Work Text:
'Can I kiss you? Like we used to?' Japeth asked, putting on his best display of shyness.
Trap him. Trap him if he wasn't his Aric.
'Aric' responded with a tight smile. 'Oh... of course.'
Japeth's heart sank. He hid it behind a snarl. Not his Aric. He hadn't wanted to believe it, of course, but now he had no choice but to admit the truth. He'd suspected it was a farce when he first looked at the clouds and saw 'Tedros' stumbling and generally making a fool of himself, but he hadn't wanted to believe it.
He'd been desperate, all right. Desperate for his Aric - and Tedros had made a convincing enough display. So convincing... he'd lowered his guard, just for a moment.
'Of course.' had snapped him back.
What a blatant lie.
'Aric never let me kiss him.' He shoved the fake away, fighting back the prickling sensation behind his eyes. 'He was ashamed. Ashamed of what we had. You -'
But Tedros had come prepared in case his first plan failed. A knife shot at his side - previously concealed in the folds of his tunic -
He tried to back away, but the knife stabbed straight into his side, barely missing his ribs. He saw red, and -
The light flashed blindingly white - and disappeared just as quickly, plunging the room in darkness. Japeth stumbled forward, towards where he last saw Tedros, but he was gone.
He searched desperately for an escape to this accursed place, this trap set by his enemies -
Something caught his leg.
He snarled, reaching down to rip it away -
Roots.
Roots?
He blinked, then something else caught his eye - a light at the end of the tunnel.
Without thinking, he rushed towards it, stumbling over more roots. He emerged in a forest. It was... an odd forest. He saw light-blue shrubs, sea-blue trees, royal-blue flowers... it looked like the kind of forest Evers would set up a home in. It looked like the kind of forest he'd never wander into willingly.
He stared blankly for a long time, before his eyes caught on a figure at the base of a large tree.
Someone had dumped him there carelessly, thrown a bit of dirt over him, and called it a grave. He lay on his back, tunic stained through with red, bits of undergrowth twigs stuck in his hair.
Japeth's heart caught in his throat.
That was his Aric.
Dead, discarded, dumped. No one had even bothered to really bury him.
He rushed forward, falling to his knees before him. He barely felt the spike of pain in his side. All that mattered was - was him. He didn't know what to say, what to do, or even how to breathe.
Aric.
Aric.
He could have passed for someone merely sleeping. His eyes were closed as if he had no regrets. His lips were purple, but otherwise exactly how Japeth remembered it. He'd become far more gaunt, the muscle he'd put on in the School slowly disappearing with disuse. But in his face, Japeth could see every bit of the boy he loved so desperately, he'd sacrificed a kingdom just to see it again.
Japeth pulled him close - so close, he could feel an imaginary heartbeat, and see every bit of that lovely face - and that prickling sensation returned. His breath hitched. He couldn't cry. Aric hated tears.
He wiped his eyes furiously, until he found the courage to look again.
Aric.
Aric, please.
He looked so unlike a dead boy, Japeth could almost convince himself there was something... something left.
Japeth thought of all those pathetic stories Brunhilde used to tell the boys in Arbed. Stories of princesses rescued from slumber by brave princes. He'd never liked them. He'd never seen sense in them. And yet - and yet - he felt pathetic too. Because he was praying for them to be true. Praying for them to... to work for a Never too.
He exhaled raggedly, watching his desperation override his hesitation.
He pulled Aric close and broke their only rule - he pressed a cold, desperate kiss to his lips.
And then he prayed. He hoped. He wished.
For a moment, nothing happened.
He opened his eyes, looking down at Aric's face with the most hopeful - and the most desperate - look he'd ever worn.
Aric's fingers twitched.
His breath caught.
Aric's eyes flickered open, his gaze landing on Japeth with a dazed look.
Japeth could not believe his eyes.
