Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lévis sat on the edge of the fountain, hands buried in the cold stone, jaw tight. He didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to remember Domina falling, but the memory refused to leave him.

“You’re alive, aren’t you?”

The voice made him freeze. He spun around, eyes scanning the shadows.

“Impossible,” he muttered, but the silhouette stepping from the darkness was undeniably him.

Domina. Very much alive. Smirking. Looking far too calm for someone who had just cheated death.

“You’re… really here,” Lévis said, voice low, rough, half disbelief, half accusation.

Domina tilted his head, one eyebrow raised. “Did you really think I’d die and leave you sulking here all night? That doesn’t suit me.”

“I…” Lévis struggled, chest tightening. “I thought...”

“You thought what?” Domina interrupted, stepping closer, voice sharp, almost teasing. “That I’d disappear and let you mope like some melodramatic fool? That’s adorable, by the way.”

Lévis clenched his fists. “You’re not funny.”

Domina grinned faintly, circling him like a predator. “Funny? Maybe not. But very much alive. And here. Right in front of you. Deal with it.”

“I…” Lévis’s voice faltered. “I thought I lost you.”

“Thought, huh?” Domina’s tone was flat, cold, but there was something behind it, something raw. “Well, congratulations. You didn’t. So stop whining.”

Lévis’s hands twitched. “…You think it’s that simple?”

Domina shrugged, letting the tension linger. “No. It’s never simple with you, is it?” He stepped closer, closing the last few feet between them. “And yet, here we are. Alive. Breathing. You still looking at me like you’re going to argue, and I’m still alive to see it.”

Lévis swallowed. “You really are alive.”

Domina smirked. “Yes. If I weren’t, I wouldn’t be standing here, staring at you like I can read every pathetic thought in your head.”

“I…” Lévis ran a hand through his hair, voice low. “I can’t even…”

Domina leaned slightly closer, their faces just inches apart. “Can’t even what?”

“I can’t even tell you how much I hated thinking you were gone,” Lévis said, teeth gritted. “Hated imagining you… dead. And now you just… show up like nothing happened.”

Domina’s lips curved into the faintest of smirks. “I like to keep things dramatic.”

“Dramatic?” Lévis hissed. “You almost killed me with your disappearance, Domina!”

“I didn’t disappear,” Domina replied calmly. “I survived. And I waited. And you… you sulked. And now we’re here.” He let the words hang, letting Lévis stew.

Lévis’s jaw tightened. “And now what? You expect me to just… smile and welcome you back?”

Domina’s smirk widened. “Not at all. I expect you to stop staring at me like I’m some ghost you can’t touch. I’m right here. You’re alive. Fight me if you want, or admit you missed me.”

Lévis blinked, caught off guard. “Missed you? I...”

“Answer,” Domina interrupted sharply, leaning close enough that Lévis could feel the heat from him. “…Or keep pretending your pride matters more than reality.”

Lévis swallowed, chest tight. “I did,” he admitted, voice low. “…I missed you.”

Domina’s smirk softened, just barely, enough that it almost looked like relief. “Figures. You’d miss me. But you’ll never admit it in front of anyone else, will you?”

“Never,” Lévis said, tone sharp but trembling slightly. “You’re mine. You know that?”

Domina’s gaze hardened, eyes glinting. “And you’re mine. But don’t think I’m going to make this easy for you. Not after leaving me thinking you’d broken.”

“I don’t care,” Lévis snapped, stepping closer until their shoulders brushed. “I’m not letting you go again.”

Domina’s smirk returned, teasing, dangerous. “Then prove it. If you’re brave enough.”

Lévis’s hands curled into fists at his sides, pulse racing. “Oh, I intend to.”

The silence that followed was heavy, tense, filled with words neither dared speak yet, the kind that would come slowly, dangerously, as they circled each other in fire and pride, their reunion a battlefield of emotions, teasing, and heat.

And neither would admit it aloud, but neither could deny it: they had missed this. They had missed each other.

