"Again."
Tim spoke firm, commanding, almost rudely, but Eldon didn't mind. Even at his most serious, Tim was still... well, Tim. Besides, he paled in comparison to Don Osgood. The old man almost tortured them back when he taught them, so this was just a soft reminder of those brutal days. Eldon also knew his life depended on this training, literally. So if Timmy behaved this way, it was because he cared.
Still trying to get things back to the way they were, Eldon and Tim began spending more time together, finding more things about each other in the process. Eldon learned that Tim abandoned his dream of becoming a blimp captain to take over his father's factories, that he collected clocks of all shapes and sizes, and that he loved apple pie with vanilla ice cream on top. Tim, for his part, learned that Eldon sometimes taught a History class over at Slatehallow University, that he played the pianoforte out of boredom, and that he ate salty chips every night before bed.
Slowly but surely, the trust and complicity they once shared crept their way back into their bond. Some awkward moments occurred, though, like when Tim suffered an allergic reaction to the nuts he loved in his childhood days, but which he became allergic to in the gears since, and which Eldon inadvertently put on a salad. Another time, Tim accidentally sat on an antique chair in Eldon's flat, breaking it and causing Eldon to throw something close to a tantrum.
Still, they made it work. Far too many questions remained, but both reached an unspoken arrangement. They would ask them the day after the battle if such day indeed arrived. A morbid thought, but one that worked for them, especially because it allowed them to fully enjoy their time together. And if there was a time they truly enjoyed, it was at the heat of a training session.
Eldon repeated the combo. Punch, kick, kick, dodge, jump, kick. He felt confident in his ability but Tim's expression was less than impressed.
"Again."
"You know, maybe I'd do better if I actually had an enemy to practice on," Eldon said cheekily. He instantly regretted his playful tone but he couldn't help it.
He lived better alongside Tim. Nothing mattered other than the heat of battle, yet everything improved. Wind blew fresher, earth felt moister, even rhythms sounded more musical. And he laughed. Eldon always had a twisted sense of humour and Tim not only appreciated it but he also encouraged it. Soon, it became clear that Eldon was his happiest when he fought.
Why did he ever stop?
"Is that right? You really think you can handle me?" Tim imitated his tone with a mischievous smile.
"I've handled you before," Eldon laughed and stood in front of his silver-haired friend, assuming the fighting position.
"If I recall correctly, our fights always ended the same way," Tim mocked, mimicking him.
As they circled each other, Eldon shivered at the prospect of fighting against Timmy again. Their matches never lacked excitement or passion. They struggled and enjoyed every second, giving their utmost best to each other, leaving it all in the moment. And although Tim indeed always won, Eldon didn't mind losing to him.
"Maybe I always let you win," Eldon lied as his friend laughed out loud.
"Why? You liked me on top of you?"
"Darn, you figured it out. And I thought I did such a good job hiding my true intentions."
"Well, your wish is about to come true. Ready to feel me on top again?"
"Promises, promises."
Tim didn't waste any time. Before Eldon realized it, the man stood before him and he quickly raised his arms to stop the punch that came his way. Eldon jumped back and kicked Tim's head. His friend successfully blocked it and responded with another punch. This time, it hit Eldon's straight on the elbow, but he hardly felt it.
Tim threw one more punch. Eldon expected it. He deviated it with one hand and aimed for Tim's stomach with the other. The blow landed and the young man took a few steps back. A smile drew on both their faces and they jumped towards one another, locked in the heat of battle.
It was a dance. An embrace. A bonding of bodies and spirits. A link that was their own, privately, secretly. Intimately.
He tried training after Timmy left Ward, but he was unable to recapture the magic, the sheer fervor they shared. After a while, he simply gave up, surrendering the sentiment to the vaults of his mind. But now his body remembered every move as if awakening from a deep slumber. The rush he felt as a child overcame him again, encouraging him to fight, to move, to live, once more with feeling.
With each new punch he threw and each new blow he took, he became faster, lighter, stronger. Happier. More aware. More present. More willing. Flashes blazed across his eyes and eruptions blasted in his ears as an entire world came into being within him. Suddenly, he was complete, consummate, fulfilled. A vibrant, throbbing, overwhelming shade of red.
Tim jumped back and Eldon seized his chance. He did a round-off, just like in the alley, and landed on Tim's shoulders, trapping the silver-haired head between his thighs. His friend groaned loudly as he aimlessly staggered around the garden, trying to release himself from Eldon's hold. Suddenly and rather recklessly, Tim jumped back and the two of them landed on the grass, their backs crashing against it obstreperously.
