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“Leona!” The beastman let out a low groan as Rook stepped in front of him, his arms held out to stop the older man from going forward. They were in a long hallway that led to a door, behind which was the only thing Leona let himself think about for the past three years.
More, even.
But here was Rook, trying to stop him.
“Get out of my way.” Leona growled, only for Rook to shake his head, his eyes wet with unshed tears. The labcoat he wore was covered in a mixture of blood and a black blot that they’d both become far too familiar with over the years.
“My conscience will no longer allow you to continue this.” He stepped toward, reaching for the item in Leona’s hands. It was a vial, containing everything he’d been working toward. “It isn’t right. He’s suffering because of us.”
Leona shoved Rook away, sending the younger man flying to the ground. “He’s alive because of us!” He tucked the vial carefully into one of the many pockets littered about his labcoat. “And thanks to this, he’ll come back.”
“You don’t know that!” Rook stared up at the beastman, tears leaking down his cheeks. “The cure has only proven effective on those who have been infected for less than 24 hours.”
“Vil’s been infected for less than 24 hours.” Leona’s voice was monotone as he made his way to the doors. He pressed his thumb against the fingerprint scanner, revealing a keypad that had a 24-digit passcode.
As he typed it in, the blond shook his head. “You know that isn’t true. Three years ago on this very day-”
“Can it.” Leona’s tail flicked angrily as his shaking hands caused him to get one of the numbers wrong. Starting over, he spoke. “There’s no proof that it won’t work on him. If there’s even one chance that it might, then-”
“He is long gone, Roi des Lion.” Rook rose up from the ground. His words would have been cruel if not for the way that he cried while saying them. “I’ve observed him all this time, and everything he once was has vanished. His heart, his beauty, his mind. He’s dea-”
He was cut off when Leona grabbed him by the throat, pinning him against the wall. The former prince’s eyes were mad with fury, and he growled in Rook’s face. “Don’t finish that sentence.”
His nails dug into Rook’s neck, drawing thin lines of blood. “Vil’s still alive, and he’s going to come back to me.”
Rook grabbed his hand, struggling to breathe. “You’re hurting him. Let him go, Roi des Lions… P-Please…”
Leona released him and Rook collapsed onto the ground, clutching his neck as he took in panting breaths of air. The older man walked away from Rook, going back to the keypad to type in the passcode. “If it hurts it means he’s still in there. He’ll come back, and I’ll worry about everything else once he’s awake.”
“He’ll hate you if you succeed.” Rook couldn’t stand, his legs were shaking too much.
As the door opened, a loud screech could be heard coming from inside, accompanied by the grating sounds of chains being dragged against the floor. The overwhelming scent of belladonas and poison filled the air, and Leona turned to look back at Rook.
“I know.” He smiled at the younger man, his eyes wet. “But he’ll be alive.”
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A pair of calloused hands covered Vil’s eyes, accompanied by a teasing voice in his ear. “Guess who~”
Vil smirked, putting his hands over theirs. “Rook, is that you? I thought I told you our relationship needs to stay a secret!”
“Wow.” Leona pulled away from him, but didn’t get very far as Vil immediately wrapped his arms around his waist to hug him. “I’m kidding. Rook wishes he could have me.”
The older man hummed, turning his head to smile at his fiance. “Too bad for him, you’re mine.” As Vil nodded in agreement, Leona looked at the table he’d been working at before he’d been oh-so-sweetly interrupted. “What are you working on?”
Vil gestured to a covered cage next to a half-filled journal that he’d been writing in. “They wanted me to examine our little patient.” He pulled the cover off, revealing a red-feathered phoenix staring up at them inside. “They managed to put the infection into a phoenix, we’re just waiting for the guy to blot.”
There was a virus going around the world that infected mages, causing them to accumulate blot at a rapid pace. Use of any kind of magic would lead to a mage overblotting.
Their minds would become clogged and their movements would become purely animalistic, rapid and instinctual. The most powerful mages were charted off to the abandoned remains of Styx for the safety of the world and themselves, where they lived in a fragile peace.
One that wouldn’t last, something that everyone knew.
To cope with the fact that they all might die, most of the mages did what they could to research the illness, in the vain hopes that they might one day find a cure.
Leona watched the phoenix gingerly hop toward Vil, who kept his fingers away from its cage as he admired its feathers. “Looks like he likes you.”
The blond flashed Leona a quick smile before bringing his attention back to the bird. “I like him too. It’s heartbreaking that such a beautiful creature is going through this.”
