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serenescribe · 1 month ago

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for anyone invested in fight like a goner and caught up to ch 59, would you like to see bad ending part 2 :)

The party doesn’t like him anymore.

It’s not a problem, and it’s not even an insult. It’s just kind of fact, and if he was feeling more like himself it might sting but not destroy him.

But Gorgug isn’t feeling like himself anymore.

Kristen hasn’t met his eyes since they slid out of the Hangvan. Adaine keeps trying to look at him, but she aborts her movements, and it would be less conspicuous if she was actually just staring at him the whole time. Fig has decided she’s going to take up the rear of the crew, playing little bass notes as they go, and Gorgug figured out a long time ago that she’s just doing it so if she decides he needs to be attacked she doesn’t have to waste time getting it set up between her fingers. And Riz—gods, fucking Riz, who keeps running ahead, who keeps scouting, who keeps narrowly avoiding falling to his death—Gorgug tries to help. Extends a hand to keep him balanced, or offers to go ahead himself to see what the road is like when Riz can’t scamper safely, but every time he so much as glances in Riz’s direction he watches the goblin’s hand flinch to his gun.

Gorgug wonders if they’ve all fantasized about killing him, the way he’s starting to do with them.

There’s a long walk until they get to the heart of the temple Porter had tried to claim. And since nobody is talking to him, he has a lot of time to think.

(Fabian would be talking to him, and Gorgug knows that. He’s just scared. Of their friends, or of the caves, he isn’t sure—but his boyfriend is scared, and he’s not looking at Gorgug, just along the walls with a crease in his brow that Gorgug wants to push away with his thumb. And oh, could he imagine—? Fabian doesn’t need to be nervous. Gorgug’s here. He’s gonna protect Fabian, no matter what cost, no matter if the cost is their friends or not. They won’t protect him like Gorgug will. Doesn’t Fabian know that? Why is he wasting his time—?)

Gorgug decides to pass the time by letting his mind wander. His axe is sitting heavy on his shoulder, humming with potential energy, and it’s making his bones vibrate with it. His head is getting sort of achey with it too, like—what the fuck’s it called. Shaken baby syndrome? As if something is hitting his skull over and over, making his eyes go a little glassy as he stares ahead into whatever this fucking cave system is going to bring.

He thinks he’d like to kill Adaine first, if it came down to it. After all, she’d insulted him the worst—a dominate monster? Ridiculous. He isn’t a fucking monster, and he wasn’t that night either. He was a concerned boyfriend. She wouldn’t have let her fucking boyfriend get away with not protecting her, would she? If he was defending her honor? So she’d have to go first. It wouldn’t take much if he could just—catch her by surprise. Wander up behind her, make sure Fig and Fabian weren’t looking, and go straight for her spine. He’d like to see her face, of course, but he has to be realistic. Adaine is a gifted spell caster, and an oracle—

An oracle. Damn, he’d nearly forgotten. Still, if he just timed it right…

Fig would have to be next. Gorgug could handle the bullets from Riz and the weird pleas from Kristen, but Fig poses an actual problem. So he’d just need Fabian to get out of the way a little bit, probably—do one swing on Adaine, then turn around and take Fig down next. Chop her bass in half, then punch her so hard she doesn’t wake up again. Probably a few axe swings, just for good measure. To make sure she can’t get up again.

Then…Riz is a nasty fucker. Gods, and especially in a cave like this? He doesn’t quite know how he’ll do it, but he’s fairly certain—yes, he should be able to withstand until Riz is forced to come out of hiding. Or…

He loves Kristen. He does. But she’s not a very adept physical fighter, and he thinks perhaps if he used her as bait, Riz would reveal his location. Then it’s just a matter of—well, Riz has plenty of moves. How could he get out of that?

He’s drawn out of his musings by an arm touching his. He glances down to see Fabian staring up at him, his singular silver eye blinking a little.

“It’s dark in here,” he mumbles.

Gorgug glances around, taking a slow breath. “Yeah. Forget about that. Here, you can hold my hand if you—”

Fabian does not hold his hand. He takes Gorgug’s entire arm and stubbornly puts it over his shoulder, curling into his side. “Cold, too.”

“—or that, yeah,” Gorgug says, leaning down to rub his tusk against Fabian’s temple. He’s grinning wide now. “Come on.”

“Gods, you’re hot,” Fabian says, looking up. “And—well, you know, warm too. Do you have a fever?”

