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Illuga dodged the enemy’s attack, though its abyssal blade still grazed his arm. He winced - no time to deal with his injuries. Aedon let out a concerned chirp, but there was nothing Illuga could do.
This mission was only supposed to have been a simple intelligence gathering - find out how the Wild Hunt’s numbers were doing, and formulate a plan to deal with them. They had been growing more restless lately, and Illuga was happy to help any way he could.
It was supposed to be simple, so Illuga had gone alone. He was beginning to regret that choice as dozens of Wild Hunt monsters swarmed at him.
Somehow, they’d noticed him - how, he wasn’t sure. Illuga had been extremely careful, but it clearly hadn’t worked.
Illuga thrusted his polearm into the abyssal creature’s midsection, but it did little. The creature was resilient, only letting out an offended roar in response to the young Ratnik’s attacks.
Illuga wiped the sweat from his brow, calling Aedon to attack. Together, they made more progress defeating them, but Aedon was small and not very strong, and Illuga was beginning to tire.
“Ah-!”
Illuga’s movements had grown sluggish the longer he fought, and he hadn’t reacted nearly as fast as he normally would have. He glanced at his side, torn open and bloody.
Aedon circled Illuga, chirping with concern as he looked at the young man’s injury.
“I’m fine, Aedon,” he coughed. Clearly, he wasn’t fine, but no one else was there to worry about him.
Pressing one hand to his bloody midsection, he continued fighting the Wild Hunt, though his moves were sloppy and uncoordinated. Eventually, he managed to fend off the last monster with a definitive strike, but it wasn’t without its cost. Illuga let out a pained gasp, the pain from his injuries suddenly noticeable as the adrenaline wore off.
He stumbled backwards, aware that he was losing a lot of blood. Illuga fell to his knees, bleeding and exhausted.
Aedon chirped, dismayed, but Illuga only called him back to the lantern. No use in making the little bird worry for him.
Illuga’s hands were trembling. He dragged himself to a nearby bush for cover, set down his lantern, and promptly passed out.
~
“Illuga still hasn’t returned?” Flins sat in headquarters in Piramida, sipping warm tea and talking to Nikita. “I thought he was only off on a recon mission. It’s getting late.”
“You aren’t wrong. I’m sure he’s alright. The kid's very thorough.”
Flins chuckled. “He wouldn’t be happy if he heard you call him that.”
The thoughtful frown returned to his face, however. “But really. I’m a bit worried.”
Flins knew that Illuga tended to work himself too hard, but there was little he could do about it when Illuga wouldn’t even entertain a conversation about it.
He’d tried to talk to the other man. Asked if he was getting enough rest, if he was eating enough, if he had been injured recently. But every time, Illuga would say the same thing - “I’m fine, Flins. No need to worry about me!”
Flins sighed.
“Sir Nikita… I’m going to go look for him. I’m concerned.”
“Hmm? Suit yourself, Flins.” Flins knew that Nikita cared about Illuga; he just didn’t happen to be worried about the young man.
Illuga was strong, capable. Flins knew that. But he also knew that Illuga pushed himself way too far, and that no one knew that about him.
Flins stood, gathering his lantern and his polearm, adjusting his jacket. He ensured that his vision was securely in place - not that it mattered for him - and set off from Piramida.
Illuga had been investigating the Wild Hunt around Kipumaki Cliff, so Flins headed that way. He passed the small camp where a handful of Ratniki were staying, heading deeper into the corrupted area. Flins shuddered - it was like that giant eye was staring directly at him.
He ventured deeper, following the path that Illuga likely would have taken. He walked past the eye, shivering.
He walked by a clump of bushes, then stiffened.
There was blood on the ground, smeared in the dirt, and a trail of blood led to the bushes.
With trembling fingers, Flins pushed the bushes aside, peering down.
There was Illuga, pale and bleeding, his face tinged with sweat. His lantern sat next to him - Aedon must have been inside.
“Illuga!”
The man’s eyelashes fluttered. He groaned, but didn’t move nor speak. He had lost a lot of blood, Flins noticed - he was lying in a puddle of his own blood.
“Illuga…”
Flins bent down, sliding one arm under Illuga’s back and the other underneath his knees. Illuga made a small, pained noise as Flins touched him.
“Are you injured elsewhere?”
He didn’t respond - he seemed partially conscious, and mostly unaware of what was happening.
Flins sighed. He didn’t want to hurt Illuga, but he couldn’t just leave him there.
“Apologies, Illuga.” He lifted the smaller man as gently as he could, eliciting another whimper from him.
Illuga felt surprisingly light in his arms, small and delicate. He wondered if Illuga was eating enough, if he was taking care of himself.
