Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/10772781.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      真女神転生IV_FINAL_|_Shin_Megami_Tensei_IV:_Apocalypse
  Relationship:
      Hallelujah/Nanashi, Implied_Flynn/Nanashi, Mentioned_Threesome_-
      Relationship
  Character:
      Hallelujah_(Shin_Megami_Tensei), Nanashi_(Shin_Megami_Tensei_IV
      Apocalypse)
  Additional Tags:
      First_Time, Mating_Bond, Mating, Hybrid_Physiology, Oral_Sex, Nipple
      Play, Insecurity, Sex_Magic, Creation, Alternate_Universe_-_Canon
      Divergence, Spoilers, Complete
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-05-01 Words: 4877
****** For Life, Magnificent ******
by shinigami_yumi
Summary
     While sealing the Aether Jar of Lust, Hallelujah tries to help Toki
     but ends up affected by the Aether. With all of his secrets out in
     the open, he expects rejection, but finds his attraction to Nanashi
     reciprocated instead.
      
     (Marked underage because they're 15 in the game)
Notes
     I've been experimenting with variations of Nanashi's personality on
     the light-dark spectrum, so he's a bit different in each fic. The
     dark god complex version seems the most popular though. XD
See the end of the work for more notes
They thought they knew the risks, but seeing Toki's suffering, Hallelujah
doesn't know anymore if she'll make it. This is the last jar though. With
Nanashi being the only one who can fight presently (a lie, but they don't need
to know about that), he's glad their Leader is strong. He makes defeating the
temple guardians look easy, and Zouchouten is no different. As usual, Toki
makes her way towards the jar to seal it, but she cries out halfway,
collapsing.
It's different this time, though. Where she talked before, this time, she only
gasps and cries out, writhing on the floor, and Hallelujah thinks she may be at
her limit — he can't watch this.
"Hey, are you okay?!" He rushes to her side.
Or tries to.
"S—stay back!" But she's too late.
He cries out, knees buckling — his body feels electric, his loins aflame with
need, and he can't think. "L—Leader…" Green eyes are sharp, and he's not sure
who gasps, lost in the spike of desire. Then Nanashi is atop him, all lean
muscle and overflowing magnetite, kissing his mouth, his jaw, his neck, and he
arches into the contact. "Ngh, please…" He's always idolized their Leader's
unshakeable calm, but now he wishes the other would show some urgency. His
clothes are sticking to his feverish skin, and after merely fantasizing for so
long, he longs to feel Nanashi more intimately now. "More…" He needs more, and
he writhes for more contact, more friction, unsure if the shouting is his own.
Suddenly, he's being pulled up against the other's chest, strong arms wrapping
around him, and he buries his face in Nanashi's neck, inhales the addicting
scent of magnetite and Fairy Forest musk as he rocks his hips into the other's.
"Leader," he moans, "please…"
"Keep an eye on Toki. I'm taking him outside."
Without waiting for a reply, Nanashi half-carries him along, and he tries his
best to keep up — maybe outside they'll finally—
Abruptly, Nanashi stops and faces him. "Hallelujah?"
His eyes flick up to green ones —concern, not a trace of the earlier dilation—
and it brings sudden, painful clarity. He flinches away.
He'd merely been affected by the Aether.
The others had been shouting for Nanashi to help him.
It was just another fantasy.
And now that everyone's seen him pleading for it, he can't go back to
pretending he isn't intensely attracted to their fearless Leader anymore, maybe
even a little bit in love.
His eyes sting as he sags under the crushing weight of his disappointment and
mortification, trying to will the ground to swallow him up before he dies of
shame — no such luck.
"L—Leader, I…"
"How are you feeling?"
Embarrassed, heartbroken, unsatisfied. He hopes they can at least continue as
friends, that this hasn't ruined things between them, made everything weird and
awkward. "I— I'm okay, just… uncomfortable." His pants are a mess, and the rest
of his body is clammy with sweat — he feels gross, but he's still hard, and his
balls ache. He thinks to get away, to relieve himself, but this has really
taken the wind out of his fantasies.