“He’s sick?”

Gorgug’s face twists in disgust and he glares at Fig over his shoulder. “I’m not sick,” he promises, then turns ahead again.

“I have a few health potions,” Kristen starts, turning to look back at Gorgug, but her voice dies and she turns around when she sees the expression on his face. “…never mind.”

“I’m not sick.”

“You’re just warm. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes,” Gorgug says, more sure than he’s ever been. “I’m fine.”

“Maybe it’s an orc thing,” he hears Adaine whisper to Kristen. Something about her voice, her words, makes him want to swing his axe—but he doesn’t.

He thinks about it very, very hard. But he doesn’t.

They take a break not too long later by a little stream. Riz has found some leftover trash from—well, either the Rat Grinders or Jace, because none of them can imagine Porter even looking in the direction of a candy bar. And then Kristen was sitting, so now they all are, taking a few minutes to get off their feet. Gorgug is leaning against a nearby wall, his head dropped back against the stone, his eyes shut; they open slowly when he hears someone take the spot next to him.

Fabian.

Gorgug smiles, lifting his arm so Fabian can slide under it. Fabian still has that worry crease on his forehead, but he seems to ignore it in favor of adjusting so he can sit in Gorgug’s lap instead—completely straddled across.

Gorgug lets his legs drop so Fabian actually has room and raises a singular eyebrow.

“Hello.”

“Hi,” Fabian says, cupping his face. “Hello there.”

Gorgug glances over. Adaine seems to be very intentionally, politely looking away; he can’t see the rest of the party from where he is.

“What’s this?”

Fabian shrugs, running his hand down Gorgug’s torso a little. “Just…wanted a little bit of comfort. Big scary cave, after all—not that I’m scared, I mean—”

“Of course not,” Gorgug says, his hand engulfing Fabian’s hip. His hands are…bigger now, he thinks. Or have they always been that way?

(Were they always meant to be that way?)

“My very brave, handsome boyfriend,” Gorgug says, starting to lean up—

And then Fabian, very gently, very intentionally, slides the nose ring between his fingers and holds on.

Gorgug’s entire body lights up. For a moment, he thinks the static is going to overtake his mind again—

But—

Well. It doesn’t quite happen like that.

For the first time, he feels every part of his brain kick into gear, thinking about all the different ways he can start keeping Fabian properly safe. Something is underlaid, a belief—one he’s never really thought before, but—

They’re not going to protect him. They’re dangerous. I’m the only one who needs to take care of him.

He swallows hard, his eyes tunneling until all he can see is Fabian’s face. Fabian is staring at him with a wide eye—gentle, trusting—

Concerned. Somewhere buried in them is concern. This settles in his heart, and he knows what it means.

“Oh, guys,” someone says. Gorgug probably is supposed to know that voice. He doesn’t. “Come on—”

“Go on without us,” Fabian says, tugging the ring—

That’s a sensation he’s never had before. Gorgug snarls, pulling Fabian down into him for a kiss so fierce he might bruise both of their mouths if he isn’t careful, and he doesn’t hear if anyone responds, nor if anyone leaves—it doesn’t matter. They need to see what someone who can protect Fabian can do, and by gods, if that happens on the floor of a cave—

It moves kind of fast, and at one point—when he’s got Fabian pressed with his back hard against the stone of the floor—Fabian starts reaching for something. Something in Gorgug’s—pocket?

Gorgug catches his wrist and pins it to the ground, his breath coming in little heaving growls. Fabian whines. It’s the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard.

“Gorgug, the condom—” Fabian protests, but his voice cuts off into a high whine when Gorgug bites his neck.

“Fuck the condom,” Gorgug whispers, adjusting them so he’s caging Fabian in and staring down. “Fuck it. Nobody else.”

Fabian laughs, his cheeks pink, sounding—nervous. Of course he’s nervous. Gorgug’s finally putting his foot down about it. It’s not as though he’s thought about another person since October, when Fabian had first invited him over. And he’s hard pressed to believe Fabian has found anyone else either, so what’s the problem?

“I can’t—if we’re going to—” Fabian whines again, his fingers curling in Gorgug’s (too tight, too small, too restrictive) hoodie. “—baby, we have to—”

“No,” Gorgug insists, staring directly down. Fabian looks so good like this—below him, at his mercy, cheeks dark and a small sheen of sweat starting to bead up on his forehead. “No condom. Nobody else.”

