Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Thursday, 9AM

51 Hours Before The Wedding

Douxie was uncomfortable. There was something metal poking into his back, and he didn’t have a pillow, so he had a terrible crick in his neck, and there was this  god-awful music playing, and they were hitting potholes, and all around, this was a rubbish way to sleep—

Wait.

Potholes?

And that got his eyes to shoot open. 

He was in a car , laying in someone’s backseat, and staring up at the ceiling. Weren't they just fighting the titans? Yes, they were, and he could recall feeling tired, his head hurt, and then—

A snapshot of a memory, Claire, Jim, and Krel all standing over him with concerned looks on their faces, right before everything went dark.

Douxie’s hand went straight to his left wrist, checking for his bracer. Relief flooded his veins when he found it. Thank god. He might’ve been kidnapped, but he wasn’t unarmed, which meant whoever took him probably didn’t know what he was. 

Douxie could handle that. That was easy!

Slowly, so as not to alert the driver, he sat up.

The music—90’s hip-hop—was too loud from the driver to notice. The man was bobbing his head along with the song, his long brown curls bouncing against his shoulders. 

Douxie glanced out the window to find endless trees racing by. They were on an empty, wooded road, not a single other car in sight.

Alone.

In the middle of nowhere.

Less easy.

Taking down one measly human wouldn’t be hard but getting out of here would likely require stealing his car… and Douxie wasn’t super comfortable leaving someone stranded in the woods, even if they did kidnap him… which meant kidnapping him back, tying him up and locking him in the trunk.

Yay…

Douxie flexed his fingers and tried to call on his magic. What he usually felt was akin to a raging river, but now, he only got a trickle, like someone left the sink dripping.

Well, shit.

Way less easy.

He was still drained. His magic still needed time to recover… which made taking down one human man an actual challenge. 

Douxie glanced back at the man, who was now singing loudly, and terribly , along with the song in a thick accent. He was bigger than Douxie, although not by a lot…

Maybe he could—

Their eyes met in the rear-view mirror.

The man shrieked and suddenly they were swerving off the road, and Douxie was being flung across the seat!

“Gah!” He gasped out as he hit the door, hard .

He didn’t have a second to recover though, because next thing he knew, the car was coming to a violent and abrupt stop, the windshield was shattering, spraying shards of glass inward!

Douxie was thrown face first into the back of the driver’s seat, as the man was caught by his seat belt, and the airbags deployed.

A beat of silence passed, only disturbed by their panicked, labored breathing. 

Their eyes met in the rear view again, and Douxie wasn’t wasting any more time. He threw one arm forward, hooking his elbow around the man’s neck from behind, and grabbing his wrist with his other hand, catching the man in a chokehold.

If magic wasn’t an option, good ol’ fashion violence always was.

The man clawed at Douxie’s arm, unsuccessfully, kicking and struggling, and trying to wheeze out a word. 

“Who are you? Why’ve you kidnapped me?” Douxie demanded, planting one foot against the back of the driver’s seat to get more leverage in his chokehold.

“K— Kr— Krel!” He finally managed to get out.

And that caused Douxie to pause.

Krel? As in Krel Tarron?

He released the man but scrambled back to flatten himself against the opposite end of the car, trying to put distance between himself and the stranger, but not taking his eyes off the man as he fumbled blindly for the handle to make his escape.

But the man twisted in his seat to stare at Douxie, wide eyed, and holding his own neck. “Douxie? Holy—”

Douxie glanced him up and down again, taking the stranger in. The hair , the accent , the terrible music taste—

“Krel?” He asked, just as his hand found the handle. Douxie hesitated to open the door though. If this was really Krel, then he wasn’t in any danger… right?

A huge smile spread Maybe -Krel’s face, and he gave a breathless laugh, which immediately dissolved into coughing—probably because Douxie choked him. He took a second to recover, rubbing his throat, then said, “You have no idea how good it is to see you awake.”

And finally, Douxie’s shoulders relaxed.

It was Krel.

He was fine.

Everything was fine.

You know, except the tree that they’d crashed directly into, and was now more inside the car than not.

Krel carefully dusted shattered pieces of the windshield off his shirt, and out of his lap before undoing his seatbelt, and clambering out of the car.

Douxie hurriedly followed suit, only to be hit by a terrible wave of vertigo the moment his feet hit the grass. He stumbled and had to grab the car door to keep himself upright.

“Are you hurt?” Krel asked as he sprinted around the back of the car, completely ignoring the damage to the vehicle in favor of checking on Douxie.

“I…” Douxie held his head as the nausea passed. “I don’t think so?” He’d slammed his shoulder pretty hard into the door earlier, that was definitely going to bruise, but he hadn’t broken anything, and he hadn’t been thrown out the windshield, so all in all, he was fine.

“Let me help you,” Krel ducked his head and pulled one of Douxie’s arms over his shoulder, grabbing his waist, and pulling him close. “It’s fine. You’re gonna be fine.”

Together, they hobbled a few feet away from the car, and Krel set him down in the grass.

“Thank you.” Douxie leaned back against a tree and rubbed at his bruising shoulder.

“Yeah, just—” Krel glanced back to his car, wincing as he took in the crumbled mess, wrapped around a tree. “Stay here a mekron. I have a first aid kit in the car.” 

Douxie just nodded, his head spinning.

Krel ran back to the car and got his first aid kit from the trunk.

“I’m sorry about choking you…”

“You were disoriented, you didn’t recognize me, it’s fine.”

“I’m really not hurt, I don’t think—”

“Bullshit,” Krel set the kit down in front of Douxie, kneeling down as he cracked it open. “You’re covered in cuts from the windshield.”

“What about you…?” Douxie reached to touch a cut on Krel’s bare arm, only to find rather than blood, there was a blue glow beneath the skin. 

Right. Akiridion . They’re energy based; they don’t have blood. 

“Oh, that?” Krel glanced down at the cut, shaking his head, dismissive. “It disrupted my human projection, but I can fix that. Don’t worry about it.” Instead, he took Douxie’s hand, and turned it over to get at the cut on the back of his wrist. “You, on the other hand…”

“I’m fine, Krel, it’s just a cut—”

“You’ve been asleep for five keltons, and the first thing that happens when you wake up is you get in a car crash , with no seat belt on, I think I have plenty of reason to be concerned.”

Douxie fell silent, and allowed Krel to disinfect the cut as he tried to remember what the English equivalent of a kelton was… but looking at Krel, at how much he’d grown and changed… 

Some dreaded little part of his brain knew it was years.

Five years.

He supposed it could be worse. The longest Douxie had even slept was thirty-six years, and Merlin slept for centuries , so in comparison… He was lucky he woke up in the same lifetime as when he went to sleep.

He easily could have woken up to nothing but gravestones left of his friends. 

Krel finished bandaging the cut on his wrist, then moved on to another, on his collarbone, gently wiping it with disinfectant. It stung, but Douxie had endured worse.

“Is… is anyone…?” He didn’t want to finish the question.

Krel did it for him. “Dead? Uh…”

That wasn’t a good sign.

“That depends on how much you remember from the battle, before you passed out.”

Douxie shook his head. “It’s all a bit fuzzy and jumbled up in my mind. I remember the titans, but I can’t quite recall—” He cut himself off as something heart-stopping occurred to him. “Where’s Archie?”

Krel’s hand froze on Douxie’s collarbone, halfway through applying a bandage. He didn’t speak.

“Krel,” Douxie grabbed his shoulder, and forced Krel to look him in the eyes. “Where is Archie?”

“He’s gone, Douxie,” Krel’s expression softened with sympathy, like he knew he was ripping Douxie’s heart out with that answer. “I’m so sorry, he never never made it out of Hong Kong.”

The world slowed closed in on him, everything going quiet and dark, and disorienting, and finally Douxie couldn’t take it anymore. He doubled over and wretched into the grass, but nothing actually came up. 

Of course, nothing came up. He hadn’t eaten in five years. 

“Oh, kleb…” Krel cursed, wincing. “Are you okay?”

Douxie wretched again, producing nothing but bile. He clutched his chest, breathing hard. “Fuck— oh, fuck, Archie.” Tears dripped off his cheeks. “That can’t be right, that can’t— no, I would have felt it. I would have felt our familiar bond break—”

He reached deep into himself with his magic, searching for the bond, for any sign of his familiar, and finally, blessedly , finding it. It felt like grabbing a string in water, floating, moving with the waves, and when he closed his hand around it and tugged—

Something tugged back.

Archie .

“You’re wrong.” Douxie wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, shaking his head.

“Douxie, he never made it out when he went for the Kronhnisfere—”

“You’re wrong!” He snapped, stumbling back to his feet. “You’re wrong. I can feel it, our bond, it’s not broken, which means he’s not dead.”

Krel blinked up at him, seemingly deciding how he wanted to approach this. “Um… okay.” Having made his decision, apparently, he closed the first aid kit, and stood back up. “Well, let’s assume you’re right. That means he’s still trapped in the Trollmarket, in Hong Kong.”

“I have to go get him.” 

Krel’s gaze slid to his totaled car. “I don’t think either of us are going anywhere for a while…”

“I’ll walk if I have to.” Not to be deterred, Douxie started off down the road.

“To Hong Kong?” Krel called after him, not budging.

“Well, not the whole way.”

“Douxie, don’t be stubborn.” He jogged to catch up with the wizard, catching him by the elbow. “Just stick with me for now, okay? We’ll get the car working again, and we’ll—”

“That thing is  totaled, how do you expect to fix it?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Krel gestured to Douxie, “Maybe the master wizard has a spell or two that’ll help?”

Douxie’s shoulders slumped at the suggestion. “I’ve been asleep for five years, Krel, I promise you I’m not gonna be able to do shit until I’ve at least had a coffee.”

“What, you can’t cast a simple ‘repair’ spell?” Krel wiggled his fingers at the car, like jazz hands, but not quite, like he was mimicking casting a spell. “That seems like an easy one.”

“No, and that’s not what I look like when I cast spells, knock it off!” Douxie swatted Krel’s hand. “ You’re the tech guy here, you can’t do anything?” 

“Are you kidding me? Douxie, it’s  totaled!”

“That’s exactly what I just— ugh.” Douxie pinched the bridge of his nose and took a second to calm down. “So, what do we do?”

Krel put both hands on his hips and stared at the car as he thought it over. “Well… a coffee and you can fix it?”

“I mean, probably.”

“Fantastic, because a coffee is cheaper than a tow truck.” Krel pulled his phone from his jeans pocket and opened an app.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out if DinnerDash delivers to the middle of nowhere.”

“DinnerDash…?” 

“It’s what replaced DoorDash and GrubHub.” Krel shrugged, not taking his eyes off his phone. “You’ve missed a lot the past five keltons.” 

“Oh.”

Krel handed over his phone, a menu open on the screen. “Put in your coffee order.”

“I hope you’re paying…” Douxie went through the menu, making his selections. “Because I’ve got no money.”

“If you can fix my car for the price of one coffee and delivery, I’m more than happy to pay.” 

Douxie handed the phone back, then asked, “So, why was I in your car to begin with?”

“Oh, I had Douxie-sitting duty.” Krel said with a shrug. He selected his payment method and hit order before slipping the phone back into his pocket. 

“Douxie-sitting duty?” He repeated, trying not to feel offended.

“Well, yeah. Usually, we just let you sleep in Trollmarket, you’ve got your own room and everything, and we all take turns checking in on you, but…”

“But?”

“But everyone was going out of town for the wedding, and someone had to keep an eye on you—”

“Wedding? What wedding? Who’s wedding?”

“Jim and Claire,” Krel said, like it was obvious.

“They’re getting married?” Douxie balked. 

“Yeah, and it was my job to transport you from Trollmarket to my apartment, and keep you taken care of until everyone got back—”

“Wait!” Douxie couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “So, you’re telling me… I’ve woken up just in time for the wedding?”

“Uh… yeah, I guess.” Krel shrugged, “I mean, we’ve got three delsons, and it’s all the way across the country, so I don’t love our odds of making it in time.” 

“Three days?” Douxie turned that over in his head a few times, thinking it through…

He could do that. That was do-able.

“When do we need to be at the wedding?”

“In three delsons, on Saturday, at noon.”

“And so today is Thursday morning?”

“Yeah…”

“We can make it.” Douxie nodded determinedly. 

“You’re not seriously considering this, are you? It’s in California , in Arcadia, we’re in Jersey , it’s a thirty horvath drive, at least.” 

“And we have three days, we’ll have time to spare!” Douxie marched back over to the car to take a closer look at the damage. The front was crumpled against the tree, but Douxie was confident with a coffee and little spell work, it’d be drivable again. “Not only will we make it to that wedding, we’ll make it with Archie.”

Krel looked at him like he was crazy. “You want to go to Hong Kong too?”

“It’s alright! I’ve got a plan!” Douxie flashed Krel a huge grin. “We’ll take the gyre.”

Chapter Text

Thursday, 10AM

50 Hours Before The Wedding

It took an hour for the car to appear on the lonely road they’d crashed on, and both men perked up at the sight of it, sitting together on the trunk. The car slowed to a stop, and a baffled young man stuck his head out the window. “Uh… hi.” He glanced at the wreckage, then back to Douxie and Krel. “My DinnerDash instructions just said to look for the car crash—”

“Yeah, that’s us!” Douxie hopped off the trunk and eagerly went to his window. “Do you have my coffee?” 

He nodded and passed the coffee through his window. “Are you guys okay…? Do you need help?”

“We’re fine, just a bit scuffed up.” Douxie waved it off, dismissive, as he claimed his coffee. It was lukewarm, but Douxie could deal with that. “No real injuries.”

“Thank you for the concern though,” Krel said.

“Have you called someone…?”

“We’re fine, really.” Douxie gave the guy a polite smile, then rejoined Krel, sitting on the trunk. “Have a lovely day!”

The man didn’t budge for a minute, staring at them like the odd pair they were, then finally he must have decided he didn't get paid enough to make this his problem, because rolled his window back up, turned his car around, and kept driving.

“Alright, drink up and fix my car.”

Douxie wasn’t one to waste time while on the clock, so he did as told. He downed that motherfucker, and set right to work, scrolling through his bracer to find the right runes, and putting together a repair spell.

Once ready, holding the glowing rune in one hand, he turned to Krel, “We need to remove the car from the tree first.”

Krel sighed and let his disguise drop, his human form vanishing in favor of his Akiridion one. There was no one around to see, after all.

No one but Douxie, anyway.

He’d always found Krel’s Akiridion form fascinating…He was taller, bigger, and glowing an electric blue. Douxie watched as Krel took hold of the car’s bumper with all four hands and lifted. He’d gotten stronger, it seemed. Quite a bit stronger...

Krel carefully pulled the car clear of the tree, then set it back down, looking a bit strained at the effort. “There. Better?”

“Ye— yes.” Douxie had to fight to keep his face and voice neutral. Why was that attractive? That shouldn’t be attractive. He cleared his throat and said, “Thank you.”

Krel just nodded and stepped back, getting out of Douxie’s way.

He forced his attention back onto his spell and applied it to the car.

Krel gasped softly as the metal seemed to unfold itself, moving back into place like memory foam returning to its shape, leaving behind an unscathed car. “That’s incredible…”

“It’s a pretty simple spell, actually.” Douxie tried to dismiss the praise, averting his eyes as his face heated.

“Still cool.” Krel clasped one of his many hands on Douxie’s shoulder and squeezed. “Come on. Let’s get moving.”

Douxie took the front passenger side seat and fastened his seat belt while Krel claimed the driver’s seat.

“So, what exactly is your plan?” Krel asked as he fidgeted with something on his wrist. It almost looked like a watch, but after a moment, it had Krel’s human disguise reapplied. 

Douxie tried not to be disappointed by that. “What do you mean?”

“Where am I taking you?” Krel clarified as he started the car.

“To Trollmarket.” Douxie gestured vaguely to the road ahead of them. “That’s where we were just coming from, right? We’ll take the gyre to Hong Kong, rescue Archie, take the gyre back, then sort out the rest.”

“Sort out the rest…?”

“Well, I don’t know if there’s a gyre station near the wedding venue, Krel, so we might only be able to take it part way, then we’ll have to rent a car—”

“Is there even a gyre station in Hong Kong?”

“I don’t know, we’ll have to look at the maps when we get back to Trollmarket.”

“This is a very half-baked plan.” Krel sighed and pulled back onto the road, setting off. With one hand on the wheel, he blindly fished his phone from his jeans pocket. “We should call the others and let them know you’re—”

“What? No!” Douxie snatched the phone out of his hand. “Don’t do that!”

“Douxie—”

“We should surprise them!” He hugged the phone to his chest, keeping it out of Krel’s reach.

“Well, we should tell someone , right?” Krel, trying to keep his eyes on the road, could only spare Douxie sideways glances. “Like Dr. Lake? Someone should know we’re coming.”

He sighed, frowned at the phone, but gave in. “Fine. We can tell Dr. Lake, but Jim and Claire are absolutely not allowed to know.” 

“Then go ahead and call her, I’m busy driving. My passcode is—”

“It’s fine, I don’t need your passcode. Reserare.” Douxie spelled the phone unlocked with a bit of Latin, and a ruin from his bracer, then started searching for Dr. Lake’s name in Krel’s contacts. 

“...Are you telling me you can just magically unlock any phone?”

“Oh, more than just phones.” Douxie swiped right down the list to the L’s. “ Reserare is Latin for unlock , and it works on phones, computers, passwords, fingerprint scanners, doors, anything that locks, really—”

“Seklos and Gaylen, Douxie,” Krel gave him a sideways glance, alarm written all over his face, “Have you ever used it for…?”

“For what? Crime?” Douxie scoffed but nodded. “Yes.”

And the honesty shocked a laugh out of Krel. “Douxie! You can’t just—”

“What?” He couldn’t help but laugh too, Krel had one of those infectious laughs that made you want to join in. “I lived through a lot of civil rights movements, do you have any idea how many times I had to break myself or others out of handcuffs?”

Krel rolled his eyes. “Just call Dr. Lake already.”

“Alright, alright, I’m doing it…” Douxie found the right contact and hit call. It rang three times before she picked up.

“Good morning, Krel—”

“Not Krel, sorry to disappoint, Dr. Lake.”

There was a beat of stunned silence, then she asked in a baffled tone. “Douxie?”

“Yeah, I woke up maybe an hour ago—”

“You’re awake?”

He winced at her volume, she was practically shouting, so pulled the phone away from his ear. Douxie put her on speaker. “Yes, I’m awake. Krel caught me up. He told me about the wedding. We’re on our way, but this is very important so pay close attention, okay?”

“Right, right, of course, I’m listening.”

“ Do. Not. Tell. Anyone. I. Am. Awake.”

“But—”

“No. No butts, young lady—”

“Excuse you, I am a grown woman—”

“And I am nine hundred and nineteen—”

“You were asleep for five keltons,” Krel reminded in a whisper.

“—Scratch that. Nine hundred and twenty-four. I have seniority, so listen to me. My plan is to surprise Jim and Claire at their wedding. Do not ruin this for me. Do. Not. Tell. Them.”

“Then why did you even call me?”

“Krel thought it was important that someone knew what was going on.”

“Also,” Krel piped up, “We’re probably going to be cutting it a bit close, so we might need you to stall, or you might need to add two more to the seating chart—”

“I’ll handle all those arrangements. You two just focus on getting here.”

“Three.”

“What?”

“Us three . Archie’s coming too.”

Dr. Lake went silent for a long moment, then in a careful tone said, “Douxie… Archie’s gone.”

“No, he’s not.” He groaned and hung up without saying goodbye, unwilling to have that conversation again. Douxie passed the phone back to Krel, who pocketed it without looking.

The silence dragged for a few minutes, with Krel periodically glancing between the road and Douxie. 

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore, so Douxie broke the silence. “Say what you want to say, Krel.”

“It’s just… I’ll believe you that Archie is alive. I don’t know how familiar bonds work, so I’m going to take your word for it that he’s alive, but uh,” He winced, like the next words pained him to get out. “You passed out right after that final battle. We’ve had five keltons to adjust, you’ve had an horvath. How are you… doing? Mentally. Emotionally.”

Douxie gave a long sigh and slouched in his seat. “You know what sucks about being immortal?”

“What?”

“After a few centuries, change is disturbingly easy to adjust to. Grief is disturbing routine . Everyone we lost? Nari, Toby, Strickler, Nomura— Just, everyone. It’s all just kind of… numb?” He shrugged, and kept his gaze locked forward, to avoid Krel’s eyes. “It hurts, but at the same time, I knew it was coming. I know the moment I grow to care about someone that I will one day have to grieve them.”

“So, what are you saying…?”

“I’m saying that I go into every new friendship expecting to lose them, and so I’m always prepared for the day I do.” Douxie gathered his courage and forced himself to meet Krel’s eyes. “Yes, the losses we’ve suffered are still fresh for me, but I am no stranger to grief. I’ll survive. I always do. You don’t have to worry about me.” 

Krel made a small, considering noise, then asked, “Are you sure you’re not just procrastinating grief by focusing on Archie and the wedding?”

“I’ll admit, having a goal in mind helps me not to think about it. Anyway!” He eagerly reached for the car’s radio. “Let’s put on some music and stop talking about death. It’s getting quite depressing in here.”

“Yes, please.”

Before long, they were driving into a town, and Krel was parking outside what appeared to be a skatepark. 

Douxie raised an eyebrow at the park. “Seriously?”

Krel grimaced, like he knew how bad it was, and unclasped his seatbelt. “The entrance to Trollmarket is behind the toilets.”

“Behind the—” He cut himself off, took a second to recompose himself, then continued. “This is where the trolls moved after Morgana and Gunmar tore apart the Trollmarket in Arcadia?” He hadn’t had the chance to see it before everything happened, and he’d known it was in New Jersey, but this seemed…

Public .

Yeah, that was the word he was looking for.

There were kids in the park, taking advantage of the nice summer day to skate. Any one of them could see any comings and goings from Trollmarket. It was so exposed, so— How had they not been discovered?

The one in Arcadia was in the canals for a reason! No one went down there! No one would see!

Krel was already climbing out of the car, and Douxie had to hurry to follow.

“Don’t people see?” He asked, staring at the skating kids as Krel led him into the park.

“Oh, right…” Krel spun around to walk backwards, facing Douxie as he spoke. “You weren’t there for the fallout of the titans, so— okay, basically what happened was the entire world saw us.” 

At the look of alarm flashing across Douxie’s face, Krel hurried to keep explaining. “It’s fine though! Now. It’s fine now. There was no explaining away everything that happened, everything they saw and caught on camera, so we kind of had no choice but to come clean, and now the entire world knows about trolls, and Akiridions, and— well, you get it.”

“And how… how did the world take that revelation?”

“Uh…” Krel turned back around to walk straight. “At first, badly . People were scared, confused, they wanted answers, and governments from all over the world were looking for us for questioning, but after a while, things died down.”

Douxie picked up the pace a bit to walk beside Krel instead of behind. “So… these kids,” He pointed at the skaters, trying and failing to remain calm. “All know the entrance to Trollmarket is here?”

