Chapter Text
Would 'sorry' have made any difference? Does it ever? It's just a word. One word against a thousand actions.
~Sarah Ockler~
As Saul was standing at the neat, blue-golden storefront, looking at the door with the large oval window and shiny handle, he felt a strange kind of excitement. "FIRST WORLD GOODS" was written above the entrance of the small shop in capital letters. He hadn't seen him for quite a while. But it wasn't like this was just any normal visit with an old friend. Saul was a fugitive. Bloom and her friends had just saved him from being exiled and now he was on the run from the government and on the verge of involving another person who had absolutely nothing to do with this whole situation. And somehow, he knew, he would still take him in and help him, no matter the consequences. Bad conscience hit him like a wave. Briefly, he considered just turning around and leaving again, hiding somewhere else. But after exchanging a quick look with Bloom they entered, heads down so none of the passers-by would take notice of them.
A little bell chimed as the door opened to the deserted shop. Saul heard a rumble and a muffled "Be right there." from a back room. He smiled. Then a familiar figure appeared in the doorway, a slender man who looked like he might be in his thirties, with short brown hair. He was wearing casual clothes and exuded an effortless nonchalance.
"How can I help...", the moment he saw Saul, he interrupted his sentence and his face lit up.
"Saul Silva", a grin played around his lips as he approached him.
"Sebastian, long time no see", Saul replied. He took the hand he was offered by the other man.
"What brings you here?" he asked, and with a cheeky gleam in his eyes he added, "I remember, wherever you are, trouble's usually not far."
A sigh left Saul's lips, "You seem to know me too well."
"And who is the young lady, you brought with you?"
Sebastian's gaze turned to Bloom while she murmured something about "who's bringing who here". He chuckled.
"Come on, let's talk in the back."
As Saul and Bloom explained what had happened, Sebastian listened attentively. In the end he nodded.
"So, what you want me to do is hide a wanted criminal, help you find out what Rosalind is planning and help you deal with her in the end, which already was a huge pain in the butt last time?"
Saul and Bloom fell into an awkward silence. If he put it that way, it really sounded like they were asking a lot.
"Okay, I'm in", he announced with a carefree laugh. Saul let out the air he wasn't even aware he was holding in and noticed a warm feeling welling up inside of him. He had always liked his light-hearted manner. Back in their time as students of Alfea, it had always been a welcome distraction amongst all of the other specialists who took themselves so terribly seriously. Sebastian had never been particularly talented in combat, but instead he was all the more charming. Charming enough that Saul had somewhat of a crush on him. He didn't tell anyone, of course, because he wasn't going to be that guy.
Shortly after, Saul found himself sitting on a bed in a weirdly cosy room crammed with old stacked up tube TVs, computer monitors among other electrical and some kitchen appliances, that had surely seen better times. Bloom was outside on the phone with someone in Alfea, probably telling them how everything was going smoothly here. Maybe also giving a call to Sky. Sky... he seemed so far away from him right now it hurt. As Saul looked up, Sebastian was leaning in the doorframe carrying a plaid blanket that had a similar checkered pattern to his shirt.
"I, uh... I was getting a killer Airbnb rate on this place, so I'll expect some form of compensation. All right?"
As he entered the room looking intently at Saul, he paused for a moment. It was long enough for Saul's thoughts to run free, and he suddenly had a hard time stopping them from wandering to places they really shouldn't.
"Wine's good, Whiskey's better. Don't cheap out", he smiled as he was settling down on the bed next to Saul, handing the blanket to him. It had always been like that with Sebastian. He seemed to enjoy teasing Saul and he sometimes felt as if the man knew exactly what his ambiguous tone was doing to him.
"And, uh, as for this whole hobo situation, right", he went on pointing at Saul's face before giving him an electric razor, "It's from the '90s, but the blades are still good, so... just let me know how many bandages you need."
Saul stared at the razor for a moment, eyebrows raised. Holding back a chuckle, he turned to Sebastian.
"Thank you very much."
He looked back, his eyes crinkling slightly.
"Any time", Sebastian replied, smiling and holding eye contact just a second longer than usual.
When Bloom came back in, Saul dodged talking about Sky. Instead, they fell into a discussion about Farah, Luna and Rosalind. Sebastian was trying to lighten the mood, but with Bloom's current state of mind, that didn't work. The topics remained serious, the mood subdued, until she eventually said goodbye and returned to Alfea. Finally, Saul got the chance to shave and take a proper shower. It was his first encounter with water since he had been imprisoned, apart from the incident this morning when he involuntarily took a swim in a cold-ass river, so he found it really soothing.
