#one rug because i live right above the cellar and it gets fucking cold a new sink and some smaller items

[ricoka]

YouTube can be fun but sometimes it also makes you want to throw your tv out the window

[victorsandvanquishers]

The pit and the pendulum for Asta, Yuno and Noelle

I had a mighty fun time writing this one. Enjoy! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

~~~

Noelle glimpsed an elongated shadow flit across the wall before disappearing from sight. Any other day of the week, she would have brandished her wand and screamed bloody murder while sending a tornado beam of water at the perpetrator. Today, however, she closed her eyes and bit into the insides of her cheeks. She willed her heart to calm down. She conjured an image of her mother's portrait and focused on the tiny details. She remembered an array of colors, and delicate brushwork that brought Acier's embroidery to life on the canvas. The mix of greys and purples kept Noelle occupied as her heart rate returned to normal.

Finally, she opened her eyes and shakily exhaled. Any other time, any other place in the world, she would have picked a fight to retain her honor, but today wasn't the day.

And Asta's church in Hage wasn't the place.

A hand squeezed Noelle's shoulder, and this time she did scream.

Yuno's hand went over her mouth before she could elicit any real noise. “Calm down, it's me,” he commanded gruffly into her ear. Any other person, and she would have elbowed him in the ribs before running away, but it wasn't just any other person, it was Yuno, and this was his church too.

She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing again. Yuno let go of her and gave her space. Noelle counted to fifty before opening her eyes and facing the empty wall in front of her. She refused to turn to the young man standing next to her. She didn't need to look at his face to know that he was eyeing her critically. She was used to it. Noelle had always been an interloper, even in her own life. Her own flesh and blood had seen her as a nuisance. She knew what it was like to be judged and metaphorically executed before even being given a chance to speak, so she didn't turn to Yuno and his liquid gold eyes. Instead, she trained her gaze at the plain wall illuminated by sickly yellow light, and thought hard.

“He's here,” she heard Yuno say softly. “I can feel him.”

Can you though? She desperately wanted to snap. Instead, she exhaled again and set her mouth in a grim line. “He doesn't have any mana for us to track, so what exactly are you sensing? It could be the demon playing tricks for all we know.”

Like the trick it played just now, she thought grimly.

“I spent my childhood with him; I think I know what I'm talking about,” he bit back. Noelle felt a threatening spike in his mana, and so she matched it by raising her own. If he wanted a dick-swinging contest in the middle of a church, then she'd give him just that.

After the exchange, an eerie silence descended on them. Even the stray candles with their yellow light seemed to mute their gentle flickering. Noelle tried swallowing the dread in her throat, but it merely pushed upwards. Any other day, and Noelle would have found a 'noble' excuse for her fear, but not today, not in the old church that used to be Asta and Yuno's home.

But now it was home to something else, wasn't it? Something more sinister, something that put the fear of Hell in Noelle's heart.

A man needs a home, Asta had told her that last day she saw him. It was the day Nacht had finished training him, the day Asta had chosen to sit down on the floor of the Black Bulls base, and go inside his own head to negotiate the terms and conditions of his possession. No one had tried to stop him, because that's why Nacht was here, right? A man possessed by a demon, so friendly with his monster that it perched on Nacht's shoulder like a cat, like it was Rouge cuddling against Vanessa, that's why Nacht had appeared when he did.... Right?

She and the rest of the Black Bulls hadn't stopped Asta. If anything, they'd encouraged him. Noelle had encouraged him. Asta did it to them all the time, so they'd rallied together and told Asta to wrestle the demon into submission, to take what was necessary so that they could finally be on their way to rescue Captain Yami, Captain Vangeance, and Loropechika.

They'd been wrong. They'd been so fucking wrong.

“The shadow,” Yuno started softly, “where did it go?” Noelle pointed to her right, and he inhaled sharply. “I saw it go to the left,” he hissed. “I swear.”

And Noelle believed him. When Asta had finally opened his eyes, it had merely been an hour since he'd first closed them, but to the Black Bulls, to Noelle, it'd felt like eternity. When Asta had opened his eyes, his left green eye was dull and flat, but the right red eye was pulsating with dark energy. Asta's sclera in his left eye had turned black. A fang had erupted from his jaw, and hung like a snaggletooth from his lips. When Asta had opened his eyes, he wasn't Asta anymore.

