Part 6
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Tir drummed his fingers on the tabletop, the pages of his journal having sat in front of him, blank, for over an hour.
At the sudden noise, Gremio looked away from the window he'd been staring out of for quite some time. It was late evening, and they'd been staying at this inn near the border, the closest one they'd been able to backtrack to, for a few days already. He would have been pacing, but he still felt a bit weak from the days he'd gone without food, and they'd only end up remaining longer if he should over-exert himself. With this in mind, and Tir being so quiet, there was absolutely nothing better for him to do than stare out the window. At least it was peaceful here, and without the immediate concern of confronting a true rune, his stomach wasn't doing flip-flops constantly.
He glanced over to his charge, wondering if he should say something, and found Tir watching Gremio out of the corner of his eye. The boy picked up his pen as if to write, but sighed, putting it down again and fnally closing the book with a snap.
Gremio sighed softly himself, looking down at the blankets where he half-sat, half-lay in the bed. "...Young Master, you mustn't trouble yourself so much..."
Tir didn't look up. "Do not tell me what to trouble myself over," he responded rather coldly. "You haven't the right."
Gremio looked up at him in disbelief - Tir never snapped at him in such a way - then slowly lowered his eyes to his hands, resting in his lap. "...Forgive me, Young Master, you're right... I'm only a servant, after all."
There was a harsh sound of wood scraping on wood as Tir slid back his chair and rose, crossing the room to look down at his guardian resting in the bed. Gremio's disbelief was mirrored in his own eyes. "No, Gremio. That is the problem. Right there in those very words lies the problem."
"Oh, I know you think of me as something more," Gremio stated, smiling faintly, "and of course I consider you more than simply a master to be served... But when all of that is stripped away, I do in fact rank much lower than you do."
Tir sat down on the bed, visibly struggling for words as he reached out to take Gremio's hand. "There is no rank between us, Gremio... we have long since stopped being master and servant. I cannot recall any specific day when you became friend instead of servant, but to think that I would disregard you now, after all we have been through, is to insult not only my intelligence, but also my character. I..." Tir trailed off and looked down at their two hands, torn by whether to say more or leave it simply at that, which had spoken many times before.
Gremio pulled his hand away softly, but only to place his arm around Tir's shoulders, drawing him a bit closer. "I would never do such a thing, Young Master. But please... if you trust in me, allow me to protect you as well as I can." He managed a quiet laugh, still embarrassed. "Once I am back to full strength again, anyhow. I'm so terribly sorry for all of this..."
Allowing Gremio to pull him closer, Tir lifted a hand to run one finger along the scar on his cheek. "You owe me no apologies... if anything, I owe you one..."
The look on his face grew suddenly dark. "...Gremio... this journey is over. I was wrong to let it begin. When you have recovered, we are returning home..."
"You can't be serious!" Gremio exclaimed instantly, his mouth falling open. "After we've come so far, now that we're so close..." He shook his head firmly. "I can do this, Young Master - even ill as I was, I managed to drive that creature off. The Beast Rune will be no match for me when I'm better, if you and Viktor and Flik are there to assist."
Tir crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head firmly. "You are doing this for the wrong reasons."
"And which of my reasons is the wrong one?" Gremio asked, settling back a bit further on the bed to meet Tir's eyes steadily. "My desire to stay with you through all you endure? The need for a master of the Beast Rune, to prevent it from falling into more dangerous hands?"
Tir turned away, voice unsteady and hands shaking. "You deserve a better life than this, you could have a better life than this. You are not chained to me." He paused and took a deep breath. "If you never believed yourself free before, then let me tell you now that you are free. You do not need to stay with me any longer. Go."
Gremio froze, staring at him in shock. Tir couldn't mean what it sounded like he meant... but then, what else could he mean? But what could make him do such a thing...?
After a moment, Gremio lowered his eyes; his decision had already been made. "...As you wish, Young Master," he murmured, knowing perfectly well the contradiction in the words.
