Chapter Text
“You’re so stupid!” Julian repeated. “You–!”
“Shut up–” Yadriel threw himself against Julian, wrapped his arms around his neck, and kissed him fervently.
The trilling alarms of Julian’s hospital monitors faded as if a thick fog had rolled in around them.
Yadriel didn’t think about their families standing just feet away. He didn’t think about how exposed he felt beneath the flimsy cotton gown.
His senses were too busy screaming their incredible findings to his brain – the tiny moan in Julian’s throat as Yadriel crushed him into a kiss – the quick breaths Julian took through his nose – to hear him breathe. Julian was solid . Heat radiated through his skin. His fierce grip said nothing could take Yadriel away from him.
Alive – they were both alive .
But as they kissed, Yadriel’s saturating, dizzying joy mingled with unbidden memories like a slick of oil in pure water. He remembered Julian’s spirit crumpled in pain beneath his lifeless body on the stone slab… Tio’s kind face contorted with a poisonous rage… Maritza in her white, bloodied dress screaming at the glowing apparition of Lady Death… The pulse of amulet magic draining Yadriel’s body as he’d blacked out –
A rough sob caught in his throat and he broke away from their kiss to bury his head against Julian’s neck, his throat tight, tears streaming.
It was… a lot.
Julian squeezed him closer, his lips soft against the shell of Yadriel’s ear whispering a susurrus of Spanish. “Mi querido… todo bien… todo está bien…”
Yadriel gripped his solid, warm chest so tightly his arms trembled.
He was right. By fate or stupid luck, they had gotten another chance. He was going to be accepted as the brujo he was, with this explosive sun-star of a boy in his arms. Alive. Safe .
Yadriel took a shuddery breath and leaned back just enough to see the tear tracks on Julian’s own cheeks, his dark irises swimming. They both sniffed loudly with crumpled smiles and dissolved into watery laughter.
Julian folded Yadriel back into a hug and lifted him off the floor, swinging him side to side with a belly laugh until he lost his balance and they stumbled against the wall. Yadriel’s tears continued to flow even as laughter kicked in his chest.
He heard Maritza’s wry voice say, “You know we can see both your asses in those hospital gowns, right?”
The fog that had protected them burned away.
Yadriel was suddenly aware of the eyes of their families. In a heartbeat, he registered all of their reactions – Flaca and Maritza’s Cheshire-cat grins, Luca’s sweater-shielded hands hiding his smile, Lita’s astonishment, his father’s surprised smirk and red-tinged ears, Omar, Rocky, and Rio’s confused scowls.
“Shit,” Julian groaned. All at once, his weight shifted and Yadriel was supporting him as he wavered on unsteady legs. “Uhg, just got so dizzy.” Julian grimaced, his eyes squeezed shut, looking like a pouty-kid version of himself.
“Come on, lay down,” Yadriel scolded warmly, ignoring the crowd as he helped Julian walk back to the bed and eased him onto the mattress. Yadriel scooted up next to him and rubbed circles on his back.
Julian’s expression was pinched, his skin pale and clammy. Yadriel’s stomach clenched. This felt too much like Julian’s final living moments in the cave, but he pushed the awful memory away. Biting his lip anxiously, Yadriel quickly looked around for something to help.
His father was suddenly pressing a damp cloth into Yadriel’s hand. As their eyes met, they shared an instant of understanding that made his heart squeeze.
Yadriel patted the cool cloth to Julian’s cheeks and brow, earning an appreciative little hum.
“Better?” Yadriel asked softly.
“Mm hm.”
With a deep sigh, Julian finally relaxed. He shifted onto his side and curled against Yadriel, who leaned into the contact. He continued to rub gentle circles on Julian’s back and watched his eyelids droop closed. Yadriel’s heart ached.
“It’s like you flipped a switch,” Luca said softly behind him. “He was so wound up, they gave him some kind of sedative, but he still fought it.” He laughed nervously. “Jules wouldn’t chill until he saw you were okay. We had to hold him down to keep from running all over looking for you.”
