IMPORTANT AN: If you are homophobic or don't like suggested sexy-time things, don't read this specific one-shot. The sexy-time suggestiveness is very limited, if at all there, but this IS a very homosexual relationship-oriented piece.

Special thanks to Mider-Span for loaning me his wonderful OCs, Eron and Wolfe, and letting me twist them for my purposes! :)

Unbreakable

"Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken." - Albert Camus

Often were the times when Scurvy Whiteshard would settle herself on the roof of the Arena's main coliseum, the white palace of pit fighting, a pearl gem which currently glowed amber-gold in the light of the setting sun. Her knees were pulled close to her chest, with her face partially buried into the viridian velvet skirt she wore. Half-lidded heterochromatic eyes stared out blankly at the deceivingly peaceful-looking Unicorn Way. The wind was always stronger on the coliseum roof, and as such it buffeted her short silver hair around her, framing the general outline of her face; her high cheekbones and the gentle slope beneath them.

It wasn't long until she sensed someone come up behind her, talon-like feet a familiar song on the marble roof. Before any words could be exchanged, however, the image began to fade into a murky mess before fading entirely from her mind's eye.

She woke to the sound of a door closing.

Slowly, her eyes opened, and she was greeted by a pounding headache, her head throbbing around the temples. Her muscles ached, and she had a frighteningly familiar lack of sensation in her legs. She forced herself to look back before sleep had downed her. Yes, she remembered now. She was outside, in the rain, laying on the ground, chilled and feeling as if her hips had been crushed by some powerful force, though the cause was unknown to her. But she wasn't outside now. She was inside, her head cushioned atop a recently fluffed pillow. She had been stripped of her dress and armor, garbed in the white attire of a...patient. A hospital patient.

A coarse, scaled hand wrapped gently around hers, and turning her head slightly she saw through half-lidded eyes a dark green Draconian, with scales of a lighter shade just sprouting out from under his dress shirt. Bright yellow eyes stared down on her with concern, and a clawed finger rubbed tenderly across her calloused knuckles. His large wings twitched slightly as he looked away from her sleep-deprived face to the hand he held.

"Eron…?" She whispered hoarsely, struggling to sit up despite her body's protests. Eron quickly moved his hand away from her own and cupped her cheek gently, his other hand finding her shoulder.

"Lay down, Scurv. You're weak." His voice was barely a whisper. Scurvy frowned and found herself leaning into his hand, her lips brushing tenderly against the coarse scales. She allowed him to lay her back down, his finger stroking her cheek, and she let out a soft sigh has his hand trailed gingerly down her neck. His worry hit her with waves of sudden nausea, the emotion emanating from his large form, but she forced the sickness down, instead focusing on his touch as he caressed her neck and cheeks, soothing strokes across her skin which he knew always relaxed her.

"Where am I?" She asked, still leaning into his touch. He smiled softly, a hand brushing a few strands of silver hair out of her face.

"In the Wizard City Hospital, just by the library." His delicate smile quickly turned down into a pained frown. "Are you feeling alright?"

Scurvy thought on the question, her mind fuzzy with exhaustion and pain. She decided no, and told him "I'm not". His clawed hand hooked around her neck then, massaging the back of it as his other hand grabbed a hold of her hand once again. His worry seemed to grow with her answer, but still he managed a smile, pity, self-hate, and pain all reflecting in the slight curl of his lips. He avoided her gaze again, and this time Scurvy found the strength to give his hand a gentle squeeze. "I will be, though."

"I know." He conceded quietly, a slight laugh resounding from his throat. "You always get better down the road." The two sat together quietly, with Eron continuing to massage her skin with soothing strokes and rubs. Eventually, he grabbed both of her hands, holding them in his own. He raised one and pressed the tip of his muzzle to it. He frowned, breathing in her musty pinecone scent.

"The...doctors said this happened before." He started uncertainly, stroking her knuckles nervously. Scurvy, who had begun to drift asleep, lulled to it by the tender touches her friend seemed insistent on giving her, opened her eyes partially to look at him, her breath hitching as she saw the pain in his eyes. She let out a shaky breath, closing her eyes again, remembering the pain that dominated her muscles and the senseless feeling of her legs. She tensed almost immediately, but Eron pursued the same topic. "Why didn't you write me? I could have helped you." His eyes hardened, and his voice was ridden with sorrow. He gripped her hand tightly. "I could have helped you, dammit," he grated.

Immediately, memories struck her, memories of the first time this had happened to her.

The traitorous spirit.

Torture.

Cage over lava.

Falling crystals.

Crushed legs.

