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Avery was falling.
His breathing was rapid, thrashing against the thundering wind that brushed pass his ears. It was still dead silent, he had stopped screaming when he quickly accepted that there was no one there with him. His heart still beating, and the feeling of that push lingered on his chest— Avery would think that could somehow cause a bruise.
It was so sudden— like how he felt that feeling of your stomach floating when gravity pulls you down, and that split second of panic at the realization where his feet couldn't feel the ground.
He was pushed without a thought. How stupid.
Avery pictured him— he didn't even know what he looked like due to that oh so mighty helmet of his. His voice echoed, his attempts in reassurance— taking care of Avery, he remembered his anger— he really trusted Avery for some reason, huh? He wanted to ask how or why, but it was quite obvious that it was too late.
Because he was falling, where an impact was inevitable— and he'd die in the middle of darkness, while Derek disappears once more. Avery wondered if his body would ever be found.
All he could do now was clutching his chest with both hands, curling into a bowl slightly. It was a poor attempt to comfort himself as he watched the floating platform go away further further into the distance. He barely noticed the eyes disappearing out of this air in seconds.
Derlord, or Derek.
He pictured him once more. His writing, his exhaustion— the way he spoke, everything. It was strange, he felt guilty. Avery found it funny that his last thoughts would be how stupid he was to think he could somehow stop Derek from doing what he needed to do. He was stupid, and Derek knew everything. He knew that Avery would blindly listen— that knight knew that he already had his trust.
So he used it, and now— Avery was falling, and Derek's mind consumed.
He didn't know what to feel in these final moments. Fear from the inevitable impact he was going to hit soon? Disappointment that he wasn't able to at least bring back Derek alive? Anger, since he still couldn't exactly understand why Derek needed to sacrifice himself?
He didn't know. If only Derek was here to help him with that. He had the answer.
His breathing slowed, still falling. Avery closed his eyes. It felt selfish, yet he still hoped that Derek knew that all Avery wanted was to save him. He hoped that he was not some sort of literal big smudge that acted as an obstacle Derek had to go through— he hoped that Derek knew Avery cared.
Then a stinging pain hit his back and the deafening sounds of something flooding his ears in mere seconds.
It was water.
His body sunk underneath, going deeper constantly. Avery's eyes shot wide opened, feeling the insides of his nose set ablaze as some of the water came in. Panic ensured, his hands went to cover his mouth and nose. He felt his eyes burn.
Darkness surrounded and his mind sounded the alarms at the sudden need to breathe. He flailed his arms and fixed his legs to swim up— or was that down? His body fought against the pushing water. More just kept on coming in no matter how fast or long he swam. A roaring headache formed in, he felt himself get dizzy.
Then a bright light.
A cold surface. He gasped for air, eyes shut— still stinging from the water. He took deep breaths— at one moment, he had accidentally swallowed back some water, causing him to have a cough fit. Calming down a bit, he groaned in pain— his legs instinctively kicking to keep himself a float. He brushed away the water from his face, finally getting a clear view to see where the hell was he now.
It was the outside. Avery observed everything— and it was normal. No weird mountains with bridges attached to them all, no large trees or anything— it was just a regular forest, and he was in the middle of a lake. The time was normal, it was late afternoon.
He was back in the overworld, far away from whoever Derek wanted him to get away from.
He stayed in the water processing everything. Then, he questioned how he got back here. Avery glanced down, his eyes squinting to see further into the water. There were just dirt, sand and gravel— things you'd hope to see underwater within a lake.
It was impossible. Avery continued to look for any possible way he could go back and maybe save Derek again— but how was here here—?
Oh.
…
Derek knew.
…
Of course.
Numbness formed in his chest at that realization. His ear rung amidst the silence, soft splashing of the water no longer heard, his breathing slow to quiet murmurs.
Derek knew that the exit was just right beneath them. Avery imagined a second path where he'd try to convince the slime to just jump right off, and maybe he could somehow convince him that both of them could escape. Yet, Derek knew more than Avery, and he slowly accepted that there was no other way.
Push him into the waters below, drag Avery to the overworld— where the doors to that king will forever be far out of reach for him to go back to save Derek. Then, the slime pictured the knight once more.
He saw how his shoulders flinch when Avery yelled— then the guilt forming in his face when he must had realized that he had to force him out of the platform.
