Work Text:
The darkness was thick and heavy around Derlord, reaching its shadowy tendrils towards him and beckoning him deeper and deeper into the tunnels against his will. Peaceful sleep was rare these days, and he seemed to have a nightmare just like this every other night. His legs moved independently of his mind as he closed his eyes, attempting to brace himself for the encounter with his tormentor as bright golden light began to trickle into his vision.
“Welcome home, little knight,” a voice purred.
A voice he was all too familiar with at this point.
He squeezed his eyes shut tighter in defiance, and remained silent.
“Not feeling particularly talkative this night, are we?”
“I’m not going to give you what you want,” Derlord grunted, as the King tilted his head upwards and forced one of his eyes open. He felt a drop of blood roll down his face from its rough claws.
“Foolish thing,” the King chuckled, raking its claws deeper along Derlord’s face. He drew a stifled gasp at the sudden pain. “Simply being here is all I need.”
Derlord pressed his hand to the wound, and desperately tried to calm his shaky hands as he stared down at the deep red stains seeping into the worn metal of his gauntlet.
“Everything you do fascinates me, little knight. You are like an insect crawling along the ground, unaware of a crushing demise just inches away.”
“I’m aware of everything, because of you,” Derlord huffed through gritted teeth, blood beginning to soak into his hair and clothes beneath his armor. It was already cooling down.
“Ah, but you cannot know for sure what I may do next,” it grinned, its claws creeping down towards his neck as he shivered. “At any moment I could easily choose to slice open your throat, or rip off your armor and gut you, and you would never be able to do a thing to fight back.”
“That- that would be pointless,” he hissed, trying to stop himself from shaking so as not to scratch himself on the King's claws before it could. “I would wake up instantly. You're wasting your time.”
The blood dripping down his face had begun to take on a more solid, sticky texture, similar to slime.
Slime…
His eyes snapped open and he sat up with a sharp inhale, trembling in the freezing night air as he looked around the dark room and slowly came to his senses.
The soft blankets shielding him from the cold, the gentle glimmering of embers in blown-out torches…
“DER!” Avery's voice suddenly cried, and he jumped as he turned to look at the panicked slime as he threw his arms around the knight. “Oh, you're okay, thank god-”
Derlord froze, drawing a deep breath as he attempted to focus on the tight embrace, resting one hand on Avery's shoulder.
“...Avery? Wh-”
“I'm sorry for waking you up-” Avery fretted, pulling away and nervously fidgeting with his hands. “You just- you were shaking and mumbling to yourself and I was so worried- I-”
Derlord threw his arms around Avery, sighing as he gazed down at his hands; shaky, but bloodless.
“Thank you,” he murmured. “Thank you so much.”
Avery was still for a moment, but was quick to return the gesture. “...are you okay?”
Derlord hesitated, before shaking his head.
“Do… you want to talk about it?”
He hesitated a moment longer, before taking a deep breath and nodding.
“...I… have the same nightmare nearly every night,” he began. “The King drags me back down to the caves and berates me for hours until I wake up… thank you for ending it early.”
Avery stayed uncharacteristically quiet for a few moments, before hugging him tighter and resting his head on his shoulder.
“...wow. That… really sucks,” he murmured, in his lovable awkward way. “I’m sorry, you don’t deserve that at all… is there anything I can do?”
“...simply being here is enough.”
Avery pulled Derlord closer, and Derlord let out a shuddering sigh as he buried his face in his shoulder, finally letting himself relax for what felt like the first time in an eternity. He couldn’t stop his heart from fluttering at the slight warmth of his touch, the soft weight of his embrace, the perfect green of his translucent body…
Avery was one of the only pieces of knowledge he had gained that he didn’t wish to forget. He had seen so many moments of tenderness and passion and caring between them, so many facets of his personality and self. Even if the visions were brief and vague, he loved Avery dearly, despite only having properly known him for a little while.
He only wished he knew how he could say it.
He would never forgive himself if he ruined things between them…
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden wave of dizziness, and he would have fallen hard off of the bed if not for Avery pulling him back just in time and gently laying him down.
“Holy crap, Der- you good?” he yelped. Derlord sighed shakily and pressed his hand to his forehead beneath his helmet.
“I will be,” he huffed, clenching his jaw as he waited for his senses to reorient themselves. “I believe it's a side effect of continuing to speak to the King; the human mind is not built to sustain this kind of eldritch intervention, much less so often.”
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” Avery nodded, although one glance at him told Derlord that he barely understood.
Derlord couldn't help but smile. Avery had that look often, and something about it was adorable.
He could swear he could see him blushing, just a little bit. He hoped he was right.
Eventually, Derlord’s vertigo faded, and he let out a soft sigh as he let his hand fall down towards his side. Avery flopped down next to him and readjusted the fluffy blankets to cover both of them properly, before rolling over and wrapping his arms around the knight once again.
“You’re really warm,” he smiled softly, letting himself melt into Derlord’s armor. Derlord had at first been annoyed whenever Avery got slime on him, but now he thought of it similarly to cat hair on beloved clothes. Sweet and charming, just like everything else he did.
