Chapter Text
„Corvus. Corvus! Race me!“ Soren yelled.
Although he was standing right next to Corvus it seemed like he had to speak as loud as if he was standing on the other side of a field. Corvus did not mind much, and he would have loved to let Soren beat him in yet another one of his challenges, but:
“Soren. I have to work. I can’t.”
While Soren was pouting, Corvus looked over to the other guard, who was on duty just as he was. She nodded encouragingly, on one hand because she knew Corvus really wanted to humour his friend and on the other, because she really really wanted to get rid of Soren. He could be very annoying at times and right now was one of those times.
So Corvus nodded back and suddenly he was sprinting up the corridor. Soren needed a second to register what had just happened but soon he was running after his friend.
“This time I’ll win!” Corvus yelled, doubling his efforts. Soren always won. But today would mark the day that Corvus won.
“Oh, you little-“ Soren laughed, speeding up as well. In their hurry, Soren almost ran over Callum. He held out his arm, asking Soren if he could help him with something but Soren did not even stop to listen.
“Sorry Step-mage. Can’t let Corvus win!”
Corvus still had the upper hand. He was laughing. Even though he felt like his chest would burst and his legs would fall off from the way they were burning, he felt happier and freer than he had in a while.
“Ha! You snail!”
“Who are you calling snail you…. Slow person.”
This disoriented Corvus. Could Soren really not think of a better thing to say then slow person? He noticed his mistake a second too late when Soren sprinted past him up the steps and was the first to stop at their
usual place.
“I win.” He screamed, jumping up and down. He was doing his little winning dance – which could hardly be called a dance but oh well – throwing his hands in the air and shuffling his feet to a beat only he could
hear.
Corvus was panting when he finally arrived as well. Of course, he was disappointed that he did not win, but seeing Soren as happy as he was in these moments he really did not care that much. And sometimes,
definitely not most times, he let him win, just to see that beautiful happy face of his. His happiness reminded him off a child that got the gift they had always asked for after many many years of waiting.
“Oh no. You won again. Seems like I’m just slow.” Corvus said, sitting down with his back against the wall. Thankfully, Soren had some water which he gave to him. Corvus greedily gulped down half of the bottle
before giving it back.
“You were better than last time!” Soren defended him.
“You said that the last five times.”
“Yeah. Because you got better the last five times.”
Shaking his head, Corvus smiled. Soren was such a dork, but he did make him feel better every time. He was gazing over the landscape before them, admiring how the trees were dancing in the wind. He missed sleeping in the woods, listening to their little song of wind and leaves, mixed with the beautiful scents of the trees.
“So” Soren’s voice brought him back to reality, “Have you finally settled in now? At least a bit?”
“A bit… But it’s still,” Corvus didn’t really now the right words. Of course, the castle and Katolis felt like his home but there was still something nagging him, something that was not quite how it was supposed to
be, “Being inside. And not in nature is strange sometimes.”
Soren sighed. He had an arm wrapped around Corvus shoulder, who could feel his arm shaking slightly when he chuckled.
“You and your trees.”
“Well, I like trees!”
“Yeah. I know. I do to. But not like that. Not like you. Do you hug them and stuff?”
Again, Soren could not keep his thoughts inside his brain. They just blurted out like that sometimes and he could do nothing to stop them. Fortunately, Corvus had nothing against that. He found it endearing
sometimes and mostly Soren’s thoughts weren’t so bad that he did not know how to answer them without a certain awkwardness clinging to his answers. This was one of those times.
“What? No.” He did not want to admit that in reality, yes, he had hugged trees. Especially when he had been younger. They felt like the only one’s that understood him in a world that had gone insane. Sometimes,
they felt like his only friends.
Soren looked at him with a smirk. He knew that Corvus was lying. After having spent so much time with him, not only because they were both crown guards now but because Corvus had become his best friend, he could easily distinguish the little things that showed he was lying. The nervous wiggling of his fingers, the squeak in his voice. He could never look into his eyes when he lied.
“Yeah right.” Now Soren was the one to become nervous.
His challenge had not actually been meant as them racing. Actually, he had an ulterior motive. But he did not know how to bring it up. Fidgeting he avoided Corvus’ eyes. He could do this.
“Uhm… so anyways. I was thinking-“
“You can do that?” Corvus said. When Soren looked up at him, he was smiling. Of course, he had not meant it, but Soren took these things way to seriously, had always because of…
Corvus could see that he had upset Soren.
