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It’s Warriors who closes Wild’s eyes.
And Twilight’s ready to argue. Scream in outrage. Accuse of betrayal because shouldn’t Warriors also want to witness the moment Wild's eyes — ?
“Don’t torture yourself, Twilight,” Warriors says before he could spit out any of it, his fury fading as he sees Warriors’s hand shake from where it hovers over Wild’s now closed eyes. “It’s hard enough as it is.”
Twilight swallows thickly and refuses to shift his gaze to where Warriors’s own does, just a little below Wild’s stomach. Instead, he pulls his protege closer and ignores the way Wild’s head lolls lifelessly on the crook of his arm.
“He’s coming back.” Twilight reminds Warriors with a frown, the fire inside him yet to die as he makes an effort to keep his eyes on Wild’s face before he repeats his own words. “He’s — He will.”
Twilight's not entirely sure who he’s trying to convince, if himself or Warriors, but the man that has become more than a companion, who has become a partner, equal — brother — only hums.
“Then, when he does.” Warriors starts before he flatters, lowering his hand and hesitating a second before he brushes some of Wild’s hair back, like they always did — do whenever their champion needs some wordless comfort.
The action itself is almost enough for Twilight to choke around the lump in his throat that grows thicker with each passing second. Almost. Almost.
He still bites the inside of his lip to keep it from trembling.
“When he does.” Warriors tries again, voice choked up as he keeps his eyes on Wild’s face. “Then he’ll only need to blink them open, right?”
Twilight nods jerkly, eyebrows furrowed together in determination even as his entire body shakes.
“Yes.” Twilight croaks out, his arms instinctively tightening around Wild before lifting his gaze for the first time to meet Warriors’s gaze, wordlessly pleading him to believe him. “Wars, he will. He will.”
Twilight’s heart thumps hard against his chest as Warriors only limits himself to smile sadly, offering the weakest nod as comfort that holds no belief but it is full of sorrow instead.
Because Warriors is no liar just like he’s no stranger to death.
Twilight shuts his eyes close to save himself from the defeat Warriors’s gaze is already being clouded with, focusing instead on breathing through his mouth so that the foul smell of the infected monsters' blood left on their tunics doesn’t set him off.
And, perhaps, to keep the smell of Wild’s blood out of his mind too, in a weak attempt to trick his brain and hold reality off a little longer.
At least until Wild wakes up. Until his heart starts beating again underneath Twilight’s palm once more. Until the dark dull edge that had taken over Wild’s eyes disappears and is replaced with a vivid brightness that will scream life.
Twilight shudders a breath, refusing to open his eyes even as he hears Warriors move. He keeps them close even when Warriors sighs heavily through his nose, mumbles something about keeping guard, and stands up.
It takes all of Twilight's strength to keep his whines muted when Warriors squeeze his shoulder, as he passes by. Strong and yet gentle. A reminder that lasts the briefest second before it’s gone.
Twilight’s focus lingers on Warriors’s footsteps, hearing the way they grow fainter the further Warriors walks away from them but stays within range.
His bemusement lasts but less than a heartbeat before he hears an abrupt thump, debris and pebbles on the ground being pushed from their place harshly. Twilight forces himself to look over his shoulder and instantly regrets it.
Something inside Twilight shatters at the sight of Warriors on his knees, curled over himself on the ground with his hands pressed over his mouth in a clear but vain attempt to keep his muffled cries silent.
Twilight instantly gets dizzy with the heavy guilt that settles on his stomach, growing heavier with every muffled sob he hears and shouldn’t be able to, not if he was a normal hylian.
But he isn’t and the worst part is that Twilight can’t help it because he, unlike Warriors, is a liar with secrets that enhance his senses and allow him to hear his brother crumble despite both of their wishes.
And while Twilight’s soul cries with him, he's yet to join Warriors in his grief.
He's yet to mourn. Accept defeat.
All because it has hardly been more than twenty minutes since they had been on their way back to camp from their impromptu hunt and were ambushed by a horde of monsters.
Hardly ten minutes since they had managed to escape said ambush thanks to the portal that had appeared at the right time.
Hardly five since Wild had noticed the heavy bleeding open wound near his navel. Hardly two since Twilight had screamed his voice raw as he pleaded to Wild to hold on after the few potions they had poured down his throat had done nothing .
Hardly. Hardly. Hardly.