The need to protect, the way his eyes started to faintly water like Avery's.
The split moment of the gentle touch Derek had near his chest, giving Avery a different thought for just a second— before he felt his heart drop when the sudden pain from Derek's force struck.
Derek must had wanted to bring Avery home the gentle way, and Avery replayed that scene in his head over and over again.
…
A lump started to form inside of Avery's throat. He let out an exhale, it shook hard. He splashed the water to snap out of his thoughts, reminding himself that he was still in the middle of a lake. He checked his surroundings and managed to spot the nearest land to him. Avery sniffed, preparing to swim towards it.
Then, something else had move near him. The water stirred by itself, as if something large had submerged from the depths of the same water he was in. Avery turned to check, and he nearly screamed at the sight before him.
Golden armor, a golden helmet with that red feather thing on top— a red cape that floated above the water.
It was—
"Derek!" Avery cried, his voice cracking as he yelled his name. The other didn't respond, despite his body facing upwards.
He swam towards him, and with no hesitation at all, he managed to grab a hold of Derek's body by his underarms and pulled. Legs kicking beneath the two of them, Avery tried to be mindful to not accidentally hit the unconsciousness body.
Avery's upper body nearly collapsed onto the ground once his lower part his the ground. With his adrenaline— he groaned in exhaustion, feeling all of the water weight in his clothes dragging him down as he rose from the water. Him being part slime did not help, some parts of him were fusing with the water, making him heavier and more slippery to drag Derek.
With a shouted curse, he did one last pull and placed Derek under a nearby tree, where his body comfortably laid on its trunk. Avery gasped and screamed as he exhaled. Hands on his knees, slouching— he watched as water endlessly dripped from the shape of his slime hair.
"Derek," he blinked and glanced at the other. He wasn't moving.
He tossed himself to kneel beside him. A sudden realization struck across his mind.
He couldn't tell if Derek was even breathing.
"Shoot—" he quietly gasped, in pure panic he clumsily patted the armor, looking around to see how on earth can he remove it.
He cursed at himself even more, attempting to bring back memories from his life long ago when he was active in those sky battles and tournaments— but it had been so long.
"You're so stupid," he debated on whether or not flopping Derek on his stomach to try to see if he could remove his chestplate from behind. "You've fought in freaking tournaments with the best— and you can't even remember how to—"
His eyes glanced towards the helmet. Like a light bulb powering up, he grabbed it and swiftly removed it.
An exhausted face with bags under his eyes, and a head full of curls that were dark red. Soaked from the water— Derek looked tired. The slime let out a shaky breath, his mind pausing at the sight. Derek looked so… Human. Avery shook his head, and he made himself hold his breath. He slowly hovered his hand under Derek's nose.
He felt his breath. Steady, and in a regular pattern humans usually have.
Avery gasped softly, pulling his hand away.
"Derek," he felt himself smile. He had never felt such an overwhelming amount of relief before.
He was— He—
Then..
"Oh," a whisper from the slime. Avery placed a hand on the knight's shoulder, shaking it ever so carefully. "Derek, can you wake up, please?"
Nothing changed about Derek at his request.
A pit of some horrible, nauseous feeling formed inside of Avery's stomach.
He swallowed, shaking his shoulder once more. "Derek— I need you to wake up, can you hear me?" Nothing again.
Now, with both hands, he shook him a third time. "Derek," Avery heard his voice tremble. "Please— please, I need— I need you."
Did he now? Those two only had about two proper conversations, their last being an argument. He didn't even know his favorite color.
… But Derek definitely knew Avery's.
"Derek!" He cried this time. He didn't even notice that his hands moved from the knight's shoulders to cupping his face. "Please— I'm sorry— I'm so sorry."
He placed his head on his shoulder as his body trembled from sobbing.
And Derek was still unmoving.
The world felt quiet, aside from the quiet sounds of the natural waters near them.
From all of his exhaustion, his fatigue of running around, the after effects of having his mind practically get turned off against his own will— and from thinking that he'd die in the end and surviving, Avery cried. He did not know from how long, but he felt his mind slowly gain consciousness once more, and felt all of his senses come back to him with his eyes still closed.
He knew that his arms were wrapped around Derek's, his head leaning against his shoulder. He felt the shivering cold and how he was now damp from the water.