Saul and Sebastian really ended up killing a bottle of wine, sitting together, because... what else is a fugitive in the hiding to do with his free time? It was not a bottle that Saul bought, he could hardly afford to go to the shops right now, but as Sebastian said, postponed wasn't abandoned, and he had to promise to return the favour one day. They ended up talking all night about the old times, back when they were still students at Alfea. They also did some catching up on how their daily life was going. Saul even talked to Sebastian about Sky and it made him feel a bit better.
Late at night, when Sebastian's eyes were nearly falling closed, he cocked his head in Saul's general direction.
"Y'know what?" he asked. Saul could hear in his voice that he was a little hazy from the wine.
"What?"
He felt a shoulder bump into his and looked over at him. He caught Sebastian staring off into the distance, leaning against him. However, he quickly regained his composure and turned his gaze to Saul with a grin, having to look up a little.
"Might have to thank the Solarians for chasing you, if it brought you here. S'nice to see you again."
The next day brought bad news. Bloom called in the afternoon. One of the missing fairies had returned last night. He looked very battered and his body was covered with bite wounds. Before he collapsed and fainted, he could only utter one word, "Rosalind."
Bloom being Bloom had somehow managed to snoop around in Rosalind's office and took some pictures of the pages of an old book. Sebastian sat in front of a laptop, opening the image files she sent with Saul standing next to him, propping himself on the desk and leaning in to be able to see them, too. Besides rune-like characters, there was also the image of a creature that caused a dull bad foreboding to arise in Saul. The thing was unlike anything he had ever seen, looking like the horror version of some kind of giant caterpillar. It had multiple legs and where the head should be, there was only a gaping hole, surrounded by razor sharp teeth.
"The pincers on that thing match the bite marks on Devin. This is what attacked him. Rosalind knows it", Bloom declared, not a sliver of doubt in her voice.
"Wish I recognized the language", pondered Aisha to which Musa added, "Terra didn't either."
"Because it's one of the dead ones. Rosalind must have gotten the book from the Royal Archives", Saul said contemplatively.
Sebastian squinted his eyes as he zoomed in on the image showing the creature, "Yeah, I think I remember some of these symbols from school. I was a bit of a history buff... I can probably figure some of this out, but it'll take some time."
Bloom's voice sounded unsteady as she retorted, "We don't have time. Three fairies have gone missing. Only one has come back. Whatever is in that book, it's the key to what Rosalind is up to."
Saul took a deep breath.
"What about if we had a guide to help us translate it?" he asked.
Sebastian looked up to him, light from the tiny window above them catching his eyes and Saul had to force himself to listen to what he told them. His gaze drifted to Sebastian's lips without him being able to do anything about it.
"It would be a start, but there are thousands of symbols. There should be a translation text in the library."
Saul tried to pull himself together. Now was hardly a good time for distraction. He averted his gaze from Sebastian and in the corner of his eye he could still see a grin spreading on his face despite the serious situation. Saul could tell himself all he wanted that Sebastian hadn't noticed his brief lapse, but he knew better.
Meanwhile, Bloom and Stella complained that Rosalind had closed the library, effectively keeping them away from any and every book there. Saul, who by now had his head back in the conversation, told them he had a translation guide back at his house. As Bloom was the only one of the girls able to leave the school grounds secretly while the others had classes, Saul offered to draw a map leading her to his house. Bitterly, he remarked that yes, Sky also knew where the house was, but certainly would not be willing to go there.
When the call was over, he was pensive. None of this sounded good at all. Neither the part about the unconscious fairy nor the one about Rosalind's creature nor the one about Sky nor... he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry too much. The girls seem to be quite a good team, so whatever Rosalind's going to throw their way, I think they'll manage. We also did back then. Now come on, you've got a map to draw."
With a nod he followed Sebastian back to the salesroom.
He searched briefly for some paper and a pen and placed it on the glass counter.
"Here, for the map."
"Thank you."
Saul began to draw immediately. Sebastian for his part seemed to struggle with words, then he said, "Sky will come round."
Saul paused and looked up.
"I'm serious", Sebastian continued. He only managed a grateful nod, not knowing what to reply or even be able to reply anything, because every time he thought of Sky there seemed to be a heavy weight on his chest.
Sebastian was going on regardless trying to cheer him up, "I, uh... I watch a ton of '90s sitcoms. I'm pretty sure I know how families work."
