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He hadn't noticed when it had started raining, but he was in too much pain to truly care about the rain soaking through his clothes and muddying him in the process. Naib had only just come to moments ago but the burning pain and adrenaline coursing through his body made him want to bolt upright. He knew laying down and staying still when gravely injured was a death sentence, but Naib was still a bit disoriented and his head spinning. Though his head was clouded he became aware he was not alone. He forced himself to pick his head up and look around and was quickly met with the sight of Eli lying in a crumpled heap only a yard away. His breathing was very labored and Naib's eyes widened when he noted the metal hunting trap clamped tightly on his right leg.
"F-Fuck…!" Naib tried to sit up but a hot, burning pain shot up his side as he quickly clutched it.
He pulled his hand away and it was completely covered in blood. With one hand grabbing his side, he used his other to drag himself to the injured seer, pushing through the thick mud with his boots. Once at the man's side, he went to reach to grab the front of his shirt. Before he could grab him he heard Eli let out a strangled sigh.
"I'm conscious…" He spoke, causing Naib to jump.
"Eli, your leg...!" Naib gathered all his strength to partially sit up and grab at the metal trap.
He began trying to force the metal jaws open to free the other man's leg, blocking out the large amounts of blood and the metal teeth visibly having gone completely through his mangled leg. His hands slicked with Eli and his own blood made getting a solid grasp of the jaws nearly impossible.
"Naib, you're going to injure yourself worse-" Eli began.
"Be quiet, I'm going to get it open, it's just stuck." He shot back.
His blood slicked hands slipped and hit Eli's leg causing him to let out a choked sob.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry- hey stay awake…!" Naib could feel his desperation making his movements clumsy.
"Where is everyone, goddammit! I haven't seen Vera or Tracy at all… Eli, where's your owl? Ask it to go look for them!" He continued pulling at the trap, the jaws continued to resist and wouldn't budge.
"Naib, p-please… stop. Just... please stop, I can't feel my leg, I don't think it’s salvageable-" Eli reached to grab Naib's arm.
"Don't say such stupid things, your leg will be okay, I just need to get the trap open." His fingers began to bleed from the force he had been trying to exert to open the leg trap. "Eli your owl, where is it?!"
A few moments passed before Eli spoke.
"I told Brooke to leave."
Naib stopped and looked at Eli with wide eyes.
"What, why? Why would you do that!" Anger bubbled up in the pit of the shorter man's stomach.
"The debt she believed to owe me has been repaid, her job is done." The blindfolded man used his free hand to reach up and pull his tattered blindfold off.
The true severity of the situation began to settle as Naib's arms went limp at his sides. His vision blurred, from blood loss and the tears that began to spill over. Eli was always stoic, he knew what lay ahead but made sure to never reveal how much he knew.
"Is this it…?" Naib's voice was barely over a whisper.
He had survived so much, hunger, poverty, and war, never unscathed, but he survived it all. Was this truly how far he'd come? To die in a stupid death match against an enemy he knew nothing about, and now, would never know about? His entire body began to shake as he let out a pained sob.
Eli had been watching Naib out of the corner of his eyes, he knew the first step was to accept that this was the end of the line, but he hadn't the heart to force Naib to realize that. The time at the manor had been stressful, and they had all been fools to allow themselves to be lulled into a false sense of normality as the days progressed. Everyone there had come with the promise of something worth their while, everyone there had the understanding of not to trust anyone too much. They were all each other's competition at the least, enemies at the worst, but the uneventful days that allowed others to learn about one another clouded their judgment, Eli included. The future was always changing, but the future in which he succeeded and was granted an escape from this manor grew smaller and smaller with each passing day. In his heart he knew it was unlikely he'd leave and he had in a way made his peace with that. His life and everyone in it outside these walls was no more, he would never see his family again nor would he ever fulfill his promises to Gertrude. Eli had already been feeling conflicted feelings within his heart as he grew closer to those here, to the man sobbing before him, but at the least he felt sad that he would never be able to tie up loose ends.
Weeks earlier he had spent an entire night penning, ripping up, and re-writing a final letter to Gertrude. There were not enough words in the world to express his sorrow for disappointing her, not enough apologies for how much of her life she had wasted on him, and not enough forgiveness he wasn't owed. Once he had finished a letter he could accept as good enough, he carefully folded it and placed it within an envelope and began heating wax he could use to seal it. As he watched the flames dance on the wick of the wax stick, he carefully slid his glove off and held his hand in the light of the fire. A gold band on his ring finger glistened. He had let out a shaky breath and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. After a few moments, he slid the band off and into the envelope before creasing the flap and sealing it shut with red wax and the seal that he had found within the old wood writing desk in the room he stayed in.
"It's okay." Eli said quietly.
He knew it wasn't okay, but there was nothing he could say to change the future, the future was always changing but now, there was only one final outcome. He reached his hand to grab Naib's as it lay fisted up at his side.
Naib felt his body grow numbed and more distant, hunched over the trap. He raised his head to look at Eli, he had a large gash across the side of his head and scrapes that littered his face and neck. His body temperature was dropping and he began to shiver.
"Come here." Eli spoke again.
Defeated, Naib carefully shifted his weight to lay down next to Eli, their faces only a few centimeters apart. Rain had made his hair slick and the strands that stood apart from his tied back hair were clinging to his face, he tried to push the strands out of his face but only managed to smear his face with mud and blood. Naib let out a shaky sigh, his body now wracked with shivers. Eli noted and did his best to push himself closer to Naib, enough to drape his arm over him and press his hand to his cheek.
