Number twenty: Closer.

Pairing: Arra Sails/Larten Crepsley.

A/N: With the exception of the bonus word (which should hopefully be up soon), this chapter signals the end of my entry for the contest! I've officially finished it: thanks to all of you who stuck with it, reviewed or just read it. So, here's Closer. Enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

...

The room I awoke to was very dark, only a small candle flickered in the corner, and rather empty: only the coffin I was lying in, and a table and chairs next to the coffin. My head was pounding and my vision was slightly blurred. I didn't understand where I was or why I was there. I sighed and reached a hand up to rub my eyes, only to feel that my head was wrapped in a bandage. I groaned, and that's when I realised I wasn't alone in the room: sitting at the table were two people.

I groaned again as I tried to sit up and the people came over to me, and even with my blurred vision I knew who they were: Larten and Arra.

"Do not try to move." Larten said from my left, placing a hand on my shoulder and firmly pushing me back down into the coffin.

"What, what happened?" I asked weakly, rubbing my eyes again to try to clear the haziness.

"You don't remember?" Arra asked from Larten's side.

I shook my head and winced at the pain it caused. I couldn't remember anything. Which, I realised with a start, probably meant that whatever had happened was serious. The sound of chairs being scraped across the floor reached me, "You were attacked." Larten stated simply as he and his mate sat down next to me.

"Attacked?" I asked, worry and confusion taking over me. I coughed, "By who?"

"Not 'who'," Arra answered, "'What'. Gav, you were attacked by a bear."

"What were you doing outside during the day anyway?" Larten asked, sounding something like the big brother I had always seen him as.

"I don't..." I started but trailed off as everything came flooding back to me. I sighed, "I had just gone out for a walk. And I was heading back as the sun started to rise. I wasn't really concentrating on where I was going – I was thinking too much – and I wandered into one of the lower tunnels and then..." I trailed off again, squeezing my eyes shut against the image of the bear as it rose up out of the shadows and lunged towards me.

I felt a hand squeeze my own and opened my eyes: Arra was holding my hand, resting her chin on the edge of the coffin with a small smile on her lips. Larten was also half-smiling at me, one arm resting over the edge of the coffin, the other wrapped around Arra's shoulders.

"Typical Gavner." Larten laughed.

"Only you would be too distracted to notice a bloody huge bear coming at you." Arra grinned.

I frowned up at them for a minute, and then smiled: they were trying to make me feel better by joking around, something I always did. I opened my mouth to say something joking back, but then another thought crossed my mind and the frown slid back into place, "Isn't tonight your ten year anniversary?"

They both smiled and Larten nodded, "Yes," He tightened his arm around Arra's shoulders, "It is."

"I ruined it." I stated, beginning to feel annoyed with myself.

"You didn't." Arra grinned again and squeezed my hand reassuringly, "You're more important anyway."

"Apparently, we would drop anything for you." Larten added, a fake-frown plastered on his face.

I smiled up at them, truly touched by their concern and dedication to me. I felt like I should say something, but I was too choked up with emotion to do so. So I settled simply with, "Thanks guys."