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The smell of iron filled the air, it coated his lungs and clogged up his nose.
In the back of his mind he knew there was screaming, there was shouting and sobbing and cries of terror and pain filled the air. There were bodies spread across the floor of the hallway, some covered in blood and others simply still and unmoving. Narnia… Where is he- He was near the explosion right?
The building was a mess, his office covered in dust and his own blood. The smell of iron was suffocating as he wheezed, his ears ringing from whatever bomb had gone off. An entire side of the wall was gone, leaving nothing but dust and crumbled remnants of what it was.Normally he wouldn’t really be phased by such things, after all he dealt with much worse things.
But with a steel beam stabbing him through stomach, he felt he had some right to complain.
Standing up on shaky legs with blood trickling down the side of his face and coating his skin, he let out a pained grunt as he managed to rip the beam out. Logically he knew keeping the thing inside of him would be better then just ripping it out- but he wasn’t really thinking at all. He must’ve hit his head or something because he could barely think past the haze of pain and the spinning of his head.
After wandering through the destruction mindlessly he spotted a blotchy mess of dark purple, his glasses were cracked but he recognized his partner anyways. He blinked, which only made his vision worse as he stumbled towards the Naberius shakily.
"Narnia? Love- oh thank Derkila you're alive..." the demon turned around and if his glasses weren’t cracked- or maybe if his eyes were more focused, he’d have seen his lover’s wide feral gaze. Tight lipped and stared full of dark intent, intent all aimed towards him.
"Henri…?" Henri blinked, brow furrowing in worry as he reached a hand out in an attempt to steady himself on his ally and check to see if there was something wrong. Only to stumble slightly when the hellhound stepped back, his hand was holding something that glinted. Although everything was blurry with his glasses cracked and a possible concussion.
"You- You weren’t supposed to survive…” the demon mumbled, if his vision wasn’t beginning to swim maybe he’d see how Narnia trembled. How his gaze seemed panicked and how his fingers trembled holding the strange object in his hand.
Maybe he would’ve seen the guilt and anguish in his beloved’s lovely eyes.
"Narnia? What’s happening, what's going on- a- are you hurt? C’mon…we- we should find someone—“ he broke off into weak coughs, feeling something warm trickle down the side of his mouth. Whining weakly as he swayed, his vision looked blurrier somehow, that was funny. He didn’t notice his partner’s pained expression, nor the way he seemed like he was about to throw up.
“Fuck Henri-!” oh, I’m on the ground now… perhaps he should be more concerned about the fact he had been standing but now it seemed he was on the ground- but he wasn’t. It was cold but also…soft? That’s not right, why was the floor soft- oh, and warm. Henri could stay like this for a while.
“Narnia…?” the panicked sound of cursing continued above him, he whined. It was too loud, even though it sounded far away at the same time. Everything hurt too, even as he felt his partner hold him tightly against his chest. And oh- there were gentle fingers running through his blood stained hair, that felt nice.
“—orry I’m so sorry please open your eyes, Henri please—“ Narnia? Oh, my eyes are closed, he realized abruptly he must’ve been drifting off, strange- he couldn’t remember when he’d closed his eyes. As he blearily opened them he found his vision full of dark purple and black, his ears picking up what sounded like broken pleading.
“Love…?” a sob, before he was enveloped in warmth. Henri blinked, confused for a moment before realizing the hellhound was hugging him, he smiled and giggled weakly. His chest rattled, his lungs making a weird noise as he wheezed- it was kind of hard to breath his mouth was full of blood, which wasn’t ideal honestly. In the back of his mind he knew it was strange, his lover didn’t hug anyone. But he could barely keep his thoughts in order long enough to think of such things.
“Oh Derkila what have I done- Henri please- look at me. Can you do that for me? No- no don’t close your eyes!” he blinked, his eyes had started to close again. Everything also got really, really warm. Did Narnia start a fire? Oh well, the demon thought with a weak, gurgled hum, warm was better than cold.
Surely his partner wouldn’t mind if he took a small nap right? Everything hurt and he was so warm, and this was the first time Narnia ever hugged him first! Although he heard his beloved’s panicked cries it couldn’t be that bad, every time he tried opening his eyes it hurt.
