Carter burrowed a little deeper against Douxie's chest, desperately trying to block out the world and what would await them the second they stepped out of their room. He was just so tired. He wanted to rest from the constant fighting and battles. He was exhausted and he just wanted to rest. But it never seemed to end. There was always something.
"Cariad, are you crying?" Douxie asked him softly. He'd been gently caressing Carter's back, but had paused, hands splaying flat against his spine. "You're shaking."
"No, I'm not crying." Carter said, though he was definitely close to it. "I'm just... so tired. I don't want the world to need us anymore. I just... I want a quiet life with you, Douxie. I want to marry you, and finally settle down."
"I know," Douxie sighed, gently kissing the top of his head. "Just one more quest, darling."
"Are you so sure?" Carter asked. "Because what about after that? What's going to happen next? You and I both know it's never going to end. We'll never not be needed."
Douxie paused for a long moment. Then he tugged Carter closer to him, burying his face into his hair. "You're right... I wish it could be that easy. We'll never stop, will we?"
"No," Carter admitted, closing his eyes. "I really don't think we will. I don't think we have that luxury. Especially not now with Jim being a king."
"And he's going to need us," Douxie sighed. "I'm sorry, love. I wish I could give you what you want."
Carter kissed the dip of his collarbone. "Even if I can't have all of it, Douxie? Just having you is enough. You make everything worth it."
"I love you," he murmured. "Carter, I love you."
Carter smiled. "I know. I love you too, Douxie."
Douxie pressed a kiss to his hair, then forehead, then his cheek and the tip of his nose, and finally his lips. Carter hummed softly, breathing deeply as Douxie's hands ran up his back, tugging him closer. He was turned over and pressed against the mattress, heat flooding his chest as Douxie kissed him a little harder.
Carter really didn't want to leave their room. Douxie's body was warm and comforting, as were his arms as they wrapped tighter around his waist and back. Carter smiled into the kiss Douxie was pressing against his mouth. He could almost forget about what they needed to do... almost.
"We should probably get going," Douxie suggested as he pulled back from the kiss.
"Yeah..." Carter was playing with a strand of Douxie's hair at the nape of his neck. "We should."
Neither of them moved.
Carter gently stroked Douxie's jawline and just looked at him for a while. He was so fucking pretty. Like, actually the most gorgeous man Carter had ever seen in his life. He loved the little splash of freckles across Douxie's nose and cheeks, his crooked grin, and the way his nose wrinkled when he was upset. Carter loved everything about him.
He gently stroked a line down Douxie's neck, trailing his fingers across his bare chest. Douxie's fingers twitched against his hips, and his breath hitched quietly. Carter smiled, brushing his hair out of his eyes with his other hand.
He'd always loved Douxie's eyes. They were this beautiful swirl of gold and green that sparkled with mischief, but had also always held so many secrets behind them. You could look into his eyes, and you knew his was an old soul. In fact, that had been Carter's impression of him when they first met. He'd noticed Douxie's eyes first, and thought, "He has secrets." Turns out, he'd been right. Douxie had a lot of secrets. Carter just hadn't been prepared for how many.
Carter's gaze flickered to Douxie's chest, where he was drawing small circles against his skin with his finger. "Can you show me again?" He whispered.
Douxie smiled softly, gently grabbing his wrist, rubbing his palm with his thumb. "Of course."
Carter watched as Douxie pressed their entwined hands to his chest, magic pulsing through his hand. A glowing blue sphere appeared in the middle of his chest, pulsating and spinning under his skin like a heartbeat. The blue sphere ebbed for a moment before a similar sphere appeared on Carter's chest, the two tethered through a glowing line of magic.
His was this soft orange color, it always had been. But where the tether met in the middle, the blue and orange melded together. Carter tapped his finger against the anchor point that glowed on Douxie's chest.
"It's still strong," Douxie said, a soft smile on his face. He met Carter's eyes, taking his hand and kissing his knuckles. "I love you."
Their soul bond pulsed brightly when he said that. Carter felt a growing warmth in his chest, pushing out from the anchor point. He smiled.
"I love you too."
The glow pulsed again.
Douxie's eyes drifted down for a half a second, before he leaned in and started kissing Carter's neck. Carter closed his eyes and tipped his head back, feeling another pulse of warmth ebb from their soul tie. Douxie definitely felt it too, because he made a small noise in the back of his throat and sucked on his pulse point. Carter bit his lip, sliding a hand into Douxie's hair again.
