Hi everyone Classmates and curious followers,
for the later, I know, I know, this is definitely what you were expecting but I hope you will still find interest in this modest story!
For my fellow Classmates, well, what to say. I am feeling partly excited, partly worried. I hope you will like this story! I couldn't help myself, this story just hit me and demanded to be written. I just love Charlie and Matteusz and their relationship so very much! I don't think I have ever loved any TV couple so much!
For the record, this is an un-Beta'ed version because I didn't want to bother my Beta (and because I am not sure she watches the show) so please, please, be kind with my non-native self!
Enjoy!
The most important
Charlie couldn't stop staring at Miss Quill. How did she manage to get rid of the Ahn and still be alive? It was impossible.
"What are you going to do now?" He asked her, letting go of the bloody bag, disgusted.
She could basically do everything now. His mind flashed back to his first meeting with her back on Rhodia. When she tried to kill him and his whole family. He knew only too well how dangerous she was in reality.
"You treat her like your slave!"
Tanya's accusation was still ringing clearly in his mind. Her disgust with him clear even in memory.
Maybe he did. But she deserved it. That was one of the few sure he was sure of in his life. The other just couldn't understand that. They haven't seen what she could do.
He repressed the need to take a step backward when Miss Quill's cold eyes glared at him. The red scar marring her left eyes making her look every bit like the fierce warrior she was.
He quickly eyed the door, trying to determine if he could reach it before she decided to take her revenge on him.
But, of course, he wouldn't really flee, he was a Prince after all. And he also was only too aware of Matteusz presence next to him. He couldn't let his boyfriend alone with her. And he couldn't communicate an exit plan without Quill knowing.
"Answer me!" He called out, voice angry, trying and failing to think of a way to escape the room.
"I do not have to answer to you anymore little prince!" Miss Quill finally reacted, standing up in an angry move, her hand clutching her newly repaired gun. "But as you are so demanding and I am feeling generous, I'm going to tell you."
She interrupted herself while she slowly walked around her desk, heels cliquing on the floor ominously.
"I am going to make you take revenge for our people. I am going to make you kill the Shadow kin."
Charlie repressed a snort.
"You know I won't do it." He answered.
He had already killed one person today and he was not keen on repeating the experience any time soon. He was feeling enough guilt and shame over it to last a lifetime. He didn't want to imagine what it would be like after he committed a double genocide.
"I beg to differ."
Miss Quill raised her gun towards him, finger ready to shoot him.
He smirked.
"You think I'm afraid to die?" He asked her, not even raising his hands in surrender.
Her answering evil smile froze the blood in his veins.
"No. I don't. But you forget one thing little Prince. We've lived together for months now. I know how to hurt you. I know how to make you obey."
The rhodian frowned.
"Now, be a good boy and let's go and finally use this bloody cabinet to kill those monsters once and for all."
Charlie didn't move.
"Well, I kind of hoped you would say that."
And with that she turned her gun to his right. Charlie didn't have to turn to know she was aiming it at Matteusz. Air froze in his lungs as another type of panic gripped him.
"Don't do that!" He cried out, making a move to step forward.
Quill only raised her gun higher.
"I told you. You have no orders to give me anymore."
She fired the gun before he had even time to blink. It was only instinct and quick reflexes that allowed him to jump sideways fast enough to knock into his boyfriend.
Time seemed to slow as he heard Matteusz gasp of surprise as he went tumbling down and felt the burn of the fire blast on his left side.
He hit the floor with a loud thump and a cry.
Pain flared through his body, making his mind fuzzy. Automatically his left hand went to the wound as if hoping to stop the fire from spreading. It only uselessly came in contact with the sticky wetness of blood.
"Charlie!" Matteusz' panicked cry made time resume and he chocked on his next intake of breathe.
He opened his eyes in time to watch his boyfriend kneel over him, hands hovering over his body, afraid to hurt him.
Despite everything, it made the rhodian smile.
But then he remembered where he was and what was happening and hastily tried to scramble up. He had to protect Matteusz.
"Quill." He breathed out with a painful groan as his boyfriend stopped him from moving.
"She ran out. Don't move. You need hospital."
"No. No. The cabinet. We have to get it."
Charlie tried to struggle up again but he could feel it was useless. His strength was waning and his mind kept wandering.
He was jerked back to himself when Matteusz pushed on his side. It felt like being stabbed. And yes, he knew how that felt.
He looked down to see his boyfriend's hands pressing his shirt against his bloody wound.
"Matteusz…" He said, reaching out to clench his own hands around the familiar forearm. "Please. We… We have to… Get to it before her…"
The other boy shook his head. Charlie hated to see the tears in his eyes and his panicked expression. He wanted to reach out and comfort him.