“I’m just kidding. Sorry.” He placed a hand on his shoulder, suddenly serious. “I didn’t mean-“
“It’s fine. Totally fine, man.” Soren laughed it off, avoiding his gaze once more. This was harder than he had anticipated it to be.
“So, I thought we could… have a sleepover. In my room. Maybe that’ll help you settle in. Because you wouldn’t be alone and… uhm… it would…. Be cool?”
Corvus looked at him intently. That was not what he had thought Soren would say. He had imagined so much worse. Like Soren telling him that he had seen his father or there was another plot against the king. But this…
Corvus was not sure how to answer his request. He had never been to a sleepover. When he was younger, he did not have many friends to have sleepovers with and as soon as he could he joined general Amaya’s
battalion, which meant he did not have time for childish things like that.
And somehow Soren knew exactly what he was thinking.
“Wait. You never went to a sleepover?”
“Well… Does training camp count?”
Soren’s eyes lit up. He had so much to tell Corvus, explain to him. Now he would never take no for an answer. One can not simply never have gone to a sleepover. Not when Soren was around. So, he started rambling about what it was like, what people did, what foods there were.
“You know,” he said, “me and Clauds had them all the time. Back when…Well.” The sudden change in Soren’s demeanour was gone as quickly as it had come and soon, he was talking about some other weird thing
that happened to him at a sleepover once.
Corvus smiled. He actually loved when Soren had these outbursts. He held back his real self so often, hiding it behind muscles and fake smiles. Every chance that he got to see the real Soren was a chance he was willing to take. He was a dork. But he was his dork.
They walked down the corridor, Corvus listening intently to what Soren was saying, who was gesticulating wildly with one hand. The other one enclosed Corvus’. He liked holding hands with people and did it as often as possible, especially when he was excited about something. It reminded Corvus of a certain animal he had seen in a book once. They liked floating around on lakes, holding hands with each other. He found them incredibly adorable. (Just like Soren).
Occasionally, he threw in a “sounds good” or “oh really?” just to keep Soren talking. He did not want him to close up again.
“Yeah, I know, right? It’s totally great. You are going to love it. So, you want to do it?”
“Sure.”
Soren’s monologue was finally stopped when Callum stepped into their path.
“Oh. You’re back. I need… why are you holding hands?”
He peered down at their hands, still intertwined. Corvus wanted to pull his hand away already, but Soren would not let him.
“What do you mean, Callum?” the blond asked, as if he was genuinely confused, “I always hold people’s hands. I hold your hand all the time. It’s just thing bros do!”
Callum looked from their hands to Corvus, concerned. He was questioning if this was really a thing people normally did and Corvus, who could see what he was thinking in his face, shrugged, as if to say that he
did not know either, but this was Soren they were talking about. He was always a bit special. And even so, Corvus would never be able to bring himself to hurt Soren’s feelings.
“Anyways.” Soren said, finally drawing Callum’s gaze away from his little voiceless conversation with Corvus back to him, “ You wanted help with something, right? I’m here to help now. The helping hand!”
He held up his hand. Only a second later did he notice that it was the hand still holding Corvus’. So, he put it down again, as if nothing happened, holding up his other hand. But letting go off Corvus was still not
an option for him.
“You can stop holding my hand. You know that, right?” Corvus whispered into his ear. He was not quiet sure if Soren was aware of it, because it was starting to become slightly strange. This was going on too long
for it to only be a “bro-thing” as Soren had called it.
“Yeah. But I won’t.” Soren smiled.
“Okay then.”
Callum coughed, bringing their attention back to him and the thing he was holding in his hand. It was a small piece of paper, slightly yellow. There had been a seal or something of some kind around it. But Callum had already broken it open.
“I got this letter from Rayla. But it’s… weird. The words don’t make any sense. It’s like there is something missing.”
Soren held out his hand and reluctantly Callum placed the letter into it. He trusted Soren. He would never destroy the letter, right?
A second later, Soren turned the paper upside down, than onto its other side and finally held it right over a candle. Immediately, it was snatched back by Callum, who was shaking his head wildly.
“What the hell, Soren! What are you doing?! You’ll burn it.” he screamed, cradling the letter as if it was a child.
But suddenly there were new letters, new words appearing out of nowhere. Callum looked at the paper, incredulous, then at Soren and back at the paper.