"You sure? Looks like the Aether changed you."
Hallelujah freezes —Shit. Shit, shit, shit.— as a cold ball of dread sinks into
the pit of his stomach. It'd be easy, he thinks as he lifts white hands, to
blame the Aether, easier than the truth. Easier than admitting that these
monstrous claws are a part of him, the beast inside, but—
"Stay calm. We'll find a way to fix it," Nanashi says firmly, and that's why
Hallelujah can't lie — there is no cure, and they shouldn't waste their time
seeking one.
"It's not the Aether," he chokes up. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to know. I
didn't want anyone to know. And I didn't want you to find out this way."
Nanashi tilts his head in question, and those piercing green eyes feel like a
knife to his throat — Hallelujah curls further into himself. Before he can
continue, though, they widen.
"You're half-demon..."
Hallelujah cringes, then wraps his arms around himself, cold. "That obvious,
huh? Yeah, I'm a half-breed." A monster, a curse, an abomination.
Nanashi shakes his head. "Dagda. But now it makes sense. Yesterday, what
Krishna said," he elaborates. "Unlike the others, you immediately sympathized.
It must be tough, you said. Like you knew. I wondered."
"Heh. Like I said, I never knew my dad. But my mom told me why I was… different
from the other kids, why all the neighbours stayed away from us. She always
said his name, Samyaza. The shitty thing is, she still loved him although he
never came back, even when no one came to save us the day she got mauled. My
powers awakened, and I killed the demons that attacked us, but I couldn't save
her." He runs his hands up over his face and through his hair with a huff.
"Pretty useless, right? Anyway, I'm sorry."
"Why do you keep apologizing?"
Hallelujah slumps back into the wall. "I didn't mean to hide it from you."
"Yes, you did," comes the reply — without censure or acrimony, but it still
feels like a slap to the face.
"You're right." He shakes his head, self-deprecating. "I've been living in fear
of people finding out. That's why I hid my powers and my true form." Blinking
to clear his vision, "I should go," he decides, pushing off from the wall
towards the exit.
Nanashi catches him by the elbow. "Go where?"
Shrugging, he shifts back. "Back to the Ashura-kai, I guess. Why?" He smiles,
bitter, wistful. "Scared I'll attack people? You should be. I'm a demon!"
"So? You didn't just turn half-demon today."
Huh? No one's ever reacted like this before. "Y—you're just gonna let it go?!"
Nanashi shrugs. "What are you gonna do now that you didn't do before?"
Hallelujah opens his mouth to reply, but no words come.
"No, hang on." Nanashi doesn't wait for him to find his tongue. "What you did
earlier — was that just the Aether, or will you do it again?"
As it dawns on him what the other is referring to, he colours. "I—"
The other's hand cups his cheek, a thumb wiping below his eye, and the words
die, his train of thought lost.
"Say you'll do it again."
Surprisingly soft lips press to his own, clumsy but insistent, and he gasps. A
tongue slips in, and he meets it, unthinking, tastes a hint of the pastry they
shared earlier, and warmth tingles down his spine. He moans into it, eyes
falling shut, reminded of his neglected erection as strong arms haul him close
and—
The ground starts shaking.
"Wh—what's going on?!"
Without answering, Nanashi grabs his hand and runs back inside to check,
pulling him along.
"I think that's the Tokugawa Mandala," Nozomi says as they enter. "We should be
able to summon demons now." Approaching as the tremors cease, she gives him a
closer look. "Anyway, are you okay?"
He glances sideways at Nanashi, but the other's expression is unreadable, as
always. "Uh…"
Just then, Toki collapses, and Nozomi runs to check on her, sparing him for
now, but it's probably too much to hope for the others to forget what they saw
— he doesn't miss the suspicion in SIR Gaston's eyes. Nanashi hasn't let go of
his hand, though, and he thinks, maybe… maybe it's okay.
