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Pyro barges into his room one evening. Scott hasn’t gone out the last couple days, but he knows something is intrinsically wrong when Pyro begins to shake. They did something. They tell him that they had to—it was for the good of everyone—but that doesn’t mean it feels nice. Pyro never says explicitly what they'd done, but Scott knows.
He knows that Pyro has blood on his hands. Scott has the same. He’s not all innocent. He's killed before, not often. But the few times were enough. Some guards are corrupt. They do things that one cannot forgive. He understands the sudden realisation that you have taken a life—innocent or not—and how that makes you shake. Even if some people deserve it, it's never fun.
He ushers Pyro to the couch, sits down next to him, and lets him cling. They don’t talk, and eventually they fall asleep there. Scott doesn't know if Pyro will ever talk about it.
Pyro leaves in the morning with a nod and a squeeze to Scott’s shoulder. They don't talk about it when they meet up later to test the new ritual he's figured out.
Maybe it's for the best.
Seeing the corruption actually taking hold of something irks Scott. He’s seen the corruption before—it’s already begun to take over Tegrith—but not like this. It didn't layer in the air. It didn't crawl over houses and drain the colour from wildlife. It didn't make animals run away.
The corruption at home was quiet, lying in wait. It sat in shadows and under buildings. It made the towers sway and ice go black.
It didn't kill. Not yet. Not while it was so cold.
Scott follows after the others, trailing a little further behind even when the imps appear. He kills the imps, and the shadowed figure when it appears. He finds Pyro, he watches as they all wander up the tower. He's the one who unlocks the chest, then they read the books revealed.
Then Tim appears and starts to torment Pyro.
Scott's hands shake but he waits. He watches as Pyro falls and knows he'll catch himself. He runs down and finds him getting up on shaky legs, helping him up carefully. They leave the tower then. He feels something beneath his skin crawl but says nothing. He feels something to do with the corruption moving—getting closer—but says nothing. He holds Pyro's hand and walks with him back to the academy.
They really need a break.
Because nothing can ever be easy, the second they get back to the academy they find out about a new corrupted ritual, Graecie has lost her voice, and there's a dungeon in the library. Sausage and Zam run around trying to find help for Graecie, while Scott gets dragged along with 'the Priest' to go do a corrupted ritual. The ritual, as expected hits him like a truck. The residual magic crawls under his skin and makes his vision swim.
He can feel acid climbing his throat and he shakes his head. Pyro's disappeared, the Priest has disappeared, and Scott stumbles out of the room. Something in his mind shuts off and he staggers to the wall. Blood drips from his nose again and he curses. He knows he's moving, then talking, but he doesn't know what he's saying or where he's going.
He staggers away from the group eventually. The Priest returns relatively unharmed and Scott is just glad he's alive. He doesn't know where he's going until he's pushing open a door that feels too hot to the touch.
Pyro isn't in yet, he knows, but Cindy is for whatever reason. The dragon swoops down to be held close to Scott's chest and the second he takes his outerwear off he's slipping into unconsciousness.
Pyro didn't think much when he noticed Cindy was gone. He'd just thought she went with Scott and moved on. Then he'd realised how comfortable he'd been in that thought and he'd panicked. He couldn't possibly be thinking to rely on Scott of all people to look after his dragon was he?
Did he really trust Scott enough for that? Had he ever trusted Scott that much?
He knows the answer to that. He absolutely had. He'd almost given the damned man his heart when they were younger. He was damn close to doing it now. He didn't know why. Scott had hated them—maybe still did—when they'd seen each other again.
Then again, Scott had always said you can hate people you love.
Why was he quoting the man like a fucking poet, Gods. He really was an idiot wasn't he? If Scott asked, he'd give him anything. He knew Scott and Scott knew him. Maybe that was going to forever be his downfall. Having someone know you as intimately as they ever could. Then again, showering together wasn't quite something you did as an adult. Maybe he'd never know Scott as well as he had when they were kids. Or maybe they'll forever recognise every little thing about each other. Maybe they'll burn for each other every moment of every day because that was what you did for people you loved.
And fuck he loved the blonde, didn't he? They loved him so much seeing him angry at them was heartbreaking. They'd loved him a while, hadn't they?
Pyro paced the hallway he'd found himself in. It was near the Lupi dorm, maybe? They were about as far from the Vulpes dorms as they could be. He ran a hand through his hair and started the treck back. There was no use trying to avoid this.
When Pyro got back to their shared hallway, he knew immediately Scott was in his room. It was partially because of the blood on the door, but it was also partially the fact that there were icicles dripping from the door handle.
They push through quickly, going up to their bed the fastest they'd ever done so. Scott is laid there, at the very least in his more comfortable layers, bleeding from the nose and shaking violently. His eyes were screwed shut and Pyro was moving the second he noticed.
Coaxing Scott back into the land of the living was difficult, but certainly not impossible.
It took him a few minutes to open his eyes, then refocus them onto Pyro, but by the end of it Scott was clinging to Pyro's shoulders, blood cleaned from his face. He keeps apologising, over and over under his breath, gripping Pyro like he might disappear. Pyro keeps their hands steady on Scott's back, caging him into their chest. "You're okay." He whispers, hoping to soothe the shaking of Scott's gloved hands. He gets no response. "The corrupted rituals fuck you up, I get it." That gets a laugh out of Scott, and he looks up at Pyro with watery purple eyes.
"Thank you."
"Any time." He finds himself saying. He knows he means it. "Any thing."