“Yes.” 

“And they don’t care?”

Krel shrugged. “They visit Trollmarket a lot actually.” 

His first thought was ‘Vendel would hate that,’ and then his second thought was, ‘Vendel is dead. Blinky’s in charge, of fucking course he invited humans into Trollmarket.’

“What? What’s that look on your face for?” Krel asked as they reached a concrete block building that could only be the restrooms. 

“Nothing, it’s just… In my experience, mortals knowing results in a lot of death every time.” Douxie couldn’t help but stare after the skaters, frowning. “Are you certain everything’s fine?”

“It is now.” Krel circled the restrooms, to behind the building, where a huge graffitied, wall stood. “At first things were hectic. The government questioned us a lot, we had to do press conferences…” Krel dug into his bag and pulled out a Horngazel. “Actually, explaining you was the hardest part.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You were in the videos too. People saw you using magic against the titans, and then you just up and vanished.” Krel drew the entrance, then stepped back while it opened, warping the graffiti. “We weren’t sure how things were gonna go down, and you were passed out, so we hid you in Trollmarket, and all kept our fucking mouths shut about you… but from the public’s perspective, you were the unknown factor. The rest of us became public knowledge, but no one knew who you were, or what your deal was because we refused to say anything about you—”

“I had a life though, people in Arcadia knew who I was, so certainly someone—”

“Well, yeah,” Krel led him through the entrance. “People knew your name, what you looked like, and a tiny bit about your life in Arcadia Oaks, but no one knew what you were, so people started digging into you.” 

Past the entrance was a long spiraling staircase of crystals, almost exactly like the one in Arcadia’s Trollmarket, glowing blue.

“They found paintings of you from centuries ago, old black and white photos… There’s basically a hundred different conspiracy theories about you, but the most popular one is you’re a vampire.”

Douxie’s eyebrows shot up in alarm. “A vampire? Why?”

Krel stopped walking long enough to give Douxie a look that just screamed, ‘seriously?’ He pointed at Douxie and said, “You’re immortal and you dress like that. Of course they assumed you’re a vampire.”

“I’m not a vampire!”

“I know that!”

“None of you corrected them? Why would you let them think that?”

Krel winced, a guilty look flashing across his face. “Because the whole world thinks you died fighting the titans! It started out as us trying to protect you, but after a few keltons of keeping everything about you a secret, it was too late to come out with the truth, and honestly, we were pretty sure you wouldn’t wake up in this lifetime anyway—”

“So, the whole world thinks I’m dead?”

“For the most part, yeah.”

“And they also think I’m undead?”

“Yeah.”

“Great.” Douxie shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket and kicked a pebble down the steps. “How the hell am I meant to sort that mess then?”

“You’ll probably have to do press conferences, just like we did.” Krel gave him an encouraging pat on the back as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “Anyway, welcome to the new and improved Trollmarket,” He gestured out into the sprawling underground city.

It was lit with the same neon glow as the old Trollmarket, with flashing signs, and huge crystals budding from the ground. There was a collection bin by the bottom of the steps, full of human trash. Socks, old clothing, food trash…

“The humans give the trolls their garbage sometimes,” Krel explained when he saw Douxie looking. “It’s like a new form of recycling.”

Douxie just nodded along, letting Krel lead him down the street, where Trolls and humans alike mingled, like it was no big deal. 

A young troll came sprinting down the street, laughing, and Douxie had to jump to the side so as not to be crashed into. A human child was chasing after the troll, beaming. They were playing together.

“Tag!” The human kid shouted as he tapped the troll’s shoulder, and then whipped around to race right back past Douxie, once again, nearly knocking him over.

Douxie stared after the kids… What an odd sight, but definitely an improvement from when Douxie was their age.

“Come on,” Krel took Douxie by the elbow and pulled him along. “I know it’s probably weird for you to see, but don’t forget we’re on the clock here.”

“Right, right, sorry.” He picked up the pace, falling back into step with Krel. “Where’s the gyre?”

“Just follow me.”

Douxie stuck close to Krel as they walked through the city, doing his best not to stare at how much the world had changed… that is, until he realized they were staring at him too.

Trolls and humans alike stopped to gawk at him as they passed.

“They’re staring at us…”

“At you,” Krel corrected. “You’re supposed to be dead, remember?”

“Ah… right.” Douxie flipped up his hood and walked a little faster. “Lovely.”

Chapter Text

Thursday, 11AM

49 Hours Before The Wedding

Within the gyre station, there was a world map carved onto the stone wall, with locations marked with embedded gemstones.

Douxie tapped a finger against a gemstone in China. “Okay, the good news is there is a gyre station in Hong Kong, the bad news is, it’s not exactly close to where we need to be.”

“Hang on one sekton.” Krel took out his phone and pulled up google maps. “I think that’s somewhere in Tai Mo Shan Park.”

Douxie huddled closer to look at his screen, putting one hand on Krel’s shoulder, and leaning in. “Go to directions, how long of a drive is it?”

Krel clicked directions and waited as the app calculated a route. “About one horvath.” 

“We can make that drive.”

“Actually, we might have to hike a bit, if we come out in the middle of a park.” He clicked the link leading to the location's official website. 

“We can still make it.”

“Douxie—” Krel began, like he was about to argue, but he turned his head too fast, and his nose bumped into Douxie’s.

They both froze. 

Krel had nice eyes, Douxie realized. They were dark brown, and lovely, but part of him still preferred the vibrant blue of his Akiridion eyes. Those were so much more him.

But no matter how nice Krel’s eyes were, Douxie knew it wasn’t wise to keep gawking at them like this. Not only were they on the clock, but Krel was mortal . Crushing on mortals never ended well. 

Time to squash this little infatuation.

Douxie cleared his throat and stepped out of Krel’s personal space. “You were saying?” 

“Uh,” Krel blinked, then shook his head, as if to clear it. “I was going to say that if we take the gyre to China, I won’t have my car, and google maps says it’s a five horvath walk—”

"I might have a solution to that." Douxie checked his bracer, pulling a rune from the surface. His magic seemed to be replenished. “I could shrink your car to the size of a hot wheels, and we’ll just carry it in our pockets on the gyre.”

“You can do that?”

“Yes?” It came out sounding like a question, because honestly, the surprise on Krel’s face confused him. “Yes, I can do that.”

“Fantastic. Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.”

It wasn’t until Douxie was standing in the skate park parking lot, staring down Krel’s car, did it really occur to him that shrinking it would require using magic. Openly. In public. Where people would see.

Hands on his hips, he glanced over his shoulder at the skaters. None of them seemed to be paying any attention to him, but still! It was broad daylight! There were people walking past!

“We’re on the clock,” Krel reminded, nodding towards his car. “Are you going to do this, or not?”

Douxie opened his mouth to say yes, he really did, it was his intention to say yes, but what came out was, “ Or, alternatively, if you don’t want to take your car to China, I do have that unlock spell—”

“We’re not stealing a car.”

“Well, I only suggest it because they drive on the left-hand side in China, so I thought maybe a car with the driver’s seat on the left would—”

“We. Are. Not. Stealing. A. Car.”

“Duly noted.” 

Summoning all his courage, Douxie raised a hand to his bracer, but before he could pull a rune, a woman walked past with her dog. Instinctually, he dropped his hand, heart pounding. 

Magic, out in the open… that was dangerous. This was dangerous. 

And sure, part of him knew Krel wasn’t lying when he said the whole world knew about magic, and trolls, and all that nonsense! But at the same time, he’d spent centuries keeping this secret. It felt wrong to betray all that effort now.

“Douxie, come on,” Krel nudged him.

Shaking his head, Douxie spun on his heels to face Krel instead of the car. “You know what? I’ve only been awake a few hours, my magic is still replenishing, I could really use another coffee before casting anymore spells.”

“Seriously? Another coffee?” 

“You try sleeping for five years, then lecture me about my caffeine addiction.” 

Krel groaned but opened the driver’s side door. “Come on, there’s a Starbucks around the block.”

Relief swept through him, followed by a wave of shame and guilt at procrastinating this. Archie needed him, and yet here he was, too chicken to cast a spell in public. He felt like a coward as Krel drove them to Starbucks.

He bought Douxie another coffee, and they sat in the car while he sipped it slowly, dragging it out as long as possible and feeling worse and worse about it with every minute wasted. Suffocating silence stretched between them.

Krel was giving him a sideways, unimpressed look, a frown on his face.

Douxie’s face heated with embarrassment, and he took another sip of his coffee to avoid Krel’s eyes.

Finally, Krel spoke up, “You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

“I am over nine centuries old, Krel,” He gaffed in offense. “I don’t get nervous—”

“It’s okay if you were nervous—”

“I wasn’t nervous!”

“You looked nervous.”

Douxie narrowed his eyes at Krel. “I wasn’t.”

Krel shook his head and turned to face forward again. “All I’m saying is… hypothetically , if you were nervous because you’re not used to casting spells in public, then that’s totally valid, and anyone could understand why that would make you nervous—”

“Krel—”

“—No, seriously, think about it. We all know how you grew up, in Camelot. Using magic so openly would have gotten you killed, right?”

Douxie fell silent, only managing a little shrug in confirmation. He didn’t want to talk about Camelot.

“And it’s not like the past nine centuries have been any better, you still had to hide it, right? So, it makes sense that this would be difficult for you, so look, if it’s any comfort, I can promise you that no one will care.” Krel met his eyes again. “The entire world knows about magic by now, it’s old news at this point. No one will find it unusual for you to shrink a car.”

Douxie took a deep breath, willing himself to be brave enough for this… but failing. “I just can’t do it in the open, Krel.”

“Okay.” Krel said, without an ounce of judgment in his voice. He started the car. “I’m not going to force you to, so… let’s find an alleyway, or a building to park behind, somewhere secluded, and then you can do your thing there. No prying eyes. Better?”

Douxie let out a breath of relief and nodded smally. “Yeah. That sounds… better. Thank you.”

They found a Walmart, and pulled around the back, by the dumpster. It had good cover, and there wasn’t a single soul in sight. Perfect . Krel parked the car, and they climbed out.

“Is this good enough?” Krel asked as he shut the driver’s side door, glancing around.

“It’ll do.” Douxie took a second to let his nerves settle, rolled the stiffness out of his shoulders, then pulled a rune from his bracer, muttering in Latin, “Parvum fac.”

The car shrank down to the size of a Hot Wheels, and Krel was crouching over it in an instant, eyes wide with awe. 

“That’s impressive…”

His face heated at the praise. “It’s really not…” 

Krel carefully picked up his car, trying to squint through the window. “Making a device to do this could take me the whole delson, you did it in sektons . That’s pretty damn impressive.”

“I— thanks.” He forced himself to accept the compliment, averting his gaze. “Shall we head back?”

They walked back to the skatepark, down into Trollmarket, and all the way to the gyre station. Krel was turning his car over in his hand as they walked, trying to get a closer look. He didn’t pocket the damn thing until they were actually boarding the gyre and hurdling themselves all across the world at breakneck speeds.

Douxie was very proud to say he did not throw up.

Not even when they came to a horrible, rattling, abrupt stop. God, he hated gryes. Somehow, enough though he’d already been in a car crash today, the grye trip was worse. It was always worse. 

He was a bit unsteady as he stepped off the gyre, and into an old, dark, empty station, but he managed to stay on his feet.

Krel immediately fished his car out of his pocket to check on it, but he must have decided the trip hadn’t damaged it, because he gave a sigh of relief, and pocketed it again. 

“Come on,” Douxie led him to the exit, a doorway-shaped stone wall. “

Krel took his horngazel from his bag, drew the exit, and went through first.

Douxie followed, stepping into the glowing, warping exit, and out into the surface world. He went out squinting, expecting it to be bright compared to the unlit gyre station, but instead, it was pitch black.

Right. Time zones. 

Krel grabbed Douxie’s arm, pulling him closer. “I can’t see anything. We should stay close.”

Douxie ‘s heart jolted, and he thanked god Krel couldn’t see, because he was pretty damn sure his cheeks were bright red.

Stop it, he reminded himself. Mortal lovers weren’t wise. He knew that, he learned that lesson in the most painful way possible, and god damnit, he knew better! 

And yet, Douxie didn’t pull away, because Krel had a point. He could barely see a foot in front of his face, and it was cold as shit out here. Sharing warmth sounded awfully appealing…

“Here,” Douxie pulled a rune from his bracer, “Lux,” he muttered in Latin, and a bright glow came to life in his hand, illuminating the area about thirty feet in each direction.

They were in a field, with rolling hills, and a rock ledge at their back… the entrance to the gyre station. Ahead of them was a dirt path, not leading to the ledge, just going straight past. If you didn’t know the entrance was there, you’d never give it a second glance on your hike.

“There’s a path,” Douxie pointed, hooking his elbow with Krel’s. “Let’s follow it.”

Krel allowed Douxie to lead him down to the path, pressing himself to the wizard’s side. “Which direction do we follow it?”

“Um…” There were no signs to suggest which was the correct way, but Douxie was nothing if not a problem solver. “Hong Kong is south-east of the park, so let’s go that way.”

Krel made a pained noise and dropped his head. “How do we know which way is south-east?”

“You don’t know how to tell—”

“I am not from this planet!” He reminded with a huff. “Akiridion 5’s sun doesn’t rise in the same direction yours’s does. I can navigate my world, but not yours’s!”

“Fair point. Honestly, I would not be surprised to find out Jim or Claire didn’t know which direction south-east was either. At least, five years ago, most kids couldn’t tell you that. Anyway,’ Douxie pointed south-east. “It’s that way.”

They started down the path, huddled together against the cold and wind, with Douxie keeping one hand outstretched to light the way.

They walked for what would have felt like hours, if not for Krel periodically checking the time on his phone and burning through the battery. In reality, it took them about half an hour to find a trail marker, a sign with arrows and direction.

“It’s in Chinese…” Krel grimaced.

“It’s fine, I know Chinese.”

“Wait, you do?”

“Of course, I do! Rule one of being an immortal is to learn as many languages as you can, because the last thing you want is for your language to die out, and then you can’t communicate!” Douxie gestured to the sign, like it was evidence of his point, then started counting off languages on his fingers, “I speak English, Latin, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Scottish Gaelic, and—”

“Okay, I get the point. What does the sign say?”

Douxie shifted closer to the sign, hovering his glowing hand over the words. His Chinese could probably use a bit of practice, but he understood well enough. “If we keep going this way for about ten miles, we’ll reach the visitor center.”

“Ten miles? We have to hike ten miles? That’ll take horvaths, Douxie.”

“Well, I doubt your car can handle driving here, so unless you have a better idea—”

“I do, actually.” Krel reached for his watch, the same one he used to reapply his human disguise and activated something. A second later, his disguise dissipated, leaving behind his Akiridion form, taller, and glowing a faint blue. 

“The watch is new, right? You didn’t have that before my nap?”

“Yeah, it’s a new and improved Serator I designed. It has all the same functions of the old one, it can be a weapon, a shield, etc… but it can also refresh my disguise, and a few other things, for example…” He activated something else, and next thing Douxie knew, that glowing blue hoverboard Krel was so fond of appeared. “This!” 

Douxie hesitantly approached the hoverboard, and gently nudged it with his foot. He raised an eyebrow at Krel. “A hoverboard?”

“Yes!” Krel eagerly hopped up, unbothered by the way it dipped under his weight. “It’ll be faster than walking.” He extended a hand to Douxie, offering to help him onto the board.

He didn’t take it. “I feel like I’ll fall off.”

“You can hang onto me. You won’t fall.”

Douxie gave an anxious little laugh but took Krel’s hand. “Alright, but if I fall, I’m blaming you.”

“I promise you won’t.” Krel pulled him up onto the board. With two hands, he guided Douxie’s arms around his waist. “Can you keep your light pointed forward, so I can see where I’m flying?”

“Sure,” Douxie’s voice came out a bit strained, because he was standing with his front pressed to Krel’s back, with his arms around him. This wasn’t helping his idiotic little crush. Douxie adjusted his hands placement, to aim the light ahead of them. “Good?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Krel nodded. “Hang on tight.”

The hoverboard jolted forward as they started off, and Douxie gaped, latching onto Krel like his life depended on it, and burying his face into Krel’s back. Wind whipped against them as they zipped over the hills, and down the winding dirt trail.

“You can look, you know!” Krel called over his shoulder, amused. 

“No, thank you!” 

Krel laughed, and Douxie felt one hand close over his, and squeeze encouragingly. “Alright, you big wimp, but you’re missing the view. The stars look amazing!”

That was perfectly fine by Douxie! He’d seen lots of wonderful views, missing this one wasn’t going to ruin anything for him.

Douxie had seen hundreds of thousands of wonderful starry nights over his lifetime and would undoubtedly see thousands more. They lost their appeal after some time. All the sights did. Stars, sunsets, sunrises, mountain peaks, the ocean… he’d seen it all before.

Every natural beauty mortals tend to fawn over lost its alluring shine after a century or two. Every sunrise was and always would be the same. Always here to be gawked at. It would never change and never leave . 

The people, however, would not be. That is what Douxie learned in his long life. Stars and sunsets and mountains were forever, but people were fleeting… and that was what got Douxie to gather his courage and look up.

Not at the stars.

At Krel.

He was truly something to behold, a natural beauty Douxie had yet to witness. His smile that spanned his whole face as they flew, his joyous laugh when they swooped down the hill’s slope, the set of his shoulder blades as his muscles worked to keep his balance… 

The hand over Douxie’s, in attempt to comfort him.

The way he hummed a strangely familiar little tune, that Douxie just couldn’t place. Sweet, and soft, and lovey, and—

“Wait a minute,” Douxie’s train of thought came to a screeching halt as he recognized the song. “Are you seriously humming ‘A Whole New World’ from Aladdin right now?”

Krel’s humming was cut off as he gave a guilty laugh. “Uh, yes? You have to admit, this is kind of similar to that scene—”

“No, it’s not. They had a magic carpet, and they were in the middle east, in like Iraq, we’re in China , and on an extraterrestrial hoverboard—”

“Small difference.” Krel shrugged. “I mean, magic carpet? No, we don’t have that, but we do have a magic wizard—”

“Hang on, are you saying I’m the magic carpet in this comparison?”

“No, obviously you’re Princess Jasmine.”

Douxie barked a laugh. “What, and you’re Aladdin?”

Krel looked over his shoulder to wink at Douxie. “I’ll be the Aladdin to your Princess Jasmine if you want.”

Douxie just about choked on his own tongue. That was flirting . Krel was flirting . Nope. No . No dating mortals. Douxie had that rule for a reason, and he refused to break it, so he cleared his throat and shook his head. “No, no, if anything you’re Jasmine. You’re literally a royal.”

“Does that make you Aladdin?”

“Well, before I met Merlin, I was an orphan street rat who had to steal to survive, with a furry animal companion as my only friend, so yes.  Obviously,  I’m Aladdin in this comparison.”

Krel scoffed and shook his head. “Fine, I’ll be Jasmine.”

Douxie tucked his chin onto Krel’s shoulder, feeling awfully self-satisfied with winning the argument. “I kinda want to rewatch that movie now…”

A beat of silence passed before Krel quietly suggested, “How about after all this is over, after the wedding, you come over and we’ll watch it together?”

That sounded suspiciously like a date.

“Um…” Douxie tensed, trying to find a kind way to decline. He wanted to, but… No. He really shouldn’t be indulging this little crush. It could only end badly.

“It’s okay if the answer’s no,” Krel said, seemingly sensing that’s where Douxing was going. “I’m not a dick, Douxie, I can take a no.”

He let out a breath, relieved. “It’s really nothing against you, it’s just—”

“I get it. It’s fine. You’re not gay.”

“What? No!” Douxie stammered out. “I never said—”

Krel pulled the hoverboard to a stop, so he could turn to face Douxie. “I didn’t have my hopes up or anything, it’s okay. I kind of suspected you wouldn’t be interested,”

Douxie took the opportunity of stillness to pull back from Krel and put some much-needed space between them. “You’ve got the completely wrong idea.”

“I mean, no offense Douxie, but you were born in—” He paused, assumedly to do some mental math, then continued, “in 1,097, and the way I understand your world and its history, you probably grew up thinking that kind of thing was disgusting—”

“No!” Douxie frantically shook his head. “I mean— well, yes , there was a time I thought—” He cut himself off, knowing his internalized-homophobia, sexuality-crisis phase was not relevant right now, so he skipped right to the important part instead. “Krel, I’m bisexual.” 

“Oh.” Krel’s face visibly fell. “So… it is me, then.”

“What? No. That’s not what I meant.”

“No, because when I thought you just weren’t into men, that meant it had nothing to do with me, but apparently you are into men, and you just aren’t into me .”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?” Krel gestured to himself. “Is it because I’m not human…?”

“No! Krel, it’s because I’m centuries older than you!”

Krel blinked at him, confusion written all over his face. “Sorry, what?”

“I’m nine hundred and nine—” He cut himself off, then sighed, and corrected himself. “Nine hundred and  twenty-four, and I’m going to live for centuries more still. I don’t date mortals, for two reasons. One; I’m going to outlive them. The only way it ends for me is heartbreak and grief. Two; when you’re as old as I am, it becomes hard not to view mortals as infants, no matter their age.”

“Douxie…” Krel crossed all four arms and raised an eyebrow at him. “How old do you think I am?” 

“Uh, you were a highschool student when we met, you were about to graduate when the titans rose, and it's been five years so… Twenty-three-ish?” 

He shook his head. “By earth standards, I am approximately four hundred keltons.”

“Keltons is… years , right?”

Krel nodded.

“You’re— you’re four hundred years old?”

“Closer to four fifty, really. I was rounding down. Akiridions have much longer lifespans than humans do.”

“But…” Douxie pointed weakly at Krel. “Your human disguise changed so much; you obviously grew up—”

“It’s a disguise , Douxie, I programmed it to age.”

Douxie wanted to smack himself, but instead he just buried his face in his hands and groaned. “God, I’m an idiot…”

“So… Now that we’ve cleared that up, can I ask you again?”

“Ask me what?” He peeked between his fingers.

Krel stepped closer, across the hoverboard, took Douxie by the wrists with two hands, and pulled his hands away from his face. With a third hand, Krel gently lifted Douxie’s chin. In a low, satiny voice, he said, “On a date.”

Douxie's heartbeat against his rib cage as he stared up into Krel’s vibrant, inhuman eyes. All he could manage was a nod.

A smile inched its way onto Krel’s face, and fifty feet above the ground, with the rolling hills and cliffs of the park all around them, and a canopy of stars that Douxie couldn’t give a single shit about above their heads, Krel asked, “Douxie, would you like to go on a date with me?” 

“I’d love that.”

Krel’s little smile immediately turned into a grin spanning his entire face. “Fantastic.” He turned back around, guiding Douxie’s arms back around his waist as he prepared to take off again. “But first, you and I have a dragon to save, and a wedding to crash.”