“What if I get a rock in my ass?” Fabian says, and—

Huh. Huh. Gorgug’s brows furrow when he realizes Fabian is trying to—what is that movement? Push him away?

Ridiculous.

Gorgug takes both of Fabian’s wrists in one hand and holds them tight.

“You won’t,” he promises. “Trust me.”

“Gorgug, I really want—I just wanted to make out, I didn’t—”

“Ring,” Gorgug reminds him, and Fabian’s face falls a little.

“I’m sorry,” he says, trying to squirm back. “I should have—remembered—Gorgug, we can’t, and especially not if you won’t use—”

His grip is tightening, but he notices the moment the pain gets to be too much for Fabian. Gorgug decides to let go, to be nice, and—a very, very distant part of his brain reminds him they’re not here to fuck. They’re here for a quest.

A quest. What was it?

Gorgug only half remembers, but he does sit up onto his knees, staring down at Fabian severely. Fabian is staring at him with an unreadable expression—eye wide, lips trembling and dry, his gaze flitting all around Gorgug’s face. Maybe Fabian’s just embarrassed. He doesn’t need to be, Gorgug thinks. People have been fucking in caves for centuries, he’s sure. They wouldn’t be the first, and they won’t be the last—maybe not even in this very cave—

But Fabian didn’t mean to ask Gorgug to fuck in a cave, so he can forgive it. This time.

“Okay,” Gorgug says, blinking through whatever is left of the lightning running through his veins. “Alright. Let’s go, then.”

Fabian lets out a sigh, scrambling to his feet and dusting off his knees. “I—fuck, I didn’t even see where they went—”

“We can find our way,” Gorgug says, slinging his axe over his shoulder again and holding out an arm. Fabian slides into place under it, still breathing hard. “Trust me.”

They go down the path a little further, and Gorgug doesn’t let go until he absolutely has to let Fabian go first. They crouch, single file, and Gorgug has to guide Fabian through—

Fabian doesn’t have dark vision. He doesn’t see the fork in the road; he wonders how well he can distinguish their friend’s voices coming distantly from the left.

“Careful,” Gorgug says gently. “Cave turns right here.”

“Thanks,” Fabian replies, and he doesn’t even check the left wall to see.

They go on a little further. The sound of their friend’s voices fade into the distance; Fabian doesn’t really react, so he must not have heard them at all. Gorgug smiles to himself. He’s got a good feeling about going this way. It’s making most of his body light up in delight, as if he’s getting closer to something that he knows will fix all of it—

And he’s right.

The tunnel ends in a massive cavern bathed in red light. It’s kind of funny, because it’s clearly old, but there’s some camping equipment that can’t be more than a few years old sitting off to one side. Fabian’s hand flies to his sword immediately; Gorgug adjusts his grip on his axe.

“Someone’s here,” Fabian whispers.

“Are they?” Gorgug says, his voice a normal volume, and it echoes across the entire room. “Looks like nobody’s touched it for a while.” He approaches—there’s a nice, big tent, with some kind of very nice travel bed inside, and a cooler at the back that’s glowing with some kind of magical property. It’s not ideal, Gorgug thinks, but it’s a start. He’s sure it’s a start. The bed looks like it’s nice enough by Fabian’s standards.

“Whose stuff is this?” Fabian mumbles, approaching one of the tables outside and staring at the papers. “Is this—an adventurer’s?”

“Who knows?” Gorgug says, already starting to relax. He crouches down, opens the cooler, reaches inside—it’s funny, because he can’t see anything, but he thinks very hard about wanting a bottle of water, and out one comes. “Oh, fucking sick.”

“What’s—oh!” Fabian comes and leans over his back, looking in. “Oh, is there food? I didn’t have enough breakfast—”

Something roils. Gorgug’s head snaps up to stare at Fabian, then he drops the axe and lifts Fabian over his shoulder.

“—Gorgug—!”

Into the bed he goes, Gorgug forcing him to sit in the plushiest part, and he’s not satisfied until Fabian finally stops squirming.

“Gorgug,” he says pointedly. “What are you doing?”

“Stay,” Gorgug says, going back to the cooler. He sticks his hand inside—he doesn’t know what, specifically, he’s looking for, but he pulls out a few granola bars and a whole egg. He can’t do much with the egg right now, so he sets it to the side, then tries again; this time, he gets a bottle of milk and some protein powder—the same brand he’s seen at the Seacaster’s before.

