Chapter Text
"I meant it about not letting it get cold!"
Scott turned to see Jimmy standing in his doorway, arms crossed.
"Coming!"
That was definitely Jimmy's banner hung beside the door, opposite to his own. That surely meant at least courting, maybe marriage? Were they married? What was- what even was this? An afterlife surely, given the- well, he didn't want to think about it. His chest still faintly hurt.
Jimmy stepped back in as he got to the door. Scott took the moment without his gaze on him to glance down at his hands.
No ring. Not married, most likely at least. Courting, then? Probably. Less official than that wouldn't have his banner at his door. That was a sign to anyone who passed by to know that they were together and serious about it. Including in all the political implications. Oh, how was he even supposed ask what it was supposed to mean?
There were two bowls set out at the table, clearly set for two. A quick glance over the room didn't immediately reveal anything that was obviously Jimmy's, but admittedly he didn't really know what Jimmy's personal effects might look like. And if they were courting, he wouldn't have moved in...
"Thanks for making lunch."
"Of course!" Jimmy beamed. "You know I enjoy it!"
"Still sweet." And a nice warm meal was just so lovely. Honestly, he could sleep for a week after the day he had had, and it seemed like he wouldn't be getting to rest just yet... But this was nice.
He took a seat and as they ate, Jimmy launched into the story of some latest misadventure of a trading crew in navigating the swamp. Scott let it wash over him, half sinking into the luxury of being around Jimmy and half his mind still trying to figure out what had happened. Listening was winning out though.
It wasn't that different from their date. If he didn't think about it, just letting himself laugh and smile as he listened, he could pretend that it was just a second date. One arranged by Jimmy rather than himself, and, oh, that was a nice dream...
As they were finishing up, a knock at the door interrupted whatever Jimmy was going to follow his latest joke up with. When Jimmy didn't step for the door, Scott did. He supposed it was his house, but he had no idea if he was supposed to expecting anyone or not...
He opened the door to find Xornoth standing on the step.
"I knew you'd forget about the meeting," Xornoth said.
"What meeting?" Scott asked.
Xornoth hadn't mentioned anything earlier, had he? No, no, he definitely hadn't. Scott had no way to know about. Right?
"Open council meeting starts in fifteen minutes. I had a suspicion you'd forget, so here I am to get you."
"Oh shoot, is it that time already?" Jimmy called from behind him. "I didn't mean to keep you!"
"You didn't-" Scott tried to assure him, glancing back at him. Lunch had been lovely, as strange and unexpected as it had been. It was nice to spend time with him.
"No, no, I've got to be going too," Jimmy assured him, getting up. "I'll just get this washed up and then I've got to be off too. See you tomorrow, yeah?"
"Sure," Scott said.
"Good."
Jimmy dashed close enough for a quick kiss that Scott couldn't help but freeze at, even if it was over as soon as it happened.
"Come on," Xornoth said, taking his arm and pulling. "I'm not covering for you again. Especially not with Mum and Dad gone right now. You are not making me do this alone."
"Bye!" Jimmy called, waving from the door. "Hope it's not too boring! But not too exciting either! Because that could be bad!"
Scott burst out laughing. "Bye!"
Jimmy blew him a kiss and he just laughed harder. He did have to turn to focus on the path though, stumbling after Xornoth.
"You could try being less disgustingly in love," Xornoth muttered, pulling him forward. Scott rolled his eyes, pulling his arm out of his grip and matching his pace. It wasn't hard when they were the same height.
"We're not that bad," Scott muttered.
Maybe they were. He didn't know. Oh, how was he going to figure that out before anyone noticed anything was wrong...
"Disgusting, I tell you."
Rather than press Xornoth on the nature of his relationship with Jimmy (which he still hadn't sussed out, even through the meal with Jimmy), he decided to deal with a more immediate issue.
"Remind me what the meeting is covering today?"
"You didn't read Vestan's missive, did you?"
"It's slipped my mind!" Scott protested. It was the easiest excuse. He was wracking his brain for the name 'Vestan' but it wasn't coming up. He had no idea what councilor that would even be.
"There's talk of renegotiating the trade deal with the Grimlands," Xornoth said. "Good thing you just need to be present and sit there."
That Scott had to agree with. If he had had to present or say anything, he wouldn't have a clue. He had managed several Grimlands trade deals, but the details were sure to be different. It wasn't even the same season here. It had been winter when he had died, around a month after the solstice, but now... it wasn't quite summer, but the air was warmer, brighter. The snow was around but it was melting. Sometime in spring then.