Leona sighed. “I know. But we have to do what we have to do.” He covered the cage once more, letting the poor creature sleep. “Figuring out what triggers blot to appear in the infected is one more step towards finding a way to cure it.”
“Blot forms in times of emotional distress and high magical usage.” Vil hummed, tapping his fingers along Leona’s arm. “By that logic, so long as we are able to stay calm and not use our magic, we should be safe…” He shook his head. “But I know that’s wishful thinking.”
“We’ll figure it out.” He pressed a kiss to his fiance’s leftmost ring finger, where they never managed to put a ring on as they couldn’t find one they liked before the world went to shit. “We’ve got the two smartest people in the world working on finding a cure, there’s no way we won’t get it.”
Vil laced his fingers between Leona’s, gaze fond. “You always know what to say.” He pressed his forehead against his fiance’s. “You’re right. We’ll get through this.”
His voice was a comforting whisper. “Together.”
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Leona entered the room, the door closing automatically behind him.
Vil let out an unintelligible shriek upon seeing Leona and attempted to charge at him, only to be held back by a pair of chains connecting him to the other side of the room. He let out a pained whine as he lifted his wrists to his mouth, gnawing on the metal cuffs with chipped teeth.
Leona moved to his side, placing a hand on his back. “You’ll run out of teeth if you keep trying to bite it.”
Vil looked up at him, the whites of his eyes entirely black and with blot trailing down his cheeks akin to tears. His skin was always fair, but since his captivity it was three shades paler from lack of sunlight. His hair was longer, something Leona knew he wouldn’t like (he’d attempted to cut it once before, but that only resulted in a pair of scissors being stabbed into his arm), but promised to fix it once he was better.
He had a lot of things to fix once he was better.
Leona ran his fingers through his blond locks, frowning at the way splotches of blot were scattered throughout it. He shook his head and pressed a kiss to the top of Vil’s head. “I missed you.”
Vil stared up at him, blot falling from his lips and pooling onto the floor.
The older man gently moved to touch Vil’s forearms to lead him to a bed in the middle of the room. “I’ll clean you up, okay? Let’s stay calm. Take a deep breath, just like they had you do in your yoga classes.” He watched as Vil stared at him, his chest neither rising nor falling.
He sighed, his thumb rubbing soothing circles along Vil’s arm. “Good job.” As gently as he could, he pushed his fiance onto the bed before reaching up to adjust the cuffs around his wrists. “Stay still for me, okay? Don’t try to scratch me.”
Vil’s fingers twitched as Leona removed the chain around his wrists, and before he could even attempt scratching his fiance’s eyes out, a new pair of chains locked him to the metal bars of the bedpost.
When Vil let out a frustrated growl, Leona rolled up the sleeves of his labcoat. “Sorry. Just a precaution.” The blond stared in the direction of the furious bitemarks that littered the older man’s forearm, hidden underneath his labcoat.
He licked his lips, and Leona gently flicked his forehead. “A precaution that is absolutely necessary.” He sat at the edge of the bed clicking his tongue. “Who would have thought, your penchant for marking me up remains even while you’re like this.”
Vil tried to chomp at his fiance and Leona reached over to cup his cheek. “It’s okay, you can do it as much as you like once you’re you again.” With his other hand, he reached into his pocket to pull out the vial.
“We were able to cure someone with this, Vil.” The infected man stared at the vial, blot trailing down his lips and onto his chin. Leona wiped at his skin with the bottom of his labcoat, dying it black. “It’ll work on you too. It works on people who are still aware of themselves, who aren’t lost.”
He placed the vial on the covers and put his other hand on the back of Vil’s neck, pulling him close until their foreheads were touching. “You’re still in there, I know it. I know you’re hurting and I just want- FUCK!” He swore, pulling away from Vil, who’d slammed his forehead against Leona’s with an almost gleeful smile.
Leona brought his hand to his forehead, gritting his teeth when he saw his fingers were covered in blood. Still, as blood trailed down his face, he smiled at Vil. “It’s okay. You got me good, didn’t you?”
Vil let out a screech and Leona took a deep breath. “You’re mad at me, that’s what it is. I’m sorry, Vil.” He held his hands up in defense. “You wouldn't have wanted me to keep you like this for so long, I know. I’m sorry.”
His chest heaved, and Vil stared at him, transfixed. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t kill you. And I can’t…” A tear fell from his eye against his will and he wiped it away. “I can’t make myself like you, not when I know I can save you.”