But that's when a dark spectre coalesces into a vaguely feminine form above
Toki and introduces itself as Inanna.
                                   □■□■□■□■
"I should apologize, shouldn't I?" Hallelujah asks as their Leader opens the
door. He'd been pacing nearby, waiting for the others to leave.
Stepping aside to let him in, Nanashi flatly replies, "You didn't do anything
wrong."
"Thanks." He smiles, shy, bites his lip as the door clicks shut behind him.
"Maybe I should anyway… so it won't get harder to work together, you know?"
But, if he's honest, that's not why he's here. His eyes flick to the other's
lips, set in their usual fierce line, and he can't stop thinking about the
earlier kiss, can't forget his unfulfilled desire.
Shrugging, Nanashi replies, "It is what it is," tossing him a towel and some
sleepwear. "I was about to shower."
He nods, following the other to the communal showers. He feels gross after
today — the subterranean cold has chilled the mess into his skin and clothes.
It's a short wait in line before they head into separate stalls, and he briskly
shucks his suit. The shower pressure is erratic, the water just shy of icy, and
he can't leap out of the spray fast enough.
But he wants to be clean. For Nanashi. He's… alien at worst, plain at best. The
least he can do is eliminate anything within his control that might be a turn-
off.
So he takes a deep breath and shifts —he's got better temperature tolerance
this way— before scrubbing his skin and hair vigorously with some soap, then
rinsing off as thoroughly as he can manage with the dwindling water pressure.
He's shivering when he gets out, even after he's dried off, dressed and put on
his jacket, colder still when he shifts back before letting himself out of the
shower stall.
Nanashi is waiting for him, leaning against the wall by the sinks, and he
hurries over, towel and bundle of soiled garments in hand. "S—s—sorry to k—keep
you w—waiting." His teeth are chattering.
"You stayed this long even with the heaters out?" Nanashi rolls his eyes.
"C'mon."
They jog back to Nanashi's room, drop the laundry into its hamper, then hang up
their towels, and it's warmer in here, especially after the jog, but he's still
shivering.
"Hey." Nanashi aims a blow dryer at his hair, and he's glad for the hot air,
rubs his hands together to warm them as the dryer changes targets. "Here." He's
led towards the bed.
Nanashi tugs the covers over them both, and he sighs, settling in. It's warm
here, warm and safe. For the first time, he's not afraid — now that he doesn't
have to hide, he can truly relax. Then gentle fingers find bare skin where his
shirt has hitched up, and his heartbeat quickens.
"Leader…" He'll shift, and Nanashi hadn't kissed him till he shifted back
earlier.
"Hm?" Those fingers skim the waistband of his pants, and it's feverish now, the
cold of the shower a distant memory.
"I'll shift, you know." He looks away. "When I get… excited."
Nanashi hums in acknowledgement, unzipping the jacket.
"You really… don't mind?"
A hand, callused from years of weapon practice, slides up his side, under the
shirt, brushing a nipple, and Hallelujah bites back a whimper.
"You can shift now, I don't care. Or are you not excited enough yet?"
The words are punctuated by a squeeze between the legs, and his eyes widen.
"Hng—ah!" It's too easy to remember his earlier arousal, to thrust into it as
his blood rushes —ice and fire— down.
Chuckling, Nanashi leans in, "Better," and captures his lips, tugging his shirt
up. He runs his hands up Nanashi's sides to do the same, and they discard the
shirts when they break for air before kicking off their pants, too. He dives in
for another kiss, but then Nanashi blankets Hallelujah's body with his own,
twining their legs, and the first feel of skin on skin is unexpectedly
overwhelming. Hallelujah shudders, breaking away, and the other leans back to
look.
"No?"
"No! I mean, yes! I want to! Very much! It's just…"
Nanashi raises an eyebrow, but Hallelujah isn't quite sure.
