Dependance

Written for SureMiku Week 2016. This is day 2: Earth, growth, stubbornness.

General Audiences - "This content is suitable for anyone: kids, teenagers and sensitive people."

M/M

Disclaimer: The characters and universe of this story do not belong to me.

At fourteen years old, Sorey and Mikleo had both fallen in love with ancient archaeology and adventure. That morning one would be able to find Sorey underground, inside the walls of old stone of another unnamed ruin. He was standing in front of a stone wall carved with a myriad of symbols, patterns and drawings of heroic scenes. His posture was one of concentrated pensiveness, with one arm crossed in front of his chest holding the other by the elbow as his hand rested on his chin. His green eyes were focused on one particular square stone that, to his trained eye, seemed somehow out of place. He extended one hand towards that stone, intent on touching it to see if it would yield or do something, when all of a sudden a voice spoke behind him, making him jump and almost fall on his bottom. Startled he turned around to face Mikleo.

'You startled me!'

Mikleo grinned deviously with his hands on his hips.

'I found something on the other side of that mural you found yesterday!' the young seraph announced proudly. 'I win.'

Sorey also grinned at him. 'I wouldn't be so sure about that. Look here.'

Mikleo's expression turned to one of pure interest as he approached the stone Sorey had been staring at.

'You're right. This pattern doesn't match the rest of the wall.'

'Right?' Sorey concurred. 'I was thinking that it might me a switch to open a door?'

'Or it could be a trap.' Mikleo said. 'I've lost count of how many of those we already fell on.'

Sorey scratched the side of his head. 'Right…so we leave that for latter.'

They looked at each other for a moment and smiled. Sorey's heart raced inside his chest like it usually did when Mikleo smiled at him and that made him blush. Mikleo also blushed thanks to the tenderness he was being stared at with.

Sorey had asked Gramps what these new feelings meant, but the old man had only exhaled a puff of smoke his way and explained him what puberty was, how it affected his body and how it would make him feel things that weren't real. When he asked if Mikleo would go through that too, Gramps just said that the white haired seraph was different, somehow. By the vague answer Sorey deduced there was more to it but he already knew there was no point to press the issue. The books he read didn't mention seraphim had such a thing as puberty at all, either.

'Let's check out what you found out!' Sorey suggested excitedly, forgetting his previous anxiety in favour of those warm feelings he'd labelled tenderness.

They turned towards the entrance that would lead them away from there, but before they could make it, Mikleo stepped on a small stone on the floor that yielded under his weight. He looked at Sorey's confused face with apprehension, the "uh oh…" that never left their lips hanging huge in the air. Seconds after, a heavy stone wall slid down from the ceiling of the entrance, falling with a heavy slam on the floor, scattering dust everywhere inside the room and obscuring the torches that kept it alight.

After a prolonged coughing fit, Mikleo and Sorey looked at each other with tears in the corner of their eyes.

'We fell on one anyway, Mikleo…' Sorey commented.

Mikleo felt the urge to face palm because yes, as lame as it sounded, they did indeed fall into a trap. Before he could retort however, Mikleo saw almost in slow motion as Sorey fell to his knees, calling out his name.

'Sorey!' he kneeled next to Sorey and put a hand on his shoulder.

'I can't…breathe…' Sorey wheezed out as he clawed at his neck. 'The dust…'

'Sorey! Hang on!' Mikleo exclaimed. Sorey kept gasping for air and calling out his name, each time with increased difficulty and a very scared look on his face that mirrored Mikleo's own.

Mikleo looked around the room for a way to open the exit. There was no way he was going to be able to help the brunette while stuck inside a ruin. And he didn't really want to think about it, but Sorey wouldn't be able to breathe at all very soon.

His frantic brain provided no solution whatsoever though and he started to feel panic clouding his judgement. His heart was on his throat with fear and tears blurred his vision. 'What do I do, Sorey?'

