Chapter Text
“D3rlord!” He froze for a moment, his gaze flickering up to see that the eye had vanished, only then did he feel less tense. Enough for him to turn around and see that same slimy entity he’s trying to keep away from this very space.
“Avery." D3rlord's throat felt tight. Why are you here? D3rlord already knew the answer of course, that’s why he didn’t ask—he didn't need to—Avery was an easy book to read with how expressive he is. "Leave.” There's a finality in his tone that left no room for argument. There’s a coldness that enveloped them as his words fell once more. “Leave, now.”
“No! I already told you that I'm staying with you, whatever happens, I'm staying!” Avery insists, his slime becoming more droopy as the stress alters his temperature. More thoughts piled up in his usually empty mind, it is not fun, it is not a good feeling and it makes Avery feel things he's not used to. “Derek, just.. let me stay here," A pause. “With you, please.”
D3rlord’s gaze turned sharp, even beyond the helmet, Avery can see how his gaze flickered, his eyes speckled with gold that he was starting to hate because of this fuckass King in Yellow or whatever the hell his name is. "Avery.” Colder now, sharper and with D3rlord stepping closer, Avery knew he shouldn't push further—
But if he didn't, D3rlord—Derek—would just continue what he's doing and Avery had a clue how this would end up. “No,” He says, stepping to meet D3rlord in the middle, to show that he wasn't that easy. “You saved me," A beat of silence and Avery’s right in front of him. “And I’ll save you.”
Avery’s transparent, and D3rlord could see beyond him to look at that eye, at that disgusting form as it slowly dwindles away corrupting even more as it looms like a nightmare that’ll consume them. He clicked his tongue in annoyance—not towards Avery, never towards Avery—and took hold of the slime’s arm, the goo getting on his gauntlet as he pulled him closer to him. "Then do as I say from now on.” D3rlord says, letting go of Avery's hand while his other hand ripped at his cape for a makeshift blindfold before tying it over Avery’s eyes. “Do not, and I mean this seriously, do not open your eyes until I say so." D3rlord took hold of Avery's arm once more and kept a firm grip on it, not to the point of pain, just to assure him that this is still Avery, that he's still there.
Avery nodded, his eyes shut closed, though being a slime worked differently and he could still see if he tried to shift his eyes but he didn't do that. He kept his gaze on the red he could see, D3rlord’s cape. “Don’t leave again.” Were the slime’s words that he's sure D3rlord heard but promptly ignored except for the way his grip tightened a fraction.
Undo the spell. That loud, overbearing voice rang again, its form deteriorating and dying, corrupting if you will. D3rlord looked at it, a smirk forming under his helmet. He had the infinite knowledge to at least know that he couldn't do anything to Avery without D3rlord undoing and revoking the spell. And knowing D3rlord, he would never let anything happen to Avery.
He didn't even need to do anything, he was just there, keeping his eyes forward, staring at the red cloth, he didn't even say anything because he can't understand what's happening, he can't understand the words being uttered by that other voice. Was it another language? He's not sure. All he knew was that he trusted Derek, and that's all that matters.
"Avery." Derek's voice penetrated through the silence in Avery's head and he instinctively tilted his head back to look up. He didn't remove the blindfold, didn't look yet. "Derek?" He says, his throat dry because he's been very quiet. He didn't know what to say, if he should ask what happened or something.
"You can look now." Derek's voice grew soft, like he didn't want to raise his voice anymore. Like he didn't need to. He slowly let go of Avery's hand to pull the blindfold off.
It wasn't hard to find the exit when you have a guy with infinite knowledge. Even after that ordeal, somehow, D3rlord's mind was still oddly intact. He's not sure how, or why, but he did have a thought of how it's possible. His gaze was focused solely on something—
Slime, Avery's slimy hand wrapped around his gauntlet, leaving gooey substances that he's not too fond of, but not to the point of hating it.
"Is it still straight ahead?" Avery's voice broke D3rlord out of his trance, out of his focus on that thick, green goo.
"Yes, and a left." D3rlord wanted to chuckle at the irony of it all. He'd warn Avery about lefts after all, but that's an old story because it's different now.
Different how?
Whatever you do at the crossroads, keep going forward.
It wasn't long until the bright rays of sunshine shone over them, the grime and dirt more prominent on their skins and slime, it was a long journey after all.
"You're in desperate need of a shower." Avery's voice sounded light, like there's that undercurrent of relief even with his words.
"Like you don't? Your slime's all over me." It's an exaggeration, that they both know, but it gets a scoff from Avery as he pulls his hand away.
