Work Text:
Life in a small village located in the middle of a forest wasn’t the easiest. Everyone had strict routines to follow in order to please their god, the Spawn. Please Him, and maybe you would get a second life. That’s what the tiny little town believed in.
The Spawn was holy, blessed. Speak any ill of His name, and you would be cast out of the village, or worse, executed. Nobody ever questioned the drastic measures taken for “non-believers”, as none ever dared try to talk back to the Spawn.
One believer was particularly more devoted to the Spawn than their fellow villagers. The believer went by the name of Two Time, a name given to them by the elder Amarah for unknown reasons. They worshipped the Spawn day and night, saying everything they did was in the name of this deity. Day after day, they toiled away trying to please the Spawn. It was… almost sad.
Every fleeting moment of their day was spent either praying, listening to sermons, or practicing sacred rituals taught to them by Amarah. All endeavors were in the hopes of a blessing, a second life.
The flood of beliefs and exhaustion of the same routine eventually got to Two Time. They would wake up in a cold sweat at night, claiming that what sounded like a nightmare was just a twisted vision given to them by the Spawn. That’s what Amarah had convinced them to think. Every bad thing that occurred to them was engraved in their head as “a sign from the Spawn”, including these night terrors. They were quite frequent, much to the dismay of Two Time’s partner.
The village botanist, Azure, was always a beacon of warmth and comfort when life got overwhelming for Two Time. He was always there when they cried, when they fell ill, when they needed him. He would hold them, tell them everything was okay. He was safe for them, despite his struggles with anger and constant unease around others.
Azure never cried. He never fell ill. He never needed anybody to carry his weight for him. He definitely didn’t need anybody soothing him over anything. Extremely independent. Maybe even... too independent.
He was the “reliable one” in most of the village’s eyes. They were a tad weirded out by him, but he was definitely pleasant company if he didn’t think you were a threat to his lover… or his plants.
…
The terrors only kept growing more frequent. It happened again one night. A “vision”. Two Time had woken up, practically hyperventilating upon consciousness. The gruesome “vision” that time had been that of Azure. The “visions” that included him were the most horrifying to the poor believer. They almost always included Azure going missing, leaving, or even dying. That night in the “vision”, he had been mauled until he was basically unrecognizable. What message could the Spawn had been portraying with that?
Speaking of which…
Two Time looked around. It was late at night still, maybe a few hours after they had initially fallen asleep. They were positioned on the right side of a king-sized bed. Expecting to see a pleasant sleeping face next to them, they were instead met with an empty space.
Where was Azure?
Normally he would be in bed next to them. It wasn’t like him to leave out of nowhere and not tell them. Maybe he forgot, or didn’t want to disturb them.
The second option quickly got ruled out as a slam! could be heard from maybe a few rooms away. Cabins in the village weren’t horribly big in size, but at least some had multiple rooms. The bedroom Two Time was located in wasn’t too far from the center of the cabin, where the strange noise was initially coming from, supposedly.
Two Time slowly hopped off of the side of the bed. They tentatively placed one foot in front of the other, hesitant to leave the safety of the place they remained. Eventually, they fully turned the doorknob, revealing the distant hallway illuminated by a single dim light. A faint scent of herbs and, interesting enough, something metallic, hit their nose, coming from somewhere around the corner.
Azure..?
As they continued walking down the barely-lit hall, they subconsciously leaned on the wall to support themself. They didn’t really know why. For no particular known reason did they feel light-headed. Maybe it was the overwhelming scent of plants mixed with metal.
Growing closer to the end of the hallway, they heard more noises. Swearing, banging, crashing... sobbing? Was it really Azure in the house with them at this moment? Those noises couldn’t have been made by him. They couldn’t have. Azure wasn’t that reckless with everything. By the looks—moreso sounds—of it, things were being thrown around, broken. It was greatly worrying.
Was it really Azure? Was he hiding something?
Two Time kept walking. Their breathing grew more and more laced with nervousness the closer they got to the source of the sounds. Every step was weighed down by concern and their mind was rushing with situations, what they could do next depending on what they found.
“Why do I have to be so weak…?”
That voice…
It sounded broken. It cracked with more vulnerability than Two Time had ever heard from anybody but themself. The patheticness of it almost made them tear up. Most importantly, it was so horrifyingly familiar.
“God…damnit…!”
They heard the faint slicing of something against a blade. Whatever was being cut sounded soft, like a delicate object was being ripped by a sharp fang. It sounded like… skin.
They peered around the corner slowly. The scent of iron drowned out whatever was left of the herbs. In the very middle of the room stood their beloved boyfriend. The man who normally stood proud and cheerful looked nearly insane. His eyes were red from crying and underneath them was all puffy. He sat on his knees on the floor, staring at a crimson pool of liquid on and dripping down to underneath his legs.
Scattered around the room was broken glass, shattered vases, even some matches splayed out on the table. It made Two Time question why on earth Azure would need matches.
“Maybe it would be better to just… die.”
Two Time veered their gaze more to the right of Azure. In his hand lay a dagger. It was sharp, pointed at the left of his chest, where his heart would be. Blood smeared the intricate designs of the dagger, twisting Two Time’s gut once the realisation hit them.
Azure’s wrist was stained with blood as well. Fresh tears fell from his face around the area where the cut was placed. It was deliberate. Azure had meant to injure himself. Two Time’s sick, sinking feeling only got worse when the choked sobs emitting from their partner started growing louder; whimpering, ragged breathing, as if every moment he was conscious was a struggle for him.