As Douxie did his level-best to mark his neck, he couldn't stop his brain from thinking about everything he didn't want to think about. His thoughts once again turned to the fact that all of this was just to distract each other. It didn't matter how good it had felt, or was currently feeling, it was all just a distraction. One he knew they couldn't really afford. Carter couldn't let go of this, though. He'd always been bad at letting go.
"What are you thinking about?" Douxie murmured against him, still kissing his neck.
"Just..." Carter let out a breath, digging his hand into Douxie's hair. "Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we'd never met?"
Douxie went very still. He didn't move for a long moment, it seemed like he wasn't even breathing. After a beat, he slowly moved, staring at him with furrowed brows, and concerned eyes. He opened and closed his mouth, then finally said, "No. No, I've never once thought about that."
Carter pursed his lips, rising up on his elbows, making Douxie back up a little. "I don't mean it like—" he huffed, sitting up properly, running a hand down his face. "Like I wish we'd never met." He looked up at Douxie, taking his hands. The spell that allowed them to see their soul bond had faded by now. Carter wished it had lasted longer. "I only meant... how different our lives would have been."
"Yours would have been a short one," Douxie said quietly, looking at their entwined hands. He rubbed his thumb over Carter's engagement ring. "I could name a dozen different ways you would have died before even getting to No Man's Land."
Carter sighed, and nodded. "Yeah... but, you wouldn't have died. Everything that happened after we met, the danger you were in was only because of me. You rushed into that warehouse to save me. I'm the one who set off those landmines, and even then you survived those. You'd still be here."
Douxie swallowed thickly, drawing closer to him. "Why are you thinking about this, Sunshine? What's wrong?"
"You're so worried about losing me," Carter whispered. "And I have made so many stupid mistakes, decisions that have put me, and you, in more danger than it was worth. And this one..." he pursed his lips, looking away as tears pricked his eyes. "It's hurting you. You're suffering just as much as I am, and I can't help but think about how much better off you'd be if you—"
Douxie gently guided his face back towards his, brows drawn. "If I what, darling?"
Carter wet his lips, searching for the words he was trying to say. "If you didn't have me."
Douxie stared at him. Something had shattered in his gaze. He looked heartbroken. "Carter...—"
"I'm sorry," Carter breathed, closing his eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I just— I'm—" his voice broke, a sob hitching in his throat.
Douxie immediately wrapped his arms around him, drawing him close in a hug. "You're scared. It's okay, I get it. You feel like this is your fault, but it's not."
"Yes it is—"
"Shh, Carter love, no." Douxie kissed the side of his head. "All you did was try to save someone. None of this is your fault, okay? And..." he just breathed for a moment, holding Carter tighter. "And yes, I'm hurting, okay? I admit that. But it's only because I don't want to lose you. And there is nothing in this world that could ever make me wish we'd never met, okay?" He pulled back, cupping Carter's face, looking at him sincerely. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me, Carter. I couldn't imagine my life without you. I don't want a life without you in it, I don't care how less dangerous it would be. I love you."
Carter stared at him for a moment, before he broke. He threw himself into Douxie's arms, shoulders shaking as he cried silently, letting out all the pent up anger and fear that had been building inside of him ever since they'd left the Underworld. And Douxie held him. He held him tightly, their bodies seeming to mold together.
Carter found Douxie's lips again quickly, kissing him hard and deeply. He didn't deserve him, but Carter had him, and he'd be forever grateful for that. He would do everything to make sure he was worthy of this man. This amazing, amazing man. Because Douxie was everything good and beautiful in this world, and Carter loved him. He always would.
Douxie sighed against his lips before he drew Carter on top of him and pushed his tongue into his mouth. Carter very happily let him, digging his hands into his hair, shoving him down against the mattress. He was more than willing to just forget everything they needed to do.
But of course someone never learned how to knock.
The door opened, heavy oak creaking on old hinges. Jim's voice broke through their wall of pleasure.
"Hey, you two have been in here for a while are you guys okay- OH MY GODS!"
Douxie reached behind him and threw a pillow at the intruder without breaking the kiss. Jim yelped and the door slammed shut. Carter was laughing so hard they had to break the kiss.
"You never learn!" Douxie shouted at the door. "How many times does this have to happen before you start knocking!?"
"I'm sorry!" Jim yelled back, his voice muffled behind the heavy oak door. "I didn't think you guys would be— just— shut up, Douxie!"
Douxie laughed. "This is totally on you."
