Chapter 59: Storm of emotions
Was it a dream or reality?
That was the first question on Izaya's mind as his eyes opened to the flood of light indicating morning.
Birds chirped, fresh air danced inside the chamber like a newborn couple after a festival and Izaya could hear the quiet but steady sound of servants going about their daily work around the mansion.
The dizziness had disappeared.
The heat too.
Doing as much as tilting his head had been more than enough reason to cause his surroundings to spin or conscience to burst, but right now it didn't as nothing but the pleasant sensation of a satin pillow grazing his face was met with the action.
Hesitation laid in Izaya's eyes as slowly and carefully pushed himself up.
The satin blanket slithered off his chest, revealing the intricate pattern of his nightgown. Silver and white merged in a fantastic play of delicate spirals and lines.
Brushing across the blanket like a feather made of light, the white sleeves followed as Izaya reached for the headboard.
Raising his palm as if he had never seen his hand before, Izaya looked at the inscription. It had lost a bit of its shade on the right as the pillow and a full night's rest weren't the best conditions for a simple drawing made of coal to remain.
But Izaya had of course memorized the pattern and so his head turned towards the corpse of a candle that had been placed next to his bed.
Picking off the wick made of wood, Izaya brought the black substance to his skin.
One line after the other appeared- much finer than the healer had been able to draw them.
Pride filled his chest for a moment as the wick was returned to the bedside table.
He was still feeling fine- there was no pain sitting in his chest, no stones making it hard to breathe.
Taking a careful stuttering breath, ready to end the action at any given point in time, Izaya finally- after way too many years- felt nothing but the pleasant sensation of air filling his lungs.
Disbelief painted his expression and he glanced towards the door.
He was alone.
Shizuo had yet to return. And Craigh- was he still here?
He couldn't tell. All he could tell right now was this urge to finally move without having to succumb to pain, and the joy, the massive joy of hope that the idea brought.
His body-
Actually-
Good.
He felt good.
Discarding all sense of reason and caution Izaya's legs slipped off the mattress and down onto the cold ground of marble.
He wanted to get up- he wanted to stand up- to run around, to go where he pleased without having to think about every action made.
And so he rose from the bed- and coughed almost immediately. The heap of stones he usually felt quickly knocked on his chest, as if to announce that it's visit was far from over-
Clutching the bedrest, Izaya's eyes slipped shut for a moment as he tried to suppress the onslaught of choking coughs, but his mind was a different matter.
He wasn't succumbing.
Not again.
Glancing at the rune with the conviction of a priest, Izaya recalled the many pictures he had viewed in his mind to activate the spell.
Mairu, Kururi, Shizuo and the knights- more memories than there should have flooded his conscience as he refused to let himself be tied down by these invisible chains of fate.
And the spell did as it was supposed to.
Warmth, quick and infinitely pleasant, traveled down his arm, his elbow, shoulder and chest. It wasn't that Izaya was hoping for an improvement. This time it was certainty that drove his actions and as if reacting to his newfound conviction, the soothing sensation spiked in newfound intensity.
Stone after stone lifted from Izaya's chest and the coughs subsided quicker than they had assaulted him.
Activating the rune had taken just a moment. The duration a bird took to dash off the ledge of a roof at most, and Izaya suddenly found himself void of any emotion as he sat back down onto the bed.
The mattress shifted and the fabric of white satin brushed across the blanket like a set of freshly unfolded butterfly's wings.
Unbelievable calmth and the slightest hint of healthy doubt lingered in Izaya's mind as he took a deep breath.
The pain passed.
The weights too.
Fast.
He didn't feel exhausted, his chest didn't hurt. All that remained was merely a sense of tenderness that reminded him that it was wiser to proceed with a bit more care.
But apart from that?
Nothing-
All the heat he had been suffering from, the sluggishness of his body, the clouds fogging his mind- it was as though they had all disappeared and for a second Izaya gave his best to withhold the hope and joy that sprouted in his chest, because he had to be dreaming right?
