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The door was locked behind them and the remains of the monsters that attacked them, nearly killed all of them, disappeared from view. Wilde helped Hamid and the others tend to the corpses of Sumetnyal and Augusta. What little they could do for them, with their chests torn asunder. At least they died while asleep, dreaming of wonder and bliss.
Cel and Ada tended to the lab, and Wilde found Zolf alone off to the side, half-hidden behind a counter as if collecting himself after the battle.
“Are you alright?” Wilde asked, stepping over to him.
Zolf opened his mouth to reply, and the insistence that he was fine nearly slipped from his lips before he could stop himself. But as he glanced up at Wilde, he couldn’t lie anymore.
“No, I’m not, I’m really not,” he admitted quietly, his voice breaking. “You died, Wilde. It took everything I had to bring you back. This is the second time I’ve lost you and I… I just…”
When words failed him, he pulled Wilde into a hug and pressed his face into his chest, ignoring what remained of the blood from where he’d been so brutally stabbed.
“I’m grateful I have you looking after me,” Wilde said, squeezing Zolf tight.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do when the magic doesn’t work. What am I supposed to do if you’re gone for good? How do I… I can’t lose you.” His voice cracked with a sob.
“Zolf…” Wilde pulled away just enough so that he could gently wipe the tears falling down Zolf’s cheeks. Then, he pressed a slow, purposeful kiss to his forehead, still holding onto him all the while.
“I’m scared, Wilde,” he admitted in a whisper, grasping onto Wilde’s wrists, almost as if he was afraid that he would disappear for good this time if he let go. “I can’t lose you again. I mean, I can, and I’ll keep using whatever magics I can to bring you back to me, but… one day, that’s not going to be enough.”
“Then you’ll keep fighting. And you’ll find something else to hope for. Even if it’s just that you’ll get to see me again one day.”
Another sob escaped Zolf’s lips, and he hugged Wilde again. Wilde held him tight, rubbing circles against his back as if it would provide some comfort in his despair.
“We don’t have to worry about that now, though,” Wilde said. “Thank you for bringing me back. Again. I… I’m in no hurry to leave, to leave you, so… thank you, sincerely.”
After a few long moments, Zolf abruptly pulled back from Wilde and wiped his face, though his eyes still bore the sign of his tears. “I’m just glad you’re back. When all this is over, if we both survive, there’s no more adventures for us. We’ll put you in a bubble or something so that you can’t get hurt anymore.” Despite how he had just been crying, that twinkle of affectionate teasing shone brightly in his eyes.
Wilde grinned. “As if a bubble could restrain me.”
“I’m not worried about restraining you. I’m worried about the other things getting in.”
“Well, we’ll figure something out, yeah?”
Zolf nodded. “Yeah, we will.”
Wilde reached out for Zolf’s hand and gave it a firm squeeze. He was about to promise that he would never choose to leave him, and that he would fight with all he had to stay, but before he could speak, Cel and Ada called everyone over so that they could speak to Babbage and prepare for the final phase of their quest.