April 20, 1943
Douxie helped Carter to his feet, letting Carter lean on him for support. They staggered away from the abandoned battlefield, picking up speed slowly. They needed to get away from here and fast. Douxie needed to get Carter far away from this godsforsaken war. He needed to keep him safe.
"Oh, by the way." Carter said in between gasping breaths, clinging to Douxie a little tighter. "I met my dad."
Douxie stumbled, nearly falling face first onto the ground. "You what?"
"Yep." He wheezed. "He… he brought me back." Carter took in a gulping breath, chest rattling. "And gave me immortality."
Douxie did stop, looking at him with wide eyes. "You… he what?"
Carter nodded, gripping his knees. His chest was tight and he felt like he was going to throw up. "He let me come back to you."
Douxie opened his mouth to say something when Carter started coughing. It was a painful sounding, wheezing cough. "Love?" He said cautiously, putting a hand on his back as Carter attempted to straighten up. "Are you okay?"
"Peachy." Carter wiped his nose and Douxie's eyes widened at the blood that smeared across his wrist. "Let's keep going."
"Woah, hang on." Douxie grabbed his arm. "Are you bleeding?"
"Just a little bit." Carter pulled out of his grip. "I'm fine."
Douxie wanted to argue, but Carter was stubborn. He sighed, "Alright, fine."
They started walking again, but they hadn't taken more than a few steps before Carter staggered and he fell sideways. Douxie caught him quickly, hoisting him into his arms bridal style. Carter was pale, blood trickling from his nose slowly. He was fighting hard to stay awake, but he was fading.
"I've got you, Sunshine." Douxie said softly. "I've got you. It's okay."
"Doux…" Carter gasped, head lolling against his chest. "Sorry…"
"It's okay." Douxie said again. "I'm going to keep you safe, darling. Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise."
"I love you." He murmured.
"I love you too, Sunshine."
April 23, 1943
Carter jolted awake, surprised to find that he was laying in a warm bed, a soft blanket covering him. He sat up slowly, grimacing at the slight pain he felt in his ribs. There was a dull ringing in his ears, but he was able to ignore it for the most part. "Doux-" he tried to speak but his voice was hoarse and raspy from disuse. How long had he been asleep? "Douxie?"
He coughed weakly into his fist, sliding his legs off the bed. He staggered to his feet, leaning on the wall for support. As he walked, he noticed the squeaking wood floorboards and the old timey feel to the building he was in. It must've been some old sort of cabin or something. He stumbled to the door, opening it quietly. The last thing he remembered was passing out in Douxie's arms, and he wasn't sure what exactly was going on. So he needed to be cautious.
He made his way down the hallway slowly, hearing low voices coming from what he assumed was the kitchen. He peeked his head around the wall, smiling and relaxing when he saw Douxie sitting at a wooden table, head buried in his hands. Archie was sitting next to him on the table, speaking to him softly.
"Hey there, Blue."
Douxie's head snapped up and the smile that spread across his face was worth every single shitty thing that had ever happened to Carter. He jumped up and ran to him, sweeping him into a hug.
"You're awake!" He laughed gleefully, spinning his partner around before setting him back on the ground, grinning at him. He studied his face for a moment, smile growing fonder as he cupped his face, thumbs rubbing against his cheeks. "Gods… I was so worried about you, love."
Carter leaned into his gentle touch. "How long was I out?"
Douxie pursed his lips. "Almost three days." He sighed. "I was scared, Sunshine. I was so scared."
"Hey," Carter's smile made Douxie's heart flutter wildly in his chest. "I'm okay now, Doux. I'm okay."
"Are you absolutely certain?" Douxie asked, eyes flickering to his lips for a split second.
Carter nodded, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Positive."
Douxie drew him in fast, pressing their lips together. Carter smiled into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Douxie's waist to bring him closer. They parted after a minute or so, foreheads pressing together gently.
"Oh yes. I feel a lot better now." Carter grinned. He stood on his toes to press a chaste kiss to Douxie's forehead. "Thank you."
Douxie smiled. "You're ever so welcome, darling."
