Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 67: A Lasting Peace

So it turned out that building a house was a lot easier said than done.

Not that he had thought it would be easy, mind you, just...maybe not quite as hard as it actually was. There were a lot of things to take into consideration during construction, which was something he already knew given his proficiency with crafting and the time he had spent working on that parade float in Phnom Nonh, but Eleven was starting to realize that he was maybe just a little bit out of his depth here. Fortunately for him though, he had always been a fast learner, and perhaps even more fortunately, he had a lot of people around him that were willing to help.

Because it’s not like his family would ever make him build a house entirely by himself after all—and thank goodness for that, because he probably would’ve lost his mind by now if they had. Savior of Erdrea or not, there was only so much he could handle, and while designing his new home along with Erik and Mia (and Sylvando, because the jester simply couldn’t help himself when it came to décor) had been a lot of fun, bringing said home into existence was another matter entirely.

Still fun, of course, but definitely more work than he had bargained for.

And they had barely even begun.

Two months. That was how long all of them had been in Cobblestone for. Two whole months.

The first month had been spent fixing up the rest of the village, making sure that everything was put back to the way it was. Every house had been repaired, every stable and pen rebuilt. Some of it was even better than before, because given just how generous Heliodor had been when it came to providing funds (even though it wasn’t Carnelian’s fault, he had still felt the need to make amends), Derk had been able to get them some quality materials, well beyond what they could have located on their own.

All of his efforts had been very much appreciated, and Dunstan in particular had seemed pretty happy with the improvements, having decided on several of them himself.

Actually, their sprightly mayor had seemed pretty happy with the entire project in general really, despite how much work it had ultimately been. He had even thanked Eleven, claiming that he was partially responsible for some of their recent good fortune.

Even though he was the reason that the village had been burned down in the first place.

But that was in the past. He was supposed to be looking towards the future now, and it would seem that even though it might have taken a while (as in almost an entire year), Cobblestone had actually benefited from Eleven being the Luminary—although certain people would probably say that being the Luminary had nothing to do with it and that Eleven himself was the reason that so much good had come from such a tragedy. While he wasn’t entirely sure if he agreed with that yet, he was at least trying not to shy away so much when people decided to give him praise. It was definitely a work in progress though. According to Veronica, he was just too humble for his own good (and according to Erik, Veronica could use a few lessons in humility. Personally though, he thought Veronica was humble enough in her own right).

And speaking of Veronica, the fiery mage had remained true to her word. Aside from a few trips home to visit their parents and maybe a couple trips here and there to Gondolia to buy sweets, she and Serena had remained in Cobblestone in order to help get the village back on its feet. In fact, all of his friends had stayed, even Jade and Hendrik, who both had way more important things to be doing than hauling around materials and building houses. He knew better than to tell them that though, because he was fully aware of what their response would be, and he’d also be lying if he said that he wasn’t grateful to have them around. He was grateful for all of them really, especially when they all decided to stay not just for the reconstruction but also for the brand-new construction, as in the several new houses that were going to be added over the next coming months.

...Well, okay, maybe not “several,” but definitely a few, because it turned out that Erik and Mia weren’t going to be the only new residents in Eleven’s sleepy little village.

Just like he had thought they might, Noah and Connie were staying too. That news had come as quite a shock to some people, considering the fact that Noah had spent most of his life wandering from place to place, gathering information and then selling it for a living. Even with a daughter, settling down somewhere had seemed pretty off the table for him, least of all in a quiet, simple place like Cobblestone.

However, love had a way of changing things (something that the Luminary knew rather well), and it would seem that over the last several months, the traveling know-it-all had met someone capable of putting his wandering days to an end.

Eleven was happy for them, happy that things had turned out the way they did. Noah had come here to do him a favor, but he had stuck around because Connie had made a ton of friends and he had wanted her to be happy. Now that decision had led to a new kind of happiness, the beginning of a new family, and soon-to-be families needed their own houses, which was why there were a few now being built in the fields behind the mayor’s house, fields that had previously been deemed unsafe to build in due to the fact that there were monsters roaming not too far from there.

However, that was also in the past now. There was no longer any reason to fear. They could expand the village without having to worry about it, and upon being cleared of all the rocks and rubble, those fields had been the perfect place to start building some new homes. That being said, clearing them was part of the reason that it had taken two whole months just to get started on construction. Removing heavy rocks and all the stone blocks from the ruins, not to mention leveling the ground, was extremely tiring work, and if not for Jörmun, it probably would’ve taken them another month just to get everything ready.

Two months was kind of a long time, but in some ways it felt like barely any time had passed at all. Funny how that worked. It was probably due to the fact that he had enjoyed every minute of it, because despite every day being filled with work that needed to be done, not once had he found himself wishing that he could be doing something else. This was what he had wanted, and every time they all sat down together for dinner, every time he saw his grandfather talking to Dunstan or Erik talking to his mother or Mia laughing with Veronica, Serena, and Gemma, the reality of it all sank in a little deeper, making it feel more real, more grounded. He always found himself smiling by the end of the day, and eventually Erik had stopped commenting on it, simply understanding that Eleven was happy, that he was loving every minute of this no matter how monumental the task before them actually was.

He was building a life for himself, but not just for himself. All of the people around him were building their lives too.

They were building them together.

That was the reason they were all still here, why Jade, Hendrik, and his grandfather hadn’t gone back to Heliodor, why Sylvando had only made one trip to Puerto Valor just to let Don Rodrigo know they were all okay, and why Veronica and Serena hadn’t simply remained in Arboria. They had all been on the road for a long time, some far longer than others, and transitioning into a new life, a new role, a new world was a difficult thing to do alone. Being together made it easier. The eight of them had a bond that only people like them could understand, people who had risked their lives for each other, who had fought side by side and struggled to survive together.

They were a family by choice, one that had come together and stayed together for a common purpose, a common goal—first saving the world from evil and now repairing what that evil had wrought.

There was a lot of work to be done. They all knew that.

But there was nothing wrong with enjoying themselves along the way.

And so for the next two or so months that it would probably take them all to finish building his brand-new house, Eleven would gladly spend his time listening to Sylvando offering suggestions, to Veronica and Erik arguing, to his mother and Gemma telling everyone stories, and especially to Mia, who seemed intent on asking every question under the sun about their journey, about them, about Cobblestone (“It’s so green,” had been the first thing she had said upon laying eyes on the village, her voice filled with surprise as she looked around in what had seemed a lot like awe). The thirteen-year-old had been a little bit shy at first given just how friendly everyone was and how not used to it all she was (his village had always been a very warm, welcoming place), but thankfully that feeling of being overwhelmed didn’t really last for too long. Honestly, all it had taken was one meal with her new family at the dinner table for her to start talking and laughing with the rest of them, as if they had all known each other for months instead of just a handful of hours (his mother had been right about meals being the best way to get to know someone, and he’d been right about Veronica and Mia getting along famously much to his poor partner’s dismay).

She had been welcomed with open arms and not a single string attached, and gradually she had embraced them just the same, wanting to be a part of what they had created, of what they were all still working to achieve.

It really did feel at times like they were one big, happy family—a slightly dysfunctional one, sure, but a family all the same.

And for Eleven, he absolutely loved it. He loved everything about it. He would gladly spend an entire year surrounded by all of these people. Maybe even several years. He couldn’t imagine himself ever growing tired of this.

However, he knew that wasn’t possible. He was fully aware that eventually things would have to change.

As soon as their house was built, as soon as all the work in Cobblestone was done, all of them would be going their separate ways for a while, because the world was a big place and they all had things they needed to be doing in it. Eleven in particular had a lot of things he needed to do in it, which was why he had spent a good deal of time talking it over with Erik and Mia, as well as his grandfather. He had wanted them all to be on the same page, because the process of rebuilding Dundrasil was going to be a long one, a project that would probably span the course of at least a year, if not more. The amount of time was really going to depend on just how much help they could get, how much interest there would be in restoring the kingdom, and how many of the survivors would want to return to their former home. Their current plan was to simply start the construction and then spread the word gradually, drawing in as many volunteers as they could, because that was the only way it was going to work really—they needed to bring people in naturally, people who wanted to see Dundrasil restored.

It was definitely going to take a while, but it would be worth it in the end. He firmly believed that.

And during that time, Erik and Mia could go on an adventure and see the world, just the two of them. They could make up for all the time they had lost, could go sightseeing and treasure hunting and exploring while he worked on trying to fix everything that the darkness had destroyed. It was a good plan.

Or so he had thought anyway. In the end, it had turned out that the two siblings had a very different opinion on the matter.

They wanted him to join them. Not for everything of course, because Erik did understand that rebuilding the fallen kingdom was important to him, but at the same time he had made it very clear that Eleven was not to spend all of his time working and that if the two of them showed up in Dundrasil to “kidnap” him, he was meant to come along willingly, no questions asked.

(They had actually used the word “kidnap” too, much to his chagrin).

It was kind of a ridiculous ultimatum, one that his grandfather had found very amusing, and by this point he knew better than to try and argue, that he should just accept his new family’s demand for his time and comply. Besides, it’s not like he wasn’t happy about it. On the contrary, he very much wanted to tag along whenever he could. Somehow he would find a way to make it all work, to balance everything he needed to do. He had plenty of people to help him after all, to make sure he didn’t try to stretch himself too thin. He was pretty sure that was part of the reason that Erik and Mia had come up with this idea, that they planned on stealing him away for his own good.

It was a kind sentiment. He was rather looking forward to it.

Honestly, he had a lot to look forward to. His list had grown rather long over the last few months, and it wasn’t done growing yet. There was plenty more he still wanted to add to it, but the most immediate things, the most important things, were already there.

And so after talking it over at great length, the decision had been made that once their house was built, Eleven would head for Hotto, because he wanted to learn more about blacksmithing and perhaps stone and woodworking too if anyone there would be willing to teach him. It was something that he had wanted to do for himself, but it was also something that could benefit the reconstruction of Dundrasil, meaning that he could kill two birds with one stone. It was a good plan, and during their discussion of said plan, Erik and Mia had been quick to decide that they would go to Hotto too (he hadn’t been the least bit surprised by that) since the mountain-side town was obviously one of the many stops on their tour.

So the plan ended up changing from Eleven going to Hotto alone to Eleven, Erik, and Mia going to Hotto together (he seriously wasn’t complaining), while his grandfather would use that time to go to Heliodor with Jade and Hendrik in order to gather supplies and request help from the king. It was a pretty basic plan to start with, all things considered, but that was fine, they could build it as they went along. Not knowing exactly what they were doing had never stopped any of them before.

They would figure it out, one way or another.

But first things first, they needed to build a house.

One for him, Erik, and Mia. A place for them to return to.

A place that was theirs.

...He couldn’t wait. It was still a long way off from finished (it was barely more than a pile of wooden planks and stone), but he absolutely just couldn’t wait.

It was time for them to really get to work.

(He still had a forge to design, after all).

