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As the giant star set far away below the surface of the sea, hugging the horizon close until it fell into rest, a veteran and a prisoner stood atop a mound of emerald grass speechless with awe at how they were within each other’s presence once more.
“Fitchie…”
An endearment that enriched his name within swells of comfort and sweetness, Fit’s heart remained aflutter as he stepped closer to the man he spent far too long apart from each other.
“Pac.” A sigh, an embrace, a sweet acknowledgement their souls had finally come home as he reaches his arm of metal forward and sweeps it behind the brunette’s lower back and pulls him closer. “Oh Pac, how I have missed you.”
It's impossible to tell where one begins and the other ends, attempting to merge their own forms together for that all encompassing sense of sanctuary only the other could provide.
“I thought I had lost you the first time, and once again in that terrible room of bunks and horrible minigames…how many more chances do we get?” Pac’s enchanting voice is soft, a whisper into his collarbone as Fit himself swallows back tears.
“I’ll pray for more until the day I die forever, and maybe our eternity can be spent together too.” An easy promise fell from his cracked lips as Pac tugged him somehow even closer, muffling sobs into Fit’s brown tunic. “Where have you been?”
“Solving the odd mystery or two, it’s why I’ve been away from the Realm though maybe I could return soon…” They finally let each other go and step back, the thought only barely crossing Fit’s mind that he should return to his team but he couldn’t tempt himself away from another few stolen moments of time with the one who reawakened his heart.
“I hope you can.” Fit’s chest clenches, thinking of the handsome man with an alluring accent who kept flirting with him back on the world he found his way too after escaping his previous entanglements. “I want to make more memories together again.”
Returning his gaze to Pac’s beautiful eyes, the brunette appears curious and forlorn, clutching at his sweater-covered chest above his heart. “How can you stand so tall while your heart is shattered to dust in your chest, forming these attachments we only lose?”
Visions of the children who were discovering themselves far away from those they once called parents, Fit can’t help the trembling breath he takes. Holding it for a moment to ground himself before releasing the tension and reaching forward to grasp Pac’s hand he leans down to press a kiss over a scar he remembered vividly across his third knuckle, one he got in defence of the veteran’s son once upon a time.
“If we are meant to meet again, we will. I have faith.” Fit of the past may not have had the confidence to say that but now it was a sentiment he clung to, a renewed optimism the stunning man in front of him helped instill. “How else would you be standing in front of me?”
Glancing over towards the sunset, Fit can only chuckle softly to himself at the irony, choosing the moment to once again pull Pac back into his arms. Admiring the golden sunlight painting bright starshine across scarred cheeks where smiles were more common since they found one another. Getting lost in the sensation of having his dearest love within his reach once more, it's coming home to safety and where he could be completely himself after a life of tragedy and chaos. Leaning their foreheads together he memorized this exact moment, adding it to his archives of recollections to hold in the darkest nights giving him a reason to fight on.
Their bond had been given the chance to bloom from a deep friendship into a strong relationship full of the sparks of new beginnings upon a stable foundation from which to build their life once more. It's the most intimate form of emotional vulnerability between them when no other souls are present, after learning how to allow their partner glimpses into their darkest shames with confidence there would be no judgements received.
Something they only learned after they were assigned children to raise then loved with reckless abandon, willing to put both their mental and physical wellbeing in danger for those who earned their affection. Those circumstances formed many a family from the ashes of tragedy bonded by death and protected with bloodshed and unwavering determination. It was rebuilding yourself from the broken pieces of your past while surrounded by those you could trust at your most vulnerable, because you knew they would have your back even when faced with death.
Pac’s warmth heats Fit to his core the moment he holds him against his chest, the brunette’s silky hair getting stuck in the stubble the veteran had yet to shave. Reminding him of a whole slew of memories from long ago, he leans down to press a kiss to the crown of Pac’s head before mumbling.
“You helped me become a better man Pac, how can I ever regret that?”
“Fitchie, I wouldn’t have survived had I not had you at my side.”