He couldn't. Because he was the one responsible of it.
Guilt swallowed him for a moment, making his heart stutter.
"Please."
His mind was disjointed and he struggled to keep his line of thoughts.
It seemed, however, that his desperation was clearly visible to his boyfriend.
"Fine. Fine. I'll… I'll call the others." His accent was even more pronounced, his voice raspy for the wrong reason.
Charlie closed his eyes as he listened to Matteusz rummage through his bag for his phone.
"Hey! Don't fall asleep on me!" The cry was accompanied by a press on his wound.
"I'm… Not…" It was getting more difficult to speak.
Charlie wondered why he wasn't more afraid of what was probably going to be his death.
In his mind, he was back on Rhodia, back on his home. It felt good. So good.
He observed the familiar, comforting, scenery, the warm colors of the landscape. He thought for a moment he could feel the breath of the south wind carrying the smell of the sea.
He looked at his side and found it empty. Something was missing.
Not something. Someone. Someone important.
The most important person in his life.
"Hey! Hey! Charlie! Charlie!"
He groaned as he was shaken from his thoughts. His eyes opened with difficulty.
"I… I love you..." He breathed out with as much strength as he could muster. If he was dying then this was the most important thing he had to say. "I love you… So much…"
"I know. I know. I love you too." Matteusz' voice was wet with his tears.
Charlie felt a hand stroke his hair. It was nice. It was comforting. It reminded him of home and happiness.
An unbidden tear fell from his eye.
"We have to get you to hospital."
"We can't… Alien."
"You can't die!"
"It's… Okay… Matteusz." He squeezed the arm he just noticed he was still holding.
"No… No it's not… I need you."
Charlie wished again he could comfort his boyfriend. Watching him suffering was more painful than any physical wound anyone could inflict him.
"You don't." He whispered.
And it was true. Matteusz was strong and courageous. Far more than he knew.
He had had to be.
He had fought against his parent's prejudice. Against whispers and rumours.
He had fought against the loneliness of being a foreigner. All alone.
And what had Charlie done while his people were attacked in front of his very eyes? Nothing. He had fled like the coward he was.
Once again, he didn't realize that his consciousness had left until he was shaken awake by a cry of his name.
It didn't sound like Matteusz.
He opened his eyes by a slit in time to watch Tanya fall on her knees next to him. He was surprised to see tears falling down her face too. Did it mean she cared about him?
It was a nice thought.
"We have to take him to the hospital!" She cried out, speaking to Matteusz.
The boy shook his head.
"He says we can't. Because he's an alien."
"Nonsense!" She protested before interrupting herself to think about it. She bit her lower lip.
"My mum is a nurse. We can take him to her."
Charlie wanted to point out that he had endangered them and their families enough and that they should just let it go but he simply couldn't find the strength to talk anymore.
"You sure?" Matteusz asked. He was clearly trying to hide the hope in his voice. It didn't work very well. Especially for Charlie.
Tanya nodded sharply.
"I'll call Ram and tell him to meet us outside. You can handle Charlie?"
"Of course."
"Matteusz…" The prince managed to say as Tanya left and his boyfriend shifted, clearly intending to carry him.
"Shut up love. You are not dying on me. You understand?"
Charlie could safely say he had never heard the boy in front of him speak like that. He clamped his mouth shut and just stared in his boyfriend's brown eyes.
He didn't know how long they stayed like this, eyes locked as the world faded against the strength of their connection.
"Good. Now brace yourself. You are going to be fine."
The rhodian prince really tried to keep his hold on consciousness but the moment Matteusz moved him pained flared up so bright that everything just faded to black before he had even the time to cry out.
"You're sure he's going to be alright?"
"Yes. My mum says he needs rest but the IV kept his fluids up and they managed to close the wound soon enough to avoid permanent damage. There will be a scar though."
"I'm sure someone will find it sexy." The teasing tone was obviously meant to be a joke but Charlie could hear no laughs as he slowly began to regain feeling.
"Ram!" The gentle rebuke sounded less like he was under water and for that the rhodian prince was grateful.
However, he still felt like he was floating around in a peaceful sea. Just like he had been doing on Rhodia when he needed calm and quiet.
He didn't know for how long he floated like that. Lost between Earth and Rhodia. Consciousness and dream.
Snippets of conversations and memories mixed up but never enough to keep his attention for long as he drifted aimlessly.
And then, after an unknown time, he felt a shift operate as he began to regain feeling of his true body.
He expected to feel pain but was relieved to feel only numbness. He was… Agreeable.
