you were all still mourning the loss of gilgamesh, thena more than any of you. you felt like someone had reached into your chest and had a tight grip on your heart, your lungs, your insides. another one of you, killed by a deviant. you bit down hard on your bottom lip, eyes unable to move from gilgamesh's cold, lifeless body, thena crying over him. you should've done more to prevent this from happening. you all should've done more. you couldn't imagine the pain thena was experiencing. you didn't think you'd be able to function, let alone carry on living, if you lost your person.
speaking of.
"you're bleeding," his frame was suddenly in front of you, blocking your line of sight. his thumb grazed your bottom lip, tugging it out from under your teeth that had drawn blood from the pressure. your eyes slowly moved up from his chest in front of you, and up to his blue eyes.
your tongue ran over your bottom lip, sampling the metallic taste of your blood trickling from the split. he watched you with caution, he knew that expression far too well. he had seen it when you found about ajak, he had seen it when you watched the city of babylon burn, and he saw it now watching your family in ruins.
his fingertips trailed across your cheeks, grazing a few cuts a bruises that littered your skin, before settling into the curve of your neck. his thumb tracing your jaw, his fingertips just touching the roots of your tousled hair.
your eyes glossed over as your mind raced faster than you cared it to. you thought about the mission you were on, a crusade against your creator. you thought about ajak, gilgamesh. you thought about thena, her heartbreak. your mind wandered to the many outcomes of this mission. your mind wandered to druig, the sweat lining his brows, his tired blue eyes, his longing for a second of peace and quiet among this chaos. you thought about losing him, how your insides would simply give up if you didn't have him. you'd be incomplete, a shell of yourself. a version of yourself you didn't want to exist.
"stop," he ducked his head slightly to meet your eyes again as they drifted away from his in thought. you felt his hands either side of your face now, keeping you in his line of sight.
he wouldn't go into detail about how much he was hurting from losing another member of the family in such quick succession. he wouldn't burden you with his fears for your safety, his fear of losing you like he had lost ajak and gilgamesh. only it would feel much worse than this, he was sure. he lived and breathed for you. and what would be much to everyones surprise (but yours) he felt much more than he let on. especially for his family. even the ones he claimed to hate.
druig was the stoic, but brooding and menacing eternal. only you had brought out something else in him. he felt lighter around you. and he'd hate to see what he'd become if he lost you.
"stop putting those thoughts in your head," he mumbled softly to you. his heart tightened watching you mourn for now, and for what was inevitable.
"you're not allowed in my head without permission," you scalded, your frown weakening as his eyes remained stuck on yours.
"'wouldn't dare, m'love," his eyebrows knitted in a frown that was quickly lost. he couldn't be mad at you, certainly not now when you were such a dismantled version of yourself. hurt and discouraged. "i know that face, and i know you. so quit thinking."
"druig.." your voice trailed off weakly, defeated. "i just don't know how we can do this..."
your eyes were pleading with his to understand. but he already knew. he never had much faith in this plan, or it's chances at success. but knowing his usual pessimism wasn't much help to you right now, or at any time, he took a different approach.
"we will," he shook you gently, your sad eyes boring into his and picking him apart. "ok?" he raised his eyebrows. "for gil and for ajak. we won't let 'em die for nothing."