“Here,” Gorgug says, bringing them all over—something strange courses through him when he sees that Fabian is trying to stand up, so he comes over and takes a seat himself, then pulls Fabian directly into his lap so he can’t go anywhere. “Stay. Food. Eat.”

“Gorgug, we have to find our friends,” Fabian protests, though after a moment he takes one of the granola bars with curiosity. “We can’t just abandon them. We don’t even know where they are.”

“Huh,” Gorgug says, barely listening. “Eat.”

Fabian takes a small bite, leaning into Gorgug’s shoulder. “That’s a nice little trick. The cooler, I mean.”

“Yeah,” Gorgug mumbles, fumbling with the milk and powder. “Have a sip. For room.”

So Fabian does, then rolls his head into Gorgug’s neck. “I didn’t mean to worry you, you know.”

He starts to shake the milk once the powder is in the bottle. “Okay.”

Fabian stares at him for a moment. “Are you alright?”

“Protein.” Gorgug presents the bottle; Fabian takes it with a narrowed eye, though it relaxes when Gorgug wraps his arms around Fabian fully and snuffles a little into his neck.

“Oh,” Fabian says gently. “I get it—the ring?” Gorgug makes a little rumbling noise. Fabian laughs softly. “I’m sorry, baby,” he whispers, and he sounds more—relaxed now. “I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t have—we can now, I suppose. If the bed owner won’t get—”

His voice cuts off with a moan as Gorgug bites his shoulder, then starts to suck a hickey. Fabian nearly drops the drink, so Gorgug catches it for him, putting it back in his hands.

“Finish food,” Gorgug mumbles, dragging his lips up to Fabian’s ear. Fabian whines. “Then. Food first. Then.”

“You’re an animal,” Fabian whispers, trying to turn so he can kiss Gorgug—but Gorgug won’t let him. “I’ll eat after, when we go find everyone—Gorgug—”

“Food now.”

“Gods, you’re hot when you’re demanding,” Fabian mumbles, finally giving up. He shoves the rest of the granola bar in his mouth, then chugs the protein milk, tossing the empty bottle as soon as he’s done. Gorgug has his lips on Fabian’s throat the whole time, so he feels the way the muscles work, the way they constrict—for a moment, he wonders what it would feel like if—

But Fabian kisses him, turns in his lap, and they almost fall into the surprising plushness of the bed. Gorgug doesn’t let them go far, his hands wandering, demanding—

Demanding. Fabian likes that. So Gorgug takes, and he doesn’t ask, and this time Fabian is more than happy to forget those stupid fucking condoms.

Something about the sex feels charged this time. Gorgug doesn’t bother finding the words for it, just lets it happen, but when they’re done, Fabian is panting hard and looks exhausted.

“Maybe,” he breathes, “we wait a bit, uh, before we find. Everyone else.”

“Okay,” Gorgug whispers, sitting up. Fabian whines, catching his arm.

“No, we—rest. Come back here—”

“Gonna see if there’s anything out there we need,” Gorgug explains softly, kissing Fabian and laying him back down. “My beautiful boyfriend needs to rest, yeah?”

Fabian softens a little, his eye sliding shut. “…alright, fine…”

“Stay,” Gorgug says, his hand on Fabian’s heart, and he waits until Fabian is asleep before he steps out of the tent.

Yes, he thinks. This will all do very nicely.

Riz blows some air out of his mouth, looking back at the tunnel. “I mean, seriously, how long does sex take?”

“It can take hours,” Fig says, her elbows on her knees. “You should have just let us drag them apart.”

“Didn’t you say there was another tunnel too?” Adaine says, biting her cuticle again. “What if they went down the wrong one?”

“I’m still not convinced they’ve even finished,” Fig says. “I mean, it’s only been what, forty five minutes?”

“We should go back,” Kristen says, staring at the tunnel as hard as Riz is. The space they’re in now isn’t super big, but it’s big enough, and—

“If they’d tried to follow us and hadn’t found us, they’d have yelled,” Riz says, feeling sure. “I’m sure it’s fine. We can just wait it out.”

So. They give it another twenty minutes. Fig ends up finding some rock she can use as chalk and starts playing hopscotch; Adaine joins her, and Kristen makes a game out of trying to trip them, and Riz keeps staring, keeps staring—

Something, very distantly, crashes. It sounds like an avalanche. Every part of his body lights up in fear.