Chapter Text

Thursday, 1AM (In Hong Kong)

48 Hours Before The Wedding

On the hoverboard, it took about an hour to reach the visitor center, so Douxie could only imagine how long it would have taken to walk. Still, it was one in the morning, so the building was locked, and the car park was empty. 

Krel hopped off the hoverboard first, then, like a true gentleman, offered Douxie a hand down onto the pavement.

“Thanks,” Douxie couldn’t help but smile as he took Krel’s hand. 

“No problem.” Krel grabbed the hoverboard in three hands, and with the fourth, messed with his watch. A second later, the hoverboard was gone.

“That’s impressive…” Douxie stepped closer to look at Krel’s watch.

“Oh, this took me about three delsons to make, it’s not a big deal.” He shrugged it off.

“No, see, shrinking a car? That’s easy. That’s one word of Latin.” He tapped the face of Krel’s watch. “You making this out of nothing? That’s impressive.”

Krel ducked his head, embarrassed, but accepted the compliment. “Thanks.”

“You still have the car, right?” Douxie asked as he stepped back, pulling a rune from his bracer.

Krel dug into his pocket—apparently his Akiridion form still had pockets in the clothes—and dug out the car. “Yeah. Here you go.”

Douxie took the car and carefully set it down on the pavement, then waved Krel back. “Give it some space to grow.” Once they were both out of the way, Douxie applied the rune, and spoke the spell, “Redi,” 

The car shot back to its normal size, unscathed. At worst, any items left inside got a bit knocked around. 

“I still think that’s cooler…” Krel said as he opened the driver’s side door.

“You only think it’s cooler because you can’t do it.” Douxie took the passenger side. 

“Probably,” he admitted as he started the car with one hand, passed his phone to Douxie with a second, and reapplied his human disguise with a third. “Pull up the directions on google maps for me.”

Douxie did as told, then arranged Krel’s phone in the mount attached to the dashboard, so Krel could see the directions. Google maps calculated it as a one-hour drive. Still, he was so much closer to Archie now, and that brought him a bit of comfort. He’d see his familiar, his best friend again. Soon .

Douxie reached deep into himself and latched onto that bond. He wanted Archie to know he was coming, to know Douxie hadn’t abandoned him, to know they’d be together again soon. He tugged on the bond, and it felt like pulling on his own heartstrings, but feeling Archie tug back made everything worth it.

“Are you alright?” Krel asked, glancing at Douxie out of the corner of his eye as they pulled out of the car park and down the road. 

“I’m fine.” And that was the truth, because in one short hour, he’d be reunited with Archie. “I just miss Archie.”

Krel nodded sympathetically. “Just one more hour.”

“I know.” Douxie needed a topic change, so he asked, “So, do you know the proposal story, or will I have to ask Jim and Claire when we see them?” 

“I do, actually,” Krel gave a little laugh at the memory. “Apparently, in troll society, they don’t have weddings, right?”

“Right.” He knew that already.

“But if you live together, alone, with another troll, they kind of consider that kind of like a marriage. Like Blinky and Aaarrrgghh.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So, Jim and Claire moved in together last year, they share an apartment, and all the trolls started congratulating them—”

Douxie snorted into his hand. “They thought they were married?”

“Yep. Sure did,” Krel laughed, nodding. “And finally, Claire asked Blinky why everyone kept congratulating them, so he explained, and Claire just turned to Jim and said, out of the blue, ‘ We should get married by human standards too.’”

“So, Claire proposed?”

“Yeah,” Krel shrugged, “She said something about how when he asked her to the Spring Fling in high school that he took forever , and wussed out over and over again, so she figured she’d do it herself.”

“Good for her. Always knew she was the brave one.”

“Yeah, but when she said that to Jim, I swear, it was like his brain broke . All coherent thought just—” Krel snapped “—poof, gone. He barely managed to get a yes out.”

“Sorry I missed it.” Douxie sighed. “Sounds like something I could have poked fun at him for.”

“Oh, we did. Trust me, we did.”

“Good. I’m glad in my absence someone was making fun of Jim.” Douxie turned to watch the trees go past outside the window. Distantly, he could see the lights of the city. “Any idea who the best man is? I would have assumed Toby, but, well…”

“Uh, yeah...” Krel winced at the mention of their lost friend. “Jim set up this honorary best man position for Tobias. He’s got a reserved seat and everything. Actually, there are reserved seats for a lot of people.” 

“Like…?”

Krel took one hand off the wheel to count off on his fingers. “Tobias, Strickler, Dral, Nomura, Nari,” At five, he put down all his fingers to start over, “Vendel, Merlin, two for Claire’s grandparents—” He cut himself off, risking a glance at Douxie, “—and uh, two for you and Archie.”

“Aww, they saved me a seat?” Douxie couldn’t help but grin at that. “I’m flattered.”

“At least two of those seats will actually have someone to sit in them… Instead of just staying empty.”

Douxie hummed his agreement. “Who else is going?”

“Basically everyone. They’re having it inside, so the trolls can be there. Blinky is officiating.” 

“Is he… ordained?” 

Krel shrugged. “He did a thing online, I dunno how official that is. Also, get this, Not-Enrique is the flower girl, and Real -Enrique is the ringer bearer.”

Douxie’s shoulder shook with laughter. “Wow. How’d they convince Not-Enrique to agree to that?”

“Claire and her puppy-dog eyes, that’s how.”

The hour passed faster than Douxie expected it to, just like that, laughing and talking with Krel, and the next thing Douxie knew, they were parking by the bridge. It’d been rebuilt in the past five years, apparently. The damage it took in the fight against the titans was completely wiped away.

Douxie was the first out of the car, Horngazel in hand, and his determination struggling to overpower his anxiety. He has no idea what shape Archie would be in when they reunited. 

But Krel put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a comforting squeeze. “I’m right behind you, okay?”

He took a deep breath, nodded, and took the lead down below the bridge. Turning that Horngazel over and over in his hands was all he could do to keep himself grounded as he approached the wall… the entrance. 

When he reached to draw the entrance, his stomach twisted into knots, and Douxie had to step back, shoving the Horngazel at Krel instead. “You do it. If I do it, I’ll be sick.”

Krel didn’t argue, he just silently drew the entrance. 

As it opened, Douxie wrung his hand, taking long, deep breaths. It was fine. Everything was fine. Archie was going to be fine, and unharmed, and they’d walk out of here together. It would be fine.

Totally and completely fine.

He was 100% certain of it.

He was 94% certain.

79%.

57%.

Douxie forced himself to step through before that number got any lower and he lost all his confidence. 

The sight he was met with wasn’t a pretty one. A trollmarket, in ruins. Half the area was collapsed, with massive chunks of stone caved in, and crushing houses. There was a distinctly claw shaped stone peeking out from under one boulder that could only be troll remains. 

Krel grimanced at the sight, sticking close to Douxie’s side. “I’m sure Archie’s fine. This isn’t an indicator of anything.” He didn’t sound sure. “Let’s try to fly under the radar. There’s no telling what’s down here…”

Douxie rolled up his hoodie sleeves for easier access to his bracer, then shouted at the top of his lungs, “ARCHIE? ARCHIE, ARE YOU HERE?”

“Douxie!” Krel hissed, catching his elbow. “You’re going to draw unwanted attention.”

Douxie ignored him, shrugging Krel’s hand off and forging forward, deeper into the rubble. “ARCHIE?”

Behind him, he heard a frustrated, but defeated sigh as Krel trailed after him.

Together they picked their way through the ruins, past collapsed houses, a destroyed town square, and the many stone bodies of dead trolls, very few of them still intact. The first sign of life Douxie saw was a rat scurrying across their path. 

“Eghhh…” Krel cringed in disgust. 

“No, that’s a good sign.” Douxie hurried after the rat. “I love Archie, but he’s not above eating rats, so we know he’s got food.” 

The rat climbed to the top of what used to be a house, and Douxie followed, until he was standing at the peak. He cupped his hands and screamed out again, “ARCHIE! I’M HERE! I CAME FOR YOU!” 

The silence was so much worse than ‘deafening.’ It felt loud. Everything felt so loud , the rats moving, the rubble shifting, all of it, and yet quiet in the only way that mattered; Archie.

“Is it possible he’s not here…?” Krel asked as he carefully climbed up the pile of rubble beside Douxie.

“He’s alive. I can feel it.”

“That’s not what I mean. I believe that he’s alive, but what if he’s not here?”

“No, if he managed to escape, he would have come to find me first.” Douxie squinted out into the distance, trying to catch sight of any movement. Nothing.

“Douxie… the whole world thinks you’re dead. Could Archie have thought the same?”

He sighed and turned to face Krel, leveling him with an irritated frown, “Look, a familiar bond goes two ways . I can feel him, and he can feel me. If either of us died, the other would feel it. He knows I’m alive.”

“Then where is he?”

“Maybe…” Douxie glanced around again, grasping for some kind of explanation. “Maybe this place is too big, and he can’t hear me. We just have to— look!” He pointed up, to a rock ledge overlooking the whole underground city. “I bet my voice would carry from there. Come on.”

Krel didn’t look convinced but didn’t argue as Douxie led him further into the ruins.

Together they picked their way through, over to the stairs that led up to the ledge, and all the way to the top. 

Douxie went straight to the edge to scream his lungs out, “ARCHIE!” 

True to his theory, his voice carried in a haunting echo over the ruins.

No response.

He took a step closer to the edge and cupped his hands to try again. “ARCH, I’M HERE!”

No response.

Another step closer. 

“Be careful,” Krel warned.

Douxie ignored him. “ARCHIBALD!”

Another step.

“ARCHIE!”

Another—

The ledge crumbled.

“Douxie!” Krel gasped, lunging to catch him, his fingers just barely grazing the back of Douxie’s hoodie as he plummeted. 

Fuck fuck fuck.

The ground was rapidly approaching, and Douxie was fighting his bracer to find an anti-gravity spell in time when something snatched his hood, catching him midfall.

Breathing hard and panicked, as Douxie hung in mid-air, feet dangling over a hundred feet up. It took him a minute to regain his senses and look up.

Archie .

The little dragon was fighting to stay in the air with Douxie’s extra weight, wings working overtime. Despite that, he was beaming at Douxie.

His grin was infectious, and soon Douxie was beaming right back.

Archie lowered them, and the second Douxie’s feet were on solid ground, Archie was diving into his arms, purring louder than Douxie had ever heard him. He fell to his knees, collapsing in on himself as he clung to his familiar.

“Where have you been?” Archie managed to choke out.

“Sorry,” Douxie gave a wet laugh. “I overslept a bit. Woke up a few hours ago.”

“Let’s go home ,” Archie’s voice made it sound like a plea, like he was desperate for it, desperate to leave this place.

“We can’t go home just yet,” Douxie pulled back just enough to wipe his eyes with his hoodie sleeve. “We’ve got a wedding to crash.”

“A wedding?”

“Douxie!” Krel’s furious voice snapped from behind, as he marched back down the stairs. “I told you to be careful! What in Gaylen’s name was that?”

“I wasn’t trying to fall off the cliff.” 

“Douxie is very accident prone, that he ever survived without me is a miracle,” Archie said, still completely latched onto Douxie. “I can’t say I’m surprised he fell off a cliff.”

Krel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t do that again, you scared the core out of me.”

“Sorry.” Douxie turned back to Archie. “Is Charlemagne…?”

“Right, my dad.” Archie wasted no time climbing onto Douxie’s shoulder, claiming his usual perch. “He’s here… but on the way, you can explain what you meant by crashing a wedding.”

Chapter Text

Thursday, 2AM (In Hong Kong)

47 Hours Before The Wedding

The look of disappointment on Archie’s face when they stepped outside, into the night air and lights of Hong Kong, made Douxie’s heart lurch. “What? What’s that face for? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Archie, sitting on Douxie’s shoulder, shook his head and muttered, “I was just kind of hoping it’d be daytime. I wanted to see the sun.”

Douxie pulled Archie off his shoulder to hug him to his chest and bury his nose in Archie’s fur. “I’m sorry I didn’t wake up sooner…”

“It couldn’t be helped.” Archie leaned further into him, tucking his chin into Douxie’s neck. “I’m just glad we’re back together.”

“We’re never splitting up like that again. I don’t care what bullshit plan someone comes up with, you and I? Same team from now on.”

“Agreed. No splitting up.”

Charlemagne stepped out of the entrance behind them and took a deep breath of fresh air. “Ah, finally.”

“Charlemagne, are you sticking with us? ‘Cause I don’t expect you’ll fit in the car…” Douxie glanced the larger dragon up and down, grimacing. “I mean, unless you want to give us a ride—”

“I’m not riding a dragon,” Krel interrupted hurriedly. “No.”

Douxie pulled a face at him. “And yet you’ll ride the hoverboard.”

“That’s different! I can steer the hoverboard!”

“I think I’ll take my leave, thank you.” Charlemagne stretched his wings and stared up at the night sky with a smile. “It’s been too long since I really got to fly.”

“Will we see you at the wedding?” Krel asked.

Charlemagne tsked. “No, you lot are Archie’s friends, not mine. You all seem swell, but at best I’m Douxie’s friend through association with my son.” He flicked his tail, like he was gesturing to Douxie with it. “Besides, I doubt I’d fit in the church any better than the car.”

Archie wriggled out of Douxie’s arms to flutter over to his dad, pressing their foreheads together affectionately, purring. “Safe travels then.”

“Come visit when you have a chance, Archibald.” His father pulled back. “I’ll be returning home, so you know where to find me.”

“I will.” He promised.

And with that, the dragon took to the sky, giving a joyous shout at his freedom.

“People are going to notice the giant dragon flying around Hong Kong, aren’t there?” Douxie sighed, hands on his hips as he stared after Charlemagne.

“Yeah, that’ll be on the news.”

“We should text Dr. Lake to keep Jim and Claire away from the news then.”

“Good idea.” Krel pulled out his phone and texted Dr. Lake as he fell into step beside Douxie. “We’re got forty-seven horvaths until the wedding… you might actually have been right, Douxie, we’ll get there with time to spare.”

“Don’t jinx us,” Douxie headed for where they parked the car. “We still need to find out what the closest grye station to the wedding venue is, and if we’re unlucky, we’ll— hey, where’s the car?”

Krel blinked at the empty parking space. “It was right here…”

“Are you sure this is where we parked?” Douxie glanced around but didn’t see the car.

“Maybe it… shrunk again?” Krel crouched down to check the pavement for tiny cars but found nothing. 

“I didn’t shrink it again.”

“So, my car was stolen , that’s what you’re telling me?”

“Not stolen,” Archie pointed with one paw, across the car park. “Impounded.”

When Douxie looked, he spotted what appeared to be a police vehicle hauling Krel’s car out of the parking lot, and into the street. “Well shit…”

Krel stared hopelessly after his car. “Why would they…?”

“It had an American license plate…”

“Oh, kleb , is that bad?” 

“Maybe? I dunno.”

“We have to get my car back.” Krel pulled up his phone and looked up directions to the police station, but Douxie took the phone right out of his hands.

“You want to waltz into the police station, as two people who definitely do not belong in China, and have no paperwork , to ask for your car back? Krel, they will not ask questions, they won’t even send us to America, they’ll hear our accents and ship your ass to Mexico, and me to Britain.” 

Alarm shot across Krel’s face. “Would they really?”

“I don’t know! But I don’t think it’s smart to walk into a police station knowing we don’t belong in this country.”

“You make an excellent point… but we still need my car back.”

“Krel, darling,” Douxie threw an arm over his shoulders, “Allow me to introduce you to a little thing I like to call, crime.”

“Oh god…” Archie muttered under his breath.

Krel snatched his phone back. “I already told you, we are not stealing a car—”

“It’s not stealing if it’s your car!”

“Let me make sure I have this straight,” Archie said with a heavy sigh, “In your mind, walking in and following the law to get the car back is too risky, but breaking into a police storage lot to steal it is perfectly acceptable?”

“Yes!” Douxie nodded with confidence. “Because if we do it right, and we get away with it, we’ll never have to interact with the police face to face, so there’s no chance of us getting deported.”

Archie just closed his eyes and sighed again, like a disappointed father.

“Don’t give me that look , Arch, it’s a good plan.” 

“Debatable,” Krel said, staring down at his phone. He pointed down the road. “The police station is that way. Let’s go steal back my car, I guess.”

Chapter Text

Thursday, 3AM (In Hong Kong)

46 Hours Before The Wedding

It took them about an hour to find the police station, get there, find the impound lot, and actually come up with a plan they could all agree on.

Neither Douxie nor Archie wanted to separate, but the first draft of the plan involved Archie leaving the group, flying over the impound lot, locating the car, and then reporting back. That idea was quickly shot down when Archie dug his claws into Douxie’s shoulder and hissed at Krel for even suggesting it.

Draft two involved climbing onto the roof of a nearby building to locate the car before they made their next move. Krel protested that idea, because Douxie was stupid enough to fall off a cliff, so he was definitely stupid enough to fall off a roof barely an hour later.

He’d already been in a car crash and fallen off a cliff today, he didn’t need to add falling off a roof too.

And so draft three was the one they settled on, despite everyone’s protests… going in blind. With no plan for recon, they had to just wing it, and hope they found the car before the police realized something was going on.

Krel used his serator-watch-blade-thing to cut through the barbed wire fence, and they snuck into the lot from the back. It was full of cars, of all makes and models, and of various conditions. Some had gunshot holes through the windshields, and others were crumpled in on themselves, like they’d been involved in a wreck. Others were totally untouched, unscathed.

On the other end of the lot, Douxie could see light moving, a flashlight, maybe? There was probably a guard by the front gate.

They crept along, staying low so as not to be seen over the cars, down aisle after aisle of vehicles, until finally , Krel spotted his car. It was towards the front, and there was that guard, pacing by the gate… less than twenty feet away from the car.

“That’s not good…” Krel whispered. “How do we get the car without him noticing?”

“I could—” Douxie put up his fists, but Archie reached from his perch on Douxie’s shoulder to put them down.

“No.”

“But—”

“No. I know exactly what you were about to suggest, and no. Doux, you are a wizard , you are not the muscle-y type, you will not win a fist fight. No.”

Douxie didn’t pout. He didn’t . Shut up.

“Okay, what if I distract him by making a noise somewhere else in the lot?” Krel said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder, further into the maze of cars. “Then when he goes to investigate, you shrink the car, and we meet back up outside.”

“That could work… But what noise are you gonna make, because it’d be best if he doesn’t know for a fact it was made by a person. Like, don’t go over there and just start shouting.”

Krel chewed his bottom lip and crouched down beside Douxie. “Uhhh… I could throw a rock, or—” He lost his balance as he crouched down, sending him flailing directly into the car they were huddled behind.

And the car alarm went off.

Fuuuuuuuck .

“Well, that’ll do…” Archie sighed.

“Scatter!” Douxie hissed, snatching Archie by the scruff and diving in the opposite direction as Krel.

Douxie threw himself behind a minivan, hugging Archie to his chest as he peeked around to watch the guard go running deeper into the lot.

He caught snippets of the guard’s angry Chinese, just a bunch of shouting about, ‘Who’s there? Come out!’ 

The moment the guard vanished into the maze of cars, Douxie made a scramble for Krel’s car. He snatched a rune off his bracer and whispered the Latin with his heart in his throat. “ Parvum fac!” 

The car shrunk, and Douxie shoved it into his hoodie pocket before making a dash for the hole they cut in the fence, but his shoulder crashed into another car, and set off another alarm.

Shit shit shit.

‘Stop right there!’ The guard shouted in Chinese, and when Douxie risked a glance over his shoulder, the guard was barreling after him at a full sprint. 

Douxie dove around a car and found himself staring down the cop from across the vehicle’s hood. When the cop went right, Douxie went left. When the cop tried going left, Douxie went right. The car acted as a barrier.

“Stop running!” The cop snapped as he broke left.

Douxie broke right again, then they went still, both waiting for the other to make a move. Neither did. Archie stood on his shoulder, the fur along his back standing up straight.

Flashing the cop an apologetic smile, he said in his rusty Chinese, “I’m so sorry this had to happen on your shift, I can only imagine how much explaining this to your supervisor is going to suck.”

“What—”

Douxie snatched a rune from his bracer and threw it at the cop. “Gassus flotulus!” He shouted as a blue smoke cloud exploded outwards, covering his escape as he sprinted for the exit, boots hitting pavement so hard it stung. He threw himself through the hole in the fence, where Krel was already waiting.

“Did you get it?”

Instead of answering, Douxie ripped a rune from his bracer and shouted the Latin, “Fige!”

The fence mended itself just as the guard slammed into it, in his attempt to dive through after them.

“Go, go, go!” Douxie grabbed Krel’s arm and dragged him away, the three of them bolting into the night to the sound of angry Chinese shouting and blaring car alarms.

They didn’t stop until they were three blocks away, and completely out of breath on the sidewalk. 

“I think— I think we lost— him.” Douxie managed to wheeze out, the exhaustion starting to set in.

“Did you— get the—”

Douxie just nodded and pulled the car out of his pocket to show Krel and Archie.

“Let’s leave.”

Douxie thought that was a splendid idea, so he led them into a parking lot outside what looked like a mall, and set the car down. He unshrunk it, and got in, practically collapsing into the passenger seat.

Archie melted into a black puddle of fur in his lap.

Krel took the driver’s seat, locking the door behind him, and not starting the car.

They all three took a minute to catch their breath. Once Krel could speak in full sentences again, he turned to glare at Douxie, but there was no real bite in it. “I can’t believe you got me to steal a car.”

And that made Douxie dissolve into laughter, practically giggling at it. “I can’t believe you set off the car alarm.”

And that got Krel to laugh too, so maybe it wasn’t so bad.

“Can we get moving?” Archie suggested, glancing out the window like he expected that police officer to pop back up any second. “They’re probably looking for us now, and I don’t think we can pull that escape off twice.”

Douxie snapped and pointed at Archie, while melting further into his seat. “Smart. You’re smart. Let’s do that. Let’s leave.”

Krel started the car, and off they went, headed right back to Tai Mo Shan Country Park.

“I’m gonna level with you, Krel,” Douxie began, sinking further into his seat, “I’m feeling a bit… boneless right now. I’m gonna take a nap on the drive back, if that’s alright?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? You just woke up.”

He waved it off, dismissive. “It’s fine. I’m just normal tired right now, not magic tired.”

Krel gave him an odd, sideways glance, “Do… Do those feel different?” 

“Mh-hmm.” He nodded, closing his eyes.

“What does magic tired feel like?”

“Like…” Douxie grimanced as he both tried to find the words and tried to stay awake long enough to answer the question. “Like when you turn on a sink, expecting loads of water, and instead you get a trickle, because you forgot to pay the water bill.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Well, I’m tired. I tend to talk nonsense when I’m tired.” He drew Archie in closer to his chest, cuddling the little sleepy cat. “Wake me up when we’re there.”

Douxie drifted off, the last words he heard being Krel’s soft, “Sleep well,” and the first thing he awoke to later being, again, Krel’s voice, and a hand gently shaking his shoulder. “Douxie, come on, wake up. We’re here.”