…Flins knew the answer to that. Illuga was the self-sacrificial type, the kind of person who wouldn’t ever let anyone know if he wasn’t okay.
Flins sighed, concerned. He picked up Illuga’s lantern, strapping it to his side.
Illuga’s trembling fingers reached briefly for Flins’ collar, before his eyes closed again, and he fell unconscious again.
Flins bit his lip, pressing one hand against Illuga’s wound as best he could. The bleeding seemed to have mostly stopped by now, but Flins was still worried.
He could take Illuga to Cliffwatch Camp, or Piramida. But he could only imagine how Illuga would react to showing ‘weakness’ in front of his fellow Ratniki.
Illuga was always strong, calm, and composed. Flins was certain he’d be mortified if the others saw him get injured.
Piramida wasn’t that far from Cliffwatch Camp, and Flins’ lighthouse wasn’t that much further than Piramida. Illuga seemed… stable enough for now, and somewhere secluded would give Illuga a private space to recover.
Flins adjusted the way he was carrying the other man, and began walking. As a fae, Flins didn’t tire the same way as humans did, so he didn’t have to worry too much about the journey.
He reached his lighthouse in due time, not even pausing to greet the spirits as he passed by.
Flins fumbled with the key, not wanting to drop or injure Illuga. The other Ratnik was small, but he was still a fully grown man, and Flins had to work around him.
He managed to get the door open, and carried Illuga inside.
Flins lived alone, and people rarely visited - aside from Illuga bringing supplies and the Traveler’s occasional visits, no one came by. Most people found his graveyard creepy.
As such, he didn’t have a spare room. There was no reason for him to have one if he never had visitors, after all.
Flins gently laid Illuga on top of his bed, brushing a strand of silvery hair from the young man’s face. He carefully pulled the other Ratniki’s coat away, gasping as he saw the severity of his wound, even through Illuga’s thick sweater.
He peeled the woolen material away, wincing at the way the dried blood cracked as he did so.
“Oh dear…”
Flins retrieved the bottle of antiseptic he kept in the bathroom - he wasn’t human and rarely needed it, but it paid to be prepared, right?
That preparation was certainly paying off in this case. He poured a liberal amount of the liquid onto a cloth, and pressed it to Illuga’s wound. The wound was deep, and from the crimson liquid soaking his clothes and the pale color of his face, it was clear he had lost a lot of blood.
Flins pressed one hand against the wound - it had mostly stopped bleeding, so it was more of a precautionary measure - and brought the antiseptic-soaked cloth to it. Illuga, still unconscious, whimpered in pain as Flins pressed the cloth against his injury.
“I’m sorry…” Flins apologized quietly, even though he knew Illuga couldn’t hear him. He gently cleansed the other’s injury, looking carefully for any signs of abyssal corrosion. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be any abyssal taint, but the gash was still deep.
Flins finished cleaning out the wound, then retrieved a damp towel and wiped the blood and grime off the rest of his body. It felt strange to see the other Lightkeeper like this, exposed and vulnerable and completely at his mercy. Illuga was usually steady, like stone, but at the moment, he just seemed young and fragile and so incredibly mortal.
Flins finished cleaning him, and bandaged his wounds, careful not to make the wrappings too tight or too loose. Illuga was shivering, although whether from pain or the cold, Flins couldn’t tell.
Flins pulled off his own jacket, and wrapped it around Illuga. He looked particularly small now, although Flins wasn’t a good measure of that, as he was rather tall.
Carefully, not wanting to disturb Illuga or cause him pain, Flins pulled the blankets over Illuga. There was something about Illuga being in Flins’ house, lying in Flins’ bed, wrapped in Flins’ coat, that felt strange. Flins wasn’t usually the caring type - flirty, sure, but not the kind of person to care for others.
He watched Illuga sleep, the rise and fall of the other’s chest the only thing signaling that he was still alive. Flins sat on the side of the bed, pulled off his gloves and rested one hand in Illuga’s hair, gently combing through the tangles with slender fingers. Illuga didn’t react to his touch - he was deeply asleep, or perhaps ‘unconscious’ was a better word.
Flins did not sleep that night - indeed, he did not require ‘sleep’ in the same way that a human would, but he still needed to rest - choosing instead to keep silent vigil over Illuga’s unconscious form. The moon fell and the sun began to rise, but he remained awake, watching over the smaller Lightkeeper.
Eventually, sometime in the morning - around 6:00 if Flins had to take a guess, although the shade of the sky outside wasn’t exactly his main concern - Illuga’s eyes fluttered open. He looked tired and disoriented.
“Flins…? Is that you…? Where am I…?”
“Oh, thank the Archons, you’re awake.” Flins released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “How do you feel? Any pain?”