...Four months after the end of Calasmos.

That was how long it took before all of their work in Cobblestone was done, before Eleven found himself standing in front of his brand-new house with Erik and Mia at his side.

He already knew what lay beyond that wooden door, having built a lot of the interior himself alongside his friends and family, but he was excited to see it all the same now that all of the construction was done.

Especially since their party had insisted on handling most of the final touches themselves, wanting there to be at least some sort of surprise for the three of them to see. They had been rather adamant about it.

They had wanted this to be special.

“Well?” asked Erik as he motioned towards the door with a grin. “Shall we?”

It was Mia who moved forward first, pushing said door open and taking that first step inside.

Much like his house—or his mother’s house now, that was going to take a little getting used to (but in a good way, in a very good way)—the entrance led into the kitchen, but that was kind of where the similarities ended as far as the layout went.

The kitchen was nice but modest, with a stove, a counter, some shelves, and then a table and chairs in the center of the room (again, much like his mother’s), but rather than connecting directly to where they slept, it connected to a small sitting room instead. The rest of the rooms beyond that were completely closed off and separated for privacy: Mia’s bedroom on one end, followed by a pantry, a washroom, a storeroom, and then his and Erik’s room on the other end.

It definitely wasn’t a big house, per se—everything was pretty close together—but it wasn’t exactly a small house either given the number of rooms there were when compared to most of the houses in Cobblestone.

It actually felt kind of perfect.

The design was practical; they didn’t need a ton of space, but there was easily enough for the three of them to live together comfortably—plus, in addition to their actual house, there was also a forge out back, one that (unfortunately) still needed a lot of work. However, that would have to wait for now. It would have to wait until after he had spent some time in Hotto, until he knew for sure exactly how he wanted it to be set up and what all he would need in order to run a more traditional-style forge.

One thing at a time, and all things in their own time. It’s not like he was in any sort of hurry.

Everything would fall into place eventually.

(So much of his life already had, after all).

As the three of them walked further into their new house, it didn’t take long for Mia to move ahead of them once again, clearly intent on looking over everything, and while he was tempted to ask her what she thought, if this was what she had imagined having a house would be like, he held his tongue. Best give her a chance to actually take it in first given just how much say they had let her have in the overall design.

He hoped it would meet her expectations. He hoped it would meet Erik’s too.

He wanted them to be happy.

“El.”

Apparently he had gotten rather lost in thought, because when he turned to look at Erik, the thief was no longer standing next to him but was instead leaning against the table with a rectangular-shaped package in his hand.

“Here,” he said, holding said package out towards the Luminary. “I got you something.”

Eleven had been in the process of reaching for it, but those words gave him pause. In the end his partner ended up pushing it the rest of the way into his hands, his fingers closing around it out of reflex.

“What?” he asked, confused. “But why would—”

“Don’t ask why,” the thief told him with an amused roll of his eyes. “Just open it.”

The Luminary shot him a look but also did as he was told, curious despite himself as to what it might be. The brown paper tore away easily, and what he found himself holding was something that he didn’t yet own but also something that he probably should’ve invested in a long time ago.

“A notebook?” he asked, surprised. It was actually more like a journal, like some of the ones he had read while at the Royal Library, and before he could once again try to ask Erik “why,” the thief simply gave him the reason.

“For keeping track of all your lists,” he said, as if the answer was obvious (he also sounded rather proud of himself for having thought of it). “I’m sure you’ll be making more of them once you get to Dundrasil. This way you don’t have to keep hauling that mess of paper everywhere.”

Eleven was tempted to tell him that his bundle of papers wasn’t a “mess” (even though it kind of was), but he was more caught off guard by the fact that Erik had just randomly bought him a present.

He looked down at the leather-bound notebook in his hands, then back up at his partner before saying, “Erik, you didn’t have to—”

“I wanted to,” he cut in, with a tone that brooked no argument (but Eleven was probably going to argue anyway). “Let’s just call it a really late birthday present.”

“But I didn’t get you anything for your birthday. This doesn’t really seem fair...”

Erik simply smiled at him in an amused but knowing sort of way before glancing over towards Mia, who had wandered away from the kitchen and into the sitting room. She was just standing there, looking at the bookshelves, the chairs, and the fireplace (she had been rather particular about the fireplace) with an expression on her face that he had seen a few times now but that still made him feel a bit warm inside every time he caught sight of it.

That look of awe mixed with content, with the realization that this was real and hers and permanent.

...This...

This was what he had wanted. This was what he had been hoping for ever since the idea first crossed his mind to build them both a house in Cobblestone. He had wanted to see that look of contentment, the knowledge that they could have a place where they would always be welcome, a place that was safe and warm and theirs. He had wanted to give them everything he possibly could.

He had wanted to give them a home.

Eleven watched as his partner’s eyes softened with something undeniably fond before he turned his gaze back to the Luminary.

“You’ve given me more than enough, El.” His voice was just as warm as the look on his face. “I don’t need anything else.”

...It wasn’t fair.

It really just wasn’t fair, and he kind of hated that sudden swooping feeling in his stomach (even though he actually didn’t hate it at all).

It’s not like he needed anything else either—he had everything that he could possibly want, but...

But at the same time, he understood the desire to do things for the people he cared about, to give gifts just because he could. Erik had wanted to do something nice for him, and so he had bought him a journal, something he didn’t already have, something that he could make use of in the months to come.

It was a thoughtful gesture, a present that he hadn’t been expecting, and the more he truly thought about it, the more he let it all sink in, the less bothered he began to feel. It was fine that he couldn’t reciprocate just yet; he could always get him something later instead. Maybe he could even craft him something, just like he had promised to do for Mia, but of course that would have to wait until he got his forge up and running. Still a long way to go before that was a possibility.

It was a nice thought though, just like the book he was holding in his hands.

With a deep breath, Eleven looked down at his new journal and allowed himself a small, pleased smile.

“So, do you like it?” asked Erik.

“Yes,” he replied, running his hand over the cover (it really was made of leather). “When did you even have time to get this? I never saw you leave Cobblestone.”

“Derk actually got it for me. You wouldn’t believe how many connections he’s made just from running a shop. He actually knew a guy who binds them. I originally wanted it to be made with dragon hide, but I guess that stuff’s pretty hard to work with, and it’s not exactly easy to come by either.”

“Dragon hide?” he asked in disbelief and a good deal of amusement. He would’ve loved to see the bookmaker’s face upon hearing that request. “Really, Erik?”

“I just wanted it to be durable! You’re going to be traveling with it, so...”

“It’s not like I’m going to accidently drop it off a cliff or something. I take better care of my things than that.”

“I know, but...”

In the end the thief simply heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his hair in slight exasperation, while Eleven just stood there smiling at him, feeling even warmer inside than before as he clutched his present close to his chest.

He was happy, and upon receiving a gift, there was really only one appropriate response.

“Thank you, Erik,” he said. “I promise I’ll put it to good use. I actually had some things I wanted to add to my list before leaving for Hotto, so I can transfer everything over tonight. Then you can read it and let me know what you think.”

That last part seemed to catch his partner off guard, earning the Luminary a rather confused looking stare.

“What I think?” he asked. “Why would that matter? It’s your list.”

It always matters.

“I thought that maybe you could take a look at it and see if there’s anything on there that you and Mia might want to do too,” he elaborated. “A lot of it will have to wait until I’m done in Dundrasil, but we could probably do some of it before then. Actually, I was thinking that maybe you should make a list too, of all the things you want to do. That way we can cover everything. I’m sure you’ll think of all kinds of things while you’re traveling.”

The thief offered him a fond smile before stating, “You really like lists, huh?”

“I suppose I do,” he replied. “I found that it helps me focus. After shattering the Sphere, a lot of things just felt...too overwhelming. There was so much I had to fix. Writing it all down just kind of...helped to make it feel more manageable, like something that I could actually do. It was also a way to make sure I didn’t forget anything. My head was kind of a mess back then, but organizing it all into a list...it calmed me down. And then it just kind of became a habit.”

It was more than just a habit though. Looking at his current list, the one of things he wanted to do, it...well...

It made him happy.

There was a flash of understanding in those sharp eyes, followed by just a touch of pain (Erik was familiar with his anxiety in a way that no one else was, having been the first to experience the truth), but eventually it evened out into something contemplative and perhaps even a little bit curious too.

“A list, huh?” he said, his tone quiet and thoughtful. “I can’t say I haven’t thought about it. There is a lot I want to do.”

“Then you should write one.”

“...I’ll consider it.”

Eleven simply blinked at his partner for a moment.

He could be wrong, but...it kind of looked like his face was turning a bit red.

Why would—

“Are the two of you just going to keep standing there in the kitchen? I know it’s nice, but you should really look at the rest of our house.”

Both of them turned to find that Mia was no longer wandering around and had instead returned to the doorway, leaning against the wall with her arms over her chest and a look on her face that made it feel just a bit like she was chastising them (though not unkindly). She was rather good at that, pulling off her impassive yet mildly exasperated look with ease.

She was also right—the two of them had been standing in the kitchen for a while now. It was probably about time they got moving. He wanted to see his new room and put his new journal on his new desk.

He liked that everything was new, and even more so that it wasn’t just new for him.

Because experiencing this together was half the fun.

He watched as Erik gave his sister a grin, followed by a sigh, before motioning for Eleven to follow him.

“Come on,” he said with a touch of laughter in his voice. “We can talk more about lists later. Let’s go check out the rest of our house.”

Our house.

He really did love the sound of that.

It was a shame that they weren’t going to be staying for too long, that they couldn’t spend the next couple of weeks or so just relaxing and enjoying the place they had built. A part of him wanted to, but their plans were already set. They had been for a while now. The day after tomorrow, they would be leaving. Their entire party would be leaving. Now that Cobblestone had been restored and all of the new houses built, it was time to help out with Dundrasil, and while he could’ve decided to give himself a vacation, he hadn’t wanted to. Not yet anyway.

Of course that being said, it’s not like he didn’t plan on having some fun. He couldn’t very well spend all of his time learning how to forge while he was in Hotto, and so that meant there’d be plenty of opportunities for him to walk around with Erik and Mia, to go to the bathhouse and look at the shops and eat all sorts of delicious food. Half work and half play sounded just about perfect to him, especially since the work was something he was looking forward to as well.

He really did want to be a blacksmith, a proper one capable of making anything his mind could dream of. It was another important piece to the future he wanted to build.

Slowly but surely, it really was starting to take shape. He could still remember how it had felt to believe that it never would.

He had spent a long time thinking that he could never have this, that it would be forever out of his reach.

(Sometimes it was good to be wrong).

...It would seem that in the end, it wasn’t just Mia who wanted proof that this was real, but Eleven quickly came to realize that there had never been any reason to doubt.

Because as he made his way through his new house and walked into his new room, he found that his friends had somehow managed to transfer both his bed and his desk from the Salty Stallion, two things that he had very much missed the comfort of after leaving their ship, and upon seeing them there as if they belonged, as if they always had and always would...something deep within him settled.