Avery kept his eyes closed, and he planned to keep them close for a little while. He knew that when he finally opens them, he will most likely find Derek will unresponsive. Worst case scenario, dead, but Avery was willing to drag and carry him somewhere safer.
Once more, he was reminded of how little knew knew of everything. About the world, about human bodies, and about himself. He wanted answers more than everything, but all he knew was that Derek had them.
Avery just wanted him back.
He could feel himself slowly slipping back to unconsciousness, and he comfortably prepare for another few hours of dozing off in the middle of nature.
Then, a hand was cupping his face. The touch was gentle.
He almost had a heart attack. Avery's eyes snapped wide open, and grabbed the hand. He held his breath and lifted his head up. He turned.
Derek's eyes were wide open.
Avery stared, Derek stared back. He was processing, but Derek said nothing, just patiently waiting. He glanced at the hand Avery was holding by the wrist, then quickly look back towards the other.
Then a smile, "Hello, Avery."
Avery let out a gasp. "Derek—!" He practically crashed into. He wrapped his arms around the other, literally letting himself sink into the knight.
He felt the knight hum, feeling the soft vibrations within his neck. Life, alive— he was breathing, he was responding.
"You're—" Avery stuttered. "How— I—"
Then a thought came to him.
"You—" the mood suddenly changed.
Avery immediately let go of the hug and harshly pushed Derek away from him, causing the knight to literally fall on the ground. The other let out a small groan as he felt the impact from it.
"You pushed me off of a literal platform!" Avery yelled at him. "And that literally hurt me!
The slime watched as the other pushed his upper body back into a sitting position with his elbows. His expression remain calm, it was as if he knew that this would happen.
Oh right, he did know that this was going to happen. That made Avery even more angry.
"You— You knew you'd survive!"
"Avery." His voice was annoyingly casual and neutral, like he didn't care.
"You— You could've told me—" He scooted away from the other.
"I know, I'm—"
"Of course you know! I know that!" Avery's screaming was heard by the entire forest. Both heard some birds flying away into the sky.
"You scared me!"
"I'm sorry."
"I thought I'd be alone again—!"
"Avery, I know— I'm sorry—"
"You told me so many lies—" Avery sniffed. "You— I thought you died—"
"I know I know— I'm so sorry, Avery." Derek spread his arms out ever so slightly. He leaned towards him. "Avery, come here—"
"No— No," he trembled. "You— all you did was— make— make me confused and I— I know you're smart but I'm stupid and I know you know that and—"
"Avery, breathe."
"Derek—"
Derek grabbed him by the arms, but his grip was gentle. He pulled Avery into another embrace, an embrace that he needed. It was warm, so comforting.
"Please—" Avery whispered. "I want— I'm tired of being left confused."
"I can see all possibilities." Derek whispered softly. Avery processed the information. "I saw numerous possibilities of me dead. Multiple timelines of my dead body disappearing, others of you finding me dead."
Avery held his breath at the image he made in his head. Derek, dead— not breathing.
"But," Derek rubbed Avery's back. "This… This, is what we are given. A timeline— where you were there for me, saving me from possibly drowning. And now we're here, under this tree— me alive, and waking you up."
Avery blinked several times, his tears sliding down his face. He pulled his head away from Derek's shoulder, looking at him.
"But—" he choked out. "The king—?"
"Dead."
"Really?" His eyes lit up at that.
"Let's just say… I kind of have his powers now…?" Derek shrugged slightly, not confident with this statement.
Avery let out a shaky giggle, still sobbing slightly.
"Then— Then uh," he stuttered, smiling. "Why am I still stupid if I'm looking at you?"
Derek let out a breath through his nose, a small smile formed with his lips. Avery wanted to continue crying. He wanted to do so due to how stupidly reassuring and patient Derek was being with him right now.
"Avery," Derek's voice deepened. "You're not stupid." He told him seriously. Avery sniffed at that. He felt his hands softly clutch onto his shoulders. "I could, and maybe will write an entire book or multiple of how intelligent and witty you are. How your determination and passion inspired me to keep moving forward. Your morals, your everything— I was willing to sacrifice myself and my mind if it meant saving you. You're not stupid, you're perfect."
…
Avery blinked, lips suddenly curling downwards, trembling rapidly.
