Cease the Suffering - Etrian Odyssey II (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 29

AN: Thanks so much once again Irish_Moon_Dreamer and SakuraiYoake for commenting on the previous chapter! I have a feeling you will both like and despair at this chapter :3 Enjoy!

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Chapter 29:

Something was wrong.

There was a strange sense of tension hanging in the air, ever since Axel and his guild returned from visiting Minister Dubois. They had left early that morning, straight after breakfast and returned an hour or so later. They entered the Inn silently, lost in their thoughts, their expressions unnervingly stoic.

Lynus lingered in the doorway of his room he shared with Axel. Axel was kitted up in his armour, his axe, as shiny and sharp as always, standing up against the bed next to him. He was currently sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands folded under his chin as he stared at the vacant air in front of him in thought.

What was going on?

Subconsciously hunching his shoulders in trepidation, Lynus entered the room and slowly approached his red-haired friend. “Axel?”

“We have a mission from Minister Dubois,” Axel immediately answered his unasked question.

Lynus’ breath hitched in his throat…A mission? Not a quest, but a mission. Missions were notoriously more dangerous.

“A mission, huh?” Lynus murmured meekly, that ever familiar feeling of fear beginning to build within his chest. “A dangerous one?”

A sigh passed Axel’s lips as he heaved himself to stand up tall. “It could be,” he admitted as he grabbed the handle of his axe, effortlessly hoisting it onto his back.

“I see…” Lynus didn’t know what else to say. The way Axel was acting, how serious he appeared, it was all rather unnerving. He didn’t like it.

Axel stepped in front of Lynus, so close, practically chest to chest. “Lynus.”

Lynus lifted his gaze to look upon Axel’s face when he felt him wrap an arm around his waist. He figured that Axel was simply going to give him a comforting hug, reassuring him that everything was going to be fine. He opened his mouth in order to say something, but whatever he was going to say immediately disappeared when Axel unexpectedly lowered his head, pressing their lips together gently.

For a moment, Lynus was startled. His surprise didn’t last long, though, as he soon found himself responding, reaching out to touch Axel as his eyes slipped close. He grasped at Axel’s shoulders as Axel wrapped his arms around him tightly. It didn’t bother him that Axel, his best friend from childhood whom he had only been reunited with not too long ago, was kissing him.

It wasn’t at all bad. In fact it felt good. Natural. Like it had been a long time coming.

Slowly, Axel pulled away and Lynus sucked in a sharp breath, his features heating up gently with a flush. “A-Axel?”

“I’ll come back,” Axel told him, looking him straight in the eyes as he pressed their foreheads together. “I promise.”

Don’t go, Lynus desperately wanted to say. He didn’t want Axel to go. It was too dangerous. Leave it to someone else.

But he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t say those words, could he? Minister Dubois entrusted Axel and his guild with the mission. Only they could complete it. And Axel was strong. His power and strength would be needed. It would be selfish of Lynus to ask him not to go.

“Axel,” Hamza’s voice suddenly drifted in. “We must leave now.”

“Alright,” Axel said as he reluctantly released his hold on Lynus.