And then he was gone. He'd brushed by Noelle and told him about finding a home, and Noelle had guessed off the top of her head that it was the church in Hage, and so they'd prepared for flight. It helped that the village was enroute to Spade, so they'd joined the rest of the army, and then they'd set off.

Once they'd all reached the village, the leaders of the separate squadrons set up comms stations along the border of the Neutral Zone as Yuno and Noelle went to retrieve Asta.

They'd found Asta and Yuno's family huddled in the little community hall instead of the church. That was where they'd learned that something had come knocking on their door the night before. Father Orsi and Sister Lily being of the cloth had willingly opened their doors. They'd been shocked to find that it was none other than Asta, but even that was short-lived.

The demon had looked up at the Sister and told her that it'd won. That had been enough for the Sister to gather everyone else and run.

And now, Noelle and Yuno were inside of the church that had been taken over by the creature that looked like Asta, while the rest of the Black Bulls and assorted members of the Golden Dawn were just outside the church with reinforcements, willing to storm the little church the second Noelle and Yuno gave the sign.

“If we split up again, it'll get us,” Yuno said. “Let's start with the left and then circle back around.” They were standing in the middle of the church, facing one of the walls. To the left was the door to the cellar. To the right were a flight of stairs that went up to the bedrooms above.

“He said he was looking for a home,” Noelle said softly.

Yuno paused before speaking again. “The cellar isn't home.... but our old room is.”

Noelle didn't argue and let Yuno take the lead. He grabbed a single candle and led her up the stairs to where the bedrooms were. When they reached an empty hall, Noelle finally brandished her wand as she followed Yuno past the open doors.

One room was clearly the Father's, with a little desk pushed to the corner next to a clothing stand that held scarves, hats, and outer robes. The next room seemed to belong to the smaller children, a set of beds lined up next to each other on one side of the room, while cabinets lined the other side. The final room with the open door was the Sister's. Her habit was still on the floor where she'd dropped it when rushing to get out of the church with the children. When Noelle had found her in the community center, she'd had a shawl draped over her hair and shoulders. She'd been dressed in plain nightclothes like the children gathered around her, and the Father who'd been sobbing close by.

The fourth door was closed. Yuno took a sharp breath.

“This was our room,” Yuno said gravely. Noelle could only see his back, but she could taste the dread in the air. “The older children get to have their own room once the eldest of the house leave,” Yuno continued. “Asta and I got it when we turned twelve, and when we left, it went to Recca. When she leaves, it'll go to Nash.”

Noelle glanced at the plain door, then back to Yuno. She could see the rigid shoulders and harsh posture, and knew that he was scared. She did the only thing she could and sidestepped him before opening the unlocked door.

The room was just as small as she'd imagined. There was a small bed to the side, a desk, a cabinet, a bookshelf on the opposite side, and a small rug in the middle. It looked like it was lived in, unlike the cold, clinically clean rooms back at the Silva Estate. The teenager, Recca, had left two books open on the rug, and a mug of water next to it. She'd been reading when Asta had appeared the night before.

But there was no Recca in this room now. Recca was at the community hall, had been protectively holding the two youngest orphans, a haunting look in her dark green eyes.

What was in the room wasn't human. Noelle peered at the man slumped against the wall underneath the room's only window. The early rays of dawn washed against his cracked skin, and Noelle swore she saw blood. It had been less than twenty-four hours since Asta had left the Black Bulls base, and now they were at the church in Hage, just hours before their army marched across the Neutral Zone and into Spade territory.

And it would all be for naught if Asta didn't come with them, if Asta didn't lend them his strength, if Asta couldn't be their weapon.

Noelle burst into tears. Wasn't that why they'd pushed him? So that he could be Wizard King Julius's weapon? So that they could annihilate the Dark Triad and conquer Spade in the same breath? That's why Asta went to speak to the Anti-Magic Demon, wasn't it?

“Asta,” Noelle's voice broke through the room like chalk on a board. Asta didn't budge.

“Asta,” Yuno repeated. He walked up next to her and breathed heavily. “We're here, Asta. Noelle and I – we're here to take you home.”

Asta didn't respond.

“Asta-” Noelle tried again, but that elongated shadow, the horns, the creature finally materialized in front of them, and both Noelle and Yuno jumped back. The towering, eight foot tall demon seemed to climb out of the ceiling before dropping into Asta's lap.

