Chapter Text
Ace was not nervous.
Yes, his stomach twisted itself into knots, and he could feel his heart racing.
But he wasn’t nervous.
Really, he wasn’t.
He was… excited.
He groaned, resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands as his cheeks heated up.
That… didn’t come out well.
Someone might think he had… other intentions or feelings deeper than friendship for the person he was about to visit.
Why?
He was about to see his rival again.
It had been a while since he had seen Lance. The last time he had seen him, it had been when he saved him and watched him sink into the sea.
That memory made him swallow the large lump that formed.
Of course, he had known ahead of time that Lance was alright.
(Surprisingly, it was thanks to Tamazo. Tamazo had been confident that Devi would look after Lance. And Ace believed him. Lance’s monsters were devoted to him. He knew that they would save and look after Lance.)
But he hadn’t been able to stop his concern and his want to see the other boy.
It must’ve shown on his face because it had gotten to a point where Garnet (of all people) had told him to stop moping and to visit Lance.
She had also grumbled something about how he was terrible at hiding his feelings.
He had replied that he had no idea what she was talking about, but he was unable to stop himself from looking away from her knowing gaze, cheeks flushing.
He cursed, feeling his cheeks heat up.
This wasn’t good.
He couldn’t greet Lance with flushed cheeks. His rival would wonder if something was wrong.
And worrying Lance (especially when he was still recovering) was the last thing he wanted to do.
“Ace? What’s wrong, tama?”
He jumped, turning his head to his left. Upon seeing Tamazo floating beside him, he gasped. “Tamazo! You startled me!”
Tamazo huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Tama has been here the whole time, tama. Don’t ignore me, tama.”
Ace smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, Tamazo. I got lost in my thoughts.”
“I’ll say, tama! Ace wouldn’t respond even when Tama mentioned an all you can eat buffet.”
Ace shook his head, smiling fondly. “You thought food would snap me out of my thoughts?”
Why wasn’t he surprised?
Tamazo placed his hands on his hips and puffed his chest out. “It would work for me, tama!”
Ace couldn’t stop himself from snorting. “Of course it would.”
He was certain that his partner was the only one who could get lost in thought about food and brought back to reality at the mention of it.
“By the way, Ace… Why are you standing in front of this door, tama?”
Ace’s eyes widened, letting out a gasp as he belatedly realized where he was. He turned his head to look at the object in front of him.
He was still standing in front of the closed door that led to Lance’s room.
Well, it wasn’t Lance’s room.
His grandma had set up a temporary room in her house, and she had allowed Lance to rest in it until he got his strength back.
After defeating Jest (with Dafnes’ help), Ace and his friends helped rebuild Exscion. While taking a break from rebuilding, Garnet had approached him, telling him about Lance’s return.
How Garnet had gotten the information, he didn’t know. All Garnet had said when he asked was that she had connections.
While Ace had trouble believing it at first (since the news was coming from Garnet), he and Tamazo had flown back to Crocus and asked Vahaton to confirm the news.
Vahaton had confirmed the news, telling Ace not to spread the news around. The citizens of Crocus knew that Lance had been the one to attack them and hadn’t forgiven him for it yet.
Ace had protested, defending Lance by saying that it wasn’t Lance’s fault and that it was the star fragment and Jest’s fault.
Vahaton had agreed, looking sad. He had quickly changed the subject and told Ace that Lance was resting at his grandma’s place and to go visit him. Smiling cheekily, he had added that he was certain that Lance would like it if he visited him.
Noticing the knowing look in the other’s eyes, Ace’s cheeks had flushed pink, stammering that it wasn’t like that.
Before Vahaton could say anything more (and embarrass him further), Ace had quickly excused himself from the room, calling his grandma as he did so. As he had left the room, he could’ve sworn he heard Vahaton laughing.
His grandma had immediately agreed when he asked if he could visit Lance.
By the time he reached his grandma’s house, the sun had set. Stars had dotted the black sky, and the full moon had shined brightly, lighting up everything around them.
His grandma had welcomed him, and after a short chat, she had escorted him to the room Lance was resting in. She had told him to take his time, and after asking him if he wanted to stay the night, she had said good night and walked away, leaving Ace and Tamazo in front of the door.
He didn’t know how long he had been standing in front of the door. He remembered lifting a hand to knock, and for some reason, his hand stopped before it could make contact with the wooden door.
Telling himself that it was just Lance did nothing to soothe the nerves.
No.
He was not nervous.
He was excited.
Nodding determinedly to himself, he raised a hand once more. His hand was about to make contact, but he stopped at the last second.
Maybe…
No. It couldn’t be possible.
His grandma had told him that it was alright to visit Lance.
But still…
Maybe he would be bothering Lance.
And he also knew that Lance would push himself if he knew Ace came to visit him.
That guy was stubborn and had a bad habit of pushing himself when he should be resting.
He bit his bottom lip worriedly, letting his hand fall back to his side.
Maybe this was a bad idea.
“We’re not going in, tama?” Tamazo said, confused.
Ace glanced over at him before nodding. “This was a bad idea. Lance needs his rest. We can visit him another time.”
“But Aceeee!” Tamazo whined.
Ace turned his head to look at Tamazo and lifted a finger to his mouth. “Shh, Tamazo! Lance and Grandma might be sleeping.”