Scurvy suddenly let out a loud gasp, her hands instantly clutching at her sheets. Her heart pounded at an unforgivingly fast pace against her chest, and her breath seemed to be sucked from her lungs. Eron backed away, panicked and wide-eyed, as healers and nurses rushed in, sensing the turmoil within their patient. After a brief examination, one doctor grabbed a shot tube filled with a dark green serum, implanting the needle into her neck and slowly forcing the fluid in. Noting that the situation was obviously under control, the others left to continue on with their work elsewhere. The doctor who injected the serum came up to Eron, frowning slightly at him.

"Memories can be dangerous in these situations." He warned, resting a comforting hand on the Draconian's comparatively broad shoulder. "If you need information from her, Librarian, please be gentle with her."

Eron thought once about arguing with the doctor, that he was being gentle with her, but a glance at Scurvy behind him, who still struggled for breath, a hand on her forehead, stopped him from saying a word. He nodded to the doctor before returning to his seat by his friend's bedside. He watched, carefully resisting the urge to wrap her in his arms as she focused on her breathing. She shuddered, eyes closing tightly, tears threatening to flow out, every one of her muscles tense once again. Eron instinctively found himself shifting closer to her, leaning out of his seat and hovering slightly over her body, a hand resting on either side of her.

Scurvy shivered beneath him, and eyes barely opened to slits, she reached up and ran a shaky hand along his muzzle to his cheek. He raised his own hand to clasp over it.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered, rubbing his cheek into her hand. Her lidded eyes flashed briefly.

"Go..." she croaked quietly, the sedative obviously taking its intended effect. "Be...with..Wol..." The name she had meant to say was lost on her lips, and Eron gingerly placed her hand back down at her side as exhaustion finally claimed her body. He cupped her face once again, stroking her cheek with his thumb, feeling the soft, sensitive skin, hot with fever. Guilt shot through him, the sensation akin to venom coursing through his veins. Eron let out a soft sigh, leaning down and pressing his lips tenderly to her forehead, lingering at the softness of her burning skin, lingering on his kiss. Reluctantly, he pulled away, brushing his fingers along the side of her face. The Draconian stood up reluctantly and made his way out into the hall, feeling colder than he had since receiving the news of her accident.

Wolfe Starblade was leaning against the wall opposite of the room, his arms folded across his chest. When Eron appeared out of Scurvy's room, he shot up, instantly alert, and swiftly walked over to meet his boyfriend in a tight embrace. Eron's arms gratefully slithered around Wolfe's slim waist, burying his face into his neck and planting a tender kiss to it.

"How is she?" Wolfe demanded, pulling regretfully away from their hug. The draconian sighed and nuzzled Wolfe before fully pulling away.

"She's..." He began, but he couldn't find the words to tell him of Scurvy's condition, about how she no longer felt her legs, about her sudden panic attack brought upon by memories unknown to him. Thankfully, Wolfe seemed to understand his situation, and pulled his boyfriend into another tight embrace.

"You know Scurv. better than anyone, Eron. You know she'll pull through this. She always does."

She always does. Somehow, those words didn't bring Eron any sort of comfort.

…

To Wolfe's growing irritation, Eron's concern and doting over the recovering Scurvy Whiteshard had interrupted their normal...nightly rituals. When he did manage to seduce Eron, the draconian was overall uninterested, and what aggression and passion there was in their love was simply gone. Now it wasn't something Eron looked forward to, but something he felt required to do to keep his boyfriend happy.

The two laid together in bed quietly, with Eron's head resting on Wolfe's chest, his eyes half-closed in thought, his mind most likely pre-occupied with thoughts of Scurvy. Wolfe traced the fine viridian scale of his lover's back, forcing back his urges as best he could for Eron's sake. He focused instead on the cooling breeze which blew gently into the room through the partially open window, relaxing at the soothing touch of wind on his tanned skin.

Just as the man was drifting into sleep, Eron spoke up, his voice quiet. "I want Scurvy to stay here with us when she's released."

Wolfe reflected on this obviously carefully-delivered proposition. A great part of him empathized with his lover; Scurvy was his friend as well, and he had grown to greatly admire the woman. Another part of him, however, a small part which he desperately tried to force down before it became any greater, was jealous. Eron glanced up at his lover, waiting for a proper response. Wolfe frowned slightly, his fingers pausing against Eron's smooth-scaled back.

"Why here?" He asked carefully.

"I want to take care of her."

Against his own will, the jealous part of Wolfe grew with Eron's answer. Obviously sensing his boyfriend's growing uncertainty, Eron tilted his head back slightly, planting a gentle kiss on his jawline, soft and comforting.

