Blood of my Brother

Decisions

I apologize for not getting this posted yesterday! By the time I remembered, it was after midnight and I was studying for an exam.

The fanart above was done by @artist.geek555 on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/p/CI_gN9iF1Rb/

And check out this one by @toatoons! https://www.instagram.com/p/CI_WrrEFl8M/

Trigger warnings: 1 very injured boyo, 1 injured person who hates said boyo, blood, scars, panic attacks, self-deprecation, touch aversion, concussion, references to prison abuse, like LOTS of scars

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Their feet slid across the falling rubble, skidding, slipping, unable to find purchase in the depth of the wreckage that crashed and collided around them. Cold light filtered around them, just enough for them to see the broken stones and branches that threatened to knock them out. They bounced from perch to perch, dancing in a dangerous maze as they spiraled further and further down. Adira's sword shattered a block as it spun towards their heads. Hands clenched tightly together, they dropped gracefully through the center of the Tree, the dying light of the vines flickering distantly below them.

Hector yanked Adira off course as a boulder bounced off a wall and flew towards them. He sprang off a ruined wall and pulled her along, their movements perfectly in sync. Their years of training as a team rushed back, and he was aware of her every move and breath. When one depended on their siblings to keep them alive, they learned every habit, every gesture, every pattern of thought. They were a single unit, their blood-bond forged in the heat of battle, one mind in two bodies. And oh, how he'd missed that! How the aching loneliness pierced at him day by day, longing for his siblings to return and fight by his side, rest by his side, in war or peace. They were a part of him, and the years away had carved a hole in his heart. For all their fighting, for all their disagreements, for all their declarations that they were better off on their own, for every time they battled each other with blood in their minds and pain in their hearts, they all knew it was a lie. They all knew they missed a part of themselves when they were apart. It was a bond only rivaled by the truest love of a soulmate. Hector supposed that was why Quirin left; he found that truer love. It didn't hurt any less, though, knowing that. He'd tried to be happy for him, but that was like being happy with someone cutting off his left arm. He'd missed his siblings, blast it, and if he would never see Quirin again and would likely lose Adira again once this was all over, he'd enjoy the time he had with his sister, even if it was for a cause he wished had never come to pass.

The ground rushed up below them, the last vestiges of the green glow fading from sight. The Tree continued to collapse as they slid across the wreckage and rolled to a stop at the bottom. The rubble rained down among them as their eyes scanned the pit, searching for the blue of the spear to light their way. They dodged the debris as they ran, their expert balance challenged by the dangerous footing below.

"Varian!" Hector yelled. "Varian, where are you? Talk to me, please!" Beside him, Adira was calling as well. Dust coated the wounds on his arm and head and lodged in his throat. He coughed and kept yelling. Varian might already be buried. Might be dead.

He shut that line of thinking down immediately. His kid had come too far to die now. He had to have faith. Varian was fine, just maybe dazed or unconscious.

A large piece of wood, torn from the walls of the Tree, ricocheted toward them. They ducked and rolled, never losing their grip on each other's hand. As they leaped up, Adira suddenly pulled him off to the right. A section of stone wall slammed into where they had been standing and tumbled forward. They dove against the base of a rock as the wall crashed down on them, stopping inches above their heads. Hector started to move out from under it, but Adira pulled him back. She screamed something in his ear, the sound dulled by the thundering around them. She leaned closer and tried again.