Lévis’s chest was tight. He could feel Domina’s presence, solid, warm, alive, and every instinct screamed at him to reach out, to grab hold and never let go.

“You really enjoy making me suffer, don’t you?” Lévis muttered, voice low, tense.

Domina tilted his head, lips quirking. “Suffer? Oh, please. You enjoy this as much as I do. Don’t pretend otherwise.”

Lévis’s jaw tightened. “I do not enjoy being on edge because of you.”

Domina’s eyes glinted, sharp and teasing. “Right. You’re the epitome of calm, composed, unshakable Lévis Rosequartz. Never rattled by anyone. Especially not me.”

Lévis’s hands itched to grab him, to press him against the nearest wall and make him admit that he, like Lévis, had been haunted by every day he thought Domina was gone. “I said I’m not shaken.”

“Then prove it,” Domina challenged, stepping closer until the space between them was nothing. Their shoulders brushed. His voice dropped to a softer, dangerous murmur: “If you’re so unshakable, why do I feel your heartbeat racing?”

Lévis froze, pulse jumping. “You can feel that?”

Domina’s smirk softened just slightly, sharp eyes locking with his. “Of course. I’ve known you too long.”

For a long, tense moment, they stared at each other. Neither dared make the first move. Pride, fear, longing - they were all tangled together. And then, slowly, deliberately, Lévis’s hands shot out, gripping Domina’s shoulders.

Domina didn’t flinch. Instead, he leaned in, tilting his head ever so slightly. “…Finally,” he whispered.

Lévis’s lips pressed to Domina’s in a kiss that was hard, demanding, testing. Domina responded immediately, matching him, not softening, not yielding, because neither of them could afford to. Not yet.

The kiss was fire and tension, months of grief and longing pressed into a single, burning motion. Domina’s hands slid up Lévis’s arms, gripping firmly, holding him close without surrendering his pride. Lévis’s hands tangled in Domina’s hair, pulling him nearer, forcing closeness that had been denied for far too long.

They broke apart only for air, foreheads touching, breaths ragged.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve,” Domina muttered, voice low, teasing, and deadly.

“…And you’ve got a lot of appeal,” Lévis shot back, smirk breaking through the tension. “I should hate you. I do hate you. But...”

“You don’t,” Domina interrupted, eyes glinting dangerously. “And you never will. Admit it.”

“I won’t admit anything,” Lévis said, lips brushing Domina’s again, voice rough. “Not yet. But I won’t stop either.”

Domina leaned into the kiss this time, slower, savoring it, letting the tension and unspoken words linger in every press of lips. “Good,” he murmured against Lévis’s mouth. “…Not yet.”

The courtyard around them faded completely. Pride, sarcasm, teasing. They were still themselves, sharp and relentless. But for the first time, both of them allowed something else to thread through: relief, desire, and the undeniable truth that they belonged together, even if they’d never say it aloud.

Chapter Text

Lévis’s breath still stalled between them, the night pressing in on the courtyard. Domina’s smirk glowed softly in the lamplight, as though he’d won something mere seconds ago, or perhaps had finally returned what he’d taken away.

“You know,” Domina said, voice low, “there’s more to me being back than your relief. Much more.”

Lévis’s fingers loosened on the cold stone of the fountain’s edge. “What have you done,” he asked quietly, “that you can just show up like this?”

Domina took a slow step back, letting the light catch on his pink hair. “Survived. Worked. Waited. And maybe, just maybe, made sure I came back when you weren’t expecting it.”

“You… waited for me?” Lévis’s voice cracked. He swallowed, trying to pull himself together. “I thought I lost you. That I…” His voice trailed off.

Domina’s smirk softened, gone for the moment, replaced by something raw. “You always thought you’d win. You always had to. But I… thought I needed to survive first. Needed to show him, my father, that I could come back changed.”

Lévis stiffened. “Changed? Or just… shifted into someone else?”