Scott seems to hear the sincerity and his eyes soften. "Same goes for you. Always." The words surprise him a little. He's known Scott had cared, even through his anger, but he didn't think it was this much. "Today was a lot huh?"
Pyro nods, nuzzling into Scott's temple, planting a gentle kiss there. " 'M happy you don't see me differently… I thought maybe—"
Scott's head snaps up then, hands going to Pyro's jaw, and Pyro sees that blaze of fury in his eyes. "Never." He spits. "I'd never think any different of you for protecting yourself and others."
Pyro huffs a laugh, putting both hands up in a surrender. "Alright, alright. Touchy subject."
Scott pokes his side, sticking his tongue out a little. Pyro thinks it might just be the cutest thing he's ever seen. "Of course." He stresses. "I—" He cuts himself off with a sharp breath, suddenly blushing furiously.
"What?" Pyro tilts his head and Scott buries his face in his hands, moving back a little. He's still in Pyro's lap and he certainly doesn't get far before Pyro is grabbing his hips and pulling him closer again. "What! What were you gonna say, huh?"
Scott's ears are a pretty pink, and Pyro finds himself tracing the colour down the other man's neck. He wonders if it spreads down his chest. Scott flips him off and Pyro grins. "You scared?" He drawls, bringing his face closer to Scott's.
Scott pulls his hands from his face, glaring right at Pyro. "No."
Pyro continues to grin, hands grasping at the blonde's waist. The other's build gives them perfect hand holds to keep him right where they want him even as they squirm. "Then why can't you tell me?"
Scott grumbles, hands pushing Pyro's face away. "You—Mister—are a menace!"
Pyro laughs, a hand coming up to take one of Scott's in his, letting him press a kiss to his palm. "Come on. What is it? Hmm?" Scott's eyes trace his lips so blatantly Pyro almost leans in, but Cindy prances into the space between them and snaps her jaws at Pyro. The two of them burst into laughter quickly, pushing the topic to the side for now.
Aurora joins soon after, nuzzling at Pyro affectionately. Cindy puffs out smoke and climbs onto Scott's shoulders to lay happily on the cooler man's clothing. The second both dragons settle, Scott takes his gloves off, blackened fingers revealed to the world. Pyro's eyes zero in on the way Scott watches him for a reaction, so he chooses to bring his hands up and hold them ever so gently.
Pyro kisses each and every knuckle of Scott's hands, the man getting more and more flustered as he goes on. "You gonna tell me now?"
Scott narrows his eyes slightly. "Are you trying to seduce me?"
Pyro smirks at him. "Is it working?"
Scott rolls his eyes but doesn't respond, frigid hands cradling Pyro's face. They stare into each other's eyes for a while, just drinking in the fact that they're still here. Then Scott speaks again, reverent and quiet. "You're beautiful."
It's Pyro's turn to blush, pierced skin going red. "Oh, your bold are you?"
Scott smiles, tilting his head in that calculating way Pyro knows all too well. "I…" He takes a breath and Pyro holds his, waiting impatiently for him to speak again. The dragons chitter in the quiet. "This is difficult when it has so much weight—gods." He scrubs a hand down his own face, letting them both drop to his lap as he looks away. He seems to mutter something to himself before he straightens up. "I love you, Pyro Dagmeare."
The words are so quiet Pyro almost doesn't hear them. His eyes light up anyway and he takes Scott's face in his hands. "And I love you, Scott Boralith. I have for a long time." Scott stares at him with such wonder, such awe it makes him blush even more.
Then they're both leaning in.
The kiss might be the best Pyro has ever had. Scott seems to know every reaction he might have before he has it, acting accordingly. Scott's mouth is abruptly colder than Pyro had thought, but from what he can tell his own mouth is hotter than Scott had expected. The blonde kneels up slightly, using the little height it gives to kiss Pyro at a better angle.
Pyro runs his tongue piercing on Scott's lips and he gasps, the heated metal searing into his skin. Pyro takes the moment to begin to explore Scott's mouth, memorising every reaction Scott has.
They break apart for air, eventually, a line of somehow room temperature spit connecting them. Scott wipes his lips with his hand, keeping it there for a moment too long and Pyro grins. "That good, huh?"
Scott rolls his eyes, smiling anyway. "It's been a while. Give me a break."
Pyro nods along, dragging his hands up and down Scott's torso. He grabs at his stomach, feeling just as much—if not more, somehow—muscle as he does fat. It's no wonder Scott's so strong, then. Pyro finds himself wondering if Scott could lift him, and if so for how long…
Maybe he shouldn't go down that train of thought right now.
That's, obviously, when the baby dragons make their own happiness known, excited chittering and clicks coming from both. Scott giggles, getting off Pyro's lap to scoop both dragons up. They cling to him, tails and wings flapping with an intensity Pyro has never seen. "You were planning this huh?" Cindy yips at him, jumping from Scott's arms and into his own. Pyro boops her nose, grinning. "You little shit."
Scott laughs. "That's your little shit. You're raising her."
Pyro flips him off, moving past him with a gentle kiss to the temple. "She'll be about as bad as me, I think."
"Uh huh. And how bad is that then?"
Pyro shushes him, tilting his head. "We'll find out won't we?"
Scott pushes him back, rolling his eyes. "And I'll clean up after you both, then?"
Pyro shrugs, and they make their way downstairs to make some dinner in the candlelight.
It's so grossly domestic. It's everything Pyro could have ever wanted. He's never saying that aloud though. Scott doesn't need more of an ego.