Scott was grateful to have Xornoth take the lead when questions were turned to them at the meeting. He was familiar with the Grimlands, but the way that fWhip was spoken of seemed to suggest that he was new to the position of Count, but Scott hadn't gotten a clear answer to when fWhip had taken over for his mother. It had to be recent, but the matter of 'recent' among humans could be slippery with elves. His own council might have insisted that fWhip was new to his role, despite over five years of having been the Count of the Grimlands. That would take more probing to sort out.
Jimmy was definitely his betrothed. It had come up in passing at another point in the meeting, some comment that he hadn't appreciated the tone of about the prince's betrothed. Which was clearly in reference to Jimmy. That was at least confirmation for what he already suspected. Still, there was the question of what exactly that meant between them personally. But that would be a matter for later. For whenever Jimmy was back and he could have a talk with him.
All in all, the meeting was long and might have been boring if not for the fact that Scott was trying to desperately pick up on any scrap or hint that might help him work out what he was supposed to being doing here. He had wished for a better life, one where his brother was good and apparently where Jimmy loved him back and was part of his life, but what that meant, he still had to figure out.
When it ended, he followed Xornoth out the doors.
"Fancy a flight before dinner?" Xornoth asked.
"That sounds amazing."
A few steps further, out and away from the rest leaving, Xornoth spread his wings, and Scott chased to follow him. A few beats of wings, a launch off of the balcony, and they were off into the air. They caught a thermal not long after, letting it carry them up into the sky. It was fun to chase after his brother, careening through the air. He had so few memories of times like this. Any he had from before were still still hazy, only half feeling like his. Elytras just didn't have the same dynamic. Elytras were too tied to rockets, blasting where they wanted, and not nearly as dynamic as what could be done with natural wings. It wasn't the same to follow one, especially as they often left a trail that not only stank, but the gun powder coated feathers and was a pain to clean off later.
It was a treat really. Something fresh, new, and treasured. But easy at the same time as they traded off, chasing one other across the open sky. Almost... familiar.
The light was cresting over the mountains, a sure sign that it was later in the season. Probably after the equinox when he considered the time it had been when the meeting started, but definitely not yet the solstice. Not nearly late enough a sunset for that.
It was always freeing to be up so high. Higher than the mountains, higher than the ice. And it was a beautiful spring day, not a cloud in the sky. It had been warm, for the season. They caught the last dying warm rays of the sun before it fell, bright colours falling across the land, glowing on the peaks and catching on the feathers of their wings. The white of their feathers caught it almost as well as the snow below. The gold tips gleamed with it too.
He might have changed worlds, jumping at the point of death, but this was still the same. The mountains and the sky and the colour of the sunset.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, he followed Xornoth back down to the ground.
"Alright, off to dinner. I'm not letting you run off. Your boyfriend isn't back yet."
Scott just rolled his eyes. "I am happy to share dinner with you, brother."
"Good, because you're stuck with me."
"From the womb, I expect."
"To the grave most likely."
"Most likely."
Xornoth was far less chatty than Jimmy had been, but the general din of those around them filled in the open air of the meal.
"You'll be fine to get yourself back?"
"Of course! Don't worry about me."
Xornoth gave him a skeptical look, but let him go. It did bring to mind the question of where Xornoth lived. Did he live in the palace, as they had as children? Did he also have a home somewhere outside those walls? Scott had always preferred to live apart in a home built by his own hand, and that seemed to transcend universes as whoever- well, it seemed he also lived in a home of his own here too. His home.
It looked the same as his. If he ignored the other banner at the door.
Inside looked the same. The living space and kitchen below, the stairs winding up to the second floor which was still presumably his bedroom. Nothing caught his eye as being out of place. He wasn't sure if he wanted to find differences or not.
Was this home? Was it not? Was it really his? How was he here? What was here? Where had he found himself? Where had the Rune Sword brought him? It was supposed to give the wielder of the sword the opportunity to send those killed by the sword to an afterlife of his choosing.
Was this his afterlife? Was this an afterlife? Was this what he wanted? He had wished for it to be different- for all the things, all the terrible things in their lives, of what it might have been if it had been different...
And here they were.
Everything was different.