Tir balled his hands into fists and whirled back to look at Gremio as the tears began to run down his cheeks. "Don't you understand, Gremio? I cannot bear to see you suffer, especially at my hands. I do not look upon you as a master fond of a servant... And it has been many many years since I have thought to see you from the eyes of a boy fond of a father or a brother... No..." Tir shook his head furiously, swiping at his tears. "I see you now, only with the eyes of a man with nothing but love and respect for his equal... and that one feeling, so strong, is the one you do not see, do not feel, cannot accept. And I won't see you hurt at my side if you are not truly at my side, but only serve as my guardian."
Gremio sighed, looking up at him helplessly from where he still sat propped up among the blankets and pillows of the bed. "...Tir. Do you truly mean to cut me free?"
Tir sobbed openly, burying his face in his hands for a brief moment. "If you will not let me protect you and love you as I hope to, each and every day, then yes... it would be better for you to leave me."
This wasn't going well at all. But then, his decision had been made long ago. Gremio stood up, gingerly, and approached Tir with caution. "Well then... please do let me know where you'll be, so that I can return to you once I've acquired the Beast Rune." He smiled softly at the surprised look on Tir's face. "Do you think I've only followed you for so long for the sake of my oath to your father? It never had anything to do with you, specifically, in the first place."
"What do you mean? How can you say it was not your oath to my father, and yet had nothing to do with me either? I do not understand."
"Long ago, I swore to serve your father," Gremio told him, resting a hand on his shoulder, "not you. It is true that he assigned me to care for you, but there was no oath involved in that matter - I was only obeying his orders. If I had found such a task to be unpleasant, I could have left after his death, couldn't I? Or perhaps I should have stayed behind in Gregminster, to keep his house while you ran away with Viktor and met Lady Odessa."
Tir looked down at his hands and finally mumbled softly. "Then why are you here?"
Gremio gave Tir's shoulder a light squeeze, and smiled at him earnestly. "Because I am free... and I have still chosen to follow you."
Tir still did not look up at Gremio. "But why? It seems a foolhardy thing to spend one's life doing, all events surrounding me considered."
Gremio shook his head, still smiling. "I can still remember when we first met, when you were still just a little thing..." he murmured, reminiscing, "and with your father away so often, I raised you as my own - no, it was far better, for I saw only the delights, while Master Teo handled the finances and the discipline..." Gremio reached out with his other hand, brushing a tear from Tir's cheek. "And now look at you. You've grown so much... and how could I leave you now? There is so much left ahead of you..."
Tir nodded dully, closing his eyes. "Yes, I a boy, and you my caretaker...." He trailed off into silence, eyes still closed, and shrugged off Gremio's hand.
Tir didn't think he'd truly heard what was being said, Gremio thought. He was not so foolish, or so blind, as to not see what Tir meant - but it was easier, much less potentially troublesome, to pretend just such a thing. He shook his head again. "Perhaps it's not proper of me to say such a thing, but..." He searched for the right words, trying to speak to both what Tir might have been saying, and what he thought was being heard. "Even more than your father was, I was devoted to you. As I watched you grow, as I taught you and assisted you, I instilled my very soul into you..."
Tir sighed. "And all those years, you were everything to me... you have always been the only one I truly trusted my heart and soul to. You continue to be everything to me... but Gremio, I lost that once. I fear losing it again. But more than that, I fear not giving as much to you as you have always given to me."
Gremio blinked; he certainly hadn't expected that. "Young Master, how could you think that? Do you even realize..." Feeling slightly weak still, he turned to sit down on the bed again before he began to sway. "Do you realize how terrified I was, when you tried to shield me with your own body?"
There was a pause, and then Tir finally smiled softly, reaching one finger out to touch the end of Gremio's nose. "I would give my life for you, Gremio... as you have done for me. I would give it gladly, for that is how much I... I love you. I will not let anything happen to you ever again. The only thing I would ever allow to take you away would be time itself, and now we seek even to defeat that," he reminded him. "What does that say of us?"
