It's dark.
Colson tried to look down at his hands but he couldn't see anything. He just kept walking. He'd get there. He's going to go back to Aetos. To Cobie.
Hey have gone through enough shit. He had to go back and fuck that bitch witch up a bit. She had had her fun but now it's his turn.
He blinks and all of a sudden it got brighter. He looked up and frowns. The sky looked dark, a gold glow around him. Colson finally looks down, he was sirrounded by sand. The sun looked gold and the moon-
The moon had blocked it off halfway and with each blink it felt like the moon was gonna cover the sun. Colson doesn't remember the last time he saw an eclipse.
Huh.
So what does this represent?
He was about to die and just watched the sun and moon make out. What in the fuck? He doesn't have time for this. He raised his middle finger to the sky, the goddesses and whatever can suck it because he's going to make it to Aetos. He had to see Cobie's twins.
A heavy gust of wind blows right in his face. Colson raised a hand up, trying to shield his eyes. The next time he opens his eyes, it's dark again but there's a pinprick of light.
"Every movie I've watched says following a strange light is on." Colson said to himself as he walked towards the light.
He has gone through shit. He had gone through enough. If that light doesn't lead him home, he's going to fuck up anything that appears from there. Because he really didn't have the time.
He follows the light, his body getting hotter by the second, his nose got blocked. He couldn't breathe, his heart was beating so fast. So he did the first thing that comes to mind.
He gasped.
-
Colson sits up with a start. Everything was spinning, so he had to blink a couple of times to let it settle. He could hear someone talking, he feels a very light weight on his shoulder.
"-lson."
"-Olson."
"Can you hear me?"
Colson finally looks up. He lets out a relived breath when he sees Cobie. Heavily pregnant Cobie. Colson rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Cobie, tucking his face into Cobie's neck.
He feels the weight of Cobie's hand on his back, softly stroking.
"You're fine. You're fine. You're fine." Cobie said softly.
"You're fine too. You look ready to pop."
"Yeah I feel it too." Cobie said with a sniff. Colson pulls back, lips wobbling a bit as he sees tears running down Cobie's face. His eyes a mixture of pink and yellow. He wipes his twin's tears away.
"I love you, Bie Bie."
"You don't get to call me that just because you were beaten up." Cobie said and Colson pouts at his brother. "But... I love you too."
Colson smiles at his brother, reaching out to place a bump on Cobie's tummy. They sit there in silence for a little bit before Colson speaks up again.
"Where's Aetos?"
"He's asleep." Cobie said and Colson just raised a brow in question. "He fell asleep immediately you did."
"He's alright?"
"He is. He's breathing and everything. He just hasn't woken up." Cobie said, placing his hand on Colson's. The babies give a little kick and Cobie rolls his eyes fondly.
Any other time, Colson would marvel at this. At the babies kicking. It's just... he needed to make sure Aetos was alright.
"How long was I asleep?"
"A day and a half."
Colson pulls away at that. He pushed the duvet off him and got on his feet, his legs shaking with each step he took.
"Colson, you need to sit. He's fine."
"For fuck sake, it's one thing after the other. It's the bitch witch! I know she had something to do with this." Colson snapped. "All I wanted was to come back and be with him. What if he doesn't wake up?"
"Erik is waiting with him. We thought he'd wake up whenever you did. He's breathing, Colson. Vampires don't breathe. He's almost human, his skin isn't washed yellow anymore, after tearing her eyes out Aetos' claws fell out."
Colson falls back onto the bed. This... was actually what he wanted. Aetos to be human but he didn't want it like this. They had a plan. And this bitch witch ruined it. Bridget.
"I'm going to kill her! Where is she!"
"She's at the guard house, Pytor has some of the clan members to watch her and Toby's mark is still on her forehead. She's bound."
"I'm going to make her wish she had died with her boyfriend!"
"I'm sure you will but for now drink some water, you'll feel better." Cobie said, gesturing to the bedside table where a bottle of water was resting.
Colson does as he brother asked and practically inhaled the water with how fast he drank it. He didn't even know he had been thirsty. Once he was done with the water, he got back on his feet.
"I'm going to see Aetos. Where is-"
Colson looks around the room. It's was his room at the pack house. They carried him all the way here? Did they carry Aetos too? Was Aetos here too?
"Is he here?"
"The room across ours." Cobie replied. "You'll have to help me get up though."
Colson softly chuckled as he helped Cobie sit up. They walk slowly towards the room Aetos was, Cobie wobbling along side Colson.
Colson pushed open the door, still holding onto Cobie as they walked into the room together. The curtains were drawn and Aetos was lying on the bed, a subtle rise and fall of his chest. He looked fine. He looked okay.
All he had to do was wake up.