And a few more pieces fell seamlessly into place.

(He really did have the most amazing friends).

“...Sylvando, really, you don’t have to do this. I know you have more important things to do. We can just hire a cargo ship, and—”

“‘More important things to do?’ Honey, in case you’ve forgotten, it’s always been my dream to make the whole world smile! Helping out wherever I can is just another step towards making that happen, don’t you think?”

“But what about the circus, or helping out with the parade, or just being a traveling entertainer? Isn’t that... You told me once that it was your calling to get up on stage and make people happy.”

“Oh, El...sweetie, it’s not like I’m giving anything up. This is what I want to do. While we were traveling, you helped everyone who needed it, no matter how dangerous or how small the task actually was. Saving the world wasn’t just about beating Mordegon or stopping Calasmos for you—it was about helping as many people as you could along the way. So many people only care about the big picture, but you always knew that ‘saving the world’ wasn’t just about, well...saving the world. You never looked at anyone’s problems as being too insignificant for the Luminary to care about. Nothing was too bothersome for you.

“Even after everything you went through, you never once lost that kindness, and because of you, I realized that there’s so much more I can do. You made all of us want to be better, darling. I promise that using the Salty Stallion to transport materials to Dundrasil is no trouble at all, and getting to see all those smiling faces is the only payment I need. Let me do this for you, El. I want to help.”

“...Alright. Thank you, Sylv.”

(Seriously, the most amazing friends).

Eleven still really liked Hotto. He liked it even more now that everything was over and the town was completely safe. No monsters, no curses, no attempts at human sacrifice—everyone was welcoming and happy and more than willing to help him in whatever way they could. He had drawn the line though at free uses of the bathhouse and the inn while they were there however, accepting just a discount instead. It was still a pretty hefty discount mind you, but at least he felt better about it than if he had taken their original offers. There were five of them staying after all (Veronica and Serena had decided to tag along too), and that was a lot of money to lose out on when everyone was working to get back on their feet.

It had been a kind offer, and he had certainly acknowledged that, but it's not like he had saved the world so that people would cater to him or feel like they needed to give him stuff for free. Honestly, the fact that the blacksmiths in town were willing to teach him was more than enough. They actually seemed rather happy to have him there, happy to pass on what they knew, and he had come to realize that there weren’t actually that many differences between a traditional forge and a magical one (even though the Fun-Size Forge did make thing considerably easier in comparison).

He was already familiar with the method of bashing molten metal into shape, that was a staple for any blacksmith, but when it came to the finer things like creating necklaces, bracelets, and rings—pretty much any kind of jewelry, really—he had found out that molds were often required. They were actually used for a lot of things, both to give personal touches and to be able to craft several similar products in case a particular one really took off in the shops. They were a great tool, both for those more traditionally minded and for those who wanted to let their imaginations run free, and before officially opening his forge, it would probably be in his best interest to start creating some.

That was the part that was probably going to take him a while since he was pretty much starting from scratch, but designing them was fun because there were no real limitations to what he could do aside from the ones he placed on himself. If he could imagine it, then theoretically he could make it, and he had quickly learned that a pencil and paper were just as important to a blacksmith as their hammer and anvil were. The beginning of most original pieces often started with a sketch.

There was so much for him to learn, and a week was nowhere near enough time, so when he returned to the inn after his sixth day of blacksmithing, he made sure to tell his current traveling companions that they were free to leave if they wanted, that they didn’t need to stick around and wait for him to finish. With the way things were going, it would probably be two full weeks or more before he finally felt like he was done. That was kind of a lot of time, and they surely had better things to be doing with it. He didn’t want to impose on any of their plans.

It was Veronica who quickly put his worries to rest.

“What, and pass up another week of almost free trips to the bath and really good food? Not likely. Serena and I said we’d see you safely to Dundrasil, and that’s just what we’re going to do.”

“But the world is safe now,” he insisted. “You don’t have to play the role of my escort anymore.”

“Well, too bad for you, because we want to. And besides, Hotto is the perfect place for a relaxing vacation before heading home. Right, Serena?”

The healer in question simply smiled at her sister before looking up at Eleven and saying, “There’s no need to worry about us, El. We’re happy to be here, and if you wouldn’t mind, I would love to tag along to the forge tomorrow and see what you’ve been learning. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, of course.”

“It’s no trouble,” he reassured her as that familiar warmth began to take root in his chest. “I’ll be working at the forge in the morning and most of the afternoon, but I promised Ryu I’d spar with him before dinner, so you’re welcome to come with me any time before then.”

Erik and Mia had already dropped in on him yesterday, wanting to see exactly what he had been up to, and much to his surprise, Mia had been pretty interested in what kind of things could be made, although perhaps in hindsight it wasn’t really that surprising. She was probably gathering ideas for her own piece, and he couldn’t help but wonder what she would ultimately decide on asking him to make. Perhaps a necklace or a ring, or maybe a bracelet or some earrings (she had expressed an interest in getting her ears pierced), or maybe she would even ask him for a dagger like her brother’s, just one made from an original design. The possibilities were endless really, and he couldn’t wait to see what she came up with.

Hopefully it wouldn’t be anything too ornate though. He might end up having to reign her in if her imagination got too carried away. Then again, it was entirely possible that all she would want was a replacement for the necklace that Erik had given her—just, you know, uncursed this time. He’d be more than happy to recreate it for her if that was what she wanted.

And speaking of Mia and Erik, the two siblings were just sitting there on one of the beds in the room, watching his interaction with the twins. He needed to get their opinion on staying longer too. The last thing he wanted was to delay them on their journey.

“What about the two of you?” he asked, turning towards them. “You don’t have to stay for another week if you don’t want to. I know that wasn’t really part of our plan.”

He was met with two identical looks as they simply blinked at him for a moment before eventually looking over at each other, and as he watched them silently deliberate, he couldn’t help but think that they were both incredibly similar in ways well beyond just the color of their eyes and hair.

It kind of felt like they were having an entire conversation right there in front of him without any words being spoken at all. He wondered if that was a sibling thing. Maybe he would ask them about it later.

In the end, it was Mia who responded first.

“We’ll stay,” she said. “I haven’t tried even half of the food here yet, and Veronica and Serena are still trying to teach me magic. I don’t want to stop now—I’m so close. With one more week, I might actually be able to cast something.”

Erik gave his sister an amused smile before looking up at Eleven and simply stating, “You heard her. Looks like we’re staying.”

...Well then. Apparently he had been worrying about it for nothing.

(That wasn’t anything new, really).

One more week it would be then, working at the forge and spending time with his family. It didn’t really get much better than that.

He was looking forward to it, especially since once they got to Dundrasil, they really would all be going their separate ways. He would probably miss them all for a while—he had already found himself missing Jade, Hendrik, Sylvando, and Rab—but things would get better with time. None of their partings were permanent. Most friends and family didn’t spend every single day together after all. It was normal to go back to their own homes and have their own adventures and their own lives. He was well aware of that.

It was just going to take some getting used to, that was all. Four months after the end of Calasmos and he still sometimes found himself struggling with the fact that nothing needed to be done, that everything from here on out was a choice and not a necessity. He was learning blacksmithing because he wanted to, and he was going to help Dundrasil because he wanted to. They weren’t requirements. It was different from his responsibility as “the Luminary,” even though it was easier for him to still hide behind that title sometimes.

Honestly, if he wanted to spend an entire day just sleeping, he probably could. There might be some exasperation involved, but no one would probably fault him for it.

Later though. He would rather save something like that as a reward for when all of his work was done.

Eleven smiled at the thought. All the more reason for him to get back to it. He had a lot left to do yet, and even though he had all of the time in the world now to do it, he had no intention of taking that time for granted.

It was a gift from so many people, including those currently standing at his side and all of those that he had left behind.

No matter what, he was going to make the most of it. How could he possibly do anything less?

And right now, making the most of it meant learning as much as he could while in Hotto so that he could help his grandfather rebuild Dundrasil and give back some semblance of the kingdom that so many had once called home.

Hard work or not, this was what he wanted.

And come what may, he was looking forward to it.

Just like they had promised, Veronica and Serena saw him safely to Dundrasil before taking their leave and returning to Arboria.

“We’ll write to you,” Serena had told him. “I hope you’ll write us back.”

“I will,” he had promised, because he certainly wasn’t going to say no. He had never really written letters to anyone before, let alone received any. It would be a fun way to keep in contact with them, even though technically they could see each other whenever they wanted to thanks the very handy spell known as Zoom.

(He wondered if couriers ever made use of that spell for delivering mail. It would certainly be convenient. Maybe he would ask if he ever got the chance to meet one).

“Good,” Veronica had said in that pleased way of hers before immediately following it up with, “and don’t forget what I told you about being ‘too busy.’ My threat still stands, you know. I was completely serious about it.”

“I know. I promise I’ll pay attention. I already agreed to let them kidnap me whenever they want.”

“Good, but don’t let them pull you away if you’re in the middle of something important either. I know how much this means to you—we all do, so just...try to keep everything in mind, alright?”

“I will.”

“And don’t overdo it!”

“I won’t.”

Sometimes it felt like he actually had three older sisters, not just one, given how much they all fretted over him—but with just a few more caring words and a slightly tearful but happy goodbye, the two sages from Arboria had taken their leave, heading home to start the next chapter in their lives.

That had been two weeks ago, and now here he was at the entrance to the city once again, getting ready to say yet another temporary and somewhat tearful goodbye.

It had been about a month since his grandfather had left Cobblestone with Jade and Hendrik in order to petition King Carnelian for help. The monarch had been all too happy to assist, had volunteered not only funds but workers as well, and as news of the project began to spread, more and more people had signed on to it, including many of the original inhabitants of the kingdom, the ones who had managed to flee on the night of the tragedy. It was still going to take a long time, but they had no shortage of help, and everyone involved was dedicated to the cause. They wanted this to succeed, and that kind of motivation was easily the most important part.

Sharing a common goal could do wonders for morale. It was incredibly reassuring to know that you weren’t alone in your endeavors, that there were others who believed in what you were trying to do. He knew that better than anyone.

Which was why he wanted to stay and accomplish as much as he could.

Saying goodbye, even temporarily, was hard and bittersweet, but it would make meeting up again all the more meaningful. He had always known this would be coming.

He was still going to miss them though.

“You said you’ll be heading to Octagonia first, right?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Erik replied. “Might as well start there since it’s close—I can’t exactly use Zoom like you can, so it just makes sense to stick with what’s nearby. Sylv said we could hitch a ride to Puerto Valor on the next supply run, so that gives us about two weeks to explore the region before heading back to the docks. From there, I guess we’ll just see how it goes. It’ll be nice not having to worry about any monsters though. Still kind of getting used to that.”

“I know what you mean. The ones left are all pretty docile now. It’s strange walking by a sabercat and being completely ignored.”