Xornoth was alive and well, not a trace of Exor or Corruption as far as he could tell. Their parents, alive, not long ago killed by Xornoth in attack that he still didn't quite remember. Rivendell, well and whole, but now so foreign. He didn't recognize half the members of the council. Some, he knew their names, but they hadn't held those positions in his court. Was that good or bad? Who could know!
And Jimmy.
He hadn't even thought about Jimmy. Or so he would have thought, but then...
"That one fish boy you're fond of”
Jimmy. The one who had never loved him back, not as he had loved him.
Did he love him here? Was that different? They were courting here, he had made him a meal. He was clearly familiar and comfortable in his home, Xornoth had commented and teased on the normalcy of even their small interactions.
Jimmy had kissed him... Their first kiss. In a way.
But surely not for Jimmy.
Oh dear, what was this? A life of another. Not his life but someone else’s. Someone else that he replaced. What a pitiful replacement it was. Did he know how to be a brother, when he barely remembered having one in the first place? A boyfriend and lover to one that he had only admired from afar? How did they get together? How did they meet? Who asked who? When was their first kiss? Where was their first kiss! How long had they been together? Had it been arranged or had they met and fallen for one another? Who had suggested the next step of courtship, the betrothal?
Oh, he hated to trick him. He didn't know how to be betrothed. What had he gotten himself into?
Oh what had he done? There was no way that this ended well. He would be found out, sussed out for the fraud that he was. They wouldn't want him, as broken and damaged and unfamiliar as he was.
He had wished for this, on the brink of death, and it had been such a beautiful thing. The last, desperate wish, as unattainable as anything. Of course one would only want things to be perfect. Where everything was right and normal and... perfect.
Everything was perfect and fit perfectly together and he just... didn't...
He didn't have a clue! He didn't know a thing! How to be a brother! How to be a boyfriend or betrothed! His parents weren't even here right now, but he wasn't sure he remembered how to be a son anymore! He sure didn't know how to be a prince! After so long of standing on his own, could he even handle people around him?
Would they want him around them?
There had been some prince, some son, some brother, some lover that had been here before, and he had gone and selfishly taken his place, and he didn't even know how to fill it! What was he going to do!?
When he eventually came back to himself, sobbing and tired on the rug in the front of his home, Scott pulled himself together. The sky was long dark and the house was familiar enough that surely he could get himself to his own bed.
He dragged himself up the stairs, pealing off his layers before collapsing into the waiting bed. The bedroom at least looked mostly the same. There were sure to be differences, but he didn't have the attention to pay them.
Sleep came fitfully, but it came in the end.
The morning came slow. The first glimpse of it had been the bare streaks of not yet dawn, a barely lightened sky, to which he had turned away and rolled over. Later instances had him finally rising. The sun was in the sky, having long since abandoned its dawn pastels.
Surely he had things he was to be doing, but he didn't know what they were.
Robing himself, he attempted to pick through the piles of paperwork at the desk. There were designs for some new barn, a correspondence with House Blossom, and some note about preparations for the Solstice festival, among others, which all confirmed that it was indeed early spring, but it gave no indication as to what he was supposed to be doing. There were things to be responded to, but he had no idea which ones he might have already answered, or what answers to give- given the circumstances.
His best hope seemed to be Xornoth, as strange as it was. He had been the one guiding him yesterday, and he really needed to fix that before he grew suspicious, but he would need to rely on him a while yet. The only trouble was that he had no idea where he might find Xornoth. He had no idea his schedule, or where he lived at all. For all he knew, Xornoth spent his nights outside of Rivendell- it was easily possible, if unlikely, given his trouble of shepherding Scott around yesterday.
Well, if he couldn't find Xornoth, the easiest thing to do was to stay somewhere where others could find him: home. If anyone came looking for him, they would hopefully think to look for him here and then he could get the whole matter sorted out. Hopefully someone had his schedule at hand and would eventually be able to update him as to its details. But he had no idea who to ask in the first place.
But first, breakfast.
The kitchen was a disaster. Not a mess, per say, but almost nothing was where he would have expected it. The cupboards themselves did not even match the set that he had put into his home. They were lovely, but not his. Not really. Still, there were only so many places things could be, and after a few minutes of riffling through the cabinets, he sorted out enough to cobble together breakfast.
It would have been just as easy to return to the kitchen commons. Maybe he should have done that. Maybe that was what he normally did. Maybe someone would have seen him and noticed his need for directions.