Colson guides Cobie onto one of the couches, making sure he was comfortable before rushing over to Aetos' side. He takes Aetos' hand in his and marveled at how warm it was.
"Hey. I'm here. I'm holding your hand and I am fine." Colson said. He had looked at himself before he left the room with Cobie. No bruises, no cuts. He was fine. "I'm here now. So you have to wake up. You have to come back to me. I need you to come back to me. I love you and I love you and I always will."
Colson pressed a kiss to their interlocked hands and rests his temple against it. A lot of things that happened these last few months had forced things that otherwise would have gone through smoothly. Not like this.
"How about you shower and eat a bit before you pass out again. Please." Cobie said and Colson raised his head. He looked over at Cobie whose eyes were brown.
"Cobie..."
"We told him the exact same thing when you were gone. If he was really skinny with a gaunt face you would not have been happy. You won't have been happy knowing he was taking care of himself." Cobie said. "So I'm going to tell you the same thing. Eat something. For him. For you. You both have been through enough. Do you want him to be worried when he wakes up?"
Colson nods.
"Plus you'd need all your strength if you want to fuck up that witch."
That. Well, that was all he wanted to do. He wanted to hurt her so much. Colson nods and Cobie gives him a big grin, his hand still softly rubbing his belly.
Colson doesn't know what Cobie did but a couple minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door. Cobie tells the person to come in. It's one of the kids Colson trains with Erik.
He's holding a tray with pancakes and eggs and a glass of juice. Colson lets go of Aetos' hand and walks over to the empty couch beside Cobie, talk the tray from the boy.
"Thank you." Colson tells the boy. He nods at him and gives Cobie a small bow before leaving the room.
The pancakes smell so good. The first forkful went down so fast. It doesn't take long for Colson to eat it all. He downs the cup of juice at once, placing the tray on the floor before reclying against the chair.
"Is this how you feel like?" Colson asked as he rubbed his tummy.
"Yeah. I'm carrying twins that like to play with my bladder and you have a good baby. Yes, it's the same thing." Cobie said with a flat tone. "Speaking of, I need to go to the bathroom." Cobie said, struggling to get off the chair.
Colson helps his brother up.
"It's fine, I can walk to the bathroom myself."
"What if you fall over and can't get up?"
"What if I punch you in the throat? I am strong enough to walk to the fucking toilet on my own." Cobie snapped. Colson raised his hands up in surrender, a fond smile on his face. He really missed his brother.
Once Cobie was out of the room, Colson made his way back over to Aetos and takes his hand in his. He lets out a relieved breath when he sees Aetos' eyes flutter. He was really asleep. He wasn't in pain. Not anymore.
"All this while, I was waiting to come back to you. To see you and just hold you. Watching you and not being able to hold you, to hold your hand, to tell you I love you and watch you listen and actually hear me, it sucked. You're turning human and to be honest, I wanted this. I wanted to tell you that I wanted us to grow old together. I wanted us, you, to be human. This wasn't how it was meant to go." Colson said, pressing another kiss to their interlocked hands.
"I just didn't want to tell you. I wasn't sure you'd want to be human. I wasn't sure if you wanted to grow old and like you know, die. You've been alive for a long while and I just didn't want to hear no." Colson said with a soft laugh. "To be honest, I knew you weren't going to say no. You never tell me no. I didn't want you to turn human just to please me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you turned human for me and start to hate it down the line."
Aetos' eyes flutter again but he doesn't open them. Colson just felt better because each movement told him Aetos was still there. Colson squeezed Aetos' hand.
"I... I think I want kids too with you. I'm thinking we have two sets of twins or triplets. I... seeing Cobie and how happy he is with his bump and his pups, feeling them kick, watching him rub at his belly. It made me want more and while I was gone, I kept on thinking about what we might have in the future. I kept thinking about you playing with our littles ones, I want them to have your eyes. Such gorgeous grey eyes."
Colson pressed another kissed to their interlocked hands before continuing. "We had that brief talk about kids and you said you'd love to have some. You would make a wonderful father, full of wisdom, patience and love. I know you'll love them."
Colson paused when he hears a knock on the door. Pytor walks into the room a couple seconds later. He looked like he hadn't slept a wink. Colson gives Aetos' hand one last kiss before letting go. He walks over to Pytor and pulled him in for a tight hug.
"I am glad you are okay. I'm so glad." Pytor said, nose pressed to the side of Colson's face. Colson smiles against the vampire's shoulder.
"Thank you so much for everything. Thank you for bringing me back." Colson said. They stay like that just for a bit before they pulled apart. Not that Colson wanted to admit it but, Pytor had to be one of his closest friends.
"How is he?" Pytor asked.
"Good. He's still sleeping." Colson replied. "How's Toby?"