Jim groaned and after a moment they heard him walk away. Carter smiled and turned back to Douxie, pressing a kiss to his neck.
"Well that certainly made me feel better," he was smiling, pressing kiss after kiss down his lover's neck.
Douxie snickered, turning his face to kiss Carter's hair. "Come on, love. It's as good a time as any. We have to."
Carter sighed, his good mood instantly dipping. "Fine."
***
"Walked in on them again, didn't you?" Aanya teased as soon as Jim walked into the throne room.
"They really need to lock their door!" Jim accused, arms crossed over his chest. "Like, my god, it's ridiculous! Every time I turn around they've snuck off to go do it."
"They're like Gomez and Morticia," Jamie said. He was perched on top of the Round Table, grinning like he hadn't just been bleeding out hours before. "But, you know, less macabre."
"Have you seen some of Carter's art?" Claire called from across the room. "It's plenty macabre."
Archie hopped onto the table next to Jamie. "For what it's worth, I told them to lock the door."
"Yeah, well, Carter has ADHD and whenever he flirts with Douxie it's like all his brain cells die," Jim grumbled. "I want to know how they even have the energy for this right now! I mean, if I were Carter I would've taken a nap."
"We all recuperate in different ways," Claire said, coming up behind Jim. "If you want my opinion, because I'm obviously Carter's best friend, he's just trying to distract himself."
"Who says you're Carter's best friend?" Steve demanded, crossing the room. "I'm pretty sure that's me!"
Claire snorted. "Sure, okay."
Steve rolled his eyes. "Talk to me when you've gone on a dangerous solo mission with him."
"Party heist?" Claire smiled. "Your whole thing doesn't even count, because it was an accident. You two fell down a hole."
Steve huffed. "Jim, tell her she's being ridiculous!"
Jim raised his hands in surrender. "I will never tell her that. It's not good boyfriend behavior, and I don't want to spend two hours in the shadow realm on timeout."
Claire smiled and kissed his cheek. "I've trained you well."
Jim smiled at her. "Well, who am I to disagree with my super awesome, super powerful, super scary girlfriend?"
Steve rolled his eyes. "Ugh, gag me."
Claire raised a brow. "I could do that."
Jim laughed and kissed her head. "Okay, don't torture him. I mean, we all know who's really Carter's best friend."
"What're we talking about?" Carter asked, walking into the room, being trailed very closely by a slightly disheveled Douxie.
"Who your best friend is," Jamie informed him. "And whether or not it's Claire or Steve."
Carter blinked, looking between them. "Seriously? Obviously my best friend is Archie."
The dragon laughed. Steve looked less amused.
"Come on, man!" He complained. "You're Creepslayer number three! The brains to my brawn!"
"I never agreed to the Creepslayer thing, and technically I'm both brains and brawn." Carter said. "But if I'm being serious and answering your question honestly?"
Steve leaned forward in anticipation. Claire just looked amused.
"It's Krel."
Steve groaned, and Claire laughed. Carter was doing a terrible job of hiding his smile as he joined them at the Round Table. Douxie shook his head fondly, watching Carter the way he always did. With absolute enamored adoration.
Jim smiled too, turning back to the worn page Harley had dug up in the library archives. Aanya was staring at it, her brows furrowed with worry. It was an odd look on her. The daughter of Bellroc was usually very straight-laced, and calm. Jim didn't like it when any of his friends were anxious. And, usually the friend he was calming down was Douxie, but seeing as how Carter had that covered, it was time to focus on someone else.
"You okay?" He asked, standing beside her.
Aanya sighed, her fire-colored eyes scanning the page over and over again. He wasn't sure what was making her so nervous. "I don't know. There's just... something here. I don't know what it is."
"I don't think staring at it is going to make it give you the answer," Jim said, putting a hand on her arm. "You know you don't have to do this by yourself. If you have something you want to say, or bring up, you can. It's why we have a team."
She crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and let out a breath. "I know... thank you, Jim. It's just hard to remember I'm not on my own anymore."
"Mm," he nodded slowly, trying to think of a way to steer the conversation to something... not this. She needed to think about literally anything else. Finally, he decided on, "Your hair is different."
Aanya reached a hand up to touch her hair, like she hadn't noticed it until he said something. "Oh... yeah. I thought it was time for a change. I've had box braids since I was nine."
Her hair was in this tightly coiled loc style, the front pieces tied back with a purple scrunchy so they were out of her face.
Jim smiled. "It looks nice. Suits you."
