When they had first arrived in Merry Hills to watch Agnea perform at the Grand Gala, Osvald hadn't expected to encounter hired thugs trying to impede her performance as soon as she tried to take the stage. Luckily, she had a well-rounded group of fighters as friends, and while she put on her show, they took care of the thugs.
"Take that, ya varmint!" Osvald glanced at Partitio as he took out one with a quick thrust of his spear. Most of the thugs had been dealt with at this point, and Osvald was helping Partitio eliminate the stragglers while the others caught their breaths and were patched up by Castti or Temenos if need be.
As Osvald put down another thug, he heard Dolcinaea start to sing. He felt an odd magic in the air, causing Osvald's brow to knit and his lips to morph into a frown; he could not pinpoint exactly what kind of magic it was. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Partitio, who was standing stock-still and staring into space. Strange…
When he didn't move to block an incoming attack, Osvald cursed under his breath as he rushed to intercept it and counter, eliminating the final thug. Partitio had always been an alert and competent fighter; something was very wrong.
"Partitio, what are you-" Osvald turned to him, but found it hard to continue speaking with Partitio's spear lodged in his left shoulder. The rest of his sentence came out in a garbled groan, and Osvald reacted quickly to grab the shaft of the spear and yank it from his shoulder.
"P-Partitio?" Osvald was dumbstruck; he knew that Partitio would never dream of lifting a finger against any of his friends, especially the one that he loved. So why…?
Osvald quickly ducked to dodge a clumsy spear swing, wincing as pain shot through his injured shoulder. He then grabbed the spear again and pulled Partitio off-balance, and Osvald realized what was wrong when Partitio's eyes met his. His eyes were normally a beautiful shade of blue, but they were now pink and his pupils had morphed into a heart-shape. A translucent pink aura also permeated the air around him, and from the texts that Osvald had read on uncommon types of magic, that could only mean one thing: Partitio was charmed.
Osvald's heart sank at the realization. Something in Dolcinaea's song was forcing Partitio to attack him, and as Osvald blocked another sloppy attack from him, he racked his brain for a way to snap him out of it.
From what he had read about the charm condition, the most effective method of dispelling it was to physically incapacitate the victim. Osvald immediately vetoed that; he knew his own strength, and he would never forgive himself if he accidentally hurt Partitio.
Using magic was an even worse option; that was his strong point, and one wrong move meant that he could end up killing Partitio. Osvald could not bear that kind of loss…not again, and certainly not by his own hand. There was only one course of action he could take, but it was highly illogical and extremely reckless. Osvald didn't have the time to consider any other options, so he steeled himself and went for it.
Osvald charged forward, slamming hard into Partitio and knocking him off balance. He shoved him again, sending Partitio to the ground this time, and Osvald quickly straddled him, pinning his arms to the ground. Partitio struggled fruitlessly against Osvald's superior strength, and Osvald quickly leaned down and roughly pressed his lips to Partitio's, pouring all of his love into this desperate, tender kiss with the hope of snapping the man that he loved out of his trance.
'Come back to me, love, please,' Osvald pleaded in his head, and he deepened the kiss when Partitio struggled against his grip. A few agonizing seconds ticked by, until Partitio finally ceased his struggling, and only then did Osvald dare to break the kiss.
"Partitio…" Osvald said, his voice soft as he cupped Partitio's face, staring deep into his eyes. They were wide and his pupils were still heart-shaped, but they slowly turned back to normal as Partitio started blinking rapidly.
"W-What in tarnation…?" he breathed, his eyes darting about as his brow wrinkled, "What in the world hap-" He was cut off when a few drops of blood dripped onto his face, and Osvald cringed as he brought a hand to his bloody chest; the adrenaline was wearing off, and his wound hurt like hell.
Partitio's watery eyes widened as he reached up with a trembling hand to brush at the blood on his cheek. "N-No, I d-didn't…I couldn't…"
"Osvald!"
As he moved off of Partitio and sat on the ground, Castti knelt down next to him and examined his wound. Osvald glanced over at Partitio, who was clutching his head as Temenos and Hikari tended to him; he needed to be with him too.