“After all that time of standing out here, you aren’t even going inside, tama? You aren’t Ace, tama! Where did Ace go, tama?”
Ace rolled his eyes at his partner’s dramatic reaction, but before he could shush him once more, a familiar voice cut into their conversation.
“Shut up, devi! Hurry up and come inside, or get lost, devi! You two are too noisy, devi!”
Ace gasped at hearing Devi’s voice from behind the door.
If Devi was still awake, did that mean Lance was still awake?
“You are the one who is too noisy, tama. We can hear you through the door, tama,” Tamazo complained.
Ace lifted a finger to his lips once more. “Shh, Tamazo! Grandma might be sleeping!” he hissed. Wanting to stop the inevitable argument between the two Tamadora, he turned his head back to the door and took a deep breath. After letting it out and nodding to himself, his hand formed a fist and knocked on the door.
“Hurry up and come in, devi!”
Ace turned the doorknob, his heart racing at the thought of seeing Lance again.
The door creaked as he opened it, making him wince. The door was only open a few inches when his ears picked up a familiar low voice scolding Devi.
He stopped in the middle of opening the door. He closed his eyes, listening to the melodic voice.
“Ace? Aren’t you going in, tama?” Tamazo said, confused.
Why did Ace stop in the middle of opening the door?
Ace was acting weird.
Ace snapped out of the trance he was in at Tamazo’s voice. He looked at Tamazo and narrowed his eyes. “I was just about to. Can’t you be patient?”
That wasn’t fair of him, and he knew it.
He knew he was acting strangely.
But he couldn’t help it.
He was about to see Lance again.
Tamazo looked at him confused and a little hurt at his reaction, making Ace feel guilty.
As he continued opening the door, he made a mental note to himself to apologize to his partner later.
Once the door was open, he walked inside the room. After confirming that Tamazo was with him, he closed the door, turning to face the rest of the room.
There wasn’t much in the spare room.
He could see a small dark brown wooden chest to the left of him and a small dark brown wooden desk. The desk was next to the left wall near the large window in front of him.
Someone had pulled the curtains back, allowing the bright moonlight of the full moon to permeate through the window. He could see a wooden chair of the same color near the desk.
And on top of the desk was a familiar looking blue object.
His eyes widened, recognizing the object.
It was Lance’s cloak.
“Took you long enough, devi.”
At the sound of Devi’s voice, Ace turned his head to look at the right wall for the first time.
He could see a dark brown wooden bed situated near the window. He noted in the back of his mind that it reminded him of the bed in his room.
The sheets were blue instead of white, and the person sitting up in bed was…
“Lance…”
Lance gave Devi (who sat on the bed in front of him) a scolding look, but his golden eyes expressing his amusement gave away that he didn’t mean it.
Truthfully, he agreed with Devi. He had been waiting impatiently for Ace to come in.
What had taken him so long?
He looked over at Ace, letting his eyes linger on the bandages wrapped around the other’s head for several moments before looking into Ace’s bright blue eyes.
Ace’s eyes sparkled at the sight of Lance, and he couldn’t stop the bright grin from forming on his face.
Lance smiled a small smile, beckoning him over with one hand.
Ace’s bright grin remained on his face as he walked further into the room. After grabbing the chair and setting it next to the bed, he sat down. Instead of sitting normally, though, he sat on the edge of the seat, wanting to be as close to the bed as possible.
He would’ve sat on the bed, but he didn’t want to invade Lance’s personal space without his permission.
Lance smirked, amused. Instead of saying something, though, he looked away from Ace and at Devi.
Devi understood the look and nodded. “Roger, Lance-sama,” he said, getting up and flying over to Tamazo. “Come on, white dumpling. Let’s give them some privacy, devi.”
Ace’s cheeks, which had thankfully returned to their normal color before entering the room, flushed pink.
Lance, who had looked back at Ace after looking at Devi, couldn’t stop his amused smirk at Ace’s reaction.
Tamazo looked at Devi, confused. He was about to respond, but his eyes noticed the full moon out of the corner of his eyes. His eyes lit up, turning to look at it. “Let’s go look at the moon outside, tama! Maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll get to try some of its cheese, tama!”
Devi felt understandably confused at Tamazo’s words. Cheese from the moon? What was the white dumpling talking about? “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but fine, devi. We’ve got to be careful, though, devi.”
Tamazo tilted his head, confused. “Careful, tama?”
Devi looked around exaggeratedly before leaning in closer. “They say that Fenrir likes to show up on nights of the full moon and attack people and monsters, devi,” he said, unable to stop his smirk at Tamazo’s horrified look.
It was only a rumor. Devi doubted Fenrir would show up here of all places.
But he purposefully neglected to tell the white dumpling that information, wanting to scare him.
Tamazo shivered, but a few moments later, he hit his chest with one arm. “L-Leave it to Tama, tama! I-If Fenrir shows up, Tama will protect us, tama.”
Devi snorted. “You couldn’t protect us from a monster like that even if your life depended on it, devi,” he said, turning and flying over to the door.
Tamazo quickly joined him, eyes narrowing. “What’s that supposed to mean, tama? Tama could do it!” His eyes lit up as he thought of an idea. “We could fight together, tama! Fenrir wouldn’t stand a chance against both of us, tama!” He punched the air enthusiastically with one arm.