Sorey exhaled Mikleo's name once again, but this time he grabbed his wrist to get his attention. Mikleo looked at him with wide scared eyes, expectant. Sorey let go of his hand and pointed at the odd stone on the wall that he had found. His arm was shaking vigorously.

'That could be another trap, Sorey!' Mikleo blurted.

'Worse…than this?' Sorey managed to rasp before he doubled over, his forehead hitting the ground and his gasping increasing.

Mikleo hugged his shoulders in desperation, crying out his name.

'Okay…okay.' He repeated. 'It really can't get any worse than this…'

The white haired seraph stood up reluctantly looking at Sorey with infinite concern then ran to the odd stone and all but punched it into the wall. As soon as he did the room started shaking, more dust falling from the ceiling and scattering around them. Mikleo cried out Sorey's name again and ran back to his side. The brunette was no longer breathing. He was clawing at his throat instead, scratching the skin and leaving it raw. The ceiling started to fall down in large rocks that disintegrated into dust as they hit the floor. Sorey's eyes rolled back and Mikleo instinctively covered his mouth with his. He pinched his nose and blew in air.

The dust covered them both as the room disintegrated, the sheer amount of it extinguishing the fire of the torches before they hit the ground at their knees. Mikleo and Sorey were covered in dust, brown coloured wreckage under the sunshine, in between grey stone walls and pillars. Mikleo was holding Sorey close to his body with one arm, his other hand still pinching Sorey's nose and his mouth firmly plastered around Sorey's lips, sealing his airways from the dust. Sorey's body was limp and heavy against him and his eyes were closed, but when the dangerous particles settled and he removed himself from Sorey, Mikleo was infinitely relieved that the brunette was still breathing, albeit with immense difficulty.

'C'mon, Sorey. I'm gonna get you to Gramps, now. You'll be fine!' Mikleo reassured him as he lifted him onto his back and walked up the forest as quick as he possibly could force his legs to move. 'Hang on, Sorey!'

Zenrus was smoking his pipe while reading one of his books when his door was kicked open, startling him. His eyes widened underneath his bushy eyebrows at the teenager responsible for the disturbance. Mikleo was leaning against the doorframe with his hand, huffing and panting, drenched in sweat, with Sorey thrown on his back, unconscious and both caked in brown dust. His legs were trembling and his face was red with the effort.

The old man ran immediately to their aid, laying Sorey on the floor and examining him. Mikleo leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, watching wide eyed as Gamps worked on Sorey with his artes.

'Explain.' Zenrus demanded, but Mikleo didn't dare speak. His gaze was fixed on Sorey, the tear trails were thick on his dirty, dirty face and his body quacked violently.

It took Zenrus a great deal of strength to be able to help Sorey. The teenager slept while recovering next to the fire pit, breathing significantly better and improving by the minute. Meanwhile, Mikleo was still sitting next to the wall, staring at Sorey as he slept, counting the times he breathed in and out. He wasn't shaking anymore, but he was hugging his knees tightly to his chest, his eyes were red and puffy from crying, a tear or two were still coming down the beaten trails of tears on his face and his heart rate seemed impossible to calm.

Zenrus exhaled another puff of smoke before sitting in front of the white haired seraph. Mikleo tipped his head to the side to be able to keep Sorey in his field of vision, as if the other teen would stop breathing if he stopped counting his breaths. Zenrus understood Mikleo's anxiety. They were close. Closer than he could imagine and while that was a wonderful thing, it could also be dangerous if they didn't understand their feelings properly. They needed to know this. He looked at the sleeping teenager, imagining the conversation he planned on having with them both and immediately decided that they would be fine.

Hours later not even Mikleo as a seraph could have avoided falling asleep. There was no danger however as Zenrus watched both him and Sorey lovingly, just as he's always done, since the day they arrived to his life.

