Chapter 23: Don't Leave Me

"Mor! Wait!" Amelia called, racing after her sister, who had shifted into a raven. It made sense that Morrigan was here since she was the Phantom Queen. Maybe she was trapped here and couldn't get out.

She followed the raven until she found herself in a manor. From that visit to France when she and Kelly were twelve—and she would never forget that trip—she recognized the architecture.

Looking around, she heard quiet crying coming from what seemed to be the closet. But when she opened it, there was nothing. However, being raised by witches meant she knew there was a secret door, and it only took a moment to find the button to open it.

She laid eyes on a crying, shirtless, bleeding boy, no older than fifteen, chained to the wall. His chocolate-colored hair, messier than Kelly's, was covering his eyes.

"Oh my god! Uh... Where's the—screw it." She grabbed the chains and ripped them off the wall. The boy looked up at her, and she saw he had violet-colored eyes much like her own. He was silent for a moment before he broke down. Amelia bent down beside him,

"Shh, you're okay, I've got you."

"I-I'm not okay," he shivered, "Everything hurts."

"I don't doubt it. Can you tell me how long you've been in here?"

"I don't know. A few days, maybe. Mama, please take me away from here, I don't want to be here anymore, I'm scared."

Deciding to brush off the 'Mama' and blame it on hysteria, she held him closer, "I'm going to get you out of here. It's gonna be okay."

The boy was then reduced to turquoise sparkles. She shrieked, then heard Morrigan's voice,

"The boy was no more than an illusion of something you do or will fear, as am I."

"Something I do or will fear? I've never seen that boy before, and I'm not afraid of you."

"You fear my death, which my presence symbolizes. As for the boy, you haven't seen him yet." Not-Morrigan started walking, "In this place, you may find what you're looking for, but at the cost of your mind. Those who are trapped here often go mad in the first year, but there is one safe place, I suppose, the beach."

"So we see illusions. Why are you telling me this if you're the same way?"

"Because the girl you know as Morrigan has connections here. That's all."

Amelia sighed, before her eyes widened, "Kels!" she then broke into a sprint, using her powers to go faster, hoping her best friend hadn't fallen victim to the illusions too.

...

To find is to lose and to lose it to find. Dorian had thought it meant losing his memory. But no, actually, it meant losing his mind as he began hallucinating.

"Can't run, can't stop, can't breathe, can't live, yet I can't die!" He screamed at nobody in particular, yet heard Chandra behind him, trying to explain that he needed to let this curse happen for the sake of her own happily ever after. He knew at this point that she wasn't real, but it was so much like how he viewed the pyromancer that the words still rang in his ears, "I'm not just a chess piece for you to play with for your own gain! I want to have a life without being insane, is that too much to ask? I'm sure there are plenty of villains willing to go ruin your day for you to ultimately triumph over."

Chandra vanished and was replaced by the faces of all the people he had killed, both unintentionally or otherwise. He cried out, falling to his knees at the feet of his mother, breaking down in tears. No matter how many times he reminded himself these weren't real, they seemed so lifelike that his brain wouldn't let him think rationally. Let alone continue on his quest down this goddamn corridor to find the stone and get out, breaking the curse and finally being free.

"Dorian! Snap out of it!" He then felt himself get shoved to the ground and found Amelia was on top of him. He knew she was real because they were making physical contact, and he tried to hide how terrified he had been moments ago.

"Uh, Mia, I'm gay, and you are in a good relationship." Amelia rolled off him and grabbed his hand, starting to run as she dragged his confused self along, "Kelly's in trouble!"

Hearing Kelly was in danger was enough to have Dorian picking up the pace, not caring about the strain on his legs to keep up with Amelia,

"Where is he?"

"I don't know, but I've looked where I saw him last and the tower around it, and I can't find him anywhere!"

"Kels!" He desperately called through the castle, "Where are you?!" He tried calling down their bond and got a scream in response. He wasn't able to tell from how quickly it was cut off, whether the noise was fear or not, but something clicked inside him, but something else snapped. He didn't know what it was, just that his body and soul knew the way.

He ran up a tower, hearing Amelia shout that she'd already checked there, and saw a mirror. He turned to her,

"Get the drone over here," he barked, "I want Harry to examine the mirror. Now!"

She pressed a button on the remote, and the drone flew over to them, scanning the mirror and beeping for a moment. After about five minutes, the little thing printed a piece of paper. Amelia waited for the paper to fall free, then read it.

"Alright, this thing is a rare magic mirror. It only answers to its owner and traps anyone else who touches it."

"Shit. Does Harry know who the owner is or who I have to kill to become the owner?"

"Uh..." she checked the note, "Only three of these things are known to exist, owner not included."

