Work Text:
He can’t stand until the earthquake is over. The statues seem to emit a great wave of power once together again. Adol takes the moment to catch his breath.
Lucky he was that Dogi found his third bracelet. They sit unevenly now with two on his right wrist and one on his left— the one which Dogi gave to him. Even in the blue of the cave the topaz glitters like sunlight, a small solace against the chilled heart of the mountain.
Come to think of it— no, Adol is sure that Dogi managed his own against the quake. Still, if he were to be stuck buried somewhere… Only his concern is for naught. Adol is instead the one trapped and buried, and even his topaz bracelet cannot help him crush through the solid rock which fell over the entrance. He’s stuck and quite honestly very cold. Dogi calls for him still, distant and muffled, and Adol gratefully cries back to lead him towards the wall in which he is enclosed.
Dogi- one. Rock wall- zero. So says Dogi.
Adol situates the statues among his belongings, tucking them safely into his pack. When he has his eyes downturned he’s caught by surprise— Dogi takes Adol’s hands. Adol gasps and truly does mean to ask what Dogi is doing, but his hands are contrastedly warm, and the confusion falls from his focus.
He looks up and Dogi is fixed on his eyes. The warmth fades from Adol’s hands, a feeling which his fingers chase for just a moment. Dogi gently cups a hand against Adol’s cheek, his neck. Those hands which just smashed through a wall of solid rock cradle him so gently, and Adol feels fit to melt.
”You’re so cold,” Dogi mutters. With every breath a puff of frozen air spills from his parted lips. He laughs a bit to himself. “What happened to your scarf?”
His touch fades from Adol again when his fingers begin to untie the strings of his jacket. “I should have been quicker,” Dogi continues. He ties the jacket round Adol’s shoulders like a blanket. It smells like the nights Adol would watch firelight dance in his eyes.
Adol forgets the cold— the meaning of the word. For just a moment longer he wants Dogi to touch him again, to so carefully caress him. Sunlight flashing across Feena's face comes to his mind like a flame melting the snow. He doesn't understand what he's doing when he's suddenly searching for his solace in Dogi's arms.
”Uh— sure, bring it in!” Dogi chuckles.
Dogi's heart pounds loud and strong, just like him. Adol's flitters about his chest nervously and he realizes horribly that he can't trust himself.
Dogi envelops Adol delicately at first, then passionately, tender caresses along his back and up to his neck and down to his waist with no mention of the awkward form of Adol’s armor. Adol grips onto Dogi's shirt with a final squeeze against his chest.
Adol looks up helplessly as Dogi begins to cradle his head again. Adol leans his weight onto his partner as he rises on his tiptoes, giving into the tug upward. Dogi pecks at Adol's lips until Adol rears him downward to meet their lips in a deep kiss.
When he peeks, Dogi's face is an orange shade of red he saw in the firelight on one of those cold nights. Like the red glow of the sunset he and Feena said their farewells. Flush against Adol’s skin Dogi's breath comes in warm, heavy puffs. Adol feels much too hot and tears himself away.
Dogi looks confused and sputters. “Wh-- What's wrong?” He frets. “Did I--”
Adol mutters, “I'm sorry.”
Regret soon soaks through Adol with Dogi's blood in the snow. The statues forgotten, Chester draws back his sword and mumbles nonsensically vengeful drabble. For all he’s done, his will is sealed with the blood dripping from Adol’s hands. Though Chester signed away his life, Dogi can make it still. Adol’s strength holds through the ice and snow until he and Dogi fall onto Berhardt’s doorstep.
Dogi lies pained in Berhardt's bed. The herbs and tonics can only do so much, and it's horribly cold for such a deep wound. Adol lies Dogi's jacket on top of his blankets. He can't bear to lose anyone else. Not like this. Not when he feels like this.
Watching him lie there, Adol realizes that he loves Dogi deeply, and he can't help it. It gives him the determination to leave. Footprints trailing along snow dyed red in the setting sun, Adol imagines leaving Dogi behind in Felghana.
Love and guilt alike he carries throughout all of Valestein Castle, heavier than any sword and more vulnerable than the weakest armor. He leaves it coupled with the pain of what he’s lost already and carries on like he always has. He’ll sail to Genos Island, rescue Elena, and leave Redmont on his own. For all of the world’s uncertainty, Adol will always have the strength to carry on alone through even one thousand sunsets and firelit nights.
He should have left earlier, because Dogi meets him at the pier to Genos Island. He should have known better, because Dogi doesn’t say a word about the kiss. Dogi asks if he’s okay and Adol says that he’s only worried about Dogi’s wound, which makes Dogi laugh and double over in consequential pain— Though Adol’s lie pays off in some twisted way when Dogi collapses a melye from the pier. Adol leaves him with a gentle kiss on the cheek where a tear falls to wash it away.
Elena clings to Chester in his final moments with tears dripping along her face. “I love you,” she says.
Adol packs his bags on the night Chester dies. Elena stops him at the pier.
She had a horrible feeling like she wouldn’t see Adol again. She’s exhausted and confused but couldn’t sleep until she came to see him. Adol tells her that she should be resting.
”Why are you leaving without saying goodbye?” Elena asks. “Gardner says you didn’t even look at him when you passed by.”
Adol opens his mouth to say something-- “There are more places I have to see,” like always. But he can’t, and nothing comes out. Like a wave, everything he’s supposed to be leaving behind wells up in his throat and he wants nothing more than to get on that boat and—
Elena cries suddenly. “Stop!” Her hand tugs Adol back and away from the boat. Adol is relieved they didn’t fall into the water, but the pier still hurts a little.