Devi opened the door, rolling his eyes. “It’s amazing how much confidence you have, devi.” He flew out of the room, gesturing for Tamazo to follow him.
Tamazo giggled, following him out of the room. “Thank you for the compliment, tama!”
Devi closed the door after Tamazo joined him, scowling. “It wasn’t a compliment, devi!”
The two Tamadora continued speaking in loud voices as they made their way down the hallway, making Lance shake his head.
Those two would never change.
What if they woke up Angine-san?
He would have to scold Devi later.
He looked back at Ace, noticing the worried look on his face as the brunet looked at the door. “Don’t bother worrying about them.”
Ace blinked a few times before turning his head to look at Lance, confused and slightly upset. “What do you mean? There is nothing wrong with worrying about them. Aren’t you worried about Devi? He is still recovering.”
Lance shook his head again, eyes softening at the worry in Ace’s eyes. “It’s only a rumor. Fenrir won’t show up.”
Despite his worry for their partners, Ace couldn’t help but feel intrigued. “I’ve never heard of this rumor before. Are you sure it’s just a rumor?”
Lance nodded. He wasn’t surprised Ace had never heard of the rumor before. “The Guild only told the Dragonoid Dragon Callers about the rumor. They believed that Fenrir wouldn’t attack the human Dragon Callers.”
Ace furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”
“The Guild believed that Fenrir would only attack strong Dragon Callers. Not weak ones,” Lance said.
He purposefully neglected to mention that the Guild had wanted to tell Ace about the rumor (since he was one of the strongest human Dragon Callers), but Lance had immediately shot down the suggestion, not wanting Ace to worry about silly rumors.
In his opinion, it was a silly rumor. The Guild hadn’t had any proof or any sightings of Fenrir.
He had pushed the rumor to the back of his mind, believing that it was a waste of time and hadn’t thought about it until now.
Truthfully, he didn’t understand why the Guild told them about the rumor.
All it did was cause fear, anxiety, and panic among the Dragonoid Dragon Callers.
Ace’s eyes narrowed, his hands forming fists by his sides. “What’s up with that?” He knew Lance wasn’t intentionally insulting him or his friends, but he couldn’t stop the anger. “There are strong human Dragon Callers, or have they forgotten about both Battle Cups?”
What about him?
Did the Guild think he was weak because he was human?
Surprisingly, Lance smiled a small smile. “Like you.”
Ace’s anger melted at the acknowledgment, his cheeks blushing at the other’s words and soft look. “Y-You can’t just say things like that without warning,” he said, feeling embarrassed but also pleased.
Lance had acknowledged him as his equal before, but he had never told him out loud that he thought Ace was strong.
Lance chuckled, tempted to pull him closer.
He quickly pushed the temptation away. He didn’t want to scare Ace away.
“The Guild told us after the first Battle Cup, and there was no chance to after the second Battle Cup.” Lance frowned, feeling guilt pool in his stomach as Ace’s expression changed.
Instead of looking flustered (and a little pleased), Ace’s eyes had darkened, a scowl on his face. “You don’t need to tell me that,” he muttered, giving him a pointed look. His expressive blue eyes expressed his anger and sadness.
Lance’s sharp ears easily picked up the mutter. “If you are still angry about my actions in Crocus—”
“I’m not angry about that!” Ace said, causing Lance to narrow his eyes. Ace paused for a few moments before amending himself. “… Okay. Fine. I am. But that’s not what I’m talking about.” At Lance’s confused look, he brushed the hair away from his face agitatedly. “Why would you… ask me to do something like that?”
Lance’s eyes widened, understanding what Ace was talking about. His eyes quickly returned to their normal calm state. “That was your duty.”
“Don’t give me that!” Ace snapped. He couldn’t believe Lance was calm about this. It was unfair and infuriating. He stood up and began pacing next to the bed.
Lance watched him, longing to reach out and pull Ace to him. When his hands started reaching out of its own accord, he shoved them under the covers, hoping Ace didn’t notice.
Ace was oblivious to Lance’s action. He was too busy pacing to notice. “I don’t want to hear it. You have no idea what I went through.” He stopped pacing and sat back down on the chair, pointing at Lance. “If there was another way—”
“There wasn’t.”
Ace glared at him, letting his arm drop back to his side. “If there was another way, I would’ve done it. Without hesitation.” When Lance only looked at him coolly, he grit his teeth. “Why would you give up? Why would you leave your fate in my hands?”
Lance glared an icy glare at him. “I did not give up. There was simply no other way. I had to atone for my actions.”
“Don’t give me that! Do you even realize what I went through?” Ace snapped. “What I was feeling when you told me to… end it?” He cursed silently as his voice shook, looking away from the other’s intense gaze.
Lance’s eyes softened at the way Ace’s voice shook, his heart clenching at Ace’s pain. His hands left the safety of the covers, and this time, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out.
He hissed as the movement made his injuries start throbbing, pausing in the middle of his action. He breathed in deeply and let it out, hoping the pain would die down. Once the worst of the pain died down, he continued the action, gritting his teeth at the dull pain that lingered.
Thankfully, Ace was oblivious to the pain that he was in and looked at him with wide eyes when he finally placed his hands on his shoulders.
