#cless

He’s up on Emberglow for duty related reasons. Maybe he stops by there on the way to Flamesgrace or something.

He goes to the tavern and starts talking to people there. About the things that happened, about the power and status divide between scarlet wings/post-scarlet wings and the populace.

The man a few seats down keeps sending glares his way, but Heinz is ready to run or fight as needed.

But instead, his questioning leads to someone mentioning the... Snow Wolves, was it?

I forget what it was but Wolves something

(Either way. Not important to the overarching plot of the fic )

As Heinz is gathering stories about them. He can tell some are really... far fetched. There’s especially a few about this Nasturtium fellow.

He hears one from the barkeep that just seems way too far fetched and dismisses it. The barkeep takes offense. So Heinz proves his point by picking apart the story.

But as he does so, the glaring stranger fills in the gaps.

He makes a lot of sense. Sounds like he knows what he’s saying.

So Heinz turns his full attention to the stranger.

Who acts like he’s not gonna tell any stories for free.

But he reeks of alcohol and Heinz offers to buy him more to talk

And the stranger agrees.

They get pretty drunk (or so it seems. Heinz can tell the other man is faking it). And Heinz gets a lot of stories. He commits them to memory to write down later.

Next day, he’s in the tavern, finds the stranger, immediately sits across from him. He’s a little cross. Why did he lie?

Stranger asks, who said he lied?

Heinz replies that he’s not a fool of a scholar. He cross checked all the facts.

Stranger goes “huh” and gets up to leave. Heinz wants to follow him, but the bartender puts up a plate of food in front of him and he’s starving and he can find him again, nbd.

Heinz eats and keeps asking questions and he’s not noticing that he’s pissing off certain people.

He goes to leave, maybe find the drunkard fellow, or people who know him.

He doesn’t get far before he realizes he’s being followed.

He turns around and realizes. These are dangerous men. He realizes. He probably can’t take them. He realizes, he might die.

And well. If he’s going to die, he might as well go out fighting.

(Maybe he’ll get to see Jim soon)

He blasts a few magic attacks. Darkness is his forte. He’s surprised, then, when during one of those attacks, the man he’d been aiming for drops dead, like he’d been stabbed.

But it happens again and again. Until one of the men picks up on what’s going on and stops the attack.

It’s the drunkard.

He looks oddly sober, though.

Heinz isn’t going to stop and gape though. He blasts the attacker, frees the drunkard to do what's needed.

But the commotion has brought attention. And as soon as the last attacker drops dead, the stranger takes him by the wrist and pulls him away from the scene.

He’s pulled into a narrow alleyway. They’re practically touching. Heinz is hit by the smell and it is. Strong. But it’s not what has his attention. No, the man in front of him does. Specifically--

“Your eyes are beautiful,” he murmurs.

The man stiffens, scowls, opens his mouth to say something, but there’s guards passing by and he instinctively pressed Heinz close, out of sight.

Heinz is stiff in his arms. The smell is hitting him hard. It’s offensive. But also: the stranger’s hand is warm against his back.

The guards pass. The coast is clear. The stranger lets go and walks out without a care.

Heinz follows. Asking questions. So many of them.

The stranger refuses to answer. Tells him to go home

Heinz asks if he can at least have his name.

And the stranger gives him that. Cress.

“Ah, so you’re Nasturtium!” “How did you—“ “You’re using the local name for the same flower.” “.....”

Heinz does not let death glares deter him as he walks after the man, asking a million questions. Cress, naturally, does not wanna answer

“I’ll buy you drinks!” Heinz offers. “You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?” “No.” “Buy me dinner instead.”

So he does, and they spend hours talking, even if Cress is only barely answering things

But when he’s not talking about himself, talking more about the corruption and the divide, he’s more animated. More passionate. More willing to talk.

They talk until the early hours, until they’re both half falling asleep. Cress says it’s time to go, Heinz promises to come back tomorrow.

The barkeep teases him that it’s nice he finally has a friend.

Next night, there’s drink and food and Heinz has parchment and he’s writing. He and Cress are head to head brainstorming ideas about how to close the gap, the divide, things Heinz could apply in his own work.

Heinz likes seeing Cress’ eyes clear. He likes seeing him focused.

It’s all theory, at the end, Cress comments. There’s no way to test if any of these things work.

And Heinz looks at him confused for a second before he says he can test them out in his own fiefdom.

Cress asks him to repeat that. Then asks him to explain. And as soon as Heinz says he’s a minor lord, Cress gets up and walks out

Heinz drops everything to follow him. What did he say wrong! What did he do wrong?

And Cress accuses him of toying with him.

Was he ever going to do any of these things? What was even his purpose in all of this? Education? Yeah right.