"Fuck!" He turned to the mirror, "Yo, mirror, who's your master?" The mirror was silent, and Dorian glared at it, biting his thumb nervously, his other hand playing with his scythe in pen form, panic seeping in as he clawed through his brain for an answer. His—friend was in danger, and it was all his fault.

He shook himself, trying to ignore the word he had almost thought. His main concern right now was saving Kelly from the mirror, because who knew what he was going through.

He then blinked at the clear answer staring him in the face: the stone. If someone wielded it, it made sense they'd be able to free Kelly.

However, that plan was hindered by the fact he didn't know where the damn gem was. The only hope he had of finding it was the idea that maybe the stones were attracted to each other. It was a long shot, but what other choice did he have when his friend and not-so-secret love was trapped in a goddamn looking glass?

He stormed off, ignoring Chandra, who had once again appeared next to him and was trying to convince him that he should accept the curse and become the villain she wanted him to be. A dark part of him laughed, and made a mental note to destroy her even if he broke the curse, and make sure she still didn't get that happy ending. Maybe that person he remembered seeing in her memories that he had killed was an accident or a crossfire kill, but now it was personal, and both Chandra and that girl would suffer. Adelina seemed decent, but she would have to pay too.

He clenched his fists as he reminded himself that bloodlust was the curse talking, and he couldn't actually go through with his desires to make her suffer as she made him suffer. If the curse was broken, he would try to forgive and know he would do the same if Kelly had been the one to die.

On the bright side, his war with himself was enough to distract him from the illusions meant to torment him, calling out with his power over the peridot for this other gem, hopefully, tanzanite.

He found himself in what seemed to be in a domed part of the castle, which was mostly water, and at the very center was a small black platform, with a glowing turquoise gem. Definitely not tanzanite, which had a more indigo color.

He choked on a sob as his hopes of being free from the curse were dashed. But he still needed the stone to free Kelly. It still hurt painfully, knowing he really did have to die to protect everyone, and that this journey had been for nothing.

He looked down at the black waters, likely housing some unspeakable horror to guard this gem. If only he had wings, then getting over there would be easy. But this was clearly a test, and he didn't need his stone powers to grab it.

He extended his arm to grab the stone from that distance away, screaming as he felt the power transfer to him, it was like when Regina had him consume that soul, only multiplying that feeling by a thousand.

Dorian felt his hand let go and saw the gem was reduced to a small pebble floating there.

He looked down at his hands, seeing his flames had a black highlight to them, making them look almost tainted. He sighed and went back to the mirror, only to find Amelia was there, sitting with a very much free Kelly, who grinned and waved.

"Kelly!?" Dorian ran over, "You're free!"

"Yeah, all I had to do was defeat the man in the mirror, and I dominated that bitch."

Dorian would not deny he wanted to see that and was a little turned on.

"Well... we can go home now... I-It was pointless to come here. The stone was some sort of moon opal. I don't know what power it gave me, but I took it to save you from the mirror. I thought I needed the power to free you, not just have you beat the hell out of the guy in the mirror."

"I am pretty awesome when the glaring weakness that is this scar," he held up his hand with the mark to prove a point, "Isn't in my way. But maybe you can ask the mirror something. But judging by the way that the dude was talking when we fought, I think you need to speak in rhyme."

"In rhyme?" He walked up to the mirror, running a hand along the glass, and feeling it hum pleasantly in response, "Mirror Mirror on the wall..." he faltered when he realized he didn't have a rhyme for the question he wanted to ask. He shied away, turning back to Kelly, only to see the mirror shrunk into a small handmirror which could be easily transported.

He debated leaving it because returning to the Realm of Light would be his isolation and death. He looked towards Kelly, who seemed to have realized the same thing.

"Well... I guess it's time to go." He gasped a little when he saw Kelly holding his hand before hugging him tightly.

Amelia sighed, "Come on, I'll tell Harry this didn't work."

OoOoO

Dorian tried to make himself some dinner, a last meal of the sort. Harrison had thought this would work, so he hadn't built something strong enough to contain someone of Dorian's power.

While it only felt like a couple hours for the team, it had actually been almost two days. At least it was still Kelly and Amelia's birthday, so they could celebrate as friends.

He jumped a little when he heard a thunderclap outside, sighing at the emptiness of the apartment since Alexandrina was staying at the mansion tonight. Didn't want her getting attached to a dead man walking.

He didn't realize he was crying until his legs gave out under him, landing his hand directly on the stove and into the flame. He yelped, looking at the burns that had appeared.

Then he heard a knock on the door, "Dorian?" Was that...Kelly?

He winced at his burned hand, turning off the stove and wiping his eyes—accidentally getting his salty tears on the injury, and that hurt badly.