“Exactly! But it’s definitely a nice change. Means I don’t have to worry as much. About any of you.”

“I’ll be fine in Dundrasil, I promise. I am going to miss you though.”

The thief gave him a warm smile.

“I’ll miss you too.”

And then, without any hesitation, he moved forward and pulled the Luminary into a kiss.

Even though there were people around, even though Mia would be joining them any second now. He just didn’t seem to care, and Eleven quickly found himself not caring either, as self-conscious as he normally was. This was the last time they would be able to do this for a while, and so he wanted to hold on to the feeling of those fingers in his hair and a thumb brushing against his cheek and a kiss that felt both like a parting and a promise to return. He didn’t have to worry about Erik leaving, because he knew he would come back, and Eleven would be waiting for him—in Dundrasil, in Cobblestone, it didn’t matter where.

They both had things to do, but in the end they would be returning to the same place.

Home.

That was all he had ever wanted really, to just remain a part of Erik’s life, for the thief to maybe one day consider Eleven’s home his own.

He had gotten so much more than that, and he was incredibly grateful for it.

It was alright to say goodbye, because it wouldn’t be forever. Not this time.

Not ever again.

When his partner eventually pulled away, brushing one more chaste kiss against his lips, there was a look in his eyes that Eleven was familiar with, one that implied that he had something he wanted to say. However, before either of them could say anything, there was the sound of a throat clearing off to the side, and as they both turned towards it, they found Mia standing there, staring at them with a flat expression on her face.

No annoyance, no impatience, no disgust, but there was definitely something judgmental there. It was honestly a look that she had given them both before, whenever one of them did or said something too sentimental or saccharine (it actually reminded him a bit of Veronica’s exasperated look but without any real heat behind it). He wondered just how long she had been standing there and felt his face heating up at the thought, but before he could say anything, Erik made the very adult decision to simply greet his sister and not address what just happened.

“Hey Mia, you ready to go?”

“Almost,” she replied with a roll of her eyes (apparently she was choosing not to address it either). “There’s just one thing I need to do first.”

“What is it?”

Instead of answering, she simply moved towards them, and then without any sort of hesitation or warning, she threw her arms around Eleven’s waist and pulled him into a hug.

...Mia was hugging him. She was giving him a hug goodbye.

She hadn’t really seemed like the type, but apparently he had been wrong (clearly he still had a lot to learn about Erik’s spirited little sister).

“You had better not do anything stupid while we’re gone,” she told him. “If we come back to get you only to find out that you went and got yourself hurt, I’m going to be really mad.”

He couldn’t help but smile at that, having to bite back his laughter in order to avoid sparking her ire (the words themselves might’ve been a touch sardonic, but he knew that the sentiment behind them definitely wasn’t).

“You both worry too much,” he told her as he returned the embrace. “I’ll be fine, promise—and you be careful too, alright? I don’t want anything happening to you guys either. You’re supposed to come back and ‘kidnap’ me, remember? I’ll be waiting."

“We won’t make you wait too long. And I’ll be sure to look after Erik for you. He really can be such a handful.”

“Hey!”

“Thanks, Mia.”

“Seriously?”

The newest member of his family pulled away and then turned to give her brother a look, who in turn was giving both of them a look as well. He seemed slightly annoyed, though much like Mia earlier there was no real heat behind his irritation, and instead of complaining about what they had both just said, a different question fell from his lips.

“How come I never get a hug?” he asked his sister, and without missing a beat, she gave him a reply.

“Do something that deserves a hug, and maybe I’ll consider it.”

This time Eleven was unable to bite back his laughter. The two of them were just too much sometimes.

He really was going to miss them.

Erik heaved a sigh before reaching up and ruffling his sister’s hair, and while she was busy checking to make sure he hadn’t messed it up too badly, the thief gave his attention back to the Luminary.

“I guess we should get going. Take care, El.” And then in a much softer, far more serious tone, he added those three simple words. “I love you.”

He could feel a sudden tightness in his chest, one that was so very different from the anxiety he had grown used to and not at all unwelcome.

“I love you too,” he replied with just as much sincerity, just as much meaning. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

There was nothing more to say, no further sentiments to give, and so Eleven stood at the gate and returned Mia’s wave as the two siblings made their way down the hill and set out together on the road.

Five months after the end of Calasmos, he said goodbye to his partner. Those months had gone by way too fast.

...He hoped that the next few would pass just as quickly.

Seven months after the end of Calasmos, Dundrasil was starting to look like a city again. A few homes had already been rebuilt, along with part of the inn, and they were going to start working on some of the shops next so that they could finally get more goods. Merchants visited rather regularly, but they could only transport so much across the continent, and so a dedicated shop where products could be stored would be ideal, especially considering just how many people had signed on to help.

It had surprised him at first, the sheer number of those who wanted to do this, who wanted to get the kingdom back on its feet. People from all over had made the journey; they even had some scholars and architects from Sniflheim who had volunteered to join their ranks. Seeing all these different people coming together for a common cause had felt a little strange to him in the beginning, in part because he just hadn’t known what to expect, but after thinking about it for a while and considering his own group of friends who had united behind a singular purpose, it had stopped feeling quite so odd. Erdrea was filled with kind people. That was something that he had learned on his quest. It made sense that they would want to help, and thanks to them, such a grand undertaking as rebuilding an entire kingdom actually felt doable, like they could pull this off in just a year’s time.

Maybe not the castle though. That was going to take a considerable effort to fix. He was no expert, but he was pretty sure that castles couldn’t be built in just a year. That being said, his grandfather had already told him, along with Jade and Hendrik, that they didn’t need to stick around for the entire reconstruction. Getting the city up and running again was the important part. The castle could easily wait.

Besides, Jade and Hendrik had their own duties to eventually return to, and honestly, he was kind of shocked that King Carnelian had given them both permission to be out here for as long as they already had. The two of them were pretty insistent upon helping though; they had been from the very beginning. Heliodor and Dundrasil had a long history of friendship after all, and so politically it made perfect sense, but he also knew that there was so much more to it than that, that keeping up appearances was probably the furthest thing from their minds. The kingdom was important to them personally. It was important to all of them. They wanted to see it flourish once more, no matter how long it took, and they were well on their way to achieving that.

Besides, he was happy to have both Jade and Hendrik here, and Rab obviously was too. He liked getting to spend time with them. It made the weeks go by so much more quickly. He was rather grateful for that.

After all, he had yet to hear from—

“Eleven.”

He turned towards the sound of his name only to find Jade and Hendrik standing behind him.

The princess gave him a smile and said, “You have a visitor.”

“A visitor?” he questioned. The last time someone had come to visit him, it had surprisingly been Vince along with some of the MMA fighters. They had stopped in to say hi, see how things were going, and to even help out for a few days with some of the construction. It had been a lot of fun, but he couldn’t imagine them coming by again so soon. It had only been a few weeks after all.

His two friends walked up to him, and as Jade pulled the hammer from his hand and set it aside, she told him with what could only be described as a knowing smirk, “He’s waiting by the gate.”

It only took a few seconds for the realization to dawn, and in no time at all he was out the door and down the street with a very hasty “Thanks!” thrown over his shoulder. He sprinted across the central plaza, dodging people left and right as he went—and sure enough, when Eleven finally reached the city entrance, there he was, standing by the gate and talking to Rab.

Erik.

His partner had come to see him, and the mixture of peace, longing, and elation that suddenly filled his heart was almost impossible to describe.

“Erik!” he called as soon as he was close enough, drawing the thief’s attention.

A bright smile immediately lit up that cheerful, roguish face as Erik raised one hand and offered a wave.

“Hey, El,” he greeted, just the same as he always did, and maybe it was a bit silly just how much Eleven had missed being called that, how much he had missed hearing his nickname day in and day out. No one here really used it after all. He did like his full name too of course, and everyone was welcome to use whichever one they wanted, but he really had grown rather fond of that moniker over the last year, the one that Erik had given him towards the start of their journey and that most of his friends had adopted along the way. There was a great deal of warmth in it, because a nickname was genuinely given with affection (even though he was pretty sure that wasn’t Erik’s original reason for doing it), and so hearing it again now and in that voice kind of made him feel like he was home.

It was a good feeling.

And it was such a good feeling that Eleven pulled his partner into a hug without caring about the people watching or the fact that his grandfather was standing right there. It just didn’t matter, and it clearly didn’t matter to Erik either as two arms immediately circled around his waist.

“I take it you missed me?” There was a good deal of humor in those words.

“I might have,” he replied, earning him a soft chuckle.

“For the record, I missed you too. That’s why I came to get you. Figured that maybe you could use a break, and you did promise me and Mia that you’d let us kidnap you whenever we wanted.”

“Where is Mia?” he asked as he slowly pulled out of the embrace, looking around for the girl in question. He had expected her to be waiting by the gate too, but there was no sign of her.

“In Arboria,” Erik answered. “She wanted to spend some time with Veronica and Serena, so I was thinking that maybe the five of us could take a trip through the First Forest and then head up to Yggdrasil. I’ve been trying to show Mia a lot of the things we did on our journey, since talking about it can only do so much. I want her to be able to see it all for herself, you know? And right now, the orbs are all in Arboria—it’s the perfect time to borrow them and take a trip up to Yggdrasil before they’re given back to the kingdoms. I know we can still get up there with Zoom and all, but using the altar is way more fun.”

The thief propped one hand on his hip, cocked his head to the side and said, “So, what do you think?”

Eleven knew what his answer was, but he looked over at his grandfather anyway, much to Rab’s amusement.

“Ach, come on, Laddie,” the old sage said with a smile. “Ye don’t need my permission. We all agreed on this a long time ago. So you just run along now—ye deserve a break—and don’t you go worrying about this place for even a second. We’ll all still be here when ye get back.”

He returned the man’s smile with a bright one of his own before telling Erik, “I just need to grab a few things. I’ll be right back.”

Once again he took off down the streets of Dundrasil, dodging people as he went and feeling lighter than he had in a while. It wasn’t going to be a very long vacation, maybe just a week or so at most, but it was enough to have him looking forward to it and to the many more yet to come. This might be the first time that Erik had come to “kidnap” him, but he knew it wouldn’t be the last, and he fully intended on saying yes each and every time he was asked.

Because it was okay to want things for himself. It was okay to do something just because he wanted to. Attempting to balance his own desires with his responsibilities wasn’t selfish, and none of his friends or family would ever think that of him. They wanted him to be happy.

And so even though it had definitely taken him a while, he was no longer going to feel guilty about it. He would take his grandfather’s advice and not worry. He would simply enjoy himself for however long he could.

Everything really was falling into place for him, piece by tiny piece, and someday the picture that he wanted for his life might actually be complete. There were still some things that he was holding on to, things that he would probably never be able to ever fully let go, but...

But right now, he was at peace.

He was happy.

And no matter what, he was going to do whatever he could to stay that way.

The last few months really had gone by quickly because of just how much he had accomplished.

