Aesop's POV
Aesop swiftly made his way through the corridors in the near blackness. He stole through the lobby like a thief and soon he was on the hunters side. He held his arm as he ran to not jog the stitches that were only just managing to hold his shoulder together, it hurt but his worry for Joseph was enough to drone it out.
Eli's owl quietly flew behind him. Whereas the dumb bird normally would expose your position to the hunters, this time it was unusually discrete and stayed hidden in the rafters or anywhere else it could get to when Aesop checked over his shoulder.
Everything was (thankfully) normal in Aesop's eyes. Dark, hollow corridors with dusty, dreary and half hearted decoration lining them. Aesop had never been to the hunter's garden before but he knew it was just behind the lobby- he'd seen it through the grand window that overlooked it- so at least he had a general direction to where he was going.
After what felt like hours of limping around hallways, Aesop had come through the right door that led into the garden. He was still cautious, of course, he opened every door so tentatively and quietly like he assumed there was a hunter on the other side of every one. Some doors simply wouldn't budge, those had intricate carvings in the dark wood. Aesop vaguely imagined the hunters planning some ultimate weapon to kill all the survivors for good so they could win this game being crafted behind them.
That was the old Aesop's thinking. The current Aesop wished those thoughts would go away. Yes, the hunters were dangerous but he now knew they didn't all have to be like that. He knew that the hunters weren't trying to seriously injure survivors because if they could they would've killed them all by now. Even so his suspicion and anxiousness shone through, he couldn't help but doubt even Joseph at times. He'd imagine horrible scenes of Joseph turning on him, all of it being for his own gain. Aesop didn't actually know the point of this game for the hunters but he always thought it would be something like gaining the trust of a survivor then killing them in cold blood or along those lines. He wished he didn't think like that, that he could simply put his trust in someone, even a survivor, for once but it was an inconceivable prospect for him.
He prayed Joseph could become the exception.
The garden was breathtaking, especially as the moonlight hung over it like a perfume. Wild flowers, roses, spider lilies and the like lined the perimeter and a pond ringed with reeds and lily pads sat to the middle. A rich, sweet musk of flowers and freshwater engulfed the air and in the centre of it all stood a tall, pale man, his eyes shining in the glow of the moon and anxiously tapping his foot.
"Joseph...?"
Aesop called finally.
The man turned, his fingers fell away from his lips and with that his whole body seemed to shudder and deflate in relief.
"Aesop,"
Joseph returned in a shaky tone of misbelieving. He was stood in front of Aesop in a flash but lingered an arms length away from the survivor as if he were too fragile to touch.
Aesop could see the tears welling in his eyes from where he stood. Aesop reached out and gently brushed his hand over his arm,
"It's okay," He whispered "I know you panicked. I'm okay, I'm going to be fine"
And with that, Joseph sunk to his knees and rested his head on Aesop's good shoulder then began to sob heavily into his shirt and snake his arms around Aesop's waist, holding onto him like he would turn into smoke and slip through his fingers. Aesop smiled softly and stroked his hair gently,
"Joseph, look at me. I'm okay, I'm okay now" He assured repeatedly. However, the sobs just continued, if not got worse.
Eventually Aesop ended up leaning against a small birch tree with Joseph's head in his lap. Aesop had continued combing his fingers through Joseph's snowy blonde hair and the sobs reduced to scarce sniffles and occasional wipes of his glassy blue eyes.
"Joseph?"
Aesop asked after a while of the quiet affection they were sharing. Joseph responded with a small hum of acknowledgement,
"When you... showed me how you felt. I think I gave the wrong idea. I feel the same way as you but..."
He sighed and trailed off, a nauseous feeling growing in his chest from his vague confession and a taffy pink hue in his cheeks.
"How will it work when we're it's as tragically situated as Romeo and Juliet?"
Joseph finished, turning over to look at Aesop's face. Aesop chuckled softly and arched an eyebrow,
"I wouldn't exactly put it like that, but yes."
He said softly, cupping Joseph face in his hand and running his thumb over his cheek bone. Joseph leaned into Aesop's touch before murmuring,
"It won't matter, we'll do exactly the same as we do now. It'll be harder, yes, but we'll look forward to the time we can spend together more, no?"
Joseph grinned weakly, his eyes swirling seas of hopefulness.
Aesop took his time to mull over Joseph's words and they sunk back into the comfortable silence. Aesop didn't have the capacity to express how much he wanted to agree to it, to simply say yes and relish the undoubtedly limited days they were going to be given. His fear and his want were waging a full blown war inside his head because of it. Joseph could see all these emotional cogs turning in his head. He hadn't seen Aesop like this for weeks and yet their months of friendship had made their thoughts and feelings practically transparent to the both each other.
For what may have been the first time in his life, Aesop let his heart have the final verdict rather than his brain.
"Okay..." he whispered "I want to try- we'll have to be stupidly careful though, no one can ever find out-"
Joseph cut him off with a sudden jolt that landed gently as a kiss on his forehead,
"Breathe, Aesop. I'll keep you safe no matter what, try and enjoy this"
Joseph smiled for the first time in weeks and Aesop mimicked the fool's grin Joseph had. Joseph shuffled himself up and rested his head on Aesop's shoulder and then Aesop on Joseph's head. And for the first time they both relaxed, all the guilt and fear melting away.
The owl hid in the corners of the garden, broadcasting the heartwarming scene to it's master who didn't find it as joyful.
YOU ARE READING
Exposure
Fanfiction'You can't love a monster.' Is what Aesop had been told all his life. But would it stay the same when he falls for the person who had tormented him and all his comrades for years? [Main ship is AesopxJoseph but there will be other ships featured the...