The thought of Julian distressed and seeking him made something in Yadriel’s chest twist painfully. His eyes burned. “I’m sorry I made you wait,” Yadriel whispered to Julian, gripping the sheet in his fist, trying to keep it together, but the tears were flowing again. “I only just woke up – I looked for you as soon as I heard you were–” a little hiccupy sob snuck through his words. Not dead. “–you were okay.”
“Todo está bien ahora, patrón,” Julian whispered weakly, squeezing Yadriel’s hand.
Sniffling hard, Yadriel scrubbed his face with the sleeve of his gown. He’s okay, he’s okay .
“Yadriel,” his father said gently, close to his elbow. “You both need to rest.”
“I’m staying with him.” He wove his fingers into Julian’s.
“Mi amor,” Lita protested, gripping his arm, worry etched into her tired face. “He is here, so very close to your room. He will get better with rest – you see that now. Let us take you back to your bed. Soon you can be together.”
“I’m not leaving,” Yadriel replied, not unkindly, but with a strength and finality that surprised himself.
Julian huffed with satisfaction and squeezed his hand.
Yadriel ignored the others standing around them in an uncomfortable silence, waiting for him to give in. But he wouldn’t. Yadriel studied Julian’s delicate closed eyelids, his jaw, the whorls of cartilage in his perfect ear. Yadriel knew he was being difficult and unreasonable, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t leave. Not when he had almost lost Jules.
The tense silence stretched out. He wished they would all just go away.
“I can ask the staff to move Yadriel’s bed in here,” said a deep, tired voice behind them.
Julian lifted his head blearily. Yadriel craned around, surprised. Julian’s brother Rio stood with his arms folded over his chest looking stern and exhausted.
He pointed at them. “But you both have to promise to stay in bed quietly until you’re released. Clear?”
Yadriel blinked. Rio was defending them? He exchanged a quick, surprised look with Julian, then nodded.
“Jules?” Rio glared at him.
“Okay, okay,” Julian sighed as if admitting defeat, flopping heavily back into his pillow, a tiny quirk of a smile at the corners of his lips.
Rio turned to Enrique and Lita, asking for their consent with a look. They nodded, bewildered, and Rio strode off to, presumably, arrange the room transfer. Yadriel did not think the staff would like it, but somehow he thought Rio would get his way.
“Okay,” Lita said with a defeated sigh. “But rest. The doctor said you can leave this afternoon if you are well.” She leaned close to Yadriel and whispered so only he could hear, “The sooner you can leave, the more time you will have with your mamá – and you don’t want to miss the aquelarre tomorrow. ”
The rest of the world suddenly rushed into the little cocoon that had only held himself and Julian. Yadriel sucked in a shaky breath. His mom would return to the afterlife tomorrow at midnight. And there was no way he was missing this year’s aquelarre. Somehow he’d make sure Julian stayed near him through it all, but that was a problem for later. “Sí, Lita.” He kissed her cheek.
Lita patted his arm, muttering under her breath about hombres tercos, then seemed to really see Julian’s friends for the first time. “Ay! You all look starved! Come with me, I have leftover homemade empanadas in the waiting room.”
Their tired faces snapped with interest, but they looked guiltily to Julian.
“ Go , pendejos. She makes the best pan de muerto.”
Yadriel’s father scowled. “How do you know–?”
“ Later , Dad,” Yadriel said firmly.
Lita bustled out, cautiously followed by Omar and Luca, who cast suspicious looks at Yadriel as they passed.
Maritza gently punched his arm as she followed them, leaning close to whisper, “ Someone came back from the dead with an extra dose of bamf .”
Yadriel rolled his eyes, but grinned. “Shut up and get an empanada.”
She winked and left.
Julian was briefly distracted by Rocky and Flaca exuberantly hugging him goodbye and threatening to burn his skateboard if he didn’t rest.