Hiding the pain from Ace, he gave him a concerned look. “Ace…”
Looking into Lance’s concerned eyes, Ace felt the rest of his anger melt. He breathed in deeply then let it out slowly. “Please don’t make me do it again.” He stopped himself from whimpering, but he was unable to stop his voice or his body from shaking. “I… I wouldn’t be able to take it,” he said in a hoarse voice.
Lance longed to pull Ace into his arms and comfort him, but he knew it wasn’t right.
Ace only saw him as a friend and rival.
It would be weird if he hugged Ace when he had never done it before.
Pushing away his depressing thoughts, he focused on Ace once more. His heart clenched at the obvious pain Ace was in, and a part of him demanded that he comfort the brunet.
But how?
He didn’t know how to comfort Ace.
While there was a part of him hoping his presence and touch were comforting Ace, he knew he had to do more. “I’m alright,” he muttered, hoping that was enough.
He was still recovering from injuries, and it hurt whenever he moved.
But he was still alive, and that’s what mattered most.
Ace bit his bottom lip, wanting to yell at him that he wasn’t alright. He resisted the temptation, not wanting to wake up his grandma.
Besides, this was between them.
Getting other people involved wasn’t something he wanted, and he had a feeling Lance didn’t want it either.
Lance raised an eyebrow, noticing that Ace wanted to protest. The strange thing was that he wasn’t speaking, though. Watching Ace’s eyes glance in the direction of the door, he understood why Ace wasn’t protesting. He was unable to stop the soft, fond look in his eyes. “I’m alright, idiot.”
Ace glared at him, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Lance hated that he found the sight beautiful. With the light of the full moon illuminating his expression and giving him an ethereal glow, it made it seem as if Ace were a god or some moon spirit.
But Ace wasn’t the moon or a moon spirit.
He was the sun.
And Lance had fought his sun, convinced he had to destroy the world to save it.
No.
Ace wasn’t his sun.
Ace was everyone’s sun.
He, of all people, couldn’t be selfish and keep his precious sun to himself. He had upset and hurt a lot of people. Including Ace.
He was certain everyone was finding it hard to forgive him, and he understood there were some people who would never forgive him.
What he did was unforgivable.
But he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and trying to feel the light and warmth Ace gave off.
Darkness suited him. He had seen many dark things in his past, and every time he tried to fix things or make things better, he would hurt his surroundings and those who were in them.
Light… Ace’s light… would only hurt him. He didn’t deserve to, nor could he coexist with his sun even though he wanted it more than anything. But there couldn’t be both light and darkness.
Only one.
But he didn’t care.
He wanted to protect his light. His light had saved him and gave him hope in the dark world that they lived in.
Ace was his hope, his light, his sun, and… his love.
He snapped out of his thoughts at seeing Ace gritting his teeth.
“You are not alright!” Ace hissed. How could Lance be so… calm about this?
It was unfair how calm Lance was about this, and it was unfair how he was the only one expressing his emotions.
Tears started falling from his eyes, but he kept the glare on his face.
“Do you even realize what I felt when Ana told me what I had to do?”
Never mind that he already had a bad feeling that it would come down to that. Ana’s words had shattered something inside him, and it had taken all his willpower not to show it on his face and to reassure her that he would take care of it.
What if something had gone wrong?
Where would he be now?
Not with Devi. And not with him.
No. He would’ve died.
Lance raised an eyebrow at the mention of the pink haired girl. He remembered meeting up with her shortly after his fight with Vahaton. She had acted stranger than usual. He didn’t remember seeing her after that, but according to Ace, she had returned to talk to him.
What a reckless girl.
“What did Ana say?” he said, letting go of one of his shoulders to wipe away Ace’s tears.
Ace closed his eyes, feeling Lance’s touch. He breathed in deeply then let it out shakily.
What was he doing?
Lance was here with him.
Yet he couldn’t stop crying.
“She said that I had to break the star fragment, but if I did it…” Ace paused, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply to try and compose himself. It didn’t work. Instead of words escaping his mouth, a choked sob escaped from his throat.
Lance’s heart clenched at the choked sob, moving his free hand back to Ace’s shoulder. As much as he wanted to tug Ace into his arms, he knew Ace wanted to keep going.
Ace had brought up the subject for a reason.
He squeezed his shoulder, hoping it would comfort him. When Ace opened his eyes to look at him, he gave him an encouraging and expectant look.
Ace nodded, hesitantly reaching up to hold onto one of Lance’s hands. He tried to move Lance’s hand off his shoulder to show what he wanted, but Lance’s grip was stubborn. After a few tries, he gave up and gave Lance a pleading look.
Understanding what Ace wanted, Lance let go of one of his shoulders and grabbed one of Ace’s hands.
Ace almost jumped at the sparks that came with the contact. It must’ve shown in his eyes that Lance had surprised him because in the next moment, Lance was letting go. He quickly reached out and grabbed Lance’s hand, holding onto it in a firm but soft grip.
When Lance looked at him questioningly, Ace nodded, squeezing his hand.
Lance looked into his eyes, searching for something. He seemingly found what he was looking for because he nodded back a few moments later.
Ace felt stronger with Lance at his side. With Lance, he could do anything or fight anyone. “Ana said that if I broke the star fragment, there was a possibility…” He paused, letting out another shaky breath and drawing strength from squeezing Lance’s hand. “There… There was a possibility that your heart… your heart might…” His upper lip quivered, another choked sob escaping his lips.
He didn’t want to say it out loud.
