Work Text:
It was probably an unpopular opinion, but Wednesdays were Sebastian’s favourite day of the week. He had a late class — which, granted, wasn’t ideal — and Ominis finished early but liked to linger in the library to study. Once Sebastian finally escaped his lecture, he’d cut across campus and head up to the library, where Ominis would inevitably be perched at his favourite table on the third floor. They’d bicker fondly between the stacks of books, then skip the bus and take a small detour through town on the way back to their flat.
They’d wander through the streets, Ominis’ arm looped through Sebastian’s, pausing to peer into shop windows or prod the fruit sold by the street vendors. Sometimes they bought pastries from the bakery for dessert. The whole walk took maybe half an hour at most, but Sebastian loved it. There was something about the calm, the routine, the domesticity of it — the simple, weekly ritual of spending those thirty minutes together, strolling, chatting idly, just enjoying the moment.
Once they were home, Sebastian could panic about his exam, Ominis could sigh over the fact they’d forgotten to buy oat milk, and they could argue about what to have for dinner. But on that walk home, everything stilled. It was a little pocket of peace. A pause from the chaos.
Sebastian had just slipped his course book into his bag and was heading for the door when his phone buzzed.
Attention all students! A fire has recently broken out in the university library. Fire crews are on scene and are handling the situation. Please avoid the library building until the fire brigade has issued an all-clear. If you have been inside or near the library and suspect you may have inhaled smoke, seek medical attention immediately.
Sebastian’s blood turned to ice. He didn’t even think twice. He just ran.
Never had he hated Professor Sharp’s classroom being on the fifth floor quite so much. He skidded to a halt by the lift and jabbed the button, but when the display showed it was already in use, he abandoned it and bolted for the stairs instead. He practically flew down them, shoved through the heavy front doors, and there it was: smoke billowing from the grey-brick, ornate building.
His heart plummeted.
Half running, half stumbling across campus, he pulled out his phone and called Ominis.
It rang.
One signal. Two. Three. Four.
“Hello, you’ve reached Ominis’ Gaunt's …”
Sebastian ended the call and, still jogging towards the smoke, tried to type out a message with shaking hands.
Sebastian
where are you
please answer as soon as you see this
A crowd had gathered outside the building in small clusters. Firefighters and an engine were visible. Hoses snaked from the truck towards the library. Looking back, Sebastian realised he must have heard the sirens, but in central London they blended into the constant noise. He’d barely noticed them.
Sebastian scanned the crowd, but there was no sign of that familiar pale mop of hair. Even if Ominis hadn’t had hair like a halo and his red-and-white cane, Sebastian could have picked him out in a heartbeat; it was as if they were two magnets, always drawn towards each other no matter the distance.
The knot in his stomach tightened when he couldn’t find his counterpart.
Sebastian shoved his way through the crowd, not caring that he elbowed someone squarely in the ribs. He reached a middle-aged man in a helmet and fire-brigade jacket who seemed to be herding people back, and gasped:
“Is everyone out?”
The firefighter grimaced.
“Sir, I need you to step back,” he said. “This area isn’t safe.”
Sebastian didn’t move.
“Is everyone out?” he repeated, ignoring the way the people behind him had gone quiet, watching. “My partner — he’s usually in the library around four every Wednesday…”
The firefighter’s arms hovered half-raised, ready to push Sebastian back if he had to.
“We’re working on securing the building,” he said. “That’s all I can tell you at the moment.”
Desperation clawed at Sebastian’s chest.
“He’s blind!” he burst out. “I need to know if he got out—”
A flicker of sympathy passed through the man’s eyes. He sighed, not unkindly.
“Mate, I’m sorry, but I genuinely don’t know. We haven’t had a chance to check whether anyone was inside. I promise, the moment I know anything, I’ll tell you.”
For a second, Sebastian thought he might be sick.
Ominis might still be in there. He might still be on the third floor, alone in the smoke, unable to find his way out if the usual corridors were blocked.
Just as the nausea threatened to knock him out cold, a firm, steadying hand clamped onto his shoulder.
“Sebastian.”
Through his blurred vision he made out a familiar mop of red hair.
“Go home and check if Ominis is there. I’ll stay and try to get more information. I swear I’ll contact you the second I hear anything.”
“He might — he might still be inside,” Sebastian managed, swallowing the lump jammed in his throat.
“Then I’ll go in and drag him out myself,” Garreth said firmly. “Go. Now.”
Sebastian didn’t need further encouragement.
The bus would have taken just over eight minutes, but it had pulled away seconds earlier and the next wasn’t due for twelve. The walk he and Ominis usually took through town was thirty minutes. Sprinting the shortcut took barely twelve.