Well, they would just have to find him here, because he didn't really fancy facing whole crowds of people this morning. Stuck in his own head or facing ever watching eyes that were sure to notice when he slipped up. What a choice.
He really needed to get on top of this. Given that he was here and hadn't woken up like a dream after the day before, it seemed he would be staying here and that meant he needed to blend in as quickly as he could. Before anyone noticed anything was amiss, ideally. Which had probably already passed, but he could at least try. Even if someone noticed he was acting off, it wasn't like they could possibly guess what was actually going on.
And the first order of figuring out what he did or didn't know might as well start at his own home. Given that he already tore through most of the kitchen, he didn't spend much more time in it after washing up, but he started on the rest of the house.
There were definitely things that he didn't recognize and decorations that were missing from what he expected. There was at least one painting that was no doubt instead still hanging somewhere in his parents' rooms rather than his own. Or maybe he had just replaced it with a gift- the painting that hung there instead did seem to be something from the Ocean Empire, given its composition and subject material of a stormy coast. Beautiful and probably a gift.
Jimmy's touch was elsewhere too. There were other trinkets and probable gifts, including the book of dried poppies, pressed and preserved in the top drawer of the desk. The wardrobe was an unexpected spot, but those were undeniably Jimmy's clothes that he found inside alongside his own. The construction was not Rivendellian and the colours just weren't his palette. Browns and greens were definitely more Jimmy than his.
Eventually the call of the sky from out the window got to be too much. It was well into the morning, surely if someone was looking for him, they would have found him by now. He could go for a quick flight.
From the air, Rivendell looked same as it always had. Spruce roofed homes, snow piled up at the ends of lanes, the market stalls lined up far below, the craftsmen and the traders, the sheep pens and farms beyond them. The golden stag of Aeor gleaming in the morning sun beside the church. The palace on the rise behind it, mimicking the slopes and falls of the mountains presiding over everything else. The mountains beyond it all appearing in their shades of white, grays, and blues. The glaciers were still coated in fresh snow. So were the mountain peaks. From the streaks white sugared on the ledges and slopes there had probably been a fresh storm in the past week, but it didn't seem to have stuck around in Rivendell, if it had reached that low in elevation with snow at all.
The far off mountain range that housed Crystal Cliffs were deep blue on the horizon, their snow also shining in the sunlight. He could easily pick out the silhouette of Amethyst Peak in the crest of the range and the Three Mages north of it. He turned to face back west, out over the hills where the Overgrown and House Blossom lay just beyond. Some days, he could see all the way to the distant ocean, but it was too hazy of a day out on the plains for that. The mountain air was clear and crisp, though and he reveled a while longer, chasing thermals.
There was a messenger who came running up to him as he landed in front of his home.
"Your highness! We've been looking everywhere for you! They're waiting for you at the stables-!"
Clearly, someone had noticed his absence in the morning. In the interest of preventing a similar occurrence, a written plan of his scheduled appointments for the next week was provided to him
At least he wouldn't have to guess now.
"Are you alright?" Xornoth asked, coming up beside him.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" Scott asked.
"It's not really like you to forget this sort of thing..."
"It just slipped my mind that I had a meeting this morning. That's all!"
Xornoth gave him an unimpressed look.
"You flew off to see Jimmy again, didn't you?"
"I did not!"
"Can you at least tell me when you're going to go off and do that?"
"I didn't skip off to go see Jimmy! I just forgot that I needed to be somewhere! I didn't even leave Rivendell. Also, I have reviewed my schedule, won't happen again!"
"Oh, good. Because if you make me deal with Kolvar solo tomorrow, I will not forgive you."
"Don't worry, I won't."
Kolvar. Of course. He was one of the ones that Scott did still recognize. Would it have been too much trouble for someone else to have taken over his position as Master Farmer?
Xornoth seemed to be of a similar mind.
"If only he could wait a week... Mum can handle him so much better. He actually listens to her and her ideas... He had better get around to doing that once we're the ones leading... He'll have to listen to us then."
"Mmm, doubt that."
"What? You don't think he'll finally gives us a bit of respect when we're the ones in charge?"
"I think he's always going to see us as a pair of kids." Kolvar never had fully seen him as anything other than that, even years into his reign. He couldn't imagine that the presence of Xornoth would change that.
"Guess we'll just have to find his replacement then..."
"He's good at his job. And well respected."
"More than us?"
"That counts for more than petty grievances."
"I don't think not being able to talk to your leaders without condescending to them counts as just a petty grievance."