Saying it out loud confirmed that it could’ve happened. If he didn’t say it out loud, he could pretend everything was alright because it didn’t happen.
When Lance only gave him an encouraging look, he glared at him, feeling annoyed. “You could’ve died!” Lance’s eyes widened at his loud voice, making him glance to the door. In the next moment, Lance’s eyes had returned to their normal calm state. It was unfair. “You could’ve died,” he said in a softer voice. More tears fell down his cheeks. “Do you understand that?”
Lance nodded, golden eyes looking serious. “I know.”
“Why are you so calm about this? Do you even care?” When Lance only looked at him coolly, he raised his free hand and jabbed him in his chest with one finger. “You are so infuriating!”
Lance had the nerve to smirk at him, amusement in his golden eyes.
“This isn’t funny!” Ace hissed, jabbing him once more. “Don’t you dare do something like that again!”
Lance blinked, surprised. His eyes expressed his amusement. “Are you threatening me?”
“Of course I am! I can’t lose you!” Belatedly, Ace realized what he had said. Feeling his cheeks heat up, he coughed and looked away to hide his face.
That… didn’t come out the way he wanted it to.
What would Lance think?
If Ace had kept his attention on Lance, he would’ve seen a rare gentle smile on the older boy’s face.
Unable to stop himself any longer, he tugged Ace by his hand. Ace let out a small surprised noise as Lance pulled him closer. Once he was close enough, Lance let go of his hand and shoulder and wrapped his arms around him in a warm and protective embrace.
Ace blinked, looking up at the other boy confused. “L-Lance?”
Lance knew he should answer and tell Ace why he pulled him into his arms, but he was savoring this moment. Who knew when he would get to have Ace in his arms again? He closed his eyes, breathing in Ace’s comforting scent.
Ace wasn’t sure why Lance had hugged him, but he finally decided that he didn’t care. He was going to savor this moment for as long as it lasted.
He hid his face in Lance’s shoulder, and his arms wrapped around the other’s back, clinging desperately to the comfort and support the older boy was giving him. The tears were making visible wet marks on Lance’s black shirt.
Feeling Ace starting to shake and hearing his muffled sobs, Lance opened his eyes and held him closer, wishing he could protect Ace from the pain. Belatedly, he realized that he was the reason Ace was in pain and felt like cursing.
He released one of his arms, making Ace whimper unconsciously at the loss of contact. Lance’s shirt muffled the whimper, but Lance had no trouble hearing it. He shushed him gently, moving his arm up to Ace’s hair. Carefully avoiding the bandages wrapped around the other’s head, his hand caressed Ace’s hair soothingly, hoping it would alleviate his pain.
“I’m here,” Lance murmured. “I’m alive.”
He was alive.
And it was all thanks to Ace.
Devi played a part in snapping him back to his senses, but when it came to who saved him and reminded him that the world was still glittering…
That was all Ace.
Ace had genuinely caught him off guard when he told him that he had been the one to teach Ace that the world was glittering.
He had stopped attacking to listen to Ace, and it wasn’t until Ace’s final attack that he realized that he didn’t want to destroy the world.
Not Ace’s glittering world. He couldn’t do it.
Maybe that was why his final attack wasn’t as powerful compared to his other attacks. Ace had beat him when it came to putting everything into his attack.
And those feelings of wanting to save him, wanting to stop him, wanting to save the world, and protect his friends had helped Ace beat him.
Devi and the rest of his monsters played a big part in rescuing him when he fell underwater, but Ace was the one who beat him and returned him to his normal self.
He closed his eyes, resisting the urge to grit his teeth and breathed in Ace’s comforting scent.
What would he have done without Ace?
His arm tightened around Ace’s waist. Ace probably didn’t realize it, but just as he was seeking comfort and support from him, he was seeking comfort and support from Ace.
Some part of him that couldn’t relax until everything was over and had been hurting when he realized he could’ve died finally relaxed. He still felt the pain, but it had lessened to a dull pain.
It wasn’t something he would forget anytime soon (and he wouldn’t want to, considering how many people he had hurt and how much damage he had caused), but he felt as if Ace had healed him.
His external injuries still needed time to heal, but Ace had helped with his internal injuries.
And that meant the world to him.
Hearing Ace starting to quiet down and feeling his body stop shaking, Lance opened his eyes and paused in the middle of his soothing motion.
Ace lifted his head from the other boy’s shoulder, smiling a watery and sheepish smile. He wasn’t sure if it was thanks to Lance’s presence or something else, but he felt his tears drying up. And a few moments later, his tears stopped.
Lance shook his head, wordlessly saying Ace didn’t have to apologize. He smiled a small smile. “I can’t lose you either,” he murmured, watching as Ace’s eyes widened.
It didn’t take long for Ace to start blushing much to Lance’s amusement. Ace’s eyes started sparkling and a bright grin lit up his face.
Ace opened his mouth to say something, but he belatedly realized he was still in Lance’s arms and immediately let out a squeak. He quickly let go of Lance and pulled away from the other boy.
Lance felt disappointed that Ace was pulling away from him, but he understood that Ace was feeling embarrassed. He reluctantly let his arms fall back to his sides.
But he had just gotten Ace in his arms.
Did he really want to let him go?
Especially without a fight?
As Ace was pulling back presumably to sit back down on the chair, Lance reached out with one hand, grabbed Ace’s wrist, and pulled Ace back towards him in one quick motion.