This elicited a tired smile from Saul. Suddenly, Sebastian tensed up. Saul's heart skipped a beat as Sebastian grabbed him by his arms shoving him backwards with surprising power. Everything happened so fast, Saul didn't even know what hit him.
"Hide", Sebastian hissed opening the door behind Saul, pushing him in.
"Get in. Stay."
At the last moment, before Sebastian slammed the door, Saul saw Andreas through the glass window of the front door. Then, there was only silence surrounding him. He waited at the door, trying to hear any sounds from the other side. Nothing. It was hard to stop himself from pacing. He clutched the door frame so hard the tendons in the back of his hands stood out in the strain. What was happening on the other side right now? It felt like an eternity that he stood there. Seconds dripped by, unwillingly like viscous honey, while Saul worried. God forbid, if Andreas did something to him.... he would find him and stab him again, but this time he'd be thorough.
After this thought flashed through his mind, he shook his head in disbelief. This was not like him at all, he never showed such strong reactions, but in Sebastian's presence he seemed to lose himself. Fuck.
When the door finally opened, Saul almost stumbled outside. Small rivulets of blood flowed down Sebastian's face. Out of reflex Saul's hand flew to his hip, gripping for his sword, as he walked past him with a firm step, his eyes searching the street outside the window for Andreas as if of their own accord. But he was unarmed and Andreas had already disappeared.
His rage started dying down a bit and he turned back to Sebastian with concern.
"You all right?"
"Yeah, fine", he answered softly his eyes lowered. Only now could Saul see the shattered glass counter and the extent of the injuries on Sebastian's face. There were cuts on his forehead and under his eye, which also seemed to be slowly turning a shade of black and blue, and his nose was bleeding. He could make sense of what must have happened.
"I'm sorry."
Saul walked towards him.
"They're, uh... they're gonna find out this is a portal soon enough, you know.", Sebastian mumbled, referring to the door behind which Saul had been hidden.
"I know."
A heavy silence was spreading through the room. Saul was now standing directly in front of Sebastian, examining his cuts.
"Let's take care of that first", he gestured towards Sebastian's face.
"Oh, I think I look pretty good for someone who just got his face smashed through a pane of glass. It's no worse than your beard yesterday anyways."
He raised his head to meet Saul's gaze who quietly scoffed.
"We'll at least do something about the blood", Saul decided. Sebastian silently nodded and shuffled through some drawers. He found a piece of gauze and some disinfectant for the cuts which he applied to the gauze. Then he clumsily began to dab his face with it. He sucked in a hissing breath and frowned when he hit one of the wounds. Saul couldn't continue to watch this.
"Give me that", he grabbed the gauze from Sebastian and moved in closer. Holding his chin with one hand, he set to work with the other. Expertly he disinfected the wounds and cleaned his face from blood. He started with his forehead, then worked his way over his nose to under his eye. When his eyes briefly flitted over Sebastian's face, he caught his gaze. Without looking away he slowly swiped the gauze down his jawline to clean off the last bit of blood. Was he mistaken or did he just hear Sebastian's breath hitch? He could still not take his eyes off him. Despite the pain he had to be in, there was a defiant glint in his eyes and a matching smirk on his lips. It was pulling Saul in. Only now did he realize how close their faces were, slowly gravitating even closer.
And suddenly their lips were on each other. Slowly, carefully they moved as if the moment would break if they acted too hastily. A tangle of thoughts and feelings exploded in Saul's head. A rush of adrenaline burst through his veins. Sebastian's lips felt cool and smooth against his, as opposed to the hot sting of conscience he felt. He shouldn't be doing this, not now, not with Sebastian's current condition. But oh god, it felt good. Sebastian drew in a shaky breath when they first broke apart and it made Saul want. Almost letting go of all his caution he backed him up against a shelf, his body flush against Sebastian's, and captured his lips again with vigour. A low groan erupted from him when he felt Sebastian take initiative, his tongue trailing along his lips. He could almost taste Sebastian's smirk mixed with the steely taste of blood as he opened his lips for him and their kiss got messier. He felt hands grabbing the fabric at the back of his shirt and slid his own down Sebastian's sides, wrapping his arms loosely around the other man's hips. They only let go of each other when they were completely breathless.
"Okay...", Sebastian panted, "Back room. Now."
Then he grabbed Saul by the wrist and resolutely pulled him along.
