Ivan gasped as he arched in the freezer he had been stored in, screaming so loudly that he woke the three witches that were asleep beside him and Matthew. The man flailed, scrambling out of the ice and shivering as he fell onto the floor, coughing and breathing frantically, eyes wide and terrified as he curled in on himself, hoarsely trying to catch his breath between his terrified noises.
"Goddess...he did it," Arthur breathed as he stood with a startled look on his face and moved with Grace to gently approach the man on the floor.
"Ivan? It's me...Arthur...do you recall...anything?" the blonde man asked gently as he knelt beside the agonized male, his hand reaching to run a soothing hand over Ivan's forehead. Grace knelt on his other side, offering heated blankets and already sending Bella to fetch hot water.
"Matthew, where's Matthew?" Ivan asked instantly, pushing aside Arthur at the sight of Matthew's hand draped over the edge of the couch he had been laid on. The larger male moved to grasp Matthew's fingers, feeling the warmth and the pulse there, shivering as he tangled their fingers together and started to cry, curled up on his side, in pain and having relived his death over and over again.
"He's fine, love, he's just fine...he's just asleep," Arthur explained gently as he approached Ivan and did his best to wrap the man in the blankets Grace had brought. "You need to rest, Ivan...your body is very hurt right now," the blonde witch explained, nodding to his sister for help in moving Ivan to another couch opposite Matthew's.
Ivan panted as he was moved, refusing to release Matthew's hand and forcing their bodies to be kept close together as he felt his eyes close and his body shut down from exhaustion despite having just woken up.
His dreams were filled with car horns and bright lights.
It was hours later when Matthew sat on the floor beside Ivan's sleeping form, the man's body having been slathered in a salve full of lavender and chamomile and sweet milk that would make him feel better and less stressful. His wounds had been dressed and Lars had called in a doctor to give proper stitches and casts where needed.
Bageshri was curled devotedly on Ivan's leg, keeping the area warm with her thick, black fur as Matthew sipped at hot tea to continue to wake up his own body.
He was not traumatized, not how Ivan was, and the blonde couldn't help but wonder if Ivan would truly be alright.
Ivan whimpered in his sleep, searching out Matthew every so often before he'd fall back into dreams of death and limbo. It was at least two days before he was awake again, jerking his head up and being overcome with dizziness before he focused on Matthew, reaching out to grab the blonde's hand and pull gently, whimpering and eyes unfocused as he stared at the familiar form of his love.
"I'm here," Matthew assured gently, his head resting on Ivan's chest as he pet sweetly through the man's hair. "I'm here...Bageshri is here...you're alright, darling," the blonde smiled softly, his fingers continuing to move gently against Ivan's head. Matthew didn't want to push him, to stress the other male out. He just needed to get better, and Matthew was content to wait.
By the end of the week Ivan was moving about again, was alive and well so far as everyone was concerned. He still had nightmares but he could eat, sleep and walk just fine. He hadn't spoken about limbo, had shied away from the subject whenever any of the witches and Lars had brought it up.
It was one particularly cool evening, Ivan and Matthew laying on the floor of their home in front of the fire, when Ivan spoke up. "It felt like a dream." He murmured. "Or a nightmare, I guess... I could remember food, could remember people, but everything was... Blurred... And it was like remembering experiencing something... Not how it really was." The older male tightened his arms around Matthew. "And I couldn't change. I was stuck on a track..."
"I know," Matthew murmured softly, his eyes focussed on the dancing fire as he relished in the feel of Ivan's body against his own. "We don't...we don't have to talk about this, Ivan…I don't want it to hurt you."
"It felt real..." Ivan murmured after a long moment. "I thought I was a priest and... And my strongest memory of you was when we had kissed at Samhain... I couldn't remember that we were going to be married... I couldn't remember my sisters or anything that had happened before..." The older male tucked his face against Matthew's neck, letting out a shuddering sigh. "I'm so sorry."
"No...no Ivan….please...don't be sorry," Matthew murmured softly, his arms encircling the older male's body so he could cradle him close. "I have you back...I have you here, and alive. You're mine...and...and I'm not going to lose you ever again," the blonde whimpered softly, his face pressing to Ivan's temple.