He prayed that however many more remained before the reconstruction was over would be just as rewarding.

...Thirteen months after the fall of Calasmos (and one month after a very happy birthday), Eleven found himself being told by his grandfather, Jade, and Hendrik, that it was time for him to go home.

“But why?” was his immediate response, because it’s not like he had done anything wrong. On the contrary, he had been thanked numerous times for his efforts and also for his overall skill—not just with forging, mind you, but with woodworking and bricklaying too (he had really learned a lot during his stay in Hotto).

Everyone liked having him here.

So why send him home?

“Look around, laddie,” said his grandfather, motioning to the bustling streets behind them, to homes and shops that had been restored, and to the people all gathering together, sharing drinks and smiling in the square. He had no idea what the city had looked like before the monsters came, before it was reduced to rubble in a single night, but he imagined that it might’ve been close to this, filled with life and laughter and pride in the place that so many of them had called home.

He loved getting to see it, and he loved knowing that he had been able to help, that he had actually managed to right at least one of the wrongs that his birth had indirectly brought about (no one blamed him for it, and he knew that no one blamed him for it, but there would always be a small part of him that couldn’t help but blame himself).

He wanted the kingdom to flourish, and he still very much wanted to be a part of it despite having no desire to rule, but here his grandfather was telling him to leave, to go back home, when there was still so much work left to be done.

...But according to Rab, Eleven’s work was already done.

“There’s nothing more for you to do,” the former king said with a soft smile. “Ye helped bring this auld city back to life, and a lot faster than I ever thought possible too. I was expecting this project to take at least a year, but here we are eight month’s later with a kingdom that looks almost as good as new. Ye’ve done good, laddie.”

“But the castle—”

“Is going to take at least another year to complete,” said Hendrik, cutting that particular thought off rather soundly. “No one would expect you to remain here during that time. You have already been away from home long enough.”

“But—”

“Hendrik and I will be returning to Heliodor as well,” Jade told him, as if that was a justification for this decision, and before he could even try to open his mouth once again to argue his point, she (rather unfairly) followed up with something that he had technically told them all before. “Eleven, you said that you didn’t plan on remaining for the entire reconstruction. You knew that restoring the castle was going to take time.”

“I know that,” he replied, because he did—they had been his words, after all. “But it still kind of feels like... I planned on being here for at least a year—I was okay with it taking a long time—and so I can’t help but feel like...like I’ll be abandoning you if I leave. I don’t want that.”

Those last few sentences had been aimed at his grandfather, who instead of looking touched by the sentiment, looked very much like he thought that Eleven’s reasoning for trying to argue this was completely ridiculous (and in a lot of ways it was. He wasn’t too proud to admit that he was being rather contrary right now).

The old sage heaved a sigh before fixing him with a look (it was a familiar look, and he was starting to think that Veronica had somehow rubbed off on all of them given just how good they had all gotten at it).

“I guess it was too much to hope that saving the world would get ye to stop worrying about everything,” the man said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Now listen here, Eleven—ye’re not abandoning me. Ye’re not abandoning anybody. Ye came here to help, even though ye didn’t have to, even though ye’ve done more than enough not just for Dundrasil but for all of Erdrea as well. And now that the work is done, ye’re going home. You can still drop in and help out when it strikes yer fancy, but ye don’t need to stay here. Ye have yer own house in Cobblestone now to be looking after, and ye’ve got a forge that ye still need to get up and running too.”

His grandfather walked over to him and placed a hand against his arm, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Ye’ve spent two years now focusing on everybody else,” he told the Luminary softly, in the same tone that he had used so long ago now when he had said that the only way Eleven could ever disappoint him was by sacrificing his own happiness for his. “It’s about time ye started living for yerself, alright?”

...He was trying.

He had gotten so much better at it. Every time that Erik and Mia had shown up to steal him away, he had gone with them, no questions asked, but in the end he had always returned to Dundrasil, falling right back into his work, into fixing what the darkness had broken, and he had gradually started to think that maybe it would be alright to keep this up, to keep going like this until everything was finished no matter how long it took. He was still young after all, and now that the world was safe, he had nothing but time.

There would be plenty of time to live his own life later.

But here Rab was telling him to live his own life now, and it’s not like he didn’t understand why. There were no guarantees in life (there were no guarantees in anything), and he probably knew better than anyone that the world wasn’t fair and that time was a fickle thing.

He needed to spend it wisely.

He needed to go home.

A hand settled atop his head and ruffled his hair affectionately.

“You really do worry too much,” Jade told him, the words both an admonishment and a fond observation. “How about the three of us go home together? Sylvando should be arriving this afternoon with a new shipment of food and materials, so instead of just using Zoom, we can sail back with him on the Stallion. Maybe we can even head to Puerto Valor before returning to Heliodor and make a small vacation out of it.”

“Princess, you have already been away from home for several months,” Hendrik reminded her, to which Jade gave the knight a slightly exasperated look.

“And I’ll only be gone for a few more weeks, Hendrik. There’s nothing wrong with having a bit of fun. Besides, I’m sure Don Rodrigo would be happy to see us. According to Sylvando, he was actually asking about us all the last time he went to visit.”

“Oh,” said Eleven, the surprised syllable escaping him as a memory suddenly dawned, as he remembered a promise that he had made forever ago now (or at least it felt like forever ago). “I almost forgot. I promised him that once our journey was over, I’d make a trip to Puerto Valor and tell him about it.”

“Well, I think that settles it then,” said Jade as she smiled up at their self-appointed guardian (maybe less self-appointed and more king-appointed though in the princess’s case). “We’ll sail to Puerto Valor and visit Don Rodrigo before returning to Heliodor. I take it there are no complaints, Hendrik?”

The knight in question looked between his charge and Eleven for just a moment before simply breathing a quiet sigh and giving in.

“No, princess.”

“Good, then let’s get ready to head out. We’ve all got some packing to do.”

The hand fell away from his head, but the one on his arm was still there, and as he watched Jade and Hendrik head off to gather their things, he gave his attention back to his grandfather.

“Are you sure it’s alright for me to leave?” he asked, because he had to be sure—the last thing he wanted was to abandon him. He knew what it was like to be lonely.

“I’m sure,” Rab told him, giving his arm another squeeze. “You go on home and don’t worry about me. Besides, I’m sure I’ll see ye again soon. Oh, and don’t worry about missing a visit from yer other half either. If he stops by looking for ye, I’ll point him in the direction of Cobblestone.”

“Thank you,” he replied, and then because he couldn’t help himself, because his heart simply felt too full, he dropped to his knees so that he could pull his grandfather into a proper hug. “Thank you for everything. I’m sorry for deciding that I didn’t want to be a prince.”

“Ye’ve nothing to apologize for, Eleven,” Rab said as he returned the embrace. “What I told ye before still stands. All I want is for you to be happy.”

“I am happy. You’ve all given me so much more than I ever could’ve asked for.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Make sure you hold on to that feeling, alright? Don’t you ever give it up for anything.”

“I won’t. I promise I won't.”

There was a time where he would’ve refused to make that promise, where it would’ve been too much for him to say. As the Luminary, his life belonged to the world, and that had ultimately meant that he couldn’t be selfish with it.

However, his task was done. Yggdrasil Herself had told him that he was done, that it was time for him to rest, to live in the world that he had saved, and while he wouldn’t really count anything that he had done so far as “resting,” all of it had been rewarding, had been something that he had wanted to do.

And as much as he still wanted to stay and help, to see the kingdom fully restored, he also wanted to go home.

He wanted to start living his life in the house that he had built and maybe even cross a few more things off his list.

There was just so much he wanted to do...and perhaps it was finally time for him to start doing it.

He felt a pat against his back before his grandfather began to pull away.

“How about you run along now?” the man said with a smile on his face. “Ye’ll need to pack before Sylvando gets here, and I’m sure the people will all want to say goodbye. Best get a move on.”

“...Alright.”

He got to his feet and began heading back towards his temporary dwelling, a small house that Rab had wanted for himself but that Eleven, Jade, and Hendrik had also been staying in. He would give his grandfather a proper farewell later, along with a promise to return and visit and to also help out when he could, just maybe not as adamantly as before. After all, it’s not like he couldn’t do both: have his own life and still help out with the kingdom. There was nothing wrong with a little multitasking, and he was nothing if not ambitious (even though that hadn’t always been the case).

He just...wanted to do everything. He wanted to do as much as he possibly could.

And for the record, that still included spending an entire day in bed. He had yet to accomplish that rather lazy goal.

Perhaps after returning home, he could work on it. Surely he could find the time to take just one day. He wondered if Erik would be willing to sleep for an entire day too. Probably not given his reaction to that particular thing on the Luminary’s list (“Seriously, El? Sleeping? You actually wrote that?”), but at the same time it would be nice to have him there.

He might be able to convince him. He still wasn’t great at just coming out and saying what he wanted, but he was working on it, and so maybe by then he’d be able to do it.

He had plenty of time to practice. Erik and Mia were still traveling after all.

The last time they had come to get him, the three of them had gone fishing together with Kai in Lonalulu (that had been another thing on his list, to go out in one of the big fishing boats and see just how big of a fish he could catch). It had been a lot of fun, and the seaside town had been happy to have them, even throwing another luau in their honor, one that Mia had been allowed to attend despite being underaged, which Erik had fully planned on rubbing in Veronica’s face the next time he saw her.

...He wondered what the two of them were doing now. The last time he had seen them was a month ago for his birthday. He couldn’t wait to see them again though, and this time it would be at their home, the house they had built together, and that meant that when they inevitably showed up to kidnap him this time, he would be able to join them for as long as he wanted.

They could travel together.

He smiled at the thought. Suddenly he was rather excited to be heading home. Sylvando would be arriving in just a few hours, and after dropping off the supplies, Eleven could zoom everyone to the Warrior’s Rest Inn where they could make the short trek to the docs and then set out on their ship.

A relaxing voyage home with his friends sounded perfect.

It was time to get packing.

Fourteen months after the end of Calasmos, Erik had come up with a plan.

Well, actually, he had come up with a plan months ago, even before Eleven’s eighteenth birthday, but after debating with himself for far longer than what had probably been necessary, he had finally decided to put said plan into action.

Which had involved traveling to Arboria and convincing Veronica to zoom him up to the Battleground.

Needless to say she had been rather surprised by his request.

“The Battleground? Why would you want to go there?”

“Because there’s something I need to do.”

“And why not just ask Eleven? I’m sure he’d like to make a trip to the Battleground. There’s plenty of ore up there for him to mine after all.”

“I can’t ask El. It’s a surprise, okay? I just really need you to do this for me. I promise it won’t take long—you’ll be back in time for dinner, alright?”

That last comment had earned him a slight glare, but in the end she had agreed to take him, which was how he had found himself trekking through the twisting caves of the Battleground with Veronica, his sister (who had refused to stay behind), and Serena (who upon hearing that this was a surprise for Eleven had insisted on tagging along).