Seven days, five hours and twenty seven minutes after he woke up at Gramps' place, wrapped up in a blanket and nothing else, found Sorey sitting on the steps of his house, bored and pulling at the grass on the ground. He had slept two days straight before waking up feeling as if he'd been hit by a Highland goat. Not to mention his raw throat. And a distinctive lack of Mikleo. The young seraph was the reason he was so bored. Because it has been nine days, five hours and twenty eight minutes since he last saw his best friend. Gramps lectured him about safety inside ruins and awareness and also about his proximity to Mikleo, whatever that may mean. Sorey was convinced Mikleo was avoiding him because of a similar lecture, so in order to be able to tell the other he didn't care for "consequences" he'd been sitting on the steps to their shared accommodation for hours. Mikleo had to come back at some point, right?

Sorey sighed in his boredom, resting his head on his hand and pulling at the grass. His sigh attracted the attention of a seraph that was passing by, Lawrence.

'What's got you sighing like that, Sorey?' the seraph asked.

Sorey sighed once more as Lawrence sat down next to him.

'Mikleo.'

Lawrence raised an eyebrow in surprise at the answer.

'Ah! So you two have already figured it out?'

'Figured out what?' Sorey asked. 'Did Gramps tell you what happened?'

'Ah…ups.' Lawrence said as he scratched the back of his head. 'Maybe I shouldn't have said that.'

'Why?' Sorey asked eager for some answers. 'I've been thinking about Mikleo and what Gramps said for an entire week and I still don't get it! Did Mikleo talk to you?' Sorey pressed.

'No…'Lawrence answered feeling more and more like he shouldn't have said anything. 'Listen Sorey, this really is something you guys have to figure out yourselves. I don't know what Lord Zenrus said to you, but I am sure I am not supposed to tell you the answer.'

Sorey sighed again, dejected. 'I guess you're right…'

This time Lawrence sighed with him, but in relief that he wasn't being pressured any longer. That was close!

They sat in silence for a while, pulling at the grass on the ground and just watching nature. Nearby seraphim were walking about in their lives, some waving at them, sometimes stopping by. Sorey watched as a seraph by the name of Shiron approached a young maiden and very shyly presented her with a purple flower. The woman smiled, blushed, accepted the flower and smelled it. Then she looked at Shiron, stood on her tiptoes and planted a shy peck on the corner of his lips.

Oh.

Sorey sat up straight as he watched both seraphim walk away holding hands with the happiest expressions anyone could wear on their faces.

Oh.

'Say Lawrence…'Sorey started and waited for Lawrence to hum his acknowledgement. 'What are they doing?'

Lawrence looked in the same direction as Sorey and spluttered loudly.

'Oh, boy…'

Mikleo was fine. He was walking through the forest right back to Elysia from a trip to hunt pickleboars, dragging his catch through the floor due to the weight being too much. Maybe two boars was a bit excessive? Sorey'll eat the rest, for sure!

He was just fine. Gramps had been worried they were growing a bit too close, too dependent. Well, Mikleo was just proving him wrong. He had been spending most of his time with the other seraphim, hunting and practicing his artes, coming home only to sleep and only when Sorey was already asleep. He didn't need Sorey. He loved spending time with him and exploring ruins with him and just him…but he wasn't dependent, not at all!

Mikleo was fine, yes, but he was also bored to death. Without Sorey he couldn't go exploring ruins, not just because it wasn't fun, but because it could be dangerous to go on his own. Also, without Sorey he couldn't spar and improve his martial artes. He'd ended up cooking too much food and leaving leftovers for Sorey to eat and sleeping alone was proving to be quite uncomfortable and cold.

'What the hell am I doing?' he muttered to himself.

'I could ask you the same thing, Mikleo.' Sorey said from right behind him.

Mikleo turned around to face him, startled. 'Sorey! What are you doing here?'

Sorey picked up one of the pickleboars Mikleo had been carrying and hoisted it onto his shoulder with a grunt. 'I asked everyone in the village where you went and decided to come and help. It's unfair to let you cook all the time and not pitch in, isn't it?'