Ivan curled himself around Matthew, tangling his fingers with the blonde's and murmuring softly. "For the boy thou were, for the man thee art, and for the husband thou shalt be to me...I do choose you to be mine own, I shall from...from this day forth, 'till beyond the end of time...take thee to be mine own…" Ivan whispered softly, giving Matthew's fingers a gentle squeeze.
"You...you heard me?" Matthew asked softly, his eyes filling with tears as he whimpered and pressed his forehead to Ivan's. He had tried to keep his emotions in check, to not seem as upset as he had felt in order to spare Ivan of feeling any worse, but Matthew couldn't help it any longer.
He cried softly, his face pressing into Ivan's hair as he clutched the other male close. "Oh...oh Ivan...I was so scared I had lost you….I can't...I can't lose you, Ivan..I love you so much.."
Ivan's arms wrapped tightly around the blonde, clutching him close and murmuring "I love you" over and over again. He kissed the blonde, repeating the phrase as he pressed their bodies close.
He had almost lost him, had almost left Matthew, his Matthew, his wonderful sweet beautiful Matthew, behind.
There was a new desperation now, he wanted to hold Matthew, his fingers pushing open the blonde's black clothing, feeling the soft curve of his flesh and the way it gave easily beneath his own. He kissed down slender chest and stomach until he pressed his mouth between the blonde's thighs.
Matthew shuddered, his head tilting to peer at Ivan's face as he sniffled, his face wet as he gave the older male a shaky smile. "You...you won't get...get in trouble this time," the blonde murmured softly, his cheeks heating up as he reached a hand down to shakily run through Ivan's hair.
Ivan smiled as he slid his fingers into the blonde, kissing up again in order to kiss his love's lips, cupping Matthew's cheek and nipping at a full lower lip. "I would think that dying entitles us to this." He murmured as he lifted Matthew's hips and pulled him close, tugging down the soft fabric of his own sleep pants in order to push himself into the blonde, moaning softly. He knew that he wasn't going to last long, he needed just the closeness.
"Ivan…," Matthew whimpered softly, his thighs shaking as he lifted his legs to wrap around the older male's hips. "If...if it didn't...the fact that you're mine now s-sure would," the blonde smiled breathlessly, his hands brushing up Ivan's arms, feeling over new and old scars before curling his arms behind the older male's neck.
Ivan kissed the blonde's full lips and nodded, his fingers digging into Matthew's hips as he moved against the smaller male. He could feel the heat building up in his stomach, his eyes bright as they stared down at Matthew. He loved Matthew so much, loved the blonde even more now that the blonde had dragged him back from death. "I love you." He murmured gently.
"I...I love you, too," Matthew murmured, his face red as his arms dropped to the thick woven carpet underneath his body, his fingers digging into the intricate loops and fabric as he whimpered and arched his back. Ivan was so warm and perfect and real that Matthew felt his body shuddering and his little cries increasing far earlier than he would've liked. The blonde came with a whimper of Ivan's name, his hands curling tight against the older male's forearms.
Ivan moaned as he came, feeling his body snap as Matthew's own tightened around him. He pressed his lips to the blonde's jaw, feeling the flutter of his pulse, confirming that they were both alive. The older male moaned as he pulled out from Matthew, pressing their bodies together to feel their chests and heartbeats moving against one another. "I love you so much." He moaned softly, his fingers stroking over slim sides before he kissed Matthew's jaw. "My perfect little witch."
The blonde laughed softly, his face lighting up as he tucked his nose against Ivan's temple and clutched the older male close. "I love you so much, too…, even if I'm not a perfect witch..not yet," Matthew smiled, stroking his fingers over the intricate scar on Ivan's back. "Just….just promise me one thing, darling?"
"Anything." Ivan murmured as he cuddled the blonde close, tucking their foreheads together gently. He could feel Matthew's breaths against his palms, feel the blonde's heartbeat slowly coming down from the frenzy they had experienced a few moments before.
"Always promise to look twice? For me? I don't know what I'd do if I lost you," the blonde smiled, his shoulders trembling in a little laugh as he pressed sweet kisses to the older male's face.
