Illius hovered behind Eric as they made their way toward the back of the house. He wanted to stay with Eric, never let him go; at the same time, he didn’t want to be clingy.

Eric paused at the door to the third room they hadn’t touched yet and glanced back at Illius. His blue eyes didn’t hold their normal sparkle, and his shoulders didn’t have their familiar confidence. “Stay with me?” he asked.

Illius nodded and stepped inside with him.

“Actually.” Eric ripped the covers back and laid the pillows under them to make a dummy.

“I don’t Hireth will be fooled,” Illius told him.

“It’s the thought that counts.” He shrugged. “She’s way less likely to disturb you than me.”

Eric wasn’t wrong there. Whenever Hireth approached, she’d knock on Illius’ door but never actually enter unless he said she could. Meanwhile, she’d barge in on Eric without a second thought. So, they made their way back to Illius’ room, and Eric crawled under the covers almost immediately. He latched onto Illius as soon as the other man joined him, clutching his shirt and snuggling into his neck. Illius reached out his hand but froze it in midair. “Is it alright if I put a hand on your back?”

“Yeah.”

Illius did so, holding it there awkwardly. He knew Eric was upset, but he didn’t know what to do. “What’s—what’s wrong?”

“I’m just angry,” Eric huffed. “What kind of fucking monster implants black magic into their fourteen-year-old daughter? What kind of monster condemns a fifteen-year-old girl to death? I just—I knew—she has that haunted look sometimes, you know? She was the only person I could ever talk to about my mom dying, because she just got it. She knew.

“She knew that, as little or much as I wanted to talk about it, I’d still feel like shit and miss her and miss my brother—and this one time, I cursed my dad for leaving me, and I thought she’d be mad or defend him or something, but she just hugged me and said she was sorry. And now I know. Now I know why.”

Illius didn’t say anything; he just squeezed Eric tighter.

“This world is such shit. They call you a monster, but you’re the kindest, most beautiful person I’ve ever met. And my aunt—they tried to make her into a monster, and she turned it all around on them. How come real monsters never look like monsters?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not seeing me as a monster.”

Eric pulled away, his eyes red and puffy, to search Illius’ face. “Someday you’re gonna believe me. I’m gonna keep telling you every single day. You’re lovely. I love you. You’re not a monster.”

“Alright.” Illius pulled him close, hiding the red creeping up his face.

“I’m righting an injustice here,” Eric mumbled against his chest, hastening Illius’ heartbeat.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Do you believe me yet?”

“Mm,” Illius sighed, “no, but… it’s nice to hear.”

“Hmph.” Eric paused. “Sorry, I have a lot on my mind.”

“It’s fine.”