Work Text:
Whatever forces were at play, it wasn’t unfair to say those forces must be playing tricks on Dion’s heart. He had wept for ages after learning of Joshua’s demise as a boy all those years ago. They may have only met once before on that single, fleeting day, but he would never forget how that particular young boy fascinated him.
At the time they were not too far apart in age, a few years between them with Dion being the senior or so at most. But Dion could see the responsibility of power that rested upon the shoulders of the prince, weighing down on the young Joshua, for it was practically a reflection of his own.
They talked for as long as they could, both of them realizing how much they shared in common. Including the power of the Eikons that ran in their veins. And while their so-called blessings may have been called that, they were both hesitant to voice such a description for there was an understanding between them.
Blessing is not the word either of them would have used, especially when Joshua broke down into a fitful cough that had blood streaking across his lips.
He was so young, Dion thought, he shouldn’t suffer such a burden.
But that was only a night over so many years ago, and Dion’s burdens only grew along with him. He couldn’t reminisce about a boy he once knew. No matter how much he wished that Joshua was still there. Let alone with for him to be here, by his side.
So when a memory entered his tent, a boy no longer but a man alive and grown, Dion could only believe what he was seeing was a ghost. But even though his Eikon was sure, and that knowledge gave him a glimmer in his heart, he dared not hope.
But he wanted to. He wanted it to be Joshua. He wished nothing more than to be reunited with his friend from long ago. Curse be damned from their blood or their lineage, Joshua was a breath of fresh air then. And if it was really him, he would be more than just a breath of fresh air now.
While Dion always had Terence at his side and loved him endlessly, there is an unsaid understanding that Terence would never be able to truly understand the burden Dion held of both the crown and his power.
That meeting so long ago made Dion feel like he finally found someone who could understand.
Dion was reluctant to ask Terence to leave, but the guest had insisted, saying that his own guard would go as well so they could speak alone.
And so, it was them, facing one another with naught but a table between them. But Joshua’s eyes were alight with a fire that Dion last knew to be embers.
He hesitated to reach out, for fear of being burned again.
“Please, allow me to get us drinks while you tell me how you are here.”
“I appreciate the gesture, but I believe time is of the essence. I can’t stay long.”
“Yet you took your time to engage my men through my camp without a word. And the last time I saw you alive you barely could hold a sword.”
“Time has changed us all. I’m not the boy you -“
Joshua cursed as a cough he was trying to hold back passed his lips. Dion moved in a flash, bringing a goblet to Joshua as he said, “No, you're not the boy I once knew. But you are him.”
A quick nod of the head and a slow but thorough sip of water had Joshua back on track.
“Thank you, Your Highness. But truly, I do not have time to explain all the details. But I will explain what I can.”
Dion understood - for he had to leave too. He had returned to camp what felt like only mere hours ago, but now he must return to the palace once again.
“How much do you know?”
“That depends, Your Highness, how much do you know?”
They ended up sitting on the edge of the bench in Dion’s tent, Joshua’s words of the past years swimming through his mind. Of the other Rosfield brothers, the Eikons, and more importantly Ultima. Once Joshua spoke of that being some of the missing pieces began to connect. Something was not right. Something hasn’t been right in years. But there were many things still unanswered, and he was not about to take the word of what he could still not believe to be a ghost by voice alone.
“I believe you, but…forgive me I am still trying to process your resurrection.”
“I would still be a naive child if it was resurrection I have done. No, I am alive and breathing just.”
“How do I know you are not some mirage or trick of this fiend you speak of?”
Joshua sighed, putting the goblet down beside him and standing with tired resoluteness as he began to remove the scarf around his shoulders.
Dion could not help being interested in the next few turns of events. He had seen men stark naked and then some before him, be it during training or other intimate matters. But watching as Joshua removed the upper layers of his clothes was stirring in him something he had not much had the chance let alone energy in recent events to ponder about. Something he was eternally grateful to Terence for in understanding and agreeing to the openness of their relationship in turn with other parts of their arrangement.