“Hm?” Douxie blearily blinked awake, rubbing at his eyes. 

Krel was leaving over him, standing outside the open passenger side door, one hand carefully brushing Douxie’s blue bangs out of his face. “We’re here. Time to shrink the car again.”

Douxie barely heard that last part, he was too focused on Krel’s hand, touching his hair and face. His face warmed at the touch, and he stared after Krel’s hand. “Uh…”

Krel seemed to realize what he was doing, and quickly removed his hand. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” Douxie rolled out his shoulders, stretched, then unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of the car. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

Archie was already sitting on the pavement, tail curled around his legs, and watching Douxie with a knowing smile. 

“Shut up, Arch.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking it.” Douxie shut the car door behind him, shrunk the car, and pocketed it. 

Krel stepped a few feet away to drop his human disguise and get out the hoverboard, allowing Archie and Douxie a moment with semi-privacy.

Archie leapt onto Douxie’s shoulder to whisper with a shit eating grin, “You like him?”

Despite the teasing, Douxie couldn’t help but smile as he said, “He asked me on a date earlier today.”

“You don’t date mortals—”

“He’s not a mortal!” 

Archie’s eyebrows shot upwards. “He’s not?”

“He’s like four hundred years old.”

And that only made Archie’s grin grow. “Ooooh you really like him.”

“Ugh, you’re the worst.”

Chapter Text

Thursday, 2PM

45 Hours Before The Wedding

The ride back to the gyre station on the hoverboard felt shorter than the first time, and the actual gyre trip even shorter. Next thing they knew, they were back in New Jersey, staring at the map on the wall, and trying to plot out a course to California.

“There’s a station in Las Vegas, but that’s as close as it gets.” Douxie crossed his arms as he frowned at the little marker. “That’ll shave off about half of our time driving.”

“There’s a marker in California though,” Archie pointed, from his perch on Douxie’s shoulder. “Look. Right there.”

“No, that’s Arcadia’s marker, and that gyre station was completely busted in the fight against Gunmar.” Krel shook his head. “That entire Trollmarket is buried and caved in. You can’t even get inside anymore.”

“So, it looks like our best bet is to take the gyre to Las Vegas and drive the rest of the way.”

Krel made a pained noise as he looked down at his phone. “That’s still nearly a ten horvath drive.”

“And we’ve got forty-five hours, we can make it.”

“Oh dear,” Archie’s ears perked straight up as he seemed to realize something.

“What?” 

“Do either of you actually have something to wear to this wedding? Because the way I understood it, when you explained earlier, Krel wasn’t planning on going at all, and you were in a coma for five years, meaning most of your belongings are probably… gone.”

“Oh, shit…” Douxie’s shoulders slumped. “I didn’t even think about that.”

“I have clothes,” Krel said, “I’ve got an apartment here, so I’m good, and Douxie, actually, we put most of your stuff in a storage container.”

Douxie gasped and grabbed Krel’s arm. “You guys saved my stuff? Really?”

“Uh, some of it? Anything that looked important. I don’t know if any of your clothes are in there, but we can look.”

“What kind of important things?”

“Claire was in charge of it, but I think it was mostly just… anything that looked old. We figured if it was important enough for you to keep it that long, you'd want it when you woke up. So uh, spellbooks, old documents, your guitar—”

“My guitar?” Douxie just about died of happiness. “You saved my guitar? Oh, thank fuck.”

“Yeah, I mean, that’s your staff , of course we saved it.”

Douxie yanked Krel into a hug, beaming as he buried his nose in Krel’s curls. “Thank you! Usually when I wake up from one of these, everything I own is just gone forever!”

Krel immediately melted into the hug, wrapping his arms around Douxie’s waist. His voice came out a bit strained when he spoke, “No problem. Happy to help.”

“Alright!” Douxie pulled back but kept his hands on Krel’s shoulders. “Let’s go get my stuff! And we’ll figure out clothes, then we’ll take the gyre to Las Vegas, and drive the rest of the way.”

With a plan in place, they headed for the surface, and then it was Archie’s turn to be confused about why the entrance to Trollmarket was in the middle of a crowded skatepark, where anyone could see.

“But don’t they notice…?”

“Apparently it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“That’s weird.”

“Agreed.”

Douxie actually managed to unshrink the car, publicly this time, without worrying about who saw him. A few kids stared, but after a minute or two, they shrugged and went back to skating, like it was no more interesting than someone walking their dog past. 

As Krel took the driver’s seat, he passed his phone over to Douxie. “Text Dr. Lake that we’ve got Archie.”

Douxie wasted no time unlocking Krel’s phone, pulling up the camera app, and taking a selfie with Archie on his shoulder. Then he texted that to Dr. Lake.

The reply was almost instant, and he read it aloud, “He’s ALIVE???”

“Ask her if she’s managed not to tell anyone you’re awake yet.” Krel said as he pulled onto the street. 

Douxie typed out the question and hit send.

All he got back was, “The only person I told was the photographer, because I wanted her to be prepared to catch the reaction. She knows it’s supposed to be a secret though.”

“Ask her if there’s a dress code we need to adhere to,” Archie said, craning his neck to see the screen better.

He did as told.

Dr. Lake’s response was instant, “No one can wear white, but that’s it.”

“Well, that’s easy. I don’t own any white clothes.”

Krel scoffed and shook his head, “You’re going to show up looking like you belong at a funeral…”

“Are you mocking my fashion sense, Krel?”

“All I’m saying is this is why people assume you’re a vampire.”

Krel drove them to a storage facility, then led them through the maze of storage containers to the one marked G-11-2. It was a huge orange container, with the door locked.

“I don’t have the key, Claire was responsible for that, but I figure we don’t need one with you awake, huh?”

Douxie took that as his cue to unlock the container, pulling a rune from his bracer. He took the padlock off, pocketed it, and opened the doors to reveal countless cardboard boxes of his items. It was absolutely packed, with a narrow path down the middle, leaving barely enough space to wriggle towards the back.

“Oh, this is amazing , thank you,” Douxie squeezed through the path, deeper into the container. 

Archie leapt off Douxie’s shoulder to creep along the top of the boxes. “They’re marked.”

“Claire’s doing,” Krel said with a nod. “She organized most of this, the rest of us just carried boxes and put them where she told us.”

“I owe her a thank you, don’t let me forget.” Douxie grazed his hand over the side of boxes, reading the different words scrawled in Claire’s neat handwriting, in black sharpie.

A few books were marked ‘Old Wizard-y Books,’ another said, ‘Normal Books.’ There was also ‘Kitchen Stuff,’ and ‘I Have No Idea What This Is But It Looks Old,’ and finally, blessedly, a whole section of boxes marked different things along the lines of, ‘Shoes,’ ‘Shirts,’ ‘Pants,’ and ‘Really Old Clothing I Have Literally Never Seen Him Wear But I Bet He Kept It For a Reason.’

Krel pulled down one box, with the words ‘Dress Clothes’ written on the side. “Found it!”

When Krel moved that box, it revealed another box behind it, reading ‘Makeup,’ and that made Douxie gasp.

“She saved my makeup!” He grabbed the box, beaming. “Bless that girl.”

Krel was already digging into the dress clothes box, pulling out finely folded dress shirts and pants, all black. “Do you own any other color?”

“Not really, no.” Douxie set the makeup box aside and went for the ‘Shoes’ box for his dress shoes. “I’m sure there’s some blue in there, but not much else.”

“How much of this are we carrying back to the car?” Archie asked, sticking his head inside a box labeled, ‘Things I Assume Are Actually Archie’s. RIP.’ 

“Uh…” Douxie glanced between the boxes, trying to take stock of what all he actually needed.

He needed dress shoes, pants, a shirt, probably some makeup and jewelry too, and the more he thought about how he’d been wearing the same boxers for five years, the more he wanted a change of underwear too.

“Krel, just take the whole ‘Dress Clothes’ box,” Douxie grabbed a pair of black dress shoes, and set them on top of the ‘Dress Clothes’ box. “And these. Go ahead to the car, alright?”

“Okay,” He nodded and picked up the box before walking off. 

“We’ll be right behind you in a minute!” Douxie called after him, then took advantage of their time alone to find a few fresh pairs of boxers and socks, and some more casual clothes, jeans, old band shirts, two hoodies, and a pair of sweatpants to sleep in, all of which were black.

Next he dumped out a box labeled ‘Pretty Sure This Was His Junk Drawer,’ leaving a small pile of miscellaneous items like lightbulbs and scotch tape behind and stuffing the clothes in that. He set that box aside, then dug into the ‘Makeup’ box, to find his bag, which he filled with the necessities, and threw in the box with the clothes. 

Then he went for the jewelry box, selecting a few of his favorite bracelets, rings, and necklaces, and packed those away with the rest of what he was taking. 

Archie popped his head out of another box, this one labeled ‘Technology,’ and announced, “I found your phone!”

“Shit, really?” Douxie went for the box, and sure enough, there was his phone, charger, laptop, and a few other cords and chargers he honestly couldn’t place off the top of his head. He tried to turn it on, but it was dead. Figures. He pocketed it and the charger anyway. 

“Anything else you want to grab before we go?” Archie asked.

“My guitar. I want my staff,” 

They found it packed away with care in its case, towards the back. Douxie opened the case to check it for damages and found it just the same as he left it. His heart warmed with gratitude for his friends.

His friends who, in the mists of all that chaos, after the fall of the titans, still found the time to save his things, and protect him while he slept. God, he loved these people…

Archie hopped off the boxes and landed on Douxie’s shoulder. “Is that everything?”

“I think so. Come on.” He closed the guitar case, pulled the strap over his shoulder, then picked up the other box. Douxie shut the storage container, relocked it, and then they headed off to the car.

He found Krel leaning against the side of the car, on his phone, with the trunk open, and his box already tucked inside. 

“This’ll be enough for the next week or so. After the wedding, and I’ve actually got a place to live, I’ll come back for the rest.” Ugh, apartment hunting was going to suck.

“I’m sure you’ll have lots of volunteers to help you unpack.” Krel helped him pack the rest into the trunk, except the guitar, which he put in the backseat. “And lots of couches available to crash on until you find a place.”

Douxie didn’t doubt that one bit. “So,” He took the front passenger seat. “Where to now?”

“My place,” Krel said as he took the driver’s seat. “I gotta get my own clothes.”

Archie laid down on the dashboard. “What about wedding gifts? Do we have gifts?”

“I’m pretty sure you two are the gift,” Krel said as he started the car. “Also, I was gonna ask, are you hungry? Akiridions don’t really need to eat, so I’m fine, but we’ve been running around practically non-stop for seven hours, so I figured you two could use a bite.”

“Oh god, yes please.”

“I’ll accept anything but rats.”

Krel gave a fondly amused roll of his eyes as he pulled out of the parking lot. “There’s a sandwich place by my apartment, we can stop there.” 

So on the way back to Krel’s apartment, they dropped by a sandwich place. Archie got a fish sandwich, and Douxie got both a chicken teriyaki sandwich, and another coffee. His third coffee of the day, mind you, but he needed the energy. They were both digging into their food as soon as they got it, both feeling half starved.

“Don’t make a mess in my car,” Krel warned, side eyeing them as he pulled up to an apartment complex.

“We won’t, but if we do, I have spells for that.” Douxie took a sip of his coffee.

They parked, and Krel led them up to his apartment, while they both carried on stuffing their faces, with Douxie’s items floating behind him with magic. No one wanted to carry it, and honestly, Douxie was already getting more comfortable with the idea of people seeing his magic.

Krel’s apartment was decorated far more modern than the Mothership was, with a flat screen, and a really nice PC, with some DJing equipment hooked up to it. The kitchen appeared to be completely unused, which made sense, Douxie supposed. Akiridions didn’t require food, after all.

“I’m going to go find something to wear and pack a bag, I’ll be right back…” Krel gestured around the living room as he walked backwards towards what Douxie assumed to be the bedroom. “Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks, Krel!” Douxie used his magic to set all his boxes and guitar down beside the couch, then popped the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth before digging into the ‘Dress Clothes’ box to see what exactly his options were.

Archie sat down on the coffee table as he ate his sandwich, watching Douxie. He made a displeased noise when Douxie pulled out a black bowtie. “No, don’t—”

“You have to dress up for the wedding too, Archie.” Douxie handed over the bowtie. “And you know people find it adorable.”

“It’s embarrassing.”

“It’s cute.” He gave Archie his best puppy dog eyes. “Please, for me?”

And that got Archie to take the tie, but of course it did. “Fine. Just this once, because I missed you.”

Douxie grinned and reached over to scratch Archie behind the ear. “I love you too, Arch.”

Archie purred and leaned into the touch. 

He turned back to his task, finding a pair of black dress pants, and a black dress shirt to match. Holding them up for Archie to see, he asked, “Should I add a tie?”

“Depends entirely on what jewelry you’re planning to wear. I know I saw you grab a necklace.”

Douxie shrugged and folded the clothes into his lap. “I’ll try on both looks, then pick one.” He turned to shout at Krel’s bedroom door, “Krel, where’s your washroom?”

“Down the hall, first door to your right!”

“Thank you!” Douxie took off the washroom with a bundle of clothes in his arms.

Archie followed him in, despite the fact Douxie was planning to change. When you spent literally centuries living with someone, you saw them in various stages of undress, that was just the truth of it.

Still, Archie was polite enough to turn his back as Douxie changed underwear. Beyond that though, neither cared if Archie saw Douxie without pants on. 

“So, what are your thoughts about apartment hunting?” Douxie asked as he pulled on the black slacks. 

“I suppose it all depends on if we’re staying in New Jersey or not…” Archie helpfully handed him the dress shirt. 

“Well, Krel obviously lives here, so do the trolls, it sounded like Jim and Claire do too…” He put on the shirt and started buttoning it up. “Might be more convenient to stay.”

“That’s a good point... Counter argument,” Archie pulled a face. “It’s New Jersey.”

“That is also a good point.” Douxie stopped buttoning a few from the top, leaving it partly open, and fixing his collar. “You know what we could do is get a place down in Trollmarket.”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

Douxie put the toilet seat cover down and sat there while he pulled on a fresh pair of socks, then laced up his shoes. “We don’t have to make any decisions yet, it’s probably smarter to wait until after the wedding.” 

“We’ll have to buy a car too…”

“Oh, god, right. Car shopping. Ugh.” He wrinkled his nose at the reminder, then waved it off, dismissive. “We’ll sort all that later. For now—” He hopped up, brushed himself off, then did a little spin for Archie. “How do I look?”

Archie’s expression softened into a fond little smile. “You look great.”

“No, don’t get all sentimental with me, I appreciate it, but I need a real opinion.” Douxie grabbed a black tie and a necklace off the counter, holding them both up for Archie to see. “Tie, or necklace?”

“Necklace. The black tie on the black shirt makes you look like a waiter or something.”

“Thank you, Archie.” He tossed the tie back onto the counter, and put the necklace on, along with a few bracelets. He stepped back to check himself in the mirror, fixing his hair. 

There was a knock at the door. “Douxie? Are you dressed?”

“Yeah, hang on.” He opened the door, then stopped short when he saw Krel.

He was in a deep blue dress shirt, the fabric stretching over his biceps, with a black tie, and black slacks. His brown curls were pulled back in a ponytail. Krel was staring too, but still managed to find his words first, reaching to smooth out a wrinkle on Douxie’s shoulder. “I take back what I said earlier… black looks really good on you.”

There was one loose curl hanging on the side of Krel’s face, and Douxie couldn’t help himself, he brushed it behind Krel’s ear. “You look stunning.”

Krel gave a little laugh and ducked his head. “Thanks. I was uh, coming to ask if you thought this would be okay for the wedding—”

“You might just outshine the bride and groom.”

“You’re one to talk.”

Douxie grinned at that and leaned on the door frame. “We should change back and actually pack our bags, huh?”

“Probably a good idea.” Krel took his phone from his pocket and checked the time. “It’s 4PM, do you want to take the gyre tonight, or just crash here and leave in the morning?”

“Uh…” Douxie grimanced and pinched the bridge of his nose as he did the math in his head. “We’ve got forty-four hours until the wedding, we know it’s at least a ten hour drive from Las Vegas to California, but let’s assume we’ll need a two-hour break, minimum , and bump that up to twelve. We need at least eight hours of sleep, and a few hours to get up, get dressed, and get ready to leave…”

Krel beat him to the conclusion, like a mathematician he was, “We’d still have a lot of time to spare, about eighteen-ish horvaths.”

“I’m fine with that. If we could make it all the way to Hong Kong and back in a few hours, we can handle this.” Douxie glanced back at the bathroom counter, where Archie sat. “Care to weigh in?”

“I vote we stay the night here.”

“Then it’s settled.” Krel nodded. “You can take my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

He started to turn away, but Douxie caught his arm. “Hang on, I’m not kicking you out of your bed.”

“It’s fine, you’re a guest.” Krel pointed in the direction of his bedroom. “Besides, I assume you two will want to stay together since you just got reunited, and you’ll fit better on the bed.”

Douxie couldn’t argue with that, even though he wanted to, so he just nodded and accepted. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” Krel turned to leave, then stopped, turned back around, and added, “Also, I have Disney+ if you still want to watch Aladdin with me.”

“I’d love that.”

Chapter Text

Thursday, 8PM

39 Hours Before The Wedding

“This movie is a little more racist than I remember…” Douxie mused, sitting beside Krel on the couch in their pajamas. They were about midway through Aladdin, with a blanket thrown over their laps to share. 

“It’s about the same as I remember,” Archie was lying across the back of the couch, with his tail hanging down over Douxie’s shoulder.  

“Do you want to watch something else?” Krel picked up the remote, off the armrest. 

“No,” Archie stood, stretched, back arching, and his little claws reaching out. When he straightened, he said, “I think I’ll just head to bed. Douxie, are you coming?” 

“Not just yet, but I’ll be there in a bit.” He wanted a chance to speak to Krel alone. There was something he wanted to say.

Archie just nodded and hopped off the couch, padding his way across the living room, and slipping through the cracked bedroom door.

“So should I change it?” Krel asked, thumb hovering over the pause button.

Instead of answering, Douxie took the remote from Krel’s hand, paused it himself, and set the remote aside without choosing something new.

Krel raised an eyebrow at him but gave no protests.

Douxie shifted to face Krel rather than the tv, one hand brushing stray curls out of Krel’s face, and lingering on his cheek. “I want to thank you,” He spoke softly, not wanting to disturb Archie.

“For what?” Krel’s eyes were tracking Douxie’s hand instead of watching his face.

“For looking after me while I slept,” He cupped Krel’s face. “For helping Claire store all my stuff,” His hand traced down Krel’s jaw. “For staying behind from the wedding to keep an eye on me,” Douxie lifted Krel’s face by the chin. “For going along with my stupid plan to rescue Archie and make it to this wedding…”

“You don’t have to thank me for that…” Krel’s eyes half lidded and dark as he watched Douxie, subconsciously leaning in, gravitating towards Douxie. 

“But I want to,” Douxie insisted, leaning in until their noses bumped, and he could feel Krel’s breath on his face. “I want to thank you for everything , for letting me crash at your place, for dropping everything to help me, for understanding why I didn’t want to use magic in public, for being in my life, for being you.”

Krel moved first, crashing into him, grasping the front of Douxie’s shirt like he was desperate for it, and Douxie couldn’t fault him for that. He was too.

They fell into each other like it was meant to be, and it left Douxie marveling at how perfectly Krel’s lips fit against his, how natural Krel’s hands felt on his skin, on his neck, his face, his hips . Douxie was not a religious man, but the weight and warmth of Krel’s body moving against his was like a solid argument for the existence of gods.

The craftsmanship of Krel Tarron was too divine to be anything but.

Krel kissed his neck, one hand sliding under Douxie’s shirt, and the drag of that watch against his skin reminded him this was a disguise. Krel was the one who crafted this body, and some delirious part of Douxie’s brain wondered if that made Krel god.

Another hand brushed the waistband of Douxie’s sweatpants, and he decided, yes, it does.

Finally, an altar Douxie would be joyous to worship at… a god worth falling to his knees for.

“Can I?” Krel asked softly, lips brushing Douxie’s neck as he spoke, and that hand lingering on his waistband. 

Douxie's voice came out strained, “I think if you don’t, I might die.”

And that drew a little laugh from Krel, and he pulled back just enough to take Douxie by the chin, thumb brushing his bottom lip as he looked him in the eyes, almost admiring him. “You’re so pretty when you beg…”

Oh god. Douxie shuddered. 

If Krel wanted him to beg, he was happy to, “Please,” he exhaled, arching his hips into Krel.

Krel shook his head, refusing to give Douxie what he wanted, what he needed . “You said you only date immortals, and I know for a fact you only know a handful, so be honest with me, baby…” A smug little smirk twitched onto Krel’s lips, “How long has it been?”

“Too long.” He didn’t know the exact number. His brain wasn’t working right, not with Krel straddling him like that.

Krel dropped his hand from Douxie’s chin, letting it trail down his chest, all the way down to join his other hand at the waistband. “Tell me what you want then.”

And honestly, Douxie was still picturing himself on his knees, so he blurted out the truth, “I want to suck you.”

“Oh.” Krel’s eyebrows shot up, like he hadn’t been expecting that. “You want to—”

“Yes,” Douxie lifted his thigh, pressing it between Krel’s legs and feeling the hardness there. “Please? Can I, darling?”

He gave a nod, although still looking a bit caught off guard by the request and let Douxie gently push him back against the couch.

Douxie slid off the couch, kneeling on the floor between his legs as he tugged Krel’s waistband down to reveal the bulge straining against Krel’s underwear. His mouth watered at the sight, but he hesitated as something occurred to him.

“Wait,” Douxie glanced back up at Krel’s face. “This will feel good for you, right?” He didn’t know much about Akiridion biology, but he did know they were energy-based beings, and that sex and reproduction were very different affairs to them.

As far as he knew, Krel might not even have a dick, strictly speaking. This could all be the disguise.

“My disguise has sensory simulators,” Krel hurried to say, like the pause was causing him actual pain, “It’ll feel like whatever it feels like to a human.”

Interesting. “So, if I were to…” Douxie gave a cheeky grin and squeezed the clothed bulge.

Krel’s body seized at sensation, jolting under Douxie’s touch, his breath quickening. “Oh, great Gaylen’s core.”

“Have you ever done this before… with the disguise?”

Krel shook his head. 

“But without it…?”

He nodded. 

Douxie slipped a hand under the waistband and teased it downwards. “So, you’ve never had someone suck you off before, have you?”

“I’m told it’s— good,” was all Krel said, face flushed, and voice strained.

He couldn’t help the smile spanning in his face, and overwhelming self-satisfaction at the idea that he’d get to be the one to show Krel the wonder of blow jobs. “Oh, darling, you’re going to adore this.”

And if Douxie was being honest with himself, he was too.

Krel helpfully lifted his hips to allow Douxie to pull down his underwear, his erection springing free and standing proudly at attention. 