Domina turned his gaze away, looking up briefly at the cold stars. “Maybe both. I hated what I’d become under his orders. But being gone… near‑dead… gave me time. Time to see what I really wanted.”

“Time to see what? Us?” Lévis’s tone was brittle.

“Yes,” Domina admitted. “You. Us. And what I couldn’t say because I was too busy trying to be useful.”

Lévis watched him. The pride and coolness faded from Domina’s expression; for a fleeting second there was vulnerability. “You always… were trying to earn his love.”

“I was,” Domina said, voice barely more than a whisper. “And I realised… it’s not his approval I want. It’s the right to stand beside someone I… care about.”

Lévis didn’t answer at once. His chest tightened. He reached out again, this time letting his hand hover near Domina’s arm, but not touching yet. “I don’t know if I can just accept you.”

Domina nodded slowly. “You don’t have to accept me yet. Prove you can. Prove you won’t let me drift away again. Prove you’re not afraid.”

Lévis’s eyes flashed. “Afraid?” He straightened. “I’m the best at winning. I win. I don’t lose. I don't lose... you.”

Domina laughed softly, tinged with challenge. “Then prove it tonight. Show me you care not just because you fear losing me, but because… you choose me.”

Lévis exhaled, stepping forward until their shoulders touched again. “I choose you,” he said, voice low. “And not because you frightened me, but because you pulled me out of nothing.”

Domina’s smirk returned, weaker, gentler this time. “Fine,” he whispered. “Then let’s stop pretending this is easy.”

Lévis nodded once, hard. “It’s not.”

Domina’s fingers found Lévis’s hand. Not aggressive, not demanding, just there. Held. “Good,” he said. “Then fight me for it.”

Lévis squeezed Domina’s hand once, then released it, not letting go, but not under pressure either. “I will,” he said. “Starting now.”

Domina’s grin widened in the lamplight. “About time.”

The night wrapped around them. The fountain’s trickle the only other sound. Two proud, wounded boys, each with scars, each with ambition and fear, stood on the edge of something real. And neither dared say the quiet truth aloud: that beyond every spell, every expectation and every battle, they were terrified of simple absence... and hungered for something that felt like home.

Lévis’s gaze never left Domina’s, and for the first time, words seemed almost unnecessary. The tension between them wasn’t just pride or teasing, it was a pull, magnetic, raw.

Domina’s hand brushed Lévis’s cheek, a light, almost teasing touch, but it made Lévis flinch and then lean into it, breath catching. “You feel that?” Domina murmured, his lips near Lévis’s ear. “Every heartbeat… every little quiver.”

“I… I’m not quivering,” Lévis said, though his voice betrayed him. His hand found Domina’s waist, gripping lightly.

The smirk on Domina’s face widened at the movement. “Right,” he said softly, almost mockingly. “Not quivering at all. Just… overwhelmed.”

Domina leaned in, brushing his lips against Lévis’s jaw, the contact feather-light but deliberate. “Overwhelmed by me,” he whispered, his breath warm against Lévis’s skin. “You think you can resist me?”

Lévis closed his eyes, exhaling shakily, letting Domina guide the motion of the small circle their bodies formed. “…No,” he admitted, voice low, full of tension. “I… can’t.”

The confession seemed to fuel Domina. His hands slid up Lévis’s back, pulling him flush against himself. Their breaths mingled, and the world outside the courtyard, the expectations, the magic, the battles, faded into nothing. Here, there was only this dangerous closeness, pride and desire colliding.

Domina’s lips trailed from Lévis’s jaw to the corner of his mouth. “…Then surrender,” he murmured. “Not to anyone else. Not to circumstance. Just to me.”

Lévis’s hands tangled in Domina’s hair, pulling him closer in a motion equal parts need and stubborn pride. “I… will,” he said, almost in a growl. “…But not easy. Never easy with me.”

Domina’s laugh was low, rough, and unrestrained as he captured Lévis’s mouth in a kiss that burned like a spark on dry tinder. It was slow, demanding, teasing, and yet tender in the way only two people who had lost and found each other could understand. Their lips moved together with a rhythm of challenge and yielding, a dance of tension melting into intimacy.