“A man needs a home,” the Anti-Magic Demon enunciated, as if Noelle and Yuno were children and not soldiers of the Wizard King's court. Its voice was deep and strong, and Noelle feared the inevitable – that Asta had already fallen for its sick charm.

The demon kissed Asta's cheek and held his face in its hand. “A man needs a home!” It said louder, more clearly. The candle light shook with the force of its words, and Noelle wondered if they even needed it anymore, not when dawn was finally peeking through the clouds.

“A man needs a home,” it said for the third. “A man needs a home he can spend time in, with the people he loves. When a man loves a man...”

The demon finally turned its face to Noelle and Yuno. “When a man loves a man, he'll do anything for him. Isn't that right?”

Noelle would have screamed if Yuno hadn't yelled first.

“Get away from Asta!” Yuno yelled while raising his arm. Before he could summon a gale, Noelle snapped his arm back. He gave her a nasty look, but stopped immediately. A gale in such a tiny room was as good as a death sentence. If the roof came down, they'd all die.

Noelle turned back to the creature sitting in Asta's lap like it belonged there. In its corporeal state, the Anti-Magic Demon was almost eight feet tall with rich, black skin the color of burnt coffee beans. A halo of floating, black tendrils could be construed as its hair. Its eyes were bloody red pits dug into sickly yellow sand, and its mouth was full of sharp, white teeth and a black tongue. A sharp tail wagged languidly in the air.

If it hadn't been for the dawn's rays, it would have melded in with the shadows.

The creature turned back to Asta and nuzzled into his neck. “When a man loves a man,” it murmured loud enough for them to hear, “he'll do anything to protect his beloved. Isn't that right, Asta?”

“Shut your trap,” Asta barked back. “You're scaring them.”

Noelle was stunned. It was the first time he'd spoken since they'd entered the room.

But was it Asta? Was that her Asta, her first love, the one she never thought she'd grow to care about so much?

“Asta?” She heard Yuno lament out loud. “Asta, what are you doing?”

“What do you think he's doing?” The creature snapped, drawing bloody circles on Asta's skin with its sharp nail.

“I said shut it,” Asta growled again.

“Asta!” Noelle yelled. “Come back with us, Asta!”

Asta finally raised his head and looked straight at her. His lone green eye shimmered with tears. Noelle was already crying, because what else could she do? That was her Asta slumped against the wall, her Asta holding the demon in his lap while it kissed his neck and played with his hair.

“Asta,” Yuno was crying now too. “Asta, please,” he begged, and Noelle wanted to beg too, because that could work, right? They could beg, and Asta would come back to them. “I love you,” she heard Yuno say.

Asta's lone, green eye overflowed with tears. When the first drops fell down his cheek, the demon gently wiped them away with its thumb.

“Asta,” Noelle tried. “We can find another way. We ca-”

“It's too late now,” Asta interrupted gently. “It's too late for all of that.” Suddenly, he moved. Noelle and Yuno inhaled sharply as he stood to his full height while the demon melted into shadows before reforming behind him. It seemed to stick to his back. Wrapping its long arms around Asta's shoulders, it buried its face in the crook of his neck.

“It's too late now,” Asta repeated. “I'm sorry for inconveniencing you guys. He...” Asta didn't say the creature's name, but both she and Yuno knew who he was referring to. “He wanted to come back here. He says this is where we spent our first night together.” Asta laughed helplessly, as if it were all one, big cosmic joke. “I didn't understand what he meant until we were in the room. This the first place I put the grimoire down after I received it. I put it on the shelf next to Yuno's, and went to sleep on the floor. He said... He said that it was the first night he truly felt like he was home. This church...”

“Is our home,” the demon finished for him, raising its head. Its glittering red eyes and pointy white teeth looked as if it could rip into Asta's neck at any given moment, but instead, it nuzzled Asta's neck with its pointy nose while staring dead into Noelle's eyes.

It's your prison, Noelle realized with horror.

Asta put on another pained smile. “Let's get going! I think I've caused enough trouble...”

Noelle and Yuno watched as the short man stalked past them and into the hall. They followed as if compelled. Once they were outside, Noelle felt the sunlight sting her eyes. When her vision cleared, she saw a variety of weapons trained on Asta, who stood still in the clearing outside of the church.