Covered by their noise, Yadriel leaned toward Enrique and whispered, “Um. Dad? I don’t think Jules’ brother has health insurance. Won’t this cost them a fortune?” His stomach twisted with worry.
Enrique looked grave and tugged at his mustache. “Our community won’t let this terrible occurrence bankrupt their family.”
Yadriel’s tight shoulders slumped with relief. “Thanks, Dad. And. Um.”
“I’ll give you some time to yourselves.” He gave Yadriel a knowing smile.
“I’m not going anywhere, I promise.”
Enrique chuckled wearily and gripped his son’s shoulder. “That I can believe. I’ll go talk to Rio and collect your things.”
“Thanks Dad, really.”
Enrique studied him for a long moment, his expression fond and pained. “I am so proud of you, my son.”
Yadriel was too astonished for words, so he squeezed his dad’s hand. He tried not to think about what his family would be going through if his sacrifice had gone as planned. That reality shivered between them, unspoken.
Enrique kissed the top of Yadriel’s head, then plodded out the door.
Rocky and Flaca hurried out after, Flaca giving him a small smile, but Yadriel felt the weight of Rocky’s wary gaze slide over him.
And then… they were alone.
“Acércate,” Julian purred sleepily, shifting over to make space.
Yadriel gratefully laid next to him, squeezing close with his head pillowed on Julian’s arm. For several long moments they simply lay curled together, exhausted and breathing, both struck quiet by this mundane miracle.
In the long silence, Yadriel became aware of the pit in his chest.
Catriz…
There was an empty space in the world that had once held the man who had at times felt more like a father than an uncle… who had struggled alone as an outcast. But Yadriel’s grief was strangled by the horror of what his tio had been so willing to do. To innocent kids like Julian – to Miguel – to banish his sobrino’s own mother to Xibalba with all of the brujx spirits.
Someone Yadriel loved had been capable of evil, and he’d never seen it coming.
Yadriel knew too well what it felt like to be excluded from the brujx – he’d been so fueled by his own desire to belong that he’d performed his own quinces ritual in secret. He’d lied and snuck around – feeling justified in every defiant act. But he could never have hurt another to gain his rightful place among the brujx.
…could he?
Or… could years of pain and exclusion twist even the most benevolent heart, make anyone vulnerable to the poisoned promises of Bahlam? How could Catriz be his dear tio, and a power-crazed murderer?
The ache in Yadriel’s chest swirled with bitter, confused anger. If only he could talk to him. He wasn’t accustomed to death being so final – he couldn’t rage at Catriz’s spirit during Día de Muertos, demand answers, hear his penitence.
Catriz was just… gone.
As if sensing the turbulence in his mind, Julian squeezed him lightly and rubbed his thumb over Yadriel’s cheek, bringing him back to the present. Julian’s breath was soft and warm against his neck. Yadriel rubbed away fresh, angry tears. Enough. Today he and Jules were alive. They had undone Catriz’s damage. And Yadriel desperately wanted to believe that some part of his tio would be grateful for all they had done to undermine his terrible plans.
Yadriel kissed Julian lightly on the forehead, making him hum. Through all the blood and pain and fear, they had come out with something bigger – the sparking, electric bond between them that Yadriel was breathless to explore. The grief and anger tangled inside him, but he’d muddle his way through it, with Julian’s help.
Yadriel focused on the sleepy, handsome face watching him with concern. He ran his fingertips along Julian’s jaw, making him squirm. “Oh my god ,” Yadriel hissed with surprise. “Are you ticklish ?”
Julian snagged his hand away from the ticklish point and pulled it to his lips, muttering into his fingers, “I had to work so hard to touch you before. I can’t get over how good you feel.” Julian squeezed him around the middle, which ignited Yadriel’s own terribly ticklish spot below his ribs.
There was a brief, giddy flurry as they each tried to tickle the other, but Yadriel caught Julian’s hands, laughing breathlessly, “They’re going to kick me out! Just chill!”