“I… ow… what happened…?” Illuga tried to sit up, but fell backwards, wincing from the pain of his injuries. Flins helped him sit up properly, moving to support the other man.
“I don’t know, you tell me! You were out on your recon mission for a long time, and I got worried. When I went looking for you, I found you passed out and bleeding behind a clump of bushes. You’re in my lighthouse now. I treated your injuries.”
“Sir Flins… you really didn’t need to go to the trouble. I apologize for-”
“Don’t. Don’t… apologize. It isn’t your fault-”
“Isn’t it? I got careless. The Wild Hunt… they ambushed me. I tried to fight back, but I wasn’t watching myself carefully enough. They… managed to get a few solid hits in, and I… I don’t really remember what happened. I’m sorry for troubling you.”
“It really is no trouble, Illuga. I’m just glad you’re alive-” His voice broke on that last word, and Illuga glanced up at him in surprise.
“You were that worried about me?”
“Of course I was worried!”
“I really am terribly sorry for making you worry-”
“Stop apologizing. You’re an idiot, Illuga. Don’t you see? I’m not upset because of you, I’m upset because you almost died! I… you matter to me. A lot. I don’t… want to even think about losing you.”
Illuga only stared at him with shock written all over his pallid face.
“You don’t… need to say anything. Just… know that I genuinely want you to be safe.”
Illuga’s hands were trembling. Flins placed one steady hand on top of one of Illuga’s own shaky hand.
“I’m here for you. Just take a deep breath. Please try not to exert yourself. You lost a lot of blood.”
Flins pulled Illuga gently into his arms. Illuga let out a choked sob, nestling his face in the crook of the other’s neck.
“Thank you… Flins… for taking care of me…”
“Please don’t worry about it. It was no trouble at all.”
Illuga shifted slightly, realizing suddenly that he was wearing Flins’ jacket. “Your… jacket?”
“Yours was torn and bloodsoaked.”
“...thank you.”
He helped Illuga to his feet, letting the other man use himself to stay steady.
“You must be hungry. Thirsty? How are you feeling, Master Illuga?”
“I’m alright. But really… we’re back to this again, are we?” Illuga sighed.
Flins helped Illuga to his kitchen - well, close enough, it wasn’t like he had much of a need for nice meals himself - and prepared some tea. He slid a mug to Illuga.
“I don’t have much in the way of rations here. We should probably report back anyway - Nikita must be worried. Are you feeling up to returning to Piramida after we finish the tea?”
“...yeah, that would be okay.”
Flins sat next to him, not saying anything - his presence was enough. Illuga reached for his hand hesitantly, too afraid to actually make a move.
Flins made it for him. He gave Illuga’s hand a gentle squeeze.
“Forward today, are we, Master Illuga?”
“Stop calling me that!”
“Then what will I call you, Young Master?”
“Wh-whatever-” his cheeks were flushed pink, “-just, let’s go.”
“Shouldn’t you put on some different clothing first?”
“Oh… yeah… I don’t exactly have anything, though.”
“You can borrow something of mine, Young Master.”
“I… okay, okay.” He clearly wanted to protest at the nickname, but refrained.
Illuga changed into some of Flins’ spare clothes, and the two set off to return to Piramida.
“Aside from… getting attacked and almost bleeding out… How was your mission?”
“I gathered a little bit of intel. Mostly that the Wild Hunt is stronger than we had thought. I… wasn’t really very helpful.”
“Don’t worry about that. You’re alive. That’s what’s important, right?”
They continued walking, skirting around the Fatui stronghold, back to Piramida. The journey took a few hours - they’d stopped a few times at Flins’ insistence, as he’d wanted to check on Illuga’s wounds - and by the time they returned, the sun was beginning to set.
“Illuga! Flins! What happened?” Nikita rushed over as soon as he saw them.
“I… failed in my mission, sir. I wasn’t able to gather much…”
“That’s not important. He was injured, sir. I’m… really glad I went searching for him.”
“I see. Kid, don’t worry about your mission. I’m just glad you’re safe.”
“I’m not a kid…”
Nikita ruffled Illuga’s hair and walked away. Flins wrapped an arm around his waist.
“I’ll say it again. I’m glad you’re safe, too.”
“Flins?”
“Yes, Young Master Illuga?”
“Thank you. Really. Thank you for coming to save me, and for taking care of me. Thank you for being there.”
“Of course. Always. Should you need me… I will be there for you.”
He leaned down to plant a gentle kiss in Illuga’s hair. Illuga blushed.
“Then I’ll be there for you too.”
Illuga had to stand on his tiptoes to kiss Flins back. Flins chuckled, lifting him slightly so that he could reach more comfortably.
“...you’re important to me, too, Flins.”