It doesn't matter. The minutes, seconds, the eternity of it doesn't matter because Twilight knows they still have a chance.
Because Wild had told them all about the Champions' abilities. Their gifts to him. He had told them all about them during one of their quietest nights, with a bittersweet smile but animated voice as he listed all of the trouble he had gotten out of thanks to said gifts.
Wild had also told them how those gifts had disappeared the moment he and Flora defeated Calamity Ganon. How his friends' spirits had finally found peace and had left their realm shortly after their victory.
At the time, almost everyone had at least one story of how they have caught Wild snapping his fingers in the middle of battle or how they had seen him drop to the ground on a crouch next to a cliff out of nowhere, joking around how this last one would always ended up either with Wind taking it as invitation to climb on his back or with Legend unbalancing him with a hard shove from behind.
Twilight remembers the way Wild had laughed so loud, a barely concealed grin had been on his lips as he explained how, even when a year or so had passed since he had last been able to use them, the muscle memory from his adventure sometimes takes over.
He had explained every gift in detail too, even told them about how each champion had said goodbye to him when all was said and done; Urbosa with a kiss on his forehead, Revali with a slap full of feathers and a smirk, Daruk with a grin and a slap on the back, and Mipha —
Twilight's chokes on his own breath, curling over Wild's body as he recalls the way Wild had talked quietly about Mipha's gentle smile and the kiss she had dropped on his cheek.
But she hadn't said 'goodbye', Twilight reminds himself in denial, scrambling all over his memories to recall if Wild had mentioned if his long lost friend had said, out loud, a ‘goodbye’ like the others.
Because if not, then it will prove that Twilight has been right all along and Wild will come back to them. Come back to him.
He has to. He has to.
It's Twilight's last thread of hope.
And yet it dims as time continues to tick by, the sun starts to set behind them, and nightfall slowly makes its presence known. Wild’s body grows heavier as Twilight’s hold grows weaker.
All of this within an eternity inside the beat of a heart that no teal-lighted specks have brought back.
Yet. "Please." Twilight begs quietly to Mipha, the goddesses — Hylia herself. He prays and pleads to anyone out there that might hear him and bring his protege back to him. “Please, please, please , not him."
His echo. His descendant. His brother. His —
“Cub, please.”
He doesn’t even notice Warriors’s return until the captain is crouching down next to him once again. Twilight doesn’t think he has the strength to meet his gaze if Warriors calls.
He choke out a strangled sob, though, when Warriors shudders a breath instead and drops a hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles between his shoulder blades. Comforting him.
Warriors is comforting him.
Because Twilight’s mourning. Because Wild’s dead.
Because. Because. Because —
Wild’s face becomes a blur as Twilight’s eyes overflow with tears, stealing his chance to see reality for himself and instead forcing him to rely on his senses; hand pressed over a stilled chest, no heartbeat reaching his touch.
It’s not long before his hand is replaced by his forehead once Twilight’s soul has properly been ripped out of him with a gut-wrenching scream that he echoes around him until his voice runs out.
Until he’s left hollow and his entire body shakes with sobs and pleading shrieks to those above before they turn into spiteful cursing that dissolves as soon as he feels Warriors curling himself around him and Wild both.
“Wars.” Twilight whines wetly through his tears, voice wrecked and muffled against WIld’s chest. “Warriors, please. Please, he can’t — he can’t .”
Warriors stays quiet, the only sign that tells Twilight he had been heard is the way his brother curls closer, forehead pressed against Twilight’s shoulder even as he trembles with sobs.
And he doesn’t stop. Twilight continues to scream, shout, and curse every entity out there until they —
Bring him back. Bring him back. Give him back. Give him — !
“— to me.” Warriors tells him eventually, breaking the dreadful silence that had fallen upon them without Twilight’s knowing.
“Twilight .” Warriors pleads when Twilight doesn’t budge, voice pained and strained as he rearranges himself until his hands are gently and carefully sliding underneath Wild, brushing against Twilight’s touch. “Twi, you’ve got to let go.”
Twilight shakes his head vigorously with whatever energy he has left and he swallows the thick guilt at the pained defeated sob that leaves his brother’s mouth when Twilight's hold doesn't budge.
“Twi, ple — ”
When Warriors’s breath hitches, Twilight doesn’t question it. At least not until his name is called out with awe and hope.
“Twilight. ”
Until he sees light behind his eyelids. Teal-lighted. Faint. But vivid.