"He's alright. He's at the clinic, he needed something to distract him from the recent event." Pytor replied and Colson nods. "He saw everything. He saw all she did to you, he's sorry he couldn't help faster."
Colson nods again. He had to thank Toby too and soon. He'd give him a hug, kind words and maybe a muffin basket.
"It's weird seeing him like this. So vulnerable." Pytor said. "He saved my life so many moons ago and now he's here. He's almost human. I was so scared he was going to die. He's my brother."
Colson places a hand on the vampire's shoulder and gave him a squeeze. "We were created by the same vampire. He found me hungry, confused and alone and he took my hand and never let go. I hope he wakes up soon."
"He will. I know he will."
—
Pytor sits quietly in a corner, his face in his hands. Colson was sitting beside the bed, Aetos' hand still in his.
There was a knock on the door and a tiny head peeled out of the side. It was Blue. The little boy with the big blue eyes quickly made his way over to Colson and climbed onto his lap.
"Hi, Colly."
"Hey baby blue. How are you?" Colson asked, smiling down at the little boy.
"A lil hungry but papa is making me yummy food." Blue said and I hummed in reply. "Are you hungry? I can share my food with you."
"I'm alright, blue. Thank you."
The little boy nods and looked over at Aetos.
"He's sleeping. I can hear his chest go thump thump." Blue said and this time both Colson and Pytor let out soft chuckles. This boy was seriously adorable. Randall and Se Ju we're lucky sons of a ... uh. They were lucky.
"You were sleeping too. I sneak in to see you when you were sleeping."
"It's snuck, little one." Colson teased, his heart warming at the thought that this little boy also came to see him. "You did?"
Blue nods. "You look pretty when you're sleeping. Cobie brushed your hair."
Colson hadn't looked at himself in the mirror. He had other things to worry about, not his appearance.
"And what did you do?"
"I cuddled!" Blue said. "You looked like you wanted it."
Pytor lets out a snort while Colson chuckled. "I was asleep."
"So? Papa used to say that when he sneak into Daddy's room."
And wow. Wow. This little kid seriously. Pytor had his face out of his hand and there was a small smile on his face. Did Pytor want kids too? He knew Toby aged at a snails soace so he and Pytor didn't have anything to worry about.
"He looks like sleeping beauty." Blue said and th at startled a loud laugh from Colson.
"He does, doesn't he? He looks really handsome."
"And you're his prince!" Blue said, his hands culling Colson's cheeks. The little boy stood on his knees and moved closer to Colson's face.
Colson crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue and Blue let out adorable giggles. Colson smiles at the little boy, he remembers the story of the sleeping beauty and he remembered thinking how much that book sucked and how the pictures sucked. He remembered Cobie loving the fairytale stories and now he was living one.
Imagine lying down in a castle and some random guy comes over to kiss you awake. Or even worse, the original story stated she was raped while she was asleep. Colson is pretty sure Blue wasn't talking about the latter.
"And the little mermaid too."
"She turned into bu-"
Colson quickly cuts off Pytor, shooting him a wide eyed look. "She turned into a princess."
Colson cooed at the little boy, let him enjoy the Disney endings of fairytales because the original books scarred Colson while he was younger.
"She did but the prince kissed her and she became human forever! Like Cobie and Erik! They kissed and now everybody has this mate thing! Like their own princess and prince."
It's then that it clicked in Colson's head. The sun and the moon. Most tales describe an eclipse as the sun kissing the moon or vice versa. Colson has held Aetos', Colson had kissed Aetos' hand, Colson hasn't kissed him yet.
"Hey Blue, can you go play with Pytor for a bit?"
"Okie." Blue said before getting off Colson's lap. Once Blue was gone, Colson moves to the bed, sitting by the side of his boyfriend, their hands still interlocked.
"So I'm gonna try this true love kiss thing because I hope it works. If it doesn't that bitch witch is going to lose her tongue and her limbs. And if it doesn't work, I'm going to cry and I mean ugly tears with snot and sobs." Colson said with a small smile.
He leans over, brushing Aetos' hair to the side a bit. He looked really calm, really gorgeous. All Colson wanted to see were his beautiful grey eyes. He nudged his nose against Aetos before pressing his lips against Aetos.
Colson pulls back and instead of pulling away pressed a kiss to Aetos' forehead. He doesn't let go, he doesn't move away. He just closes his eyes and prays that this works.
He hears Aetos take a deep breath and he quickly pulled back. Aetos' hand twitched and Colson held his breathe.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Colson leans over and pressed one more kiss to Aetos' lips again and-
and this time they moved.
Colson pulls away, staring down at Aetos with wide eyes! He was awake! Aetos was awake. Colson falls over, face tucked into Aetos' neck as he cried in relief, body shaking with it.
Oh thank goddess!