“Is this proof enough that my words are true?”
On Joshua’s chest was what appeared to be something akin to a large blue crystal that glowed like a wound that tore into him. Spider-like veins clawing at his ribs and a paleness on his skin that made the gash stand out further, faintly glowing with power. It looked like it hurt.
Before Dion could think he was standing in front of Joshua, closer than he anticipated. But Joshua didn’t back away. No, instead he almost seemed to lean in closer.
Dion brought a hand up to reach out to touch the crystal wound. Curiosity turned to worry as if it was such a thing, how was Joshua breathing? How was he alive?
His fingers shook, mere centimeters away from the glowing wound before a hand gripped his wrist.
And somehow that grasp of his wrist set Dion’s heart ablaze. He was real, this wasn’t a ghost or a trick of some fiend. This was Joshua.
Dion surged forward, pulling the Phoenix into a crushing hug and burying his face into the crook of Joshua’s neck. He almost wanted to feel embarrassed, but the mix of emotions that he felt in the last few minutes alone could not be held back any longer. Joshua gripped Dion’s left forearm, saying nothing of the sudden forwardness, but in fact, seeming to enjoy it himself as a breath of a sigh escaped the young Rosfield’s lips.
“You’re here.”
Dion wanted to say he was safe, but he wasn’t. Neither of them were.
It was Joshua’s turn to realize once more how lucky he was to be alive. Moments like these made everything worth it.
And when Dion pulled back, the look of adoration in Dion’s eyes directed at him was almost overwhelming. Dion’s hand cupped his chin, thumb stroking a cut beside his lip, an inquisitive look scanning over his features.
“I hope I did not startle you. But I pray this is proof enough that what I say is true,” Joshua said in almost a whisper.
Dion needed a moment. He needed this moment to have a missing piece of his life return to the spot he buried in his memory.
He wouldn’t let himself dare to dream of having Joshua back. He had so many questions still and things he wanted to ask. There was so much time he wanted to make up for.
“Did you miss me?” Dion asked with a small, hopeful smile.
“I’ve missed you,” Joshua replied, “I’m sorry I couldn’t see you.”
“All is forgiven,” Dion said as that smile turned into a smirk, “as long as you don’t leave me again.”
“I don’t plan on becoming ash anytime soon.”
“Good.”
Dion realized that he had drawn closer so much so that he could count Joshua’s eyelashes. He could feel his warm breath and the heat of his skin as Joshua stood there shirtless. Dion wanted more, but in what way he wished he could articulate even to himself. Impossible wishes have come true. The Phoenix has risen from the ashes and come back to life.
Come back to him.
The moment had to end though. Dion breathed in through his nose, stepping back out of reach before picking up the flower that lay on the table. He needed to think, to get back on track. And Joshua was being terribly distracting to his train of thought.
Not that Dion was about to ask the man to leave.
“Join me for a while. I cannot give you my answer yet. You have given me much to think about.”
Dion always had a plan. He had plans among plans, but each passing day seemed to bring new information that made him reformulate a new plan.
So right now, he planned to visit his father. He needed to know what had happened in his momentary absence. And if there was a force working in the shadows, find out if its grasp has his father in its clutches.
Dion turned to Joshua, who blinked away the concern directed at him with curiosity.
The Imperial Prince placed the flower in Joshua’s hair, tucked gently behind his ear. And with a soft adjustment of blond hair over the stem, it was set in place.
“Let us speak further of this once I talk with my father.”
“Okay,” Joshua said almost too quickly.
Dion lightly smiled, thinking he probably could have asked Joshua anything and he would have agreed.
And with such knowledge, he tucked it away in his memory for later. More questions needed answers and there was much to do. And for the first time in a while, true hope in his heart for more and longer moments for himself with Joshua to be blessed with later.