“How?!”
“Don’t know. Seemed obvious.”
Callum could not figure out how Soren had gotten that idea or why it had worked or- This was not making any sense? He looked to Corvus, who seemed as flabbergasted as he was. But in his eyes shone something
else when he looked at Soren that Callum could not quite point out.
“Is that all Step-Mage? Because we,” his arm flew around Corvus, hugging him to his side, with the other he pointed to himself, “have a sleepover to prepare.”
“Oh, that’s cool. Can I join?” Callum asked, definitely not searching for a distraction, so he would not have to read the letter and possibly get his heart broken again.
“NO!” Both Soren and Corvus screamed at the same time.
“It’s… uhm…” Corvus stuttered, but thankfully Soren came to the rescue.
“It’s a crown guard thing! Yeah. Top secret. Sorry.”
Callum was still sputtering after them when they had already rounded the corner. Soren let Corvus to all the supplies they needed so Corvus could carry them while Soren was again babbling about the wonders and
excitements of a sleepover.
--
“So,” Soren looked down at the mountains of stuff Corvus and he had acquired for their sleepover, mentally checking them off his list, “we have some jelly tarts, blankets, cosy clothes, drinks, facemasks.”
Corvus was still not sure why they needed facemasks but honestly, he did not want to know either. With Soren he would either do a full-on spa time with massages and everything, or he would use them to throw at unsuspecting civilians, who dared to walk under his window.
“I also got this book from Callum. If you open it there are picture that come to live. And they are moving Corvus. They are moving pictures! Isn’t that cool? I like to call them movepics, you know because-“
“Yeah. I get it Sor. Very interesting.”
Internally, Corvus was panicking. He had never been in Soren’s room. Honestly, it was a bit weird if he thought about it. They had been friends for nearly two years now, but he had never stepped foot into this room. Mostly, because Soren always visited him in his room but also because he did not want to know what it looked like. He had known that he would become incredibly nervous when he stepped into the room for the first time, but this was on a whole different level.
He got to see how Soren lived. One’s room was the most holy place for oneself. Because of course you could hide your dirty clothes or weird books but there would always be this atmosphere of you. And with Soren’s room it was the same. It felt so much like Soren, the real Soren. There were dirty clothes on the floor (because why would he have cleaned up if it was only his best friend staying in his room) and his backup sword, some workout gear. And an excessively big bed in which at least three people could sleep.
Stepping into it made it feel like their relationship became so much more intimate just with a small little step over a small little threshold.
And now he was here. And Soren was still talking but he was way to overwhelmed to really listen, so he just repeated “mm” and “very interesting” until Soren finally noticed.
“You’re not even listening to me, are you?”
“Really Soren, very interesting… Wait. No. I… I haven’t been listening. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Soren sighed, sitting down on his bed. Corvus remained standing because there was no way in hell he could just sit down on Soren’s bed (even though Soren loved to lay in his). “I’m used to it,” he
mumbled.
Corvus almost did not understand what he had said.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Soren smiled, obviously fake. At least to Corvus it was obvious. He stood next to Soren, putting a hand on his shoulder, as they so often did to show their affection towards the other.
“I am going to totally listen to you now, okay?” He said, sitting down before him. He looked at him, with the most intense listening face he could muster. It was almost as good as baits facial expressions. Almost.
“Okay.” Soren smiled again, this time his real smile. Quickly he stood up, extinguishing all the lights in his room (which weren’t a lot because he was prone to accidentally throwing down a candle and starting small
fires). When he had sat down on the bed again, he opened the book.
Immediately, tiny pictures seemed to jump out of the book. There was a person riding a horse around a few inches above the paper. Then appeared a second person. They ran away and the rider went on to chase
them around the pages. For the story to continue Soren had to turn the page, otherwise the rider would go around chasing the other person infinitely longer.
“Woah,” Corvus gasped, instinctively grabbing his hand. Soren had seemingly pavloved him to do so. “That really is cool!”
--
“So Where can I sleep?” Corvus asked Soren when they had finished their story. It had already become dark out and he was struggling to keep an eye open. He looked around the room searching for something like a
spare mattress. There wasn’t one.
“Well… I thought the bed is… big enough for us both?” Soren told him. Immediately Corvus face heated up. Soren and him, sharing a bed? He would die of embarrassment. He couldn’t just sleep in the same bed
with him. What if he started snoring right into Soren’s face or drooled on him or- No. That would not be happening. Instead, he exclaimed that he would be sleeping on the floor.