Something’s wrong.

“The hell was that?” Adaine asks, letting Fig run into her. Everyone turns.

“I dunno,” Riz says, grabbing his gun. “Sorry to cut your game short. Let’s go.”

When Fabian steps out of the tent, trying to hurriedly throw his shirt back on, Gorgug is making a show of trying to push the rock away from the entrance.

“What happened?” Fabian asks, alarmed.

“Dunno,” Gorgug says, his foot slipping on the rock. “Just—fell, out of nowhere—”

Fabian won’t notice the mechanics. Fabian won’t see the button. He knows this. He’d barely seen it himself, and he thinks quietly about how glad he is that his boyfriend is so easily distracted anyway. Whoever made this place—it’s as if they knew Gorgug would need a place to keep Fabian safe, and all the things he could ever ask for are here.

Fabian joins him trying to push the rock anyway, then glances down. “Fuck, is that your crystal?”

Gorgug glances. That, he wasn’t counting on, but it had been a nice little surprise. “Yeah,” he grumbles, trying to sound put out. “Almost lost my hand trying to get it and I still didn’t manage.”

Predictably, Fabian gives up on the rock to grab Gorgug’s hand. “Are you alright?” he whispers, and then his magic swirls around Gorgug’s skin, beautiful and soothing as an ocean breeze.

“I’m okay now,” Gorgug says, smiling softly. He leans in for a kiss, which Fabian grants, though not as enthusiastically as Gorgug would like. Still—still. A kiss.

He’s got plenty more of those in his future, he thinks.

“Not budging?”

“Not at all.”

“Shit,” Fabian mumbles, then looks at the cavern behind him. There’s a massive lake overtaking most of the room, and the ceilings are high enough that they almost can’t see the top. Gorgug doesn’t follow his gaze; Fabian looks so beautiful in the red light, ethereal, like a beautiful, perfect gem.

The light, as Gorgug has found out—and he watches Fabian realize this as well—is stemming from a massive ruby hanging from the ceiling. Or—it looks like a ruby, but Gorgug’s veins are buzzing with the knowledge that it’s like him, it’s just like him, he’s got it flowing through him, and if he ever wants to be strong enough to protect Fabian, this is where he needs to be. It will make him strong. It will make him able.

And one day, it will probably make Fabian see reason. That of course they shouldn’t leave.

“There must be an exit somewhere,” Fabian says, looking around. “I mean, there’s air.”

“For now,” Gorgug says, sliding behind Fabian to lean over his back. Fabian rolls his head into the touch. “Maybe there won’t be for long.”

“I bet it’s coming from that thing.”

The thing about the ruby, as far as Gorgug can tell, is that there’s no way to reach it. So even if Fabian asked, Gorgug wouldn’t be able to—

“I bet you can throw your axe at it,” Fabian says, catching him off guard. “Maybe knock it down that way?”

“Maybe,” Gorgug says, his mind whirring, his arms constricting around Fabian. “But—but what if I lose my axe? In the water?”

“Oh—there might be caves down there as well!” Fabian sounds delighted. Gorgug is starting to feel sick. Fabian wants to leave—Fabian wants to leave, he doesn’t like this little reprieve, this little home they could make here—his arms constricting tighter, and then he lifts Fabian and starts carrying him back to the tent. “Fuck—Gorgug!”

“I’m not letting you check,” Gorgug says, his voice low. He puts Fabian back in the bed, his ear twitching wildly as he tries to fight off his rage that’s going to overflow in his throat. “I can’t lose you.”

“Gorgug, I can swim—”

“No.”

Fabian jerks back, his eye wide, terror flashing through—Gorgug can’t find it in himself to care. Fabian isn’t allowed to leave. They’re safe here.

Surely, he’ll understand that soon.

“We’re going to wait for our friends to find us,” Gorgug says, his voice as even as he can make it. He’s trying to swallow the growl threatening to escape. It’s hard—it’s hard, because Fabian wants to leave him, because Fabian doesn’t see the value in this space they’ve found— “We’re gonna stay here, and when we think they’ve given up, then we can try to find the exit. But this is the safest place for us now.”

Fabian is staring up at him, the duvet cradling him carefully, and he looks so beautiful, so safe like this—Gorgug reaches forward and trails his knuckle down Fabian’s jaw, kneeling next to the bed. Fabian softens.

“We are going to try eventually,” Fabian asks carefully. “Right?”