Next, he felt the warmth of a hand around his and against his side. Familiar and safe. Like the small gentle caress of a thumb against his skin.
He focused on that and slowly began what felt like climbing his way back to consciousness. Like he had done to prove his worth as a prince on Rhodia.
After some time, smell began registering. A clean, unfamiliar scent of chemicals. He had never smelled anything like that and fought not to wrinkle his nose.
He must have made some kind of movement, however, because the comforting warmth at his side suddenly disappeared just like the anchoring movement against his hand.
Fear and loneliness spiked in his gut and he struggled to try to find it again.
His heart picked up speed.
He needed the warmth.
"Charlie? Charlie, it's okay, I'm here. I'm here."
Warmth reappeared against the side of his face as the stroking began again, this time in his hair.
His heartbeat slowed.
He was not alone.
He was not lost.
"Come on Charlie, wake up for me."
A sigh followed, warm breath caressing the side of his face.
"Please Charlie... I need you."
Like hit by lightening, his mind suddenly provided him with a name and memories. He fought even harder to wake up.
Matteusz needed him.
The most important person in his life needed him.
He couldn't let him down.
He wouldn't let another person he cared about down.
He forced his eyes to open.
They did so. Slowly. He had to squint at the bright light that hit his retinas, blurring his vision.
For a moment, he stared incomprehensively at the white unknown ceiling.
But then the sound of sniffle against his ear reminded him that he had something to do.
"Ma-Matteusz."
His voice was nothing more than a low, raspy croak but it was enough to make the boy next to him freeze before jerking up, his face appearing in Charlie's eyesight.
It made the corner of the prince's mouth lift a bit. Even with red-rimmed and dark-shadowed eyes he was still easily the most beautiful person Charlie had ever seen.
Matteusz blinked at him, looking amazed and then he grinned.
"Charlie? Oh god! You're alright! I was so worried! Vivian said you would be fine but you wasn't waking up and I was just so worried..."
The boy rambled on and on his accent getting so thick that Charlie's muddled mind struggled to make sense. Ultimately he just stopped trying and reached out to take hold of Matteusz' wrist, rubbing the warm skin there.
It effectively shut his boyfriend up with a snap of his mouth.
They just stared at each other, feelings too numerous to be talked about at the time. Relief, fear, pain, regret, guilt but, most of all, love.
The prince could see how deeply Matteusz had been affected in the exhaustion lines marring his face and the tension of his muscles. It made his heart ache. He had never wanted for this to happen.
Slowly, he shifted to the side making the other boy straightened.
"You shouldn't…"
"Come here." Charlie interrupted, his voice made slightly stronger by his determination.
Still, Matteusz hesitated, he looked back at the room's door but the prince didn't relent, tugging gently on the limb he still held. The human's shoulders sagged as he turned back. Slowly, he sat up on the edge of Charlie's bed before very carefully lying down. Charlie sighed contently as his boyfriend familiar warmth settled against him. He tugged Matteusz' arm across his chest, forcing the bigger boy closer.
He felt a kiss in his hair and inhaled deeply, the scent of chemical clean replace by manly musk.
He wanted to stay like that forever, feeling content and loved but his prince training began kicking in.
"Matteusz?" He asked, hating to break the peaceful silence.
His boyfriend just hummed, his hand beginning to caress his chest slowly.
"The Cabinet…" His voice caught as his mind kept going over what could happen if Quill got her hands on it.
She could take his whole people, his whole culture captive.
"Ram got it before coming to take us to the hospital. He hid it but wouldn't tell us where."
Charlie wanted to shake his head. So he had to trust Ram the golden boy with his whole past?
He guessed it was better than the alternative.
"Quill?"
He felt Matteusz tense again at the name.
"We haven't seen her since."
His tone was colder than Charlie ever heard. He thought his boyfriend could be pretty scary if he wanted.
He had a few other questions he wanted to ask but none felt important enough to break the quiet. He let himself float again, simply enjoying the feeling of his boyfriend holding him close.
Enjoying the knowledge that they were both alive. Alive and together.
Despite truth and violence.
Gradually, he felt Matteusz relax next to him, breathing deepening and slowing.
In turn, Charlie closed his eyes, letting his worries fade away, breathing into Matteusz scent more deeply.
He wondered how he got lucky enough to have found such a wonderful boyfriend.
He knew it was just a temporary fix and that soon he would have to find Quill again and stop her. And all the potential alien threats.
But, for now, he just wanted a bit of rest and comfort.
He fell asleep with a small smile on his face.
None of the boys noticed the door to Charlie's room open sometime later.
So... How did you like this? Do not hesitate to leave a little review ;)