Soren could only disagree. “No. You’ll totally be sore tomorrow.”
Corvus only shrugged. “I’m used to that. Sleeping on the ground and stuff. I really don’t care that much Soren.”
“But… But bed?” Soren did not understand. Why would a person prefer sleeping on the floor over a bed? Did he not want to share a bed with Soren? But why? Maybe he did not actually like Soren anymore. Maybe he
was just pretending and actually found him super annoying and gross. That would explain It.
“I care Corvus. You’re not sleeping on the floor.”
“Just let me sleep on the floor!”
“No! If you don’t want to sleep in a bed with me then I’ll sleep on the floor. Because you are my guest and you’re supposed to be comfortable.”
“Don’t sleep on the floor Soren.” If Soren thought that he was going to be sore after sleeping on the floor, he was not sure how he would get up tomorrow. Training in the Amaya’ battalion had some perks, for
example being able to sleep anywhere anytime without aching after. But Soren had not been in the battalion. He was a crown guard and had always been a crown guard. He was used to comfort. And if he slept on
the floor he would kill his back, Corvus was sure about it.
He wanted to argue some more, hoping that he could convince Soren to drop the topic and sleep in his bed. But before he could, Soren dropped down to the floor. He winced in pain. It really had not been a
graceful drop whatsoever.
“See? I love the floor. And the floor loves me,” he tried to hide his discomfort with an uncomfortable smile, “Mmmh. So soft.”
Corvus only shook his head. He held out a hand to Soren, signifying him to grab it and get up. “It’s okay Soren. You’re sensitive. And you’re going to sleep in your bed.”
Soren did not make any move to grab Corvus’ hand.
“But-“
“That is an order.” Corvus said, staring right into his eyes. It was a way of intimidation he had used on some of the newer recruits in the battalion that did not want to listen to him. And it worked every time.
Soren face turned a dark shade of red and finally he grabbed Corvus hand. It send a slight shiver down his spine. Without anymore complaining he let the other manoeuvre him to his bed.
With both hands-on Soren’s shoulders, Corvus pressed him down onto the sheet and smiled.
“Good job, Sor.”
The heat in Soren’s face deepened impossibly more. He was looking at Corvus with eyes like saucers, nervously biting his lip. That was… something.
After what felt like hours Corvus broke their eye contact, making himself comfortable on the floor. Soren could not look. He would never be able to forgive himself for being such a bad best friend. Who would let
their best friend sleep on the floor? Even if they wanted to. He would at least give him a pillow!
“Here,” he said, throwing his favourite pillow, which was shaped like a pineapple, right into Corvus’ face.
“Uhm… why?”
“Well. You need a pillow. And that one is my favourite so you can have it. But if you don’t want it, I also have a hard one, and a soft one, a not as hard and not as soft one… some stuffed animals. You can have
those. But not my dragon. He’s mine!”
Corvus gazed at him, his expression unreadable. He had given him his favourite. That pillow probably meant a lot to Soren and he had just given it to him.
“If it’s your favourite, why are you giving it to me?”
“Cause I want you to be comfortable. And you deserve a little appreciation don’t you think?”
Corvus stared at him with a look that Soren could not really place. His eyes were shimmering and, if he did not know better, he would be sure that his friend was crying. But that couldn’t be. Because he never cried.
He was too strong and pretty and-
Soren shook his head. Did he really think of his best friend as pretty? He had to admit that he was considerably attractive but that would be a problem for another day. Right now, he was too tired to think about
things like that.
“Thank you. Good night,” Corvus smiled.
“Good night. Love you, bro.”
“Love you too.” He said. A few seconds of silence later Corvus noticed what he had said. He wanted to say sorry to Soren, tell him that he did not mean it in that way but when he looked at Soren, he was already
asleep with a content smile on his face.
Corvus groaned over his own stupidity. Maybe he should just smother himself with the pillow so he would not have to wake up the next day and talk to Soren, maybe even about what happened (if he did not forget
again which he probably did). But when he placed the pillow on his face, he had to unfortunately notice that it smelled like Soren. Finally, he faced his fate: He would not be able to sleep until he stopped noticing
things about Soren in Soren’s room and most off all if he did not stop thinking about him and his pretty face.