Gremio thought for a moment, and sighed before smiling back. "I suppose you have made your point, Young Master - you could not avoid putting yourself in harm's way for my sake any more than I could have chosen not to send you away to safety behind the door in Soniere..."
Tir nodded wearily, and then opened his arms up. "Gremio, I..." he began.
"Shh..." Gremio gathered Tir into his arms gladly, holding him close. "Now, are you still willing to be my Young Master?" he asked.
Tir hugged Gremio tightly. "Only if you can forgive me for trying to banish my dearest friend in the first place..."
Gremio laughed softly, patting his back. "Gladly. I would rather not have to simply follow you around like a stray."
Tir laughed too at the idea, and then sighed again, yawning. "I do believe I have cried myself all out for the time being... and I know you wish to leave, but Viktor is probably right in making all of us rest. I am admittedly wearier than I have let on after the past few days."
Gremio nodded in agreement. "I think we could all use a bit more rest than we've been getting, if we're to be at our best when we find that Rune."
Though he nodded back, Tir seemed to grow a bit more sober at the reminder. "We will stand a much better chance if we do."
Gremio leaned back, holding Tir's shoulders, and sighed tiredly. "So then... to bed? I could not object, certainly."
Tir nodded at Gremio again, and smiled. "I am quite in agreement."
Indeed, the extra rest seemed to do the both of them some good, and the next evening, Gremio felt strong enough to join the rest of them for supper downstairs in the inn's dining room, instead of the others simply bringing something to the room for him. Even so, he stuck to soup and bread, not wishing to rush things.
Flik had chosen the soup as well, and now sat at their table in the corner, stirring it absentmindedly, though it had long gone cold. Though there was the clamor of conversations from other patrons of the inn, and a minstrel in brightly colored clothes had set up near the bar to play music, he was paying no attention at all to his surroundings until he was suddenly nudged by Viktor. "Hey, is the soup okay?" Viktor asked, already on his own second plate of turkey. "Neither you or Gremio look too enthusiastic..."
Flik shrugged, setting his spoon down. "I'm just not really hungry."
Tapping his fingers on the table in time with the music playing, Tir eyed the bread beside Flik's plate. "That must be why I feel like I want to eat double tonight..." he said with a smile.
Viktor shrugged too, and shoveled more food into his mouth. "Kid's got the right idea," he muttered to Flik. "You should eat anyway - since Gremio's feeling better, we may not have to be here much longer. Better get ready to move..."
Since coming downstairs, Gremio did not exactly look better after all, and he picked at his bread, appearing somewhat troubled. "...I suppose that's true..." he murmured.
Flik smiled slightly and made an effort to eat just a little of his soup. "I'll be ready to go whenever you are, Vik, don't worry."
Gremio sighed to himself, his face showing signs of an internal debate, and finally he looked up sheepishly. "I... I wonder, do they have good wine in a place like this?" he asked, looking to Viktor and Flik. "I believe I could do with a glass..."
Tir looked over at Gremio in somewhat amused surprise. "Really, Gremio?"
For a moment, Tir looked like he was about to request the same, but he stopped with his mouth half open and shrugged. Seeing this, Gremio winced slightly. "...I'm sorry, I'm not setting a very good example for you, Young Master... never mind."
Viktor laughed - leave it to Gremio to be uptight just when he seemed to be loosening up. "Hey, just a glass of wine with dinner is no big deal, is it? Listen, I'll go see what they've got," he told them, getting up from the table. "I could stand a drink or two myself, you know."
As Viktor left, Tir leaned over to tug Gremio's ponytail. "Nono, that's not it at all... I was thinking of asking if I could join you, but I didn't want to upset you."
Gremio rested his head in his hands, looking somewhat torn. "Young Master... Well... you handled yourself better than I did the last time," he admitted. "I suppose... I suppose I couldn't say no without being quite the hypocrite, could I?"
Tir shrugged and smiled. "No... but as I said, I don't want to upset you." He continued drumming his fingers in time with the music, looking much more cheerful than he had been the night before.
