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Magic holds memories, that's what Aoyagi Toya's father, King Aoyagi, had taught him all those years ago. "If one is a user of magic, one's memories are held up by their abilities." Toya was also taught that there are certain types of magic to stay away from. "As protectors of the land, we are to stay away from the magic of the dark. We must set an example with those who betray the light."
As he stood in front of his once lover, Kamishiro Rui now, he realized what those two phrases meant. The once confident and strong purple haired boy now cowered away in the corner of a plain stone room, shivering from the cold that pierced his skin. The former sorcerer wore a peasant's clothes now, his hair jaggedly cut as if someone had taken their sword and cut it all off, but a while had passed, allowing the boy to grow out his hair to his shoulders. Knotted rope held the already weak boy down in the cell, making his wrists and ankles turn red because of the scratchy texture. The sight of his former lover in such a pathetic state made Toya's heart break.
Rui came from a mysterious place, and apparently dark magic was what he was born to use. Of course, he didn't use it when he was adopted as the sorcerer of the kingdom, and he didn't tell anyone he had those abilities. But after a whole year of courting the prince, he told him that he was born a dark magic user. Toya didn't take it well and told his best friend, Shinonome Akito, who ended up turning Rui in as a precaution. Rui was taken into custody, and stripped of his rank, magic and memories with a public ritual.
Toya could still remember the first day that Rui had lost his memory, the scene burned into his mind permanently. Rui had looked up at him with confusion in his eyes, the soft 'who are you' echoing throughout the chamber. Nothing hurt more than the shock in his eyes when Toya explained what had happened to him and who he was. Now that the king has stepped down and Toya has taken his place, Toya sees Rui in his cell nearly everyday, trying to get him to remember anything at all.
Toya walks up to him slowly, and Rui looks up to meet Toya's eyes, still shying away. "Rui?" Rui's eyes are as wide as saucers. "Back again, Prince Aoyagi?" He asks quietly, his voice uncharacteristically jittery. Toya frowns, placing both his hands on Rui's cold cheeks and watching the boy melt into his hands for warmth. "We're gonna try something different today, alright?" Toya asks, watching as Rui nods his head.
Toya pulls away, unsheathing his sword and holding it out to his side. Rui seems to tremble at the sight, so Toya does his best to console him by holding out his hand. Rui takes it and turns away, listening to the cold chop of metal against rope. Rui stands up from the floor, shaking himself off but still holding onto Toya's hand tightly. He smiles, the first smile Toya had seen on his face in a long time. "I never thought I'd be taller than you." Toya just shook his head and led Rui out of the dungeons quietly, safely getting the boy to his old lab and locking the door behind him.
"Alright, Rui. I'm gonna get you to do magic again." Rui frowns. "My magic was taken, that's what you said right?" Toya shakes his head, taking one of Rui's spellbooks and flipping through it. "There's traces of magic in every living being, their ability to use it is simply a mental hurdle that they must get over." Toya looks back at Rui fondly. "You taught me that." Rui smiles. "Really? I must have had quite the mind." Toya stares at him for a moment before looking away. "You were the smartest person I knew." Rui looks away awkwardly, almost as if he felt like Toya was talking about someone else.
"What else did I say?" Toya looks back to the book with a determined expression, continuing to scan through it. "You said that magic can never be gone, just sealed away. You can always feel it, even if you can't use it." Rui looks up slightly, seeming confused. "But I don't feel any magic at all." Toya looks up at him with furrowed eyebrows. "Maybe you just don't remember what it feels like." He says, putting the book down.
Rui looks up in thought, trying to remember anything at all about what magic was like. He seemed to get nowhere, so Toya continued. "You said that it depends on how you feel about magic, but you always said that it used to feel like being held by giant claws of ice." Rui looks at Toya, his eyes wide. "Yes, that is familiar." Toya nods and continues talking. "Then you concluded that it felt more like a warm fire from within, protecting you from the cold." Rui frowns again, shaking his head. "Everything is cold." He mumbles darkly, looking down at his feet to avoid Toya’s stare.
"Try to have hope, you'll get this. You always do." Toya reassures him, dragging a thumb along Rui's cheek. Rui holds Toya's hand there, nodding his head. Toya smiles, Rui always used to hold his hand onto his cheek like that. "Why don't we try a light spell first." Toya days, taking Rui's other hand and having him hold it out. "Try to light up the room."
For the next few hours, Rui tried and failed the most simple of light spells, trying everything he could to conjure a small orb of light. He would stare at his hand for so long, his face going blank as he tried. He was hungry, tired and frustrated, he felt like he was going insane. Toya had turned the lights off and left him in the room to figure this out, he trusted him to get through this, that was the only thing motivating him anymore.
It wasn't enough though, for when Toya came back with food and water for him, he found Rui shuddering in the middle of the room. He pulled roughly at his hair, his nails digging deep into his skin and drawing blood from his palms. "Rui." Toya says quietly, coming up behind him and hugging his waist, reaching out and opening up the clenched palm for him to cast the spell again.