"Not to break up this sweet moment," Archie cut in, trying to sound stern but they could tell he was relieved. "But you should eat something, Carter. And perhaps also fill us in on what transpired between you and your father."
Carter pursed his lips but nodded. "Good plan."
After he told them what had happened in that weird "in between" place, the two went silent. Archie and Douxie looked at eachother, concern in their eyes.
"Well?" Carter pressed, hands tightening around his mug of coffee. "What are you thinking."
"It's probably nothing." Douxie said, tapping the table nervously. "But… I think we should just be cautious. As much as I want to believe Vameus did this out of the goodness of his heart, I also know that gods often do things for their own ends. Oftentimes they're not very good ones."
Carter pursed his lips, nodding slowly. "Okay." He cleared his throat. "We'll be careful."
Douxie smiled at him.
"Right, so." Carter looked between the wizard and his familiar. "Where are we exactly?"
Douxie immediately looked away, chewing on his lower lip with an almost guilty expression. Archie sighed and rolled his eyes.
The dragon met Carter's confused gaze. "Somewhere safe."
Carter looked at Douxie, eyes narrowing. "What does that mean? Douxie?"
"It means," Douxie swallowed thickly. "I… I had to get you out of there, Carter. We couldn't stay. It… it wasn't worth it."
Carter stared at him. "You're not serious."
Douxie grimaced. "Carter-"
"No!" Carter yelled, glaring at him. "What the hell, Douxie!? You can't just… just abandon them like that! Those were our friends! We fought side by side with those men for over a year!"
"We weren't making a difference!"
"Bullshit!" Carter slammed his hand on the table, standing so abruptly his chair clattered to the floor. "We can make a difference! You're just too afraid to try!"
Douxie stared at him. "You- I-" anger came over his face and he stood too. "You know why I can't do that! You know why I couldn't have used my magic!"
"Alright fine, you won't but why the hell did you have to drag me away!?" Carter demanded. "They're going to die!"
"They think we're dead." Douxie informed him, voice sharp. "Everyone thinks we were killed in that explosion. So we can't go back. I'm sorry, but we can't."
Carter grit his teeth. "And what if I went anyway?"
"You can't."
"I can't? Or you won't let me."
"Carter!" Douxie shouted, grabbing him by the arms harshly. "Stop it! You can't go!"
"Let go." He growled.
"Listen to me." Douxie pleaded, voice softening. "Please."
"Douxie-"
"I can't lose you again!" Douxie's voice broke as tears welled in his eyes. "I-I can't risk losing you again, Carter. Please… you're the- you and Archie are the only people I have left." He took in a shuddering breath, squeezing Carter's arms as tears slipped down his cheeks. "I lost you once, Sunshine. I can't go through that again."
Carter stared at him, eyes misting with tears of his own. "Douxie…"
"Please stay." Douxie all but begged, pulling him closer. His grip was much gentler now. "I know you didn't want to leave, but… but it was too dangerous. Please."
Carter nodded slowly, wiping at his eyes. "Okay. Alright. I'll stay. I won't leave you, Douxie. Never again."
Douxie tugged him forward and into a hug, burying his face into his neck, wrapping his arms tight around his waist. They held eachother silently for a long while, both no longer able to stop their tears.
Carter hated the idea of abandoning his fellow soldiers, of leaving them to deal with that mess of a war. But deep down he knew Douxie was right. They couldn't-shouldn't-go back. They had bigger things to worry about.
"I love you." Douxie mumbled against his neck. "So much."
Carter smiled, squeezing him tightly. "Feeling's mutual, Blue." He caught Archie's eye, the dragon-cat smiling at him with a mixture of fondness and sympathy.
"It won't be easy." He said softly in Carter's head. "If you're going to do this, you need to commit one-hundred percent of yourself to him. Okay, Carter? All of yourself. He needs you."
"I know." Carter whispered back, tucking his face against Douxie's shoulder. "And I will. I'm in this one-hundred percent. I'm committed."
"Good." Archie smiled. "What flowers do you want at your wedding?"