Gremio smiled slightly, as Viktor returned to the table with a bottle and some extra cups. "Nothing too fancy," he told them, "but Matilda wine's not bad, and not too expensive here. Anyway..." Opening the bottle, he poured the first cup, and handed it over to Gremio. "Bottoms up," he said cheerfully, and sat down next to Flik again, starting to pour another.
"I think I'll have some too, actually," Flik told him, looking up from his still mostly untouched soup.
"Best not to drink anything at all without food..." Gremio mumbled to himself as Viktor handed the next cup to Flik. He took another few spoonfuls of his soup before he picked up the cup to drink, and after taking a sip or two, he nodded, looking thoughtful. "Hmm, I believe this is better than the wine we had before - or perhaps my worries are simply not distracting me so much."
Tir nodded thoughtfully and decided not be left out. "If it meets Gremio's approval, then I ought to try some myself."
Viktor had already poured another cup, and he handed it to Tir before picking up the last for himself. "Heh heh... It's not really my kind of thing, I like something a little stronger... but you guys couldn't handle what I like."
Tir took a sip and nodded. "It's not too bad at all... I like it a little sweeter, but it'll do..."
Smiling at Tir's critique of the wine, Flik took a long drink from his own glass. "I'm inclined to agree with you, Tir. And Vik," he added, "it's not like I've never had anything stronger than this."
Viktor laughed and dropped an arm around Flik's shoulders, oblivious to the fact they were in a public place. "Of course you have. But you've never been able to hold it like I can."
Flik wrinkled his nose at Viktor, actually rather grateful for the support of his arm. "I wouldn't want to."
Gremio already seemed a little bit more relaxed, and nodded to Tir. "Well, if you like sweetness, perhaps you should stick with drinking juice... no offense intended, of course, Young Master. But I'd just as soon you didn't grow to like the taste of alcohol too much..."
"Don't worry, Gremio," Tir laughed softly. "Juice goes much better with most of the things you cook for me anyways."
Pondering this, Gremio set the cup back down and took another few bites of his meal. "Hmmm, maybe... I'll have to ask Pahn and Cleo." Viktor had already drained his own cup, and leaned over the table, looking questioningly at Gremio. He hesitated, then nodded, allowing Viktor to top off his glass again.
Tir had stopped before he'd even finished his first glass, and now rested his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands, tapping a foot to the music. "Yeah, Gremio... we'll ask them when we see them..."
Ignoring the newly refilled glass, Gremio chuckled under his breath, opting to finish more of his dinner before drinking any more, just in case. "So we're going back to Gregminster after this, then?"
Tir shrugged and smiled. "Eventually..."
As time passed, and the evening rolled on, Gremio relaxed noticeably, and he finished his meal and most of his drink with relative quickness. "Mmm... it seems like a very long time since I've had any appetite at all."
"I'm really glad to see you feeling better, Gremio," Tir told him with a nod. "I was worried."
Gremio shook his head, somewhat embarrassed. "Well, I'm fine now, just fine..." He smiled as he looked over to the minstrel playing a quick-paced tune on the other side of the room. "And I can't believe no one told me there was music downstairs, or I might have come down earlier. Or has this fellow only just arrived tonight?"
Flik glanced over at the minstrel and thought. "I don't recall him being here last night..."
Eyeing the wiry, big-nosed young man and his fiddle, Gremio drummed his fingers on the table softly in time with the music. "I thought perhaps that was the case, because I'm sure I would have heard at least traces of this music from upstairs - and I would not have remained in my bed."
Flik smiled at Gremio in curiosity. "I didn't know you liked music that much... We used to have a lot of fiddle and reed flute during festivals at Warrior's Village when I was a child... I miss it sometimes."
"We didn't have anything so spectacular as festivals in the small village where I was born, but bards and minstrels did pass by at times..." Gremio laughed to himself quietly, remembering. "And my mother taught me many songs when I was very young... She would hum them, and dance with my sister and I..."
