Elements of Change

This...Together Thing

Ezo had never been good at being sick. He hated to be still, and whenever he came down with a bug, his parents refused to let him out of bed. They would tell stories about how much he'd worried them when he was younger and how their job was to protect and look after him.

When they died, and Jacob came to care for him, his uncle would threaten to cut off his other hand if he left his bed. At least Jacob allowed him to read when he was sick, though. So long as Ezo was in his room and quiet, Jacob would let him get away with almost anything.

Ezo didn't know if he'd ever been sick enough for the smothering that Kammon was subjecting him to. They only had one horse, so they rode together, with Kammon wrapping Ezo in his arms as they went. That might not be so bad if Kammon didn't mumble apologies every time the horse stepped a little lively.

Or if they hadn't been traveling at such a crawling pace.

Or if Kammon didn't stop their travels early each night to force him to bed. Even then, he might have enjoyed it if Kammon didn't insist he needed to rest and refused to join him.

They should be covering ground quicker, but Kammon ignored his concerns about the Imperium coming after them.

It was still light out when they stopped for the day. There were hours left to ride, but Kammon refused to let Ezo sleep under the stars. It was ridiculous, but Ezo just slid off the horse and let Kammon handle the details as he slumped into a booth at the back of the inn.

Kammon took their things to their room, then joined him as the innkeeper dropped off two plates.

"What, no Leria powder today?" he asked as he drank his ale.

Kammon frowned. "When we go up to the room. It's probably best if we don't draw attention to being elementalists right now."

It wasn't the first stop they'd made where the villagers didn't like elementalists, but Kammon never seemed to care what people thought about him. Why this small village bothered him was a mystery to Ezo. He was too tired to ask about it, though.

He hated to admit it. Kammon was already stopping early. If Ezo admitted to any weakness, the man would likely stop them in some quiet little inn and never leave.

Ezo pushed around the food on his plate, thinking miserably about the awful Leria powder that was to come. At least if he drank it before dinner, he could drown the taste out after the fact with the thick gravy.

"You need to eat," Kammon chided.

He looked at Kammon, speared a piece of potato with his fork, and mechanically brought it to his mouth, chomping on it childishly. Kammon frowned, but didn't say anything. He was busy tracing patterns with his own food.

Ezo tossed his fork on the table and stood. "This is ridiculous. I'm done."

He didn't know which room was theirs, but practicality had never stopped him from making a good exit, and he needed to get away from Kammon. Instead of going to rest as he'd intended, he stomped out of the Inn. The sun was starting to descend now, and Ezo shook his head as he walked through town. He passed a few promising shops, but didn't go in.

He paused in front of a store and noticed a gray shawl around a woman's shoulders. It struck him suddenly that he hadn't seen Kammon's jacket in a few days. Since he woke, actually. Kammon had worn it every day Ezo had known him, but now it was absent.

He'd thought about asking him to replace it when they left the University, but it looked like he'd taken care of that already.

It meant something, and Ezo hadn't even noticed.

"Ezo?"

Of course, Kammon had followed him out. Ezo knew he would. He was still surprised to hear his voice, though. Ezo turned around and looked at Kammon. He wore the same gray pants and white shirt he'd always worn, but the jacket was gone, as was his red cloak. They'd been replaced with a green cloak that was gracefully draped over his shoulders.

Ezo stepped closer and dropped his forehead to Kammon's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He wasn't sure what he was even apologizing for. His bad mood? His abrupt departure? His childish temper? That Kammon had bought a new cloak so he didn't have to wear his old one?

That one of the few people he'd trusted had betrayed him and tried to force him back into servitude?

Ezo's focus on his own recovery had made him blind to what Kammon had to be going through.

Kammon's arms pulled him closer. "Let's get back to the Inn." Kammon pulled him along the street and up the stairs to their room.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Kammon asked as the door closed behind him.

His voice was still too smooth, though, too gentle for them. "Why are you doing this?" Ezo asked. "You're putting yourself in danger. We should move as fast as possible, staying out of villages to avoid anyone noticing us. But you're stopping early and leaving a clear trail for anyone who comes looking for you."

"As soon as you're-"

"What? Healed? I'm not sick, Kammon! I'm exhausted, but nothing but my magic is affected. My body can handle this!"

"You don't know what it was like," Kammon said.

"What?"

"Watching you drop to the ground! Seeing so much power pull through you! Everything was in chaos, and all I could think to do was run. Ember herded a horse to me, and I threw you on it and took off. When I stopped that night, you wouldn't wake up. And your hand..."

Ezo straightened his back because Kammon never talked about his hand. "What about my hand?"

"It was gone. You created it with magic, and I feared," Kammon crossed the room and sat on the bed. Ezo waited for him to continue. "I feared you had burned yourself out protecting me while I was incapacitated."

"Kammon..."

"It didn't come back until the morning you woke. I watched you for three days, afraid that the elements were no longer yours."

Ezo closed the distance between them and dropped to his knees before Kammon. "I'm sorry," Ezo whispered. "I'm sorry all of this happened to you. I know you were close to Zera once." He touched the cloak. "And I know it meant something to you to wear something of that uniform, even if you no longer wore the true one. Maybe you would have found another way out if I hadn't been there."

"And maybe they would have taken me when I exhausted myself. I would have fought either way. At least we got out together."

"Is that what you want?" Ezo asked. "This... together thing?"

Kammon gave him a half smile. "Yeah," he said as he brushed his lips over Ezo's. "I kinda like this... together thing."