“Of course,” Gorgug says. “I’ll see if I can find stuff to make some kind of snorkel with, if it comes to that, but—for right now, we stay.”

Fabian leans back in the bed. “…alright,” he allows. “Fine. Was there anything out there that says who used this place before?”

“Nada,” Gorgug says lightly. “Just a bunch of setup for the equipment. Not even a name.”

“Damn.”

Gorgug hums, resting his chin on the edge of the bed. It’s something kind of halfway between a cot and a very plushy blanket, but it was comfortable enough a bit ago, and he watches as Fabian starts relaxing into it. He rolls a little so he can see Gorgug as he lays there, smiling softly.

“How long?”

“Until?” Gorgug hums, his mind starting to wander. He doesn’t need to fight anyone here. Just defend. Just keep them safe.

“We try to leave.”

Gorgug’s ear flicks, but that’s his only visual sign of distress. “I guess we give it twenty-four hours.”

Fabian starts to frown, but he swallows whatever he was going to say. “…alright.”

“Rest,” Gorgug tells him gently. “You’ll need your strength.”

“I can’t just go to sleep,” Fabian mumbles, staring at Gorgug. “You know that.”

“Can you not?” It’s teasing.

“No,” Fabian says, reaching out to hook a finger around one of Gorgug’s tusks. Gorgug perks up, staring at Fabian intensely. “Oh, just get up here, we might as well—”

He touches the nose ring, and everything goes fuzzy after that.

“This is the same fucking cave they were in,” Adaine insists, gesturing around. “Look! There’s the trash!”

“They aren’t here,” Fig repeats. “This can’t be the same place.”

“I’m just confused as to how we missed the fork,” Riz says, staring at a rock on the ground as he thinks. “I know I saw one.”

“I felt every inch of that wall,” Kristen says, kneeling next to Riz. “There wasn’t anything. No other turn offs. Do we think they went back to the van?”

“There was a fork,” Riz insists, steeping his fingers and shutting his eyes. “I know I saw it, but—there was a red light, and I didn’t want to get too far in without them, so—”

“There was no red light this time,” Adaine says, tossing her head back.

“Can you scry on them?”

Adaine perks up. “Oh, I sure can—”

She sits down, and they all wait as she casts it. Her eyes glow white, her hair flying up, and—immediately, she looks disgusted, but she doesn’t come out of it.

“Oh, ew, gross—”

“Adaine?”

“They’re having sex,” Fig guesses, to which Adaine nods, her lip curling. “Fucking knew it—”

“Where are they?”

“I don’t know,” Adaine says, turning around. “It’s some kind of—tent? It—I’m fairly certain it’s a cave—oh, gods, no, I don’t need to hear them—”

“So they’re still here,” Riz says, narrowing his eyes. “They didn’t leave. Can you see anything else?”

“So much,” Adaine says miserably. “More than I ever wanted to.”

“About where they are.”

“No! Cave floor, and a tent, with a cooler—”

“Maybe they found someone’s old setup,” Fig says, snapping.

“Doesn’t explain how we lost them,” Kristen says.

“Maybe that was the collapse we heard,” Riz mumbles. “They’re caved in somewhere.”

“I don’t think they want to leave,” Adaine says, still sounding as though she’s regretting it. “It—oh, what? Wait, is this broken?”

“Adaine?” Kristen says. She kneels in front of her, eyes wide. “Is what broken?”

“Why is everything red?”

Something cold cascades down Riz’s spine. “They’re in the room I saw. They went down the other fork, and it caved in.”

“Shit,” Fig says.

“Shit,” he agrees.

The good thing about Fabian being asleep is that it gives Gorgug a little bit of time to explore. He doesn’t bother putting his shirt back on; who’s going to see him anyway? So he wanders around the cave, feeling his body hum as he gets closer to the water’s edge, staring up at the gem in the ceiling. He holds a hand up to it, waiting—for what, he doesn’t know, but he waits, and he smiles to himself when it makes his fingers start to tingle. There’s probably—what is that, a hundred feet between them? Two hundred? But this, Gorgug realizes, must be where the heart of the rage crystals lives, and he’s come to accept now that Porter had done him a favor. Dying at his hand over and over, being brought back up, breathing in the air of him—working with him for so long—of course Gorgug was never going to live up to Porter’s standards. He wasn’t ready yet.

He’s ready now.

