Of Love and Death.

The Present Chapter 14: The Past Pt. 2

Shu bolted upright. He was alive, he was free, he could move and think and breathe and be himself. No one was controlling him, no one was trapping him. He wasn't possessed, he wasn't dreaming, he could flex his hands he was alright. Even as all of this swam through his head, he felt himself start to panic. Sucking in air, he found himself involuntary breathing faster and faster. Tears that he hadn't been able to cry before suddenly welled up in his eyes.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shu saw Spryzen take a step towards him. Without wanting to, the red-eyed blader tensed up, shirking away in some form of fear. There was no way to explain it. How it felt to be pinned down, and to let it happen. Let your worst nightmare happen to you again, voluntarily. To not even twitch your arm or scratch your head or kick your feet or-It wasn't even so much that Shu was scared of Spryzen as that he was scared of all of the memories that came with seeing the bey.

The look on Shu's partner's face was heartbreaking. The bey hurried to sit against the wall, as far from Shu as possible. Pulling himself up, making himself small. All so that Spryzen wouldn't hurt his partner, and going back into the room of their bond wasn't an option. That would just make the white-haired blader freak out even more. The bey's train of thought was as clear as day to Shu.

Red eyes widened and softened. At the sight of his partner, all of the sudden terror left Shu just as quickly as it had come. The adrenaline stopped pumping, leaving him shaky. I-I'm sorry. It's okay, Shu stuttered, although he wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or to his partner more.

At that, Spryzen somewhat relaxed. No longer did the bey try to make himself as small as possible, but he didn't come any closer either. Something that Shu was grateful for, even if he felt bad about it. Everything about being Red Eye had come rushing back to him in the instant he woke up.

Wait, what had Shu woken up from? He didn't remember falling asleep. The last thing he remembered was...getting stabbed in the shoulder.

Cold.

Some crazy woman who seemed to think they were siblings, somehow. How Shu'd had to let Spryzen control him to get away from her. How even that hadn't worked, and he'd been trapped in the ice, forced to watch as Valt couldn't escape. How callously and detachedly Cold had stabbed him, and then drawn it out to torture both him and his boyfriend.

All of the sudden, pain that the white-haired blader hadn't realized was there racked his body. Maybe he shouldn't have sat up so fast. "Ugh," Shu groaned, and then winced. His throat had now decided to join his chest and head in rebelling against him. Stupid knives that could cut into his skin.

Closing his eyes, Shu rested his head in his hands, riding out the pain and nausea. This was not fun. Hopefully Valt was doing a bit better. Because he was refusing to consider any alternatives. Please let him be okay, the blader thought to himself, Please.

There was a rustling sound that Shu vaguely registered, too absorbed in his worry for his oldest friend to notice. But what he did notice was the gentle weight of someone hugging him from the side. Someone who he could recognize even with his eyes closed. Peeling open his lids, Shu turned to face Valt's face, resting on his shoulder.

The very first thing that Shu noticed about Valt was that he was alive.

The second thing Shu noticed about Valt was his eyes. They hadn't changed color or size or shape. But there was something different about the look in them. An intensity of emotion and wisdom that had always been there, but rarely ever expressed in the forefront. For a moment, Shu just sat there, staring Valt in his eyes, with Valt looking back. It was strange, the expression on his boyfriend's face looked like he was seeing Shu for the first time again.