"I've never…"
"Me neither."
"Oh. I— I mean… This is— I never thought… No one's even seen me like this
before, you know? And— Heh, it's weird, right? It's gotta be. I—"
A thumb is pressed to his lips; it traces the shape of his mouth, soft, slow,
breathtaking. His heart skips a beat, and he meets the other's gaze,
transfixed.
"I'm babbling, aren't I?"
"As you do."
The thumb slips into his mouth, runs over his teeth to caress his tongue, and
he moans — it's strangely good. He sucks on it, swirls his tongue around it as
fingers stroke his cheek, and he can't look away. Green eyes seem to glow and
consume him as Nanashi's other thumb finds and circles the sensitive nub he
discovered earlier, and it's better than any fantasy — he's already leaking.
"You like this."
"Mm, hah…"
Instinctively, he lifts his hips, Nanashi's erection brushes against his own,
and he gasps. The freed thumb trails wetly down his throat, and he spreads his
legs when it finds his other nipple, bringing Nanashi closer, but the other
doesn't move.
"Enough?"
"Huh?"
Nanashi dips his head then, replaces one hand with his mouth and sucks on one
nipple as he lightly pinches the other. Hallelujah's hips buck at the jolt it
sends to his cock, crying out and arching up for more. Switching sides, Nanashi
holds Hallelujah's hips down as he does it again, more intense than the last,
and Hallelujah writhes, desperate for release.
"Leader, please!"
"Not enough?"
Nanashi catches red eyes as he laves at one nub and rolls the other between his
fingers, and Hallelujah barely manages a helpless keen. The open affection in
the other's gaze floors him, and when Nanashi switches sides, his toes and
fingers curl into the sheets — he's so close, he's almost—
Nanashi nips at one, twists the other, and Hallelujah cries out, climax searing
white-hot into the back of his eyelids. When his vision clears, Nanashi is
smirking.
"Thought so."
"Wh—what about you?"
"Hmm…" Nanashi rolls off and flops back. "Your turn."
"Eh? But I— I don't kn—"
"No? Then what have you been fantasizing about?"
Even if the run-in with the Aether hadn't ruined his chance of denial, his
cheeks blaze — a dead giveaway. Truth be told, though, his fantasies usually
involved Nanashi doing things to him and not the other way around. Still,
they're both guys, so it shouldn't be so different, right? He ducks his head to
hide his blush, leaning closer, but the other catches his chin.
"Never be ashamed."
Oh.
Smiling shyly, he covers Nanashi's hand with his own and gives it a gentle
squeeze. Then he touches his lips to Nanashi's neck, parts them to mouth along
the other's collarbone, caressing the turn of Nanashi's hip as he licks into
the hollow of the other's throat. Delicious, he thinks, and does it again.
Delicious, and it stirs his desire anew. He mouths his way down to tease a
nipple with his tongue, but it doesn't garner much reaction, in contrast to his
earlier experience. Disappointed, he continues down, noses at the dusting of
hair leading him to his lover's semi-erect length, and wonders…
He's seen some of the guys in the Ashura-kai get their girls to do this, so it
must feel good, but he's also heard some people are better than others, and
he's utterly clueless.
Experimentally, he kisses the tip, soft at first, then with a bit more
pressure. Encouraged by the sound of pleasure, he takes the head into his mouth
and sucks, glancing up for Nanashi's reaction. Glowing green eyes are watching
him intently, and the other's breathing quickens through parted lips when he
runs his tongue over the slit — Nanashi tastes strangely good, and that Fairy
Forest musk is so strong here, heady — it makes Hallelujah dizzy with want. He
presses forward for more, wanting to bury his face in Nanashi, but the other's
cock hits the back of his throat and he chokes, pulling back as he coughs.
Adding to his mortification, Nanashi chuckles, tossing him a bottle of water
from the bedside table. "Someone's eager."