Ace let out a surprised noise as Lance pulled him forward, not having enough momentum or balance to resist the motion. That didn’t mean he didn’t try, though. He tried to pull away, but it was to no avail.
Ace crashed into Lance, their bodies colliding due to the motion.
Ace immediately yelped, bringing his free hand up to touch the area around his ribs. He closed his eyes and groaned, feeling the injuries under the clothing and bandages start throbbing.
Lance, who had hissed and grit his teeth as the area around his ribs started throbbing, immediately looked at Ace upon hearing his groan.
He let go of Ace’s wrist and moved his hands to the front of Ace’s body, hovering around the area that Ace was pressing against, hesitant to touch it and aggravate the injuries more than he already had. His eyes expressed his concern and a little sadness. “Are you alright?”
Ace nodded, speaking in between grit teeth. “I’m alright.” His eyes opened, noticing the emotions in Lance’s eyes. He reached out with one hand, hissing as it aggravated his injuries. Lance narrowed his eyes at him, clearly telling him to stop. Ignoring him, he grabbed one of Lance’s hands and squeezed it, giving him a small smile. “Sorry to worry you. I’m alright.”
Lance shook his head, feeling guilt pool in his stomach. “It’s not your fault.”
Noticing the regret in the other’s eyes, Ace’s eyes softened. “It is alright. The pain is gone now.” When Lance only gave him an unconvinced look, he winced and smiled sheepishly. “… For the most part.” He could still feel the pain, but it had lessened to a dull pain.
Lance hummed, letting his eyes linger on their joined hands. He looked back up at Ace, eyes hardening. “Idiot. You should’ve told me that you were injured.”
Ace frowned. “There was no time. Besides, I would’ve thought you had already guessed that I would be injured.” He raised his eyebrows mockingly. “You knew I was going to fight Jest. What, did the white bandages around my head not give away that I was injured?”
Lance narrowed his eyes, but his response died in his throat at the mention of Jest.
Ace had gotten those injuries while fighting Jest?
He had let Ace fight Jest by himself.
Why did he do that?
He should’ve been there, fighting alongside Ace and protecting him.
Ace blinked, surprised. Was there something wrong with Lance? Normally, he would’ve responded back by now (even if the response was only an icy glare).
But Lance was only staring at him. His eyes kept glancing back and forth from the bandages around his head to the area around his ribs.
Those beautiful golden eyes expressed shame and regret.
Understanding what was wrong, Ace shook his head, smiling softly at his rival. “It isn’t your fault. You had to heal.”
Lance looked away shamefully. “I should’ve been there. I didn’t want you… to go in that battle alone. Not with him as an opponent.”
“I wasn’t alone. I had our friends with me.” Ace paused before amending himself. “Well, our friends weren’t with me when I fought Jest, but they were with me when we stormed Jest’s castle.” He smiled sheepishly. “I wanted it to be just Tamazo and I, but they wouldn’t let us go alone.”
Lance nodded, looking back at Ace. Looking out for his friends and trying to protect them from getting hurt… That was Ace.
Ace smiled when he noticed Lance was looking at him again. He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “And well… These injuries… Not all of them were from my fight with Jest.” When Lance only looked at him confused, his free hand brushed the hair away from his face. “Some of my injuries were from my fight with Kroell.”
Lance narrowed his eyes at the mention of the whip wielding Dragonoid, resisting the urge to growl. He was the one who had hurt Ace?
Dominion… No…
Kroell was lucky he wasn’t there.
He wouldn’t have let him off easy for hurting Ace.
“Kroell had formed a contract with a monster, causing him to get stronger. I… didn’t stand a chance against him. None of my attacks caused any damage,” Ace said, looking down to his lap. His free hand formed a fist, remembering how he had attacked over and over, feeling disbelief as he saw Kroell unharmed.
“You said you fought against Jest,” Lance said. Did someone help Ace when he was fighting Kroell?
Ace looked up and nodded. “Yeah. Well, sort of. Jest interrupted my fight with Kroell to finish me off.” Lance narrowed his eyes once more, but before he could speak, Ace moved closer.
“And that’s when things got crazy! Jest was about to eat me,” Ace said, pausing to shiver at the memory. Tempted to growl, Lance reached out and pulled Ace closer to him. “But Dafnes-sama saved me.” He smiled at his rival, not resisting as Lance pulled him closer.
Once Ace was near Lance’s lap, he let go of him, not wanting to accidentally hurt Ace. He blinked, surprised. “Dafnes-sama?”
She had saved Ace?
But how?
Wasn’t she already dead?
Ace grinned. “Yeah. I was surprised too. I don’t know how, but she saved me.” He blinked a few times, bringing a hand up to hold his head. “Truthfully, I don’t remember much after that. I remember that Jest was about to eat me, but Dafnes-sama’s darkness suddenly appeared.”
He frowned, trying to remember what came next. “After the monster that Kroell formed a contract with attacked Jest and disappeared, Dafnes-sama’s darkness started growing bigger until it swallowed all of us. I must’ve passed out because next thing I know, Tamazo was holding onto me and lowering us to the ground.”
Tamazo had struggled with his weight, and as they were rebuilding Exscion, Tamazo had brought it up, saying that Ace was fat.
Ace had glared at him, flicking him in the forehead before turning around with puffed cheeks and saying that he wasn’t fat.