His heart thudded painfully, equal parts exertion and fear. He wondered if he was going to throw up, but he refused to waste the time stopping. He had to get home.
While he ran, he tried calling Ominis again. The rings crawled by, agonisingly slow, taunting.
“Come on, come on…”
“Hello, you’ve reached Ominis —”
“Fuck!”
He hung up.
Sebastian:
babe answer
it’s important
please answer
Panic drummed just under his skin, but he didn’t dare let it show yet. He needed to get home.
When their familiar block of flats finally came into view, Sebastian’s lungs were on fire. He was fit, sure, but sprinting across London traffic in heavy boots with a school bag full of books wasn’t exactly the same as a gentle jog through the woods. He ignored the burn in his chest as he tapped his key fob against the reader and yanked the door open when the automatic opener was too slow.
He nearly bowled over their neighbour, Mr Fig, on the way up. He threw out a hasty sorry, but didn’t stop to apologise properly. Taking the stairs two at a time, he fumbled with his keys, pulled out the right one, and practically hurled himself at their front door like a starving man who’d found a cornucopia.
The door was locked, but that meant nothing. They locked it even when they were home.
His fingers fumbled, trying to shove the key in upside down. He swore, tried again. Finally. The lock clicked open.
“Ominis?!”
Silence.
A few pairs of Ominis’ shoes were in the hallway and his jackets hung on the hooks, but that also meant nothing; Ominis owned nearly twice as many shoes and jackets as Sebastian, who rotated between his same, charmingly battered bomber jacket and either his trainers or his boots.
“Ominis!” He stomped through the hall, peered into the kitchen. Prayed to every god that Ominis would be sitting at the counter with a cup of tea, or reorganising the tupperware on the shelves. That he’d turn with a smile and ask what they should make for dinner.
No one.
The living room. He’d be on the sofa listening to an audiobook, or dusting the bookshelves. Complaining that he was blind and still kept the place tidier than Sebastian ever did.
Sebastian poked his head in.
Empty.
Fear, worry, panic, crawled under his skin. It felt like a fever dream, a nightmare he just needed to wake from. His stomach twisted, full of cold, writhing snakes.
He tore open the shut bedroom door so hard it slammed against the wall.
“Ominis…”
The bedroom was dim, curtains drawn. Something moved under the duvet. Sebastian’s heart shot into his throat.
“What on earth are you shouting about?”
Ominis sat up beneath the covers and yawned, rubbing at his eyes. His hair was sticking up in every direction and there was a pillow-crease running straight across his cheek.
For a second, Sebastian couldn’t move. His breath caught, and he just stared at Ominis, who yawned again and squinted in his direction.
“Sebastian?” he asked, when Sebastian didn’t say anything, just breathed in ragged gasps.
And then he broke.
With a sound — half gasp, half sob, half broken moan — Sebastian stumbled towards the bed. Ominis barely had time to furrow his brow and say, “What—” before Sebastian more or less collapsed onto him, forcing him back against the headboard.
The tears came in a rush as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around Ominis, still fully dressed in his jacket and boots. Ominis’ hands came up automatically, patting his back out of instinct, though the confusion radiating off him was unmistakable.
“Sebastian?” Ominis asked, startled and now properly awake. “What on earth is it?”
Sebastian wanted to explain, but he couldn’t. His throat was thick, tight, though not with panic this time, but with a kind of desperate relief, a relieved shock, that made it impossible to speak. Instead he buried his face into the curve of Ominis’ neck and breathed him in. He thought of how, for a few terrible minutes, he’d believed he’d never smell that warmth again. The thought alone made him choke out another sob, and he clung to Ominis so hard he was sure it must hurt. But he had to hold him that tightly, had to feel the warm, living body under his hands.
Realising Sebastian wasn’t capable of speech, Ominis began to hug him back instead, stroking a slow, steady hand along his spine while murmuring soft reassurances.
“It’s all right, Sebastian… nothing’s happened… just breathe, take your time…”
After what felt like an eternity, Sebastian managed to pull back a little, staring at Ominis with red, watery eyes and a sniffly nose. He shifted so he was sitting on the edge of the bed instead, though his hand still clung faintly to Ominis.
“I thought you were dead,” he said, voice thick and hoarse.
Ominis raised an eyebrow, clearly bemused.
“Sorry, what?”
Sebastian swallowed, trying to tamp down the flare of panic that resurfaced at the memory of the firefighter telling him he didn’t know if everyone had made it out.