Noelle and Yuno froze behind him, because what could they say? What could they even begin to say?

The demon clung lazily to Asta's back, picking at his hair while its tail slithered across the grass.

It was only when Nacht came forward that Noelle snapped out of it.

Gimodelo cackled as Nacht's perpetual smile widened. “No fucking way,” said the little critter on Nacht's shoulder. “Even I didn't offer that bargain.”

“Asta, did you even try?” Nacht asked softly, his smile unnervingly wide.

“He did,” the demon answered for Asta, “and I told him I wouldn't give him any more power.”

Nacht's smile faltered. “A trickster.”

“No.” This time it was Asta. He was looking up at Nacht. “I chose this.”

“Did you, really?”

Asta elbowed the creature off his shoulder and waited for it to materialize into its full form next to him. Everyone watched as the emaciated creature sprouted leathery wings on top of its already ghastly appearance. In the brightness of the early morning, Noelle finally realized the horns that protruded from its head, wreathed in the black tendrils of its hair. At its full height, long tail, and enormous wings, it looked like a wraith out of a book of grim fairy tales.

“This,” Asta said softly, “was my choice.”

Nacht looked at Asta. Noelle and Yuno looked at Asta. They all looked at Asta and not at the demon that preened next to him.

“You married your demon,” Nacht said out loud, and Gimodelo shrieked with laughter. Noelle saw Klaus drop to his knees. The Father and Sister watched with tearful eyes as Asta grasped one of the creature's hands in his own. He squeezed and something fell next to her. Noelle's head snapped to where Yuno was on his knees, his cheeks wet with tears. Noelle tried to blink away her own, but found them still coming, as if a wave of melancholy had permanently settled in her chest.

Gimodelo's shrieks of laughter resounded throughout the open air, while Nacht finally stepped back and turned to the captains in charge of Spade's assault. “He's signed the contract,” Nacht said casually to Fuegoleon Vermillion. “He can do the job.”

“How do we know that?” Charlotte was swift and cutting, as always.

“Because he's a god now!” Gimodelo chuckled with mirth. Charlotte gave the smaller demon a nasty look, but Nacht merely nodded along.

“Gimodelo's right – Asta is akin to a god now.”

“Asta?” the Sister called. Noelle's eyes went to the woman who stood in her nightclothes, a dirty shawl over her head and shoulders.

Asta finally looked at someone other than Nacht. “Hey Sister Lily – sorry I scared you last night. I'm alright now; I promise.”

“He'll always be alright,” the demon added with a chuckle. It slipped its arms over Asta's shoulders, and pressed its cheek against his hair. “He has me forever.”

And with that, Fuegoleon barked at everyone to go back to their stations because they had an invasion to carry out, a bloody invasion that led Asta to the demon's doorstep.

That day, Gimodelo's words followed Noelle as she watched Asta sit down in the middle of the clearing with the demon draped over him like some coat he couldn't shrug off. Even when Noelle slumped against Vanessa, her ears rang with Gimodelo's insinuations, with Nacht's faltering smile, the contract, Asta's choice.

That night, she and Yuno sat side by side and watched as the demon fashioned a bed out of grass and leaves. When the moon appeared above, Asta laid down. The demon splayed against his side, its large head pressed against where his heart was.

“He chose Hell,” Nacht told them, coming up from the rear. “You have a choice when you enter its domain. You can choose how much you want to give, and what it is that you want, but you can't have it all. You can't have everything unless you give everything.”

“So what happens next?” Yuno asked hollowly.

Nacht sighed. “If Asta had chosen a contract like mine, he would have died a natural death, and the grimoire would have been passed to someone else. But that's not what happens when you give yourself fully, and when the demon grants you all its power – in a way, you marry it. For better or worse, the demon spends its days latched at the human's hip, and for the human, that could mean hundreds of years because of the power coursing through their body. But the day Asta perishes, naturally or unnaturally, his soul won't depart like a normal human being's.”

“What will happen to his soul?” Noelle asked, even though deep down, she knew the answer.

Nacht settled in between them. Noelle watched as Gimodelo perched on his shoulder and peered at the Anti-Magic Demon and Asta embracing each other down in the clearing below. She turned back to her first love and the monster, and saw that they were sound asleep.

Above, the moon shone beautifully over the village.