There. Here .
Twilight straightens himself at the same time he snaps his eyes wide open, barely on time to witness the last of the teal-lighted specks idly lowering themselves all over Wild, glowing their brightest above his navel and fading away once the only thing left torned open on Wild was his tunic.
On the next heartbeat, true to the echo of Warriors’s words inside his head, Wild blinks his eyes open.
Alive. Alive. Blue eyes bright with life.
Either Twilight or Warriors breathe, both of them holding themselves still as they watch Wild weakly squirm, clearly disoriented, for a brief second before his eyes clear out and settle on them both.
Wild furrows his eyebrows at Twilight first, looking completely drained and confused but with a healthy vivid flush spread over his cheeks that easily highlights the scars on his right side.
“Wha’appen?” he slurs out, voice quiet and hoarse. He grimaces when something wet falls on him, near his eyebrow. “Wha — iz rainin’? ”
“Yeh.” Twilight croaks out as another tear falls from his eyes, this time landing on Wild’s cheekbone. “Yeah, it’s rainin’, Cub.”
Wild hums, not convinced, but he doesn’t call Twilight out. Instead, he lets out a small ‘oof’ out of surprise when a second pair of arms reach out to hold him close.
“Thank you.” Warriors chokes up, curling himself closer as he tightens his hold around Wild’s shoulders and buries his face deep on their brother’s disheveled hair. “Thank you, thank you.”
Twilight feels his own lip twitch at the words, the relief in Warrriors’s voice heavy enough to make him dizzy but complementing the one that overflows inside Twilight’s chest nicely. His lips finally grow into a small smile when Wild hums again, bemused.
“Rainin’?” He asks quietly, eyes on Twilight but referring to Warriors by wrapping a hand around the captain's wrist.
“Raining.” Twilight replies, equally quiet, shifting himself and the grip he had on Wild so he and Warriors both could hold him close and comfortable between them.
Wild sighs softly through his mouth before he starts rubbing his thumb against the small patch of bare skin he could find on Warrriors’s wrist.
Twilight huffs a small fond chuckle when Wild, kind and golden-hearted as always, uses his other hand to grab the hand Twilight had dropped on his chest, probably not wanting him to feel left out.
Twilight’s okay with that. He squeezes Wild’s hand to tell him so.
“Mipha said goodbye.” Wild tells them then, voice soft, setting his gaze on the night sky above them. “She waited. One last time.”
“Bless her soul.” Twilight replies, his voice thick with emotion. “She knew you too well, Cub.”
“Sorry.” Wild starts, his eyes foggy and troubled. Twilight’s shaking his head before he could even finish the thought.
“Wasn’t your fault,” he says, repeating himself when Wild’s eyes grow damp. “Oh, Wild.”
“I know, I just — M’sorry .” Wild hiccups and curls himself closer to them. “I didn’t — It was so quick and I didn't even notice — I didn’t know if — if Mipha —”
“But she did.” Warriors cuts him off, shifting his head to press his forehead against Wild, forcing him to meet his gaze. “She did, you’re here. You’re okay. You're okay, Wild.”
“We’ve got you.” Twilight adds, squeezing Wild’s hand in reassurance when Warriors pulls back so Wild could catch his eyes too. “It’s alright, Cub. Let it rain if you need to.”
Wild snorts wetly, his smile tentative and weak before it crumbles and he lets his tears flow, small but sharp sobs shaking his frame even as both Twilight and Warriors tighten their hold around him.
Twilight limits himself to enjoy the sound of Wild crying, even if it is heartbreaking, because it’s music in its purest form to him. It sounds like life itself and Twilight couldn’t be more grateful for it.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Twilight shifts his gaze from Wild to Warriors, who offers a small sad smile when their eyes lock.
‘I’m sorry.’ His brother mouths carefully, his hands seemingly moving on their own as one of them settles on Wild’s temple, brushing his hair back in short but soothing strokes.
Twilight’s gaze softens at the apology and his heart settles when Wild’s crying slows down the more Warriors strokes his hair.
‘Thank you.’ Twilight throws back to him, a small breath resembling a laugh leaving his lips at the arched eyebrow Warriors throws back at him.
'Staying.' He explains carefully so his brother wouldn't miss it.
The gentle edge that settles on the captain's eyes, along with his small but genuine smile, let Twilight know he doesn't.