realm for almost three weeks now. Not that you kept count. At least not out loud.
The first week had passed easily, your days had been filled with exploring and looking for a way out, your nights consisted of making out until the two of you were too tired to stay awake. Lucio couldn’t get enough of you, starved for affection after three years of not touching a living soul. You didn’t mind at all, answering his need with just as much enthusiasm.
The second week had proven more difficult. There was no food to find in the forest but you never grew hungry either, its magic working in mysterious ways. It was both convenient and frustrating. For the first time the thought of not being able to leave this place arised and filled you with a dreadful fear.
Lucio started to feel frustrated, doubting Asra and his attempts at looking for you. He lashed out, like a trapped animal that had fallen from one cage into another. The venom was never directed towards you but it wasn’t always easy to deal with either. It took all you had to convince both him and yourself that Asra was most definitely searching for you. Besides, the laws of space and time worked different here. What felt like two weeks for you, might have only been ten minutes for Asra. For all you knew, Asra didn’t even know yet you were missing. But you had to believe there was a way out. You tried not to think about actually being trapped in a magical world where you and Lucio were the only ones alive. The only ones, except for the monsters of course.
The monsters kept coming, more and more of them. They appeared to be getting bigger, their visits more frequent. The first Wyrm was easily killed by Lucio’s impressive swordsmanship, the second met the same fate. The third one turned out to be more of a challenge, the fourth one also brought the fifth one along. As admirable as Lucio’s attempts to keep you protected were, you couldn’t let him fight alone. So now whenever they came, you were ready at his side, your magic shielding his blind spots, blasts of energy hitting the beast where Lucio’s sword couldn’t reach. You actually made a great team together.
You had both quickly realized that Lucio’s yelling cave was the safest place in the realm, the only place where the monsters hadn’t dared to enter yet. So that’s where you spend every night together, trying to ignore the screams and roars of the monsters, a constant presence that left you both on edge. Lucio started telling you stories to distract you, about his days as count of Vesuvia and the frequent lavish and extraordinary parties he loved so much. During the nights when both of you couldn’t sleep, he talked about his mercenary days. You figured the stories weren’t always entirely truthful, tweaked here and there to make Lucio appear more brave and formidable. He did surprise you with his vulnerability when he shared the memory of losing his arm, not able to hide the tremble in his voice behind his usual bravado. That night, you held him even closer.
Lucio’s presence was what kept you sane when you started losing hope, when days started to bleed in one another and time seemed to lose meaning. He was your golden star in a dark, black sky.
By the third week you had tried everything in your magical power to get you out, you had ventured as far as you could from the cave, still looking for an exit. Sometimes it felt more like you were looking for a miracle. Until then, Lucio had been good company. His jokes had lifted your spirits, his sword had kept you safe, his arms kept you warm at night. His wicked grins and shameless flirting gave you a strange sense of normality in this magical mess.
But the last few days, his demeanor had changed. He wasn’t as loud or boastful anymore and a worried crease had appeared between his eyebrows. This wasn’t his normal, pouty sulk but he wouldn’t explain to you what exactly bothered him. From what you had learned from him the past weeks, opening up wasn’t always his forte. Whatever was bothering him was stowed away behind carefully constructed walls. This somber silence worried you a lot more than the angry ranting directed towards Asra and the rest of the world. For the last two days he had refused to come out of the cave, claiming that the beasts were too many and that it was too dangerous. You kept trying to convince him that there had to be a way out and that you would find it together but you couldn't venture out on your own. You needed to work as a team.
Another roar from outside distracted you from Lucio’s heartbeat and you felt his gold arm tighten around you protectively. You were lying against his chest, his cloak draped over you so it would keep both of you warm. The golden prosthetic kept you close to him while his other hand clutched his sword, ready to strike whenever those monsters finally decided that the cave might be worth exploring. He had been like that for the last few days, coiled up like a spring, his body hard and tense. The way the gold arm was digging in your skin wasn’t very comfortable but you didn’t have the heart to tell him. He already looked close to falling apart and you didn’t mind indulging him to give him some form of comfort, to hold the pieces together for a while longer.
You looked up at him, nuzzling against his chest. Touching him came so naturally by now, you couldn’t imagine yourself not touching him anymore.
“Will you tell me another story, Lucio?” you whispered softly, trying to distract him from whatever storm was brewing in his head. If anything, it would at least distract you for a while, maybe relax you enough to catch some sleep.
“Not tonight, sweetheart,” he answered, his voice sounded just as tense as his body felt. No jokes, no teasing. No shit eating grin that you had grown to love. His knuckles were white around his sword handle. You feared he was really losing it, that this realm would get the best of him.