Viktor looked vaguely insulted. "I could teach you some songs too," he muttered jokingly under his breath, muffling his comment in another drink of wine. "But I don't think you'd like them..."
Ignoring Viktor, Flik nodded and grinned. "Yes, I remember there being a lot of dancing too. My older sister would always bother me to dance with her, but I was shy."
"Blue Lightning Flik, shy? Whatever for?" Gremio asked, surprised. "Dancing is a great deal of fun, and not hard at all..."
Flik chuckled softly. "Believe it or not, I was a rather soft-spoken and withdrawn child until I was about eleven... more of a dreamer than a fighter, and not very good dealing with large groups of people. I did love music though, and if Lila begged long enough, I would usually dance with her."
Gremio nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose it would be different in a large group of people... in my case, it was only within my house... and when my father was away," he added, sounding slightly distracted. He sighed and looked back to the fiddler, who stood out against the rest of the room in his brightly-colored garments, making the atmosphere more merry. "It has been a very long time since I've danced at all..."
"Sometimes when I was younger," Tir interjected, leaning forward in his chair and grinning, "Gremio would hum while making dinner, and we'd dance around the kitchen just a little bit..."
Gremio nodded and laughed, turning to Tir in pleased surprise. "I wasn't sure you would remember that..."
"Of course I would," Tir huffed slightly.
Finishing his wine, Gremio sighed happily, setting his cup back down on the table. "No, that's all right," he told Viktor, as Viktor reached for the wine bottle again. "I don't need any more to drink - I already feel a bit... ah, more relaxed. In fact..." he admitted with a sheepish smile, "I have the urge to dance, now that the subject has been brought up."
Viktor shrugged. "All the more for me and Flik, then," he declared.
He picked the bottle up anyway and looked at Flik, silently asking, but Flik shook his head. "I'm honestly thinking of turning in for the night. I'm tired..."
"Is that so? And here I thought perhaps you'd like to dance as well," Gremio said, his smile slightly giddy. "I'm sure you'd make an excellent partner."
Flik colored slightly, mumbling. "Heh, I don't know about that..."
"And I wouldn't?" Tir asked, pouting at Gremio.
"Oh, no - I didn't mean to imply anything like that, of course!" Gremio assured him, flustered. "I just... you'd never expressed any interest..."
Tir continued to pout, and shrugged. "Did you ever ask?"
Gremio shook his head. "Well, no... I didn't think..." After a moment, he laughed. "Would you like to dance, Young Master? I'm afraid I never taught you properly back in those days - just a bit of skipping and spinning in the kitchen - but it's not hard at all..."
Immediately losing the pout, Tir grinned happily. "I would really love to, Gremio..."
Flik laughed softly, shaking his head. "I may stay to watch a dance, but I think after that I'm heading off to sleep."
Viktor laughed at them all as well, finishing off another glass of the wine, which had apparently been left to him alone. "Aw, Flik - I thought maybe you'd teach me to dance, too."
Flik gaped at Viktor a little in surprise. "You'd....really want me to?"
Viktor shrugged. "I'd even let you lead, so it wouldn't be so embarrassing." He thought for a second, then shook his head, smirking. "Okay, so that would be sort of embarrassing too."
Flik shook his head, reaching to finish his glass of wine. "I just...I... I don't know, Vik."
Not content to just sit there and listen to their discussion, Tir chuckled softly, bouncing in his chair. "Come on, Gremio!"
Gremio got to his feet, offering Tir his hand as he might have extended it to a lady he was about to usher onto a ballroom floor. "I'd be honored, Young Master..." Delighted at Gremio's good mood, Tir took Gremio's hand to follow him to the music.
As they left, Viktor grinned at Flik. "What, you'd rather be the woman in all situations?" he muttered slyly, lowering his voice.
"One might think you'd rather have a woman sometimes," Flik grumbled, glaring at him.
Viktor shook his head, smirking. "Nah, I know what'll make a man happy better than I do a woman, seeing as I'm one myself. Maybe that's why you confuse me," he teased, grinning at Flik.
