Cease the Suffering - Etrian Odyssey II (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 15

AN: Does anyone else comes to this sudden realisation like; "Shit, I can actually write whatever the fuck I want!" And then become overwhelmed with ideas, that you get a blank and can't write anything?

Or is that just me?

Anyway, thanks so much Irish_Moon_Dreamer and SakuraiYoake for commenting!

I’ll try to update every Thursday. I can’t make any promises because, you know, shit happens. But I’ll do my best. Now, please enjoy!

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Chapter 15:

Axel had his back resting against the bed’s headboard, one leg hanging over the side of the bed, the other on, his knee bent. Against his chest laid Lynus, his head nuzzled under his chin, his hands gripping at the front of his shirt so tightly. And Axel’s arms were just as secure around him, one arm wrapped around his far too slender waist as other was around his shoulders, idling playing with the soft strands of his hair.

Lynus was sleeping peacefully, his chest raising and falling at a steady rhythm. His tears have dried up, his whimpers soothing out into gentle puffs of air.

Axel sat there silently, watching him sleep. While his outward appearance was calm, peaceful even, his thoughts were anything but.

He subconsciously tightened his grip around Lynus as he recalled their talk only moments earlier. It was hard to swallow, but he knew Lynus wouldn’t lie to him. It’s not in his nature. Even after those long eight years apart, he knew Lynus well enough to tell if he was withholding the truth.

And this truth made him god damn angry.

Taksony. That bastard. If he wasn’t already dead Axel would have hunted him down and slaughtered him himself.

He was also unreasonably angry at himself. He had always been Lynus’ protector. Some of the kids that grew up in their village believed that Medics were weak, so liked to pick on Lynus. But Axel would beat the snot out of them. He would get in trouble by the parents, but, shit, he didn’t care.

Beating up snot-nosed kids and taking on a lord who was notorious for being ruthless are two totally different things. He was just a kid himself, eleven at the time. What could he have done? Taksony would have just killed him, like Lynus had said.

So, despite all the facts that there was nothing he could have done at the time, Axel was still annoyed at himself for not being there for Lynus through those torturous years.

Axel can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like for all those years. What Taksony must have done to force Lynus to use such extreme methods to gain freedom had to be nothing short of cruelty and suffering. He didn’t know how Lynus had killed him, but it was fairly certain that it was a quick death.

Definitely not what the bastard deserved.

Axel was pulled from his thoughts when he felt Lynus begin to stir against his chest. Immediately pushing aside his anger and hatred toward Taksony, he smiled as he nudged his small and skinny friend. “Hey, you’re awake.”

“Axel?” Lynus murmured with a slight sense of confusion, sounding as though he was still half asleep. “I fell asleep?”

“Only for a few hours,” Axel said. “You were exhausted.”

Lynus lifted his head as he rubbed at his sleepy eyes. He slowly turned to face Axel, his brows still furrowed in confusion. Slowly, as he reached consciousness, a look of surprised realisation flittered across his face. “This really isn’t a dream.”

“No,” Axel replied with a short laugh, his smile becoming warmer. “It’s not.”

The relief in Lynus’ eyes was blatantly obvious. He dropped his head against Axel’s chest again and shifted his arms so that he was embracing him in return. And they sat there for a while, simply relishing in each other’s company.