He wasted no time taking Krel down, and the moment he did, Krel gasped out like all the air had been snatched from his lungs. His hands went straight for Douxie’s hair, tangling in the black and blue strands. 

Krel’s hips twitched as he resisted thrusting into Douxie’s mouth, but that only encouraged him. Douxie moaned around Krel’s cock, at the weight of it against his tongue, the taste , and at the feel of hands tugging at his hair. He swallowed Krel down, eager for more, eager to please . 

Douxie wanted to make Krel come apart, piece by piece, and he wanted it to be because of him .

But fingers gripped Douxie’s hair, right at the back of his head, and pulled him off. 

Douxie whined at the loss, trying to lean back down, but Krel held him in place. 

“You really like doing this…” Krel stared down at him, both baffled and amazed, eyes half lidded.

He nodded the best he could with Krel holding his head in place. “I do.”

Krel’s grip on his hair tightened. “Beg for it.”

Shameless, Douxie tore his eyes away from Krel’s cock, up to his face. “Darling, please , please, I want to—”

The hand released him, and Douxie was diving back down to swallow Krel’s cock in an instant. He wanted to feel it against the back of his throat, wanted to choke on it, wanted Krel to come in his mouth—

He wanted to be good enough that Krel would want this again.

Want him again. 

And when Krel came, it shook his whole body, leaving him trembling, his breath labored, and eyes unfocused as he came down from the high.

Douxie, satisfied with his work, pulled off, swallowed, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Good?” He asked, with his heart in his throat with anticipation of Krel’s answer.

Krel answered by taking him by the back of the neck and yanking him up for a heated kiss, practically pulling Douxie into his lap.

Douxie went willingly, eagerly returning the kiss while rutting desperately against Krel’s thigh for any kind of release. He was so hard it hurt, he ached with need.

“You’re incredible,” Krel said against his lips, shoving a hand down the front of Douxie’s pants to get at his cock. “I’ve never seen anything like you, Douxie.”

He whined pitifully at the praise and let his head drop against Krel’s shoulder when that hand closed around him, stroking and pulling, and applying much needed pressure. Wonderful, beautiful pressure.

“Look at you…” Krel’s free hand glided down his back, tracing his spine as Douxie arched into his touch. “The powerful, immortal master wizard, puddy in my hands, begging me for more.” 

“Please, Krel, I want to come— ah!” He gasped out as Krel twisted his wrist just right.

“Don’t worry,” Krel nipped at his ear. “I’m gonna make you come, baby, but you have to be quiet… Archie in the other room, remember?” 

He nodded, then buried his face into the crook of Krel’s neck. He didn’t have enough coherent thought left to form a verbal response.

It was coiled in the pit of his stomach, all heat and tension as Krel took him over the edge. Douxie spilled into Krel’s hand with a muffled cry, body trembling as wave after wave of pleasure washed over him. 

Krel used his clean hand to push Douxie’s bangs out of his face, then cup his cheek. “Still with me?”

Douxie nodded, his sensely slowly returning to him. They were both a mess, and Douxie was muttering the Latin before he truly realized it, “Tersus sursum.” The sticky mess vanished in a shimmer of blue magic, and with that handled, Douxie let himself melt into Krel, body going limp against his.

“That’s useful…” Krel mused, turning over his freshly cleaned hand to examine. 

He just hummed in response.

“Are you about to pass out?”

He nodded, letting his eyes fall shut, and his body relax.

“You know, I gave up my bed so you could stay with Archie, and now you’re falling asleep in my lap with your dick out.”

He managed a tiny shrug, and found the energy to tuck himself away, but he was already half asleep, and he had no intentions of moving. Something about Krel’s arms around him felt so safe, protected.

“Okay,” Krel spoke softly, then kissed the top of Douxie’s head. “Sleep then. I’ll watch over you.”

And Douxie knew that was the truth, deep in his bones, he knew. Krel had proven it was.

Chapter Text

Friday, 8AM

27 Hours Before The Wedding

“I suppose I don’t need to ask why you never went to bed last night…”

Douxie choked on his coffee, then dissolved into a coughing fit as his face heated to burn.

Archie laughed, good naturedly, and climbed between the seats to sit in Douxie’s lap in the front passenger side. “Are you alright?”

He wiped his mouth clean, cleared his throat, and tried to regain some of his composure. “I’m fine. Are you cross with me?”

“That you— how are people putting it nowadays? Got laid? No.”

Douxie risked a glance out the car window, checking on Krel. He was completely preoccupied with getting gas. “So, you’re not cross?”

“No.” Archie gave a little shrug. “Krel is nice.”

“Are you trying to tell me you approve of him?”

He nodded. “Yes. I like the way he treats you, and his lifespan could rival your’s, so I think you two have a real chance at—” Archie cut himself off, then changed course, “Unless it was terrible. Was it terrible?”

He laughed and took another sip of his coffee. “Anything but.”

“Then I’m happy for you, and I think you should pursue it.”

“Thanks, Arch,” Douxie gave his familiar a fond scratch behind the ear. “I’m glad you like him. I do too.” He wasn’t ashamed to admit Archie’s opinion carried more weight to Douxie than anyone else in the world.

“Of course.”

A second later, Krel was getting back in the car, and started counting things off on his fingers. “Okay. Tank is full, bags are packed—” he glanced into the backseat, as if to double check there boxes and bags were still there. They were. “—I fed the human—”

Douxie wrinkled his nose at that wording, but he wasn’t going to complain, seeing as Krel bought him breakfast. 

“—and there was one more thing. What was it?”

“You were going to call Dr. Lake again,” Archie reminded.

“Right!” Krel snapped as he remembered, then pulled out his phone and passed it over to Douxie.

He unlocked it and called Dr. Lake as Krel took to the road. 

It rang for a while before she answered with, “Sorry! I was with Jim, so I had to make an excuse and find somewhere private. What’s up?”

Douxie hit speaker and pulled the phone away from his ear. “We’re just calling to give you a progress update.”

“Great! How close are you?”

“Uh… We’re actually just leaving Jersey, but don’t worry! We’re taking the gyre as close as we can get, and then it’s a ten-hour drive after that. We should be there in time.” 

She sighed, exasperated, but just said, “Okay. Uh, also, I needed to run something by you.”

Douxie and Krel exchanged glances, then he said, “Shoot.”

“How do you want to go about this surprise? Because I’ve got a few ideas, but I wanted your input since they all revolve around you.”

“What are your ideas?” Archie asked, with an air of caution to his tone, like he expected them to be terrible.

“First of all, it’s great to hear your voice, Archie, I’m glad you’re not dead. Second of all, this is basically all I’ve thought about since you first called yesterday, so I’ve got a few options here.”

“And those are…?”

“Option one; Have you ever seen those prank videos where the groom thinks they’re doing a ‘first look’ and he’s got his back turned, and he thinks his fiancee is behind him, but when he turns around it’s one of his friends in a wedding dress—”

“I’m not putting on a wedding dress.”

“See, that’s why I wanted to run these by you first. Option two; You take your reserved seats, then I go back to Jim and Claire and make a big deal about how ‘someone is sitting in the reserved seats!’ and they’ll get all up in arms to chase out the disrespectful little asshole who took seats reserved for lost loved ones, but surprise! It’s you!”

“Maybe?” He shrugged. “I’m not in love with it. Got anything else?”

“Yes. Option three; This was kind of my backup plan in case you get here later and miss the actual wedding. When we’re doing toasts, after everyone’s done speaking, I’ll announce we have one more surprise toast, and then out you come, but that, of course, requires you write a toast.”

“I could write a toast.”

There was a distant clatter of something that sounded expensive, and Dr. Lake gasped. “Shit! Okay, I gotta go. Write that toast! Bye!” Then she hung up without waiting for a response.

“I feel for the poor woman, weddings can be such a nightmare when you’re the one keeping the gears turning.”

Krel shook his head as he pulled up to the skatepark. “Earth weddings seem so stressful… I helped Jim pick a suit, and it took all day. Apparently Claire took weeks to find a dress.”

“Humans make a big deal out of weddings,” He shrugged. “It’s very important to them.”

Krel parked the car and raised an eyebrow at Douxie. “Them? You exclude yourself from that?”

“From caring about weddings, or being human?” He asked as he got out of the car.

“Ether,” Krel followed, shutting the door behind him. “Whichever you meant.”

Douxie sighed and scrolled through his bracer to find the right rune. Preparing to shrink the car was a good excuse to keep his hands busy and his eyes off Krel as he explained, “Immortality has kind of detached me, mentally, from humanity. I am human. I know that, but that standard ‘human experience’ isn’t mine.” He shrunk the car and pocketed it. “People say death is a vital part of being human. Do you know what King Arthur used to say about wizards?”

Archie grimaced at the mention of the dead king but didn’t interrupt.

“No.” 

“He said we were the ones god abandoned.” Douxie forced himself to meet Krel’s eyes, and gave a little shrug, like it didn’t bother him. “That we were abominations in the eyes of god, and so he locked us out of heaven forever… cursed to spend eternity on earth.”

Krel opened his mouth to say something, but Douxie didn’t want to hear it, so he beat him to it. “Now, I think that’s bullshit, I’m not a religious man, but I’ve spent nine centuries being dehumanized by humanity for… well, everything I guess. Being born with magic, being queer, etc. After a while, I just didn’t care to count myself among them anymore.”

Krel’s expression softened, and he reached for Douxie’s hand. He let Krel take it. “I’m sorry they treated you like that. You didn’t deserve it.”

“I know that but thank you.” Douxie gave Krel a peck on the cheek in gratitude, then stepped back. “Come on, we’re still on the clock here.” 

They headed down into Trollmarket, then to the gyre. Archie boarded first, and as Douxie was about to step up, Krel caught his arms.

“Hey, quick question,” He dropped his voice to a low whisper, “Do we need to talk about last night?”

Douxie blinked at him. “That depends entirely on if you regret it.” 

“I don’t. Do you?”

“No. Do you want it to happen again?”

Krel nodded. “Of course, I do.”

“Good,” Douxie flashed him a grin. “Then we’re on the same page.”

He climbed aboard the gyre, pulling Krel along after him, by the hand, and off they went, hurdling down the tunnel at absurd, ungodly speeds, until they came to a screeching halt in the next station. The entire trip took maybe two minutes.

Douxie really did have to hand it to the trolls, they’d done well for themselves, transportation-wise.

This station, unlike the one in Tai Mo Shan Country Park, wasn’t abandoned. It docked in an unfamiliar, crowded Trollmarket. A few trolls stopped to glance at the newcomers, then seemed to just… shrug it off and go about their days.

It made Douxie wonder just how common humans in Trollmarkets were nowadays… Apparently common enough for two barreling in on a gyre not to raise any eyebrows. 

As they stepped off the gyre, Douxie glanced around for any sign of an exit, but none was immediately apparent, so he nudged Krel to get his attention. “Which way do you think the exit is…?” 

“Uh…” Krel swept his gaze over the market, then shrugged. “No clue.” 

Archie perched on Douxie’s shoulder, then called to a passing troll, “Excuse me, sir, may we have a moment of your time?”

The troll stopped walking. She was a hulking beast of a creature, huge, with big protruding canines. “What do you want, fleshbags?”

“Which way might the exit be?” Archie gave her a polite little smile and pushed up his glasses.

She rolled her eyes and pointed. “Keep going that way until you reach the stairs, then go up.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Douxie took the lead, pulling Krel along by the arm.

They made their way through the Trollmarket, and back to the surface. When they drew the exit with their Horngazel and stepped through, they found themselves standing behind what appeared to be… a casino. 

“Yeah. That tracks…” Douxie said as he frowned up at the big flashing sign. “Fucking Las Vegas, I swear—”

“Have you been here before?” Krel asked.

“No, Archie doesn’t trust me with gambling, so I’m not allowed in casinos.”

“And for good reason!” Archie huffed. “Douxie, I love you; I just don’t trust you with our finances.”

“Are you telling me—” Krel pointed at Archie, “—that he’s in charge of your finances?”

“Yeah!” Douxie gave an affirmative nod. “ Of course, he is! He’s like eighty percent of my impulse control. Archie’s way more responsible than me.”

Archie shrugged it off, dismissive. “I’m just glad he’s self-aware.”

“Come on, darling,” Douxie took Krel’s hand and pulled him around to the front of the building, and into the busy street. It was absolutely packed . There wasn't an open spot in sight to unshrink the car and get on the road. 

Krel immediately went for his watch, turning back around to walk into the alley again. “Let’s just take the hoverboard until we find somewhere to unshrink the car.” 

“Good idea.” He and Archie trailed after him, back behind the casino, and away from prying eyes.

Krel summoned his hoverboard, and hopped up, pulling Douxie up with him. “Hang onto me.”

“Gladly,” Douxie hadn’t actually meant that to sound flirty, he just didn’t want to fall off, but the look on Krel’s face told him it definitely came across as flirty, and he wasn’t about to snitch on himself, so he wrapped his arms around Krel’s waist and added a “Thank you, darling.”

And the moment they zipped into the air, he felt Archie’s claws dig into his shoulder, hanging on for dear life. 

“You doing alright back there, Arch?” He called over the wind.

“Managing!” He shouted back, but Douxie was pretty sure his shoulder and back were bleeding now, and if not, they definitely had indents of Archie’s claws. 

It only took them a short few minutes of flying over the bright Vegas lights to find a parking lot they could use, then they touched down. 

Douxie hopped off the hoverboard and dug the car out of his pocket. In an empty parking space, he carefully centered the car on the pavement, then stepped back to allow the car space to grow.

Once again with a full-sized car, they got in and hit the road. 

Archie immediately went to take a nap in a box of Douxie’s clothes sitting in the backseat.

Douxie took the time to work on his toast, using the notes app on his—now fully charged—phone to work out a first draft… but love was a difficult thing to speak on, from an immortal standpoint.

Mortals loved certain words and phrases… Forever. Always.

Douxie had learned a long time ago that ‘ forever’ and ‘ always’ were nothing more than doomed promises from mortals. He couldn’t begin to guess just how many weddings he’d been to over his long life, but he knew that at every single one of them, he’d heard those words thrown around a lot.

Usually in the vows.

Then a short fifty years later, at least one of them was dead, or they were divorced.

It was hard not to view such words as ‘forever’ as a bad omen when he had outlived ‘forever’ a hundred times over. The word lost its meaning after a few centuries. 

And it wasn’t that he didn’t believe Claire and Jim loved each other. He knew they did! He’d seen everything their love had endured, trollhunting, Morgana possessing Claire, Jim’s transformation into a troll, time travel, the countless deaths of their loved ones, and the literal end of the world! 

Douxie wholeheartedly believed they’d hold true to ‘til death do us part,’ but he had a much harder time believing in ‘forever.’

And so, he sat in the passenger seat of Krel’s car as they drove, staring at a blank note in his phone. Every time he got a few words in, he deleted it.

He didn’t know how to write this without filling it with all the same unkeepable promises.

Maybe Krel was right before. Maybe it was more than just humanity he had trouble including himself in. Maybe it was weddings too.

He risked a glance at Krel, chewing the inside of his cheek.

Maybe it was love too.

That thought scared him, so Douxie turned back to his phone, but Krel seemed to notice something was off.

“How’s your toast coming?” He broached the subject cautiously.

“Not well,” he admitted with a sigh. “I’ve barely got two words out.”

He didn’t miss the way Krel glanced at the dashboard for the time, confirming that Douxie had, in fact, been at this for an hour now. He didn’t comment on that though, instead he asked, “How come?”

Douxie grimaced as he weighed his options. The honest answer felt dangerous, considering he and Krel were on the verge of… whatever they were. On the other hand though, lying to Krel felt worse.

He mulled it over for a moment longer, letting the silence drag, before finally confessing, “I don’t think I believe in forever.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just, I know that’s what people want to hear at their wedding, that they’ll be together forever.” He kept his eyes forward to avoid having to look at Krel. “But every time someone has said that word to me, it’s been a lie.”

“Well, you and I—”

“No, please don’t.” Douxie had to cut him off. “Please don’t try to comfort me by saying you and I will be together forever, because we don’t even know if we work as a couple yet. All we know is the sex is phenomenal , but that’s just because we’re both hot as fuck, I mean, seriously, ten out of ten knockouts, the both of us, but—”

“Douxie.”

“Hm?” When Douxie finally managed to look Krel in the eye, he was giving him this fondly amused, but slightly irritated little eyebrow tilt.

“Firstly, that’s very flattering, I agree, we’re both ten out of tens, and I love this self-worth for you. Secondly, stop trying to change the subject to sex. I’m not letting you distract me… and thirdly, that’s not what I was going to say.”

“Then what?”

“I was trying to say that you and I are both going to live for a very long time.” Krel kept glancing at him in a way that implied he rather have steady eye contact for this conversation, but he was also watching the road. “Longer than any of our friends. Longer than Claire, and Jim, and their kids, their kids’ kids. Our version of forever is different from theirs.”

“So, what are you suggesting?”

“That maybe they will be together forever. Just not our forever. You don’t have to believe in it. Just know they do, and respect that.” They reached a red light, allowing Krel to shift in his seat to actually look at Douxie for a moment. “Think about it like religion. I don’t believe in any human gods, but I know Claire does, and I respect that for her.”

“You make a good point…” Douxie sighed and looked back down at his phone. “That’s actually very helpful, thank you.”

“No problem,” Krel darted over to give Douxie a kiss on the cheek just before the light turned green. “And for the record, I think we’ll work out just fine as a couple.”

Chapter Text

Friday, 12PM

23 Hours Before The Wedding

They stopped for lunch at noon, at a little diner that looked straight out of the 50’s, complete with the checkered floor, bright red barstools and booths, and jukebox. Douxie would know, he lived through the 50’s, and the only glaring difference he noticed was the lack of a ‘whites only’ sign hanging in the window, though he didn’t miss those.

Come to think of it, he didn’t miss much of anything from the 50’s. Douxie grimaced at the memories… he spent a concerning amount of time getting hosed or arrested by police in the 50’s.

Archie, perched on his shoulder, didn’t look any more pleased than Douxie. His familiar was likely remembering the same shit he was.

Krel, however, stepped inside, took one look at the place, and asked, “Why does this remind me of the Mothership?”

Douxie shrugged, hands in his hoodie pockets. “Designed after the same time period.”

“Ah.’

Taking Krel by the hand, Douxie led them to an empty booth. Krel slid in beside Douxie on one side, and Archie claimed the opposite side all for himself.

A second later, a waitress had appeared, holding her notepad and two menus. There was something nervous about her though, and Douxie assumed it was because she was about to tell them pets weren’t allowed, but instead she handed them the menus and said, “Hi, my name’s Allison. I’ll be your server tonight. Can I get you started off with some drinks?”

“A coffee for me, thanks.” Douxie gave her a polite smile, but that didn’t seem to calm her nerves.

“Water, please.” Krel said.

“And could we get a water for him?” Douxie gestured to Archie. He always ended up ordering for Archie, since a talking cat drew a lot of unwanted attention.

Allison glanced at Archie, then back at Douxie, “Uh… sure.” But she didn’t leave. She stood there, like she was stuck, staring at Douxie.

“Is something the matter?” He asked, feeling a bit put under a microscope. 

“It’s just… are you Hisidox Casprin?”

Well, that was almost his name. “Uh…”

“You know, the guy from the video? With the titans?” She clarified. “That was you, right?”

Krel muffled a laugh at the look of alarm flashing across Douxie’s face, then cleared his throat and said, “No, you’re mistaken. He gets that a lot. I think it’s the hair that makes people say that—”

“But you’ve even got the same cat, I mean—” She pointed at Archie with her pen. “I watched that video a hundred times, I must’ve read hundreds of theories about you. You’re the vampire that disappeared after the fight—”

Douxie pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am not a vampire.”

Allison didn’t look anywhere close to being convinced. “Okay. If you say so.’

He shifted to face her fully and drew back his lips to show his teeth. “Do you see any fangs?” 

“If you aren’t a vampire, then why did Ash Dispersal Pattern make that their entire theme?”

“What the fuck do you mean? We didn’t have a theme—” He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to find Krel frantically gesturing for the waitress to drop it, making a cutting motion at his neck, eyes wide.

Krel, upon realizing he’d been caught, abruptly stopped and gave Douxie a guilty, appeasing smile.

“Krel…” He began, tone low and dangerous, “What does she mean by that?”

“Nothing. She meant nothing. It’s not important.”

Then Allison pulled her phone out of her apron. “No, here, look!” A second later, she passed her phone over, a YouTube video pulled up. She hit play.

On the screen, Jesse was on the mic, and Micah was on drums, on guitar there was someone he didn’t recognize. Zoe was nowhere to be seen. They were playing for a packed theater, and all of them were dressed up like vampires, complete with fake fangs, and blood as costume makeup. 

He gawked in offense. “They replaced me?”

Archie walked across the table to get a look at the screen, then hissed at the sight.

Krel winced in sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Douxie, I was trying to protect you from finding out—”

“And where’s Zoe?”

“She left the band years ago,” Allison said.

“And they got famous?” He couldn’t believe what he was watching. “And worst of all, they got a theme?”

Allison nodded, hands on her hips. “Yeah, I mean, after the titans, when you disappeared, and everyone started to look into you… people found your band, and it shot their popularity through the roof to be known as the band with the real vampire as their guitarist, so they made it their whole thing.”

“But I’m not even their guitarist anymore! They replaced me! And yet they’re still profiting off of me?”

“You didn’t know any of this? Have you been living under a rock?”

“No, I was in a fucking coma… this is the worst day of my life.” Douxie paused the video, he couldn’t stomach another second of it. “Are they rich too? Are they filthy rich off this?”

Allison gave a nod. “The lead singer, Jesse, has a mansion in Hollywood. I went to see it on vacation once.”

“No!” He whined, “They’ve got a mansion? Are you serious? I don’t even have an apartment anymore, and Jesse’s got a mansion?”

“This is exactly why I didn’t want you to know…” Krel muttered. “I knew you’d hate it.”

He handed the phone back to Allison and dropped his head onto the table with a miserable groan. “This is awful…”

“It gets worse,” Allison cringed sympathetically.

“Don’t—” Krel warned, but it was too late.

“They replaced the cat too.”

He and Archie gasped in unison.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Krel gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze, “We all—Jim, Claire, Zoe, the others— hate them. We felt like they were taking advantage of the situation and profiting off of you. That’s why Zoe left the band. You would not believe how much shit we talk about ADP.”

“That does make me feel a little better actually.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Allison made a vague gesture over her shoulder. “How about I just go get your drinks and let you two decide what you wanna eat?”

Douxie just nodded, numbly.

Allison scurried off to get their drinks.

“Are you guys okay?” Krel asked, nervously glancing between Douxie and Archie.

“Oh, fine,” He shrugged, but his tone came out bitter. “Just coping with the sting of betrayal, is all.”

“You made the right choice, not telling us,” Archie said, ears laid flat against his head, and fur bristling. 

