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when the knife cuts through benny’s lip, ethan cries out and benny stifles a groan. it hurts worse than ethan had expected it to.
he had thought there would be some sort of magical buffer, a delay, some sort of transitive property that would allow the seething, sharp pain to dull itself across the fabric of their flesh- but he is choking and coughing instead.
there’s a thin gouge missing from ethan’s lower lip, and the white hot pain extends down across his chin. blood follows.
the occult blade bites like starving animal, something unreal and blood hungry. ethan trembles, staring at it. without tying their souls together, that small nick could’ve flayed benny’s soul from his body.
benny is weakly struggling in the witch’s grasp, her gnarled hand in a vice grip on his shirt collar.
ethan can’t look any longer. his voice is hoarse when he throws in his final bargaining chip to the witch. “i see the future,” he gasps, and it’s exactly what she wants to hear.
benny crumbles to the earth when she drops him, and there’s blood pouring from his lips like ethan’s. he spits, and his upper lip curls in disgust. when he looks up, his nose wrinkles and ethan can see his teeth, bared and bloody.
benny, with his nose wrinkled, unsteady, on all fours, bears a remarkable resemblance to a predator. he lets out an animalistic growl, and ethan would swoon if he wasn’t already trying to scramble backwards away from the witch.
another funny thing, though ethan realizes.
benny’s eyes are gold, like a tiger stalking through the brush. he watches him in slow motion- clutching the cursed amulet at his waistband, extending an arm. he rises to his feet, his bloody lips forming around ancient words.
the world has been turned on mute.
the witch follows his gaze, and before her whole body has turned to face benny, to counter-spell whatever he is conjuring, she is water vapor, life force thrumming up to the clouds like a loose fog. like the wicked witch of the west, ethan thinks.
ethan feels the spell’s impact after benny casts it- like a momentary high. he staggers toward benny, a dopey grin forming across his features.
“is this how you always feel?” he slurs, hands feeling heavy. benny’s calloused, work-hardened hands come to rest on ethan’s shoulders, and one slings over his back. benny tucks ethan’s hair back behind his ear, the grown out ends and his padawan braid. “yes,” benny breathes.
“oh,” ethan murmurs, and benny’s eyes are so pretty. he hopes he never sobers up from this. “we should leave our souls merged like this,” he whispers. he likes feeling everything benny feels, under his skin, a second set of nerves.
benny shakes his head, and ethan feels it like a blow to his pride. “we can’t,” benny says quickly, and sensing ethan’s anguish he clarifies, “it would kill us.”
ethan can only feel vague disappointment, the fog from benny’s spell keeping him floating somewhere just above the earth.
benny laughs at him, shaking his head disapprovingly. “you’re so high right now,” he cackles. ethan gives him a smile.
benny pulls him in for a kiss and ethan feels like he’s on cloud nine. the slide of benny’s lips against his, the pressure of his hands on ethan’s throat, the metallic taste of blood getting stuck behind his teeth. all of it is so fucking good.
“e, you gotta,” benny snorts, and he pulls back, laughing, “you gotta kiss back, babe.”
ethan starts to laugh too. “sorry,” he says, but his lips feel heavy. benny kisses him again and he tries to remember to kiss back.
when sarah stumbles through the clearing, they break apart, and she rolls her eyes.
ethan is still not sober.
“hey,” he says, and his tongue is stuck to his teeth. there’s blood dripping down his front, and there’s blood still gushing from benny’s lips.
sarah raises a brow. “what happened to you two?”
“occult blade,” benny says, at the same time that ethan slurs, “we’re Together together,” and even he can tell he sounds like a twelve year old.
sarah gives them both a judgmental look.
“okay, dorks,” she says at last, “get cleaned up, we have dinner at rory’s house tonight.”
when she leaves, ethan shoots benny a look that says wanna make out? and benny responds with a look that says i wouldn’t want to do anything else.