“Okay, okay, okay, truce,” Julian laughed, squeezing Yadriel’s hands. “Just rest with me, okay? We gotta get out of here, and I still feel all zombied. ”
“You aren’t reanimated , you’re alive –” Yadriel started to correct.
“Not what I meant, brujo.” Julian rolled his eyes and chuckled.
Yadriel could feel the deep rumble of it against his own chest. His stomach fluttered. Yadriel’s grin was huge.
“What?” Julian smirked groggily.
“It’s just… really, really good, to just be with you, and just…”
“Be normal?”
“Yeah,” he said with a relieved laugh.
“Mm hm,” Julian agreed. “Normal feels amaaaazing.”
Julian’s eyelids drooped and his breaths deepend as he succumbed to the sedative. Yadriel watched him doze. After only knowing him as a wired, sleepless ghost, it was achingly sweet to see him so relaxed.
Yadriel felt leaden with weariness, too, but in the quiet, his thoughts continued to race. Another realization was slowly uncoiling in his mind. He fidgeted with Julian’s warm, calloused fingertips.
“I can hear your brain overheating,” Julian teased sleepily.
Yadriel startled. “I thought you fell asleep.”
Julian half-shrugged, his eyes still closed. “Might’ve. Just keep zoning.” He nudged his forehead against Yadriel’s and looked at him through his dark lashes. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m just… thinking.”
“‘Bout what?”
There was a smear of Flaca’s flamingo pink lipstick on Julian’s brow, and Yadriel rubbed it away absently with his thumb. “Your friends. It’s… good to see you back together.”
Julian frowned. “They look wrecked. I wish they never had to go through this.”
“That’s what they’re thinking about you, idiot,” Yadriel said with warm exasperation.
Julian squeezed him a little tighter. “It wasn’t all bad,” he said sleepily.
Yadriel’s belly filled with carbonated flutterings, but his mind continued to spin. Julian had been dragged into the world of the brujx – had gone through something horrific. And now he had to keep the burden of his secret from the people who meant the most to him – people who could help him. That wasn’t fair .
Yadriel huffed a sigh as he came to a decision. “Um, so, your friends… I think they should know. About what really happened to you.”
Julian’s tired eyes widened. “You do?”
“Luca basically knows. They all saw your skateboard fly through the air. Omar doesn’t trust me at all . And I can’t blame him. Two days ago I showed up at their hideout a sketchy stranger, and today they see us kissing .” He blushed and fidgeted with Julian’s fingertips.
Julian bit his lip, thinking it through. “We could just say we were keeping us really quiet, like, before I got all abducted.”
“Jules, do you honestly think they’d believe you could keep anything that big a secret? From them?”
A rueful grin brought out his dimples. “Nah, you’re right. They’d have known something was up. But Yads, aren’t the brujx supposed to be like, a super big secret? Ancient tradition and all that?”
Yadriel felt a sharp, rebellious crackle. “Not all of our traditions are good ones. Why shouldn’t we be able to be honest with people we care about?”
“You care that much about my friends?”
Yadriel’s brow knit. “This isn’t about me. You shouldn’t have to hide what you went through from your family. I don’t see how their knowing hurts the brujx – but you not being honest with people you love? That definitely hurts all of you.”
Julian exhaled long and sharp through his nostrils. “You sure?”
Yadriel nodded.
“Not Rio.”
“No?”
Julian’s eyes looked stormy. “I don’t know. No. Not yet, anyway. This is already a lot for him to handle. But I think my friends can roll with it. I… I’d like to tell them. If you’ll tell them with me.” The soft bloom of Julian’s smile was fragile.
“Of course I will.” Yadriel kissed his lips once, like a promise.
“Once we’re out of here. Let it all settle for a while.”
“Okay. Whatever you need.”
“That’s gonna be some weird conversation,” Julian muttered.
“It’ll be easier than trying to lie to them. I was terrible at that.”