If anything, Ace thought, Tamazo was the one who should be fat, considering how much he ate.
But Tamazo never seemed to gain weight.
It was strange.
Lance nodded. “You got lucky Dafnes-sama helped when she did.” Unnoticed by Ace, he grit his teeth, resisting the urge to form a fist with his free hand.
If Dafnes-sama hadn’t stepped in, Ace would’ve been…
He pushed that thought to the back of his mind, refusing to finish that thought.
Besides, Ace was with him. He was alive.
He was still healing from his fight, but he was alive.
Speaking of injuries…
Lance’s gaze focused on the area around Ace’s ribs.
“Yeah. She picked the perfect time to save me. I’m very grateful to her,” Ace said, letting his head go and smiling. He blinked as he noticed Lance wasn’t paying attention.
Before he could ask if something was wrong, the other’s free hand reached out and gently touched the red hoodie around his ribs.
Any response Ace could’ve made died in his throat at the soft look on Lance’s face. He was imagining that soft, tender look, right?
Lance gently brushed the area with one finger before moving to the edge of his hoodie. He looked back up at Ace, biting back his smirk at the wide-eyed look on Ace’s face. He cleared his throat intentionally, unable to stop his smirk as Ace jumped, seemingly returning to reality.
Interesting.
He tugged at the edge of Ace’s hoodie. When Ace only gave him a confused look, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and tugged again. “Take this off.”
Ace blinked, looking at him dumbly. Take it… off? What was Lance talking about?
Wait…
Take it off?
When Lance tugged impatiently once more, his cheeks flushed pink. “Y-You want me… to what?” he squeaked, wishing he could hide his face.
Lance smirked, amused. Did Ace just… squeak? “Take it off, idiot.” When Ace only spluttered and didn’t say anything intelligent, he smirked an impish smirk. “I could do it for you.”
Ace swallowed nervously at noticing the mischievous light in Lance’s eyes. Why did that look seem to suit him?
Who was he kidding?
Lance was always cool no matter what he did or said.
When Lance only raised an eyebrow, he hastily shook his head, pushing away any thoughts of… Lance being cool to the back of his mind.
There must be something wrong with him if he liked the sight of Lance’s smirk. He couldn’t deny that Lance looked attractive with his smirk, though.
He cursed silently. Not helping, Ace.
Lance moved his free hand to Ace’s zipper. “I don’t mind, you know,” he murmured. “If you don’t want to do it yourself, I’ll do it.”
But before he could pull Ace’s zipper down, Ace’s hand grabbed his hand, making him pause.
Ace had his face down, hiding his pink face. Lance noticed with amusement that even Ace’s ears were pink.
Ace looked up at him, silently gesturing towards his zipper.
Guessing that meant Ace wanted to do it himself, Lance pulled his hand away, respecting his decision. A part of him felt disappointed at the wasted opportunity, though.
Ace gulped, feeling Lance’s eyes on him. He reluctantly let go of Lance’s hand and unzipped his hoodie. Noticing Lance’s expectant look, he let out a nervous breath before taking off the hoodie and throwing it off the bed.
Lance reached out and gently touched Ace’s white and blue long sleeved striped shirt. Noticing he had Ace’s attention, he brushed his finger around the area of Ace’s ribs before moving his hand down and tugging on the edge of it.
Ace’s eyes widened, barely stopping himself from squeaking once more. His shirt too?
He shook his head, hastily wrapping his arms around himself to prevent Lance from taking it off. “W-Why do you want my shirt off?”
Belatedly, he realized he probably should’ve asked this before he took off his hoodie.
Oops.
It was Lance’s fault.
That guy was so… demanding and pushy at times.
Lance felt amused that Ace was only just now asking why he wanted him to take off his clothes. What an idiot. “Let me see your injury.”
Noticing the amused look in his eyes, Ace resisted the urge to bury his hands in his face. “I-I can pull up my shirt. You can look at it that way.”
Unfortunately, Lance shook his head. “Take it off.” His impish smirk returned to his face. “Or do you want me to do it?”
Ace scowled, cursing under his breath. He breathed in deeply then let it out. He coughed at the expectant look in Lance’s eyes, his eyes looking away and his hands grabbing the edge of his shirt. He swallowed at feeling Lance’s unwavering gaze before taking his shirt off and setting it next to him.
He would have to get his revenge later.
How he was going to get his revenge, he didn’t know yet.
But he would definitely get it.
Determinedly looking away from Lance, he jumped as he felt Lance’s hand gingerly touch the bandages wrapped around his body. He looked up, eyes wide. His response died in his throat at noticing that the shame, regret, and sadness from earlier had returned to those beautiful eyes.
Rolling his eyes at how cautious Lance was being, he inched closer and grabbed Lance’s hand. Lance blinked, looking surprised. Ace moved Lance’s hand and laid it on top of the bandages. “Stop being so cautious. I’m not fragile,” Ace grumbled.
Lance’s gaze lingered on the hand on top of his for a few moments before he looked at him, shaking his head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Ace’s heart started racing. If there was any chance of his cheeks returning to their normal color, it had disappeared due to Lance’s honest, tender words.
“… Idiot. You won’t hurt me,” he muttered, looking away. “If you want to touch me, just do it.”