The massive floating mine was pretty much exactly as he remembered it.

Just, you know, with less monsters.

Actually, with no monsters. Aside from the four of them, the only living things in the area were a few bats and some birds flying around the outside walls. The Battleground was completely quiet now, just like so many other caves and ruins on Erdrea, and even though it had been over a year since the Dark One’s fall, sometimes it still surprised him on occasion, the distinct lack of monsters in their world. They weren’t completely gone, of course—good monsters like Jörmun and the students at the academy were still around—but the truly dangerous ones, the ones who had thrived in the darkness had vanished alongside Calasmos.

Because there was no longer a place for that kind of malice in their world.

It was certainly a welcome change, but it was also a strange one for someone like him, someone who had spent several years on the road, learning how to survive in a monster-infested world. A part of him was still getting used to it, and sometimes Mia had to remind him that they didn’t need to constantly watch their backs, that they weren’t going to just suddenly be attacked when traveling between towns. Some habits were hard to break, but he seriously was getting better, and maybe after returning home to Cobblestone and actually living in the house they had built, that fear would become a little easier for him to put aside.

After all, that was how it worked, right? The whole point of building a peaceful life for yourself was to put past burdens behind you and simply live, right?

That was what he wanted anyway, and he was very close to achieving that. His journey was almost over, and the next time he stopped in Dundrasil, he planned on either convincing Eleven to come home with him or staying until the work was done. By now he had been able to show Mia most of Erdrea, and the rest of the things they wanted to do, they wanted their Luminary present for them. They had both been in agreement on that.

Plus, it was possible that Erik might’ve decided to take his partner’s advice in the end and actually write down everything he wanted to do. Just for the hell of it. Just to see if it helped him organize all of this thoughts. He had managed to cross a few things off already, and in a way it was kind of fun to have that measurable sign of progress, but at this point pretty much everything he had left involved Eleven in some way, and so he couldn’t cross anything more off until they were back together, until there was time for them to simply be a couple.

And then maybe, just maybe he would find the courage to show Eleven his list. Some of it was kind of embarrassing though. El’s had been more practical while his was definitely a bit more...impulsive? Whimsical? Just plain ridiculous? He might’ve gotten a little carried away with it to be honest, and upon catching sight of some of the things he had written (much to Erik’s humiliation), Mia had told him that he was being an idiot and that most people didn’t make “lists” for things like that.

She had agreed with one of them though, had even pushed him into not putting if off, which was why they were now here, in the Battleground, making their way deeper into the mines and towards a door that he might’ve preferred to never see again but that he had also known he probably would. His partner was a blacksmith after all. Eventually he would’ve found himself coming back here.

Because even after scouring the entire world, this was still the only place he knew of that had orichalcum.

Unless he wanted to walk through the first trial again, that is (he didn’t, by the way).

That precious blue metal was the entire reason he was here. It was kind of the backbone to his entire plan.

A plan that he was refusing to share any information about, much to a certain fiery mage’s frustration.

“Why can’t you just tell us?” she asked as they entered the chamber that still sent a chill down his spine even though that deceiving purple crystal was no longer in the sand. Veronica had been bothering him about his secret keeping for the last several minutes, but unfortunately for her, there wasn’t a single answer that he was willing to give aside from the one that he had already told her.

“Because it’s supposed to be a surprise, and I don’t want anyone ruining it.”

“It’s not like I’ll tell Eleven about this. I know how to keep a secret. Besides, it’s obvious that all you’re going to do here is mine orichalcum—that’s the only thing worth coming here for, after all—and if all you plan to do with it is just give it to him as a present, then I don’t see why you can’t just say that.”

“Because it’s not just a present, it’s...”

“...It’s what?” asked Serena in that curious, innocent tone of hers once it became obvious that he wasn’t going to finish that sentence, and while he knew that it would probably be okay to tell them, that they wouldn’t go blabbing to Eleven, the less rational part of his mind just...didn’t want to say it. He didn’t want to put it out there. Mia was currently the only one who knew what this was about.

He kind of wanted to keep it that way. It wasn’t something that concerned anyone else.

Even his friends.

Because this was something that he had thought really hard about, that had taken him a very long time to decide, but in the end there was no other path for him to take and therefore no real reason to put it off.

He had found what he wanted, and he really did want it for the rest of his life.

This was important to him, and saying it aloud, explaining it to anyone else but Eleven felt like it might cheapen it, as ridiculous as that notion probably was.

This was just...how he wanted to handle it, and so despite their curiosity, they were simply going to have to deal with it.

“...It’s something important, okay?” he told them, tempering his irritation and upping his sincerity. “I can’t give you any more than that. You’ll just have to wait for now. I promise I’ll tell you everything later, so just...let me have this, alright?”

He was expecting an argument, because Veronica almost never passed up a chance to argue with him.

What he got instead was a very begrudging “Fine,” followed by a roll of those lavender eyes.

“I suppose I can be patient,” she added. “But you had better keep that promise.”

“I will.” As long as everything went well anyway. Honestly, he wasn’t really sure what he would do if it didn’t. Mia seemed to think that he didn’t have anything to worry about though, and as strange as it was, he actually kind of trusted her opinion on the matter. He also had no real reason to doubt his own decision, to believe that this wouldn’t turn out exactly the way he wanted. So much already had.

Eleven had made his feelings about their relationship very clear to him (several times over, in fact—not that Erik hadn’t done the same, of course), and while they hadn’t really had much of a chance to actually live together yet, the two of them did own a house and therefore technically were “living together.”

This was just...one more step along the path. All he really needed to do was find the right words to make it happen. Thankfully he still had plenty of time to think about it. First things first though, he needed orichalcum, and much to his relief there was still plenty of it left in the vein.

Good. He didn’t actually need that much, but there was certainly no harm in bringing back extra—it was a rare metal, after all.

It would also probably make his partner happy, and he was very dedicated to making Eleven happy.

He wanted him to be happy always, and just like Hendrik had told him all those many months ago, he was in a unique position to make that happen.

It was about time he took advantage of it.

And so with that thought firmly in mind, Erik set down his bag, pulled out a pick (an actual pick—El would be so proud of him), and got to work.

So in the end, it turned out that part of Erik’s plan—his very important, secret plan—had already been taken care of.

Eleven was no longer in Dundrasil. Upon arriving in the kingdom, Rab had informed him that the Luminary had gone back home to Cobblestone after a little persuading from the former king. The thief both was and wasn’t happy to hear this, because on the plus side it meant that he didn’t have to try and persuade the Luminary himself, but on the other it meant that he had just wasted a trip. Thankfully though he still had a few chimera wings left, and even more thankfully he had chosen to not stop at the Warrior’s Rest Inn, meaning that the last place he had set foot in was Puerto Valor when he had caught a boat to Zwaardsrust.

In hindsight, he should’ve just had Veronica zoom him and Mia to Dundrasil so that she easily could’ve just zoomed them over Cobblestone upon finding out that Eleven wasn’t there. That would’ve been the smarter option, but instead Erik had decided to run a few more errands and collect a couple more materials first, which he hadn’t wanted to drag the twins around for, and so he had told them to head back to Arboria and that he would absolutely tell them what all of this had been about later (because apparently one promise just wasn’t enough for Veronica).

It was going to take them days to reach Cobblestone by foot, and since they would have to pass through the Manglegrove to get there, they couldn’t exactly borrow a horse.

...There was nothing else for it. Time to start making the long trek home. At least it would give him plenty of time to practice. Always a silver lining.

“Thanks, Rab.”

“Anytime, laddie. Now, you run along home too. I know he’ll be happy to see ye.”

“I will, and we’ll come back to Dundrasil for a proper visit soon, alright?”

“I proper visit, eh? I might just hold ye to that.”

“Good, because I meant it. I’ll see you later, Rab.”

“Aye, and good luck, Erik. Though something tells me ye won’t be needing it.”

...Good luck.

Rab had wished him good luck instead of saying goodbye.

Why did it always feel like everyone just knew, like he couldn’t keep a secret to save his life? He wasn’t exactly mad about it, but at the same time...

Just how transparent was he?

“You all like to tease Eleven about how honest he is, but you’re pretty honest too, Erik. Sometimes it’s like your thoughts are just written right there on your face.”

“Thanks, Mia.”

“Anytime.”

Whatever. He could think about it more later. He had enough on his mind right now.

Because despite still feeling nervous, he did actually have a plan, one that he was finally pretty confident in. He knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it, and so all that remained was practicing it in his head and then finally saying it to Eleven.

His remaining nerves aside, he really was ready, and fortunately for him, those remaining nerves seemed to flee entirely five days later upon walking through the gates of Cobblestone and making his way towards his still very new house.

...It was strange how just the sight of someone could put him so at ease, could settle every remaining doubt in his mind as if they had never even been there in the first place.

There was Eleven, dressed in his blue tunic instead of his purple one, just carrying a stack of firewood to the door.

He should probably let him finish what he was doing. If he called out to him now, that pile of logs would likely end up on the ground.

(He couldn’t help it).

“Hey, El.”

(Sometimes it was just too hard to ignore what his heart wanted).

The Luminary froze before whirling around, dropping several pieces of firewood onto the grass. His eyes were wide, but they very quickly softened as a bright smile split his face.

“Erik!” he greeted with both warmth and excitement in his voice. “I didn’t think you’d be back yet. I was expecting at least a few more weeks, and... Where’s Mia? Isn’t she with you?”

“She went to see Gemma and Sandy,” he told him before deciding that this was a good enough segue for what he wanted to say. “There’s something important that I need to talk to you about, and I’d rather not have an audience for it, so she was nice enough to give us a minute.”

“What is it?” his partner asked, setting down the remaining firewood in a neat stack before turning back to Erik.

The thief simply put down his traveling bag, grabbed a much smaller bag, and then walked up to Eleven.

“Here,” he said. “I brought this for you.”

The Luminary looked down at the bag, confused but also curious, before taking it carefully in his hands and pulling it open. Those blue eyes widened upon seeing its contents, because there was no way he wouldn’t be able to recognize what was inside.

“This is...” he began, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he had just been given. “This is orichalcum. And those are dracolyte crystals, and that one’s a chronocrystal, and... Where did you even get all of this?”

“I mined it. Mostly.” He had bought the chronocrystals from a traveling merchant, but the rest of it he had gathered himself.

Eleven gave him a look.

It was a very judgmental look, and he knew exactly what word had put it there.

“I used a pick!” he told him in self-defense, maybe with just a touch of exasperation as he ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “Man, you’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“No.”

Well, at least he was honest about it.

The look on his partner’s face returned to that soft curiosity as he examined the present he had just been given, one that he didn’t yet understand the significance of. He would pretty soon though. Erik just needed to find a way to bring it up.

Thankfully he was given one, because eventually Eleven raised his head and told him, “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but you didn’t have to get me anything, Erik. I could’ve mined it myself. Unless this is for...does this have to do with the thing I promised Mia? Has she decided on something she wants?”