“There was — a fire in the library today,” he explained, voice still raspy. “The fire brigade came. They evacuated the place. I ran over, but they didn’t know … he said he didn’t know if everyone had got out…”
His vision blurred again and he dragged in a few deep breaths, fighting the instinct to start crying all over again.
Ominis’ expression changed at once.
“Oh God, Sebastian, I’m so sorry,” he said, reaching for Sebastian’s hand. “I didn’t even think… I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Sebastian sniffled, wiping his nose on his jacket sleeve. “I just… you’re always at the library on Wednesdays…”
“My last class of the day was cancelled, so I finished at half twelve. I was exhausted, so I thought I’d come home, have a nap, and then go and meet you again later. But I forgot to write to you that I’d gone home, and I must’ve slept straight through my alarm… what time is it?”
Sebastian glanced at the red blinking digits on the bedside table.
“Nearly five.”
Ominis winced with guilt.
“I’m so sorry, I should’ve messaged… I can’t believe I slept through my alarm…”
He reached for his phone on the bed, and his puzzled expression turned into resignation. Sebastian looked down and realised the same thing: the phone was dead. That was why Ominis hadn’t answered, either.
“It’s all right,” Sebastian said, sniffing, suddenly feeling utterly drained after the torrent of emotions he’d gone through over the past hour. “You’re… you’re fine, and that’s what matters. I just… I was so worried, you’ve no idea…”
“I can imagine. But I’m fine.” Ominis cupped Sebastian’s cheek. “Come lie down. You’re completely wound up.”
Sebastian let out a slightly unhinged laugh. Wound up was putting it mildly. He kicked off his boots — he’d take them to the hall later — and shrugged out of his jacket, then his jeans and shirt as well. He slipped beneath the duvet, still warm from Ominis, and didn’t hesitate to pull him close, curling around him like an octopus.
“I need to tell Garreth you’re all right,” Sebastian mumbled after they’d lain there in silence for a while, simply breathing together. Ominis hummed.
“He was worried too?”
Sebastian huffed a laugh. “He said he’d go in and get you himself if you were still in the building.”
That made Ominis snort. “I’d like to have seen that. I’d have felt safer trying to get myself out. I swear, Garreth is probably the one who would’ve started the fire.”
This time Sebastian laughed properly, a wonderful release compared to the panic he’d been drowning in earlier.
“His intentions are noble; the consequences… less so,” he said, and Ominis rolled his eyes.
“It’s lucky I’m dating someone whose intentions aren’t noble, but the outcomes are.”
“I would’ve gone into the building for you too!” Sebastian protested. “If I’d known you were still in there, nothing would’ve stopped me.”
Ominis’ voice softened. “I know. If our places were swapped, I’d have gone in after you as well.”
Sebastian let out a small, incredulous giggle. “How exactly would you have found me?”
Ominis shrugged, but he was smiling. “Not sure. I suppose I’d just stand there saying something sensible and rational, and wait for someone to immediately argue the exact opposite of a good idea.”
“Oi!” Sebastian smacked his arm. “My ideas are always great. They’re entertaining, at least. Remember when I persuaded you to let me take you on an e-scooter?”
“Yes,” Ominis said dryly. “I think I saw God. And I’m blind.”
Sebastian burst out laughing again — and from nowhere, the tears came too. Not the desperate ones this time, but a quiet, easy sort of crying, as if his body had been wrung out and just needed to let the last of it go. Ominis held him while his breathing steadied.
They stayed like that for a long while, wrapped around each other, until Ominis’ stomach growled loudly enough that he winced apologetically.
“Sorry. I didn’t have lunch, because I thought we’d stop and sample some fruit or sweets on our walk home…”
“I think we can manage something.” Sebastian reached for his phone. “Let’s get a takeaway. Indian?”
“Yes, please.”
Sebastian ordered — still lying in bed — and fired off a quick message to Garreth letting him know things were fine. He glanced at Ominis, who was plugging his phone into the charger. A sudden impulse made him reach out and take Ominis’ hand. Ominis startled slightly and raised his eyebrows.
“Yes?”
“I never want to live without you,” Sebastian said seriously. “If you’d died today, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
Ominis frowned gently. “Don’t think like that, Sebastian. It won’t do you any good. We’re here, and we’re safe. Focus on that.”
Sebastian nodded. “Yeah. All right, I’ll try.”
Later, sitting cross-legged in bed eating curry and rice straight from the containers — and that really said something about how upset Sebastian must have been, because Ominis would never normally allow such chaos — Sebastian watched his boyfriend’s thoughtful expression as he bit into a piece of naan.
No, he truly never wanted to live without Ominis.
He thought of the silver ring tucked away in his shaving kit, and hoped that the two of them had a very long, very quiet life ahead of them.