"I'm never holding your hand again." Avery says, though his mind's going to run out of space if he keeps thinking about his goo on D3rlord's arm. Does he hate that? I shouldn't have touched him—but he might vanish again if I did let go earlier—who knows what would've happened if I didn't—
"Avery."
"Yes?"
"You're thinking too loud. And no, I don't hate your slime, it's just.. something odd and new." D3rlord's voice softened a tad bit, only for it to grow a little raspy at the end.
He won't admit it, but Avery had that magic touch that made his mind quiet, that muted the knowledge pouring in and out of it, the echoes of this world that made him feel like his head's splitting apart.
The longer he went without Avery's touch made him feel like his mind's corrupting at a faster pace, made him feel like that fucker of a king was still lurking in his head.
It was gone the moment his hand went forward, catching Avery's arm in his hand, his fingers sinking against the slime. Warm. It's crazy how his mind felt like a switch. One moment it's so loud he can't hear Avery and the other so quiet that Avery's soft voice felt like it's the only thing he could hear.
"Derek?" Avery caught his attention, his mind a lot clearer than it was seconds ago. Right, he told him to call him Derek.
"Are you usually warm under the sun?" Derek asks even though he already knew what the answer was. "You're pretty warm."
"Ah—yes, uh, I do get warm and more gooey, it's just a temperature thing." Avery says, though his question wasn't going to be that. He was going to ask why.. Why Derek doesn't feel wary, or doesn't feel outright disgusted from his slime.
"..Mhm, I see." Derek's voice dropped, just quiet now, he doesn't need to raise his voice or get worked up, not when everything is quiet when Avery's around. "Where's your base?" He asked, the information slipping into his mind before Avery could even answer.
"The plains, near the Mesa." Avery pulled out his compass, checking the directions while his other arm remained in Derek's hand. "It's close, do you—would you like to come to my house?" He asked, a proper invite would probably make Derek feel more at ease.
"..Yeah, that would be great." Avery could feel Derek's grasp grow gentle around his arm, at least he wasn't that tense anymore.
It wasn't a long trek for them to reach the said base. It was just your usual 9×7 layout with a nice contrast of cobblestone and oak planks, a very plain looking house in Derek's eyes, but it's enough. It's more than enough.
They walked in, Derek's hand now intertwined with Avery's slimy one, they didn't even mention anything about it, they just let it happen. There wasn't anything to say anyway, not for a touch-starved slime that liked the small contact, and not for the Mr. Know-It-All who needed something to ground him, and that something was a special slime.
It's weird how easy Derek came in terms with that, maybe it's the infinite knowledge and his logic that clicked on the fact that Avery's an anchor, his anchor. Possessive term, right, doesn't matter.
Not yet, at least.
"There's a river North East, you can wash up. It's very close—or would you like me to get some water from the well instead?" Avery asked, standing by the bed with his hand still in Derek's. He watched as Derek hesitated to sit down, afraid to make a mess of the bed with his dirty armour, maybe. Not to mention the tightening grip around his fingers, Avery had the slightest bit of idea that Derek didn't want him to go, or something like that.
Avery can be very stupid, but he's not at all unaware of the way Derek can't and won't leave his side, or something like that.
"..Let's get some water from the well. Come on." Avery hummed, squeezing Derek's hand with his slimy one as he pulled him towards the back of the house. "Oh, you should probably just rinse by the well, to make it easier." Said Avery, as he knelt to open a chest by the well, keeping buckets and some cleaning materials there—all while keeping his hand in Derek's.
It took a while but D3rlord—Derek—finally spoke, "Yeah, sorry, I'll help you fetch water after." He says, tilting his helmet upwards until he pulls it off.
He's tan with yellow, glowing eyes. Now, Avery didn't really mean it when he said he was starting to hate them, it's just the fact that he hated how cold they can get.. Oh, and that was also the first time Avery caught a glimpse of what's under the helmet. Derek—Derek now because it sounds good when Avery says his name—is goodlooking, a few scars on his face, but overall goodlooking.
"Woah." Quite the audible awe from Avery as he stared, the bucket in his hand and his other hand still in Derek's. "You look awesome, dude." He chuckled, actually not able to process how he's mesmerized by how Derek looked. That's just how.. Well, pretty and captivating he is.
"Quit staring, you're going to leave a hole in my face." Derek wasn't against being stared at, it just made him feel a little embarrassed when it's Avery staring—who wouldn't feel embarrassed when that's the kind of reaction you get—he's a very expressive guy.
"Rightt—" Avery slowly pulled his hand away and gave a curt nod towards Derek so he could remove all his armour without the hassle of holding his hand.