“No, it’s not for Mia,” he clarified as a small smile began to tug at his lips. “It’s, uh, actually for me.”

“Oh?”

The thief took a deep breath, reminded himself that he really did have nothing to worry about, that his plan was perfect, and then simply put it into action.

“There’s something I want you to make.”

El’s face immediately brightened at those words.

“Of course!” he said. “I’m always happy to make things for you. What did you have in mind?”

Here goes...

Without a word, he reached for the Luminary’s left hand, taking it in both of his, and after brushing his right thumb over the Mark of Light, he ran his other carefully across his partner’s knuckles before stopping at a very specific and very meaningful spot.

He pressed his thumb against it so that there could be no confusion as to what he meant and then looked directly up into those bright blue eyes.

“I want a ring that fits this finger.”

...Erik had a plan.

He had a plan that he had been putting together for the past several months. It had taken him a while to decide, to figure out exactly how he had wanted to do this, but in the end this was what he had come up with. He knew that he could’ve been direct about it, could’ve just said exactly what he wanted, but there was so much he wanted to say, and so he had settled for a different method instead.

He wanted to be able to put into words everything that he had been thinking about over the past two years, ever since he had realized that he was in love, and how much it all mattered to him.

How much El mattered to him.

And this was the only way he could do it. He was fully aware that he was running the risk of his partner just not understanding given what had happened a year ago up on the Tor, but Eleven had gotten better at reading between the lines, at putting things together, and so he really did hope that he wouldn’t be forced to stumble through an explanation of what he meant, of what he was both directly and indirectly asking.

He watched and waited as the Luminary stood there, clearly mulling over his request, and because he was watching, he was able to see it, the moment realization dawned as those very expressive eyes suddenly grew wide and his lips parted in shock.

Erik gave him a smile as he opened and closed his mouth a few times, clearly lost for words. There was surprise and disbelief and even a touch of wariness as he very carefully asked, “Erik, you...are you...?”

He couldn’t seem to say it, the words trailing off, and so without any further ado, the thief looked down at their hands and began to brush his thumb back and forth in a gentle but very meaningful line.

“I actually put a lot of thought into this, you know,” he said with the confidence of someone who meant every word as his grin turned just a touch wry. “You’re pretty picky when it comes to rings—there was no way I could just buy you one. So in order to make sure it was something you’d actually wear, I figured this way would be best.”

Actually, he had considered trying to pick something out himself at first but had given up on that idea pretty quickly. This really was the only way for him to go about it, no matter how untraditional it was...but at the same time it wasn’t the only reason that he had decided to do things this way. 

Because he seriously had put a lot of thought into this.

At the very beginning of their journey together, back when their partnership had still been new, Erik had given Eleven the Fun-Size Forge. It was the first real present that he had given anyone in years, and while he hadn’t known it at the time, that simple action had unknowingly shaped several parts of their quest and had kindled a love of crafting in their naturally talented and incredibly gifted Luminary. El had made most of their equipment himself, and the few things he hadn’t made, he had modified, improving them to the point where they were the best they could possibly be. He had taken to forging like a fish to water, and he had used those skills to help countless people while making his way across Erdrea, no matter how little or how big the request had ultimately been. Hell, he had even crafted a wedding ring for a man in Hotto once despite the request making him ridiculously flustered and nervous at the time.

(It had turned out perfectly by the way, just like Erik had told him it would).

Eleven wanted to be a full-fledged blacksmith. He wanted to create new things with his own hands and had spent as much time as he could over the last year learning how to do exactly that, and so for Erik, this was really the only way forward, the only thing to him that made sense.

This was how he wanted it to start.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous—so much of this was well outside his comfort zone and well beyond anything he had originally pictured for his life, but...

After giving it a lot of thought, this was what he wanted.

He didn’t want to settle for anything less.

“I wasn’t really sure what kinds of materials you would want, so I just picked things up that I know you like, and orichalcum seemed like a given since it’s really hard to break. I know I brought way more than enough, but you can just consider the rest a present for when you open your forge, alright?”

He was starting to ramble a bit, and since Eleven still had yet to say anything, the thief decided to go back to his original point.

“So, just to be clear,” he said, “I want you to make me a ring, one that will fit this finger...and then I want you to make me an identical one that’ll fit my finger.”

Those bright blue eyes were starting to shine as the Luminary swallowed hard before glancing down at their hands.

“Are...” he began, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before asking, “are you sure you... Is this really what you...?”

“Yes.” As if there could ever be any doubt.

He brushed his thumb over the Mark of Light and then put his remaining thoughts into words, as directly and sincerely as he possibly could.

“I’ve loved you for a long time, El. I love everything about you. And it was always my plan to stay with you, I just...wasn’t sure if getting married was what I wanted. It’s not really something I ever pictured for myself, and I was okay with things the way they were—I didn’t need ‘proof,’ but...I’ve decided I want this. There’s never going to be anyone else.”

A soft breath of laughter escaped him as he glanced over at the bag of ore he had brought, still clutched in a now slightly trembling hand (he hoped that was a good sign, hoped that Eleven wanted this too, that he wasn’t the only one who had been thinking about the future).

“I know it’s a little ‘unorthodox,’” he continued with just a spark of amusement, “asking you to make your own ring, but this was the only way I could guarantee that you would actually wear it. I’m not nearly as picky as you are, and I wasn’t lying when I said that I’ve liked everything you’ve made for me, so I’m sure I’ll like this too. But I want you to be the one to choose, alright? Since I hope we’ll both be wearing them for a very long time.”

He returned his gaze to the Luminary’s, to the light at the center of his world that held every bit of faith that Erik had ever had...and finally asked that one important question that most people probably would’ve started with.

“Kind of a longwinded way to ask you, but I really did want to make it perfectly clear, so...”

One more deep, final breath.

“El...will you marry me?”

The words were barely past his lips before that bag of ore that he had worked so hard to collect fell to the ground, and in a single motion Eleven threw his right arm around him, grabbed a fistful of his shirt, and pulled him into a very tight hug. It took a bit of adjusting—he had kind of still been holding on to El’s left hand—but eventually he was able to return the embrace, and with his other hand now free, his partner used it to pull himself closer, holding on even tighter.

There was soft hair tickling his collar bone and a shuddering breath that brushed against his neck, and while he loved both of those sensations, loved being able to be this close, the best part about it was that when a single, beautiful word fell from those lips, he not only heard it echo in his ears but also felt it whisper across his skin.

“Yes.”

He hadn’t been afraid of rejection, but his heart skipped a beat all the same.

“Yes, I’ll marry you. There’s never going to be anyone else for me either. You’re...”

“...I’m what?” he asked quietly to see if he could get Eleven to finish that sentence.

He was waiting for the “it’s nothing,” because that was usually how these things went.

What he got instead was something else entirely.

The Luminary pressed into the crook of his neck and simply said, “You’re just as important as ‘the world’ to me.”

...Sometimes, “the world” is just one person.

That was what Eleven had told him all those many months ago, when Erik had been struggling to understand that all-consuming love that would put one life above everything else. It was a sentiment that he understood a lot better now. Everybody had something that they couldn’t afford to lose. That was just how being human worked.

But for the Luminary, “the world” was the world. It was everyone. Every soul on Erdrea. Being chosen by Yggdrasil meant that everything had to come before yourself.

Eleven had given a lot of himself for the world, because saving it had been important to him, because as the Luminary, he couldn’t possibly do anything less.

But here he was telling Erik that he was just as important, that he mattered just as much, and the thief quite honestly didn’t know what to say.

And so he said the only thing he could, the only thing that he cared about in that moment.

He pressed a kiss to the side of his partner’s head.

“I love you.”

Just three little words, but they really were the only ones that fit.

He could feel a smile spreading against his neck.

“I love you too. And I’ll happily marry you.”

“You said that already.”

“I know, but I didn’t think you would mind hearing it again.”

“I don’t.”

“Was proposing to me one of the things on your list?”

“It might’ve been.”

“Will you show it to me?”

“No.” He had decided that most of it was far too embarrassing.

“Please?”

“No.”

“Not even after we’re married?”

For the record, he really liked the sound of that, and...well...

“...I’ll think about it.”

He could hear the sound of grass rustling off to his left and turned his head to see Mia coming around the corner. She slowed her pace considerably and then stopped completely upon seeing them, her eyes flitting between him and the Luminary.

He was half expecting her to leave, but instead she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a somewhat smug (and perhaps slightly sardonic, because she had always been really good at that) look.

“I guess this means he said yes?” she asked, even though she obviously already knew the answer. “I hope you didn’t make him cry.”

“I’m not crying,” Eleven said, even though the words were mostly muffled against Erik’s shoulder.

“He says he’s not crying. And even if he was, it would be because he was happy, Mia.”

“Happy to be marrying you?”

“Yes.”

She rolled her eyes at him before the look on her face suddenly grew rather impish, her mouth twisting upwards into a (definitely worrying) smile.

“You should’ve seen him, El,” she said. “He was a nervous wreck until a few days ago. He’s been planning this for over a month—I practically had to yell at him to stop putting it off—and some of the things he was writing on that list of his were really—”

“Mia!”

He felt the shoulders beneath his hands shake with laughter as Eleven finally loosened his hold and began to pull away. He didn’t go far however, remaining in the circle of Erik’s arms, and when he turned to Mia, there was a bright and undeniably happy smile splitting his face.

Happiness had always been a good look on him. He liked that he would be able to see a lot more of it now.

The Luminary simply looked between the two of them for a moment, those bright blue eyes still shining as he regarded them both fondly.

In the end, the words that fell from his lips were something that Erik had never realized just how much he had wanted to hear, and if the look on her face was any indication, his sister felt exactly the same.

Just two little words.

“Welcome home.”

And yet they were filled with more warmth than the sun.

...This was what he had wanted.

For such a long time now, this was exactly what he had wanted, and there had been so many times throughout the course of his journey where it just hadn’t seemed possible, where it had felt like he was asking for too much.

Sometimes it still felt like he was asking for too much.

But here he was, with everything he wanted.

A house, friends, family, someone who loved him and intended to remain at his side... What more could he possibly ask for?

He was content. There was simply nothing else.

And so he turned to his Luminary, pressed a kiss to that smiling mouth, and said the only thing he could.

“It’s good to be home.”

Several months later...

...Eleven loved late mornings.

He loved being able to just lie in bed without a care in the world and for however long he wanted. He had always been that way too. Even as a kid with boundless energy, he had always tried to get away with sleeping in for as long as he possibly could before his mother would inevitably come to wake him up.

He simply liked sleeping, not to mention being in a nice, comfortable bed. It was relaxing.

Which meant that generally when he opened his eyes, he was greeted by one of two things.

Either by light spilling into his room because Erik had decided to get up, or by some form of affectionate gesture—a hand running through his hair, a kiss being pressed to his cheek, maybe even a combination of the two—because most of the time his partner preferred to just lie there in bed with him until the Luminary finally woke up.