Mikleo groaned in defeat when the only thing he felt was happiness instead of annoyance at being found. Maybe I wasn't so fine.

'Gramps talked to you as well, didn't he?'

'Yup!' Sorey answered as they both walked back to the village. 'Something about being dependent on you…'

Mikleo waited for Sorey to elaborate, watching his face for signs of distress or pensiveness, but nothing showed that the brunette was at all affected by the conversation, so he asked.

'Well, it's obvious isn't it?' Sorey argued. 'We're dependent on each other!'

'Wh-what?!' Mikleo was positively shocked. 'It doesn't bother you?'

'Well…nobody can live entirely on their own.' Explained Sorey. 'For example, we depend on pickleboars for food and on each other for company. The entire village depends on Gramps for protection and Gramps depends on the village for help. I depend on you for cooking, cutting my hair…'

'Keeping you alive.' Mikleo added, already understanding Sorey's thought process.

Sorey laughed mirthlessly in embarrassment, but didn't correct Mikleo. It was true after all.

'And I depend on you to help me hunt, to light fires, to explore the ruins and because you are my best friend.' Mikleo concluded in agreement with Sorey's argument. 'But, I think Gramps was referring to something else, Sorey.'

'I know.'

'You know?' Mikleo was surprised since he hadn't figured out this one on his own. He adjusted the pickleboar on his shoulder.

'Yeah…you know Shiron?' Sorey asked. Mikleo hummed positively. 'I saw him asking a girl out today.'

Mikleo hummed again, now confused. How did Shiron fit into their particular dependence on each other?

Oh.

Mikleo's eyes widened and he stopped walking, looking at Sorey. His heart beat accelerated on his chest and his face lit up with a blush. 'Sorey, you don't mean…?'

Sorey also stopped walking and turned to face Mikleo with a confident façade that was betrayed by his nervousness and embarrassment with a bright blush. He could hear his blood flowing on his ears above the thundering noise of his heart.

'Well, I didn't know what this meant at first and Lawrence wouldn't tell me, but…Shiron was looking at his girlfriend the same way I feel I look at you.' Sorey confessed. 'Lawrence said that when one is in love with someone, they can't stop thinking of them and when they do, they only think good things. They want only what's best for that person and want to protect them at all costs. They blush a lot and feel funny inside and never want to be apart. And…this is how I feel about you, Mikleo. I want to stay with you forever.'

Mikleo was positively speechless. Sorey was confessing his love for him. Him of all people! A look at the brunette's face told him he was being dead serious too…he didn't know that these feelings were love! When Sorey couldn't breathe and Mikleo saved him, Mikleo though Sorey would die. He couldn't imagine a life where Sorey didn't exist, where the brunette died and left him alone with a gaping hole in the place where he belonged, right by my side. Such a notion was all but impossible to him…

Dependent.

'Well, I guess you have to think about…'

'I was very lonely.' Mikleo interrupted Sorey as he turned back to the village. 'When I was avoiding you. I thought we needed some space because of what Gramps said, but…'

Dependent.

'…I felt like something was missing.'

Sorey kept quiet as Mikleo spoke, his thoughts coming together were visible on his face. 'I want to be with you forever too.'

The grin that split Sorey's face in two was one of pure happiness. His heart leaped while Mikleo's soared and while the white haired seraph hid his very bright blush and his very happy smile behind his hair, Sorey laughed in fondness, grabbing the other's free hand in his and marching towards the village.

'Well, forever it is!' Sorey exclaimed. Then his stomach growled. 'Forever is a very long time, though. I don't think I will be able to survive it without food!'

Mikleo smiled and raised his face, his purple eyes meeting brilliant emerald. 'Let's cook these, then.'

Inside his house the old seraph Zenrus smiled around his pipe and exhaled a puff of smoke. He was happy for his children and even though he knew they'd have to face many difficulties ahead, he was sure they'd be just fine together.

Children sure grow up fast, huh?

ON THE TAGS: #sormikweek2016