He had to be-
There was no way-
After all this time, was he finally, truly freed from his demise? This spell was going to continue aiding him, bettering his illness-
Wouldn't that mean it would disappear?
Finally?
After all this time?
A smile, broader than any he had ever faked or truly felt spread across his lips as his brows arched. The soft sensation of a tear drawing lines upon his cheeks came as unpredicted as it sustained the intense storm of emotions in Izaya's chest.
It was over.
It finally-
The harsh and brittle sound of wood forcing its weight upon marble ground diverted Izaya's attention for a second as he faced the door to his chamber.
Blond hair belonging to only one king Izaya knew emerged from the corridor and met Izaya's face.
"Ah-" That was the only sound that Izaya was capable of making as Shizuo's eyes met his and his face shifted in a variety of emotions. "Shizuo good morni-"
They were good emotions, pleasant emotions, really- Shizuo on the other hand felt the opposite of those as he saw nothing but the tears streaking down Izaya's face.
"What happened-?" The words flowed quicker from his lips than his legs moved as the king flew over to the bedside. Iron protecting his knees hit the ground in a harsh thud and worry ruled his expression and quick stream of questions. "Are you okay? In pain-? Should I get Karazam? A medic- The healer-?"
"Shizuo I'm fine-!" Izaya quickly replied, but the words didn't quite meet undoubting acceptance. But the smile did. "I'm fine, really-"
Like a fresh rose, blossoming in the midst of weeds, the petals of joy unwinded as Izaya's expression showed nothing but the signs of relief and joy.
Speechlessness as much as Izaya was usually left breathless rendered Shizuo quiet for a moment and Izaya couldn't help but chuckle as he quickly wiped the stains of tears off his face. "Sorry, I just-" Taking a deep breath Izaya tried to quickly sort his thoughts and calm the storm of emotions battlin in his chest. "I feel good. Better than I have in years."
Meanwhile Shizuo's heart was close to bursting. From worry, from the short heap of panic upon seeing Izaya cry the second he entered his room- and most importantly from relief as he slowly started to realize that this time Izaya didn't appear to be lying.
This time Izaya seemed genuine, seemed relieved, seemed capable of breathing, laughing and moving without causing himself more of that cursed pain.
And for a second Shizuo just didn't know how to react. What to say, or do with this explosive cocktail of emotions trapped in his body.
He was so glad-
Just so glad his chest felt close to the brim of bursting to a million pieces.
Izaya was better-
He actually-
The action was executed quicker than Shizuo could even second guess them and Izaya was met with equal surprise as a tight hug encircled his whole body.
"Eh-"
"Thank god-" Shizuo whispered with the relief of a thousand men having fought at war and being told that the fight was finally over.
Surprise glittered in Izaya's eyes, but more than being astonished, he could relate.
Blond hair tickled Izaya's neck and once again Izaya was reminded just what a hune of a man was compared to his own size as those strong arms had not the slightest trouble to envelop Izaya whole.
It felt good. To be held like that.
Safe.
Joyful.
And a bit-
Feeling his heart skip a beat, Izaya felt an emotion he couldn't quite name, but as quick as it occurred, the action was over as Shizuo quickly retracted.
"Sorry-" he uttered quickly, but his eyes spoke of no true remorse as he met Izaya's. "I'm just relieved," he smiled with an expression made of happiness and Izaya couldn't help but mimic it.
"I know," he chuckled, "Relieved enough to thank the god you don't believe in."
"What?"
Confusion battled the joy in Shizuo's eyes, but ceremoniously lost against the vibrant mood that filled the king's mind.
"You said thank god," Izaya pointed out with a similar attitude and Shizuo blinked before snorting upon realizing his hilarious mistake. A hand was brought to his forehead as he brushed through his hair. "I really did, didn't I?"