“I feel bad for Zoe,” Douxie grimaced at the thought, “I’d leave too, if the roles were reversed, but still…”

“Yeah, she’s a solo artist now.’

“You know what? Good for her.”

Chapter Text

Friday, 8PM

15 Hours Before The Wedding

First thing they did upon reaching Arcadia Oaks was look for somewhere to stay the night, but every suggestion Douxie had didn’t pan out.

His old place belonged to someone else now, and whoever bought it must’ve been a gardener, because it was barely recognizable now. The yard was far better taken care of than it ever was under Douxie’s care. There was even a rose bush under the front window.

It was trippy to see it so changed.

Next he suggested Krel’s old place, the mothership. Turns out Aja took that back to Akiridion 5 at some point in the last five years.

Then he thought maybe the Lake house, but Krel reminded him Jim was staying there in preparation for the wedding, and Claire was staying with her parents too, so the Nuñez was also a no-go.

Then he thought maybe one of their friends could take them in for the night. 

Zoe? Moved to New York four years ago.

Eli? Still living on Akiridion 5.

Mary? No, she flirted with Douxie every time they talked, and it creeped him out when she was a minor, and it would creep him out now. No.

Darci? Moved to Indiana apparently.

Trollmarket? In ruins.

It was getting dark, and they were still driving around town with not a damn clue where they were sleeping, so finally, Krel sighed and said, “There’s a motel in town. Let’s do that.” 

“Good idea,” Archie agreed.

“Are you sure?” Douxie couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about it. He had no money, so every expense fell onto Krel. “I’m sure we can find something; you don’t have to pay for all that—”

“It’s fine,” Krel turned down the street, the motel coming into view. “America and Akiridion 5 worked out this intergalactic alliance thing—Aja knows more about it than I do—but technically I’m a representative of my planet and so the crown pays all my expenses.” 

“Wait, seriously?”

“Yeah, we worked that out almost directly after defeating the titans. The US government’s most urgent concern wasn’t trolls or wizards, it was the threat of ‘alien invasion,’” He put air quotes around that, wrinkling his nose in distaste at the words, “So I got pardoned from everything two delsons after I was arrested. It took a lot longer for the others to get pardoned though.”

“That’s absurd…”

“Yeah, a little bit.” Krel pulled up to the motel and parked the car. “Sometimes I have to do consults, or politics stuff, but mostly the US government has me in a tech role. This kelton alone—” he started counting things off on his fingers as he undid his seatbelt. “I improved their data storage, helped implement some green energy alternatives, and invented a more effective way to break down plastics, all using Akiridion tech.”

Douxie laughed in amazement. “Next you’re gonna tell me you single handedly solved climate change.”

Krel got out of the car, shrugging. “No, but that’s the next project they have me on.”

“Wait, like, actually?”

“Yeah, it took them a while to vote on it and give me the green light, because for some reason… a lot of humans don’t listen to science. Why is that?”

“Because humans have always been notoriously thick in the head.” Douxie followed him out of the car, pausing only to let Archie onto his shoulder. “Especially the mortal ones, they figure they’ll die before they see the consequences, so I get left with their messes most of the time.”

Krel raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean?”

“The air does not taste the same as it did a few centuries ago, I promise you that.”

They headed inside the office to get a room, but then the lady at the desk asked how many beds, Krel hesitated to answer. Instead, he glanced at Douxie, like he might have an answer.

And that only got Douxie thinking about how nice it was to wake up on the couch with Krel, limbs tangled together… his head tucked under Krel’s chin… Krel’s hand tracing up and down his spine…

But back in Krel’s apartment, there’d been more than one room . Archie had somewhere else to sleep, undisturbed. That would not be the case in a shitty motel, so Douxie tried not to feel disappointed when he said, “Two, please.”

He risked a glance at Krel, gauging his reaction. If it wasn’t the answer Krel was hoping for, it didn’t show on his face.

The receptionist handed over a key with the room number written on a plastic card tied to it. 

“Thank you,” Krel said with a polite smile, then led them to their room.

It had two queen beds, a washroom, a closet, and horrid floral wallpaper. It made the room look like someone’s grandmother’s house.

“Well, this is…” Douxie trailed off, dropping his bags on the bed further from the door. “...quaint. Was this here five years ago? I don’t recall seeing this before.’

“It was here,” Archie said, leaping onto the bed Douxie had claimed.

“How do you know? We certainly never stayed here.”

Archie grimaced. “You don’t want to know how I know.”

“Archie…” Krel started, concern flashing across his face. “What is it?”

“Uh…” Archie pushed up his glasses. “I used to chase rats here for fun.”

“Oh.” Douxie’s eyebrows shot upwards in alarm. “Rats. Lovely.”

Krel cringed and inched closer to Douxie, as if he might be able to protect him from the rats. “Why didn’t you mention that before I got us a room?”

Archie shrugged. “I wanted to hunt rats.”

“I’ll sort this, hang on.” Douxie went for his bracer, scrolling through runes until he found the right one. “I’ll put up some wards, that should keep anyone—or anything —out. Including rats.”

He threw up about twelve wards, one for the floor, one on the ceiling, one for each wall, window, air vent, and door. Then two extra, one for each bed.It was overkill, but honestly Douxie was just adding more wards until he saw the tension in Krel’s shoulders relax.

“That’ll do,” Douxie declared, hands on his hips as he nodded approvingly at his own work.

Archie gave him this knowing look, like it was painfully obvious Douxie was just trying to make Krel feel safer. Then he stood up, and hopped off the bed. “I’ll be back later.”

“Where are you going?” Krel asked.

“Like I said, I want to hunt rats,” and with that, Archie slipped out the door, kicking it shut behind him, and leaving them alone.

The silence dragged on for a few seconds, then Krel and Douxie exchanged glances… Douxie spoke first. “We’re not fucking in a rat-infested motel.”

“Agreed.”

They both laughed, then Douxie sat down on his bed, pulling out his phone to keep working on his toast. It was about halfway done now.

Krel crossed the room to sit down on the bed, beside Douxie. He wrapped his arms around Douxie’s middle and rested his chin on his shoulder. “How’s it coming?”

“Better, after your advice. Thank you.” Douxie let himself relax into Krel’s embrace. “I’ll be finished soon, I think.”

“Good.” Krel muttered, then buried his face into Douxie’s neck. He took a long, deep inhale, like he was smelling Douxie’s cologne.

“You okay back there?” Douxie asked with a laugh.

Instead of answering, Krel said quietly, “You know we all really missed you, right?”

His heart softened at the words, and Douxie put his phone aside in favor of putting his hands over Krel’s. “Yes, I know. It’s nice to hear you say it though… I wish I could say I missed you all, but I never got the chance to. Five years went by in a blink, and I didn’t even know it until I woke up.”

“That must be jarring. I’m surprised at how well you took it in stride.”

“It always is… but you get pretty damn good at adapting to change when you live this long, so waking up five years in the future isn’t too difficult to adjust to.”

Krel took Douxie by the chin and turned his head for a soft kiss. When he pulled back, Krel pressed his forehead to Douxie’s. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“Me too, darling.”

And then, because that’s just their luck, their nice moment was interrupted by Krel’s phone ringing. 

Krel sighed and dug it out of his jeans pocket, refusing to peel away from Douxie though. “It’s Dr. Lake. She’s calling me on Facetime.” 

“It’s like nine o’clock at night, you could totally not answer.”

“We probably should though… She’s the only person who knows we’re coming, we’re kind of relying on her for a lot right now.”

Douxie couldn’t argue with that, no matter how much he wanted to ignore the call. “Alright, answer it then.”

Krel hit accept, and Dr. Lake’s face appeared on the screen. Douxie was taken aback by how little she had changed. At most, her hair was a bit longer. The woman barely aged. Good for her.

“Hello!” Dr. Lake greeted with a huge smile. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist, Douxie, hearing your voice is one thing, but actually seeing your face is another, and wow, you really haven't aged a day, huh?”

“It’s good to see you too, Dr. Lake. Is everything alright?”

“Uh—” She seemed to notice that Krel and Douxie were basically cuddling, then did nothing more with that information than mentally make a note of it and move on. “I just wanted to get an update on your progress. How close are you?”

“Oh, we’re in Arcadia Oaks already. Found a motel to spend the night in. We’ll be there on time, promise.”

A sly smile slowly spread over her face. “In that case, we have a slight change of plans.”

Douxie and Krel exchanged concerned glances. 

“And what might that be?”

“Well, like I said before… the toast was my plan for if you couldn’t make it to the actual ceremony—”

“I wrote a whole toast; don’t tell me I can’t give it now—”

“No, you can! You can! I just arranged something different for the reveal, and I think you’re gonna like it.”

“Okay…” Douxie nodded along. “I’ll trust you. Just tell me what you need us to do.”

Chapter Text

Saturday, 8AM

4 Hours Before The Wedding

“Archie, what the fuck?” Douxie asked as he stepped out of the motel room in the morning. 

At his feet was a pile of dead rats and his extremely pleased looking familiar. 

“Ehhh,” Krel cringed at the sight. “How many did you kill?”

“All of them,” was Archie’s absolutely elated response. 

“Damn… they should put you on the payroll for that.” Douxie laughed, reaching down to give Archie an affectionate scratch behind the ears. “Good job.”

He leaned into the touch, purring loudly. 

“Let’s uh…” Krel carefully stepped around the pile. “Let’s go get you two breakfast. We’ve only got a few horvaths until the wedding. Unless, uh,” He cleared his throat, then glanced between Archie and the rats, “Unless you already ate?”

Archie’s fur bristled. “I didn’t eat the rats. I got sick of rats while trapped in Hong Kong.”

Douxie scooped up his familiar, helping him onto his shoulder. “Is that why you took such joy in killing them?”

“Yes.”

They got in the car and started towards the cafe where Douxie used to work. It was as good a place as any to eat. 

When they hit a red light, Douxie took the liberty of texting Dr. Lake to inform her where they were going, so if needed, she could prevent Jim or Claire from also going there… And just as Douxie was about to hit send, Krel hissed “Get down!” in a panicked voice.

Douxie slid deeper into his seat immediately, not bothering to ask why. If Krel said hit the deck, he was going to follow those instructions. 

Krel flattened himself against the driver’s seat, wide eyed alarm all over his face.

“What’s going on?” Archie asked, ducked down in the back seat.

Krel pointed towards the window. “Jim.”

“Oh.”

They stayed like that for a few moments, deathly still and silent, as they waited. Archie was the first to brave a glance out the window, barely peeking out.

“Is he still there?”

“No, he’s walked past already.”

Relief swept through the car, all three of them relaxing at once, and slowing sitting back up.

“That was close…” Krel took hold of the wheel as the light turned green. “But he’s going the opposite direction as the cafe, so I think we’ll be fine.”

Douxie nodded, hit send on that text to Dr. Lake, then pocketed his phone. “Here’s to hoping.” 

The moment Douxie stepped inside the cafe, he heard a plate shatter on the floor. He jumped at the noise, head shooting up to find the source, and found Steve staring at him, open mouthed, wearing a waiter’s uniform, and he had facial hair. Good facial hair. He looked like he was trying to copy Lancelot’s goatee. 

He looked like an adult. Weird . 

Customers were staring, both at Steve, and the broken plate at his feet. 

The silence dragged a moment longer before Douxie managed to give Steve a little wave and said, “Good morning.”

Steve came right from him, the shattered pieces of plate crunching under his foot. When he reached Douxie, the stupid blonde oaf yanked him into a hug. “You’re awake! Oh my god! You’re awake!”

“Okay,” Douxie laughed, giving into the hug. “Yes, it’s good to see you again, Steve.”

“He woke up a few days ago,” Krel said, stepping up to join them, with Archie at his heels. “And insisted he make it to this wedding, but not before making a detour to Hong Kong for—”

Steve gasped when he saw Archie, then started crying shamelessly. “Oh my god, you’re both alive , and awake , and here!”

“Steve,” Douxie caught him by the shoulder. “Listen, you can’t tell anyone else we’re here. It’s meant to be a surprise.”

“Oh! Oh, yeah, right.” Steve wiped his eyes, sniffling. “I can keep it a secret, I promise.” Then he promptly spun around on his heels, threw both hands in the air, and announced to the whole cafe, “My buddy woke up from a coma! Fuck yeah! USA! USA! USA!”

“Steve!” Came an irritated shout from in the kitchen, which could only be Mr. Lodger, Douxie’s old boss. “We’ve talked about the plates and cursing in front of the customers—” But when Mr. Lodgers pushed his way through the kitchen door, and laid eyes on Douxie, he stopped short, and stared.

“...Maybe we should have just ordered in.” Douxie muttered to Krel. 

“Yeah, at this rate the whole town will know in like a horvath.” 

“You—” Mr. Lodgers pointed at Douxie, tone furious , “—cannot just no call-no show for five years. You don’t get a free pass just because you saved the world, Casperan!”

“I was in a coma! How was I meant to call you?”

“You’re fired, in case you were hoping for your job back.”

“I’m just here for breakfast, mate!”

Steve threw an arm around Douxie’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, Mr. Boss Man, you can take their bill out of my check, this ones on me.”

“You don’t have to do that, Steve—”

“No, I’m buying you breakfast,” Then he added, as an afterthought, “And coffee. I’m guessing you need a coffee. You look like you need a coffee.”

“Oh, yes please.”

“Do you always drink this much coffee, or is this a coma thing?” Krel asked, with an adorable little head tilt. “Because this is like the seventh or eighth cup of coffee you’ve had in the past three delsons.”

“It’s a coma thing.” He shrugged, hands in his hoodie pockets. “I’ve been through a few of them, and I’m always caffeine starved when I wake up.”

“So, you want a cup of coffee?” Steve laughed.

“Make it two cups.”

Steve ended up taking his break early to sit with them while they ate. It wasn’t until Douxie was done eating that he got a text from Dr. Lake reading, ‘No, don’t go to the Cafe, Steve works there now.’ 

He scoffed, shifted in the booth so he could take a picture of himself and Steve, then texted her the photo, along with, ‘Too late.’

“Are you going to the wedding too?” Archie asked Steve as he finished the last bite of his salmon. 

Steve nodded. “I am, just gotta finish my shift, then I’m off. I’ll see you guys there?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.” Douxie finished the last sip of his second coffee, then set the mug aside. “Remember, Steve, you never saw us, alright?”

“No one will ever know, I swear.” He crossed his heart, with a deadly serious look on his face. “They’d have to torture it out of me.”

“I doubt it’ll ever be quite that drastic but thank you.”

Steve ushered them out the door, insisting he was paying, and they didn’t need to worry about anything, so they let him handle it, and went back to Krel’s car.

“So, we spent a bit longer here than planned, thanks to Steve…” Douxie said, checking the time on his phone as he got in the car. “We’ve only got two hours left till the wedding. Should we just head over now?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Krel started the car. “Text Dr. Lake, let her know we’re on our way.”

“Course, darling,” Douxie did as told, shooting Dr. Lake a text. 

He got back a response almost instantly, ‘Do NOT go to the front door. You WILL be seen. Meet me at the fire exit behind the church.’

“Pull ‘round the back of the church, don’t park up front.”

Krel just nodded at the instructions and did as told.

When they pulled up to the church, Douxie slouched down in his seat, just in case anyone was looking. He caught glimpses of people he knew… Claire’s parents, a small blonde child that could only be Claire’s brother, Toby’s Nana… It was nice of her to come, even with Toby gone.

They parked around back, near the fire exit, and found Dr. Lake already waiting there for them, in a blue sundress, with her hair down.

The moment he stepped out of the car, she pulled him into a hug, and he melted into it. Dr. Lake was one of those people who gave the most amazing mom-hugs. It didn’t matter that he was older than her, everything about her screamed parental figure . That’s just who she was as a person.

“It’s so good to see you again,” Dr. Lake gave him one last tight squeeze before releasing him, and moving onto hug Archie, then Krel. “I’ll be honest, when you first called me, I wasn’t sure you’d make it in time.”

“We made it with time to spare, just like I said we would! We even had time for a trip to Hong Kong.”

“You’re not dressed,” She glanced them up and down, frowning at their casual clothes.

Krel held up a bookbag, stuffed full of their clothes. “We will be.”

“Good. Come on,” Dr. Lake held the door open for them. “I’ve got a safe place to stash you three until it’s time, but we’re gonna have to sneak through the chapel to get there.” She led them inside, then down a long hallway, to an open archway leading into the empty chapel. She stuck her head out, glanced around, then waved them after her. “Coast is clear. Come on!” 

They speed walked through the chapel, but Douxie’s own name caught his eye, and he paused to look. It was a name card on a chair. “Hey, is that my seat?”

“Yes, they reserved some for lost loved ones, now come on!” Dr. Lake grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him along.

She dragged them up through another hallway, the stairs, and ushered them into one of those family bathrooms, with a locking door.

“Are you being serious right now?”

“It’s the only place I could find, now get in!” She shoved Krel in after him and slammed the door. Through the closed door, she gave one last order, “Lock the door. Do not come out unless I tell you to, do you understand?”

Douxie, suddenly trapped with Krel in a space no bigger than an elevator, choked out a “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Stay put.” The telltale sound of clicking heels told them she was leaving.

Archie, practically sitting at their feet in the small space, wriggled his way towards the door. “Actually, how about I stand guard outside?”

Douxie turned to narrow his eyes at his familiar, knowing exactly what he was attempting to do; give them alone time.

Archie gave him a shit eating grin back, far too pleased with himself.

“Won’t someone see you?” Krel asked.

“No.” He transformed before their eyes, shifting into a tiny black mouse. “I’ll hide behind a potted plant or something. No one will see me.” Then Archie squeezed under the crack at the bottom of the door, and they were alone.

Krel let the silence drag for a moment, then held up the book bag of clothes, “So uh, we should get changed.”

“Good idea.”

He set the bag in the sink, unzipped it, and started handing over Douxie’s clothes piece by piece.

“So, we’ve seen each other’s dicks, how much do we care about changing in front of each other?” Douxie asked as he shucked off his hoodie.

“I don’t mind if you don’t.” Krel pulled off his shirt, tossing it towards the bag, but not making it in. “But I can turn my back if that’ll make you more comfortable.”

Douxie pulled off his own shirt—a band shirt that would probably be considered vintage by now, but it was new when he got it. “I don’t mind either.”

It was impossible to miss the way Krel’s eyes raked down his bare chest, humming admiringly. “We shouldn’t get distracted…” Krel said, probably more for himself than for Douxie. 

“No, we should not…” He agreed, absentmindly watching the way Krel’s arms flexed as he pulled on that blue dress shirt. 

When Krel went to remove his jeans, Douxie actually did have to look away. If he didn’t, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stay on task, but looking back after Krel was done turned out to be just as distracting, because holy shit Krel was a handsome man… His curls were down, framing his face just right—

Douxie tore his eyes away and finished buttoning up his black dress shirt, leaving a few buttons undone. Next he got his slacks on, then shoes.

“Almost done?” Krel asked as he stuffed his clothes into the bag.

“Not quite.” Douxie grabbed his makeup bag from the backpack and held it up to show Krel. “Give me a few minutes.”

Krel nodded and leaned against the wall to watch Douxie work in the mirror, arms crossed. He hummed appreciatively as Douxie leaned over the sink to get a closer look at his eyeliner. 

“Are you staring at my ass, Krel?”

Krel didn’t even bother denying it. “Do you have any idea how your ass looks in those pants? Of course, I am.”

“We’re not supposed to get distracted, darling…” He finished one wing, sharp enough to cut glass, then moved to his other eye.

Krel stepped into Douxie’s space, crowding in behind him, hands on Douxie’s hips, and leaning in to whisper lowly, “If you don’t want me to be distracted, you really shouldn’t call me darling in that accent.”

He gave a little laugh, finished his other eye, set down his eyeliner, and turned around to face Krel, “I’m sure I could think of a hundred other things to call you.”

“Like?”

Douxie tipped Krel’s face up by the chin. “My love comes to mind.”

“Consider me officially distracted,” Krel leaned in those last few inches to kiss him, then pulled back just enough to whisper against Douxie’s lips, “I don’t have the words to describe how beautiful you look right now, Douxie.” 

“Sweet talker…” Douxie whispered back, grinning into the kiss.

Krel backed him up until the sink was digging into his back, hands roaming being oh so careful not to disorder his clothing. One of Krel’s hands found his ass and latched on like letting go would be a great loss.

Douxie sighed contently and leaned into the touch, tangling his hands in Krel’s curls. When Krel nipped at his lip, Douxie gave a barely audible gasp. 

Krel trailed hot kisses down his jaw, then paused at Douxie’s ear to say, “When this wedding is over—”

Douxie didn’t even need to hear the rest, he nodded eagerly. “Agreed.”

The door opened. “Great Gronka Morka!”

Both men startled and jumped apart, scrambling to make themselves presentable as Blinky stared at them, all six eyes wide as can be.

“I thought you locked the door—”

“I thought you locked the door—”

Blinky just pointed, uselessly, at Douxie, seeming incapable of getting a single word out.

“Uh, good morning, Blinky.” He flashed the troll an awkward smile. “It’s nice to see you?”

“When— when did you—”

“Three days ago.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone?”

“No!” Douxie huffed, hands on his hips. “We told Dr. Lake we were coming! It was supposed to be a surprise! I told her not to tell anyone, and she’s making us hide in this bathroom until the wedding starts.”

Blinky stared at him in utter bafflement for a moment longer before sighing and stepping into the washroom to hug the man, all four arms wrapping around him. “I’m so glad you’re able to be here, Hisirdoux. It’ll mean the world to Master Jim, and Fair Claire.”

“I’m glad I can be here too,” He hugged back. “But that I’m here is all thanks to Krel.”

Blinky pulled back to say to Krel, “Thank you for that.”

“It was my pleasure.”

Blinky gave Douxie a comforting squeeze on the shoulder, leveling him with a sympathetic look. “And I’m so sorry about Archie—”

“No, he’s here.” Douxie stepped out the door to snap, “He was supposed to be our lookout!” 

A tiny black mouse head popped up from within a potted plant to shout back, “Well, I saw him go for the door, but I thought you locked it like Dr. Lake said, so I didn’t see a reason to reveal myself just to stop him!”

Douxie groaned and shut them in the washroom, making certain to lock the door this time. “Blinky, you can’t tell anyone we’re here.”

“Except for Dr. Lake, she knows.”

“And Steve, he knows too.”

“And I think Dr. Lake mentioned she told the photographer—”

“Okay! We’re bad at keeping secrets, but don’t tell anyone! We’re trying to surprise Jim and Claire!”

“Oh, my lips are sealed! No one will uncover this secret so long as I—”

“Great, great, great, lovely to see you, bye!” Douxie pushed him towards the door. “Go on, get out! Before Dr. Lake comes back and realizes we failed the very simple instructions she gave us.”

“We’re afraid of her,” Krel added with a nod, opening the door. “Please leave.”

Blinky allowed them to shove him out of the washroom. “But—”

“See you later! Don’t tell anyone we’re here!” Douxie slammed the door and locked it, but when he didn’t immediately hear Blinky’s heavy stone steps down the hallways, he added sternly, “Goodbye, Blinky!”

