Chapter Text
"Derek, is that.. really you?" Avery asked. Why was Derek alive? Wasn't he supposed to be dead after he merged with the King? Isn't that what was supposed to happen? Why was he still alive? I mean he is indeed happ-
"Avery?" Derek said, his voice cracking. Everything stopped at once, whatever Avery was thinking about before vanished, as he solely put all of his attention towards Derek.
"I know what you are thinking, I'm supposed to be dead after merging in with the King. But surprisingly, the odds were against that, which makes me being here" Derek said. Even though he had infinite knowledge, that knowledge didn't give him the answer as to why he was here. Was it because of the King? Did he still have some king of power and tried saving both of them? Derek's thoughts were interrupted by Avery.
"Oh yeah I forgot you kinda know everything" Said Avery awkwardly, breaking the silence.
"Well all that matters is that you are here, alive somehow!" Said Avery, trying to light up the mood, which definitely worked as a small smiled tugged at Derek's lips; a genuine one.
"That's true, I'm glad we are both alive, together." Derek said smiling at Avery.
"I'm glad as well" Said Avery returning the smile with his own. 2 idiots smiling at each other, happy to be in this together; whatever "this" meant.
Derek broke the silence first, "Okay, now that we resolved what we had to resolve; Where are we? I mean the only clue we have is that whatever this place is, its made of oak wood" It's wasn't the polished one, it was the one straight from the tree.
"Hmm what building has oak wood that I know of. Wait I know! My house. Now that I think about it, this looks weirdly exactly like my house, it even has the little imperfection near the door." Avery said, now feeling a bit more safe knowing that this was probably his house.
"Wait a minute, you have infinite knowledge, don't you know where we are?" Avery asked, now confused.
"Well I mean the thing is, I do have the infinite knowledge, but for some reason I don't know some things, like where we are. And also the King isn't in my head anymore. Which hey! I'm not complaining, he caused me painful headaches anyways" Derek said, relived at his realization.
"That's awesome Derek! But for the knowledge part, does that mean you don't know everything?" Avery asked, already knowing what Derek was gonna say, but still wanting to hear Derek say it because well, he loved hearing Derek's voice just needed to be sure!
"I guess. Hey how about we explore this building so we are sure this is your house?" Asked Derek already getting up, which Avery immediately noticed because he felt something move in his hand..? Wait what? Avery looked down, only to see they had been holding hands this whole time, which honestly, Avery didn't mind. In fact it kept him in check that he was still here; Derek was still here, with him.
"Uhh, Avery? Dude you okay?" Derek asked, concerned. Avery quickly snapped out of his thoughts.
"Yeah I'm good. It's just that, I still can't believe you are here, alive and well, with me. I thought you would be dead, that I would never see you again after you, well pushed me off the platform. I thought after you merged with the king, you would die. I didn't think I would see you again." Said Avery, and suddenly, he realized he was crying, no, sobbing. Derek saw the state Avery was in, and just... hugged him.
"Hey its okay. I'm here Avery. See?" Derek said as he pulled away a little but, just enough for Avery to look up, and saw his face. His real face, not the helmet he usually wears, not the King's face he had seen in his nightmares; Derek's face; his actual; real face. For a moment Avery just stared, amusement in his face. Derek was just wiping Avery's tears away from his face, and then- Avery kissed him. Derek was taken aback, surprised by such action. But Derek didn't pull away, no. Instead he just leaned into the kiss, still hugging Avery of course. It was a soft, tender kiss filled with Avery's love for Derek. You'll think that for the state Avery was in, it wasn't going to be a great experience, but no. It was the complete opposite. Derek felt all sorts of feelings, happiness, the love for Avery; his Avery. It all felt; beautiful. As if the world had stopped. As they pulled away, they were smiling, like idiots, like before.
But this time, it felt more real than before. There was silence between them, a conformable silence. They stayed like that for a while until they both fell asleep, Avery in the floor hugging Derek while they holded hands, their faces inches away from each other.