Knowing The End (SAA Book 2) ✔

20: Seafoam and Safety

Oren woke with a numbness in his fingertips and a warm feel of soft skin against his face. He brought a hand up to the warmth, reveling in it before it recoiled. He opened his bleary eyes to a dimly lit bedroom.. Hunter was sitting next to him, worried cyan eyes staring down to his own.

"Hunter..?" the elf croaked, clearing his throat as he sat up with an ache in his lower back. There was a soft, fluffy bed below him. He looked down to his hands. They were wrapped in thick bandages. The elf only looked up, puzzled. He was home.

What time was it?

"Oh my fuc- Sorry- Are you okay? Love? Can you hear me? Feel me? Can you see me? Please say you're okay... I don't wanna risk losing you again." Clayton rushed in, holding another wrap of clean bandages. His face crumbled at the sight of his elven lover. His eyes began to tear up, which usually didn't happen often.. It recently seemed to become a habit.

"Why am I..." he trailed off.

Oren lazily opened his eyes, ears overloaded with the ringing sound of rushing water. His vision cleared in and out of focus, but from what he could make out, he was laying in a shallow pond, upper body propped up on a rock that emerged from the water. The water was cold and everything under his pelvis was paralyzed from the bitterness. He couldn't move, even if he wanted to. Each time he tried, a wave of sharp pain coursed through his flesh.

His eyes wearily searched for the dagger that fell along with him, spotting it only a few inches away; washed up on snowy land. He was impressed that the water hadn't froze around him yet... But he didn't know how long he was out. He thought he'd die for sure.

"Oren?! Oh my God I finally found you! Oren? Can you hear me?? Please don't--"

Oren shivered violently. His eyes were so heavy and all he wished to do was fall back asleep. The pain would end, and he would no longer be cold and drenched and helpless.

And so, he slipped out of consciousness momentarily... but then he could remember being carried by warm, familiar arms. His head lulled against the other man's chest. The human's heartbeat was racing million miles an hour. Every beat was frantic. He fell back asleep, hoping for warmth.

"Love?"

"I was found in the dimension.. The ice one." he shuddered just thinking about it.

"Yeah... C-Can I hug you or will it hurt too much?" Clayton asked with a watery voice. It was evident that he was holding back tears. The elf simply smiled and opened his arms, welcoming the human in a tight hug. The little boy beside them became jealous.

"Papa.." he whined, tugging on Oren's shirt. It was dry... He was no longer in soaking wet clothes. Everything was dry and warm, and oh so snug. It was comfortable this way.

Clayton's larger, tactile body shuddered as a quiet sob trickled from his mouth. Oren winced at the sound, rubbing firm circles over the human's back. His heart ached at the mere thought of his fiance crying. "I thought.. you were really gone. I can't ever lose you, y'know.. I'd go crazy." Clayton uttered through thick tears. His cries were little and bijou. Oren felt a warm breath against his shoulder as Clayton nuzzled his forehead into the elf's shoulder.

Oren's once stone cold heart melted into the finest magma on Earth. The soft side of Clayton was finally showing, and it was pretty cute in Oren's opinion. The elf glanced over to their son, who looked worried and baffled.

"Dada is sad." Oren said to the child, making Hunter frown.

"Sa. D. Said." the toddler uttered, big lips forming a purse as he mentally constructed the simple word. "Sad? Papa sad?"

"Yes."

"Papa sad.." Hunter jumped up onto the bed and wrapped his arms around the two men, squeezing tightly as a sign of comfort. Clayton sniveled, chuckling at the affection.

"Thank you Hunter.." Clayton pulled back from the embrace and enveloped his son in a short, airy hug.

"Tank," the boy repeated, grinning jollily.

_

It felt good to be out of that blasted snow. Thanks to Clayton, he'd gathered an abundant amount of hopper legs and ashen warbler eggs. He ran a hand up his lover's back, making the human flinch. Clayton was holding Hunter gently, hands wrapped under the boy's armpits. They were teaching him basic words for growing up.

"I am Dada." Clayton motioned to himself. Then he motioned to Oren, who was sitting peacefully, leaning against his shoulder with a little smile. "He is papa."

"Da! Papa!" the toddler repeated, raising his little arms and lazily placing his fingers at his lips.

"Yes." Clayton nodded with a grin. Everything was going well, which irked Oren. He knew something was just waiting in the darkness, calculating the right time to pounce.

Oren looked to his left, towards Xenia. The dragon was now four months old and she was growing like a weed. Her head reached Oren's hipbone already. He couldn't imagine how big she'd be when she becomes one year old.

"Clayton, I..." Oren started, jolting forward as he winced. A sharp stab of pain ran through his back. The human turned, worried.

"What's wrong?"

"I- ah.." He couldn't get a word out before another shock ran up his spine. It was more-so uncomfortable than painful. "I think I'm gonna- ouch- lay down for a little bit." Oren stood and kissed Clayton's forehead before setting off to their bedroom.

The human kept his gaze fixated on the elf until he could no longer see him. "Da?" Hunter blurted, making the man flinch. He continued to train Hunter with speech.

_

Oren winced at the jabs of pain that continuously coursed through his skin. His back ached and his fingers seemed to be clenching instinctively.

He laid down on his side of the bed and rested, hoping the dull ache would dwindle... He grew increasingly tired, quite fast too.

He blacked out sooner than later.

_____
Thanks for reading!

Sorry for hurting my boy

Everything will turn out fine... Hopefully!