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Ashton needed to get away from the noise, away from his friends voices, away from everything. He had the perfect excuse, to pick up his new clothes. It was easy enough to slip away, they could catch up later or vice versa.
The earth genasi walked for a few minutes before ducking into a random alleyway. A bead of silence…and then he slumped to the ground. His back pressing against whatever building was behind him.
They could feel their anxiety reaching a tipping point, it was going to overflow and they could do nothing to stop it. He could feel his heart racing and his breathing picking up a bit too much.
Their thoughts began to spiral in an endless loop. Everything that had happened these past days…weeks? Fuck, how long had it even been?
The Moon was fucked, Exandria was fucked, everything was fucked. Titan of blood…what the fuck did that mean? The others said it was to do with the Titans who were here before the Gods. What did that even mean?
The Gods never did fucking anything for him. He said he was going to be a hero…a hero? Did he…feel like a hero? He began to focus his vision on the stone beneath him, trying not to lose himself in his panic attack.
He swore a little bit of the stone…shifted or moved. No…it was…it was just his mind playing tricks on him…right?
“Ash?” A voice tried. Ashton lifted his head, a soft gasp accidentally escaping his lips. Orym. How did Orym…find them?
They tried to form the words they wanted but their mouth disobeyed, they kept breathing too quickly. He was starting to feel dizzy and his vision was becoming wobbly. “Ash, hey. Look at me.” Orym whispered, gently cupping a hand onto his cheek.
Ashton obeyed, his eyes focusing on Orym’s serious but calming green eyes. Orym knew how to draw his attention. So pretty.
“Thanks.” Orym giggled lightly. Shit! Did he say that out loud? Orym gently moved his thumb along Ashton’s face, his other hand holding his left hand.
Ashton slowly felt himself calming down, their breathing beginning to return to normal and their heartbeat slowing to a standard pace.
“Better?” Orym guessed, moving his hands away. “Y-Yeah…” Ashton mumbled. “Do you wanna talk about what happened?” Orym wondered.
“No…yes? Maybe….” Ashton frowned. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. Or you can…it’s your call.” Orym said, offering a comforting smile.
“Just…fuck. All of this is…a lot, ya know?” Ashton sighed. “Yeah. It’s been a lot for all of us.” Orym chuckled nervously.
“I….all of this is beyond us. I wanna be a hero but…” Ashton tried before stopping. “But?” Orym whispered.
“I am…so tired of losing the things I care about. And…all of you fuckers are my family now. And I am….so tired of life fucking me over. I want to fight for you all. And I want to be…I….” Ashton continued, getting a bit muddled at the end.
Orym gently took his hand, using Druidcraft to create some sage. “I’ll admit it’s a lot to swallow. I’m still trying to get a feeling for all of this. This is all much bigger than us.” Orym mused.
“Fuck yeah…” Ashton laughed softly, gently taking the sage and rolling it between their fingers.
“I know we’re both scared but….we have each other. And we’ve got the others too. You don’t have to tell them this but…we’re family now. We’ll all lean on each other.” Orym went on.
“And now I’m titan of blood.” Ashton muttered. “And I’m savior blade of the Tempest.” Orym sighed.
“Never thought a title could be so fucking heavy.” Ashton frowned, gently moving to sage near their nose to inhale its soothing scent.
Orym held Ashton’s hand again, moving his lips gently along their bugger knuckles. Ashton felt their cheeks heat up a bit at the contact.
Orym glanced up at them, his face heating up too. The two remained silent for an unknown amount of time, just looking into each other’s eyes.
Ashton wasn’t sure why…but he began to lean forward. Orym mimicked his movement, his eyelids fluttering just a hair.
Ashton could feel Orym’s breath against his face, they were so close. It wouldn’t be that far to reach his lips. Would that…be too much? Would it be weird?
“Am I…reading this right, Ash?” Orym asked in a soft voice. “Maybe…” Ashton breathed.
“We don’t have to go any further than this.” Orym assured him. “What if…I want to go further?” Ashton asked slowly.
“Do you?” Orym retorted with a raised eyebrow. Ashton closed the gap, both of them shutting their eyes as their lips pressed together.
Ashton moved one of his hands to wrap around Orym’s hip, surprised at just how small the man was in his grasp.
Orym gently kissed him back, moving to sit in Ashton’s lap. The earth genasi felt his entire body shiver with pleasure, nibbling on Orym’s bottom lip as he kissed him for a third time.
Orym moved one hand to grip the back of Ashton’s head, his fingers caressing their crystal hair.
Gentle tingles ran down Ashton’s spine from the touch, causing a soft moan to escape. “How far are we going?” Orym asked, opening his eyes. Ashton did the same, looking Orym over slowly.
“I…don’t know.” Ashton confessed. “We don’t have to do anything more.” Orym assured him. “I’m conflicted.” Ashton admitted.
“Maybe…we can come back to this.” Orym suggested. “Yeah.” Ashton whispered, already missing Orym’s lips.
“Later.” Orym said. “Later.” Ashton repeated, a small smile on his lips.
(End)