"No fair, bro!" he protests once he can speak without coughing. "I told you I
don't know anything about this!" He turns to set the bottle down. "I c—"
When he turns back, Nanashi is a hair's breadth away, guiding him into another
kiss, and "It's totally unfair that I can't stay mad at you," he murmurs,
melting into a puddle of warmth at the slow slide of their tongues. It's
debauched, he thinks —lewd even— the way they twine wetly between their mouths,
but his cock throbs, and it's hard to breathe.
Nanashi's thumb traces the markings on his face as they part. "I didn't say it
wasn't good."
"You're only saying that, so I'll do it again," he retorts, petulant.
With a sly smile, the other asks, "Do you want to?"
"Is that a trick question?" escapes before he can stop the slice of insecurity.
Will this be ruined if he says no?
Nanashi shakes his head. "We can stop whenever you want."
"But I don't want to stop," he mumbles, "just…"
"Not that?"
"No, I liked it. Just… Wh— Leader, what is this?"
Nanashi cocks his head, uncomprehending.
"I— I mean—"
The truth is, it could be anything. He'd yearned for it, tried not to think
about it, found his mind straying involuntarily at the sight of that well-toned
body and wondering how those powerful hands would feel on his bare skin. But he
also… If Nanashi doesn't mind the half-demon thing…
It's like everything he's done, his whole life, never felt quite right until he
was here, by Nanashi's side. He used to feel that way about Abe, too, but now
he realizes he just hadn't known any better. Abe has expectations, sees his
potential; Nanashi accepts him as he is, sees him. Ironically, it makes him
want to be better, to become strong and brave and dependable like Nanashi, so
he can do more and not be another burden for their Leader, but he's never had
anyone like him for him before, and these days, he's having treacherous
thoughts — like, what if he could stay by Nanashi's side and never leave?
Maybe he's just lonely. Tired of being alone. Of craving the affection he saw
around him while being too afraid of discovery to seek it. Maybe anyone who
cares will do.
So it could be anything. He'd take whatever Nanashi is willing to give, even
just a few nights of pleasure. He'd understand if Nanashi plans to marry Asahi
when this is all over. He just wants to know, doesn't want to get the wrong
idea and set himself up for disappointment or heartbreak.
"Us. You know…? What—"
"What do you want it to be?" Nanashi asks, expression revealing nothing, and
Hallelujah wishes he could be this cool and impassive all the time, too, but
right now, he hates that he can't even find some kind of sign.
"I— Leader, I love you," he admits, wondering if it makes him a fool. "I want…
anything you're willing to give."
"Liar." Nanashi reels him in by the neck. "If you want me to love you, you
should just say so."
Capturing his lips, Nanashi explores the recesses of his mouth, and Hallelujah
concedes — he lied. He doubts he could really bear having just one taste of
what could be.
"I do," the other adds between kisses, and I've died, Hallelujah thinks,
kissing back ardently. If there's a true paradise beyond the lies of the angels
of death, this must be it. I've died and come here.
Nanashi chuckles in his ear, aligning their bodies. "No, but we can build it
together."
"Shit, did I say that out loud?"
"Yes."
There's such amusement in glowing green eyes, and Hallelujah thinks to be
miffed, but then Nanashi rocks their hips together, and it's hard to think or
feel beyond the pleasure. Wrapping his arms and legs around Nanashi, he pulls
the other closer, but his heel settles near the crack of Nanashi's arse, and
it's… "Dry," he gasps as their cocks slide together between them.
"Hm?"
"It's— You're not—"
Searching fingers find his entrance, and he whimpers as they slip easily into
slick heat.
"Oh." Nanashi grins, eyes glinting with understanding, and Hallelujah cries out
as he crooks his fingers. "You're amazing. Beautiful," and Hallelujah can't
believe his ears — this came right out of his fantasies, and it must be
paradise.