“It'll go to the Underworld,” Nacht said finally. “When a demon offers everything, it asks for eternity in return. That's why it's called a marriage. Asta didn't sell his humanity; he sold his afterlife. When he dies, he'll walk with that demon to Hell, and one day – he'll wake up as one himself. How's that for a love story?”

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 67: Home

Keith returns to his first home, and brings Lance to meet his father. But first, a tiny bit of fluff to soften(?) the blow

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode includes the themes of loss and grief, which be distressing to some readers. Please take care of yourselves <3<3<3

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Keith’s home is simple, four domes, one visibly newer than the others, and one with a new roof. The stove and fireplace have also been redone quite recently. There's also a little garden plot now, overgrown with unkempt flowering plants, lovely in its little patch of wilderness.

“Ah, Mom added a washroom. Thank fuck. Lake’s cold as shit for a bath… It was nice of her to fix the place up. I’d always assumed I’d come back out here when I finished my service.”

“I never really thought about your aspirations had you stayed,” Lance ponders.

“Mnh. Nothing special. Do my time in the military, maybe find a mate, come back here for a while, then travel the stars. Try to find Earth, where my name comes from. But I’m doing something different, and that’s okay.”

“Is it?”

“Being mated to you, raising our kits, and looking after the Altean Empire? It’s not what I imagined, but I like it well enough. I’m happy.” And, because Lance doesn’t quite look convinced, “Really, Lance. Our life together makes me happy. Come on. I’ll show you around. We’ll unpack, and then we can swim in the lake, and you can see the waterfall.”

Lance watches Keith carefully, unsure of how he’ll react now that he’s home. They carry their things inside, watching the breeze roll red earth over the red stone floor. The main room is simple: a small fireplace with a narrow chimney, a knotted rug, a pair of chairs, a stool. Draped over the newer-looking of the two chairs -the other looks rather weathered- is a thin, threadbare cloth blanket, sun-bleached red. Keith smiles, picking it up.

“This was my blanket when I was kit. I couldn’t sleep without it. I left it here when I went with Shiro. I thought it might get taken away… I wonder if we could use it for something.”

“What, like for a baby?” At Keith’s nod, Lance continues. “It looks pretty thin, but maybe Pidge could do something with it. They act callous about it, but they actually really like kids, and not as science experiments. Not exclusively, anyway. It’s cute that you’re thinking about that stuff already.”

“It’s not like we’ll have a lot of time to devote to that stuff once we get home. We’ve delegated pretty much all of our duties for now, but that won’t last long. I have to think about while I have time.”

“Well don’t think about it alone. I’m right here. I already told you: I’m not going to be like the ol’ sperm donor back home.”

“Ugh.” Keith rolls his eyes, turning to open the cellar by the table. “I don’t want to look, think, or hear about your sperm donor ever again. He will never be left alone with our kits.”

“Good idea. Given the chance, he’ll gift them weapons and tell them they’ll take a life before they’re twenty.” Lance sighs. “You are going to let him see our kits, right?”

“Of course! He’s their grandfather! If he wants to see them, and can behave himself, then I want him to. Under supervision. My mother on the other hand…” Keith frowns, stands, brushes earth from his clothes.

“What?”

“Nevermind. Just more family drama. We have enough already.” Keith huffs. “Come on. I want to go swimming.”

“Can’t say no to that!” Lance chirps, skipping after his spouse. He doesn’t believe it’s ‘just family drama’ at all, but he’ll let Keith tell him in his own time. Just like he'll let the young man stall doing what he actually wants to do.

So instead of pressing his stressed spouse, Lance serves to distract him, swimming with him, basking in the waning sun, shoving his head under the water, getting into splash fights, and not acting at all like the prince he is. Which is fine, because they’re alone, and this is a very short respite before their lives get even more complicated. Taking time to 'mess around' in a small alcove behind a waterfall doesn’t hurt either.

Later, settling back against the rock face to watch Keith float in lazy circles, he finds himself wishing, for the very first time in his life, that he weren’t who he is, and for only the millionth time that he could make every last one of Keith’s days exactly like this one.

Keith swam up to the ledge Lance was sitting on, fitting in between his legs. “You okay?”

“Mhm. Just watching.”

“Ah. See anything you like?” Keith rests his cheek against the inside of Lance’s leg.

“Many things… You’re being very cute.”