Julian laughed warmly. “Yeah, you were.”
“About as good as you were at keeping your temper in check,” Yadriel smirked.
“Mm hm. Fair.”
Julian quieted into another sedated reverie, but Yadriel detected relief in his silence and the relaxed weight of his arms around him in the narrow hospital bed.
“That was cool of Rio, to put us together,” Yadriel said softly into the long, sleepy quiet. “He’s really worried about you.”
Julian made that tch sound between his teeth that Yadriel loved. “He did it to get his way. You heard Luca. I wasn’t exactly being a model patient before you found me here.” His eyes got watery and a hint of his anger rumbled like thunder in the distance. “I kept asking and asking, but they wouldn’t let me see you.”
“Hey,” Yadriel soothed, gently rubbing his arm. “I’m right here.”
The thundercloud was chased away by Julian’s tired grin and he rested his chin in Yadriel’s mussed hair. “Yeah, you are.”
“But I’m still kind of surprised. Rio didn’t look too happy seeing us… together.”
“Nah, he’s cool.” Julian grinned at him wickedly. “But you did steal his car.”
Yadriel’s eyes bugged. “You don’t think–”
Julian’s smile became playful. “ Relax , patrón. You were wearing a mask – he couldn’t have gotten a good look at you.”
“Shit, it’s still parked by the cemetery–”
“Dude, relax . We just got, like, resurrected from the dead. We have time to figure that out.” His smile softened as he brushed a thumb lightly against Yadriel’s cheek. The touch made his head feel light. “Your mess is my mess, remember? It’s bound to be easier if we’re both cleaning it up, right?”
Yadriel felt new tears burn at the corners of his eyes and he bit his lip, nodding, not trusting his voice to speak.
He loved Jules.
The realization was like a solar flare inside his body.
And then a headache that had been quietly brewing behind his temples gave a particularly painful throb.
Julian scowled, blurting, “You’re in pain .” He lightly pressed the warm pads of his fingers against Yadriel’s temple. “Your… head .”
Yadriel stared at him, stunned. “How did you know that?”
Julian’s look of bewilderment was incredibly endearing. “I… I just kinda knew it. Just now. Like, I could almost feel it. And I just knew it was you. ” Julian frowned. “This is weird, right?”
“Yeah,” Yadriel breathed, his thoughts racing. Could it have been a coincidence? “It’s all pretty weird.”
The door was suddenly pushed open by two staff wheeling in Yadriel’s bed and monitors. Yadriel tensed and sat up. Julian squeezed him tightly around his middle as if they were here to take him away.
One of the nurses smirked at them as he positioned a monitor next to Julian’s bed. “They say you two won’t settle unless you’re in the same room.” He crouched to plug in the machine. “We don’t usually do this, and I’ll probably get grief from my supervisor, but you’ve been through hell, the way I hear it. This is a lot more humane than tranquilizing you both into submission.”
Rio had done it.
“Honestly, we can use the extra room,” the other nurse hummed. “So just behave, alright?”
The first nurse rubbed at his goatee as he looked wonderingly at the calm, obedient Julian. “Bethany, can you believe this is the same patient we were struggling with just an hour ago?” He chuckled to his partner.
Bethany patted Julian’s leg and grinned warmly. “Seems like he got a dose of the best medicine.” She winked at Yadriel, who blushed again. “Take good care of him, hm?”
Yadriel’s throat tightened. He nodded quickly.
“He has a really bad headache,” Julian blurted. “Can you get him something for it?”
“That so?” Bethany asked with a little smile.
“Yeah – um, that would be great, thanks,” Yadriel smiled sheepishly, exchanging a charged look with Julian.
“On it.” She left the room.
“Okay, my man,” the goatee'd nurse said to Yadriel, which made him jolt pleasantly. “You gotta get into this bed or we won’t be able to attach either of you to your monitors.” He patted Yadriel’s mattress. “Up you get.”