Heinz swears that he’s serious. He has every intention of bettering life for people. He does it to honor those he loved and lost. He does it to make things better so no one has to die again the way his friend did. He yells this at Cress, voice full of grief, and tells him that if he doesn’t believe him, he can come see the fiefdom for himself.

The he wipes the tears from his eyes and leaves. Goes to get his papers from the tavern and goes to the inn.

Cress is surprised when he finds him in the tavern the next night, talking to patrons.

And yet. When he sits down, Heinz sits across from him.

Cress asks him what he wants. And Heinz asks him if he’s considered his offer.

Cress blanches. What offer? The one made last night, of course. If Cress doesn’t believe him, he’s welcome to come to the fief and see for himself.

Cress says he has his own work to do. Heinz says fine. But he’s welcome any time.

Heinz pauses. Then says that Cress is only required to wash his clothes and take a bath as soon as he arrives. He might like to smell like a distillery, but that’s no reason to inflict it on others.

And with that, Heinz is gone.

He doesn’t come back the next night. He’s gone home.

Cress finds it weird that it aches. But he decides he doesn’t care. He goes on about his life.

Until a few weeks later, he needs to get outta town and lie low.

So he decides to head to see Heinz’s fief. He’s sure the man wasn’t serious with his offer. Or his work.

So it surprises him greatly when 1) the guards recognize him instantly as a guest of their lord (they recognize him by the smell) and 2) he’s got a free inn stay so long as he washes up.

He does not say no.

It’s nice. Being this clean. But also terrifying. Because he can’t use his usual cover.

But he doesn’t need to, he realizes. It’s safe here. The people are nice. Happy. No one looks scared or desperate.

Guards chat with people. Help people. There’s a schoolhouse that’s well built. A church that looks sturdy. Homes look good. People look okay.

He’s wandering around, feeling like he’s misjudged Heinz. And as soon as he thinks that, he finds Heinz walking out of the school building.

He stops when Heinz sees him. They both freeze a little. Then Heinz walks over with a big smile and says he’s glad he made it! Would he like a tour?

Cress asks what Heinz was doing in the school. Heinz answers it was to make sure the new curriculum was in place.

They chat as they walk, and Cress is distressed at how easy it is to talk to this guy.

Heinz on the other hand is telling him all about his findings for the ideas they had together.

Which ones worked, which ones didn’t, which ones he needed more help with, etc.

Heinz takes Cress out to dinner in the evening. He even invites him back to the manor, but Cress says no.

He’s just here to lay low, not make friends.

But people here aren’t so wary of strangers. Not when they’re comfortable. Kids play with him. People are constantly introducing themselves. Old ladies are always asking for help.

Heinz always comes by. People talk to him so normally. It’s hard to remember he’s a noble sometimes.

And Cress begrudgingly makes friends.

Heinz is a friend. Heinz is a good friend. Heinz asks for his counsel and they work together on ideas about many things and fairness and laws.

It’s good here.

Even when Cress realizes he should go, he doesn’t want to. He’s reluctant.

And then one day Heinz is leaving. Where is he going? To Cragspear. He needs to visit a friend.

Cress is immediately suspicious.

So he follows behind Heinz. Outside of town, Heinz pauses and motions for him to walk by him. If he’s following him, they might as well travel together.

The trek over is somber. Quiet. Heinz looks two seconds away from crying the entire time.

They stop by the Cragspear inn.

Then make their way to... the slums?

Cress is intrigued. Also very suspicious.

But people know Heinz here. A few stop and say hi.

They chat and he keeps moving.

(Cress feels like he should be his drunken cover here, but he stands out. Too blue against the red rocks.)

He’s surprised when they find themselves at the graveyard. Heinz knows where he’s going though, until they stop by a particular grave. This one reads a now familiar family name, but the first name is Jim.

Heinz had brought flowers from home that he places on the grave. They look out of place in all that arid red.

And then he talks to the grave. Like catching up with an old friend. And Cress realizes. This is what Heinz meant that time. The people he lost--the person he honors…

He keeps a respectful distance. He’s not sure what to say or do. So he waits for Heinz to finish and follows him when he leaves.

They go to the tavern and Heinz orders the strongest drink there. Cress orders him food because he doesn’t want to deal with a drunk and grieving man.

And he pauses at the realization that he’s somehow taken on some responsibility for Heinz.

It should not be this jarring, but it is.

They take a table away from the others. And once the quiet over them is less awkward and more comfortable, Heinz starts to talk.

He tells Cress about Jim. Tells him about what happened and blames himself.

He tears up as he verbally berates himself for what’s happened. How naive he was. How trusting. How foolish. And Cress... sees himself in that. The same way he used to do. Still does.