“Still riding the high of being mated to you. It’ll wear off in a few quintants.” Keith kisses the bare skin at the inside of his thigh, smirking when Lance jolts.

“Just in time for your season. Brat.”

“Yeah. I can’t seem to catch a break, can I?”

“You know we can change that if you want. And I’ll make it as easy for you as I can.” Lance’s stomach growls audibly, making Keith laugh, nuzzling against Lance’s leg, more sweet than sexy. They’ve been apart, physically, most of the day. He could probably do with some physical affection. The platonic kind.

Lance has caught on to just how important that contact is to Galra. When not working or in uniform, they’re a comparatively clingy species.

“Hungry?” Keith teases when Lance’s stomach growls again.

“I’ve been hungry since before we even got here!” Lance laughs, brushing dripping clumps of hair out of Keith’s face.

“You could have said something. We could have eaten already.”

“Yeah, well. I had better things to do. Like watching my husband have some fun for once.”

“Oh, come on, I have lots of-” Keith frowns. “You never call me your husband. Not unless you have to.”

“Yes, well.” Lance gazes at his husband, eyes soft. “It never really felt like you were. And you think gendering everything is stupid, so…”

“It’s fine.” Keith swims around, hauling himself up to sit beside his mate, cuddling up against his side, tail serving as an extra limb to hold him close. “I mean, if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather call you my mate than anything else. That’s what actually means something to me. That's the word I choose for my life partner. And you should call me whatever means something to you. Whatever that is. Even if that’s just ‘my contracted roommate’.”

Lance laughs. “That’s… incredibly sweet. Sweeter than I expected, honestly.”

“What were you expecting?”

“I’m not sure. Perhaps a lecture on the arbitrary constructs of sex and gender?”

“Tempting.” Keith laces their hands together, nuzzling against his pointed ear. He takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. “But I have something I need to do. I've stalled long enough. Will you come with me?”

“Of course.” If Keith doesn't want to go alone, Lance won't allow him to.

After grabbing a small bag from the den, Keith leads him through the last varga of light before sunset, weaving through trees like he still knows every root beneath his bare feet. BleepBloop eventually finds and joins them on their walk, presumably well-rested after sleeping the entire way there. The small primate remains mostly in the trees, leaping through the branches above, chittering and screeching at Keith to join him.

“We used to use the trees when we were out here,” Keith explains. “It tended to be safer than the ground. And most Alteans don’t tend to look up.”

“They really don’t. To be fair, it's unusual for fully-grown Galra to be hiding in trees. They don't exactly blend in.” The two laugh.

It fades quickly, when they stop at the edge of a ravine, Keith looking down. Without a word, t he Galra begins slipping down the side of the ravine, toward the water at the bottom. He moves with sure, practiced grace, aided further by familiarity with his surroundings, hyper aware of any changes. Lance is not so fortunate, slipping and sliding down the narrow ledges.

At one point, he loses his balance, falling back with a gasp. Fortunately, Keith manages to grab his arm, keeping him from falling to creek twenty dashes below. “You alright?”

“Fine. Just… struggling.” Lance does his best time hide how shaken he is. He can't imagine tiny, undersized Little Keith making this descent.

“Watch my feet. Put yours exactly where I put mine.”

With Keith moving slower, he’s more able to move safely down the side of the ravine. “This is much better. Thank you.”

“Sorry, I didn’t think about it before.” Keith settles his feet into the sandy bottom. “I’ll help you back up… We should have done this earlier. It’ll be dark pretty soon.”

“You weren't ready, earlier. Don't worry. I can make light for us if need be.”

Keith’s not really listening, Lance can tell. Tail swaying, ears pricked, the Galra stares at a pile of rocks, roughly the length of a grown, male Galra, and about two dashes high.

“Is that-”

“Yeah. I was only six, so I couldn’t exactly move him. The rocks kept scavengers off of him. It’s how we’d protect kills if we weren’t ready to clean them.” Keith wades through the shallow creek, ears drooped. “Some of his smaller bones have probably washed away. The rest will too, sooner or later.”

“I’m sorry, beloved.”

“It’s fine. He’d be okay with that. My dad… He loved it out here, feeling like a part of something natural, something alive and thriving, all while minding its own business. This is where he belonged. Becoming a part of it is what he would have wanted anyway. It was me that wasn’t ready.”