Derek knew he couldn't just hold Avery's hand all the damn time, so he should start trying to manage the pain, even just a little bit at a time. He pulls his armour piece off, one by one until he's only left with his clothes, the typical black long sleeves and pants of the same color.
His cape was filthy, filled with grime he'll have to wash off soon enough, and ripped from when he made that blindfold for Avery, which was wrapped around the slime's wrist when they came out of that hell hole.
He didn't return his hold, didn't pull Avery's hand to hold again. Derek knew that he should learn to endure it at times—because Avery's not always around—he's not even sure he'll stay here, only if Avery wants him to stay, or at least let him, maybe it'll be fine.
"You're spacing out." Avery points out as he looks at Derek who's just standing by the well. "Here's the bucket," He says, walking closer to hand over the said bucket before stepping back to give him space. "I'll go cook some steak, call me if you need anything else." Avery then left, leaving Derek to handle his own thing.
Derek pulled his sleeves up, he didn't have spare clothes to wear if he wet them and even if Avery offered to lend him his clothes—no, not happening—he wouldn't wear them. You've seen the guy, khaki shorts, and that ugl... unsatisfactory shirt he has with yellow flowers. Who knows how many he owns..
Derek's mind slowly started to get rowdy once more, the ringing was back, but the more he thought of a certain gooey slime, the less loud the world was. He stayed quiet, the only sound around was the splash of water and the grass rustling, dancing with the wind. He poured some water over his arm and scrubbed, gentle to firm until it's easy to rinse off. It's been so long since he last had the chance to clean himself up.
Avery tossed some steak in the furnace, as well as some coal. He seasoned it, don't worry, even slimes can taste and he won't like unseasoned food. He's in the kitchen, leaning against the crafting table as he stares out of the window. His gaze was focused on a certain someone, D3rlord—Derek—it's nice to know that he's able to do stuff still. Avery could just guess what's running in his mind, how affected he is by that thing, that fuckass king, what was his name again? Never mind that.
He walked towards the window when he saw Derek put back the stuff he used, the bucket, and watched as he picked up his armour and cape. Avery knocked on the glass, catching Derek's attention and he beckoned him to come inside, which the latter understood without needing to hear or see. Hello, he can kinda see the future.
Derek walked in, the helmet and the armor pieces set by the armour stand by the door, his cape draped over it. He didn't even need to ask to put it there because he didn't see that when they first arrived—which only meant that Avery made that stand specifically for Derek.
“How do you like your—” Derek muttered a soft “Medium,” before Avery could even finish his sentence. Avery can never get used to this, or maybe he’s already getting used with how he doesn’t react much like he did at first.
“Gives me the hibby-gibbies when you do that, mann..” Avery groans but he ducks to check on the steaks. He likes his steak medium as well, so he didn’t need to do anything extra.
“Well, even if I don’t do—or I don't know—think about it, you're just that easy to read, Aves.”
“Aves?" Avery echoed, not sure where Derek pulled that nickname from, not that he's complaining of course, it was just a surprise. "That's.. new.” He adds, pulling the steaks out of the furnace and into bowls with some mixed vegetables on the side. Derek walked closer, now a lot cleaner than he was before, and took the bowls from Avery to help. He walked towards what he knew was a table and set it down on opposite sides.
“It sounds alright, no?" Derek knew what Avery would respond with.
It sounds cool, yeah.
"It sounds cool, yeah.” Derek let out a huff, something between a laugh and a sigh before he pulled out a chair and waited for Avery to take a seat. "I’ll do the dishes since you cooked.” And since when was that a thing? Derek was a guest—he shouldn't have to—he didn't even have to help around the house.
"I insist.” He adds before Avery could say anything as he sat down. Derek pushed the chair closer to the table—such a gentleman, as expected of a knight—and went to sit on the other side of the table. “..Thank you," A pause. “For the meal, and for staying despite how I acted.”
Avery shook his head, a sigh leaving his lips. "Right, right. It's behind us now, in the past, no need to worry much, I don't hate you." At first Derek could hear that he's sincere and then comes his usual playful tone.
Derek scoffs lightly before digging in, he's just that hungry from all that happened. "Your cooking's not bad, I would've thought you didn't season your food." Derek says, watching as Avery bit into the steak. It looks odd, seeing a slime with no teeth bite into food, and how fast it dissolves and melts into his body. It still fascinates him to watch something like that happen.
"I can taste, you know, even if I'm a slime without your human sense of taste and all that." Avery hummed, finishing his food quickly. He can eat quicker, just shoving the piece in his mouth but he figured he can't act that way with a guest around.