“We are too good for each other.” The smallest upturn of his lips at his small quip when Pac lets out a giggle, nodding. “Or we are just right.”
Fit reflects on how much he has changed since he met this wonderful soul he embraced in the stolen moments of twilight between the competitions in this event they had found themselves within.
When he arrived upon Quesadilla Island he was stoic and determined to keep everyone far away, not entirely sure why his mind set those boundaries but his initial distrust made him appear withdrawn and serious. He was done for the moment Ramon entered his life though, his beautiful clever son found the cracks in the walls around his heart, the smallest places in the armour that was once impenetrable and began to break his way in to warm his frozen heart with encompassing warm golden love.
His mind helpfully brings up a practice he saw once in a far off land about filling in the broken and shattered parts of ceramics with gold, repairing them with the treasured metal allowing the flaws to be shown yet not a weakness. Affixing shattered parts together while celebrating where you came from, seeing the similarities between that fascinating practice and the life he lived upon Quesadilla tattooed across his ancient soul.
When he left the wastelands, he was a desolate man. Jaded to death and decay, he expected just to treat this as one more job before he could go find a dimension to retire within. One could only archive so many stories of the damned before you started to confuse yourself with other lifetimes, searching for any reason to keep putting one foot in front of the other while you lost the essence of who you were.
But then, he met his son and his many friends upon that island he still missed, both familiar allies from far off lands and new friendships that grew to be souls he would trust with his life. After Pac stumbled into Fit’s life, there was no going back. Their bond became a rock they could cling to in any storm, a helping hand after one fell and a shoulder to support them when it was all falling apart.
Their children were the gold that strengthened the bond between these souls who had been battered by their pasts, bright and shining and encouraging love to burst forth from hearts long stagnant. Their parent’s sharp edges were dulled, smoothed and repaired by the influence of their family’s and made them stronger creations. It was new memories and new happy places and new visions to warm their bodies and hearts in the coldest of nights when they struggled to find the light.
The prisoner fell first, but the veteran fell harder.
Their sharp edges remained prominent after lifetimes that carved them raw, painful if held at the wrong angle, found strength in being softened with love and attached to a new supporting piece or maybe a portion they once hated but now found peace with.
Pac admired Fit’s strength and passion, beyond scars and torn flesh of his past lay a man in desperate yearning for a new way of living, his own buried beneath a thousand painful memories. He could only watch so many friends die before it was easier to retreat behind slowly thickening walls of indifference, unable to fully bury that desire to find a new purpose in spite of how many layers were added.
A purpose that crashed into his life in the form of the handsome brunette who helped him change his life. Pac was riddled with anxiety and esteem issues, unable to comprehend how incredibly smart and compassionate he was. There was a common misunderstanding that Pac was weak-willed after what he had faced, but Fit immediately saw the roots of strength upon which he could anchor his future and helped Pac nurture them into pillars of strength he could rely upon in times of strife.
Fit found his own new purpose deep within those tricksy doe-like eyes that captured the deepest black night sky with shimmers of silver. The veteran enveloped his insecurities in the joy Pac wove around himself easily, encouraging Fit’s precious son to find his own whimsy which helped his father accept his wavering heart’s decision to pursue Pac’s heart.
Two broken pieces of wildly different ceramics allowed the liquid gold love to form their edges into strengths so they could form a cohesive piece, a new beginning together as a united front.
Because it happened exactly at the pace it needed to happen; from baby steps to hesitant hugs to growing pains mixed with sorrow and finally acceptance that some things will never change. But also to be willing to attempt and better yourself with the help of those who only want the best for you, it was the most rewarding goal this veteran ever gave himself after setting eyes upon Pac for the first time.
Back on their previous island he smiled more compared to the world prior, he laughed more, they learned to trust themselves and love themselves more. Their wild child gained yet another father and their close friends were awarded with someone who would go to the ends of the earth and beyond for each other.
Their families gained a couple whose relationship was founded upon a year of finding themselves while learning more about the other soul, eventually in a place they could both try something new together and allowed themselves to fall in love with the one who came to mean everything to them. Until each time they mentioned their partner it was another promise to spend forever together, a stable and safe place for either when they needed reminding it was all worth it.