Eldon yelled in pain as his entire body, including his legs, shook and burned intensely. Tim took advantage and quickly escaped from between his thighs. Barely taking time to recover, he jumped on top and trapped Eldon's hands under his knees. Sitting on top of him, Tim drew a wide and victorious grin and let out a few tired sighs. He then got so close to Eldon, that the tips of their noses almost touched.
"You got your wish. You must be in heaven right now."
"Heaven is not exactly the word I'd choose," Eldon replied, panting and barely capable of pronouncing the words. "You're a lot heavier than you used to be."
Indeed, Tim was quite large. Tall and muscular, his back was so wide it was all Eldon could see. The man's bright blue eyes glowed impishly, and as his weight began to settle on top, Eldon wondered how much longer he would resist.
"You give up?" Tim asked with an evil smile and Eldon roared in anger. "Come on Emmu, give up already. I'm quite heavy and you might faint."
Eldon wanted to have an ace up his sleeve, a way to surprise his friend by overpowering him somehow. Alas, it wasn't meant to be, and when his vision blurred, he knew it was time to yield. Tim immediately released him and Eldon welcomed air into his lungs once more. The silver man fell besides him, breathing heavy but assuredly and they laid there, looking at each other and grinning, feeling far more satisfied than ever before.
"You got a lot better," Tim flattered as he ruffled Eldon's hair.
"You should watch out. One of these days, I might be the one on top," Eldon said, panting as the adrenaline left his body.
"Who knows? Maybe I'll like it."
"Don Lever?" A voice coming from inside the house and they both got up to find Bram, Tim's butler, standing at the door and looking at them with a rather confused expression. "You have a visitor."
"I should leave you to your affairs," Eldon hurriedly said as he walked towards his bag.
"No please, stay," Timmy asked, eyes shining with longing. "This shouldn't take long."
"Actually, the visitor asked for the two of you," Bram brightly said and Tim frowned.
"What do you mean?" The young Don crossed his arms and assumed a darker, more commanding tone.
"The woman asked to see the two of you. She asked for you, Don Timothy, and for Master Eldon Emmanuel Elmstone," the butler replied, confused at his boss' change of attitude.
"Did you mention Eldon was here?" Tim inquired again and even Eldon shuddered at his authority.
"I did not, Don, she seemed to know it already. Shall I tell her to return later?"
Tim's eyes, now cold and inquisitive, turned to Eldon, who was just as confused as he was. He told no one about his friendship with Tim, not his friends at the Museum or even Harvey. After all, having a friend with whom he shared dreams about his impending death was something Eldon thought should remain a private matter.
He shrugged and a sudden chill traveled down his spine. Tim meditated for a while, before commanding his butler.
"We'll meet her now. Take her to the library, please."
The butler gave a short nod of obedience before disappearing inside the house again, leaving them alone once more.
"Did you mention our date to anyone?" Tim asked and Eldon shook his head.
"I mentioned our training to no one, not even Harvey."
"Who's Harvey?"
"My boyfriend."
Silence. A rather uncomfortable one. Their love lives remained a mostly mysterious subject so far, one of those things to discuss after the battle. Now, it arrived in the most inconvenient way possible, and Eldon couldn't think of a worse time to bring it up.
The heat of battle abandoned his body a few seconds back, but a new one now made its way towards his face, turning him into a small and rather clumsy boiler. His hands got wet and the desire to sink his teeth into his nails became stronger than ever. Empty words juggled inside his head and when Tim showed no sign of conversation, he decided to get eradicate the absence of sound.
"I told you about him," he finally said but Tim remained unimpressed.
"No, you said 'not really' when I asked you. You said it was complicated."
Tim raised his eyebrows in surprise and Eldon felt close to overheating. His own reaction shocked him. He wasn't the kind to get embarrassed about anything, much less a relationship. Yet there he stood, red as a beet, stupidly trying to justify his love choices. Why should he? He did nothing wrong. Shame turned to anger in mere seconds.
"Well, I have a boyfriend, so what? You have a girlfriend."
"Ama is not my girlfriend." Tim loudly cleared his throat. "Anyway, that's not important right now. Might someone else followed you?"
"Possibly. But why?"
"Someone's trying to kill you, or will try to kill you, we don't know yet. But we have to be careful and treat everything with suspicion, at least until we know what we're up against."
"Very well. I say we go and see what this is about. After all, if this woman wanted us dead, she wouldn't have sent the butler."
"Okay, but we should probably wash first. We do stink."
"Speak for yourself."
Tim rolled his eyes at him.