Unsevered Ties

Limited Run 7

“You know I want to hug you forever, but if I don’t let you go, there will be two people in this room that might take me out.” Rafeo stroked Naki’s head as Leion gave him a handkerchief to wipe his face. He didn’t want to let Naki go, though. 

Feeling his silky wild hair again, seeing the cute button nose, hearing the voice that deepened a little but not too much. It all made him want to hug Naki so much tighter.

“I’d say they can wait, but three years is a long time, right?”

His mates, he could feel them, smell them, sense them. Despite clinging to his brother, he buzzed with anxiousness. *His mates. Both of them were here, alive and seemingly well. How could it be?! It felt unreal and terrifying and that’s why he still clung to Rafeo. What if this was all a cruel dream? Rafeo must have sensed his apprehension.

“Hey, look at me. This must be scary right, waking up like this? It’s been a chaotic few years and in an expanse of days we’ve been reunited. Each time I see someone I haven’t seen in years, I wonder if this is real. None of us has gotten to tell each other much about our lives since that horrid year, but here we are now, many of us together. The serious stuff can wait, though. Those two have been walking fragile messes since the Cloud King awoke and told us you were coming. The Gods have smiled on us today.”

“Gods,” Naki scoffed, “baffling, annoying beings. I’ve had enough of them to decide to practice atheism at this point. I love that it’s called being blessed, but I’m not feeling really blessed by much. If anything it’s cursed.”

Naki finally dislodged himself from his brother, trying to dry his eyes. He looked back at the pair sitting across from them, his smile complicated. “Valas…”

Valas rolled his eyes, placing his chin on Sylas shoulder. “Nah, don’t you even. If you think saying you’re sorry for being the epitome of a lot of shit for the past few years, I don’t want it. As long as you know you were a terror to raise and that they should praise me as a very patient uncle, then we’re good.”

Naki came up to the dark green-haired man, hugging him despite his surly demeanour. He’d come to learn that Valas was like a lion one had to earn trust and affection of. Could he horribly maim and kill you, yes. Was he still a big cat who liked to believe he was in charge and get pampered and pet? Also yes. Sega and Valas shared this key personality trait.

“You really put up with a lot. I’m sorry. I was in there just, piecing together common sense and my already learned skills were impossible. I have given you so much grief and trouble, but you kept me safe and taught me how to protect myself. And you two weren’t actually the worst people to spend Armageddon with. I learned more than I could have thought. You actually are a damn good teacher, which is terrifying because you should not be spreading your sadistic techniques around the world.”

Naki looked at Sylas, who’d gotten a bit squished in the hug. “Never thought I’d say this, but I think we’re…friends now? I don’t know, you had a surprising amount of patience with me despite me being a man sized toddler for the first year. I don’t know how to feel about you because there are two timelines in my head and one I hate you and another I have learned why you are a fucking terror. But still, thanks for watching out for me, even though I didn’t want to save your life when we first met again.”

Sylas gave a slight nod before sipping his wine like he savored it. Valas turned the lovely face by the chin and squinted. “Are you high? I thought you were being uncharacteristically quiet! You even let this big gangly man child hug us!”

“I had a moment with Leion and expressed my aches and pains from three years of living like a farmhand. He shared a lovely reminder of royalty beyond the food, clothes, and wine.”