[ He doesn't mean to flinch, but his voice is harsh in his ears. Low and gravelly, more what he'd expect from a beast than a man.
But he doesn't leave. He doesn't want to. Not when he's finally found him after searching for so long.
(he regrets losing sight of him at the battle of garreg mach. there was nothing to be done about it, he knows - with so many soldiers and demonic beasts around, it was hard enough just staying alive - but still. he regrets not being by his side then, and after.) ]
Dimitri... [ His voice - his name - is barely above a broken whisper. Ashe falls to his knees in front of him, eyes stinging from the beginnings of tears. He reaches to cup his cheek, to tell him that he loves him and missed him, but stills when he notices his eye patch. Up close like this, he can really see what the past five years have done to him.
His hand clenches, otherwise frozen in mid-air. There's... really no use in apologizing, is there. So instead, through a small sniffle, he says ] I... I'm so glad you're alive. That I was able to find you.
[Dimitri looks up at Ashe through his bangs, matted and dry. He recognizes, Ashe. Of course he does. He is five years older now but he is very much the same Ashe that Dimitri remembers. Not a single freckle has moved - no change in the constellations across his nose - and his eyes are just as kind as always even through the swell of tears.
Ashe is the same but Dimitri is not. The past five years have no been kind to him. The voices have not been kind. Dimitri has not been kind to himself. Ashe says he's alive but Dimitri is certain that isn't true.
[ The tears begin spilling over, hot against his cheeks, but he makes no move to wipe his face. ] Don't say that... please.
[ He rests his hands over his on the lance, rubbing his gloved fingers over the back of his hand. (his hands have always been bigger, but even though he's grown he still feels impossibly small next to him.) ] I'm here now. And I promise, I won't leave you. So long as you want me to, I'll stay by your side. [ The smile he gives him is small, but a smile nevertheless. ]
[ She? Edelgard? Cornelia? Or perhaps another woman, someone Ashe doesn't know but has also broken the heart and spirit of the man he loves so much?
His speculating can wait. First, he needs to get him on his feet and out of this town. ] I won't die so easily, you know. I've gotten stronger these past five years. [ His hands squeeze Dimitri's tight. ] So please... let me stay with you. I'll follow you anywhere, Dimitri.
[ And maybe, just maybe, that mindset of his of not being drawn into darkness will help pull him from the grasp of whatever shadows lurk within him. ]
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But he doesn't leave. He doesn't want to. Not when he's finally found him after searching for so long.
(he regrets losing sight of him at the battle of garreg mach. there was nothing to be done about it, he knows - with so many soldiers and demonic beasts around, it was hard enough just staying alive - but still. he regrets not being by his side then, and after.) ]
Dimitri... [ His voice - his name - is barely above a broken whisper. Ashe falls to his knees in front of him, eyes stinging from the beginnings of tears. He reaches to cup his cheek, to tell him that he loves him and missed him, but stills when he notices his eye patch. Up close like this, he can really see what the past five years have done to him.
His hand clenches, otherwise frozen in mid-air. There's... really no use in apologizing, is there. So instead, through a small sniffle, he says ] I... I'm so glad you're alive. That I was able to find you.
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Ashe is the same but Dimitri is not. The past five years have no been kind to him. The voices have not been kind. Dimitri has not been kind to himself. Ashe says he's alive but Dimitri is certain that isn't true.
He doesn't move.] I wasn't meant to be found.
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[ He rests his hands over his on the lance, rubbing his gloved fingers over the back of his hand. (his hands have always been bigger, but even though he's grown he still feels impossibly small next to him.) ] I'm here now. And I promise, I won't leave you. So long as you want me to, I'll stay by your side. [ The smile he gives him is small, but a smile nevertheless. ]
Okay?
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Dimitri looks away again, shakes his head.] I wont rest until she's dead. If you stay by my side, you must be prepared for that.
You'll die too. Just like everyone else... [Everyone else who has stayed by his side. Even in his mania, he knows he doesn't want Ashe to die.]
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His speculating can wait. First, he needs to get him on his feet and out of this town. ] I won't die so easily, you know. I've gotten stronger these past five years. [ His hands squeeze Dimitri's tight. ] So please... let me stay with you. I'll follow you anywhere, Dimitri.
[ And maybe, just maybe, that mindset of his of not being drawn into darkness will help pull him from the grasp of whatever shadows lurk within him. ]