There are dozens of shards of the crystal lining the water’s edge. Gorgug starts methodically picking them up, picking the smallest ones, and once he’s got a nice little collection he takes them back to the tent. He knows what to do. It’s instinctive.

So into the pockets on the side of the cot they go, creating something like a little ring of protection in the bed. Gorgug feels stronger for it already.

Don’t worry, he thinks gently. I’ll protect you, baby.

Two days later, Fig has taken the Hangvan back to Elmville. Gorgug knows, because once they hit a certain distance away, Zephriel’s voice fades from his mind entirely. His whole party had gone nuts for the entirety of their time here, but they’d never figured out what had happened to the fork in the tunnel. Good thing, too. Gorgug is pretty impressed by the machinery built in; what he’s figured out is someone thought this gem would be worth a lot and had put so much money into finding ways to protect it that they hadn’t considered they’d need to actually reach it. So things had been left strewn about, askew, perfect for Gorgug to make a little home for them.

Fabian sleeps for a long time. Gorgug would be concerned if he wasn’t so flattered. So while he sleeps, Gorgug sets about making the temporary tent more solid—building up rock walls, expanding into another room, creating a bit of privacy so they can go to the bathroom and have little showers, if they want.

(Gorgug has it set up so there’s no real privacy. He’ll be able to see Fabian all the time, no matter where he goes, except the water—as he builds around Fabian, sets up a doorframe, starts to turn the place into their future home, he tells Fabian how dangerous the water is. Perhaps it’ll get through to him in his sleep.)

But then the house is done, and Fabian isn’t awake yet, and Gorgug isn’t happy about it anymore. He lifts Fabian up out of the duvet, feeling Fabian’s breath hit his skin, and frowns. For a few minutes, he just holds Fabian in the center of the room; and then Fabian’s eye slowly drifts open, blinking slowly.

“Hello,” he mumbles, his voice thick with sleep.

“Good morning,” Gorgug whispers, his whole body relaxing. “You were tired.”

“Yeah,” he mumbles, shifting a bit—closer, closer into Gorgug’s arms, exactly like he fucking wants—“Kept having nightmares.”

“About?”

“Fuckin lake,” Fabian mumbles, and Gorgug’s chest swells with pride. It had worked. “Doubt we can get out that way.”

“I doubt so too,” Gorgug says gently, carrying Fabian through one torn hole in the back of the tent to their new dining area. “You slept through meals. You have to eat.”

Fabian yawns, looking vaguely surprised at the stone stool he’s set on—and the table, and the makeshift stove, complete with a pot Gorgug had found in one of the unopened boxes abandoned behind the tent. “What’s all this?”

“Home,” Gorgug says, his shoulders relaxed. “Made us a home. Told you I would. Built you a house.”

“…Gorgug,” Fabian says softly. “We can’t stay here.”

“Why not?”

“Your parents?”

Gorgug scoffs, grabbing a little flint rock from one of the boxes and a steel plate from another. “What about them?”

“They’re going to miss you—”

“No, they won’t. They’ll miss their kid,” Gorgug says easily. “But I’m not really that anymore.”

“You’re—what?” Fabian stands, coming to join Gorgug by the pot as he tries to strike a light. “Hold on, did you get fucking head trauma while I wasn’t looking?”

“Fabian,” Gorgug teases, glancing up. Fabian isn’t smiling. That’s not reassuring. “Baby, listen, we can just wait it out. I heard our friends trying to find us earlier. We just need to wait. And in the meantime, home.” He makes a spark, setting the papers under the pot ablaze easily.

“…you heard them?” Fabian asks quietly. Unsure.

“I did.”

“Where are they now?”

“Going to get help,” Gorgug promises, standing and taking one of Fabian’s hands to rest on his heart. “We’ll be okay here for now. They’ll come back soon. Go sit. I’ll make dinner.”

“How long was I asleep?” Fabian doesn’t move, frowning at Gorgug deeply. Gorgug squeezes his hand.

“A few hours. Not long.”

Fabian settles, still frowning. “This was a lot to get done in a few hours.”

“I don’t have a way to tell time,” Gorgug reminds him. “So maybe it was longer. I don’t know.”

“I don’t like this. Maybe we should—” Fabian glances at the lake—

He glances at the lake.

Gorgug tugs Fabian tightly against his chest in panic, holding him there, a growl rumbling deep in the back of his throat. Fabian chokes at the sudden movement, staring up.