Absent-mindedly he wondered how Ameri was doing, he hoped she wouldn’t be too worried. Narnia will help put everything back in order and when he wakes up his partner will scold him for getting hurt.
He’ll call his daughter and check on her once this is all sorted out, although he doubted there was anything wrong, she seemed happier lately. Ever since she met Sullivan’s grandson she practically beamed whenever she went off to Babyls, he smiled despite his usual dislike for Ameri’s ally. As long as he made her happy Henri didn’t think he could hate the boy that much.
“Henri please don’t go- please- we can fix this- I can fix this please just stay awake- Love please- I’m sorry I’m so sorry please don’t—“ his attention was brought back to Narnia, his vision swimming as black dots danced across his gaze.
The headache he had earlier turned into a horrible migraine- the taste of iron was coating his mouth as blood roared in his ears. Despite everything the gentle touch of the hellhound’s fingers carding through his hair was pleasant, and he hummed and leaned into it despite how his body throbbed.
“Fuck- Henri please- wake up! I’m sorry please- wake up! open your eyes- get up! Fucking- don’t leave me!” Henri let out a weak huff, it was getting harder and harder to breathe. It’s okay , Henri thought as he felt himself slowly slip out of consciousness, it’s okay…
He was only taking a small nap right?
“Wait! Please I’m sorry- don’t leave me- no no no Henri- I love yo —!”
———
Narnia stared.
Henri’s body was cold, so so cold in a way that was wrong. It was horrible, awful, he wanted to scream but couldn’t.
All he could do was stare.
“Henri….Henri please- this isn’t funny…” he gently cupped his beloved’s cheek, it was cold. Blood stained his partner’s beautiful face, his warm eyes closed and his face frozen in a gentle smile of what once was. He sobbed, feeling his eyes burn for the first time in a long time.
“I’m sorry…” Narnia whispered, burying his face into Henri’s matted hair as his shoulders shook. Memories of everything that had happened flashed through his mind, of Baal and their agreements- the plan and the explosion- it…it wasn’t supposed to happen like this. This wasn’t fair, this wasn’t…
This wasn’t what he wanted.
Henri was supposed to die somewhere else, someplace where the noble wouldn’t see him. Where he wouldn’t be faced with the fact he cared, with the fact that everything he had poured into these plans felt wrong. Where he wasn’t supposed to be found, where Narnia couldn’t see him- couldn’t regret.
Come back, he pleaded, don’t leave me here, he sobbed. The hellhound wept, fingers sliding against the blood that covered his lover’s body- his, his precious partner that he adored and treasured so much more than he ever imagined he would.
“Henri please…please, I’m sorry- I’m sorry please. Don’t- don’t leave me here, I’ll fix this- please come back…” Narnia sobbed, feeling his chest constrict painfully. Henri stayed horribly still, his face still set in that awfully gentle smile. He felt like he was being mocked, he felt like his heart was being torn apart at the seams. How ironic that a guard dog should kill the one being it treasured most in the Netherworld.
It hit him that he’d never be able to walk into his lover’s office and be greeted warmly again. He’d never be able to watch as Henri spotted him in a crowd or group and the way his eyes grew warm, his mouth ever so gently curling into a sweet smile.
And as hours or maybe just minutes went by, the grief slowly transformed into cold emptiness. His chest felt hollow, and his tears had dried, he chuckled, cradling the corpse of his beloved as if the Naberius hadn’t snuffed out the very life it held himself. There was only silence after the explosion, no screams or shouts- no cries or sobs- just dead silence. It made him want to claw his ears off.
The hellhound twined his fingers together with Henri’s, staring at the matching golden bands on both of their ring fingers. He felt his world shatter all over again as his breath stuttered in his chest, a fresh new wave of sobs wracking his body.
“I love you…” Narnia half whispered half sobbed as he stared at his partner’s cold body, tears streaming down his face as he sniffled and pressed their foreheads together.
He wondered if Henri ever truly heard him say that before he died.