Even at their worst, Pac and Fit knew the other would move heaven, hell and the abyss to save them. They saw each other's flaws and accepted them, reaching a hand out through the storm to hold them through the worst of it before helping repair the damage. Unquestionably and without an ounce of blame, their trusting friendship became a bond most were playfully jealous of, ecstatic they had accepted how they felt about the other.
Pac clears his throat, bringing Fit back to the present where he is reminded just how lucky he was to have met this man. “It’s nearly time for me to go back…”
“I am so late, I don’t fuckin’ care.” Fit mutters back rewarded with Pac’s laughter. “Tubbo can bitch all he wants, I am holding my purpose once more.”
Leaning back the smallest amount, his hazel eyes connect with Pac’s as he offers a safe space only they knew as Pac replies. “I can’t believe we have been pitted against each other…”
“Everyone would lose if they were against us, we are too strong together.” Reassuring the love of his life he memorizes how Pac’s features curve while he gives a musical chuckle.
“True.”
Yelling off in the distance reminded Fit of their responsibilities, unable to hold back the sigh before returning his attention to the rosy cheeks of the wonderful man before him. “I won’t bring harm to you unless I absolutely have to, got it?”
A forbidden whisper beside the shell of Pac’s ear as he leans in, enjoying the way the brunette shudders at the small movement before Pac snuggles in closer. “Such a promise shouldn’t be given so freely, my gallant man. What do I give you in return?”
“Your heart.” A demand Fit barely thought of before delivering, not even a breath is spent before Pac responds.
“It’s been yours for moons Fit, try again.”
“Then, this.” Losing himself in the impulsive boldness that filled his actions reaching forth to slide the navy mask Pac wore out of the way, he presses his lips to Pac’s for the first time just as the moon wakes on the opposite horizon.
Fireworks explode within his ribcage as Pac immediately reciprocates, molding his body impossibly close to the veteran as they enjoy their very first kiss. Lost in the passionate enjoyment of each other's taste, Fit knew how easily addicted he could become to Pac. Hell, it seems to have already happened, feeling weak with the overwhelming emotions surrounding this moment he only holds Pac closer.
It takes until his chest is aching for oxygen for them to separate, trying to squash down the pride seeing how off balance Pac was as well, clinging to each other while accepting this new stage of their relationship.
Having no idea where this new bout of confidence appeared from but he then makes a show of grabbing a nearby rose to tuck behind Pac’s ear while the flirty brunette was still speechless, pressing their lips together for one more peck before he spins around with a wave.
“I should get back before they suspect anything.” He pauses his retreat and turns around slightly to look at Pac once more. “Stay safe Pac, please.”
“I will if you also stay out of trouble.”
“Oh Pac, now you are asking the impossible.” He can’t help his smirk that Pac returns with a sassy roll of his eyes.
“Fine, make sure you can get away with your mischief then.”
“You too, and maybe tomorrow I might be back to this grove gathering firewood.” Fit winks, which Pac’s brow furrowed for a moment before he realised what he was implying.
“Be a real shame if I happened to patrol round here at sunset once more then…”
“Tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.” Pac promises, both taking a moment to drink in the other's visage before they go back to their teammates.
Fit tried to ignore how empty he felt without his sunshine, everything just a bit extra tonight. Though he laughed and celebrated with his teammates about surviving today’s events, there was a void within his heart only Pac could fill. The pain could be comforted with the fond memories that ran through his mind, a film of worlds passed, for so long until he had to take another moment away from the revelry to stare at the sky.
Making a wish upon a shooting star, he hopes one day he could spend eternity with his sanctuary, his family and everyone he loved in peace. Pac showed him a sweet domestic simplicity he craved, and even if it took a thousand tries Fit was determined to make it work. It was the least he could do for the men who showed him how to love once more, a favour returned a thousand fold to the one who accepted him, faults and all.
One day…but for now, he had to keep fighting.