"Then let's not get ahead of ourselves. A week and he'll be Mum's problem again."
It was strange on his tongue. 'Mum'. He hadn't said her name, hadn't even really talked about her in so long... It didn't help that she and his father were still hazy in his mind. He just thought they hadn't been close, but he could never be sure for how much of his childhood that he had forgotten due to the erasure of Xornoth in the first place. Even after he started to remember, there was so much that he didn't think had come back. Could he even remember what his parents looked like...?
"True. Though she might keep making us meet with him, just to make the point."
"Then we'll just have to get used to it."
"Yeah. Anyway, do not make me do this alone. I don't care if your fish boy sweeps you off your feet and kidnaps you half a continent away, do not make me have to meet with Kolvar alone!"
"I promise I will be there."
"Good. Holding you to that."
"I know."
Scott woke with a yelp as something touched his shoulder. His eyes shot open, searching blindly in the dark, fighting back the sheets he was tangled in. He flailed as he fell over the edge, one foot stuck in the covers, landing hard on the floor.
"Sorry! Sorry! I am so sorry!"
"Jimmy?" he asked in disbelief, blinking up at the dark form in the dark.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to wake you! Let alone freak you out!"
Scott shook his head, trying to get his head to catch up with what ever was going on here. "What are you doing-?"
He shouldn't have been here. What was he doing in his room? Leaning over his bed?
"I'm so sorry, I tried really hard not to wake you!"
"When did you-?"
"Just got in. Sorry, Gathering ended up running late. You know how those things just keep going on sometimes... I'm so sorry!"
A hand reached his, pulling him to his feet.
"I'm so, so sorry! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Scott said, standing but still feeling like the room was swaying. Maybe it was just his head. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see you," Jimmy said sheepishly.
"This late?"
"Well, I didn't mean to wake you up! And definitely didn't mean to make you fall out of bed! I just wanted to be there as soon as you woke up."
Scott nearly asked him why again, but it was trickling back into his mind.
Betrothed.
They were betrothed. Which really should have meant that Jimmy shouldn't be in his rooms at all, especially not in the middle of night! But clearly this wasn't an uncommon occurrence here if he hadn't even heard Jimmy come in-
The clothes in the closet.
Of course Jimmy spent the night here. Probably did it regularly even. He was an idiot not to have at least suspected it from that...
"I'm really sorry."
Scott just laughed softly and shook his head. "It's fine."
"You're sure you're alright?"
"Yes Jimmy. You just... startled me."
"Sorry."
"Apology accepted."
Whatever Jimmy was going to say was cut off by a yawn.
"Come on, let's just... go to bed."
Which probably meant his bed. That, there was only one real option here and it was that. It was unfortunate that Scott didn't have a guest bedroom to conveniently redirect him to, which was an over sight really. As it was, he didn't really want to try and have a conversation to get Jimmy to go, especially not in the middle of the night. So he was just going to have to get over the fact that they were going to share a bed- And if his heart could shut up and stop racing, that would be nice!
He was pretty sure Jimmy nodded, and he shuffled back around to the other side of the bed. He pulled back the covers and Scott forced him to do the same. He got in and pulled the covers over himself, trying to settle in and ignore the presence of someone else in the bed. Before long there were soft snores from the other side of the bed, but Scott couldn't quite relax.
Jimmy was here. Sleeping in the same bed as him. It wasn't any further than that, they weren't even really in contact, but even just the principle of it...
It was such a jump from one date.
Of course, they were courting, betrothed- Jimmy's clothes were in the wardrobe. It wasn't like he would need to change those in the middle of the day! Presumably at least... Scott had to let that thought go with a flush and edged his way over to the far side of the bed.
It was just... was this normal? Was this how it was supposed to be? This was what his heart wanted, surely, but to be here... it wasn't just the same as it was in his imagination...
Of course he had fantasized about doing all of this- sharing meals and a bed and a home and a life with Jimmy! What it might be like to kiss him or hold his hand! To wake up beside him- but this was all just too fast. He didn't quite know what to do with it...
And it wasn't like he could kick him out. Even if they technically weren't supposed to be doing this, this was surely normal. It might not even be a secret- probably wasn't, at least from his brother. So much of his teasing made even more sense now...
This was normal, he was the one not being normal about it. So he would just have to... play along. Play along and hope that Jimmy didn't notice amiss.
Yeah, that could totally work.
Hopefully.