“I— okay. Goodbye?” The troll called back, then finally left.

Once he was gone, Douxie turned back to Krel, “That didn’t happen. Dr. Lake never learns of this.”

“Agreed.”

Chapter Text

Saturday, 11AM

1 Hour Before The Wedding

Jim

“Jim?” His mother peeked her head through the door. “Almost time, kiddo.”

Jim smoothed down his tie in the mirror, then gave him mom a smile. “How do I look?” 

Her expression softened, and with a hand over her heart, and approached her son. She cupped his cheek. “You look so handsome… I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, mom.” He ducked his head, embarrassed. “How are things going out there? Smoothly?” 

“Oh, stressful, like every wedding. Don’t worry about it, sweetie.” She waved it off, dismissive, but her eyes caught on a picture on the desk. Jim and Toby, as kids, their arms around each other, grinning like idiots.

Jim noticed her looking and hurriedly pocketed the photo. “I just— I just wanna have him with me today.”

“I know…” She brushed his bangs out of his eyes, but there was something else in her expression, beyond sympathy… something happy. “There are so many people who should be here today.”

He nodded, clutching the photo in his pocket. “I always thought Toby would be my best man, and that Strickler would be here to give a toast, he’d probably make some stupid joke about that time with the steak knife… and—” He gave a little laugh at his own thoughts, “I wanted Douxie to play for Claire and I’s first dance.”

Something twitched in her expression. “You did?”

“Yeah,” He shrugged, and gave a sigh. “At least they’re all here in spirit.”

“Mh-hm.” She nodded, lips pressed into a tight line as she pulled out her cell phone from her dress pocket to type out a text. “I’m sure… if Douxie were here… he’d love to play for your first dance.”

“Who are you texting?”

“Uh, the caterers! They had a question. Excuse me.” She turned on her heels and walked right out the door.

Douxie

“Uh…” Douxie stared down at Dr. Lake’s text. “We have to leave the washroom, darling.”

“But she told us to stay put—”

“Yeah, and she just sent me a text in all caps reading, ‘If you have your guitar, go fucking get it.’ 

“This is a trick . It’s a test . Don’t leave the bathroom.” 

“I don’t think it’s a test.” He pocketed the phone. “Come on, it’s just in the car, it’ll take five minutes.”

“We’re gonna get caught.”

“No, it’ll be fine. Don’t fret about it.” He grabbed the doorknob, flashing Krel a reassuring smile. “I’ll be in and out, It’s—” He opened the door and came face to face with a man he didn’t know. Douxie yelped and slammed the door shut again, scrambling for the lock button again.

“Uh…” the man called from the other side of the door. “I guess this one is occupied?” 

“I—” Douxie started to respond, but Krel caught him by the arm. 

“Your accent!” He hissed. “If he goes around saying there’s a weird emo Englishmen in the bathroom, the surprise is ruined!” 

“He’s not gonna—” 

“You just jumped like you thought he was an axe murderer and slammed a door in his face, he’s gonna mention that to someone , and we’ve already been caught by too many people!”

“Is everything okay in there, sir?” The man called, sounding concerned. 

Concern was bad. Concern led to him mentioning this to people.

“Uh, um—” Douxie cleared his throat and put on an American accent. “I’m fine. Everything is fine.”

“Is that seriously your best American accent?” Krel whispered.

“I doubt your’s is any better!” He hissed back.

“Why’d you go southern?”

“It’s the only one I know how to do!”

“Are you sure?” The man said. “You looked startled.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine. Thank you. Please leave.”

A moment passed before he said, “Okay then…” then they heard footsteps down the hall. He was gone.

“Douxie—” Krel started to warn, but he was already opening the door again.

“I won’t get caught, darling, just stay here. I’ll be back. Come on, Archie, with me.”

Claire

“Claire, sweetheart, where are you going?” Her mother asked, following her down the hall.

“I’m fine, mom, I promise, I just need some fresh air.” She had the skirt of her dress hiked up as she went for the fire exit behind the church. “I’ve been cooped up in that room all morning, avoiding Jim, just because he’s not supposed to see my dress, and it’s driving me stir crazy.”

She knew outside that door was an alleyway, so she wasn’t expecting much when she stepped out. There was a dumpster, and a car parched beside it, but not much else. Still, it would do for now. 

Her mother lingered at the doorway while Claire stretched her legs. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine.”

A noise came from the car, and her gaze flicked to it, but there was no one there. She dismissed it at first, only for the sound to come again.

“Is someone there?” She called, glancing at her mother as she summoned shadow energy in the palm of her hand, ready to defend herself if needed. Ever since the titans, and going public, they’d had the occasional problem with paparazzi, and Claire was not willing to deal with that on her wedding day. Absolutely not. 

When no answer came, she repeated herself, louder, “Who’s there?”

Then a little black blur of movement darted out from under the car, and down the alleyway. A cat, maybe? She relaxed. It was just a stray.

Still, the sight of it reminded her of Archie, of those last few moments in Hong Kong, when the exit was closing, and Archie turned back to help his father. Claire felt a pang of guilt deep in her chest. She still blamed herself for that.

Her mother put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Claire, what’s wrong?”

“Just… thinking about Archie and Douxie. That cat kinda looked like him.”

Douxie

Don’t move. Don’t move. Don’t move. Don’t talk. Don’t breathe. Don’t do anything.

Claire was less than five feet from the car, in her wedding dress—she looked lovely in the princess cut—talking about him with her mother. His heart was making a valiant effort to beat through his rib cage, and all he could do was stay flattened to the floor of the car, hugging his guitar, and pray Archie making a break for it was distraction enough for her not to investigate the car further.

“Just…thinking about Archie and Douxie. That cat kinda looked like him,” she sighed. “I miss them.”

Part of him wanted to spring up right there and give her a hug, but he stayed still.

“I know, sweetheart, but you told me yourself, the odds of him waking up in your lifetime are so small…”

“I should call Krel, just to check in, and to thank him for volunteering for Douxie-sitting duty.”

Oh no…

Krel 

His phone rang once, and he answered it immediately, assuming it was Dr. Lake. “I swear we haven’t left!” He blurted out, before even saying hello.

But it was Claire’s voice on the other end. “Left where?”

“Uh— sorry. I thought you were someone else.” He had to pace the bathroom floor, for the sake of his own sanity. “It doesn’t matter. Is something wrong?”

“No, just, I wanted to check in,” she said, then clarified, “About Douxie.” 

Krel shoved the phone between his ear and shoulder, so he’d have both hands free to fidget anxiously. “What— Uh, what about him?”

“I just wanted to know how he’s doing, since you moved him to your apartment. Is he comfortable? Taken care of?” 

“Oh, yeah, I mean, you know Douxie, he’s sleeping like the dead!”

“So, he’s fine?”

“Uh-huh!” He gave a big grin, knowing she couldn’t see it, but it still felt more convincing to do it. “Everything is fine!”

“If you’re sure—”

“I’m very sure. Anyway, congratulations, bye!” He hung up before she could ask any more questions.

Seklos and Gaylen… they were never gonna pull this off.

Chapter Text

Saturday, 12PM

The Wedding

Jim

Standing at the altar, beside Blinky, he was a terrible mix of excited, and grieving as he looked at those empty seats, all with name cards. Here in spirit, he reminded himself, they were here in spirit. Still, he had to reach into his pocket to touch the picture of Toby for comfort.

Blinky gave him a sympathetic smile, likely knowing exactly what Jim was thinking about.

Oh, but when Claire came down the aisle… everything felt like it was okay again. 

She was gorgeous, in her huge flowing white dress, with her hair done up in complex braids, and carrying a bouquet of purple flowers. Stunning . Absolutely stunning. 

It all went by in a blur, he could barely focus on anything beyond Claire. His Claire. Beautiful, wonderful, strong, brave Claire.

It wasn’t until Enrique came out with the rings on a little satin pillow that he tore his gaze from her, and only because she turned to look at her little brother, with such pride in her eyes.

Except Enrique wasn’t just carrying the rings. He stopped halfway down the aisle, fumbled a little note card out of his pocket, and read aloud from it, stiff, and practiced… like someone had rehearsed this with him.

“As much as I want to deliver these rings, I can not. There is someone else here who I believe deserves this honor!” 

Jim and Claire exchanged glances. This wasn’t in the rehearsal, this wasn’t what they practiced, so why—

“Someone who, for the past three days, has fought tirelessly to be here for this moment. He survived a car crash, traveled to China and back, got chased by the police, and much more… but most importantly…” Enrique paused, glancing up from his card to meet his sister’s eyes. “...He woke up.”

Jim’s heart stopped. 

Did he mean…?

Enrique stepped aside, clearing the aisle as someone else stepped through the door.

Claire gasped, one hand flying to her mouth. “Oh my god—”

And there he was, standing at the end of the aisle, not aged a day, and absolutely beaming… with Archie perched on his shoulder. Douxie took a deep breath, adjusted the cuffs of his black button down, and started his way down the aisle, only pausing when he reached Enrique.

“May I?” He asked, reaching for the pillow the rings rested on.

Enrique handed it over with a big, toothy grin.

“Thank you,” Douxie gave the boy a grateful smile and made his way to them.

Jim couldn’t help himself, once Douxie was within arm's reach, he touched his shoulder, just to make sure. He was solid under Jim’s hand. Real . This was real .

“Good morning,” Douxie said with a little shrug, laughing at his own joke.

Claire broke first, tears streaming down her face as she grabbed Douxie and yanked him into a hug. Jim wasted no time joining them, dragging them both closer. It was impossible to tell who was shaking more, who was crying more. 

Except Archie. Archie was purring so goddamn loud.

“How did you…?” Claire managed to get out, pulling back just enough to wipe her eyes.

Douxie passed the rings over to Blinky, who looked suspiciously unsurprised, and took them both by a shoulder. “If you ever thought there was a chance I’d miss your wedding, you’re mental.”

“Right, right, wedding,” Jim laughed, wiping his eyes. “We’re in the middle of something, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, you are,” Douxie couldn’t help but join in Jim’s laughter. “Congratulations, I’m so happy I could be here for this,” He said, before stepping back. He and Archie retreated into the seats, claiming the ones with their names on them, amidst the empty seats of everyone they lost.

Then he gave them a double thumbs up, just like he’d done back at the Battle of the Bands all those years ago, and that drew a laugh from Claire. He really hadn’t changed a bit, had he?

Douxie 

“So why did I need my guitar?” Douxie asked, guitar case in hand as they and the rest of the guests found their tables in the reception hall. 

“Yeah, you didn’t explain that in your text,” Krel said.

Dr. Lake took him by the shoulder. “You’re playing for their first dance.”

“I— I am? Wait, what am I playing?” 

“Anything. Anything you know that’s suitable for a wedding.” She pointed him sternly towards the stage. “Figure it out.” 

Then she turned on her heels and marched off, leaving him sputtering after her. “Wha— wait, I haven’t prepared anything—” 

She got maybe four steps away, then sighed, turned back around and said in a low, dangerous voice, “I have spent the past three days making every single arrangement for you. I ensured you’d have a meal, a seat at a table, a place in the photos— Salmon was not one of the meal options, but you know what I did? I paid my own money to ensure Archie would have a meal today, so if I say you’re playing, you’re playing. Figure. It. Out.” 

“I— yes, ma’am.” 

“Good.” Dr. Lake huffed and walked away. 

“So… what’re you gonna play?” Krel asked, glancing down at the guitar case. 

“Not electric.” Douxie led them to the stage, set the case down and cracked it open. “That’s not the right vibe for a wedding.”

“Do you have an acoustic?” 

“I have any instrument I want to have.” Douxie pulled his staff from the case, and let his magic flow into it, reshaping the electric guitar into an acoustic one. “It’s magic . If I told it to turn into a trombone, it would. If I wanted a grand piano, it could do that too. If I wanted a cheap plastic Dollar Store harmonica—”

“I don’t think Jim would forgive you if you played a harmonica for his first dance,” Archie interrupted, settling down in the empty guitar case.

“Probably not,” Douxie cracked a smile at the thought, “But it would be funny.”

Krel gave a fond roll of his eyes. “You’re the only one who would find that funny. Dr. Lake would actually kill you.” 

“Or at the very least, beat you back into a coma,” Archie said.

“Okay, okay!” He put both hands up in surrender, still holding the guitar. “I promise not to play the harmonica.” 

“Good,” Krel laughed, took him by the back of the neck, and pulled Douxie in for a kiss. “I’m going to leave you to it. Knock ‘em dead, babe.” 

“Thanks, I’ll find you after.”

He watched Krel leave, then hopped up on the stage to get set up, still uncertain what to play, and running out of time before the newlyweds were supposed to make their grand entrance. 

“Hisirdoux,” Blinky greeted as he came to the edge of the stage, looking up at him. “Dr. Lake has requested I inquire what song you’re playing? Jim and Claire are meant to make their entrance any minute now.” 

“I don’t know. Do you think they’d prefer guitar, piano, or violin, or—”

“I thought you only played guitar—”

“I play everything. I’m over nine hundred years old, Blinky, what do you think I’ve been doing that whole time? Sticking to one instrument?” 

“I… suppose I should have known that.” 

“Go with guitar,” Archie spoke up, “I know for a fact you’ve haven’t practiced piano in nearly a decade, and that’s not including the coma.”

“Good point… Uh,” He grimaced down at his guitar, full well knowing most of the songs he knew off the top of his head were iffy for a wedding. “I think I have something that will work.” 

Archie narrowed his eyes suspiciously, “Is it—”

“Yes, it is.” 

“Interesting choice, but alright.”

“Don’t judge me, this is extremely last minute, and I know for a fact Claire loves that movie.” Douxie grabbed a chair from the side of the stage and pulled it towards the center. He sat down and hurried through tuning his guitar. “Blinky, go tell Dr. Lake I’m ready, please?”

“Of course,” He left, moving with purpose. 

“Alright, Archie,” Douxie took a second to fix his hair and straighten out his clothes. “Let’s hope this isn’t a disaster.”

He was a jittery bundle of nerves when Jim and Claire made their entrance, to crowd applause and many congratulations, but the look on Jim’s face when he saw Douxie sitting there, guitar in hand, made it worth it. Prepared or not, he’d do it for Jim’s sake.

As they took the floor for their first dance as husband and wife, Douxie took a steadying breath, and began his song…

He only knew he made the right choice when Claire’s face lit up and turned to look at him like it was a pleasant surprise. Thank god he didn’t fuck it up, that would have been embarrassing. 

Douxie’s chest felt as though it was bursting with pride in them as he watched their dance, but still his gaze wandered to Krel… across the reception hall, staring right back at Douxie with this look on his face.

Awe . 

Krel gave him a little nod of encouragement, and Douxie’s fingers nearly tripped over the notes as a result. 

Before he knew it, the song was over, people were clapping for the happy couple, and Jim was looking right at him, mouthing a quiet but heartfelt, ‘Thank you.’ 

Douxie put one hand over his heart and nodded back at Jim. ‘Of course.’ 

And then Blinky was announcing it was time to give toasts, so he packed away his guitar and climbed off the stage to go find his seat with Krel. Archie followed at his heels.

“You did great,” Krel immediately took Douxie’s hand, pulling him in for a kiss.

“Thank you.’

“Here,” He passed over a glass of white wine. “You looked like you were about to come apart with nerves up there, so I got you a glass.” 

“Oh, god bless you, Darling.” He eagerly took the glass as he sat down. 

The second his ass was in the chair, Archie was claiming his lap to sit in. 

Dr. Lake was the first to give her toast, standing at the table, beside her son, gushing over how proud of him she was, and joking about how stressful it was to be the only one who knew what was happening.

Blinky was next, crying about how far Jim had come over the years, what a man he’d grown into, and what a sorceress Claire was becoming.

Then came Claire’s mother, then father, both laughing about how much they hated Jim when they first met him but telling of how fond they’d grown of him.

Then the final toast ended, Dr. Lake stood back up and announced, “We actually have one last person, I know it’s a bit of a surprise, but him being here was a surprise, so, Douxie, you have the floor.”

“Thank you, Dr. Lake,” He squeezed Krel’s hand before dropping it in favor of helping Archie onto his shoulder so he wouldn’t get dumped on the floor when Douxie stood up. He raised his glass and cleared his throat before beginning, “From my perspective, three days ago we were fighting the titans together, side by side, and now I find myself five years in the future, giving a toast at your wedding!” He laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. “It’s incredible, and I’ve got so much I want to say to you both, most of it can be boiled down to thank you,” He stressed those words, holding meaningful eye contact with Claire and Jim. 

Claire wiped at her eyes, a soft smile on her face as she mouthed a silent, ‘You’re so welcome,’

“But I must say…” Douxie hesitated, glancing down at his glass instead, focusing on the way the wine moved with the sway of his hand. “I’ve never believed in forever when it came to love. I think mortals use that word so liberally, because to you,” He forced himself to meet their eyes, “It doesn’t really exist. Forever is a concept to you, something mortals will never have to face the harsh realities of, yet you believe in it so wholeheartedly… Whereas, to someone of my age, forever is a very real possibility, and I’ve never believed in it…” He trailed off, risking a glance at Krel. “...until this moment. I’ve seen you two endure so much hardship, so many trials, so much loss , and never once did you waver from each other.”

Douxie put his free hand over his heart, taking a pause to compose himself. “After the past three days, standing here today, looking at you two… I think you’ve changed my mind about forever,” He gave a laugh, “Because if anyone could do it, it’s the two crazy in love idiots who defeated Gunmar the Black,” He raised his glass higher, along with his voice, speaking of victory and triumph with the excitement it deserved, “Defeated Angor Rot, bested the Darklands, traveled through time , saved the world together , and surely much more I’ve yet to hear about over the past five years. So, here’s to Jim, Claire, and forever!” 

He turned to address one last thing, reaching for Krel’s hand to give it a grateful squeeze. “And a very special thank you to Krel Tarron. I never would have made it here today if not for him.”

Krel squeezed his hand back, a fondness in his eyes that couldn’t be denied. “It was my pleasure.”

Forever actually sounded quite lovely right about now… Maybe it was time to give it a chance.

Chapter Text

Two Weeks After The Wedding

“So… remind me why you needed our help with this?” Jim asked, standing awkwardly in Douxie’s new empty living room as he watched box after box of his belongings magically float into the apartment. “Clearly you don’t need us to carry things.”

“It’s more fun with company.” Douxie shrugged, not bothering to look up from his bracer as he directed different boxes to their places. “And I mostly need help unpacking.” 

“It’s a really nice apartment…” Claire said, peeking out the window. “Good view.” 

Krel was already digging into a box of kitchen supplies. “I’m actually the one who found it. Douxie, where do you want this?” 

“Just put it all on the kitchen counter for now, darling. I’ll sort it later.” 

“Alright,” Krel started taking items out of the box, setting them on the counter. 

“So…” Jim started, rocking on his heels. “I’m still confused on how you two ended up dating?” 

Dating was a strong word. They hadn’t really discussed it yet… Sure, they flirted, and called each other pet names, and Douxie spent almost the entire past two weeks ‘crashing on Krel’s couch’ —at least that’s what they called it. He never slept on the couch .

They did what couples did. Douxie kissed him goodbye every morning when Krel went to work, they slept together, they cuddled on the couch every afternoon while watching tv, he helped Krel with his music, and Krel helped Douxie with his—

But they hadn’t used any labels yet. They hadn’t talked about it yet. Douxie always excused it in his mind as they were… testing the waters. Finding out if they worked . 

But Jim was looking at him expectantly, waiting for an answer Douxie didn’t have, so he cracked a shit eating grin and said, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Jim punched him in the arm.

Douxie laughed and shoved him away, grinning as he played the victim. “You shouldn't punch a man fresh out of a coma, Jim, I’m still recovering!” 

“You look fine to me!” Jim launched himself at Douxie in a playful attack.

“Ah!” He scrambled away, ducking behind Claire. “Your husband is trying to kill me!” 

“What makes you think I’m safe to hide behind?” She summoned shadow energy in the palm of her hand, a huge mischievous grin crossing her face.

“You have not matured a bit in the past five years!” Douxie made a break for the kitchen, with both Claire and Jim right on his heels. “Krel, Archie, help! I’m being assaulted in my own home!” He dove behind Krel for protection. 

Krel instantly went into goalie mode, blocking Claire and Jim with his body, both of them trying to duck around him to get at the wizard.

Douxie grabbed a spatula from off the counter, wielding it like a sword. “Back off, you heathens!”

“Only if you tell us how you two got together!”

“There’s nothing to tell, Jim,” Krel said, taking the spatula from Douxie’s hand to set it aside. “I asked him out, he said yes, end of story.” 

And that sounded suspiciously like a confirmation. Did that mean they were dating? Like, officially? He didn’t want to ask in front of Jim and Claire, so he kept his mouth shut.

“There’s gotta be more to it than that,” Claire said. 

“Well, it happened in Hong Kong, if that adds any romance for you,” Douxie wrapped his arms around Krel’s waist, resting his chin on his maybe -boyfriend’s shoulder. 

Krel leaned into the touch, putting his hands over Douxie’s. “He tried to let me down gently at first, because he didn’t know I’m over four hundred.” 

“Hey, I thought you were like twenty-three, alright? I don’t date mortals.” 

“So… we’re dating?” Krel asked, glancing over his shoulder at Douxie. 

Oh.

Oh, Krel wasn’t sure either, was he? He spent the past two weeks waiting for Krel to confirm something, and Douxie was just now realizing Krel was probably waiting for the same thing.

“Uh, well,” Douxie winced at his own awkwardness. “Aren’t we?” 

A little smile tugged at the corner of Krel’s mouth, and he nodded. “Yeah, I guess we are.” 

Two Years After The Wedding

“Say hi to Uncle Douxie and Uncle Krel,” Claire cooed as she passed the baby over. 

The moment the infant was in his arms, Douxie’s heart melted. Oh god, he was so cute… barely a week old, all red-faced, and fast asleep. 

They were in Claire and Jim’s apartment, in the nursery, painted green. 

“He’s precious…” He exhaled, holding him like he might break if handled incorrectly.

Krel crowded into Douxie to see for himself. “What’s his name?” 

“Tobias James Lake,” Jim said proudly, pulling his wife closer by the waist. 

“That makes sense,” Douxie couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re named after a good man, little one.”

“We brought a gift,” Krel said, turning to grab the bag.

“You didn’t have to—” Claire tried to wave it off, but Douxie cut her off.

“We wanted to.” He could barely take his eyes off the little boy, rocking him gently.

Krel handed over the gift. “It was mostly Douxie.” 

Claire took the bag and carefully picked out the tissue paper. When she saw what was inside, she laughed and shook her head. “Seriously?” 

“I wanted to get him started early,” Douxie said defensively.

“What is it?” Jim took the bag to see for himself and pulled out a bright red kiddy guitar toy. As soon as he saw it, he barked a laugh, “I think he might be a little too young for this. Douxie.” 