Julian’s grip on him relaxed and Yadriel climbed awkwardly into the other bed, trying not to let his gown fall open. He flopped down heavily, more grateful to rest than he wanted to admit.
Bethany returned and he took the pill and tiny water cup she held out for him. She put covered lunch trays on their bed tables. The smell made Yadriel’s stomach turn.
Once they were satisfied that their patients were calm and tethered to their monitors, the nurses left.
Yadriel let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He pushed the food as far away as he could, covering it with a napkin for good measure. He glanced over and saw Julian weakly poke the contents of his plate, then wrinkle his nose dramatically.
“Gross! I finally get living-people food, and it makes me wanna barf.” He pushed his tray away, too.
Yadriel rolled heavily onto his side to face Julian, then stretched his hand across the gap between their beds and pouted. “Now you’re too far away.”
Julian’s fingers wove into his. He blinked at him like a sleepy Purrcaso. “Better?”
“A little. Come on, let’s make a break for it,” Yadriel teased. “No one’s looking – we can run out of here and find a car, head to the beach.”
Julian smiled dreamily. “Sounds good. But we’d get our asses sunburned. Probably not a good way to start your aquelarre.”
Yadriel squeezed his fingers. “Rain check?”
“ Definitely . But I’m driving next time.” Julian suddenly flared with a pulse of energy. He lunged across the small space between their beds to tug Yadriel into a quick, hard kiss, but the sudden motion made him wince and he fell back onto his bed with a hiss. “ Shit . Getting stabbed sucks.”
Yadriel felt the sharp throb in Julian’s chest and winced with worry. The loose neck of Julian’s hospital gown drooped, showing the St. Jude medallion back around his neck. Yadriel exhaled a shaky breath as he stared at the dressed wound over his heart.
“It’s fine,” Julian groused, “thanks to my idiot boyfriend who almost got himself killed bringing me back from the dead.”
Their eyes locked magnetically. Despite his pain, Julian grinned at him, dimples in full bloom.
Boyfriend.
Yadriel felt electricity crackle through him, a blush burning from his chest to the tips of his ears. He shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “My idiot boyfriend is worth the trouble.”
Emotions swirled across Julian’s animated face and he blushed in turn, then scowled at him. “Yads – if I were here in this stupid hospital and you were dead, I would be beyond pissed.” He squeezed Yadriel’s hand hard for emphasis, his playfulness evaporating, dark eyes intense. “The world needs Yadriel Vélez Flores in it.”
Yadriel’s breath hitched. “Not as much as it needs Julian Diaz.”
“We’re gonna have to disagree on that.”
“Guess they’re stuck with both of us idiots.”
They glared at each other. Yadriel broke first and laughed, but only a breath before Julian joined. Yadriel’s hand shot across the gap to squeeze the ticklish point in Julian’s side, earning him a playfully-outraged yelp.
Julian tugged Yadriel’s offending hand to his lips for a kiss. “Not cool! A truce is a truce , dude.”
Yadriel let his head flop against the pillow. “Right, right. Rest .”
Julian’s eyes flicked over Yadriel’s shoulder and he frowned. “Hey – where’d she come from?”
Yadriel felt a familiar prickle along his neck and twisted around to see a nurse staring at his bed’s clipboard, her brow furrowed in concentration. As she stepped closer to note something on his monitors, a wave of icy frost made him shiver. The nurse paused and gave him a small, sympathetic nod. Her edges were blurry, her colors pale.
“Yads,” Julian breathed, “is she a ghost?”
Yadriel’s head whipped back to Julian and he instantly regretted it as his temples throbbed. “You can actually see that spirit?”
“Uh, yeah – and unless I just coded blue, I am most definitely not supposed to be able to still see ghosts.”
Yadriel’s pulse quickened in his neck. “Jules,” his voice quavered. “Do you think something happened to you when I brought you back?”
Julian’s eyes went wide. “Dude – am I a brujo, too?”
A startled laugh burst from Yadriel’s chest. “Holy shit.”