Gentleness soothed over Izaya's voice as he nodded, "I will overlook this as a slip up," and Shizuo couldn't help but return the cheshire smile.
"How benevolent."
And for a second Shizuo could do nothing but look at Izaya.
At his captivating smile. His wits, not finally back in order. Those everglowing curious eyes and angelic voice that he wished would keep talking to him for all eternity.
An overwhelming force of emotions not stemming from Izaya's sudden improvement knotted his stomach and Shizuo found himself quite lost.
Suddenly he had no idea what to do, or what to say, in the face of his fake wife as he was overwhelmed by his emotions.
They were similar to what he always felt when looking at Izaya, but right now paired with the realization of what it was that he craved to do they weighed heavier than stones of lead.
Only a glimpse of time had passed, not enough to cause Izaya to realize that something was off, but enough for Shizuo to run through heaps of possible answers that he was supposed to give but failed to say as his mind wiped blank.
It was then that quick steps approached the chamber and Izaya, as well as Shizuo, realized that the king had failed to close the door upon entering the queen's chamber in a burst of concern.
Carelessly and wide open, the door presented a graceful image of Izaya in his entire beauty as Karazam appeared in its frame.
"Ah, my lady!" He announced the second he arrived, moments before his eyes traveled to Izaya's body.
The nightgown he was wearing was anything but presentable to men, and definitely the worst if it came to hiding his true nature-
And this time, he was not covered by the safety of multiple layers of sheets.
Reacting quicker than Karazam's face fell, Shizuo moved in front of Izaya's body, efficiently blocking all view.
And Karazam did the same, albeit in a different direction as his eyes immediately glued themselves to the ground and the back of the hallway. "I apologize, I didn't mean to-" he stumbled over his own words of stutter as the lightest tinge of rouge blossomed on his cheek of embarrassment. "Excuse me-" Faster than a cat having spotted a mouse, Karazam scurried into retreat and steered down the hallway he had come from.
The action had been quick, even quicker than Shizuo was able to say a single word and for a moment Izaya's and Shizuo's eyes met.
Laughter of relief and surprise filled the chamber within seconds as both of them couldn't quite keep their composure.
"Poor Karazam-" Izaya wheezed after a minute of calming his breath and Shizuo snorted. "He will live with it."
A quick glance was cast across Shizuo's shoulder and he nodded towards the single small door set inside the wall next to the bed.
It was connected to the servant chamber. A usual occurrence in mansion's as these and Shizuo spoke, "I told the maids to prepare a bath and the clothes I bought for you and to leave once they were done."
Ah.
Izaya thought the joy he experienced and the laughter making him feel lightheaded were already the best he ever felt, but the prospect of a soothing bath and fresh clothes made to actually move around instead of staying in bed like a corpse waiting for death, managed to top that emotion once more.
"Thank you," Izaya smiled, and for some reason Shizuo seemed to stiffen in his attitude.
A short pause followed and just for a moment Izaya thought he saw a shadow dance across Shizuo's face.
"If you need help or anything I'm here okay?" He spoke gallantly, just as Izaya was used to and so he snickered with the slightest hint of amusement.
"In front of the door? Really? And once I scream you come running?" he asked, very well aware of the implication of him being actually naked inside that bath but instead of calling embarrassment to Shizuo's face he was met with a dutiful nod.
"Anytime."
Right.
This was Shizuo.
Shizuo didn't care about such things. Izaya appreciated the offer more and the amount of care the king offered and so his voice took on a gentle tune.
"Hurry up and calm down Karazam," he whispered and nodded towards the hall.
A light smile grazed Shizuo's face and the king moved.
"Take your time."
to be continued~
This was sweet wasn't it? :3
Yo~ Sorry for skipping a weeks updates xD I ended up getting sick for the entire week C': It sucks to have fever when it's already way too hot lmao fuck hell's season, I want winter xDD Anyway~ here we are, I got almost everything except SD, but no worries that one will get an update next week again xD