She smiled too, though it was strained behind her obvious anxiety. "Thanks." She looked away, back at the paper. "So... about that kid?"
"Harley?" Jim shrugged. "Yeah, I don't know. He was really insistent on coming with us. He said something about a prophecy, and hasn't really brought it up since."
"Well obviously he knows who you are," Aanya said, crossing her arms. "And what you are. Otherwise, I don't think he would have cared."
Jim sighed, hating how right she was. Everything circled back to him being a king. A leader. A king who'd chosen his people, and seemed to pick up more and more as the years went on. "Harley is a sweet kid. Kinda weird, but sweet. I attribute his social awkwardness to him spending his vulnerable formative years in the Underworld surrounded by ghosts."
Aanya laughed at that. "Yeah, I think you're right." She cleared her throat and turned back to him, in a considerably better mood. "So what's the plan?"
Jim pursed his lips. "Well, that's complicated."
"Isn't it always?"
***
"Pull in right there, Zadra." Aja instructed, hovering by the captain's chair. She turned to look at Eli, who was clutching his latest invention close to his chest. "Are you excited?"
Eli gave a strained smile. "To see everyone again? Absolutely."
"Varvatos only wishes it were under better circumstances," Varvatos Vex said almost glumly. "To hear of the fate of such a capable young warrior is always tragic."
"He's not dead yet," Aja muttered, turning back to lean over Zadra's shoulder. "There, lieutenant. That port."
"Yes, My Royal." Zadra steered the Akiridion ship cleanly into the wide port Krel had put in specifically for Akiridion spacecraft. He'd complained when Stuart used the docking bay for his ship too.
Aja smiled when she saw Steve and Carter waiting for them in the docking bay. "Lively."
Carter wasn't prepared for the bone-crushing hug Aja threw at him the moment she stepped off the ship. "Hi," he wheezed.
"You're a very stupid little man, do you know that?" She said, squeezing tightly with all four arms. "The absolute idiocy!" She pulled back and punched his arm. "Why are you like this?"
Carter rubbed his arm, knowing there'd be a bruise there later. Well, what was one more? "Sorry?" He offered. "If it makes you feel better, none of that was part of my plan."
"I'm starting to question if you plan anything out at all." Aja said, rolling her eyes. She turned to Steve, and her concerned annoyance immediately melted away into adoration. "My blond oaf!"
Steve grinned and hugged her. "My butt-kicking ninja angel! Jim said you wouldn't be here until tomorrow!"
"Portable wormhole creator!" She said, grinning. "Courtesy of the Pepperjack!"
Carter glanced towards the ship as Eli was hopping down from the ramp. He was holding an Akiridion-tech sphere to his chest as he made his way over to them. "You made that?"
"Had some help," he said, smiling. He eyed Carter's shoulder, where the bandages were peeking out from under his shirt. "Ooh, that's gotta hurt."
"I can hardly feel it," Carter said. "Hurt worse when it happened." He turned to Aja. "Did Jim brief you on everything?"
She shook her head. "Not yet, but I suppose that is what we are here for."
"Oh, Aja!" Steve grinned. "You should totally meet Harley! You'll love him!"
Aja blinked and turned to Carter. "Who is Harley?"
"My cousin." Carter said with a sigh. "Sweet kid, but... weird."
She looked intrigued. "I like weird."
***
Douxie caught Carter by the arm as soon as he walked back into the throne room. It wasn't even for any particular reason, he just wanted him close. Carter didn't complain. He just smiled softly and leaned into him.
Everyone was here. It wasn't just the Trollhunters, and their Akiridion guests. Aaarrrgghh and Blinky, Chompsky, Barbara and Strickler. Even some goblins were watching from the shadows, intrigue on their faces. Aanya was holding that sheet of paper Harley had left on the Round Table, discussing it quietly with Laura.
Douxie caught Antigone's eye, and tried to give her an encouraging smile. She just looked away from him, shuffling closer to Strickler.
"Okay guys," Jim said loudly, standing in the center of the room. "I'm gonna give you the run-down of the situation. We've been given a quest by a god to find out who's been stealing souls from the Underworld."
Low murmuring drifted up from the crowd.
Zadra raised her hand. "I wonder why you have troubled our Royals with this... Earth quest."
"Because, Zadra." Aja said primly. "It is not just about Earth. Carter is our friend, and we are going to help him."
"Thank you," Jim nodded. "So, very long story short, but we have five weeks to figure out who's doing this and stop them, or Carter gets dragged back down to the Underworld permanently."
