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Eleven fell to his knees, trembling hands catching his fall before they bunched up the grass in their fists. Shaky breaths escaped the Luminary as he tried to calm himself down, oblivious as to why his chest felt like it was about to burst while his body would crumble into pieces.
“Ah! Honey are you okay!?”
“El!”
Something’s different. This is different.
He wanted to look up and reassure everyone that he was fine but all he could muster was an odd twitch of his head before his neck stiffened when his gaze fell back down to the dewy grass of Yggdrasil.
What was next? Why hadn’t he been attacked when he drew the sword of light? Why were they on their way to Heliodor? Was Veronica safe?
A cold sweat ran down Eleven as he felt a warm hand press against his back.
“Hey—“ Erik’s tone was soft, a concerned look on his face with his shimmering eyes reflecting the Heart of Yggdrasil’s light behind them.
“I’m sorry. I can’t—“ Eleven was shocked at the state of his own froggy voice, as if he was fighting back the urge to be sick. Talking felt like a dodgy game of trying not to bite his tongue as a part of him fought for him to be silent.
“I’m going to help you up, yeah? As nice as it is here, we can’t stay all day.” Erik’s hands clasped at Eleven’s trembling shoulders before he pulled the Luminary up from the ground and wrapped an arm around Eleven’s middle; supporting the young man even with their height differences.
The thought that maybe they’d go straight to Heliodor had Eleven grasping tight at Erik’s green cloak, fighting back the shivers running through his body.
“What’s gotten into him?” Although Veronica’s voice sounded accusing, her genuine concern shown on the clearly worried look in her eyes that matched with Serena's.
“Oh it must be stress—even though we defeated Homerus he was still a formidable foe!”
“Especially when we were fighting right before our goal, I’d hate it if our journey would have ended right here.” Jade spoke while nodding her head to Sylvando’s explanation.
The end of Jade’s remark had Eleven seeing dots of black consuming his vision, carefully placed feet stumbling to only have Erik’s steady hold to correct his balance, a crashing wave of nostalgia for something he did not know he even missed washed over the young man as Erik talked about everything and nothing just to give his partner an anchor to cling to.
Throughout the whole interaction with the King—or Jade’s father—Eleven could feel Erik’s gaze on his back, the hidden concern only revealed from the furrow of his brows. The glare only worsened when the king had revealed Eleven’s mother and Gemma, the brunette almost brought to tears as he buried his face in his mother’s shoulder, holding her tight before letting go to listen to Gemma, a relieved smile in his glassy eyes.
During the celebratory banquet, Erik isn’t the only one who notices El’s surprising lack of appetite. As the night plays on, Erik nursing his drink at the side, momentarily taking a break from all the conversing at the side, Eleven is talking with Gemma and Jade, a light, genuine smile on his lips that eases Erik’s worries some.
“There’s something that’s just not right...” Erik nods in agreement before choking on his drink when he realizes it’s Amber speaking to him.
“Sorry?” He hacks out, a fist to his lips as he lowers his glass on a random nearby table. Rich people sure do love to fit as much furniture as they can anywhere.
“My boy hasn’t looked this rattled since my father had passed.”
“I think the first time I saw him like this was when we came to what was left of Cobblestone.” Erik crossed his arms as the two of them watched El from across the room.
“I think all of this has been a lot for him. ‘Course he can handle it, but it is quite literally the world on his shoulders.” Erik sees the bottomless look that had taken over the Luminary when he had fallen to his knees right after the King had invited them to Heliodor appear behind his eyes.
“El has told me how much help you’ve been to him. I want to thank you...for looking out for him.”
“I don’t know where else I’d be if not by his side.” Erik genuinely spoke, wondering if it was because of the alcohol or Amber’s kind aura that had him saying these things so openly.
His eyes caught Amber looking at him with an unreadable look on her face, a smile on her lips as her eyes sparkled. It was so full of care that Erik had to gaze at the ground for a moment, wondering why this woman looked at him as if they hadn't just met earlier in the day.
“I hope you stay ever by his side for a long time then, son!” Amber placed a light hand on his arm, a laugh strikingly similar to her son's bubbling from her lips.
“Of course.” Erik choked out in what could have been a cough or a laugh.
For the first time in a long time everyone had their own respective rooms. Erik couldn’t help but notice the cold air seeping through the sheets due to an empty space that was usually occupied by his partner. Sleeping in the same bed had become more of a habit than a necessity for Erik and Eleven, so being offered their own suites, they didn’t know if it would be considered rude to decline.
Erik wishes he had stayed in the same room as Eleven.
Bursting through the double doors of his room to see the Luminary gripping his sword with shaky hands against the King snarling at him made a cold splash of water run down Erik’s back. Instantly berating what was revealed to not be the King as he slid to Eleven’s side with his dagger unsheathed.
Running around the palace and battling Mordegon was a feat in itself. There were moments where Erik truly believed he was done for, taking hits for his teammates when they looked like one more rough-up would have them in a coffin.
Eleven was shaking so hard that Erik thought that sooner or later he’d miss the target of his spells.
After Mordegon’s defeat everything went by in what felt like a flash, the only thing sticking to Erik being the small tug of his sash as everyone made their way back to their rooms to hopefully get some actual rest.
"Are you alright? You've been antsy the whole day." Lying on his side, hand under his pillow, Erik watched Eleven slowly ease under the covers, still sore from the fight.
Even thought their battle against Mordegon felt like hours, the moon was still shining brightly through the window of Erik's suite. It reflected off the crown of the Luminary's head as he lowered against his own pillow. " I'm fine."
Erik stayed silent, knowing that Eleven had more to say, the young man's gaze glued onto the bandage wrapped around Erik's entire forearm, having gained a gash so deep that Serena and Rab's incantations only made sure he wasn't bleeding as profusely as before. Erik watched Eleven's gaze drag from his arm all the way up to his face, gazing at him through his lashes with a troubled expression.
"Its just that...Ever since we made our way up Yggdrasil, I've been feeling uneasy. Like something horrible is supposed to happen." The tips of Eleven's fingers grazed over Erik's forearm, the numbing fear that ran through him when he had watched Erik's blood pour onto the throne room floor still fresh on his mind.
Erik watched the pained expression that didn't show on the Luminary's face but in Eleven's eyes, with his uninjured side, Erik pulled his arm from under him to hold Eleven's hand.
"The day's over, Mordegon's defeated, and everyone is safe." Erik spoke, lightly grasping at Eleven's fingers as he watched his eyes close.
"And I'm here so there's no way someone can barge into the room without being noticed. I can't believe you slept through the King barging into your room, El!" Erik watched Eleven's face scrunch as he tried to hide back his laughter.
"I was exhausted! I still am." Eleven retorted.
"Sleep then, nothing's going to happen." The sheets ruffled as Erik placed his leg over Eleven's, their familiar weight easing the both of them as Eleven's breathing evened out first.