Giving Viktor another somewhat irritated look, Flik rose from the table to head upstairs. "Between the witty banter, the wine, and my headache, I think I've had enough for tonight."
Viktor just laughed, leaning back in his chair, and glanced towards Gremio and Tir. They had taken each other's hands, oblivious to the bemused looks that a few other patrons were giving the two of them, or the handful of others who had risen, seeming to agree that dancing was a good idea. "So, shall I lead, or would you want to try your hand?" Gremio asked.
Tir shook his head. "I... umm... I don't really know what I'm doing, Gremio."
"Well then, I'll lead for now... my mother taught me both to lead and follow," Gremio explained, coaxing Tir into a simple step, quick enough for the beat of the music. "After all, I couldn't very well lead my mother as a little child, but dancing with my sister was another matter."
Tir grined at Gremio, easily following his lead. "I suppose I might have learned to dance if things had turned out differently, and I had really ended up working for the empire with my father..."
"It's expected of a nobleman, isn't it? Hmmm, I should have arranged something of that sort myself... though you seem to be doing well enough," he observed, spinning Tir cheerfully.
Tir laughed softly, feeling completely at ease with Gremio. "I think I'm grateful for the chance to learn right here and right now, with you."
"It's always a privilege to be your mentor in whatever way you may require, Young Master."
Seeing that the two of them seemed to be doing fine on Gremio's first night back on his feet (and quite on his feet, Viktor thought - it had to be the wine) Viktor decided to follow Flik up to their room. To his surprise, Flik hadn't locked him out, leaving him to knock embarrassingly, and he chuckled as he entered. Apparently Flik wasn't too annoyed. "So... no dancing, Lightning?"
Flik looked up from where he was sprawled on his stomach on the bed. "Are you nuts?"
Viktor just laughed. "Think about that question for a minute."
"Ah, right..." Flik muttered, nodding. "You're not nuts - you're a lunatic."
The yawn Flik couldn't quite stifle didn't escape Viktor's attention, though he was grumbling good-naturedly. Funny, it wasn't late at all. "Still run-down, huh...?"
"I'm fine... just... sleepy, I guess," Flik told him with a shrug.
Viktor sat down next to him, grinning as he reached out to rub his back. "So how come you're not sleeping?"
Flik turned and looked up at Viktor, mentally debating. "A lot of worry, I suppose..." he began after a moment. "I've had a couple nasty nightmares too."
Viktor cocked his head to the side, thinking, and continued rubbing Flik's back. "Yeah...?" He'd only meant the comment as an annoying, teasing little remark, but if Flik really was having trouble sleeping in general...
Closing his eyes, Flik simply enjoyed Viktor's attention. "Stupid stuff that doesn't make any sense, running, being chased, being in dark places, being without my sword..."
Viktor frowned in the general direction of the corner, where he'd left his things. "...Wouldn't mind being without my sword for awhile." Flik didn't laugh, and Viktor looked back down at him, considering. "More of that 'calling' stuff? Because that sounds like the last dream you told me about..."
"Sometimes," Flik admitted, rolling over onto his back to look up at Viktor. Not missing a beat, Viktor began caressing Flik's chest and stomach instead of his back, as the younger man continued. "But a lot of it has been fighting in the dark and being chased, or feeling like you and Gremio and Tir were in trouble and I couldn't help you."
"I guess I can't get too concerned over that kind of stuff," Viktor reassured him, still stroking his shirt lightly. "I mean, we all have dreams about being chased or not being able to..." He stopped and scratched his head, growing a bit more grim. "Well... for you and I, anyway, I guess dreaming about not being able to help the people we most want to is as understandable as dreaming about fighting..."
Flik nodded, reaching up one hand to twirl a piece of Viktor's hair around his finger. "I suppose... but this just feels different somehow. And I want it to go away."
