another lifetime in which zhen knew raj from the start, so — the hard strike against his face was an expected reaction, stinging painfully, but not enough that zhen was forced to stagger back from the blow.
the last time he’d seen those eyes that wide and furious he’d been bleeding out on the floor, blow meant for raj buried deep into his heart, feeling the life trickle between his fingers once more.
he made no move to nurse the point of impact, expression steely. he felt guilty for making raj feel this way, of course he did, but did he regret it ? would it stop him from doing it again ? no. not really.
he can’t say sorry, not if he doesn’t mean it. instead, he confesses the only thing he knows to be absolutely true. meeting raj’s rightful fury with a soft, resigned melancholy.
no. no no nonono. a small splatter had managed to coat the side of niraj's face, and for a moment, he stood frozen, staring, unwilling to comprehend what just happened. dark, warm blood painted zhen a deeper crimson than usual, spilling quickly down his chest, seeping through layers of clothing. "zhen," raj's voice broke, quieter than he'd anticipated, and he was caught off guard long enough to get hit over the head by the hunter following them. to the ground he crumpled, mind swimming and unfocused, but he managed to land a kick straight to the attacker's liver, leaving him a doubled over, gasping mess. raj took that opening to crawl over to the dragon's side, instinctively pressing his hands to zhen's chest. "you can't do this to me, you stupid fucking fool," he ground out between clenched teeth. "zhen, i just got you back, please!" he pressed harder, hands slick and slippery with blood, but it had given the hunter the time he needed to recover enough to bury a knife into niraj's shoulder.
the naga's cry of pain died amongst the trees around them, and he stood, teetering, and ripped the blade from his skin. blood of his own ran in rivulets down his back, and his pupils constricted to slits. with all the reflex of a viper, raj lashed out and drove the blade into the poacher's throat. he staggered backwards, watching in horror as the man dropped to his knees, choking on his own life force. a cold feeling covered him like a veil as he turned from the dying man, and he stumbled over to zhen's body, hoping to find some sign of life, something to tell him that zhen was going to be okay, that they could go home together.
his eyes, though half-lidded, were lifeless.
raj laid his head down on his lover's chest and sobbed, and in a matter of moments, the sky clouded over, and a vast, heavy rain began to fall. the snake knelt beside the former celestial for what seemed like days, but in truth it was probably mere hours, before he decided to stand up, gather himself, and drag zhen's body to the clearing before their cave. raj couldn't handle leaving his body to be food for nearby forest animals, so he laid his best friend to rest in a relatively shallow, muddy grave by the edge of the grove. he knew one day they might meet again, but for now, his heart felt empty, torn, drained. placing a mossy rock over the makeshift grave site, the naga finally let up on the rain, standing up with a sniffle and a nod. this lifetime was over. it was time for niraj to move on.
about ninety years had passed since raj last saw those red eyes. he knew he should have been happy, ecstatic even, to see them again, but he couldn't muster up those feelings. ninety years later and raj still thought about that day, the last time he'd spoken to zhen. they'd only found each other a handful of years prior. zhen was still so young, in human years, so when he showed up on raj's doorstep, memories intact, the first reaction he'd had was to express the feelings he'd experienced so long ago, after zhen had sacrificed himself for raj. his own wound had healed so long ago, but the scar was still there, making his shoulder ache on bad days. he watched the dragon's face, trying to keep his quivering lip from being so obvious, and breathed carefully, methodically, to keep his heart rate down. his anger had felt right, it had felt important, right up until zhen opened his mouth.
all at once, the floodgates broke, and the emotions niraj had been fighting off roamed free, and he wrapped his arms around zhen's shoulders. burying his face into the other man's collar, he sobbed, a mixture of pained and happy tears, and he dug his fingers into zhen's clothing. "i love you," raj's voice wavered, but his reply was firm. "i love you, i love you. i love you."