“Gorgug—“

“No,” he insists, then scoops Fabian up and sets him on the stone stool again. “Sit. Stay. I’m making dinner.”

“I want to go home.”

“I know,” Gorgug says, though what he means is you are home, you live here now, with me, I can keep you safe, I won’t let anything happen to you ever again. “But we can’t leave. I don’t trust the lake, and you don’t either, and—they’re coming back for us. Eventually. We have to wait. So stay.”

“Gorgug, I’m not going to just sit here and not try to—”

He tries to stand again, and Gorgug’s brain goes a little haywire. He doesn’t know what’s so hard to understand—they’re safe here. No monsters. No pirates. No parents who make them miserable.

Nobody who will take them away from each other.

Fabian loves him. Gorgug knows this in his deepest heart of hearts. Fabian loves him, and he’ll be happy if he just focuses, if he just thinks about how good it is now.

And if he won’t do the thinking, then Gorgug will simply have to do it for him.

He grabs Fabian’s wrist so hard he nearly breaks it—nearly, because he will not hurt his precious gem, he won’t hurt the love of his life—and tugs Fabian into his chest again, staring down pointedly.

“Fabian,” Gorgug says, his voice low. “Stop trying to leave me.”

“I’m—not?” Fabian sounds—and looks—panicked now, trying to pull his hand away, but it isn’t working. “—Gorgug, let go—”

“I told you we’re staying here until they find us,” Gorgug says darkly. “So that’s what we’re doing.”

“I need to—”

“You need to sit down, shut up, and listen to me,” Gorgug hisses, feeling the vein in his forehead throb. Fabian’s eye is wide with terror—he nods, a small little movement, and Gorgug swallows his rage back under his skin and loosens his grip. “Good. Good. We’re safe here for now. We can focus on leaving later, when we know there’s no other option.”

“Okay,” Fabian whispers, sitting on the stool carefully. He isn’t looking away from Gorgug at all.

Good.

Fabian tries to go to sleep with his good eye facing Gorgug, but by the time Gorgug gets up, Fabian always has his vulnerable side pressed into Gorgug’s chest, sleeping soundly. It’s been a few days of this—he thinks, anyway—time is different when Gorgug is the only one who wakes up. It took him two sleep cycles to realize Fabian just…isn’t waking up when he’s left in the bed by himself, and another three to realize it’s the concentration of the gems. The closer he is to Gorgug, the more docile he is, as if his body is reacting to the rage gems, as if they’re knocking him into some kind of submission.

And after the first week or so—well, Gorgug thinks it’s a week, but he really isn’t sure—Fabian stops complaining that Gorgug is all over him all the time. In fact, he starts seeking Gorgug out more. It makes him feel great. He’s providing, and he’s doing such a damn good job of it that Fabian is drunk on being close to him, drunk on kissing him, drunk on letting the soup start to boil while he shows Gorgug just how thankful he is—

And Gorgug would be afraid it’s an act, but he knows it’s not. There’s no way it could be, not when Fabian’s eye is glassy when they’re pressed together like that.

Gorgug builds up the house more. They have several rooms, and one room specifically for Fabian finding new ways to bend in half for Gorgug, one far away from the water that isn’t quite a nest territory but is close enough. Their bed is sacred now; Fabian seems to understand, through whatever haze he’s in, that the bed and his tiredness are determined by Gorgug now, so sometimes Gorgug keeps him out of it long enough just to see the way Fabian begs him for it, to go back to rest in their home, their little bed, where Gorgug can keep him safe.

He knew Fabian would come around eventually.

He doesn’t know if their friends ever come back. He does know that the longer he stays in the gem’s presence, the better he feels, and it’s not long before he realizes he probably won’t die so long as he has the gem this close to him. Fabian has a lifespan that’s supposed to outlive him, but if Gorgug never dies…

…well. He’s not complaining.

It’s been a long time. He doesn’t know how long anymore. A while, though. And right now, Fabian is approaching him the same way he always does, with worship in his eye, a hand extended. Gorgug bends enough for Fabian to flick the nose ring without reaching too far. His eyes flutter with pleasure.

“Hello,” Fabian whispers.

“Hi, baby,” Gorgug says.

“I love you,” Fabian replies.

“And I love you,” Gorgug says, pulling Fabian in for a kiss.

Their friends give them empty funerals. It’s probably a better fate.

#YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!#other people's writing #reblog #fh #i enabled this and its so good. i love it so much

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