You couldn’t let that happen, couldn’t allow that. You got here together and you wouldn’t leave without him. You turned your body so you were facing him, gently stroking his cheek, bringing his attention to you. Softly and tenderly, you brought up your thumb to smooth out the crease between his eyebrows. The only response you got was a silent scoff but you were determined to guide him out of this, whatever this was. Slowly but surely you kept stroking his face, tracing his jaw carefully with your fingers, your other hand moving up to pet his hair. This had the desired effect, you could finally feel him relax a little, sighing softly.
“Talk to me, Lucio.”
His silence might be what worried you the most. At times it had been almost impossible to make him shut up and now you had to beg him to say something.
Lucio sighed again, he couldn’t tell what is was that finally convinced him to share what had been on his mind for the last two days. It might have been the clear and obvious concern in your eyes or the delicate way you were touching his face, making him feel like he was genuinely cared for. Or maybe he was just tired, too tired to hold up the walls.
“You shouldn’t be here, sweetheart. With me, in this realm.”
Those were not the words you expected. You looked at him, confused: “What?”
“Not that you’re not good company. You’re fine company, a perfect match for me.”
He grinned in his typical way but you could tell it didn’t reach his eyes. You kept silent, giving him to chance to explain himself further.
“It’s just… We’re trapped here. And you shouldn’t be. You are stuck here because I want to be alive again. I dragged you along, only thinking of what I wanted. I didn’t think, I just expected you to help me. I was selfish.” The words were pouring out of him now and you did your best to make sense of them. Was he blaming himself for your situation, for you being stranded here with him? Thinking about the consequences of his actions and how they affected others was a very un-Lucio thing to do, this place must have really been messing with his head. Then again, this wasn’t necessarily a bad development, just one that needed a little gentle guidance in the right direction.
You smiled at him fondly and were met with a puzzled look in his pale, silver eyes.
“Yes, you are selfish,” you began and he huffed in answer. You just raised a finger, silently asking him to let you speak first.
“You just are, there is no denying that. And yes, you want things, without thinking about the other people involved. You are the most important thing in your own world. But putting full blame on yourself for being trapped here is a tad bit dramatic, no? It’s not always about you, darling.”
Lucio seemed to be at loss for words, something you hadn’t expected you could ever do to him. You placed a gentle kiss on his lips, barely brushing them, to soften the sting to your words before you proceeded with what you had planned to say.
“And yes, we are here because I decided to help you. But I am helping you because I want to. Not because you think I should, not because you are count of Vesuvia and in some way entitled to my aid. Not because you sometimes think the world revolves around you. My decision to help is my own. I am here with you because I want to be. And when we get out of here I’m still going to help you and I will still want to be with you.”
You ended your declaration with another soft kiss, leaning your forehead against Lucio’s, giving him time to taken in your words.
“That is both the harshest and sweetest thing someone has ever said to me,” he whispered after a while. You snorted in response: “I doubt that’s the harshest you’ve ever heard.”
Lucio chuckled and the sound filled you with warmth. It had only been a few days but you had missed his laughter so much.
“Definitely not the harshest, no. But I do get what you mean, I think. And I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“Good.”
More kisses followed and you easily lost yourself in the sensation of Lucio’s lips caressing yours, his flesh hand finally dropped the sword and found his way into your hair. The presence of his golden arm was no longer uncomfortable, wrapped around you carefully, only trying to close what little distance was left between the two of you. A small nip at your bottom lip made you gasp, giving Lucio the perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss. You lost track of time, forgot about your surroundings for one blissful moment. There was only you and him, two souls that were addicted to each other.
It felt way too soon when Lucio pulled back, leaving you dizzy and breathless.
He grinned smugly at the state you were in and it made your heart soar. He was back, your Lucio was back. For the first time in a while you were filled with hope, as if something had shifted. The realm felt somehow different.
“I think,” he said, pausing in between to follow a trail down your jaw with his lips, “that we should go outside again tomorrow. Maybe find a spot where we haven’t looked for a way out yet.”
You just nodded, pulling him closer to you by his collar, giving in to your craving need to be kissed more, to connect to him. He happily obliged.
It took a while before you could pull away from one another but eventually you nestled against his chest again to try and get some rest. Lucio felt a lot more relaxed now and you sensed how his breathing deepened when sleep finally pulled him in. The sword lay next to him, long forgotten.
“Good night, my love,” you whispered and you placed a tender kiss above his heart.