He narrowed his eyes, stepping toward Vil. “And I will. I’ll save you.” He reached for the vial, holding it tightly. “I don’t care if you don’t want me to, I’ll save you. Just like you saved me!”
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“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!” All of the mages stationed together sang in unison as Leona rolled his eyes with a smirk. He wasn’t a fan of parties, yet despite himself he couldn’t help but have fun.
Sure they didn’t have any presents, they didn’t even have cake, but Vil managed to find a candle and rammed it into a granola bar that had chocolate chips.
“Happy birthday dear Leona~” Vil moved to sit beside his fiance, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Happy birthday to you!” He gestured to the candle and clapped when Leona blew it out. The prince wrapped his arm around his boyfriend, pressing his forehead against Vil’s for only a moment before turning to everyone else. “Fun stuff, now go away.”
Vil nudged Leona and the older man smiled. “I mean, enjoy yourselves.”
A few of the other mages chuckled before leaving the lab to get back to their work, while others stayed behind to mingle. After three long years of working on finding a cure, all the while their friends and families transformed into unrecognizable monsters, it was rare to find a moment of joy and many wanted to stay in it as long as they could.
Vil leaned against Leona’s shoulder. “What did you wish for?”
Leona took a bite out of the bar before holding it out to his fiance. “If I tell you, it won’t come true.”
“Hm.” Vil took a smaller bite out of it before shoving it back to Leona. “It’s your birthday, your bar.”
“You’re the boss.” Leona finished the bar, the sweet taste of chocolate washing over his tongue. He nudged his fiance, eyes closing contentedly. “Thanks. You’re the best.”
“I try.” Vil laughed, kicking his feet as he hugged the older man. “We’ll throw a proper party at your next birthday, I promise.”
Leona opened an eye to stare at Vil. “You think we’ll be done with this by then?”
“We’ve found a way to block magic usage entirely, and if mages can’t use magic, they can’t accumulate blot.” Vil held up a finger knowingly. “It’s a temporary solution, but it will prevent others from becoming monsters while we try to find a way to cure them.”
“Seriously?” Leona’s eyes gleamed and he placed his hands on Vil’s shoulders. “That’s huge! When did you find this out?”
Vil laughed, placing his hands over Leona’s. “Today, I wanted to surprise you.” He brought Leona’s hand to his lips, pressing a kiss on top of his leftmost ring finger. “We’ll get out of here, and you won’t be able to stop me from throwing the biggest wedding the world has ever seen!”
Leona shook his head, moving to cup Vil’s cheeks. “I’m surprised you haven't thrown it already.”
“I can’t get married without my dad, and you know Rook will-” He trailed off when a blaring noise came from one of the speakers littered throughout the lab. The few mages that remained with them quickly ran to the doors and windows, shutting them and blocking them off.
Sirens were going off, and that meant only one thing.
Someone overblotted.
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“It’s okay if you hate me after this.” Leona’s hands trembled as he reached for Vil’s wrist, ignoring the way his fiance snarled. He pressed his thumb against the inside of his wrist, feeling a rapid pulse. “If you want to leave me, you can, I won’t be mad.”
His grip tightened for only a moment, listening when Vil let out what sounded like a pained whimper. “Sorry.” His thumb rubbed soothing circles into Vil’s cold skin. “If you never want to see me again, you won’t have to. I’ll stay out of your life, I promise.”
He swallowed, lifting his head up to keep his tears from spilling out. No need for Vil to see him crying, even if he wouldn’t be able to understand why. “Just come back. Let me protect you this time.”
Vil’s body twitched, and Leona grabbed his shoulders. “Give me a sign that you’re in here, Vil. Show me I’m not crazy. Show me that everything I’ve been doing hasn’t been for nothing!”
Sleepless nights spent in labs, hours spent pouring over Vil’s notebooks, countless days spent looking over his fiance and watching the light fade from his eyes.
Years spent arguing with his fellow mages for why they needed to keep his fiance alive. Months spent watching Vil scream in pain as they injected him over and over and over again with supposed cures that did fuck all. Vil was in agony, he knew that, he just…
“Please, Vil.” Leona held the vial close to Vil’s wrist, watching the man flinch at the coldness of the glass. “Tell me you’re there.”
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“There you are!” Vil grabbed Leona and pulled him off the ground. As much as they tried, they weren’t able to fortify the lab enough to keep the infected person out. The once pristine lab was now entirely rubble, and the infected one was currently attacking a pair of mages who were trying to run away.
Leona stumbled, a piece of concrete hitting his head as he’d ducked for cover. “Get out of here… Don’t help me.” He slurred, his vision blurry.