He doesn’t think Heinz deserves to wind up like him. A bitter drunk.

And he finds himself comforting the man. Telling him about his past. His loss. And how it turned him bitter. About how hard it is for him to see any good in the world.

Tells Heinz to learn to forgive himself, because he deserves better than to wind up like him.

And Heinz, eyes red from his crying, reaches forward and holds Cress’s hand.

And tells him he deserves better too.

Cress freezes. Their eyes meet. And he remembers what Heinz said about his eyes before. And he can’t stop himself. He blushes.

He blames it on the drink when Heinz asks and pulls his hand away to drink more.

Heinz reaches for his hand again and holds it while they drink. They don’t talk much past that, and Cress has to carry Heinz to their inn room. The man is clingy in his drunken half asleep haze, murmuring a half coherent socioeconomic something or the other.

And Cress is surprised that he finds this... really endearing.

He drops him off in his bed and goes to sleep in his own. He still feels the ghost of Heinz’s hand in his own, and well, if he smiles to himself. No one sees.

The next morning he wakes up and Heinz is gone. He panics, understandably, mind jumping to every bad conclusion it can come up with.

But as he’s scrambling to be presentable enough to leave the room, Heinz comes in, plates in hand. They stare at each other.

“I brought breakfast,” Heinz explains. Cress silently walks over and takes a plate, heart still hammering.

They leave that day back towards their home Heinz’s fief. And Cress goes over everything that’s happened and he hates the changes he’s seeing in himself.

Since when does he care about others this much? He swore that off ages ago.

Dressing down to sleep? Dressing up in the morning? Putting himself at that disadvantage??

He wasn’t even sure where his knives were that morning.

And the hand holding the night before—ridiculous.

He was getting soft. He had work to do. He couldn’t get soft for a noble.

So he makes the decision. Once they reach the fief, he doesn’t even enter it. Heinz turns to him when he pauses and immediately understands.

He looks ready to cry again, for some reason. But he quietly thanks Cress for taking care of him on this trip and wishes him luck.

Cress doesn’t reply. He forces himself to turn around and walk off.

Heinz calls to him, and asks him to write sometime. He doesn’t get a reply.

Time passes. Being back in Emberglow sucks. It’s cold. He doesn’t have a home. But he has work to do. At least the bartender is happy to see him. At least the tavern is still there.

It’s hard work but he finds a lead. A bunch of disgruntled merchants and nobles. They’re all mad about something. Something they want the barons and nobles of Emberglow to help with.

It's long work. Hard work. Staying undetected and gathering info, but whatever it is they're mad about, he can use it against them.

He finds a paper trail. It's hard to follow, but he follows it. Weeks upon sleepless weeks of sneaking about to look for it and finally, he has a name for their target.

Heinz.

They're upset about his taxing. About his methods. He won't let them hike up prices or sell subpar quality.

He's ruining them, they say, and he needs to go.

There's a whole plot. Paying off the entire staff. Getting rid of anyone who won't be paid off.

Money buys loyalty, they say.

Cress is not naive enough to think this won’t work.

He knows that people will always choose money over their loyalty. Over their hearts. like...

He can't leave town fast enough. It's mid-winter, now. The storms are harshest this time of year

It's a death errand.

But he braves it and runs it.

He barely makes it alive, but he gets out of the frostlands and heads to the cliftlands.

He makes it to the fief around sundown. He rushes to the manor and... it's empty. Eerily so.

He knows the worst is happening.

He takes no time to sneak around. He bursts through like the lighting at his fingertips.

He finds Heinz in the study. He finds him on the floor, eyes closed, blood seeping from his nose and mouth. There's blood on the side of his clothes.

He forgets himself. He rushes over, kneels by his side, looking for a pulse. it's there. He breathes a sigh of relief. He needs to get him out of there, to an apothecary.

But there's pain at his back, in his shoulder. An attack. There was one more invader--he's up on his feet in a blink, daggers in hands as he fights. But he's hurt. He's losing.

Dark magic shoots out of the ground under the enemy. It's weak, but it's enough for Cress to take advantage of. The last assailant goes down.

Cress turns to Heinz, finds his eyes barely open. He's surprised to see him, Heinz says, had he come to kill him too?

Cress calls him stupid. He tells him not to talk. He's going to get him to an apothecary and he's going to be fine. Just have to stem the bleeding first.

Heinz says the bleeding isn't a big problem. The bigger problem is the poison.

Cress pales. He pulls off his scarf/cravat and tells Heinz to press it against his wound. Then he rummages through the assailant's things and pockets every vial he has.

He's careful in picking Heinz up. But his wound protests. He realizes--he has the same poison in him. His blood burns.

But he takes one step after another and out of the manor. He just has to get them to an apothecary. He has the vials. It'll be fine.