"..What now." Avery says, shifting his gaze towards Derek, watching him eat slowly, like a human, which makes sense since he's one.
Derek knew what the question was for. Will you leave after doing the dishes? He chuckled, Avery was getting so used to it quickly that he didn't even need to speak his mind. "If you'd allow it, I'd love to stay for a while." Derek says, his tone a little more formal like he needs to act that way or else this slime would kick him out.
Which was funny because he could already feel him get excited, "You wanna stay? I mean, sure, you can—just a while?—you can stay longer—or something like that." The way Avery stumbles on his words because of his excitement shows just how that idea of Derek staying is welcome. More than welcome. If you couldn't already tell, Avery's a very lonely slime with no friends.
"Pfft—" Avery's eyes widened. That stoic knight can actually laugh. "What?" Avery spoke, the question didn't feel like a question.
"You're in desperate need of a friend, are you not." It was a statement rather than a question, Derek's tone was light and playful, given that he just laughed at Avery's miserable situation of having no friends.
Not that he was any better, he was a knight, but that didn't mean he has friends..
"You're a bully." Avery groaned, feeling heat on his cheek that made the slime look a darker shade of green. "Just finish eating, we have to fill up the well again." Avery adds, fixing his position as he waited for Derek to finish eating.
It was Derek's first time actually washing dishes, before he'd just wrap his food in paper and take it to go, he never had the time to sit down and eat without the hurry. He had his sleeves pulled back again, scarred hands gentle as they soak the bowls in water to remove most of the stains of sauce and grease. He asked for liquid soap from Avery, and he's using what Avery handed to him. He was careful with it, and efficient as well.
Despite working and having no slime to hold, his head wasn't hurting, the infinite knowledge wasn't making him feel nauseous and all that side effect.
How?
Well, he's having a conversation with said slime.
Avery leaned against the counter as he watched Derek wash the dishes, he kept him company, a constant being by his side that'll yap to drown out the echoes of this damn world, that's what he thinks at least. "—and that's why I said I'll kill you first." Avery's talking about what happened in that place, his words and why he said them.
He already talked about himself being a good PvP player, he may not be a knight like Derek, but he's definitely skilled with the sword.
"Why did you even turn left, Aves? No, why didn't you ignore the cave altogether?" The question was finally uttered. It was the elephant in the room since Avery blatantly ignored the warnings in the book.
Avery froze for a moment, his mind rewiring from that question. Why, indeed. He didn't even know Derek before, didn't even need to meddle with it—"I wonder why." He says, his slimy hand coming to rest on his nape, massaging the slime there like it'll ease up the thoughts he's having. "I don't know, maybe because I felt.. like I should?"
Derek set the bowls to dry before grabbing a hand towel and drying his hands. "..You're a really weird guy." He says, sighing but there's a small smile on his lips as he hangs the used hand towel on a rack. "Don't ever change." He says, reaching out to ruffle what he thinks is Avery's hair, or something that imitates hair because he's just slime all over.
Oddly enough, he's not gooey anymore. "Is it because it's colder inside?" Derek asks like he didn't already know that. "Yeah, and I'm not under the sun." Avery says, adding to what Derek said. He's acting calm but he's not sure how to react to that. That's the first time someone touched his head and massaged it, in a way, maybe that's similar to the act of ruffling one's hair.
They rested for a while before Avery started to fix the house. He made another bed and set it close but not too close to the other bed. His original bed was a red one, the classic bed, and now the new bed was white still, he'll have to find dyes to suit this one. The red bed was next to the white one with a double chest in between for space. He's still mindful of the fact that Derek needs space.
"The red one's yours, it suits you anyway." Avery says, wiping the droopy slime off of his forehead as he stood there proud of what he just did.
Derek sat on the red bed, facing the white one where Avery sat down. "Thank you. I'll finally get some rest." He jest, a grin on his lips as he shifts to look outside the window. "You will have to get used to having someone here with you." Derek adds, his gaze shifting towards Avery again. "I will be staying for as long as I want." He hummed, smirking and with a lighthearted tone.
Avery chuckled, the sound just.. adorable. "Mhmm, That's alright, no? I do love company." He breathes, stopping for a moment to just stare at Derek. "..The scars on your face, how'd you get them?" The slime asks.
Derek didn't expect the question. Avery can get very curious, doesn't he? That's cute. "A spar with a fellow knight when I was just a beginner." He says, his hand coming up to trace the scar, the skin raised. "They were a little too excited to spar with a new kid, that's why it got heated." The mere memory of it made him want to laugh because of how it ended up. "That knight apologized so much he was tailing me the rest of that day."