"Please," he moans, his entire being opening up to the other, empty and begging
to be filled. "Leader, inside."
With a smile, Nanashi removes his fingers and shifts into position, the head of
his cock teasing the rim of Hallelujah's entrance, and the hybrid trembles with
anticipation — this is everything he's ever dreamed of, all at once, and with
Nanashi, who probably has a million choices, but somehow chose to be here with
him.
Suddenly, Nanashi stops.
"L—Leader…?" Hallelujah can't keep the nervous tremor out of his voice as the
seed of panic takes root. Surely, the other isn't changing his mind now, is he?
I haven't done anything wrong, have I? And he'd make it right, whatever it was.
Or maybe… maybe it's weird after all…?
"Dagda tells me you can't go back from this."
"Wh—what?" He doesn't understand.
"You'll be bound to me forever. Seems it's a hybrid thing."
He doesn't know what that entails, but more importantly, "I—I'd get it if you
don't want that."
"But you want that?"
"I—" He hesitates, only to realize he doesn't really have any reservations. He
used to think the Ashura-kai was where he belonged, but the truth is he simply
hadn't had anywhere else to go. Few of them know his true nature, and if they
ever found out, he's willing to bet they might be intimidated by it, but they
would never truly accept it. He owes Abe for guiding him, but in truth, even
Abe has never asked him what he wants before. Nanashi could have just done it
—he wouldn't have known any better— but instead he's being given the chance to
stop and figure out what it entails. The question is a reminder that he could
stay and never leave — he has a choice. "I want to be with you, Leader," he
decides, "no matter what. You accepted me completely. I love you. I want to be
with you forever." That's all that matters.
Nanashi smiles, eyes alight with promise. "Then you will be," he says joining
them, and every nerve ending sings how right and perfect this is — Hallelujah
just never knew this completion is what has been missing his entire life.
This is where he was always meant to be.
When they move together, he senses the truth of the other's words —every fibre
of his being reaches for Nanashi, entwines and enmeshes them, binding them
beyond the physical— and he's ready — he doesn't fight it. When instinct
commands, they draw blood, sealing their bond, and with it, orgasm takes him,
higher than before, higher than he ever thought possible, and he knows Nanashi
will never let him fall.
                                   ■□■□■□■□
It's time, Hallelujah realizes as he stirs and wakes to the now familiar sight
of a cherry tree overhead and the boundless night sky beyond. Like the trees in
the Fairy Forest, this one is eternally frozen in its most beautiful moment in
time, spreading its fragrant pink boughs over the luxurious bed to shade his
eyes from the glimmer of countless stars. The large bed, with bedding that's
always perfectly warm and soft, stands by the tree in the middle of a lake that
spreads out endlessly around them, and when he looks into the calm water, he
sees not the reflection he once expected of the sky above or his own likeness,
but the world.
Their world.
New humans bustling about their daily lives, learning ease and struggle,
pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow. As he watches, some of them plow hard ground
for crops, and he dips his toes into the water — the nearby river floods,
carrying nutrient-rich sediment onto their land. The ground softens, and the
next harvest will be a good one, so they're not too disgruntled as they dry
their floors and build a step at their thresholds to keep future floods outside
their houses. Oops, he thinks with a sheepish smile they'll never see — he's
never been very precise at this.
Leaning into warm arms as they wrap around him, Hallelujah is content. Once,
seeing the shocked betrayal on their friends' faces as he stood by his mate, he
feared he might regret this, but he doesn't. Their world is beautiful,
peaceful, free.
And it truly is their world — Gaston became the foundation of their new
universe; with Asahi as their sun and Toki as their moon, Isabeau formed the
sea, Nozomi the earth and Navarre the sky.
Once, he'd asked his mate which he would have become if not the Creator's
eternal companion, and Nanashi had not hesitated to reply, "For me, you are
them all. That is why you are here."