Lance has never really thought before about life without his parents. Sure, he’s never had his mother, but he’s grown up with two fathers. Even before Alfor officially remarried when Lance was seven, Coran was his parent. Lance has only ever called him ‘daddy’, and later ‘dad’.

Thinking about it now, Lance can’t imagine losing either of them. Sure, he doesn’t typically get along with Alfor, but Alfor is his father, and the king. He’s an extremely important figure in Lance’s life. And Coran…

Coran, with his permissive attitude and his terrible advice and weird anecdotes and random facts and always being there to soften the blow when Lance screws up- Losing either of them would be devastating. It’s a terrible thing to think about, and it’s Keith’s reality.

So when Keith says he wasn’t ready to let go, Lance says, “I wouldn’t be, either. I don’t know that I ever could be.”

But he'd be ready to be Akira in a heartbeat.

Keith doesn’t respond, very quiet as he finds a bit of dry sand. He pulls a clay bowl, the inside caked in ash, from his bag, pours in the rest of the bag’s contents. A feather. A few different stones. A glass bottle filled with several layers of different colored sediments, which he opens and pours into the bowl. Herbs. Another, smaller bottle of a fragrant oil, which is also poured out.

From his belt, Keith removes a pair of stones, striking them together until he creates a spark. Sitting cross-legged in the wet sand, Keith stares at the low-burning flames. He only has until the flames die before Akira's spirit is finally sent on. Krolia got to convene, and now it's his turn. After this, the gods will take his father away, and nothing but bones will be left.

It's part of the reason he was stalling. This is a final goodbye, and that's always a hard thing.

“Hi, Dad. I kept my promise. I’ve come home…” Keith sighs, looking up at the sky as his eyes immediately start to sting. Lance sits right behind him, rests his cheek on Keith’s shoulder. “But, uh… It’s not really home anymore. I’ve been gone a long time, and- I think it’s okay, don’t you? It’s okay for this to be my sometimes home instead Home home, right? I mean- Fuck, I’m bad at this.”

Lance’s arm curls around his waist from behind, gentle and comforting, just enough for him to know he’s there. “Just talk, beloved. That’s all you have to do.”

“What I’m saying is… You did it. You protected me, and- I survived, because of you. And now, I get to live.” Keith rubs tears into his fur, sniffling. He still really, really misses his dad. Every day, he feels that empty space where Akira used to be. “I have a new home, and a good mate, and we’ll have kits, and a good life, and I hate that you had to die to give me that -

"And it's fine. Everything will be fine. I'll rule Altea with Lance, and help Lotor honor your wishes for Daibazaal, and I'll be a good uncle for his kits, and I'll be a good father, and I'll help keep the peace and you don't have to worry, okay? I'll be just fine. Better than fine, even.

“And that's fine. Really! I just- I just wish you were here. More than anything, I wish you were still here. I miss you so much..." Keith practically falls against Lance, still heartborken. "There are so many things I'll never get to see. I'll never get to see you and Mom together. I'll never get to see you with Lance, or our kits. I'll never get to see you proud of me, and everything that I'm working for. And I know that you are, but I’ll never get to hear you say it and it sucks.”

Keith takes a deep breath. The offering flame is already fading, and with it, his time to convene. “I’m sorry you died, but I’m glad that I’m still here, and I’m grateful to you for that.” The last of the flames gutter out. “I love you and I miss you, Dad. And I’ll see you again. I'll tell you everything you missed.”

They’re left in the dark, Lance wrapping around him, holding him tight.

“Do you- Was it good enough?” Keith croaks, rubbing at his eyes.

“It was perfect, baby. It’s not a speech. It sounded just like you, and that’s good.”

“He was my whole world,” Keith whispers, clutching BleepBloop as the concerned primate climbs into his lap. “And then he was gone.”

“I know, beloved. I know.” Lance rocks them gently. “Are you ready to go back?”

“Can we- Can we stay here for a little bit? Please?”

“However long you want.”

Lance lifts his hands, forming a few tiny werelights to hover above them, pale, gentle light to keep the dark at bay. It’s a good change from being trapped alone in the dark, just Keith and BleepBloop. Now, there’s him, his mate, his pet, and the imprint of his father’s life and legacy. Beyond this little circle, there’s friends and family. A purpose. A home. A future.

A good life, all because of the thing that he lost.

That one, precious, irreplaceable thing.