"Oh no you don't." Osvald tried to get up but was promptly pushed back to the ground by Castti. "I need to finish this patch job and get you back to the inn. I have something to stop the bleeding in my room."
"But-" he started to protest, but he was interrupted when Temenos chimed in:
"We will take care of him, Osvald. I do not want to move him until I'm sure that the charm spell has worn off completely." Temenos gave Osvald's uninjured shoulder a gentle pat and Osvald closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"...Alright, thank you." Osvald stole a last concerned glance at Partitio before he let himself be ushered back to the inn by Castti, with some help from Throné.
"There, that should do it." Castti securely tied off the bandage wrapped around Osvald's shoulder, and she handed him a cup with an odd green liquid inside. "Drink this, it should help with the pain."
Osvald nodded as he downed the drink in one go, and the bitter taste caused him to grimace. "Ugh…Thanks, Castti."
"Anytime," Castti said, and she let out a sigh as her gaze wandered to the door, "Partitio…I hope he's alright. It's not a common spell, but I've heard that people who have been affected by charm have a hard time mentally dealing with the aftermath."
Osvald's chest tightened as he stared down at his hands, and he clenched them so hard that they turned white and his nails bit into his palms. He couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like to lose control of his own body, and if it had been him attacking Partitio instead…Osvald needed to go see him now.
"Osvald."
He looked up when Temenos entered the room, and the dour look on his face made Osvald shoot to his feet. "Is Partitio okay?"
"I did a full examination and he is physically well," Temenos said, nodding slowly as his brow knit and lips pursed, "However, he remembers everything that happened while he was charmed, and is rather distraught by the entire ordeal. He needs you, Osvald."
Temenos did not have to tell him twice, and after Castti gave him a nod of encouragement, Osvald quickly made his way to the room that he shared with Partitio.
"Partitio?" Osvald said as he pushed open the door and quickly closed it behind him. His heart sank when he saw Partitio sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands as he audibly sobbed.
"O-Osvald…Y-You shouldn't be here," Partitio choked out, not lifting his head.
Osvald was frozen with shock; he had never seen Partitio like this before. The optimistic, kind-hearted merchant had gotten emotional before, sure, but the tears that he cried during those moments were usually caused by overwhelming joy.
But this…Partitio just looked so…broken. His body trembled with the effort of gasping for air between heavy sobs, and he kept his face pressed firmly against his hands.
He couldn't bear this sight any longer, so Osvald slowly moved to sit on the bed next to Partitio, and he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Partitio, dear, it's okay-"
"Nothin' about this is okay!" Partitio snapped as he jerked away from Osvald's touch. He shot to his feet and paced back and forth, his arms wrapping tightly around himself as his eyes darted everywhere but at Osvald. "I hurt you, Osvald…and I-I could have killed you…I could have killed the man that I love more than anything!"
As Partitio broke down sobbing again, Osvald finally let the hand that had been hovering in the air where Partitio's shoulder had been fall back to his lap, and he felt tears prick at the corners of his own eyes. Osvald could not - would not - let this guilt eat away at Partitio, so he stood up and placed his hand on his shoulder again. When Partitio tried to pull away again, Osvald persisted and maintained a gentle yet firm grip. He resisted only for a moment before slumping in defeat, his eyes fixed upon the floor. Osvald slowly lifted his other hand to Partitio's face and cupped his cheek.
"My love, look at me, please," Osvald whispered, using his thumb to brush Partitio's tears away with the softest of touches. He patiently waited as Partitio continued to sob, and he eventually managed to stop. He sniffed a few times and took a big, shaky breath, before he slowly lifted his head and met Osvald's gaze with his red, puffy eyes.
"O-Osvald, I'm ashamed of myself-" he tried to say, but Osvald shook his head and pressed his thumb against his lips to stop him.