"Oh, haha. Very funny."
Archie snickered.
April 24, 1943
Douxie found out the next day that Carter had died on his twentieth birthday. That was rather… shocking and kind of sad.
"I'm so sorry." Douxie said for what felt like the millionth time since their fight yesterday. "That must've been one shitty birthday."
Carter smiled lightly, shrugging. "Eh. After like six years of shitty birthdays, they all kind of blend together."
Douxie pursed his lips, gently wrapping an arm around Carter's waist as he stood next to him at the kitchen sink. "Would you… mind a not so shitty one?"
Carter side-eyed him, a tiny smile pulling at his lips. "What did you have in mind?"
Douxie kissed his temple. "I dunno. Something small. To make up for, you know, dying on your birthday."
He snorted a laugh, leaning into his little hug. "I don't need any sort of celebration, you know." He looked at him. "You're enough. Just being with you is enough for me."
Douxie smiled. "Didn't take you for the sappy type."
Carter turned off the tap, turning to face him. "I mean that, Douxie." He went willingly when Douxie tugged him closer. "You don't need to try and compensate for anything. You are enough for me. You always will be."
Douxie looked about ready to cry. "You know you can't promise that. We'll know eachother forever and forever is a long time. Feelings change. People change."
Carter furrowed his brows. "I don't care if we live for a million years. I love you, Douxie. I will always love you." He cupped his cheek. "You're the only person I have left, you know. And I don't plan on falling out of love with you anytime soon."
Douxie stared at him for a moment before leaning in and pressing a kiss to his lips. "Carter," he murmured softly, heart pounding in his chest. He'd been nervous to tell Carter what they were because he knew how he might react. But hearing his beloved tell him these things gave him courage. "I uh… I need to tell you something." He held him closer, taking a shaky breath. "Love.. when you died… I felt it."
Carter's eyes searched his. "Yeah. You said that… after you found me."
Douxie licked his lips tentatively. "Carter, I felt it because… because you and I we're… we're connected. Magically."
Carter blinked. "Okay. And?"
Douxie groaned internally. "Darling-"
"Oh for the love of salmon, this is painful to watch." Archie griped, hopping onto the counter. "Just tell him, Douxie."
"Yeah. Just tell me." Carter said with a teasing smile.
"We're soulmates." Douxie said quickly. He held his breath, waiting for Carter's response.
Carter stared at him, a million emotions flying across his face. "What?" He asked weakly.
Douxie swallowed, trying to calm his nerves. "Soulmates." He repeated carefully. "It sounds stupid but it's a real thing. And… not everyone's lucky to meet theirs because… well, sometimes their other half is centuries away." He looked him in the eye. "I got lucky enough to find you."
Carter stared at him, mouth opening and closing. "So… what you said about fate and destiny? How it's tied to our lives in every aspect… did you know what we were when you said that?"
Douxie shook his head. "I… didn't. But I should have. Now that I do know it's kind of stupid that I didn't notice before."
Carter looked off to the side for a moment, thinking. Then he looked back at him. "Well." He smiled. "I'm glad that out of anyone, you're the one I'm meant to be with."
On the counter, Archie sighed. "You two are insufferable. I'm going to get a toothache watching you."
"Then don't watch." Douxie retorted.
Archie rolled his eyes.
Carter laughed as he pulled out of Douxie's grip. "We'll try to be as quiet as possible when making out to avoid scarring you for life." He said, going back to washing the dishes.
"Or when we're doing other things." Douxie teased, walking out of the kitchen.
Carter blushed at his comment, and the thoughts it brought. He shook himself off quickly. "Hey, Arch." He said, pulling a plate from the soapy water. "I was wondering if we'd be able to go back to my mom's apartment to grab a few things."
Archie tilted his head to the side. "Like?"
"Some… personal stuff." Carter pursed his lips. "I just hate the idea of leaving my childhood home so quickly. Especially if we aren't going to be able to go back to New York for at least a few decades."
Archie nodded thoughtfully. "I'll take care of it."
Carter smiled at him. "Thank you."
