Disclaimer: I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to C. S. Lewis and Walden Media.
Author's Note: Well, well! Here's the next three installments of my not-drabble drabbles and I hope you enjoy them thoroughly. These three drabbles are a continuation of "Sickness" and "Health," and they take place about three hours after "Health." They give a little more background about what happened to make Edmund change so much. Kudos to Berserker Nightwitch for figuring out that these drabbles tie-in with All Things Have Their Time ::grins::. Anyone who likes my stories, go and explore her deviantART profile (yoru-magi)—she's done some wonderful fanart for a few of my stories, including this one!
Reviewers: All 250 of you, thank you! Please enjoy this next chapter!
Rating: T/M (for some highly upset older brothers)
.:Pinpoints of Light:.
By Sentimental Star
Chapter XXVI
51. Revelation (1)
Three hours later, two stunned kings emerge from Mrs. Kurt's office, their minds whirling.
"The Lady Polly," Peter finally breathes when they are alone and heading back down the corridor. Turning to his brother, blue eyes fairly blazing, he exclaims breathlessly, "Aslan, Ed, do you realize…?"
Edmund smirks, gently patting the older boy on his head. "Yes, Pete, it was real, but we already knew that."
"No! I mean, of course it was real, but-"
Edmund laughs. "Peter, we figured that out already, too. The Professor practically told us himself!"
Crossing his arms over his chest, Peter scowls, pouting childishly. "Well, there's one thing I haven't figured out, yet."
Amused by his older brother's display, Edmund raises a dark eyebrow. "And what might that be, my liege?"
Peter stops so abruptly that Edmund overshoots him by three feet and has to backtrack. "Pete?" he asks, jerking around and very nearly panicking (he still isn't entirely sure Peter is really as healthy as he seems).
His older brother snorts softly, reaching up to curl his hand around Edmund's cheek. "Calm down, you git. I'm fine." He strokes his brother's cheek with his thumb and suddenly leans down, seriously meeting the thirteen-year-old's eyes.
"Peter?" there is an odd note to his younger brother's voice as Edmund wraps his hand around the older boy's.
A thousand emotions fill Peter's face. "Ed, just tell me one thing…"
Unable to speak for the lump in his throat, Edmund nods.
"How on earth could I have been the one who taught you how to love."
He snorts thickly. "Just by being you, Pete…"
52. Revelation (2)
(Seventeen Years Ago by Narnian Reckoning)
He expects the tears. He does not expect the tirade:
"Do you have any idea what you've put me through these past few days?" his brother's voice is tight and a demand. "How worried I was? How much you scared me? You had hypothermia, Edmund! Your body was ice cold by the time we found you and your skin was so bloody blue that for a minute I thought you were dead! You could have died if we hadn't found you when we did! Then you wouldn't wake up no matter how much I warmed you up…! You didn't even start shivering until three hours later! Honestly, Ed, were you thinking at all…?"
Bewildered, Edmund leans back into the pillows propped behind him and lets Peter continue his rant uninterrupted. He is a little more preoccupied with the warm feeling coursing through his veins and coiling in his stomach.
Despite his older brother's clear ire, and despite the fact that most of that ire is directed at him, Edmund can only think, with a hazy sort of joy, how wonderful his brother is.
"…Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"
What does he have to say for himself? What can he say?
"I love you."
Peter's jaw unhinges. "What?" he breathes, any anger (and color) draining from his face.
"I love you," Edmund repeats, maybe a little bit in awe of what he is saying himself, "with all that I am and with all of my heart."
Overwhelmed, Peter promptly stumbles backward and sits on the floor, staring up at Edmund with wide, uncomprehending eyes.
As his brother continues to stare at him in mute shock, Edmund grows afraid he has broken him. "Pete?" he asks cautiously, twisting to lean over and gently brush away Peter's golden bangs with his fingers.
Thirty seconds later, Peter drops his head in his hands…and starts to cry.
Alarmed, Edmund immediately rolls off the bed, falling rather gracelessly half-into and half-out-of his older brother's lap.
Clumsily, Edmund fumbles to wrap his arms around Peter as the fourteen-year-old begins openly weeping.
IOIOIOIOIOI
By the time his older brother is through, Edmund's right shoulder is thoroughly drenched and he is barely able to breathe for the tight grip Peter has on his ribs.
"P-Peter?" he finally manages to gasp out. "By Aslan, wha-what…what did I…?"
Peter sucks in a sharp breath. "I love you, too," he hastily interrupts, voice trembling. He sucks in another sharp breath and releases a sob. "I love you, too."
Baffled and worried, Edmund can only sit there, holding Peter, as his brother proceeds to drench his other shoulder.
53. Revelation (3)
(Present Time)
"…Of course, it had been building up for quite a while by then. Granted, that was the first time I had ever told you I loved you, but I meant it more than I had ever meant anything before." Edmund breathes in shakily. "I know I don't say it nearly as often as I probably should, but that doesn't make it any less meaningful. Those words…they're special; they're powerful—and I don't want to say them unless it's a special moment. That was a special moment, Peter. I finally understood that, regardless of whatever I had done or whatever sins I had committed, you still loved me unconditionally. And I wanted you to understand that I could finally admit to feeling the same way."
Quiet descends around the two kings once Edmund finishes. Peter has gone silent and pale at the memory, and Edmund anxiously studies his face, worried when his brother does not respond. "Pete…? Won't you say something?"
His brother finally chuckles thickly, bringing up both his hands to cradle Edmund's face. "There's not much I can say to that, Ed, except thank Aslan for you."
Edmund blushes, hiding the color of his cheek against Peter's skin. "You're welcome, Peter," he whispers.
End Chapter