Chapter Text
It was a cold November night when Avery first received the call.
“Hello?” He said rather precariously. He’d noticed he had been a lot more skittish after January’s chapter.
“Avery? It’s you right?” The low, rather weak voice on the other end asked. “It’s… it’s Derek.”
Avery stopped dead. Derek? D3rlord? He’s dead? Right?
Derek must’ve heard his ragged breathing through the phone. “Listen, I know this is a lot and I apologize for springing this on you, but I’m sort of in a sticky situation right now, and I was wondering if you could help me.”
“Derek… you’re dead. How are you calling me? Is this a prank?”
“I’m not dead, I’m right here Avery.”
“Why should I believe you? If you don’t remember, last time we talked you tricked me!”
“Look out your window.”
Avery slowly crept over to the large window on the north wall of his apartment. He was fourteen stories up, but he could clearly see the outline of a tall, slim man standing on the sidewalk. As if on cue, the man looked up and waved at him. Avery quickly paced away from his window and towards the door.
“So, do you believe me now?”
“Stay right where you are. I’m pulling on my coat. I'll be down in a second.”
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Derek was attempting to think up a good explanation for Avery. He had been ready to sacrifice himself but after he said the spell… nothing. There was maybe ten minutes of clatter in his head but after that it was normal, just with more knowledge. He could look away from the screen, he was better. It was odd, after being so corrupt, but he was grateful for it. He then set out to find Avery.
He wasn’t very hard to find, especially with Derek’s vast and uncontrollable knowledge.
That knowledge did not prevent him from completely forgetting about the need for housing and money, which he currently had none of.
Derek couldn’t even say that Avery was a final resort of sorts, he wasn’t, like at all. The king tried to guilt him into forgetting Avery, but he never could. If anything, the idea of forgetting his only friend ever drove him to escape even quicker. He also knew exactly how this would end, and he wasn’t quite sure if he liked it or not.
“D3r…”
Derek quickly spun around and was left facing one of the most gorgeous men he’d ever seen.
Avery was the kind of person you just have to stare at. He wasn’t very tall, maybe around five foot five, but he was still sort of lanky. A long face that was perfectly framed and accompanied by the darkest variety of brown hair. His hazel eyes that were flecked with a darker brown were currently looking Derek up and down.
“This is the man who spent his New Year’s Eve looking for me. He’s beautiful.” He thought to himself.br />
“Avery, we meet at last.”
Avery took a cautious step towards him, then another, then another until he was maybe a foot away from him. He reached out and rested a hand on Derek’s chest.
“You’re real.”
“Real as I can be,” Derek sputtered. Avery’s touch had done something to him that he couldn’t quite explain.
Avery averted his gaze when Derek attempted to look into his eyes. “Do… would you like to come inside?”
“That would be nice, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind, especially since it’s you.”
“Can you walk?”
Derek laughed. “Yes I can walk, I’m weak but able.”
Avery met his eyes with an inscrutable expression. “It’s fourteen stories up.”
“I’ll be okay, really.”
Avery offered a small smile, which Derek somehow returned despite the beating in his chest. It’s been a while since that’s happened, he thought to himself as he pushed open the door to the building.
—————————————————————
Avery’s apartment had always been filled to the brim with stuff, but he was feeling especially insecure about it with Derek standing next to a very tall stack of books he swore he’d read. It wasn’t really his fault though, he’d found a good sale.
Derek kept moving his head back and fourth, presumably taking in the environment. “Your apartment is nice,” he said.
Avery felt his heart skip a little. “Thanks, sorry about the mess. I've been a little busy.”
“Haven’t we both?”
“Yeah, yeah I guess. Are you hungry? Can I get you something?”
“Avery…”
“What? I'm trying to be hospitable! Is that not what you want?”
Derek started stalking towards him, slow as a lion hunting its prey.
“Avery, you know you didn’t have to do this.”
“Do what?”
Derek was a mere foot apart from him at this point. “You did not have to let me in. Why did you?”
“You know damn well why I let you into my apartment Derek. Don’t you have unlimited knowledge?”
“I know the answer, but I want to hear it grace your lips. Why did you let me into your apartment?”
Sigh “Because I’m scared of you. I don’t want to lose you again. When you died, or whatever you did, I freaked out, okay? For months I couldn’t think straight and I blamed you for all of it. You said I'd forget you, but I never did. I was scared that you would ask for my help and I wouldn’t be there. That’s why I let you into my apartment. Are you pleased?”
Derek stared at him, he was a rather handsome guy. Tall with darker skin and a mop of messy black hair. “You’re scared of me?”
“Yes, and you knew that. Now answer, do you want something to eat or not?”
Avery lunged towards the small kitchen, Derek followed. “I… that’s not… Aves”
That nickname struck a nerve. No one ever used nicknames with Avery, much less someone who he thought was dead four hours ago. “Spit it out, D3rlord.”
Derek grit his teeth. “Don’t call me that. And for the record- I never wanted you to be scared of me, ever. I’m sorry you feel that way, and I’d like to fix it.”
Avery had wandered over to his small pantry cabinet while Derek was talking. If he didn’t want me to be scared of him, then he could have never killed me in the first place, he thought to himself as he pulled out a half full box of penne pasta. “Is pasta okay?”
Derek looked at him, clearly hurt. “Are you really going to ignore what I just said?”
“Derek, listen. I’m tired, you’re clearly tired, I’ve decided you’re sleeping here tonight, we can sort it out in the morning. Okay?”
Without making a sound, Derek slowly came up behind Avery. “Thank you,” he whispered in his ear, feeling Avery shiver under his hand. “And yes, pasta is okay.”