A gentle breeze rustles the flowers and leaves, tousles their hair, and it
always smells fresh and alive here. Here, where they create life together.
"Is it time?" Nanashi asks, lips caressing his cheek.
"Yes."
There are many ways they could do this, but this is his favourite, and Nanashi
obliges him, mouths at his neck while pressing him into their bed, their
throne, their altar and tugging the sheet between them out of the way. He sighs
as warm hands slide down his skin to trace the ridge below the head of his cock
as familiar fingers tease him open, and his hips jerk as slick and precum
drips. Divinity hasn't lessened his sensitivity to his mate's touch. If
anything, Nanashi has only grown more skillful at coaxing these responses out
of his physical form, at bringing them both greater pleasure.
He moans as the other slides in, completing their connection to each other and
the energy he'd gathered during his slumber. Mesmerized by the golden tint to
his lover's eyes, he nips at the other's lips, and Nanashi deepens the kiss
obligingly. Just like their first time —nose to nose, skin on skin, and the
warmth of their bodies tapering into the white-hot point of union between them—
Nanashi laces their fingers as he moves, and Hallelujah feels full, loved,
complete.
When Nanashi finds a rhythm, never exactly the same, unique like everything in
creation, Hallelujah falls effortlessly in sync — they are one, their essences
and consciousness shared. With every perfectly aimed thrust, the energy between
them builds and takes form, and he can't hold back his cries of pleasure. It's
beyond physical —powerful, primordial, alive— a sensation unlike any other, and
Hallelujah thinks he might be addicted.
As the rhythm rises to a crescendo, the energy concentrates, intensifies, and
he becomes hyperaware of every micron of contact — the sweet, delicious
friction of his inner walls clenching hot and tight around Nanashi's cock as he
slides in and out, the jolt that arcs up Nanashi's spine as the sensitive head
of his cock hits that place inside that makes Hallelujah see stars. The shared
sensations erode even Nanashi's perfect self-control, and the rhythm falters,
but it's so good — nothing else matters.
Their pleasure peaks, and they glow, brilliant and blinding, as his body
releases the tight coil of energy they've gathered and shared. He must have
screamed his mate's name — he tends to get incoherent when they're joined.
Slumping in Nanashi's arms, he watches, exhilarated, as shining fragments fall
into the lake. Nanashi lifts him, so he can see —seeds sprout, eggs hatch and
young are born— it seems so magical, and the novelty hasn't expired. In those
early days —outcast, ignored and unwanted— he never would have imagined he'd
someday be here, by the Creator's side, bringing life to their world together,
and it's rather flattering that Nanashi enjoys staying like this, inside.
Often, Flynn joins them when they're not creating life, but he's asleep now —
Nanashi is trying to repair the Godslayer's damaged psyche because he can no
longer bear to see this hollow shell of his old friend. It's risky, however —
if Flynn regains his original personality and memories, he might turn against
them, and as a Messiah of the Axiom, he is dangerous to Nanashi.
"That is why we must prove that we made the best choice," says Nanashi — as
mates, they can sense each other's thoughts.
"Surely he will see that."
Ravaged by God's Plan and Armageddon, their old world was running out of
resources and increasingly corrupted by the Expanse. By bringing all the humans
to this new world, lush and whole, they could start afresh and free. If the
throne were vacant, some entity would eventually come to claim it, but with
them here, they can protect and defend their universe.
This really is for the best.
"Yes, with your help, I'm sure he will."
Running his fingers through spiky dark hair and cupping his lover's cheek, he
asks, "With my help?"
"Yes, as the cradle of life, your desire for peace and love is imprinted upon
every living thing in this universe."
The words make him flush, shy but happy. "As is your courage and independence."
Creation can only reflect its Creators' psyche, after all.
Together, they will grant Gaston's wish, make him a truly magnificent world.
End Notes
     This took so long to write between multiple jobs, but I hope you
     enjoyed it. I love feedback of any kind, so please leave some! ♡
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