Ivan chuckled, grasping Matthew tightly and kissing soft lips. "I promise. I'll look both ways twice... Just for you." The older male nuzzled his nose against Matthew's, his fingers stroking over slender waist and hips. "I love you."
"I love you too….so much, darling," the blonde murmured softly, his eyes drooping as he cuddled tight to Ivan's body, his fingers moving idly along pale skin.
Samhain came about once more and Ivan, working now among the witches as an assistant, collecting ingredients, herbs, the blood and fur of creatures and various other needs for the witches themselves, could hardly contain his excitement. Samhain was his favourite sabbat and he looked forward to the games and the food and the dancing.
"Are we ready?" Ivan asked as he pulled on the high-necked shirt he wore for special occasions, his jacket an off-white with a pearly patterning on it as he peered around the corner of their door at his husband, smiling at Matthew's frilled little gown and the bright red shoes he wore. "We look ready, da?"
Laughing softly, Matthew bobbed his head and adjusted the little bell collar that Bageshri wore for the special occasion. "Da," the blonde smiled, moving to kiss Ivan's cheek as his hands smoothed at his husband's shirt. "I like it when you use Russian...have I ever told you that?" Matthew hummed as he grasped his lantern and slid his basket over his arm as he wandered out of their house with Ivan at his side and Bageshri at their ankles.
"Usually when you're moaning my name beneath me." Ivan smirked, giving his husband a gentle kiss before he lifted the insistent cat that was clawing at his leg. "And your cat is going to get fat because I carry her everywhere." Ivan sighed as he scratched behind soft little ears. "I spoil both of you endlessly." The older male wrapped his arm around Matthew's waist and the two made their ways to the center of the community, the bonfire already lit by the time they arrived.
"She just happens to love you just as much as I do...and if you want to hear more of that moaning I suggest you be the one to catch me, tonight," the blonde teased before he released Ivan's arm and moved to wander toward the festivities to drop off the treats he had made specifically for eating later.
Ivan grinned and accepted an apple that had been cored and soaked in rum, sitting down just beyond the bonfire dancers and children, eating his treat and watching Matthew as he did so, smiling widely at the blonde.
Matthew danced and smiled with the smaller fledglings, the children eager to play their version of trick or treat. The blonde tossed a look over at Ivan, the silent question all over his face as Lars called the festivities to a still so that he could explain the well known rules.
The blonde smirked as he picked up his lantern and dangled it from a finger before he followed the rest of the fledglings into the dark forest, full of giggling and laughing and bobbing amber lights.
Ivan laughed as he and Lars darted into the darkness, attacking the smaller fledglings with tickles in order to get treats and avoiding the older fledglings in order to stay in the game. Ivan wandered for a while, munching on bits of caramel and clusters of nuts held together with chocolate. He grinned when he saw a pair of slender ankles dangling from a tree branch, reaching up to grab the blonde's feet and tugging gently as he looked up at Matthew. "I caught you." He called, reaching up and collecting the slender waist in his palms to hoist Matthew down.
Matthew laughed and slid back so he could hook his knees over the low tree branch that brought him face to face with Ivan, his shoulders shaking in his laughter as he pressed an upside down kiss to his husband's lips. "Help...help me down!" he cried softly, feeling the blood rush to his face as he reached for Ivan's arms so he didn't fall out of the tree altogether.
Ivan laughed as he tugged Matthew out of the branches and after some struggling the two overbalanced and toppled to the ground, Ivan laughing as he held Matthew to his chest, the two having landed in an explosion of dead leaves. There were brownish orange leaves in Matthew's hair and Ivan grinned as he leaned upwards to kiss the blonde, his fingers ruffling through soft curls to dislodge the foliage. "I caught you, do I get a treat?"
"That all depends...I have candy in my pocket...is that the sort of treat you're after?" the blonde teased as he shifted to place a kiss on Ivan's mouth. "But I have a feeling it isn't candy, is it?" Matthew hummed, smirking as he shifted to straddle Ivan's waist, his lips pressing to his husband's mouth.
Ivan smirked as he shifted his hands up beneath the petticoats that Matthew wore, kissing his husband's lips firmly. "You're much sweeter." He murmured against Matthew's mouth, leaning back against the pile of leaves, his fingers gently tickling the soft flesh of Matthew's thighs. "Come here, you."