The conversation continued for a few hours, just two people getting to know each other, of who they were before they met. Them sitting on their beds and exchanging words like it's any other day. The task of filling up the well was pushed aside, instead scheduled tomorrow dawn as they continued to talk.
Only when the sky turned orange did they realize that the sun was setting. "It's already night?" Avery says, peering out the window to look up at the sky. "Well, I guess we better sleep—or do you want dinner?" He asked, his gaze shifting towards Derek who was looking outside as well. "I don't feel hungry, I would like to sleep, how about you?" Derek says, his yellow gaze softer than what Avery could remember from that floating space hours ago. "I want to sleep, too." He hummed, shifting in his position to lay down in his bed while facing Derek's. "Good night, Derek." He says, a smile on his joyful face.
"Good night, Aves." Derek responded, a ghost of a smile on his lips as he shifted and laid down on his own bed. He pulled the blanket up to his torso, his gaze drifting towards the ceiling.
"Aves."
"Yeah?"
"I want to say thank you, again, for everything for today."
"What are you on about, I already told you that I'll spend twelve more hours planting near a church if it means I'll find you after." Avery jested, though his words held true because he is willing to go through everything if it meant finding and saving Derek. In his own way of saving.
"..Mhm. Good night."
It was way past midnight when Derek's eyes opened. He doesn't move, his head felt like it was splitting again, felt like it's too heavy to even move. He can't move his lips, can't gather his voice.
He lay there, feeling the pain of knowing what happened, what is happening and what will happen altogether. It felt like a nightmare, the image of that fuckass King in Yellow—Hastur—in front of him, looming over his body made him want to throw up.
He mustered up the strength to shift, to push himself off the bed and it worked. He landed on the floor with a thud, surprisingly loud but not loud enough for Avery to stir awake. He's not going to hear Derek, and that's something he knew because slimes sleep well without much to wake them.
Derek pushed himself up, managing to sit on his calves and heels before he practically crawled towards Avery's bedside.
He slumped against Avery's bed, his head on the mattress while his arms stayed pooled on his lap for a moment before his left hand reached up.
Gently and slowly, he took Avery's hand in his, intertwining their fingers as he squeezed once and then once more before the world around him grew quiet once more. Hastur's image was gone, and the bounds of his mind finally closed to block off the world once more. He's grateful that Avery was close, that he's an anchor he could use to ground himself, to not lose himself in the vastness of knowledge that he didn't even want.
He felt like he could breathe again. And he could. He stayed there, head resting against the mattress and his gaze on Avery's sleeping face. He squeezed his hand once more and managed to shut his eyes.
Not until he's woken up again, this time by Avery's very concerned voice. "Derek? Derek, wake up. Hey—" Avery sounded outright panicked as he gently shook Derek awake.
Derek groaned and lifted his head. He looked up, "Aves?" He says, groggily as he sat on the floor still, his hand still in Avery's.
"Why are you on the floor?" The slime asked, that concern still in his eyes as he pulled Derek up. "Come on, sit on the bed, the floor's cold." Derek helped himself up with Avery's help, slowly getting up and sitting next to Avery.
"...Bad dream." He says, rubbing his eyes with his free hand while squeezing the slime in his other one.
Avery held his tongue, he should ask but he knew he should let him get some rest instead. "Alright let's, uhm.. Let go for a bit and sit on your bed." He says, taking his hand and letting Derek move.
He stood up, walked towards the chest and pulled it aside. He can do that, he has some strengths and all that stuff that lets him carry heavy stuff, perks of being a slime, maybe.
After pulling the chest aside, he pushed his own bed closer to Derek's. Their beds merging like a double bed. "There. Whew." He slipped back on, sitting on his own bed and holding out his hand towards Derek. "Here, hold." He says, waiting for Derek's fingers to intertwine with his own.
"Better?" He asked, knowing that it is somewhat better. "Yes, thank you." Derek hummed, his hand squeezing Avery's.
"Then get some more sleep." Avery says, the concern slipping from the calm he tried to show. He pulled the blanket on Derek's side of the bed and put it over him before pushing him down so he could sleep. "I'm not letting go, don't worry." Avery assures, his voice quieter before he laid down. His hand was still in Derek's, even under the blanket. Avery also laid facing Derek, and the latter was facing Avery as well.
"Good night, again."
"Good night, Aves."
"Mhmm."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Always, D3rlord, Derek, Mr. Know-It-All." Avery snickered, filtering his laugh before eventually, everything grew quiet.