He never was too devoted to the Spawn, and Two Time knew that. Some people drew their own blood in an attempt to please the Spawn, but this scene didn’t look like a ritual. It looked like a massacred attempt at relief from a painful situation.
Two Time stood still for a moment. They were worried. They knew they should intervene, but they also wondered if Azure would even accept their attempt at any comfort of some sort. Would he push them away, scream at them and call them useless, a burden?
...
No.
That wasn't Azure. He would never hurt Two Time.
They had to talk to him before he could do something worse to himself. Plus, when had he ever snapped at them before?
Their footsteps were kept quiet as Two Time stepped into the slightly brighter room, careful not to spook the pathetic person in front of them. One step, then another… until they were finally standing unusually tall above Azure.
“Azure…?”
Two Time spoke, speech feather-light and filled with all the gentleness they could muster. “Please tell me what causes you enough pain to do these things to yourself.”
Azure looked up. His face was more visible than usual due to the lack of his hat. “T-”
His voice seemed strained with suppressed emotion. “M-my… my nightshade… you weren’t supposed to- see this…”
Two Time carefully knelt down next to him, grabbing the dagger from his hand and setting it aside. As they reached for his bloodied wrist, Azure flinched away from the touch. Two Time froze.
They weren’t the best with people, never were. They were even worse when it came to helping people in their time of vulnerability. Azure always thought carefully, never overstepped things. He always made sure to prioritize the other person’s needs over his own curiosities—something Two Time struggled horribly with. They never needed to do things like this. Never in their life bothered to learn the skills. It was punching them in the gut now, at the worst moment ever to not know.
They held out their hand. They didn’t force Azure to talk, instead simply sat down a foot or two away from him and waited. He stared at them, cheeks still tear-stained and wrist still oozing with fresh blood.
It was silent for a few moments. Not the tender kind, but the awkward kind where neither present knew what to do. Both of them looked at each other. Two Time had no idea whether to stay sitting there or to force something to happen. Should they run?...
No.
They needed to be there for Azure. He was always there for them. Where were they when he needed them?
They simply smiled warmly, opening their arms in hopes Azure would move closer to them. As if on cue, Azure practically jumped onto them. He buried his face in their chest, ugly cries pouring out even though it sounded like he tried to stop them. Two Time felt hands grasping at the fabric on the back of their shirt, instinctively wrapping their arms around their trembling boyfriend as gently as possible.
A quick pause. Their mind rushed back to all the panic attacks they had. What did Azure do then?
Normally, he would run his hands through their hair and tell them everything was okay. He would let them sob their eyes out and just be there for them, hold them close, even if it meant dead silence minus the soft sounds of crying.
That’s what Two Time did. They ever so carefully threaded their fingers through Azure’s dark-brown matted hair that felt like it hadn’t been washed in a bit. Almost immediately he started to calm down. Instead of shaking like a fallen leaf, his breathing ever so slightly evened out. They smiled, lightly playing with loose strands of his hair.
It was a risky move to do so, yet Two Time reached for Azure’s injured arm. This time, he didn’t back away. Jumped slightly, yes. But he accepted it. They raised his wrist closer to an angle where they could see it. Most of the clots were still shiny and fresh, while some droplets had crusted over just a bit. The gash was decently large. It wasn’t deep enough to see bones, but still deep enough to be concerning.
Medicine was never Two Time’s strong suit either. Again, it was Azure’s department seeing as he knew so much about gardening and herbs. For some reason, Two Time didn’t even bother to learn how to apply simple bandages to open wounds. Azure probably taught them how to do it at some point, yet it must’ve gone completely over their head.
Was Two Time really this reliant on Azure for everything?
They had to think quickly. It wouldn’t have killed Azure to lose more blood purely from his wrist, but the cut certainly would’ve gotten infected.
Looking around, they noticed Azure’s bag—one he never leaves anywhere without—and carefully leaned over to grab it. There must have been some sort of medical wrappings in there.
By their boyfriend’s overcautiousness, Two Time managed to pull out a small roll of bandages.
Azure tilted his head up to look them in the eyes. “I-... I’m sorry.”
Two Time looked down at him with a slight frown forming on their facial features. “Why is that?”
“I always inconvenience you. You must hate me by now…” His voice grew quieter.
They froze again. Gently they grabbed his chin and pulled their faces closer together.
“You don’t inconvenience me, never... Without you, I wouldn’t be alive today.”
Two Time continued talking as they wrapped the cut on Azure’s wrist.
“When have you ever let yourself be vulnerable? I constantly pile every single issue that plagues me on top of you and you never let yourself have just- one moment to let everything out! Before you do anything like this to yourself again, please… talk to me.”
Soon the small wound was fully bandaged. Instead of looking sad, Azure looked more… content…? Two Time couldn’t tell what the expression he had on was. All they knew was that whatever they were doing was making him feel better. That’s all that mattered.
“...I will. Thank you, Two Time,” Azure half-whispered into their chest.
Two Time smiled, rubbing small, soothing circles into his back. “Anything for you, my love.”
…
Anytime Two Time had panic attacks in any room that wasn’t the bedroom, Azure always carried them back to bed. They would have done the same for him but, even though the both of them were fairly small, Azure still outweighed Two Time by quite a bit. The alternative was the two holding hands and silently walking back to the room.
Once they got inside the room, Two Time gently guided Azure to lie down. As soon as he did, they crawled in next to him. The next thing they knew, Azure was passed out inside their arms.
They kissed the top of his head, still cradling him until they eventually fell asleep themself.
“I love you, Azurewrath.”