"Wait... wait a minute", Saul protested weakly. Despite Saul's protests Sebastian did not stop until they had passed the door to the room where Saul had spent the night. Then he turned.
"I can practically see the gears turning in your head. You've always been the type to overthink things", he laughed softly and licked his lips. This caused a dangerous feeling of desire to stir in Saul's stomach. Quickly, he turned his back and ran his hands through his hair frantically. He had to clear his head. They couldn't go any further. He wasn't allowed to want... With the situation, Saul was currently in, it would only put Sebastian in harm's way even further.
"We can't...", he murmured, but didn't get to finish his sentence as Sebastian interrupted him.
"Let me make one thing clear. I want this... you. Always have."
His voice was soft, but clear. And what he said gnawed at Saul's already crumbling self-control.
"Sebastian...", he said with a pained tone lacing his voice. He could sense the other approaching him. Then Sebastian's lips were so close to his ear that he could feel his breath.
"Are you going to make me beg for it? Is that it?" he whispered. Saul just stood there, frozen, while arms wrapped around him from behind.
"Because I absolutely will", he continued, sending delicious shivers down Saul's back while his hands were wandering down his chest.
"I never took you for someone who was into that", his familiar teasing tone was back and he chuckled.
"But you're very clearly into that", with these words his hand slipped lower and skimmed over the bulge that had formed in Saul's tight, black pants. That was the moment, he cracked.
"The next word that leaves your lips better be a "please"," he growled, whirled around and, drawing on his combat experience, he skilfully brought Sebastian down so that he landed on the bed. Then he knelt over him, his heart pounding wildly. Sebastian's eyes were wide with surprise and he laughed breathlessly. Then he looked right up into Saul's eyes.
"Please... would you please fuck me already?"
"You really want this, huh?" Saul asked incredulously. Sebastian lifted his back off the bed to rest on his forearms inching closer into Saul's space.
"Ever since that time when I sparred with you at Alfea. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but the way you pinned me to the ground after beating me in sparring was the dream of my sleepless nights."
For a moment they just looked at each other, and a hint of pink formed on Sebastian's cheeks. Then a jolt went through Saul. With one hand sprawled out on Sebastian's chest he forced him onto his back again. His other hand started slipping under Sebastian's shirt, savouring the feeling of heated skin under his fingers. One of his knees slid between his legs.
"Is that how you imagined it to play out?" he teased. A sound akin to a strangled moan left Sebastian's lips when Saul's thigh pressed down on his crotch and Saul could feel just how much this whole situation turned him on. In one fluid motion, he pulled his shirt over his head, uncovering his lean body that was visibly steeled by all his Specialist training.
"God, yes", Sebastian panted and scrambled to remove his own shirt, revealing a bandage which was covering up half of his upper body. Saul stared at it questioningly.
"What's that?"
"Ah, clumsiness. My own fault. Don't mind it."
Saul raised his eyebrow but continued to lean in and finally connect their lips again, kissing him hotly. And Sebastian melted under his touch. When Saul started carefully kissing his jaw and his neck, Sebastian had his eyes closed, little moans falling from his lips, giving Saul more satisfaction than he thought was possible. Having Sebastian, who usually stood up to him so wittily, lie under him all pliant and already looking totally wrecked stirred some dark feelings in him, he wasn't even aware he had. He wanted to ruin him, have him scream his name in pleasure. And something told him that he just might.
Later, they were lying side by side in silence. It was the comfortable kind of silence. Neither of them felt the urge to say anything or forcibly make any small talk and Saul enjoyed this way of being together. Still, there was this nagging feeling, the little voice inside his head, coming back now that he had the time to listen to it.
'Andreas almost got you', it said. 'Had Sebastian not been so attentive, you would be in captivity again right now.'
He tried to shut the voice out of his head, but he gloriously failed.
'This time when they get you, you'll never see Sky again. Do you want his last memory of you to be that of lies and strife?'
He took a deep breath.
"You're doing it again," Sebastian noted, "I can practically hear you thinking."
Saul sighed. Then he stated in a calm voice, "They'll get me. Sooner or later, they will find me, no matter where I hide. And I certainly don't want you to take another beating from Andreas because of me. And then, there's Sky..."
He simply wanted it to be on his own terms when he was captured again, but he couldn't get the words out. For a short moment, silence returned to the room. Then, before Saul could continue talking, Sebastian said quietly, "You will go."
It was not a question; he knew he was right. He did not try to hold Saul back, yet a sad undertone resonated in his voice.
"Yeah. I have to."