Today, however, he wasn’t greeted by either of those things, and he immediately found himself holding very still even as his shock gave way to a pleased and probably very “adoring” smile.

Well now...this was certainly a rare sight.

Erik was still asleep.

He wasn’t just lying there with his eyes closed like he sometimes did while waiting for Eleven to wake up, he was actually still sound asleep.

He almost never slept longer than Eleven. It had only happened a handful of times, and they had all been due to extenuating circumstances (illness, injury, that day in Octagonia where the Luminary had slept for almost twelve hours straight and therefore had woken up early). This was pretty unprecedented, and he fully planned on taking advantage of it for as long as he could, because the reality was that he rarely got to watch his partner sleep. He could actually count the number of times on just two hands, and they had all been while traveling. This was the first time since they had moved in together where Eleven had woken up before him, and...

And he couldn’t help but think that he looked so very different from how he had been before.

During their journey together, the few times that he had seen him anyway, Erik had never really looked “peaceful” while he slept. There had always been something a little bit tense about him, as if letting go completely just wasn’t an option, and given the kind of life that he had lived, that had probably been the case. After all, being able to wake at a moment’s notice was important when it came to surviving in a monster-infested world.

But there weren’t any monsters anymore. He no longer needed to worry about his safety or anyone else’s while he slept.

Maybe that was why the slumbering face half buried in their pillows looked so relaxed and so very much at peace.

Or maybe there was more to it than that. Erik had admitted to him once, not too long ago, that his presence was calming, that just being near Eleven put him at ease. He had been doing that a lot lately, sneaking in tiny little compliments like that, things that made the Luminary equal parts embarrassed and happy to hear—but that comment in particular might explain why he was getting to witness what he was right now, why his partner was still asleep while Eleven wasn’t when it was obviously well into the morning. It’s not like they had even been up late or anything, and yet here he was, very much a “morning person,” still lying in bed and simply lost to the world.

...He liked this. He liked it a lot. He not only liked getting to see it, but he also liked what it meant, that the (former) thief had fully settled into his new life in Cobblestone, one where there was nothing to worry about and nothing pressing that had to be done, where they could waste an entire day if they wanted to without a care. There was no evil to thwart, no people to save—the world was finally at peace, and that meant that if Eleven wanted to just lie in bed all day, he absolutely could.

Maybe he should. Maybe the two of them could actually just sleep for an entire day, off and on obviously because they were going to need to eat, but that was beside the point. He still had yet to cross that particular thing off his list simply because there had yet to be any good opportunities for it, but today would actually be the perfect one. The two of them were alone right now. They would be for a few days. Yesterday he had dropped Mia off in Arboria to spend time with Veronica and Serena so that she could practice magic with them. Much to her big brother’s irritation (and undeniable pride), his little sister had more magical aptitude than him, and when it came to studying spells, she couldn’t do much better than Serenica’s two successors.

Her time to practice with them was about to become very limited unfortunately (well, not truly “unfortunately”), and so she was trying to get as much done now as she possibly could, because in just a couple of weeks, Mia would be heading off to the Champs Sauvage to start attending the academy. Erik had actually been able to convince her, with barely any help at all from Eleven. She had thought that it would be interesting. She actually wanted to try and learn as much as she could. Perhaps touring Erdrea had piqued her curiosity, or maybe it was the fact that she would be given the chance to make a lot of new friends.

Regardless, he really hoped that she would like going to school. He still felt like she was going to be popular there.

He also hoped that she would remember to write to them (he really liked getting letters), and they would definitely be sure to drop in on her whenever her schedule allowed.

He was really going to miss her though. He liked having a little sister.

And Erik liked to complain about them, about how Mia and Eleven always seemed to take each other’s side over his. They didn’t, by the way, but Mia did like to pick on her brother—although to be fair, Erik often picked on his little sister too. That was just the kind of relationship they had, and the Luminary still found it incredibly entertaining to watch them, and that was something else that he was definitely going to miss in the months to come.

It was going to take some getting used to, but they would all find a way to manage. He knew that Mia would do just fine, and before she left, Eleven would finish the piece that she had asked him for, a piece that had taken her a very long time to decide.

He had been right in the end. What she had ended up wanting was a new necklace to replace the one she had lost, one that was similar enough so that she could be reminded of the gift her brother had given here but different enough where it wouldn’t bring up any bad memories. He had spent an entire evening with her, coming up with the design and picking out colors, and as soon as his next shipment of supplies came in (Derk had promised him that he would have it this week), he would finally be able to finish it for her.

She’d be able to take it with her to the academy.

He couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

Seriously, he loved everything about his new life and his new family. It couldn’t possibly get any better than this.

Everything in his life was simply perfect.

“You certainly look happy.”

The Luminary snapped out of his thoughts only to realize that he had been so lost in them that he hadn’t noticed the moment his partner woke up. Erik was just lying there staring at him, looking for all the world as if he hadn’t just been sound asleep. Eleven was a little bit disappointed that he wouldn’t be able to watch him longer and that he had squandered some of the time he’d had, but having him awake was good too so that he could tell Erik his plan.

Because he really did want to spend the day in bed.

“I am happy,” he said.

With a smile, the thief levered himself up and then sat against the headboard before running a hand through his very disheveled hair.

He heaved a deep sigh and said, “Can’t believe I actually slept longer than you. I guess miracles really do happen.”

“It’s nice to sleep in. You should do it more often. Just lying in bed is good too though. I think that’s what we should do today.”

Erik gave him a somewhat skeptical look.

“You want to just lie in bed?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“All day?”

“Yes.”

“And what do you plan to do about food?”

“I can get something to eat from the kitchen and bring it back. Breakfast in bed is a thing.”

“What about lunch and dinner?”

“I might be willing to get up for those.”

His partner breathed another sigh, almost as if he thought that Eleven was being ridiculous, which wasn’t at all fair, but he was pretty sure that he could win this, that he could absolutely get his way.

Because after all...

“Isn’t spending an entire day in bed with me one of the things on your list?”

Erik groaned in embarrassment as his face turned a touch red.

“I never should’ve shown you that,” he mumbled, and for once he was the one who sounded petulant, not Eleven, which pulled a breath of laughter from the Luminary’s lips as he rolled onto his back and looked up at his husband.

He liked that word. Not as much as “partner,” mind you, but it was still a good word, and as a rush of fondness suddenly filled his chest, he reached up with his right hand and brushed the tips of his fingers against one slightly flushed cheek. Erik slowly turned his head back towards him before reaching up with his left hand to cover Eleven’s, and as he felt the smooth band of an orichalcum ring press against his skin, that rush of fondness grew even warmer.

With a smile on his face, one that reflected every bit of warmth and happiness he felt, he tilted his head just a bit to the side and reached up with his other hand.

Then, as innocently as he could but with a good deal of knowing in his voice, he simply asked the thief, “Come here?”

The eyes looking down at him immediately softened as something that he had finally learned how to recognize fell over his partner’s face. It was followed by a smile, one that he couldn’t label as anything other than fond, and as Erik lowered his hand to brace himself on the bed, turning so that he could rest his arms just off to the sides of Eleven’s head, he complied without a single word and leaned forward, meeting the Luminary in a kiss.

He still hadn’t grown tired of it, of the slow, attentive way that Erik liked to kiss him. He was certain that he never would, because he really liked that feeling of melting, the one that always managed to pull a sigh from his throat as he sank down into it, as he simply allowed himself to let go.

Not entirely, however, because he had no intention of being only on the receiving end. He had learned a lot about his partner over the course of their relationship so far, including several of the things that he surprisingly liked, and so without a shred of hesitation, he slid both of his hands into that mess of spikey blue hair and lightly gripped at the strands.

It earned him a very pleased hum and an even deeper kiss, and by this point he was pretty sure that he had won, that Erik would agree to spend the day lying around in bed with him with no further complaints. It was on his list, after all; there was no point in pretending that he didn’t want to do this. It’s not like there was anything they “needed” to do.

Nothing they needed to do.

It really was a freeing thought.

...He really did like this. He liked everything about it. He liked living in what felt like a lasting peace, one that they had brought about by their own hands, that they had struggled so hard to achieve. The road had been long, but it had definitely been worth it, despite all the hardship that he had been forced to face. He still found himself thinking about it occasionally, the world that he had left behind, the life that he had given up to try again. It was a part of him, and it would always be a part of him, because everything that he had endured, every mistake that he had made, all of it had led him here.

A reality where all of them were alive, where the world hadn’t been destroyed, and where the darkness was no more.

He had been able to fix everything, and he had even found a life for himself along the way, the kind of life that he had always wanted to have, where everything felt perfect and the past felt like the past, like a thing that he might actually be able to leave behind.

He had never thought that he would get to that point, and while he had no intention of forgetting anything that had happened, he had decided that he wasn’t going to keep dwelling on it either. He could hold on to the memory but let go of the pain. There was nothing wrong with allowing himself to move on.

And he was finally at a place where he felt like he could.

...Time heals all wounds. That was what his mother had told him.

But after shattering the Sphere, he had stopped believing in those words, because there were some things that time couldn’t heal, and he had carried two of them back with him.

He had carried a lot back with him, far more than he had realized.

However, he was starting to think that maybe she hadn’t been wrong after all, that the passing of time was capable of softening even the sharpest edges of grief. He might have two scars that couldn’t be healed, that would be a part of him always, but that was alright. He could live with that. He didn’t hate them in the way that he had used to anymore, and looking at them didn’t always remind him of failing. They were proof that he had changed things, that the risk he had taken had been worth it, that he was still alive, and slowly but surely he was learning how to tune out that voice in the back of his head.

His friends and family made it easier. They made everything easier.

Erik probably made it the easiest. For a long time now that had always been the case, especially when the two of them were like this, lost in each other to the point where everything else simply faded away.

Eleven liked to let his mind wander, but...

But right now there was a hand sinking into his hair and a tongue curling against his own, and as Erik settled his weight more comfortably against him, he simply didn’t have it in himself to concentrate on anything else.

He didn’t need anything more than this. Just this.

A place where he felt grounded, where he felt safe and happy and loved. It didn’t matter if he still had some healing left to do or if there were parts of him that were still broken, because in the end, after taking so much from him, the world had finally seen fit to give him something back instead.

To give him exactly what he had wanted.

And in time, he would be alright. There was no need for him to hurry. The rest could come later, could wait until he was ready, and someday, no matter how long it took, he would be ready.

Because time healed all wounds, and after shattering it to save a friend, to protect their world, to get back everything that had been lost, Eleven had more than enough of it.

He would be alright.

In time, he really would be alright.

But until then, he was simply going to do the best that he could, the best that anyone could, and live together in the world that he had built with the people who had helped him build it.

There was nothing left for him to do save this. He was going to keep moving forward.

It was time for him to finally move forward.

And walk forever in the light.