Sure enough, Kelly was outside, soaked to the bone and shivering a little, his untidy hair was plastered to his face. He also noticed Kelly's eyes were glassy like he, too, was about to cry.

"Kels? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be celebrating your eighteenth birthday with your friends?"

"I'm here, aren't I? You're..." Kelly sighed, "Maki told me not to come, that I should leave you to your brooding, but I just felt I had to see you." He handed him the mirror, "Oh, you left this at the mansion."

Dorian took it, gazing down at the looking glass, "I don't see why that matters, I'm going to be trapped tomorrow anyway." His eyes widened as he realized Kelly was still standing in the rain and hadn't invited himself in. He grabbed Kelly's wrist and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him. He grabbed a blanket out of the dryer and wrapped it around Kelly, "How long were you out there?"

"Well... I walked here, so about a half-hour?" Dorian had forgotten Kelly didn't know how to drive. Either Harrison's butler drove them all places, or he chose to walk—usually the latter.

"Good lord, Kels, you didn't need to do that. It's pouring outside. You look freezing."

"To be honest, I am." He admitted.

"Er…dry. We need to get you dry. You need to get dry." Dorian fumbled with his words. "Because you're wet." He added without thinking, then blushed. He hurriedly added, "I mean, your clothes are wet… Take your clothes off."

"At least buy me dinner first." Kelly returned cheekily on instinct, turning to see a very flushed, very frantic Dorian mumbling in front of him. He couldn't help but chuckle again, already feeling better," Okay, okay." He conceded, voice still light and teasing. "I'll strip." He winked playfully.

Dorian tried so very hard not to let his mind wander on that thought, but he didn't have long, however, to ponder, because suddenly Kelly was gripping the bottom of his dripping shirt and tugging it over his head. Dorian's vision was filled with smooth, milky skin, stretched over a perfect, tight framework. And suddenly he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think he couldn't do anything apart from stare at this masterpiece of flesh before him.

Then Kelly looked up. And their eyes met. And Dorian swore he was flying. But then he coughed, and Dorian landed with a bump, eyes widening and breath hitching.

"Erm." Kelly pronounced hesitantly. "Do you have anything that I could put on?"

Dorian nodded jerkily. "Of course. Over here." He jolted over to the dresser and started rummaging through it for a shirt. "They might be a bit big, but I'm sure we can find something…" he spun back around abruptly, and practically toppled Kelly standing right behind him.

On instinct, Dorian reached out to catch him, forgetting that Kelly wasn't wearing anything other than his boxers. His hands made contact with an ice-cold waist, steading him, before immediately letting go in shock.

"Gods, Kels, you're absolutely frozen!"

Kelly shrugged, planning to disregard it and shrug it off, but didn't get a chance to speak before Dorian did again, hands splayed against his hips.

"Here, take my shirt. It will be warmer than one from the dresser…and comfier too." He insisted, mouth speaking before his mind even considered the words. His body was apparently a traitor, too, because it started shrugging off his top and pulling it over Kelly.

Kelly began to object, but the second the soft, toasty fabric brushed over his body, he was too grateful for the comfort and warmth it provided, he couldn't say no. Seeing as this was baggy on Dorian, and Kelly was a little bit smaller than him, it was far too big for him; sleeves hanging over his hands, the hem dangling mid-thigh. But in some ways, that just made him like it even more. The feeling of being engulfed by Dorian, surrounded by his heat, his smell, it was…surprisingly nice.

Dorian's mind only seemed to come back to itself by the time Kelly was clothed in his too-big garment. And even them, it could focus merely on the way he looked, shrouded by the hanging fabric. It made him seem even smaller, emphasizing their slight size difference. But it also gave him a protective desire over Kelly. The need to pull him closer practically overwhelmed his misty mind.

He forced himself to snap out of it.

"So…" he asked instead. "Why did you come here? Is there something wrong?"

"As I said," Kelly replied, "I had to see you. In that mirror... I saw some things, and it really put things in perspective for me." He looked up, "I don't want you to go."

Dorian sat down, and his mind cleared as they got back to a more serious topic, "Kels, you know I have to. It's for the good of the multiverse."

"Dorian, we're barely adults, there has to be another way—"

"We've been saying that for a year. Clearly, there is nothing we can do. By the time we find tanzanite—if it even exists—I'm going to be long gone. Face it, my life was taken from me the moment the curse entered my heart! I already made Harrison and Amelia promise to do it, no matter what you or I say later."

"Oh? So you don't care what I think about this?"

"Of course I do, but if I hear you begging, I don't know what I'd do." He gasped quietly when he felt Kelly grab both his wrists and hold them up, hesitating when he saw the burns on his hand. He sighed and grabbed the first aid kit, using some cold water on the injuries, before lightly wrapping them.