“Be sure not to fully melt,” Derlord chuckled, reaching over to rest his hand in his semisolid hair. Avery closed his eyes blissfully and pulled himself closer to him, resting his head near the artery of his neck to feel his pulse; like if the charging of a gladiator could be soft and gentle.
The two sat quietly for several minutes, the only movements being gentle touches or fixing falling blankets, or occasionally a yawn. The wind whistled softly outside, crickets and owls filling the serene silence. Derlord let his eyes drift shut, although he had no intention of going back to sleep yet, even if he was getting tired. He wanted to enjoy Avery’s embrace as much as he could, and he did not want to risk facing the King again.
“...you’re so pretty when you’re all calm like this,” Avery whispered, almost dreamily.
Derlord froze.
“Sorry- what did you say?” he asked, opening his eyes, attempting to keep his voice steady so as not to worry Avery. Surely he had misheard- but if he didn’t…
Avery flinched and he immediately felt terrible. The slime spent a few moments stammering before finally managing to get out a complete sentence.
“It’s- uh- nothing- don’t worry about it,” Avery laughed nervously. Derlord could feel him grow warmer beneath his hands, and his face had taken on a deep shade of green, like the depths of a forest dimly lit by fireflies.
“You can tell me,” Derlord murmured, gently moving his hand up to Avery’s cheek. He both wanted Avery to know he was okay, and to hear those words again.
Avery hesitated for a moment, gazing longingly into his soft eyes, before sighing and burying his face in Derlord’s chest.
“I said you’re pretty,” he mumbled, muffled against his armor and cape. “And I like you a lot. Like- like like.”
Derlord’s breath hitched in his throat. He hadn’t misheard.
This was real- Avery felt the same- he thought he might explode-
“Sorry, I-” Avery began, before Derlord sat up and pulled him in close, breathing shakily and heart racing as he beamed.
“I love you too, Avery,” Derlord breathed, joy and relief washing over him. “Oh, I’m so glad you feel the same!”
“You do??” Avery squeaked, immediately perking up as his bright smile returned. Derlord nodded. Avery took a moment to process his words, and his own emotions, before practically squealing as he threw his arms tightly around Derlord.
Derlord heard himself laugh for the first time in… he didn’t know how long. He had almost forgotten how it felt, and he continued to smile as he buried his face in the crook of Avery’s neck.
“You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this moment,” he cooed, gently stroking his hair with one hand. “I love you more than all the stars in the sky, my darling Avery, my sweet one, my dearest shining emerald…”
He paused as Avery rapidly grew warmer beneath his arms.
“Shall I stop?” he chuckled.
“NO- no it’s fine-” Avery yelped, laughing a little awkwardly as he pulled away enough to look at Derlord, allowing him to see just how profusely he was blushing. “I love it- it’s just- did- did you just come up with that on the spot??”
“...no comment.”
Avery burst into laughter, warm and bright like a firework shooting into the midnight sky.
“Oh my god, Der- see, this is why I love you,” he purred.
Derlord opened his mouth to respond, but was met with a yawn.
Oh. Right. Sleep.
“I wish we could stay here in this moment for eternity,” he sighed. “I do not wish to see the King again.”
Avery paused for a moment.
“...if anything happens I’ll wake you up again. I think you should at least try to get some rest.”
“I’m not sure,” Derlord insisted, heart beginning to speed up at the thought, but his spiral was interrupted before it could begin by Avery flopping his head onto his chest and gazing softly up at him, his warm golden-green eyes starkly contrasting the dreaded shades of the King’s domain. Like sunlight filtering through tropical water and leaves.
“Hey, I’ll be right here,” he murmured, gently resting his hand on Derlord’s cheek, as best he could with his helmet in the way. “And I can’t imagine it’s good to get sleep deprived when you’re recovering from… all that. I’ll hold onto you as long as you want.”
Derlord hesitated, before sighing and letting himself relax just a little, pulling Avery just a little closer and closing his eyes.
“Okay. I’ll try,” he sighed. “Thank you.”
Avery’s embrace kept him secure as he let himself slowly begin to drift off, keeping himself focused on his loving touch and perfect laugh. The usual dread that filled his mind in moments of silence was replaced by pure bliss, unchanging as he wandered away from the waking world.
Derlord was woken up hours later by the chirping of songbirds, cooing of doves, and Avery snoring softly in his ear.
His eyelids were heavy, and he felt like he could go right back to sleep for years on end. But he forced them open, and immediately smiled at the sight that greeted him.
The two were still holding each other close, but Avery’s limbs were fully entangled with his own, cool slime coating his hands and neck and forming a small pool in the pillows. Avery was naturally mellow when he wasn’t rambling about Skywars or in combat, but Derlord had never seen him this tranquil and calm, even when he was asleep.
Derlord moved his head just enough to look outside at the blue skies and colorful birds and distant snow-capped peaks, spinning the events of last night over and over in his mind.
He loved Avery so much. And Avery loved him back. It still didn’t quite feel real, but it was, and he was here and they were finally together and it was perfect.
This was it. This was what he was holding out for.
It had all been worth it after all.