Normally, Lance would’ve said something about Ace calling him an idiot or maybe try to tease Ace about what he just said, but he couldn’t find it in himself to do it.
He watched as Ace’s hand let go of his, Ace still looking away. He tentatively touched the bandages, glancing up to confirm that he wasn’t hurting the younger boy. He frowned, applying a light pressure as his other hand reached out and wrapped his arm around Ace’s bare shoulders.
Ace gasped at feeling Lance’s cold fingers on his bare skin, shivering at the temperature from the other’s fingers as well as the temperature in the room. Unconsciously, he moved towards the closest source of heat.
Upon hearing Ace’s gasp, Lance looked up at him. He was about to ask if he hurt him when Ace came closer. His eyes widened before quickly returning to their normal calm state. Seeing his chance, he picked Ace up and placed him in his lap.
Forgetting about the injury for the time being (since he now had something far more interesting to touch and look at), his free arm reached up and wrapped around Ace’s shoulders. He smirked, amused as Ace gasped once more, the brunet’s eyes closing and his head leaning on his shoulder.
Did Ace even realize that he was sitting in his lap?
He was an idiot, so he probably didn’t realize it yet.
Ace didn’t know where he was. And he didn’t care. All he knew was that Lance was warm. He pressed closer, his arms wrapping around Lance’s back.
Lance chuckled as Ace pressed closer to him, feeling him shiver. When he demanded that Ace take his shirt off, he had only wanted to look at his injuries. He didn’t think this would happen.
But he didn’t mind.
In fact, he was taking advantage of the situation.
What a nice excuse to hug Ace.
They didn’t know how much time had passed before Lance reluctantly let go. Placing his hands on Ace’s shoulders, he shook him lightly.
Ace groaned, protesting the action. When Lance only shook him once more, he reluctantly pulled away from his shoulder. Not wanting to leave Lance’s warmth, he left his arms wrapped around Lance and looked into the other’s eyes. He was about to speak, but the only thing that escaped his lips was a yawn.
Lance’s warmth had made him sleepy.
Well, maybe it was that the events of the day were finally taking their toll on him.
Lance was about to ask something, but he changed his mind upon seeing Ace yawn. Golden eyes softened, expressing his fondness. “You should sleep. It has been a long day for you.”
Ace blinked at seeing the soft golden eyes, wondering if his tired mind was playing tricks on him. Too tired to protest, he nodded, reluctantly letting go of Lance.
He grabbed his shirt, and after putting it on, he yawned once more.
He wasn’t sure if he would make it to his room.
Maybe Lance wouldn’t mind…
He shook his head, mentally scolding himself.
What was he thinking?
Lance needed his rest.
There was no way he could… sleep in the same room as Lance.
Just as he was pulling away and letting his feet touch the ground, he felt a hand touch his wrist. He stopped, looking back confused. “Lance?”
Lance cleared his throat before meeting Ace’s tired blue eyes. “… Stay here.”
Ace yawned once more, raising his free hand to rub at his eyes. “What?”
Lance’s cheeks flushed a light pink, biting back his smile at the adorable action. “Stay.”
Wondering if he was already dreaming (since the sight of Lance with light pink cheeks didn’t happen outside of his dreams), he rubbed at his eyes once more, narrowing his eyes. “I’m not a dog.”
“Ace…”
“… Yeah. I’ll stay,” he muttered, cheeks flushing pink.
Stupid Lance.
One look into those soft golden eyes, and he found he couldn’t refuse him.
Cursing at how much power Lance held over him (and wanting to hate that he felt happy at noticing Lance’s bright golden eyes), Ace crawled back over to Lance.
Once Ace was close enough, Lance let go of his wrist and lay down.
When Lance looked at him expectantly, Ace lifted up the covers and climbed into bed beside Lance. He lay down, eyes closing and not even bothering to lift the covers up.
He could hear the faint rustle of the sheets as Lance covered him. “Thank you, Lance. Good night.”
It didn’t take him long to fall asleep.
Lance sat up on one elbow, watching Ace sleep peacefully.
Ace’s face looked free of tenseness. He looked… content.
Feeling his heart race at the possibility that it could have something to do with him, he couldn’t stop himself from leaning in and kissing Ace on the forehead. He paused for a few moments before leaning up and gently kissing the bandages around Ace’s head.
He pulled away, almost expecting Ace to wake up and look at him strangely.
But he didn’t.
Ace must’ve been more tired than he thought.
Lance’s eyes darkened, feeling bad Ace pushed himself because of him.
He leaned in, gently kissing the bandages once more before pulling away.
“I’m sorry, Ace. Good night.”
He lay back down, closing his eyes.
He didn’t know how long had passed before he opened his eyes, frowning.
Hyperaware of Ace’s presence and somehow feeling he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep without him, he scooted closer. He reached out, carefully trying to shift Ace.
Feeling his warmth even in his sleep, Ace turned to face Lance and moved closer.
Lance held his breath as Ace moved towards him.
It seemed Ace was still asleep.
He breathed out, pulling Ace closer. Once he was close enough, he wrapped his arms around him in a warm protective embrace.
He closed his eyes, feeling something inside of him relax with Ace’s presence nearby.
He wouldn’t get any nightmares tonight. Not with Ace in his arms.
His sun had forgiven him.
And while he wanted his precious sun to stay with him forever, this was enough for now.
There would always be a chance to confess to Ace later.