Baldur x Reader

Twenty

"Night is falling...", you said tried. "It's getting cold..."

With heavy eyes you glance up to the stars that slowly started lighting up the purple sky. Weakness made your limbs go stiff. It felt like everything was pressing down on you.

Behind you, Baldur moved. He had his arm loosely wrapped around you to prevent you from falling off the dragons back while flying through the darkening sky.

"Are you getting tired?", he asked and patted his dragon on the neck to make him take a turn. "Or are you feeling weak?"

Letting out a soft breath, you tried shaking your head. But it was a weak shake, barely noticeable.

"My body's numb...", you whispered while darkness crept into the corners of your eyes.

"It's not in pain?"

"N... no..."

His gaze darkened as he looked down on you for a moment. Baldur couldn't feel anything by no means, but he was no fool either.

The heavy blood flow that came pouring out of the many small and bigger cracks was enough to tell him that you were slowly dying.

What a coward he had been, thinking that it would be alright.

"Hold on just a little longer.", he said and tightened his embrace around you only to loosen it immediately again as a low hiss escaped your lips.

Exhausted, you groaned. Your eyes fell shut and all of a sudden everything was dark.

The feeling of the harsh, cold wind faded. There was no cold anymore, no warmth. Just a strange feeling of emptiness.

As you opened your eyes again, the first thing you felt was warm, smooth water hugging you all the way up to your chin.

Confused, you frowned and raised your head. Your eyes met a cave ceiling, overgrown with blue and purple glowing stones. Their soft shimmer kissed your (S/C) skin and made you look a little less like a corpse and a bit more like the fragile human being that you were.

A surprised gasp escrowed you. But instead of jumping up and being confused, you remained laying in this warm water.

If seemed like it took all the pain away and made your body tingle. It was warm and soft, like the touch of a lover who's hands were not able to hurt you even if they wanted to.

Slowly, you managed to raised your hand and take a closer look. You were still wrapped in the old, bloody bandages and your clothes were also still the same.

Steps sounded.

"You're awake.", Baldur's voice cut through the silence.

You looked up.

He was standing across the small pond you were laying in. The shade of his eyes matched the crystal clear, glowing blue of the water.

Judging by the shimmer in his eyes, he seemed relived but also unhappy.

"Where are we?", you asked and raised a hand as a request for him to hold it.

But he hesitated. His gaze lingered on the tips of your fingers, unsure if he wanted to touch you, unsure if he could touch you.

A sad smile appeared on your lips as you noticed how careful he was starting to get. But at the same time it caused a sharp pain to stab into your chest.

"Are you bored of my weakness already?", you asked in a hoarse voice.

The words scratched inside your throats.

Taking a deep breath in, he raised his eyes to meet yours and shook his head.

"No.", he lowered his elf next to you, carefully let his hand float below yours and waited for you to make contact first. "Butterflies have delicate wings. One tender touch is enough to break them."

His hand left yours and lay on your cheek to give it a gentle squeeze.

You flinched, expecting a pain of pressure to spread.
But nothing happened.

All you felt was the touch of his hand.

It was a surprisingly soft touch, gentle yet determined. His hand was large and his fingers long, big enough to cover half of your face. He had nice hands, manly yet with the delicacy of a woman.

Confused, you let your hand rest on his and pressed it down harder. But there was still no pain.

"It's the water.", he said and let his free hand dance though the bright blue. "Long ago the gods used these ponds to cure their battle wounds. There's nothing the water can't heal. But if it's a curse, it only works as long as you're in here."

His eyes met yours, saying a silent apology for shattering the hopes that had been shimmering inside your eyes.

"So, it's not gone...", you mumbled and let go of his hand.

His fingers twitched. He wanted you to keep touching him. But he didn't demand it out loud.

"It doesn't cure me either.", he said and let his thumb stroke over your cheek. "I still don't feel anything."

"Baldur.", you grabbed his face with both hands so he was forced to lock eyes with you. "If this guardian can break the curse... what will you do with your new life?"

For a moment, he just stared at you. His eyes dug into yours, blue kissing (E/C), while not a single clear emotion could be seen.

He was hesitant to make a decision. If he was completely honest with himself, he didn't want to make a decision.

Not yet. Not about a problem that wasn't knocking at his doorstep yet.

Closing his eyes, he let out a deep breath and leaned into your touch.

How he wished to be able to feel it.

"Don't worry, little butterfly.", he said after a moment of silence. "Your weakness will still amuse me after I can feel again."

With a hint of disappointment in your eyes, you pulled back and let yourself sink so deep into the water that your lips got covered. A salty, yet iron taste spread in your mouth.

As soon as he wouldn't need you anymore to understand what pain looked and sounded like, he would be bored.

That thought made a shiver crawl down your spine.