Flik almost sounded a little troubled, which rather puzzled Viktor - why worry so much about a dream when there was so much real trouble in the waking world? Even so, he nodded, and leaned down a little closer to come face to face with Flik. "You know..." he teased, "I could always help you get over any fear of dark places. Heh heh..."
Smiling slightly, Flik brushed his fingers across Viktor's lips. "And just what is that supposed to mean, bear?"
Viktor grinned and pretended to bite at the fingers running over his mouth. "You need to, you know, identify dark places with something fun... if you get what I'm saying."
Flik reached up to loop his arms around Viktor's neck, smirking. "Are you going to turn out the lights and take me for a wild ride?"
Well, that seemed to do the trick. Viktor shifted his weight so that he was lying down more than sitting, propped himself up next to Flik, and shrugged casually. "I thought you were tired."
"Like you've ever let that stop you before."
"Actually, you might be surprised," Viktor mused, giving him a knowing look.
"Oh...?"
Viktor nodded, pretending to be insulted. "I'm a nice guy! Of course I've left you alone sometimes."
Shaking his head, Flik laughed softly. "And do you think that's usually what I want?"
Viktor thought it over for a moment, then laughed. "Flik... half the time I don't have any idea what you want."
At the perfectly blunt statement, Flik winced and sighed. "I'm sorry... I know I'm not very good at telling you a lot of the time too."
Viktor grinned and raised his hand to run a finger through Flik's hair. "I've got no problems..." Particularly not if he'd gotten Flik's mind off his worries.
"Do that again..." Flik murmured, closing his eyes.
Viktor chuckled and did so. "I get this feeling you're not that tired after all..."
"Maybe I'm not..." Flik agreed, laughing softly.
Viktor settled down a little more comfortably at his side with a satisfied sigh. "You know, it's nice... just being here..."
Flik shifted a litle closer and nodded slowly. "Yes...it's one of those moments I'd like to freeze and live in for awhile."
Viktor nodded back, leaning his head down on his arm and resting his other arm across Flik's waist. He smiled a little at the feel of him. "You're warm."
To his surprise, Flik bit his lip. "Yeah, I... I feel warmer than usual," Flik muttered. "I thought maybe it was just a result of not getting much rest."
"So you aren't feeling okay," Viktor observed, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you seemed funny..."
"Yeah... truth..." Flik frowned slightly. "I'm not feeling okay. I haven't in several days."
Viktor nodded, and drew Flik a little closer. Figured - with Flik coming from a warmer climate, the winters in this area could be kind of a shock to his system. It wasn't the first time he'd come down with something on a northern journey, or the first time he'd tried to hide it. "I thought so. You just never would admit it, and I didn't want to bug you..."
With a sigh, Flik leaned his head against Viktor. "I hate admitting I'm anything but fine."
"Yeah... I can relate," Viktor mumbled, tapping his fingers on Flik's chest absently.
Despite his admission, Flik smiled again. "It just feels nice to relax...to be close to each other, to touch."
Smiling back, Viktor snuggled a little closer. "Yep. Of course, we could have done this back at Coronet too, and it would've been a little warmer..."
Flik kissed him softly. "Maybe we should have, more often... maybe we should make it a point to do so when we get back."
Content to simply lie next to him, Viktor chuckled. "Anytime. And uh... as long as we're confessing stuff, and all..."
"What is it...?" Flik asked, looking at him with concern.
"Don't get all excited," Viktor told him, shaking his head. "Just thought I'd say I'm actually pretty beat myself. I mean, I've been keeping a lookout for the last few nights... didn't even realize you were having nightmares," he admitted.
Flik nodded, understanding. "I honestly think we're safe enough here to let down our guard a little and get some sleep."
Viktor nodded in agreement. "Nothing's happened, not even any rowdy hunters or anything. So I think..." He paused and yawned - Flik's sleepiness was contagious. "I'm just going to stay right here like this tonight, and keep those nightmares away from you."
Smiling, Flik closed his eyes again, settling down further into the blankets and mattress. "I have no doubt with my bear protecting me, there will be nothing but sweet dreams for me then."