Elena sighs. “It’s Dogi, isn’t it?” She tries to thumb over Adol’s hand, but he pulls it away. He hesitates, wondering how she could tell.
”The way you looked at each other when we came back from Genos Island,” Elena answers. “It… reminded me of me and Chester. Like you’re pushing him away. But… I understand now.”
Adol expects her to try and change his mind, to get him to talk to Dogi because that’s all she ever wanted from her brother. But Elena is quiet and tense, contemplating. “Everything my brother did, all of the things I couldn’t understand… it was all so he could protect me. You’re trying to protect Dogi, too. Isn’t that right?”
But Adol knows that Dogi is a strong person and doesn’t need Adol to protect him from danger. Elena chuckles.
”That’s not what I mean.”
Dogi approaches the pier with frantic, heavy steps.
“There you are! Adol!” Dogi calls. “And… Elena?”
Elena smiles and leaves Adol with a whisper. “He loves you, Adol.”
On her way off of the pier Elena assures Dogi that she’s alright and would like to get some rest at home. For a few moments he speaks with her about his condolences, that he’ll be at the inn if she needs him. Watching Dogi treat Elena so gently, Adol’s chest begins to ache and he remembers Dogi’s careful touch in the cave on the mountain.
When Dogi approaches, Adol eyes something dark in his hand. He can see Dogi’s smile through the night.
”It’s not like you to run away.” He chuckles. “What’s the hurry? You didn’t even finish packing.” Dogi brings Adol's scarf up to his neck, but seems to halt himself. He instead puts the scarf in Adol's hands.
“Look— I’m sorry for what happened.”
Adol scoffs and fiddles with the scarf instead of putting it on. Half-heartedly he chides Dogi for getting himself stabbed and manages a chuckle out of his partner.
”Well that’s not really what I meant,” says Dogi. “If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to.”
Adol nods. Dogi is careful around him in a way Adol has never seen. It should be exactly what Adol wants— an opening to leave it all behind before he can’t help himself anymore. But he should have been quicker. Adol clings to Dogi suddenly as if the pier were shifting beneath his feet.
Dogi flinches and raises his arms. ”Uh… Adol?”
Adol wipes the wetness from his eyes, frustration and want spilling along his face. Dogi won’t even touch him. While he swallows it all, Adol tears himself away from Dogi.
Dogi smiles crookedly and he laughs when he sees Adol’s face.
“Don’t give me that look!” He cries. “Come back here.”
Dogi tugs at Adol’s hand, taking the scarf. Adol looks back at him confusedly before Dogi begins to wrap it around his neck. Each brush of Dogi’s hands against his skin sends Adol’s heart pounding, and he feels nervous. He wants more; To drink Dogi in like a fleeting breeze. Dogi leaves the scarf hanging loosely over his shoulders, just the way Adol drapes it himself. Dogi caresses Adol’s shoulders before wrapping around to his back.
Adol becomes overwhelmed with a violent wave of shame. The twin moons peer at him from the night sky, bright and shining and accusing as they are knowing. Dogi cradles Adol’s head gently against himself when Adol turns his face away from their light.
Adol shuts his eyes tight. “I’m sorry,” he says, though he isn’t sure who it’s for.
Adol hugs Dogi back desperately, flush against all he can touch without losing his balance. Dogi bears as much of Adol’s weight as he needs.
Once Adol calms he beckons Dogi’s face for a gentle kiss. Dogi breaks it.
”Is this okay?” He asks softly.
Adol relishes in the tone of his voice. He doesn’t have an answer.
Dogi convinces Adol to stay at the inn for the rest of the night.
When they say their goodbyes to Redmont, Adol’s head is strangely clear. Dogi follows him as if nothing were amiss— as if they could carry on like this forever with all of their trepidation in tow.
Elena peeks out of her door. She must not have slept after she went home because her eyes are sunken and her cheeks are stained with tears. She still tries to see Adol off with a smile. Dogi whispers something to her before he follows Adol out of town.
They don’t finish crossing the bridge together. Adol turns and Dogi is stuck halfway.
Dogi needs to stay and help rebuild. Adol can’t argue with that. And Adol needs to continue his own journey. He can’t argue with that either. But Dogi will always find him again. Adol wouldn’t stop him.
”Just promise me that you won’t run away again. Okay, Partner?” Dogi asks. “I’ll catch up to you. And by then, if you know what you want us to be… I guess we’ll figure it out from there. Like we always do!”
Adol comes close and reaches up to give Dogi a faint kiss, no more than a brush against his lips. Dogi fixes Adol’s scarf along his shoulders.
“Even if you get stuck behind a hundred walls,” Dogi chuckles, “I’ll smash through every one. Now that won’t ever change.”
Adol laughs. He doesn’t need it to change at all. And maybe in the future he sees Dogi again.
Maybe, when he hears rumor of a city lost beneath the desert, he sees a familiar head of blue hair boarding his same ship.
And maybe, when they’re alone, Adol will pull him into a deep, warm kiss. And Adol doesn't stop himself, and Adol doesn't regret it, and Adol says, ”I love you.”
And maybe, on the cold ocean nights, they'll share a drink and watch the moons. And when Dogi kisses Adol he tastes the same cheap booze that Dogi brought from below deck even though Adol's mouth still tastes like fresh saltwater.
And maybe, as Adol rests his back against Dogi's chest, he'll write about how his Partner crushes every wall in his way, the way his hair is the color of the ocean and his skin is rough and tan like deep sand. Maybe nobody will ever know the tenderness of his touch or the fullness of his lips, and maybe that's just fine. Maybe Adol can have this for himself.