Lévis’s hands roamed Domina’s shoulders, feeling the strength and warmth there. Domina responded, pressing closer, fingers sliding beneath the collar of Lévis’s jacket, tracing the lines of muscle hidden beneath the fabric. “Finally,” he murmured against Lévis’s lips, “you’re not holding back.”

“I never hold back,” Lévis said, his voice hoarse, “when it matters.” He tilted his head, deepening the kiss, letting Domina feel the intensity he had kept locked away for a month of worry, of imagined absence.

For a long moment, the world narrowed to heat and breath and closeness. Their hearts raced in unison, a silent acknowledgment of everything they had felt but never dared speak aloud. And as the stars above blinked coldly in the night, Lévis and Domina clung to each other, two sharp, stubborn souls finding the vulnerability and trust that had eluded them for far too long.

Domina pulled back just enough to look into Lévis’s eyes, a teasing glint dancing there despite the softness that lingered. “…You’re mine,” he said, voice low, firm, and full of unspoken promise.

“…And you’re mine,” Lévis replied, voice rough, steady, carrying all the weight of longing and relief.

The courtyard seemed to hold its breath with them, shadows wrapping around their bodies, but neither moved apart. Pride and desire, teasing and tenderness - every emotion intertwined. They were still themselves, unyielding and dangerous, but in that moment, they were also together, finally allowed to explore the closeness they had denied for far too long.

The courtyard was quiet again, only the faint trickle of the fountain filling the night. Their foreheads still pressed together, Lévis and Domina let their breaths mingle, both of them acutely aware of how close they had come and how long they had waited to be this close.

Domina let out a soft, half‑chuckle, half‑sigh. “…You know, we really should have done this sooner.”

Lévis raised an eyebrow, lips twitching with a smirk. “Done what? Stand here and stare at each other like idiots?”

“Not exactly,” Domina murmured, eyes glinting with mischief but also a rare softness. “This. Being… here. Close. Finally letting ourselves feel it instead of hiding behind pride and nonsense.”

Lévis’s jaw tightened, hands resting lightly on Domina’s arms. “You mean… all the time we were worried, angry, or sulking? Yeah. I… I should have realized sooner how much I… needed this. Needed you.”

Domina tilted his head, studying him. “…Needed me?” His voice was teasing, but the flicker in his eyes betrayed the weight of his own truth. “Funny. I’ve been thinking the same. All those months I was gone… I hated that I had to wait. That we didn’t, couldn’t, just be honest about it.”

Lévis’s chest tightened. “…We let pride get in the way.”

Domina nodded, leaning closer, letting their noses brush. “Exactly. Pride, fear, stubbornness. We should have… stopped pretending we could survive without this. Without each other.”

“You mean without you,” Lévis corrected, voice low and almost tender. “…I didn’t want to admit it back then, but you were missing from more than just my side. You were missing from everything.”

Domina’s smirk softened into something gentler, almost wistful. “I think… I think I feel the same. I spent so much time trying to be strong, to be useful, to survive. And I didn’t realize that the part of me I wanted most… was this. Being with you. Close. Feeling… alive.”

Lévis exhaled, a tension he hadn’t realized he carried finally loosening. “Then we really should have done this sooner.”

Domina’s lips curved into a faint, teasing smile. “Yes. But, I suppose, better late than never.”

Their hands found each other’s again, fingers lacing naturally, as if no time had passed. The regret lingered in the air, but so did relief, warmth, and the undeniable pull between them.

“…Next time,” Lévis said quietly, “we won’t wait.”

Domina’s grin returned, soft but wicked. “…Next time, huh? I like the sound of that.”

And in the stillness of the courtyard, they stayed close, hands entwined, hearts racing, finally letting themselves admit what they should have faced long ago: that the longing, the desire, and the connection between them could no longer be denied.