Chapter Text
Eric sighed. Initiation was kicking his ass and he was exhausted. But there was always something to look forward to. That mouthy Candor who had caught his eye. That rude boy who was the first jumper. He was brash and loud and opinionated.
If he were being totally honest with himself, Eric was scared of that boy. He had a mean mouth and fists to match. Sort of. It seemed like there were days that he decided to be less aggressive. Or maybe Eric was looking into it too deep.
His name was something that Eric never caught. Everyone sort of just referred to him as Death. Eric doubted that his name was Death. Or maybe it was and his parents were just weird. But Death didn't seem to mind being called Death. Or he did and never voiced it, although that seemed unrealistic considering how opinionated Death was.
Death always seemed to have a girl on his arm. Opal was her name. Maybe. Eric can't remember, but Opal sounds right. The two of them always hung off each other, whispering amongst them selves, hand in hand as they walk. They almost jumped together, probably would have if Death hadn't decided to go first on his own.
Opal wasn't nearly as blunt as Death, but she certainly wasn't nice. It seemed like she was always making comments under her breath rather than openly saying them like Death would. Eric didn't like her. Not because she was rude, he didn't care about that. He disliked her closeness with Death.
That's not entirely true. Eric doesn't dislike her closeness to Death, he dislikes his distance from Death. Maybe it's a bit childish to have a crush, but he sure as hell did. A big crush on a boy who could probably break Eric in half. A big crush on boy whose girlfriend could probably break Eric in half.
Sparring. Yikes. Eric isn't a bad fighter, he's decently powerful. But he was paired up with Death. All odds were against him. Death is strong, skilled, and distracting. Not on purpose, Eric just gets distracted by his face, and his hands, and his arms, and the way his hair falls in his face. On more than one occasion he caught himself imagining what those hands could do when they weren't throwing punches. And on more than one occasion Death called Eric out for staring.
"Jesus Eric, stop thinking and just fight. You're not giving it 100% and I like my fights to be at least a little challenging." There it was. That attitude that Eric loved so much. He muttered an apology which only made Death scoff in return.
Eric tried to focus on his footing and his follow through but it was becoming increasingly difficult as he realized that Death knew his name.
Training finished for the day and Eric was quick to leave the room. Death and Opal always hung back to fight one on one. Eric felt like he'd suffocate if he stayed in the same room as Death for any longer. As he snatched his shirt up off the floor, a pair of shoes appeared in his line of sight. He raised his head and was met with Opal staring down at him.
"You should work on being more subtle. Unless you actually plan on making a move, staring wont get you anywhere."
That was it. That's all Opal said to Eric before turning around and beginning to walk away with Death, whose eyes lingered on Eric for a moment as they left.
For the next week and a half, Opal's words were heavy on Eric's mind. He couldn't figure out what the hell she was talking about. He wanted to ask her but something told him he wouldn't get a straight answer.
He finally worked up the nerve to walk over to her during dinner one night. She was laughing loudly with Death and a few other initiates but stopped once she saw him. Death stopped laughing as well. He just stared at Eric silently.
"Opal, can i ask you something?" A few jeers from the other initiates earned a glare and smack from the girl.
"Is this question related to what I said last week?" He nodded. "Jesus. Okay, find me after dinner and I'll tell you."
The rest of dinner seemed to drag on as Eric picked at his food and attempted to subtly stare at Death. Emphasis on attempted. Finally the time came for the initiates to return to their sleeping quarters. Eric hung back and tried to seem casual as he waited for a chance to catch up with Opal.
He watched as she waved her friends goodbye and made her way over to Eric. Instead of a casual greeting like Eric expected, Opal grabbed him by the wrist and began dragging him down a series of hallways. They ended up on the catwalk above the chasm. But they weren’t alone.
Death stood leaned against the railing, watching as the two approached. Eric had no idea where this was going or what to expect. Opal stopped a few feet from Death and just when he thought he was getting an explanation, she shoved Eric towards him.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it.” And then she walked away, leaving Eric with more questions than answers.
“So,” spoke Death. “What’s up with you and staring at me?” Suddenly, jumping over the railing and falling to his death didn’t seem like a bad idea to Eric. “Opal thinks you have a crush on me or something. I think you just lack manners. So, settle our debate.”
“What?” Yep, dying was definitely the best option here.
“Settle the debate. Do you have a crush on me or are you rude?“ Eric Coulter does not blush. He never has. Until now.
“I… I don’t- Well, I-“
“So you have a crush on me.” Eric practically choked on his spit when Death spoke.
“What? I didn’t say that!” Death laughed and stepped closer to Eric. Way closer. Feel-each-others-breath closer.
“Well your face is red and you can’t form an answer. I’m not an idiot, Eric.” He moved closer. They were almost chest to chest now. “You can say it. I won’t be mad, I want to hear you say it.”
“I... I like you. A lot. Yeah. I really like you De-“
“Seth. My name’s Seth.” Eric had to hold back a grin at that.
“I really like you, Seth.”
"I WAS RIGHT," Shouted a voice. "YOU OWE ME HALF YOUR DINNER!" Eric turned to find Opal barely hidden behind a wall.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Can you fuck off real quick?" The sharp but joking tone in Seth's voice prompted her to slowly walk away while still watching them.
"So, what now?" Eric had no idea where this was going. "Are we-"
"Can I kiss you?" The question was asked so quite and quickly that Eric thought he had heard him wrong. But the hint of anxiety on Seth's face was telling.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."
Seth leaned in close, their lips brushing momentarily before fully connecting in a soft kiss. Of course Eric had wondered what it would be like to kiss him, but the real thing was so much better.