since I already shared a snippet from an isrn piece (which is slated to be. quite long.), I thought to share something from yet another elikai fic that has been haunting me. yes, I will continue to spread my ockaiser agenda.
this fic… is also shaping up to be horrendously long, so I do not anticipate a release for this nor the isrn anytime soon. please bear with me.
(indentation is not working at all for some reason, so I placed it under a read more. also if you would like to do this, consider yourself tagged.)
Neither Elicruz nor his father return before the rest of the guests bid their farewells. Kaiser lies half-awake in the guest room, listening to the echoing roar of the sea, the curling howl of the wind. The antique clock on the bedside table ticks on and on in tandem to the steady thrum of his heart. When at last he hears the creak of the floorboards coming up the hall, he sits up and glances at the time: 3:33 AM. The witching hour. His heart thrums even louder, quicker, as he turns his attention to the door he purposely left propped open by an inch.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
A shadowy figure drifts past the doorway, as silent as a phantom on its usual haunt. It comes, and it goes, a flicker of pitch-black beneath the moonlight. The door to Elicruz’s bedroom clicks open, but the snap of it closing shut never comes. Quietly, Kaiser slides out of bed, pads down the hall, and finds Elicruz’s door left ajar ever so slightly. Peering through the crack, he sees Elicruz standing in front of the vanity with his back to the door, cloaked in a black hooded coat that drapes well past his knees. Elicruz pulls a crimson red rosary from his pocket and lays it on the smooth, wooden surface, the beads clattering against each other as they coil into a heap. Slowly, Kaiser steps into the room, his pulse quickening even more, his heart pumping too hard, too fast. Is it fear? Is it desire? Is it something else altogether?
(What difference would it even make?)
Step by step, he approaches Elicruz. He snakes his arms around him from behind and presses his cheek into his shoulder, inhaling the scent weaved into the threads of the coat. Elicruz smells of incense—warm, creamy sandalwood, slightly smoky and sweet, and the lightly powdered spice of rose petals—entangled with the bitterness of smoked wood and the earthiness of the forest itself. A gloved hand curls over one of Kaiser’s, guiding it higher and higher, until Kaiser feels the steady beat of a heart, so similar to his own, beneath his palm.
“Am I alive?”
The question comes out as a whisper not quite strong enough to break the silence.
“…Yes,” Kaiser answers, just as quiet. He splays his fingers over Elicruz’s heart, his hand warm against the cold, bare skin. Never has Elicruz run so cold, one degree away from a corpse. “Even though you tell yourself that you aren’t… you’re alive.” He inhales a shaky breath. “You’re alive, and so am I.”
Slowly, Elicruz turns, and Kaiser lifts his head to meet his gaze. Although the hood casts a shadow over Elicruz’s face, Kaiser sees those eyes so clearly, vacant and far out of reach—all signals lost. He doesn’t need to see the puffy skin or the damp lashes to know that Elicruz cried. He doesn’t need to ask to know the reason why.
She would have liked to meet you.
Kaiser keeps his hand against Elicruz’s chest, his fingers brushing against the several thin pendants and wire-wrapped crystals dangling from his neck. He brings his other hand to the side of Elicruz’s face, caressing the cool, winter-kissed skin with a touch too gentle, too intimate for either of them. Words of comfort are foreign to Kaiser. Rarely has he ever received them, never has he given them out. Even now, in this quietude, he cannot find the right words to ease the grief that hangs heavy in the air, to bring Elicruz back to him from the one place Kaiser cannot reach.
“Kiss me,” he says instead. “You said you would indulge me after the party. I think I’ve waited long enough.”
Something flickers behind Elicruz’s muted eyes. Little by little, their vibrancy restores, glowing like violet candlelight through the heavy shadows falling over his face. Warmth spreads across his skin beneath Kaiser’s hands, a slow-burning flame ignited by his words. Elicruz brings one hand to Kaiser’s waist and the other to Kaiser’s chin, tilting his face up as he gazes deep into his eyes.
(When did Elicruz grow so much taller? There used to only be a centimeter or so between them, but now…)
“Patience,” Elicruz mutters, “has never been your strong suit, has it?”
“Not at all,” Kaiser purrs, fluttering his eyes closed. “Besides, it’s my birthday. Did you think I would be satisfied with only a cake and your family singing a silly little song?”
“Nothing ever satisfies you, Mihyatxu.”
Kaiser smiles, his breath hitching slightly as he feels Elicruz draw closer, their lips brushing against each other. “You do,” he whispers. You give me everything I want even when you act like you give me nothing. “Now kiss me.”
Some bit of info about the character’s motifs (a name I’m considering for powers)
Matsuki: Yields Umbrakinesis. Mainly uses it to move around places. It does alter his figure sometimes on it’s own accord.
Elikai: Yields Pyrokinesis. Mostly uses it to raise the temperatures of whatever he touches or as a light source. He did take extensive training to try to make sure it doesn’t go berserk. Still doesn’t stop his shoulder from catching on fire.
Aliki: Yields Crystallokinesis. The only safe way she could use it, forming small crystals on the palm of her hand. If she tries anything else with it, the crystals will sporadically spread out and could seriously injure a person. She’s only learned to suppress it, not control it.
Lumino: Has retractable wings. He can summon them at will for flight, appear intimidating, or to carry items if his hands were to be full.