“Shut up.” Vil huffed. He wasn’t unharmed, limping with each step he took. “I’m not leaving you, there…” He winced upon putting weight on his injured leg. “There was a transmission, people are gathering at the atrium… R-Rook’s there, so once we get to him…”
The monster let out a howl and Vil fell, dropping Leona to the ground. “Shit, I’m so…” He gasped, covering his mouth with his hands as he saw the full extent of Leona’s wounds. His head was covered entirely in blood, bits of skin falling off. Every single breath his fiance took was close to being his last, every single second the world around him grew darker.
It would take a miracle the likes of which the world had never seen to save him.
“No… No, no…” Vil grabbed his fiance, pulling him close. “You can’t die on me, you can’t. We were… We were going to get married, you… You have to stay with me, you…” He looked down at his hands.
The overblotted mage let out another howl, and Vil turned to look at them. He swallowed, eyes welling up with tears as he bit his lip.
He placed Leona’s head on his lap, placing one hand on top of Leona's head, right over his wound. “You’ll be fine, I promise.” With his other hand, he took Leona's hand and laced their fingers together and pressed a kiss to his ring finger. “I’ll protect you.”
He took a deep breath, knowing that what he was doing would hurt Leona, but not finding it in himself to care. So long as he lived, he didn't care. “Nothing is lost… Nothing is feared.” Magic pooled from Vil’s hands onto Leona’s head, and the blond felt something slimy rise up in his throat. He simply turned his head to spit out the blot he knew he was creating before continuing. “The shining crown belongs to me.”
Leona’s vision cleared one last time to see Vil smiling at him. “Fairest One Of All.”
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“Do you remember when you proposed to me?” Leona grabbed Vil’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “The ring didn’t fit and we never got the chance to get a new one.” He watched as Vil brought their hands to his mouth.
Vil sunk his teeth into Leona’s fingers, but he didn’t stop him. Instead, he brought the vial to his lips to unscrew the top, spitting it out and onto the floor.
He reached into his pocket to pull out a needle, keeping a careful watch on his fiance. “You’re going to come back to me. It’s going to hurt, you’re going to hate me, but you’ll be back.” He sighed, looking down at the needle and the vial. “I shouldn’t be doing this. You might not even be there, you might… You might be dead and I…”
Leona looked at Vil’s hand within his own. “And I need to let you…” He trailed off, hope taking flight within his heart, something he hadn’t felt in years.
Rather than biting him, Vil was pressing his lips against Leona’s left ring finger. The blond let out a whine, smushing his face against Leona’s hand as he looked up at the older man.
Blot poured from his lips, yet they curled up into a smile. His eyes had it, the brightness that Leona was searching for.
“You’re still in there.” Tears fell down Leona’s cheeks as he pulled his hand away, letting out a comforting noise as Vil whined. He moved the contents of the vial into the needle and smiled, repeating himself. “You’re still in there.”
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Leona opened his eyes with a headache, the worst one he’d ever had. He brought a hand to his temple, frowning when he saw that he was covered in blood. His stomach churned in a panic as he searched his body for any injuries, but he didn't find any.
In fact, aside from the headache, he felt great, which was weird considering he and Vil…
His heart sunk as he shot up from the ground. Around him stood the remains of Vil’s lab, torn apart in seconds by an overblotted jackass. But there, hidden by smog, he could see his fiance standing still.
Leona ran toward his fiance. “Vil! What were you thinking, you…” He trailed off as Vil turned toward him. “You… You used your magic on me. You… healed me, you…”
Vil’s eyes were dull and his lips were black with blot. Still, Leona did not move away from him. “No. No, no, no… You’re still my Vil. You aren’t… You’re still here, with me!”
The blond’s eyes glanced around before landing on Leona. A grin spread across Vil’s face and he slammed his head against the prince’s, their foreheads banging against each other and drawing blood.
Leona hissed in pain, but didn’t move away from Vil. “T-That… You’re still in there. You, you won’t leave me.” He wrapped his arms around Vil, pulling him into a hug. “I love you.”
Vil let out a screech. Leona buried his head against his fiance’s neck. “You’re going to be fine. I’ll…” He swallowed, narrowing his eyes as he looked out beyond them.
He could see a flock of mages racing toward them, arms at the ready. No doubt they’d kill Vil upon seeing the blood he’d spilt, but Leona wouldn’t let that happen. He’d talk his way into their good graces and manage to get them to agree on containing Vil, keeping him alive and keeping him safe.
All until the day that Leona could protect him as well.
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