“Don’t knock it just yet, they grow up fast.” He pulled baby Toby closer to his chest, rearranging the infant so he had a free hand to point at the bag. “There’s more in there too. I also got a little drum toy, and a keyboard—”

“Douxie—”

“I wanted to give him options. I’m not gonna shoehorn the poor little thing into being a guitarist if he prefers drums—”

“I really tried to stop him,” Krel said, “He’s dead set on making sure your son likes music.” 

“Well, I’ve heard Jim’s music taste, and clearly little Toby will need someone to show him better taste—”

“Okay, I’m feeling very attacked right now. What about Claire’s music taste? Why are you only going after me?” 

“Because I know Claire’s got great taste—”

“You’re only saying that because she was a fan of The Band That Must Not Be Named back when you met.”

Douxie wrinkled his nose in distaste at the mention of ADP but couldn’t deny Jim was right. “Well, back then they were actually good.”

“Babe,” Krel put a hand on Douxie’s lower back and tried to steer him back on topic. “Why don’t you tell them the other part of the gift?”

“Other part?” Claire blinked. “There’s more?” 

“Don’t tell me there’s a grand piano or something on its way—”

“No,” Douxie laughed, shaking his head. “Nothing like that.” He looked down at baby Toby’s little face, heart swelling with love for the sweet thing. “Just a promise that should he ever decide he wants to learn an instrument, that he’ll have a teacher.” 

Jim gave a soft smile at that. “Thank you, but can we ask you for one more promise?” 

“Anything,” He answered without hesitation. 

“We talked about it,” Claire began, glancing at her husband, then back at Douxie. “And we know Trollhunting is dangerous, but we also know it’s not something Jim can choose not to do—”

“And Claire made it very clear she’s not willing to completely step aside and leave me to fight on my own, so—” 

“Basically, what we’re saying is,” Claire reached to touch her baby, smoothing the sparse hair aside. “If something happens, we need you to look out for Toby.” 

Douxie could only stare. “Me? What about your parents—”

“Custody would go to my mom first, then Claire’s parents if she can’t,” Jim hurried to say, “But there’s no guarantee Toby’s grandparents will still be alive, or capable of taking in a child, but—”

“But you’re always going to be young enough, and capable enough to look after a kid,” Claire said, making meaningful eye contact with Douxie. “So, if it comes down to it, you’re our next choice.”

“We need you to promise us,” Jim said. 

Douxie glanced at Krel almost on instinct, searching for another opinion, or help, or— he wasn’t sure what he was looking for. “I don’t know if I’m the right choice to—” But he looked down at little baby Toby again and felt his heart clench at the mere thought of him losing his parents. 

He knew what it was to lose one's parents young. Douxie had lost his to King Arthur’s war when he was just six. He barely even remembered his parents, he had a few blurry details, like his father's magic was yellow, and his mother called him 'little bug,' but even their names were lost to him now... and Douxie didn’t know where he’d be right now if Merlin hadn’t taken him in.

Maybe it was time to pay that forward. 

“Okay.” He nodded determinedly. “I promise . He’ll always be safe with me.” 

“We know he would be. Thank you.” 

When Douxie and Krel left, he was still grappling with this new idea of his future… as a parental figure. Sure, it was entirely an ‘in case the worst comes to pass’ type of situation. It might not ever happen, but still, it scared Douxie a little. 

Being Uncle Douxie seemed like it would be easy. He’d be great at being a cool uncle. Douxie would be the coolest fucking uncle but being a legal guardian was totally different ball game. 

Krel was side eyeing him on the drive to Douxie’s apartment. “So, you seem freaked out.”

“I am a bit,” Douxie admitted.

“Do you… not want kids?” There was a hesitance in his question, like the answer mattered . 

“That’s not it.” He shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t want kids someday, it’s that I always thought of it as a ‘someday’ thing, and not a ‘hey, your friend might die in battle in the next eighteen years, and if that happens, you have to adopt his kid’ thing.”  

“So, the timeline has been bumped up, and that’s what scares you?”

“Yes.” He nodded. 

“So, what was your original timeline?” Krel pulled down Douxie’s street. “In your mind, when was ‘someday?’”

“Uh,” He grimaced as he tried to pin down an age. “I always assumed I wouldn’t even think about kids until I was at least a thousand.”

“So, next hundred Kelton?” 

“About, yeah. Maybe a bit longer. Did you want kids?” 

“Someday,” He shrugged, and parked in front of Douxie’s apartment complex. Neither moved to get out though.

“And when is ‘someday’ for you?”

“Well, for a while it was whenever my parents decided it was time for a politically arranged marriage, which I was fine with, but I always hoped for—” He risked a glance at Douxie, then finished weakly, “—more.”

Douxie leaned across the seat to take Krel’s chin in his hand and pulled his wonderful boyfriend to face him. “You deserve more.” He needed Krel to know that.

Krel’s eyes softened, and he reached to cup Douxie’s cheek. “And would you give it to me?” 

He just barely bit back the automatic ‘I’d give you anything,’ because he knew the answer mattered to Krel, and if he promised something like that, he had to mean it. Krel was essentially asking him, here and now, if kids were on the table for them. If that was something they could do together one day. Whatever his answer, he needed to mean it with every drop of blood in his veins, not only for Krel’s sake, but for his own.

So Douxie searched his own heart for any doubts of what he was willing to give to Krel… and found none. 

“Yes, darling, I would.” 

Ten Years After The Wedding

“Uncle Douxie!” Toby’s voice rang through his apartment, shouting at the top of his little eight-year-old lungs. “I’m here!” 

Douxie winced as he heard the front door slam behind the kid, and he poked his head out of the kitchen to find Toby in the living room, still in his school uniform, backpack on. “Do your parents know you’re here?” 

Toby shrugged, holding the straps of his bag, and the spare key Douxie had given him. “I dunno.” 

He gave the boy a stern look. “Did you tell them you were coming here instead of home?” 

“Uh… I don’t remember.” 

Douxie sighed and took out his phone to text Claire. “You have to tell your mum and dad when you go somewhere, little bug.” 

“Mom’s busy with Cas.” Toby plopped onto the couch, shrugging off his bag. 

“Well, your sister’s very little, she needs a lot of attention.” Douxie hit send on the text and put his phone away. He sat down beside Toby and took the bag. “Do you have homework?” 

“No.” 

“I know you’re lying, bug,” He unzipped the bookbag and pulled out his folder. “What’ve you got? English? Maths? History?” 

“Math.” 

Douxie found the worksheet and set it on the coffee table. “Do you need help with it?” 

“Yes, please.” Toby nodded and grabbed his pencil case. “But can Uncle Krel help me instead? You’re bad at math.”

Oh, children and their brutal honesty… He wasn’t wrong though.

“Uncle Krel’s not here, bug. I’m the best you’re gonna get.” 

“Where’s Uncle Krel?” 

“I assume at his home.” Douxie skimmed down the worksheet. Simple multiplication. No matter how shit he was at math, he could handle simple multiplication. 

“I thought he lived with you.”

Douxie looked up in alarm. “Why’d you think that?” 

“Because he’s always here. And you’re married, aren’t you?”

“Uh—” He cringed. “No? We’re not married, bug.”

“Oh.” Toby looked confused by that, eyebrows furrowing together. “Why not?” 

That was a fair question, and Douxie needed to carefully consider his words before answering, looking for an age-appropriate way to explain immortality to an eight-year-old. Yes, ten years of dating without moving in together or getting married might’ve seemed odd to a mortal, but they weren’t mortal. They weren’t using a mortal’s timeframe for their relationship.

They were moving at their own pace. 

“Toby,” Douxie put an arm over the kid’s shoulders and gave him an affectionate squeeze. “Your Uncle Krel and I love each other very much, but we’re not quite ready for that step, okay?” 

“But you’ve been together like forever! Why not?”

And little did Toby know; he’d answered his own question.

Forever . 

That was why.

Despite his willingness to give forever a chance after the wedding, it was still scary sometimes. He wasn’t sure he could take another broken promise of forever , especially not from the one man he actually wanted to spend it with. 

Krel was the only person Douxie had ever loved that he could imagine spending forever with, and the thought of getting married, making that promise of forever, only for it to be broken a few centuries down the line— 

He couldn’t do it.

Douxie would eagerly spend forever with Krel, but the act of promising it was too dangerous. 

“You don’t have to worry about that, bug.” Douxie ruffled the kids’ hair. “All you have to worry about right now is your maths homework, alright?”

“Fine,” The kid groaned miserably. 

They got about halfway through the worksheet before the front door opened, and Krel stepped in, spare key in hand. “Oh, hey!” Krel greeted when he saw Toby. “What are you doing here, Toby?” 

“Uncle Douxie’s helping me with my math homework, but he’s bad at it, so can you help me instead?” 

Krel laughed into his hand. “He’s bad at it, huh?” 

Douxie poked Toby’s side. “You only think I’m bad at maths because your Uncle Krel’s a genius.” 

“Alright, let’s see what we’re working with,” Krel said, dropping his bag on the floor beside the door and joining them on the couch. “Multiplication?” 

“Yeah,” Toby nodded, passing the worksheet to Krel. 

“Well, the good news is, Douxie’s help seemed to be adequate, since you got everything right.”

Sure, it was simple multiplication, but the praise still made Douxie grin. “Told you I’m not bad at maths.” 

Toby tugged on Krel’s sleeve. “Uncle Douxie told me you’re not married, is that true?” 

“Oh, uh,” Krel blinked hard at the question, then glanced at Douxie. “Yes, that’s true. Anyway,” He cleared his throat, then pointed at the worksheet. “Let’s stay on task, okay?”

A strained tension held in the air until Toby left to walk home. It was just around the block, and Toby knew the way, so no one was concerned about the kid going home by himself. Still, when Douxie shut the door behind him, he found Krel giving him an odd look. 

“What? What’s that face for?” 

Krel hesitated, as if he was deciding whether or not to say it, then finally asked, “Is marriage in the cards for us?” 

Oh. It was gonna be one of these conversations. 

Douxie sighed and sat down on the couch beside Krel, taking his hand. “I don’t know, darling.” 

Krel brushed Douxie’s bangs aside and cupped his face, thumb gently caressing his cheek. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I don’t…” He trailed off, then restarted. “I told you ‘forever’ feels like a doomed promise, right?” 

“I thought you believed in forever now?” 

“I do, or I’m trying to. It’s just, weddings feel like a promise, and the promise of forever is—” 

“I see.” Krel frowned a little, then lifted Douxie’s face by the chin, forcing him to meet his eyes. “Douxie, have I ever broken a promise to you?” 

“No.” 

“And do you think I would ever promise something I wasn’t willing to give?” 

“No.” 

“I know you don’t want me to promise forever,” Krel dropped his hand from Douxie’s face to instead take his hands, pulling them over his chest, over his core. “But I can promise you that there is nothing strong enough to take me from you. I’m not going anywhere. Ever. I have every intention of spending the rest of my life with you, with or without rings.”

And that stunned Douxie into silence, all he could do was stare at the love of his life, tears in his eyes.

“Douxie,” Krel gave a little smile, expression full of love. “We don’t have to get married if you don’t want to. If that scares you, if you hate that idea, then I can be content carrying on exactly as we have been—” 

“But you want a wedding, don’t you?” 

“Not more than I want to be with you.”

And that made Douxie want to give Krel something , to do something in gratitude, to show Krel that he felt the same—

“Move in with me,” Douxie blurted out before could really think it through, but the words felt right as he said them. 

At the look of surprise on Krel’s face, Douxie back peddled and changed course. “Or— Or I could move in with you, or we could find a new place, or— or we could not move in together at all? Whatever you want is—”

“Yes,” Krel cut him off, a joyous smile spreading across his face. “Yes! I’ll move in with you.”

Fifteen Years After The Wedding

It had been a very long day for Douxie. He got up at ass crack in the morning for work—he’d gotten a job at a local wizard's shop, which was a thing that apparently existed now, just out in the open for anyone to see—and had to deal with some woman throwing a fit about the price of fae dust.

Like, yes lady, it’s expensive. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get fae dust? 

Then after work, he had to pick Toby and Cassie up from school, and as much as he loved the kids, Toby had recently entered his moody teenager phase right on schedule, at thirteen, and little five-year-old Cassie was still learning what an ‘inside voice’ was. 

It wasn’t the most pleasant car ride, but he got them dropped off at Jim and Claire’s place and was finally on his way home.

The idea of collapsing into bed for a nap, cuddled up to his wonderful boyfriend was a soothing thought that got him through the day.

But then he opened the door, and found Krel sitting on the couch, and Archie on the coffee table, both wearing matching looks of terrible guilt. 

Part of him wanted to just close the door and leave, to let them work out whatever it was they looked so panicked about, but the looks on their faces only got worse when they laid eyes on Douxie… and that told him he was involved somehow.

Taking a deep breath, and preparing himself for whatever was about to come, he shut the door behind him, dropped his bag on the floor, and asked, “What’s wrong?” 

“Okay, before you get mad—”

“See, leading with that doesn’t help,” Douxie cut Krel off. “Just tell me what’s wrong.”

“It was completely unintentional—”

“We weren’t trying to—”

“It just kinda happened—”

Douxie put up a hand to silence them, scowling. “Is there an animal in this apartment? Cause you’re talking like you’ve accidentally taken in a stray.” 

“No.”

“Then what did you break?” 

“We didn’t break anything.”

“Then what do you look so freaked out about?” 

“It’s not…” Archie cringed, “... inherently a bad thing, we’re just not sure how you’ll react to it.” 

“Oh, for god’s— use your words. What is it?” 

Archie and Krel exchanged glances before Archie hesitantly said, “Before I tell you, I need you to know that this changes nothing , you’re still my familiar, and I love you, okay?” 

Okay, now Douxie was scared. Still, he forced out a “Alright.” 

“But,” Archie risked a glance at Krel. “I accidently formed a second familiar bond with Krel.” 

Some gear in Douxie’s brain got clogged, and suddenly nothing worked anymore. 

“I— what?” 

“We bonded. Accidentally,” Krel said, all four hands fidgeting in his lap. “Are you mad?” 

“Mad?” He balked. The question baffled him. Why would he be mad? What, did they expect him to be jealous? “No, I’m not— why would I be—” He took a second to collect his thoughts, then sighed and joined them on the couch, putting one hand on Krel’s shoulder, and one on Archie’s. “You two are the most important people in my life. I adore you both, I’m not mad, I’m overjoyed!”

The tension seeped out of Krel at his words. “You are?” 

“Yes!” Douxie turned to cup his face, beaming. “Darling, this is good news! The two people I love the most love each other!” 

Krel kissed him at that, and Douxie melted into it. 

This development brought a new reality to forever. 

Familiar bonds could only be broken upon death, so now Archie was linking them together permanently . They would always be in each other's lives now. There was no way around that reality, and Douxie couldn’t help but think that sounded an awful lot like a promise of forever.

And somehow… it wasn’t as scary anymore. 

Because it wasn’t only a promise, it was an unbreakable promise. It was a guarantee .

Thirty Years After The Wedding

It felt like yesterday that Douxie was holding little newborn Toby in his arms, and now he was helping grown man Toby pick a suit for his wedding . Mortal lives seemed so fleeting… How had so much time passed already?

“Uncle Douxie,” Toby said, looking himself up and down in the mirror. “Does this look okay?” 

Douxie leaned into Krel’s side, making himself comfortable on the couch. They were in one of those absurdly fancy wedding shops with a whole viewing room beside the dressing rooms, with couches for family and friends to sit at and hype up the bride or groom. 

“You look like your father.” 

Krel swatted Douxie for that comment, “You look great, Toby. Don’t listen to him.” 

“Hey, I didn’t say it as an insult! But I will be telling your father you took it as one.” 

Cas, on the other side on the couch, kicked Douxie. “Tell him, we don’t care if dad knows we make fun of him.”

He kicked at her back. “Shouldn’t you be at class?” 

She tsked, “I can miss one class, it’s fine. My professors don’t care.” 

“Do your parents know you’re skipping out on the college they’re paying for?” 

Cas gave a guilty smile. “No, and they won’t ever find out, right, Uncle Douxie? Uncle Krel? My two most favorite uncles?” 

Toby snorted at his sisters’ blatant attempt to suck up to them. “Don’t fall for it, don’t let her manipulate you—”

“Shut up, Toby,” She snapped, then turned her attention fully back on Douxie. “You would never tell on me, right, dear, sweet , Uncle Douxie, for whom I am named after—”

“Just because your parents named you Casperan does not give you a free pass for anything, Cas. I mean, they didn’t even use my first name, they used my last!” 

Cas, realizing she wasn’t getting anywhere with this, huffed and crossed her arms, slumping into the couch. “That’s cause your first name sucks, Hisirdoux.” 

“It was a perfectly normal name for the Middle Ages—”

“It’s not the Middle Ages anymore, old man,” Toby said, readjusting his tie in the mirror. 

He gaffed in offense, then called to one of the shop workers. “Excuse me, Miss, you have wine, right?” 

She nodded. “Sure do! Would you like a glass?” 

“Yes, please and thank you.” He glanced at Krel. “Darling, wine?” 

Krel nodded. “I’ll take a glass.” 

“Toby, you’re old enough to drink, right?” 

“I’m twenty-eight, Douxie—” 

“I’m nine hundred and fifty-six, bug, twenty-eight is like nothing.. Twenty-eight years go by in a blink! From my perspective, you were a newborn yesterday. Forgive me for not remembering your exact age.” 

“Can I have a glass?” Cas asked, perking up. 

Krel stopped Douxie before he could say yes, “No. She’s only asking because she thinks you won’t remember her age either. She’s still a kelton short.” 

“You’re no fun, Uncle Krel.” 

“And you’re a menace , Cas.” 

“Toby, do you want a glass or not?” Douxie asked again. 

“Sure.”

“Three glasses of wine, please,” he said to the worker. “Thank you.” 

“Coming right up!” She flashed a polite smile, then headed off. 

“So, yay or nay to this suit?” Toby asked, giving a little spin. “We don’t have all day.” 

“Nay, try another.” Douxie gave a thumbs down. 

“I agree,” Cas nodded along, glancing her brother up and down. “Douxie’s right, it makes you look like dad in his wedding photos.”

“Alright, next suit,” Toby grabbed another suit from where he had his picks waiting and headed into the dressing room. 

The wine was delivered while they waited, and Douxie had to move Toby’s glass out of Cas’s reach while Krel swatted her hand. 

“Oh, come on!” She pouted. “I’m only a few months short—”

“Hey, I’m not telling you to never drink, I just refuse to buy you wine. Your mum would kill me,” Douxie huffed, then took a sip of his drink. 

Toby exited the dressing room in a new suit, giving a little spin and a big grin. “Okay, thoughts?” 

“You still look like your father—” 

“Okay, you know what, Uncle Douxie? You’re banned from criticizing my suit.” Toby laughed, good naturedly, “You can have all the opinions you want about suits when you and Krel finally tie the knot.” 

There was a shift in the air at the mention of him and Krel possibly getting married, but neither Toby nor Cas seemed to notice. They just carried on bickering about suits, and whether or not Toby looked like Jim… and Douxie sat there, sipping his wine, trying not to notice that Krel was side eyeing him.

Then Cas snapped out of her conversation with Toby to say, “You guys are playing for the wedding, right?” 

“Hm? Oh, yes.” Douxie nodded. 

“Douxie’s playing for the first dance, and I’m DJing at the reception,” Krel said, placing a hand on Douxie’s knee. 

They learned a long time ago that their music styles differed too much for them to play together, but they still loved and respected each other’s talent and art. Douxie regularly found himself listening to one of Krel’s tracks while working, and he’d stumbled across Krel doing the same with his. 

“You played for mom and dad’s first dance, right?” 

“Yeah, I did. That wedding was actually how Krel and I got together,” Douxie took Krel’s hand, and kissed his knuckles. 

“Wait,” Cas gave them an odd look. “That was—” She paused to do some mental math, then said, “—like thirty years ago. You got together thirty years ago and you’re still just boyfriends?” She pointed at Toby, “Tobes and Marissa only dated for two years and they’re getting married!” 

“They’re mortals,” Douxie pointed out. “Thirty years is a perfectly reasonable amount of time for two immortals to date—” 

“So, what?” Cas interrupted. “You’re gonna date for fifty more years, then get married after we’re all dead and can’t attend your wedding?”

“Well, no—” 

“She makes a good point,” Toby said, “Do you have any idea how mad mom would be if she didn’t get to go to your wedding?” 

She’d come back from the grave just to kick his ass, Douxie knew that. 

“Dad too,” Cas agreed. “You guys' better hurry up and get married before we’re all dead.”

And that comment stuck with Douxie well after they went home. It kept him awake that night, staring at their bedroom ceiling, trying to make sense of everything he was feeling. 

The familiar bond guaranteed they’d be in each other’s lives until the end. Krel promised nothing would take him away from Douxie… what was left standing in the way? What reason did he have for putting it off? 

“Krel?” He called softly, unsure if he was still awake.

“Hm?” Krel gave a little hum in response. 

“Darling, you want a wedding, right?” 

And that got Krel’s eyes to shoot open. “What did you say?” 

“You want a wedding, yes?”

Krel rolled over onto this side to face Douxie. “I told you, we don’t have to if you don’t want—”

“Forget what I want for a second,” He took Krel’s hands, holding them over his heart. “What do you want?” 

“I—” He hesitated before confessing, “Yes, I want a wedding, and I want our friends to be there—”

“So, soon then?” At least within the next few decades, before Jim or Claire bit it.

“We don’t have to—”

“Krel, stop worrying about what I want for one second, please!” 

“But—” 

“What I want is to give you what you want, darling! If you want a wedding, we will have a wedding!” 

Krel sighed, shaking his head, “Douxie—” 

“I’m ready , Krel.” He cupped his face, chest swelling with love for his wonderful, incredible man, “I want to be your husband . I want forever. With you.”

There were tears gathering in Krel’s eyes, and a disbelieving smile on his face. He kissed Douxie, soft, and sweet, and so tenderly, then pulled back just enough to whisper against Douxie’s lips. “Then can I ask you?”

And for a second, Douxie could have sworn he was back in Hong Kong, on a hoverboard in the middle of nowhere, with Krel saying— 

‘Can I ask you again?’ 

‘Ask me what?’ 

‘On a date.’

Douxie nodded, his nose bumping Krel’s at the movement, but refusing to draw back even an inch. “Yes.” 

“I— I don’t have a ring—”

“You said you would be with me with or without one,” Douxie laughed, already crying.

And Krel gave that beautiful little smile, shoulders shaking with laughter like he just couldn’t believe this was happening. “I did say that didn’t I?” 

He couldn’t bear to wait another moment, “Ask me, please.” 

Krel took a deep breath, steadying himself, then shuffled closer to his lover in the bed, holding him closer as he asked, barely above an exhale, “Hisirdoux Casperan, love of my life, will you marry me?” 

“Darling,” Douxie caressed his cheek, chest so full of love he thought he might burst. “Nothing would make me happier.”