"How—" he squeaked. "What's— what's your proof, huh?"
A hand cupped his face. Derek sighed softly, in a way where Avery could feel all of his relief and appreciation for Avery's reaction. Their eyes met.
"Because I'm here alive, and you're here with me."
…
Then Avery began wailing— practically yelling his cries. His eyes bursting into tears, this time— he was ugly sobbing badly. He processed what Derek had said— so overwhelmed by all of those words he had never heard anyone tell him before. Derek did not say anything, nor did his expression change at all. He was now cupping the poor slime's face with both hands and casually wiping away the constant tears with both of his thumbs.
"Avery, take a deep breath with me." Derek did so, Avery gasped loudly. His body shaking rapidly like it was animated. "Breathe in, and breathe out."
"I'm sorry," he was barely audible, but Derek perfectly understood him with no problem. "I can be—"
"Emotional?" There was a tease in the knight's voice. Avery's mouth closed, lips quivering. He let out a shaky hum in agreement along with a quick nod. Derek just smiled. "Perfectly fine, Avery. That's alright."
Avery giggled at that— then more giggling came in, overcoming his crying.
"There he is," Derek commented in an obvious teasing tone. "Why are you laughing? Did I say something funny?"
Avery smiled brightly, still continuously chuckling. He lifted his hands to hold over Derek's who still held his face. "No no—"
"Then why are you giggling?"
"Derek—"
"Are you laughing at me?"
"Stop—" Avery wrapped his arms around Derek, resting his head on his shoulder. A wave of exhaustion hit him from all of that crying.
Avery felt the other's arm wrapped around him back. Then there was a deep chuckle coming from the knight.
"What's so funny?" Avery mumbled.
"Heh— nothing."
The slime pulled him away, looking at Derek suspiciously.
"Tell me." Avery mirrored his previous teasing tone.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes."
"Hm," he softly sighed. He stared deeply into Avery's eyes. "I saw multiple possibilities of your lips meeting mine at this very moment."
Avery blinked, feeling his face heat up.
"But—"
"Can we do it right now—!?" Avery suddenly blurted out— but was cut off when Derek placed a hand over his mouth. The slime stared at him in confusion, and perhaps a bit offended by the action.
"But," Derek continued. "You have a cold."
A muffled shock came from the slime, and he was about to protest. Then— he let out a sneeze. Derek had removed his hand beforehand and turned his face away slightly.
Avery attempted to speak— but sneezed once more, than another. Derek was prepared for every one of them.
"Awh—"
"We will, soon." Derek carefully pushed Avery out of his lap and stood up. He quickly helped pull Avery up. "After you recover, and I try to get rid of this roaring headache."
Avery stared at him. "You had a headache this entire time?"
"Mhm."
"But why didn't you—"
"Because this was about you, Avery." Derek patted his back.
A sheepish smile formed on Avery, then another thought came in. "How about you? Won't you get a cold too?"
"Most likely no, I hope not." Derek responded casually. "Come on. Let's find a safe place to stay and recover, and finally dry up."
"Kind of forgot that we both came out of the lake." Avery responded. "How did that happen anyway?"
"I'll try my best to explain, but only over a cup of coffee."
They walked in silence for the next few moments. The sun was setting, and they spot a village in the distance.
"Derek," Avery blurted out. The other didn't say anything yet, but looked towards him. "I'm excited to learn about you."
The other gave him a smile.
"But— Don't you already know everything about me?" Avery mumbled. "Wouldn't you get bored if I tell you a story that you already know?"
He felt Derek's hand hold onto his.
"I could never get bored of you." Derek simply answered.
Avery laughed at that— blushing madly.
"So— did you— did you say that because you knew that'd uh— I'd embarrass myself over this stupid reaction?" He quickly responded.
"I wouldn't say it was stupid," Derek stated. "I say what I want to, and my gift is to experience seeing whatever possibility you choose for the both of us."
Avery just giggled at that. Derek was satisfied with that reaction.
Far beneath the ground, far away from their world— lies the gates that will be long forgotten and forever abandoned. Fated to have no one ever walking through them again, and fated to have no one gaze upon their beauty once more.
Then, experiencing the life on the overworld, which was now farthest from those yellow gates, two silent heroes, who were now gifted to live peacefully together forever, and moving forward.