Rui relaxed in his arms, shaking his head as a sob shook through his shoulders. "I apologize. I can't do this." He says in a defeated tone, allowing Toya to turn him around and feed him a bite of the food he brought in for him. "We'll take a break."
☆
Rui stares up at the ceiling in Toya's bed, feeling Toya press up against him like he would disappear if he let go. He raises his injured hand above his face, wrapped in bandages to stop the blood.
Rui wanted to remember. He wanted to remember so bad it hurt. He tried again. He focused on the warmth, Toya's breathing and his arms wrapped around his waist. He imagined the flame in his chest igniting, the light filling the room, the cold dispersing around him. And there it was. Rui opens his eyes to see a bright light shining in the palm of his hand. It was warm, he felt so warm.
Toya's eyes blink open at the bright light, squinting at Rui to see him looking at the orb of light in his hand with wonder. He looks at Toya, a familiar look in his eyes. "I can feel it, Toya." He says quietly, a smile on his face. "I can feel the fire."
Toya finally smiles, that soft genuine smile of his. Rui could remember it, it was familiar to him. "I knew you could do it." Toya whispers, turning Rui's head with the tips of his fingers so that they would face each other. The beating of his heart, the warmth in his cheeks, everything was familiar.
Toya was looking down at his lips, Rui stole this moment to stare back at Toya's. "Have we done this before?" Rui asks quietly, making Toya look back up at him. Toya nods, his hands looping around Rui's body underneath his shirt. "But the roles were reversed." As Toya dragged his fingers along Rui's torso, he could feel memories reigniting in his mind. "We had just gotten together." Toya rolled over so that he was hovering just over Rui. "You asked if you could kiss me." They finally met in the middle, the kiss full of longing.
Rui could feel Toya reminiscing on his tongue, muscle memory serving him well as he kissed Toya back. Toya then pulls away. "When we pulled away, I realized just how much I love you." He said, resting on Rui's chest with his eyes closed. Rui smiles. "History repeats itself." He says quietly. His shirt felt wet, Toya was crying into his chest. Rui jumps up and pulls him up with him, holding his face in his hands. "What happened? Did I say something wrong?" Toya was smiling at him, tears falling down his face. "Nothing, I'm just so happy." Rui smiles back, melting back onto the bed. "Me too." He says, before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.
☆
Months passed, Rui now had most of his memories and magic back and was finally restored to his post as the royal alchemist. Now he worked on a reverse incantation for the one that stole the mage's magic. Things had changed, and Rui would never truly be the same due to the distress and trauma that the spell caused him, but Toya loved him all the same. They had been officially dating for months now, and the town was happy again.
Toya knocks on Rui's door, hearing the soft hum from the inside that indicated that he was able to walk in. "How are you doing on this fine afternoon, my liege." Rui asks, his voice smooth like it used to be. Toya walks over to him, looking over his shoulder to check out what he was doing. "I know you're teasing but you don't need to call me that, even in public." Rui looks up at Toya with a smile. "I know."
Rui was back in his regular mage's uniform again, his eyes shining with the life that he had before the whole mess began. The bags under his eyes were gone and his hair was well done up in that half up half down style it was always in. He sparkled, just like he used to, and Toya was mesmerized by it all.
There's a silence for a while before Toya speaks up. "You know, the people in town are craving the wonder you spread. They miss the magical light shows that you would create during festivals." Rui chuckles, looking down again to jot something down in his notebook. "Well, I'm not sure there's an occasion for that yet." Toya tilts his head. "What do you mean?" He asks.
"Well, for one, they haven't had a special occasion where the royal family were there in a whole year. They miss you just as much as they miss my light shows." The scratching of Rui's quill fills the silence he made with his pause. "And what sort of occasion could we have where we both make such a grand return to public life and start doing these large displays again?" Toya slips away from Rui, the creaking of wood behind him indicating his movement but not making Rui turn around.
"A royal wedding, maybe?" Rui freezes when Toya speaks, turning around to see the man in his sleek black armor, down on one knee in front of him. "If you'll have me." Toya opens his fingers to show a golden ring in his hand, Rui's hands going to cup his gaping mouth as he stands up from his chair. The room is silent, Toya waits for Rui to answer nervously and Rui begins to smile shakily. "Yes." He nods enthusiastically. "Of course I'll marry you."
Toya stands up and smiles, grabbing onto Rui tightly and wrapping him up in a hug. Everything in the room, including the two boys, begins to levitate, spinning around whimsically in the air. Toya pulls away and places the ring on Rui's finger, pulling him in for a swift kiss. Rui just smiles at him. "I love you, so much." He whispers, pressing his forehead against Toya's. Toya gives him that fond look that always makes Rui blush. "I love you too." And Rui remembers it, he remembers it all.