"Dorian, I care about you... you're my other half, and I think you've known that longer than I have. But I have known for a while, whether I processed it or not, that you're more than a friend to me, and I feel secure when you're around. I didn't think I'd actually ha-have to lose you."

Damnit, Kelly! Why now? Of course, that mirror of truth and a confession in the face of my death put things in perspective. Couldn't this have been like a week ago? Because now I am in front of the one I want more than anything.

And he knew through their bond that Kelly was genuine, this wasn't a trick to make him reconsider. Actually, it was much more likely that Kelly was going to mind control some people if it came to that, and the fact he could be willing to do that was kind of hot.

"Are you saying you love me?" He had two fingers under Kelly's chin, moving his lips closer to Kelly's, not kissing him, but making it clear that he wouldn't say no.

He certainly didn't expect Kelly to sit in his lap, smiling, "I don't know, but I know I don't want to lose you. I want to be with you."

"But I thought you said you weren't—"

"Ready? Maybe I'm not, I honestly don't know. This is all a confusing mess. But clarity is generally a slap in the face, not a gradual thing." Dorian chuckled,

"You're right." Gently, he took Kelly's arm. Kelly shivered with the contact.

"You like that, hm?"

Without thinking, Kelly nodded.

Dorian grinned.

Keeping eye contact with Kelly the whole time, he brought Kelly's forearm up to his mouth, planting tiny kisses on the ivory skin. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn't be doing this.

Either way, he no longer cared as Kelly's eyes rolled back in his head, and his mouth dropped open.

Smirking again, he moved his kisses further up Kelly's arm, traveling up to his shoulder, then his neck. He sucked a little there, eliciting the smallest of whimpers from Kelly, before moving up to his jaw. Then finally, his mouth.

He wasn't sure which one of them groaned. It could have easily been him. Their lips, together, were just…electrifying. Kelly's mouth was warm and surprisingly strong, pressing back against his own with a sense of urgency, desperation, want, need, fire. His hands grabbed at Kelly's back, his waist, his hips pulling him in, needing him closer. Kelly's arms found their way around Dorian's neck, sliding up into his hair, tugging it slightly…It was definitely him moaning now. It was like he was floating, but being compressed, and on fire, but freezing cold, and every single, little nerve in his body was alight and dancing and shouting and screaming, and he was purely… alive. This was right. This was amazing.

But then, as all good things do. It ended.

They broke apart, gasping for breath, hearts pounding, minds racing. Bodies aching for more.

Their eyes met. They both blushed, averting their gazes.

What does one do in this situation? Where you've accidentally just made out with a very close friend?

Apparently, coughing and scratching your neck is the thing. Because they both did it simultaneously. Before making yet more awkward eye contact.

Do you apologize? Do you say thank you?

"Erm…" he began.

"I'm sorry…" Kelly half-gasped.

"No" Dorian protested. But then he noticed there was a flame in Kelly's eyes that he had never seen before. This time Kelly was the one to learn in, brushing their lips together, which ignited a wildfire within Dorian, proven by the fact he legit burst into flames.

Only Kelly would stare at a flaming man and not run away, instead smirk before wrapping his arms around Dorian's neck and resting them there. He'd denied himself from doing this for months now. Day after day of low-key flirting. Sexual tension piling up with every glance, but both had been too oblivious to notice. Enough was enough. He met his and Dorian's lips together again.

...

He could feel Dorian's shock, and he once again melted into the contact as his hands found their way back to Kelly's hips.

"What are we doing?" Kelly whispered, feeling a hand at his low back. The flames engulphed them both now, but neither was bothered or even felt it, though Kelly used his own power to create a barrier around the apartment, to ensure the fire didn't spread.

"Honestly, I have no idea."

"Are we really doing this?" Kelly shuddered, smiling a little, "I mean, to be fair, boyfriend sounds nice, but a potential supreme enemy you can make out with sometimes in secret sounds much more hardcore." He yelped as he felt hands tugging at his hair,

"Oh, Kelly, I can never be your enemy. No matter what happens, I know I will always love you."

Kelly pressed his forehead against Dorian's, unintentionally dripping water on him, "Then don't go. Don't leave me." His lip quivered, as logic and emotion battled for dominance. For the sake of the multiverse, it was smart for Dorian to be locked up. But after giving up so much, including his life at one point, couldn't Kelly afford to be selfish for a little bit? Just until they knew what to do.

"I can't... please understand." Their eyes met, and Kelly brushed away a tear from Dorian's eyes, "Can we just... enjoy tonight?"

Kelly forced a smile on, needing to hide the tremor that shook his body, "Y-Yeah. I'll just convince you in the morning." But those words were mostly for himself than anything, and Dorian knew this.

"Are you sure you want this?" Kelly nodded through tears,

"I-I know I do."