He keeps talking to Heinz, trying to keep him awake. Heinz asks about his people, if they're safe, and Cress has to tell him that they all abandoned him. Paid off to leave him.

Heinz laments that greed was something he could never figure out how to solve. Even if they have everything, they chose more. He could never figure out why. Did Cress have any ideas?

Cress is bitter. Angry. He lets his hatred speak of why he thinks people choose greed over and over. Choose power over others over and over. How it costs so many people the good in their lives. and how it kept costing him everything good in his world. 

Heinz's voice is fading when he says that it's not all bad, because it brought Cress back. At least he has him there. He's missed him. 

Cress hurries. He stumbles. It burns. His blood burns. He drops Heinz. Heinz doesn't move, though his eyes search for his own.

"Your eyes are truly beautiful," Heinz mumbles, his own eyes falling shut, "I'm glad I met you, Cress." 

Cress can't move, but he forces himself up. He can't stand, but he can yell. They're close to homes. Someone out there has to have a heart.

He yells for help, even as his voice fades, even as his consciousness fades.

The last thing he sees is a child.

Cress wakes up with a gasp, bolting into a sitting position. 

He looks around, unable to recognize his surroundings, as his memories come back.

He doesn't know where he is regardless. It's too fancy to be an apothecary's abode.

He forces himself up to his feet and finds that he can move pretty well. He checks his wound. it's well bandaged and feels like it's healing up nicely.

He sneaks out of his room, dagger in his hand. Even as bright sunshine pours through the windows, it takes him a while to recognize where he is.

The manor.

He runs to Heinz's room and bursts through the door. 

The scholar is in his bed, papers in his lap, working. He looks up sharply at the door, trying to be more threatening than he looked, and is surprised to find Cress.

They stare at each other for a moment before Cress asks, "you're working?"

Heinz looks back at the papers. His eyes have dark rings under them. His shoulders slouch. He looks so tired, then, even as he talks about an investigation and trials and better vetting and--

He doesn't get to finish, his words swallowed by Cress' mouth against his own. He closes his eyes instead and drinks in the feeling of being kissed. Of hands cradling his face and warmth blooming in his chest.

His own hands find Cress' shirt and tugs him until he's sitting on the bed, lips still connected. He's terrible at this, he can tell, but Cress doesn't pull away until he can't breathe.

Heinz presses their foreheads together. "I've been waiting for you to do that since you saved me in Emberglow," he admits, breathing heavily. "That was heavenly." 

Cress huffs a laugh and kisses him again.

He pulls away after that, taking a stack of paper with him. Heinz protests.

"Sleep," he cuts him off, taking another pile of parchment. "I'll watch over you." "But..." "Sleep. No one will hurt you so long as I breathe."

Heinz sighs, nods, and lays down. He's asleep as soon as he closes his eyes.

Cress sits on the edge of the bed and holds his hand the entire time.

He stays. After. They're busy. And Heinz is constantly on edge. Something in him has changed. He's more on guard. Less willing to talk to people. Doesn’t sleep as peacefully.

And Cress stays. He guards him. Helps him with the trials. Sits by him to let him sleep.

It's after, when things calm down, is when they get the chance to talk.

And Cress comments on how cagey Heinz has become. Heinz admits he's afraid of trusting people. Of the same thing happening again.

He didn't even know anything was amiss the last time.

He still doesn't know how to recognize an upcoming betrayal. Doesn't know how he'd stop one.

And Cress tells him he can relax. Because he'll help him. He knows how to spot these things.

"But you have your own things to do," Heinz says, confused.

And Cress finds his cheeks warming as he says that yes, he does, and one of them is to watch over Heinz. Because right now, he admits in a soft voice, he was the only good in his world.

Heinz moves to stand beside him and holds his hand.

He shyly asks about the kisses before. They hadn't kissed since, and... was it just a spur of the moment thing? Emotions were high, after all, and--

Cress kisses him quiet.

It's gentle this time. Shorter. They break apart and Cress says he isn't sure he wants to put a name on it, but what they have is theirs, and he wants to stay by Heinz, the only good in his world, for now.

Heinz says he'll gladly have him. He threads their fingers together and leans close for another kiss.

Cress does stay. In public, he's like a bodyguard to Heinz. He stays close, eyes sharp, leaning close only to point out things he feels that need to be pointed out.

It's all very formal. Very calculated.

But it helps Heinz open back up to his people, walk among them. Relax. Sleep.

behind closed doors, they're a lot more affectionate to each other.

It's not super affectionate, but they kiss, they hold hands, they cuddle, they lean into each other. It's gentle. It's slow. It's comfortable. It's them.

Just the two of them, finding peace and moving past grief together.