"No one else can take care of her properly, show her the care she needs. She needs to be with friends." Eron tried to explain. Wolfe's violet-colored eyes flashed with a challenging light, however guarded it might have been. Eron knew his lover, however good in heart he was and however empathetic he was - both traits that drew him in from the start - there was another part of Wolfe that wasn't so passive.

"Can't Diego take her in?" Wolfe's jealousy was continuing to grow. Eron sat up slightly, resting against his elbows as he looked his lover in the eye.

"Their relationship has faltered since she's returned." His eyes flashed. "You know that by now."

Wolfe sat up completely, rubbing his face with his hands and sighing both in self-irritation at his feelings and irritation at Eron, whose mind has purely been on Scurvy since the incident. He stood, walking over to the window and crossing his arms across his chest, looking out at the dimmed Wizard City.

"One month," Wolfe hissed quietly under his breath. "She was your girlfriend for one month."

He spat the word 'girlfriend' out as if it were venom on his lips, a poison to know that his beloved actually fell for a woman. Eron, still in their bed, stared across the room at Wolfe, gaping at him in surprise. While jealousy was a natural emotion to feel, it was never directed at Scurvy, even when he first learned of their past romantic relationship. It was uncharacteristic to see Wolfe behave in such a manner.

"Only one damned month!" Eron spat, bright yellow eyes flashing in the dark room. "Why are you making such a big fucking deal of this now? Scurvy's your friend, our friend, and-"

"You're treating her like she's still yours!" Wolfe turned on his boyfriend, glaring at him, hands clenching into fists as he let his emotions get the better of him. "Like she's still your girlfriend, like she's been with you for years!"

"She has been with me for years! She's one of my closest friends! Is that such a fucking sin? To be friends with someone else?"

Silence dominated the room after that, with Wolfe continuing to stare out at the Wizard City streets and Eron remaining in the bed, tearing at the thin sheets below the covers, not looking at his lover for fear of arguing again. Eventually, as they both calmed down, as the anger and misplaced jealousy dimmed down to a gentle, unprovoked flame, Eron stood and met his boyfriend by the window, strong arms wrapping around his waist as he placed a kiss to his lovers shoulder. Wolfe relaxed at his touch, pressing closer against the draconian who won his heart.

"I'm sorry," the silver-haired man murmured. "I know you're only worried because she's been your friend for so long, our friend. The way you dote on her though…"

"I know. I worried too much over her, and it got in the way of us."

Wolfe cupped his boyfriend's cheek in his hand, smiling fondly at him and kissing the tip of his snout. "If it helps at all, remember that Scurvy's the most unbreakable woman in the Spiral."

The most unbreakable woman. Eron reflected on the statement, and on the strength Scurvy always possessed even as a youth, both physically and in self-determination. He reflected on all the things his friend had gone through in her life, on the things he knew about as well as the things he didn't know. He reflected on the fact that even when she was on the brink of death, she always fought for what she felt was right. Unbreakable indeed.

Wolfe's hands slid down Eron's chest until they wrapped around his waist, a mischievous smile gracing his handsome features as he leaned forward, passionately kissing his one-and-only.

"She can stay here for recovery," Wolfe promised, eyes twinkling. "But no more neglecting me."

Eron laughed heartily, kissing his lover back and pulling him closer to his body.

"No more neglect."

This will, for sure, be continued later in the series. Like, for. Sure. Hope you enjoyed!

Review Replies:

Guest: Anything I Can Do is very slow going, unfortunately. Both Firestorm and I developed a nasty case of writers block as well as a serious lack of time. Rest assured though, love, the story is NOT abandoned, and will hopefully be updated soon.

Amma: The whole rivalry relationship was totally a "go-for-it" thing for me. I initially didn't have James and Aglaia linked AT ALL, but I'm really happy I made them mortal enemies. x) And who knows, maybe your right? (My way of saying I've no idea yet why they hate each other XD)

Guest (cdestroyer): I might in the future, but my goal is to have 100 short stories in total. When that's completed, some linking will probably be done to make things easier for reading.

Sandstorm: NO, TOTALLY NOT... okay, maybe. xD I felt like putting her in for some reason. :3 And Perception is, like Anything I Can Do blahblahblah, is very slow going. It's my baby so I'm taking my time raising it to perfection. As in, actually planning and plotting things out properly and mapping out scenes. Yeah..

Willow: XD I actually never really played Pirate101 either. Tried, but never really got into it. xD I just really wanted to make a pirate character. :3

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