We go down, together

Olivia

I could no longer feel the rise and fall of Sebastian's chest against me. I turned my head to get a better look at him, the motion felt agonizingly slow. His gaze was locked onto my leg, simmering anger in his brown orbs. His body became fuzzy and my vision tilted with the world.

Oh no. Get a grip.

"-erlin's sake Sebastian, what is-"

A noise came out of him, or perhaps a word. Muffled jibberish coming off their tongues. I strained my eyes in an attempt to listen.

Something about a leg?

Oh MY leg. Duh.

"-t are you talking about?" Ominis' question felt disconnected from his mouth as the words traveled across the space but his lips had not yet moved.

Ugh stop talking about me as if I was not right here.

Without thinking, I yanked Ominis' hand forward and placed it on my thigh. He froze. Heat radiated off my skin and the contrast of his cold fingers was almost painful.

I felt Sebastian's breath on my shoulder, his mouth moved but no sound came out. "Showing- you-" I blinked as my brain attempted to play catch up with the images happening in front of me.

Ominis' fingertips began to trace the letters. I braced myself for the familiar feeling of pain as the pads of his fingers glided across the raised skin but I felt... nothing.

I couldn't feel anything. A numbness had spread throughout my body and was beginning to settle in my brain. Even my blood was moving sluggishly through my veins.

It took everything I had in me to concentrate on the words that were being said around me. Ominis started spinning, or is the room spinning?

"-blood? It says... mudblood?" The distorted version of Ominis retraced the word another three times before retracting his hand.

"I am branded..." my body swayed with my words, "almost like... like... a packaged sweet." A small giggle, "you know exactly what you are getting by looking at the wrapper."

Sebastian tensed behind me, "Olive..."

"No... that's not quite right... a book perhaps? No... I have it! I'm like a box of dynamite. I come with a warning label." I doubled over in laughter.

The hazy copies of Ominis and Sebastian seemed to not find my musings funny.

They are not fun at all.

"Olivia?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"No, I'm sorry." I bit my tongue in an attempt to stop laughing, "I'm having trouble concentrating. I have caramel syrup in my head." Another laugh escaped.

A short laugh shook my back, "sweetheart, we really need you to try to pay attention."

"Why?"

"Are we pouting now?" I hadn't realized I was. I flattened my lips into a straight line.

Ominis cleared his throat, "Olivia, I-"

"Why are you calling me that?"

"That is your name."

"No." I shook my head at him.

He can't see you silly.

"I apologize, I'm not following-"

"She's drunk, Ominis."

"No that's not your name." Blurry Ominis just stared at me. I sighed in annoyance, "your. Name. That's not what you call me. Why aren't you calling me by your name?"

"Marvolo said you hated that name."

"No I hated him calling me it." I crossed my arms, "it's special. Just like Olive is special." Sebastian's arms tightened around me.

The orange flame danced in my peripheral. My eyes slid to the fire, the topic of conversation quickly slipping from my consciousness.

Pretty.

"I am so sorry, Ollie." The raw emotion in his voice made my head snap back. The motion momentarily making me nauseous.

He shouldn't be sad.

He shouldn't cry for me.

He's too pretty to cry.

I reached up and stroked his cheek, "stop apologizing Ominis. It's not your fault." He only seemed to tense at my touch or maybe it was my words. I scrunched my nose at his silence and dropped my hand.

Too quiet. It's too quiet.

"I'm thirsty."

Ominis laughed, "you are cut off, darling."

"I didn't say I wanted more Firewhiskey but I wouldn't be opposed." The words came out in a sing song manner. Sebastian snorted in response.

He slowly unwound him limbs from around me. Cold air replaced the warmth of his body. Panic began to settle in my stomach.

He's gone. He left. Sebastian is gone.

"Don't- don't leave me."

"Im right here."

Tears stung behind my eyes. "Come back."

"Im right here sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere. I will not abandon you."

He said those words before.

"You can let us in, let that wall down. We will not abandon you."

In a hurried movement his body was pressed up against mine once more. "Don't cry."

Cry?

My fingertips met tear slicked cheeks, I hadn't realized. Words began to bubble on my tongue and fought for escape. The final leash on my emotions came loose and slipped between my broken fingers.

"Please don't leave me alone again."

"We are right here."

"I was so scared. So scared that no one would come. I'm- I'm still scared."

"Why are you scared, darling?" Ominis crawled closer, actively cocooning me in between them.

"I'm scared that I'm going to fall asleep and wake up and you'll both be gone. Or worse..." I swallowed the acid that was rising in my throat. "That I'm going to wake up and still be shackled to that room. I'm so afraid that I'm going to open my eyes and realize no one came for me."

"Ollie, you are safe and you are here with us. I promise. There is no universe that exists where we don't come to save you."

"Nothing was going to stop us from finding you." Sebastian was back to drawing comforting circles on my skin, "you don't need to be afraid, as long as I'm- we're here, no one will ever hurt you again."

"Thank you."

My tears dried up as I sat entranced by the dancing flame. The fuzziness in my head started to clear with an intense exhaustion taking its place.

Merlin I'm so tired.

As if he knew what I was thinking, Ominis abruptly stood. "Why don't we go sit by the fire and take a moment to relax? We can finish this conversation later."

I took his outstretched hand, ignoring the sore muscles that were quickly making themselves known. Sebastian followed close behind.

The ball of dread that had made its home in my stomach began to unravel. I felt safe squished between my two favorite wizards. The lids of my eyes grew heavy and I fought back a yawn. "I love you, both of you. I know I don't say it enough but I needed to tell you."

In almost perfect synchronization, Ominis and Sebastian's fingers intertwined with mine. My head slumped to the side, meeting a soft shoulder.

My eyes drifted to our hands, tracing over the freckled constellation of Sebastian's and the burn marks in the shape of fingers on Ominis' wrist.

Where did those come from?

Darkness claimed me before I was able to voice that thought.