This - only Evers got second chances. He couldn't believe he - a Never, the worst of Nevers (Aric's own words) - had managed to use Good's own power. It shouldn't have worked. He never got second chances.
Aric's eyes cleared. He drew in a sharp breath.
Japeth opened his mouth, though he had no idea what he was going to say -
Aric jerked away as if burned. There was shock in his wide eyes, but also something else - hate. He grabbed the nearest rock - one the size of his hand - and held it like a dagger, looking ready to smash it into Japeth's head.
'You!' he snarled. 'You dare - I should have killed you when I had the chance - Rhian.'
He threw himself at Japeth, catching him by surprise. Japeth's head slammed into the earthen ground, and he gasped as stars danced in his vision. Aric hefted the rock above his head, ready to slam it down. Japeth caught his arm, all his strength put into holding his wrist away from his face. Aric might look gaunt - but he felt anything but.
'Aric -' he cried. 'Aric, it's me - it's Japeth -'
Aric startled.
Japeth took the opportunity to push the rock away from his face. He then tried to sit up, and - unwillingly - Aric shuffled back and off of him, eyes wide, brain clearly not registering the words. Then he reached forward and gently eased the rock out of his hand.
He continued to stare in shock.
He took Aric's hand and set it on his cheek. 'It's me, Aric,' he whispered gently, brushing Aric's fingers over his skin. The tan color disappeared for a moment, revealing pale, pearly skin, before returning to tan. His lips were also more purple than pink. Aric lifted his other hand too, running it over his hair. Beneath his touch, the soft copper-brown dissolved into white, then back. 'It's me,' Japeth repeated. 'It's Japeth.'
'... Why are you pretending to be Rhian?' he asked slowly.
'He's dead,' Japeth answered hollowly. 'I killed him.'
Aric blinked. 'I thought... I thought you loved him.'
'I did. But he made me choose between you and him. And I chose you.'
He blinked again.
'Rhian refused to let me bring you back.'
'Bring... me back?'
Japeth tilted his head slowly, hand tightening over Aric's. He swallowed again. 'You... you died.' he said in an almost accusatory tone. 'You left me all alone. And I broke. I thought - maybe following Rhian - would help - it didn't. In the end, he still made me - choose.'
'You...'
Japeth clutched his hand even tighter. 'Aric, I know what you'll say - This is all wrong, I know, but - Aric, look at me, I'm the King of Camelot now. An Ever kingdom.'
'You're a what now.'
'And - and what I feel for you? No Ever story will ever come close. Aric, I swear -'
Aric glanced away, silent for a moment, before he found the courage to ask, 'How long was I gone?'
Japeth opened his mouth, then slowly shut it.
'How long was I dead?' He tried to shift closer, but his balance wasn't quite back. He stumbled and pitched right into Japeth's arms. On a normal day, he might have turned red and committed murder on the spot - maybe suicide too - but... well, he's already died once, apparently. He wanted answers about that first. 'Japeth,' he repeated, completely ignoring the hold. 'How long was I dead?'
'Long enough to break me.' Japeth held him close, examining his eyes closely. There was a gleam to them Tedros hadn't quite managed to capture. Either Tedros had never seen that gleam, or he'd never paid enough attention to Aric to spot it. Whatever the case, this Aric had that gleam. 'Aric, can I ask you a question?'
'I should be asking the questions.'
'Aric, what was our first kiss like?'
'Our... our first kiss? We've never kissed.' He blinked uncertainly. 'Have we?'
Japeth's heart stuttered again. Yes, this was his Aric, all right. 'Yes,' he said quietly. 'Yes, we have. How do you think I brought you back?'
And all of a sudden, he could no longer see Aric.
The white light was back. And so was the darkness that came after it.
He clutched Aric close, refusing to ever let go. He held him with a desperation so obvious, if Aric hadn't caught on yet, those Evers surely would. But what did it matter if those Evers caught them? All he cared about was that Aric was here - really here - in his arms. The real Aric, not the imitation Tedros had made.