Work Text:
The Resting Grounds were familiar to Markoth. He used to bury the dead here. The moth village he had lived in used to stand here. Now, the graveyard mocked him. He hated coming here, but never voiced his many complaints about it.
Markoth watched Marmu as she gazed at the Blue Lake. “Pretty…,” she whispered, gazing back at her reflection.
Markoth chuckled. “It is pretty, isn’t it? Are you excited to visit Revek?”
Marmu turned to her dad. “Yeah! I made him a gift!” She held up a small stone. Etched into it was a drawing of the guardian and child.
Markoth smiled. “I think he’s gonna love it.” He held out a hand. “Let’s not keep him waiting any longer.”
Marmu took his hand with a paw, holding her gift close as she walked alongside the moth. The Resting Grounds were dreary at times, but today seemed to be one of the livelier days.
The pair came across a familiar tombstone. Xero was in front of it, either resting or meditating, a habit he had gotten into recently. The warrior opened an eye, perking up at the two. He disappeared into thin air with a snicker.
The Spirit’s Glade wasn’t that far away from the Stag Station, but Markoth preferred to walk than talk to the Stag. The Stag had a tendency to talk, and Markoth was not a fan of needless conversation.
Revek was waiting by the Glade door. “Marmu!”
The caterpillar rushed to her babysitter. “Revek! Look! I made you something!” She held out the tablet.
“Aw, it’s cute!” Revek tried not to gush at the drawing, taking it and holding it close. “Thank you.”
Marmu giggled as he picked her up. “Can we play hide and seek today! I wanna hide!”
“Of course we can.” Revek gazed at Markoth. “You’ll be back tonight, I presume.”
Markoth nodded. “That’s correct. Have fun, you two.”
“Bye, Dad!” Marmu waved at the moth as Revek carried her into the Glade. Markoth smiled as he turned away. Revek always loved to babysit Marmu, which helped Markotn greatly when he had plans. Today was no different.
“BOO!” A pair of hands on Markoth’s shoulders made the moth jump. Markoth looked at Xero with a grin. Xero’s eyes shone. “Gotcha!”
Markoth snickered as he embraced his boyfriend. “You did get me. Good job.”
Xero stroked Markoth’s fluff. “Are you ready for today?” he asked softly, gazing at Markoth brightly.
The moth nodded. “Poggy and Marissa know of our arrival.”
Xero blinked. “And you’re sure that chef won’t try to serve us something out of the Waterways?”
Markoth chuckled. “I’m sure he’s being watched. Let us be off before we’re late.”
The two intertwined hands as they exited the Resting Grounds. Xero insisted on taking the Stag and chatted with him the entire way to the kingdom capital. Markoth positioned his shield above the pair, the rain pattering against it.
Poggy Thorax greeted them at the entrance of the Pleasure House. “Greetings, fellow ghosts! Welcome to Poggy’s Kitchen!” He had been busy, by the looks of it. The kitchen was a mess, the air a bit rancid.
Xero made a face. “Did you butcher someone in here?”
Poggy grinned. “Maybe! Marissa’s waiting in the other room.”
Markoth thanked the chef as he guided Xero along, wrapping an arm around the other. Xero looked a bit nervous in the kitchen. He did a double-take at the pile of corpses behind the counter.
The theatre was quiet. Marissa was practicing her singing when the two entered. She turned and waved at the two. “Welcome! I hope you enjoy the show!”
Markoth sat down with Xero, pulling him closer as Marissa began to sing. The notes were sweet and almost hypnotizing. Xero smiled as he took off his helmet, resting his head against Markoth as the pair listened to the song, sleep quickly overcoming him despite his attempts to fight it off.
-
“The punishment for treason is execution.” The Pale King’s voice was hard. The orange burning light in Xero’s vision raged on, thoughts that weren’t his screaming in his mind.
“KILL THE FOUL WYRM! BETRAY THEM ALL!”
A moth stepped into his vision. They looked down at Xero with an expression of sadness, pity, and, beneath all, hatred. A golden nail pierced Xero’s chest, making him flinch. The moth readied another nail, aiming it at Xero’s head.
“I don’t see why I ever even gave you a chance.”
For a second, the orange receded. Memories flooded back before they were replaced by the light.
The golden nail was the last thing he saw.
-
Xero was woken up by rapid shaking. His white eyes opened quickly and his blurry gaze focused on Markoth’s worried expression.
“Oh my gods, Xero… you’re awake.” The moth breathed a sigh of relief. He stroked Xero’s face and the latter realized it had been streaked with tears.
“What happened?” Xero asked quietly. The nightmare had left him stunned. Some part of him was happy he was dead- he would’ve forgotten to breathe if he were still alive.
“You fell asleep. I was going to let you rest but you started crying…” Markoth seemed extremely worried. “I tried to wake you up as soon as I saw…”
“O-Oh… that. I had a nightmare, nothing more.” Xero gazed away.
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
Silence. The thought of explaining something so horrifying made the response die in Xero’s throat. “Do I...have to?”
“No. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.” Markoth had an arm around his boyfriend, this time as a protective gesture. “I won’t force-”
“You killed me.”
The words made the moth stop. He gazed at Xero with an unreadable look, silently urging him to go on.
“It was the execution all over again. E-except it was you…” Xero felt tears well in his eyes again. “Yo-your last words to me were ‘I don’t see why I ever even gave you a chance’. An-and then you killed me-”
His words broke off in the middle of his sentence. He couldn’t. He couldn’t retell the story. Markoth was silent for a long moment that was all too suffocating to Xero.
Finally, he spoke. “Xero… look at me.” He helped Xero turn his head, their white gazes meeting. “You’re one of the only bugs I’d die again for. I’d never do something like that to you.”
Xero knew the words were genuine. He wiped his eyes with a hopeful smile. “Promise…?”
“I promise you, Xero.” Markoth handed the warrior his helmet. Xero placed it on his head again.
“Who’s the other bug you’d die again for…?”
Markoth smiled. “Marmu, of course. What kind of dad would I be, letting my child take such a hit?”
Xero smiled softly. He leaned on Markoth again, holding onto his boyfriend gently until it was time to go.
-
“Marmu, your dads are here to pick you up!”
“Xero!” Marmu tackled Xero to the ground, giggling. “Revek and I played hide and seek! I won!”
Revek smiled as he nodded. “I just couldn’t find her anywhere.”
Xero snickered as Markoth lifted Marmu off of him. “I taught her well, didn’t I?”
Marmu looked up at Markoth. “Look! Revek gave me my very own nail!” She held up a small blade. Markoth shot Revek a look.
The guardian chuckled. “Teach her how to use it. I told her we could have a sword fight the next time she visited.”
“Oh, Gods.” Markoth handed Marmu to Xero. “Have fun, Xero.”
The warrior sputtered. “Why me? Aren’t you better at using a nail?”
Markoth smiled. “So you admit it.”
“N-No! I’ll fight you!” Xero paused when he noticed Marmu yawn. He smiled. “Later. I’ll fight you later. I think we need to take this one home first.”
Markoth chuckled as he wrapped an arm around the two. They were more than his friends or fellow ghosts. They were his family.
He couldn’t have asked for more.