"Partitio, listen." Osvald watched as Partitio worried his bottom lip between his teeth, and he swallowed thickly before giving Osvald a small nod. Removing his hand from his shoulder, Osvald moved it to his cheek so that he was cupping Partitio's face, and he leaned down to place a tender kiss onto his forehead.
"Partitio, I would never, ever hold something like this against you," Osvald said, gentle brushing Partitio's hair out of his eyes as they welled up with tears again, "You were caught under the influence of rare, powerful magic, and honestly, I'm rather proud of you."
"H-Huh?" Partitio tilted his head and blinked slowly at Osvald, who offered him a small smile and nodded.
"Yes. I know you and your combat prowess well. If you had actually wanted to kill me, that first blow would not have missed its intended mark. All of your attacks were awkward and clumsy, and that is because you were resisting the charm, was it not?"
"Of course I was…" Partitio's voice was soft, and he reached up with a trembling hand to brush his fingers over Osvald's bandaged left shoulder. "I never wanted to h-hurt you, darlin'..."
Osvald hummed as he took Partitio's hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a chaste kiss to the back of it. "I know, love. I could tell you were fighting against it as hard as you could. Your mental fortitude is stronger than most."
"I-I guess…"
"Please don't beat yourself up over this, Partitio. It could have happened to me, or any one of our friends," Osvald said, "I'm just thankful that I managed to break the spell without hurting you."
"Heh, yeah…That was a pretty nice way to wake up." Partitio finally smiled at Osvald, and what a bright and beautiful sight it was. Osvald chuckled and pulled Partitio into a tight hug.
"I would do it a thousand times over for you, my love."
Osvald felt Partitio's arms wrap around him, and he lifted his head to press his chin against his chest and shoot him a wink. "I appreciate it, sweetheart, but I don't ever wanna go through anything like that again."
"Hmm, yes," Osvald mumbled as he rubbed Partitio's back, "We should take precautions against charm spells in the future. I might be able to devise a counter spell of some sort with further research…"
Partitio pressed his face against Osvald's chest to stifle his laughter. "There ya go with your obsession with research again. Don't ya get tired of it at all?"
Osvald huffed and gave his head a vigorous shake before pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Nonsense. My pursuit of knowledge is never ending, and I already have a few theories in mind-"
"I was just teasin' ya!"
Osvald smiled down at a grinning Partitio, and he breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that he had managed to snap Partitio out of his distressed state, thank the gods.
"...Thank you, Osvald. For not givin' up on me," Partitio said, his voice soft and his eyes glowing with admiration. Osvald chuckled and leaned down to press a kiss against Partitio's forehead.
"As long as I live, Partitio, I will never give up on you, I promise. I know you would do the same for me."
"Osvald…"
Their eyes locked, and for a moment Osvald thought he could drown in the vast amount of love that he saw deep in Partitio's. Leaning down as he took Partitio's hand and entwined their fingers, Partitio met him halfway and they shared a deep, tender kiss.
After they parted, Osvald stole a glance at the window and he noted that the sun had set. "The others are probably at the tavern by now, celebrating Agnea's achievement. Would you like to go and join them?"
Partitio's gaze fell to the floor, and Osvald was surprised when he shook his head. "I'm, ah, not really feelin' up to it right now."
"What are you feeling up to, then?"
Partitio's cheeks flushed pink, causing Osvald to raise an eyebrow. "I…reckon I could use some cuddlin' right about now, darlin'."
A fond smile crossed Osvald's face and he nodded. "Of course, love. I'd like that."
The two lovers stripped down to their underclothes and got into bed, and Osvald quickly pulled Partitio into his arms. Partitio let out a long sigh and snuggled as close to Osvald as he could, his head resting on his chest.
"I love you, Osvald…Thankee kindly for cheerin' me up," Partitio said, and Osvald placed a kiss on the top of his head as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"I love you too, Partitio. Always."
They spent the rest of the night in the comfort of each other's embrace, and Partitio eventually drifted off to sleep. Osvald joined him shortly after, but not before he could make a mental note to start his research on a charm counterspell as soon as he could, so nothing like this would ever happen to the man that he loved again.