The crowd stiffened. Douxie subtly put his hand around Carter's waist, drawing him closer against all the startled stares he was receiving.
"What do you mean?" Antigone asked, brows furrowed. "Why would this be a condition of the quest?"
"It was either this, or we give you to the god of Death." Toby said, arms crossed. "But since you couldn't even go down there in the first place, Oldos asked us to figure out why. Among other reasons."
Antigone looked startled. She opened and closed her mouth, before she settled on not saying anything at all.
"I'm collateral," Carter said, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground as he spoke. "A bargaining chip. A reason for us to put our lives in danger to do this."
"Why can he not just do this himself?" Aja questioned. "Isn't he a god?"
"Yes," Douxie said. "But gods have limits. They aren't allowed to interfere in mortal affairs."
"But if this affects the entire planet, I wouldn't call it a mortal affair," Krel pointed out. "I still do not understand the whole thing, and I was there."
"Divine politics would bore you," Carter said with a strained smile. "But listen, guys. We need to figure out where to start. I think Harley had something."
All eyes turned to him.
The boy squirmed under the gazes. "Well, um..." he cleared his throat, and took a breath. "A long time ago, one of the Oracles gave my father a prophecy about a divine king." He glanced at Jim for a moment. "And one of his own children. It was said that a divine king would unite Magic, with the aid of the Heirs."
Jim looked confused. "The heirs?"
"Capital "H" Heirs, Jim." Aanya said, looking at the paper. She glanced at Harley. "It cuts off in the middle."
"I know," Harley sighed. "The second half was given to the Guardian of the Isle Gates. I don't know what that means."
"You're into prophecies, I take it." Toby said. "You know a lot about this."
Harley shrugged. "There's not a whole lot to do in the Underworld."
"Hey," Jim waved his hand to get everyone's attention. "Who are the Heirs, Harley?"
Harley blinked. Then he gestured around the room. "Us, Jim. All the demigods standing in this room are heirs of the gods."
A stunned silence swept through the room. Then shouts of,
"What?"
"You're kidding me?"
"How did you know that!?"
Rang out from the half-bloods. Well, all of them except for Carter, who just looked quietly resigned. And still very tired.
"Did you know about this?" Jamie demanded, looking at Carter.
Carter drew in a quiet breath, slowly meeting his eyes. "I had a suspicion. There was no other explanation for things turning out the way they did when your parents died."
Jamie glared at him, ice blue eyes cutting through like a dagger. "And you didn't say anything?"
"No," Carter straightened, meeting his gaze firmly. "Because you three weren't born that way. There's a one in one-thousand chance of a half-blood child being that god's heir."
"So, this is all just circumstantial then?" Laura questioned, looking uncharacteristically annoyed. "But you knew, and still didn't say anything."
"I know a lot of things that I don't tell anyone about." Carter said. "You should know that by now."
Laura's eyes flashed angrily. A potted plant in the corner of the room shot straight into the ceiling. "You can't keep something like this from us! We have the right to know!"
"You do now," he said, rather coldly. "And what good would knowing beforehand have done you?"
She was silent, taking that in. Then she huffed, crossing her arms. "I don't think you understand the concept of being part of a team."
"And I don't think you understand me not wanting to tell a bunch of teenagers that the fate of the world might rest on their shoulders," Carter countered. "You don't want that weight, Laura."
She glared at him. "And you're so sure, because?"
"After you've lived for a hundred years, you get pretty damn certain about some things."
"Did you know about me?" Olivia asked him quietly.
Carter's eyes softened, and he shook his head. "No. And even if I had, I wouldn't have told you. Not until you were at least twenty, or the situation called for it."
"Which, now it does." Archie said. "And we shouldn't spend this entire time arguing."
"He's right," Douxie said with a breath, making a mental note to talk to Carter about his people skills. Again. "We need a plan."
"Well, if the other half of the prophecy is with this Isle Guardian, then I suggest we start there." Krel said. "Anyone have any ideas as to who that could be?"
"No," Fenris said. "But I know who we can ask."
"Who?" Claire asked.
"Nimue."
***
[The "Who's Carter's best friend?" thing is an inside joke to everyone but Steve, who takes it seriously.
But Krel actually is Carter's best friend.
Aja and Carter friendship is very important to me.
Aanya and Jim are kind of unlikely friends but I love them anyway.
Carter has issues with honesty, but he's trying.
Comments are appreciated, thank you for reading!]