"This is all my fault…" Naib said quietly.
"This isn't your fault. You did the best you could… everyone did. Sometimes fate isn't on our sides." Eli ran his thumb under Naib's eye, wiping away what tears were left.
He felt the urge to come clean about his feelings, knowing this very well may be the last chance he had.
"Naib, I would like to tell you something… Something I've been keeping to myself for a good while now…" He could feel the deep sadness welling up in his chest and throat.
Naib looked at him and furrowed his brows.
"What?" He asked.
"Naib… I… I love you. Very much…" Eli couldn't hold the sadness at bay any longer, tears welled up in his eyes. "I should have told you sooner, but that opportunity got away from me…" He wanted to close his eyes, pretend he was somewhere else, but he didn't know how long Naib or he had, so he forced himself not to break Naib's gaze. Naib's eyes widened as tears began to fall again from his eyes.
"You're an idiot… Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why would you tell me now…?" Naib hated how small his voice sounded, how hurt he sounded.
He was getting light headed from blood loss but he tried to keep his focus.
"I'm sorry… I wanted to tell you since I'm not sure I'll really have any other chance to-"
"Don't say that, no one is dying!" Naib snapped.
Eli couldn't help but chuckle softly, he forced himself to move closer and press his lips to Naib softly. He stayed for a moment before pulling back. Naib's face flushed as he stared at Eli with wide eyes.
"Eli why would you- don't you have a fiancé? Why would you-" He stuttered.
"I made my peace awhile back that I would never see her again, I knew I wouldn't return to her again, my feelings faltered and I grew fond of you. It's okay if you don't feel the same-"
Before Eli could finish what he was saying Naib had already crushed his face against his and was kissing him passionately. Eli moved his hand to run his fingers through Naib's hair and take in the moment. He was feeling tired, his head was clouded and his leg no longer felt pain, but was numb. When he pulled back he could see the distance in Naib's eyes, he knew that they were both past death's door.
"I didn't want to die with too many regrets, I didn't want you to die thinking you weren't loved. Naib I love you, if I could go back, I'd tell you sooner, I'd tell you every day. I'd want to spend more time with you, I wanted to hold you close and feel your even breathing when falling asleep, I wanted to sleep in your arms and wake up in them too." Eli was feeling more faint, but he continued. "Naib Subedar I've made more mistakes than I could ever count, but meeting you was never one of them. I could never view coming to this damn manor as a mistake because if I hadn't I would have never met you. Our road ends here but I will find you again, wherever that may be, heaven, hell, the afterlife, another life, I won't stop searching until we meet again." Eli's breathing was becoming labored, his mind begging for him to close his eyes and let go.
"Swear to me…" Naib breathed.
"I swear." Eli's eyelids were growing heavier, his ability to keep them open wavering.
"I love you, Eli Clark." Naib's labored breathing grew shallower and shallower until Eli heard him let out a deep sigh, then it ceased.
His tears fell but he knew it was time to rest now. Eli took one more shallow breath in before allowing himself to close his eyes and let go.
~~
The weather that morning had been perfectly fine, but by midday the blue sky grew grayer and a sudden downpour caught Naib and Norton off guard when they had gone out to buy groceries for the apartment. Both men ran down the sidewalk, Naib cursing angrily and Norton laughing at Naib’s anger, before rushing into the nearest store, a small coffee shop. Once they made it inside, Naib pulled his phone out to check it was still functioning. He used his shirt to wipe the screen and look at the weather app.
"It doesn't even say it's supposed to rain." He frowned.
Norton pulled his hat off and shook his head like a dog, splashing water everywhere and pissing Naib off again.
"Watch it!" He partially shoved Norton and gave a heavy sigh.
"So much for groceries. Which coffee shop is this?" Norton looked around at the sparse amount of people inside, then at the baristas who seemed unoccupied and were chatting idly behind the register.
"No idea, I've only been here once." The brown haired man looked around, frowning. "I guess I'll get something to drink since it looks like we're stuck here."
Norton shrugged before making his way to a small table and settling in. Naib moved and eyed the menu before ordering, deciding on something that sounded familiar to him. While he stood around waiting, he tried to distract himself on his phone, checking his texts and social media apps for anything to keep him entertained. As he waited he heard some other people order then move to stand and wait for their orders. Though he wasn't paying attention, one of the people who ordered voice sounded oddly familiar. Was it someone he knew? Naib looked up and spotted the individual talking. It was a taller man, short brown hair, a gray scarf and tan jacket, and square glasses. He was talking with a man who wore a white turtleneck sweater and seemed bored. He had never seen the man before but for a second as he looked at him something flashed in his mind, a memory of sorts, of this man clad in blue robes and a blindfold standing in a garden. What was that? The memory jolted Naib and sent a sharp pain down his side, causing him to flinch and grab his side. The brown haired man hadn't even thought further before his body moved on its own towards the man. When had his heart started hammering in his chest? He reached forward but stopped his hand a few inches from the man's arm. The man turned and looked at Naib, his brows furrowed but it seemed the moment he saw him, something flashed behind his eyes as well.
"Order for Eli!" The barista's announcement brought both men back to reality.
Naib didn't know what got into him, he couldn't pinpoint this urgency he felt in his stomach.
"I'm sorry if this is weird, but have we met before?" He blurted out, still frozen in front of him.
"I think I have but I can't remember where. I'm Eli Clark." The short haired man gave him a soft smile, almost a knowing one.
"I'm Naib, Naib Subedar."