identity v ship drabbles

happy birthday, eli clark. [elisop - fluff]

this is an older work of mine! it's my first official idv short oneshot when i first started getting into the fandom. i took it down off my ao3, so this'll be the only place to find it since it's not something i'm too proud of bc of how old it is.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

He gently stroked the soft cheek of the mannequin in the coffin. He had given his Rebirth ability to the man he loved dearly, the mannequin now resembling his beloved. The silver haired embalmer gently traced the jawline of the seer, his usually cold, dead gray hues filled with something other than the coldness and loneliness he hid. Eli Clark made Aesop Carl feel strange emotions, ones he wouldn't feel around any other living person. Aesop hated the living, with a passion. They disgusted him, and he would rather be in the presence of several dead bodies over one living person. However, the seer was a special case, for some reason. He had a warm and welcoming smile, a soft and innocent aura. For some reason, Eli had insisted that he and Aesop be friends... despite the fact Aesop brushed him off numerous times, over and over again. Then, Aesop noticed things started to change. For one, he stopped ignoring Eli's presence, and would end up greeting him whenever Eli greeted him. Then... he would start using his name and before Aesop knew it, he would have full blown conversations with the seer. Aesop wasn't sure how it happened, but much to his distraught, he ended up enjoying Eli's company. The snow continued to fall in the map their match was being held in, causing the embalmer to shiver ever so slightly. He was usually used to the cold, so why was he shivering now? Aesop paused, realizing the situation at hand. There was a match that he had to win, and a survivor he had to protect, who was currently containing the hunter. Aesop had placed the coffin right next to the cipher machine he was working on, the machine almost done so the hunter couldn't teleport whenever Eli got downed and chaired. Aesop knew one thing for sure; he wanted to be here when Eli was rebirthed from the coffin. He wanted to catch him, to feel his warmth again.

Aesop inhaled and exhaled, his gloved hands pressing against the buttons of the cipher machine. There were two left, but there would be one after Aesop finished the cipher machine. He hoped that he would finish his machine before one of the other two teammates did. Poor Eli would be caught off guard and their hunter, which happened to be Jack, would probably get poor Eli... Aesop knew he couldn't leave through the exit gate if that happened, or else his rebirth ability wouldn't work, and Eli would be sent back to the manor. The embalmer did not wish for that to happen. There was a sound, a familiar sound. Eli had just been downed. Anxiously, the embalmer tried to finish the machine as fast as he possibly could before Eli would be chaired. Luckily for him though, the machine was completed, with one machine still remaining. Jack could not teleport towards the coffin... and where Eli had been chaired was on the other side of the map. Relief washed over Aesop, almost letting out a sigh of relief. He stood outside the coffin, watching as it became black. Soon enough, Eli's body had fallen from the coffin, his body colliding with Aesop's, though the embalmer had expected this, and stood firm, wrapping his arms around Eli. How the embalmer missed the seer's warmth. Eli blinked underneath his blindfolded eyes, tilting his head upwards. His owl remained on his shoulder, allowing him to look up and see Aesop's face.

"Aesop...?" Eli said, confused. Why had Aesop been waiting outside the coffin? Warmth filled Eli's pale colored cheeks, giving his cheeks a rosy tone that matched Aesop's cheeks.

"... Are you alright?" Aesop asked quietly.

"Y-Yeah... Thanks," Eli said softly. "You were quick on your toes to give me the rebirth ability but you really should've saved it for yourself... I'm sure Fiona or Martha would've came and rescued me, for sure."

"... I see no better purpose than to use my ability to save you," Aesop responded. "It worked out well, as you are here. No risk for terror-shocks, no risk at all. This was... the safest option for you." Eli blushed a little further, swallowing hard. Aesop paused, the silence filling the two of them as Aesop kept his arms around Eli, Eli's hands placed delicately on Aesop's chest. It was silent, but Aesop liked the silence. He didn't need words to express anything, just the comfort of having Eli wrapped in his arms. Like this, Aesop felt safe with him. He no longer felt cold, no longer felt the need to shiver. Aesop held Eli closer and tighter, causing the brunette male to blush further, keeping his head tilted up at Aesop. Aesop wondered how long they could stay like this together.